RED FLAGS EVERYWHERE...

Do you actually believe ANYTHING you hear from the mainstream media???
I get better, more accurate news from Russian and Asian news sources !
A very sad time for America, indeed...
Have you heard ANY of this on the news?
Right now the U.S. government tells the media what they are to report...(yes even FOX)
If the SHEEPLEZ don't wake up very soon, they will find themselves at the slaughterhouse,
sooner rather then later...
I want you to take note, that the F.D.I.C. has only closed 1 bank in the last 2 weeks...This is very strange and I have a really bad feeling that something really big will happen soon.

1. You can bet, you will be the one that gets screwed.

2. It will cost you alot of money.


John Williams correctly states:
"Signalling looming deterioration in U.S. business conditions, an intensified economic downturn or "double-dip recession" in popular terminology. The implications here remain for severely exacerbated government (federal and state) fiscal and funding crises, for exacerbated banking system problems and for eventual severe selling pressure against the U.S. dollar."
John’s work is essential reading and is available at www.shadowstats.com.


Shadowstats: Actual March unemployment 21.7%. ("March Employment Gain of 162,000 Was 114,000 Net Result of Temporary Census Hiring.")


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
CIGA JB Slear keeps you informed of enforcement actions.

You will never see a flag redder

Enforcement Actions Legal actions by the Board and written agreements approved by the Federal Reserve Banks
April 8, 2010 Written agreement with Rosemount Financial Services
April 7, 2010 Written agreement with FCB Florida Bancorporation and First Commercial Bank of Florida
April 6, 2010 Written agreement with Atlantic Southern Financial Group
April 5, 2010 Written agreement with Citizens Bancshares of Woodville
More…


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
When the devil is in charge in Wall Street, virtue is a sin.
That is not about to change in our life time.

US banks understate debt, masking risk: Report 9 Apr 2010, 2140 hrs IST,AGENCIES
WASHINGTON: Major US banks have been masking the size of their debt, and thereby their risk levels, by temporarily lowering it just before
reporting it to the public, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The newspaper, citing data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said 18 banks have understated the debt used to fund securities trades by lowering them an average of 42 percent at the end of each of the past five quarterly periods.
The banks included Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase and Co, Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc, the Journal said.
It said the practice was legal but gave investors a skewed impression of the level of risk that financial firms are taking the vast majority of the time.
It noted that over borrowing by banks was one of the causes of the financial crisis.
"You want your leverage to look better at quarter-end than it actually was during the quarter, to suggest that you’re taking less risk," William Tanona, a former Goldman analyst, was quoted as saying.
More…


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Try this new headline:
Yuan moves away from the US dollar towards basket of currencies indicating that China will be buying fewer US Treasury instruments to sustain rate.

Yuan rise could come by June-Oct. China might increase interest rates as early as this month, but will probably not allow the yuan to rise until the June-Oct. period, senior government economist Zhu Baoliang said this morning. He added that another one-off revaluation was unlikely, but said the yuan peg could be shifted to a basket of currencies.


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
When the devil is in charge in Wall Street sin is a virtue.

Banks back to same old tricks. An analysis of data released by the New York Fed shows large banks are hiding their risk levels by temporarily lowering their debt just before reporting periods. A group of 18 banks – including MS, GS, JPM, BAC and C – lowered the debt used to fund trading ventures by an average of 42% at the end of each of the past five quarters, refilling their tanks in subsequent months. While not illegal, the practice gives investors a false impression of banks’ leverage – one of the factors that led to the massive panic in 2008.



Ignoring the Good News? Posted: Apr 09 2010 By: Greg Hunter Post Edited: April 9, 2010 at 10:06 pm
Filed under: Greg Hunter

I heard Jim Cramer of CNBC say last night people are“ignoring the good news.” I say when it comes to the mainstream media, just the opposite is happening. The folks at the financial news networks are especially good at ignoring the bad news even though they should know better.
For example, we have been told non-stop that we are in a“recovery.” We are clearly not. Want proof that we are not in a“recovery?” Just two days ago, Fed Chief Ben Bernanke said,“We are far from being out of the woods.” According to a Bloomberg story, in a recent speech in Dallas, Texas, the Fed Chief was hardly trumpeting a huge turnaround for the economy. Bernanke said, “. . . the U.S. faces hurdles including the lack of a sustained rebound in housing, a “troubled” commercial real estate market and “very weak” hiring. . .” (Click here for the complete Bloomberg story.) Why is the Fed Chief, all of a sudden, not beating the “recovery” drum? I think someone figured out that if they keep talking up the “recovery” and that does not happen, then the Fed will lose major credibility.
Sure, the economy looks like it stopped falling, but you have to keep in mind we spent trillions of dollars just to get to where we are now. Taxpayers bailed out everything from car companies to insurance companies. ALL the big banks got taxpayer charity, and the best we can do is bottom bounce?
If we really are in a “recovery,” then why is the Fed keeping its key rate at nearly 0%? The Fed has repeatedly said this cheap money“needs” to remain for an “extended period.” If this was a big “recovery,” wouldn’t the Fed raise rates?
Here is another ignored item. The banks are holding trillions of dollars in toxic assets, or bad debt, in the form of all sorts of derivatives. There is no telling what these things are worth because there is no public market. Without a public market, there are no standards for derivatives. There are not any guarantees, and regulation has been non-existent. Most importantly, without a public market, there is no “bid/ask” mechanism that is essential in setting a price (price discovery). I wrote about this in a post, last September, called “Can The Financial System Really Be Fixed? Some Say No.” (Click here for that post)
That’s why Wall Street says derivatives are “hard” to price. You bet they are hard to price! Nobody trusts the fantasy valuation, and there is no way to set a real price without a public market. What do you bet if there was a “price discovery,” we’d find out some of this stuff is worthless? I’ll also bet plenty more derivatives are worth a lot less than the banks claim, and that will spell big losses in the future. Why do you think Wall Street is fighting financial reform so hard?
If you think banks don’t play accounting games with bad debt, then maybe this story, out yesterday, will convince you. According to The Wall Street Journal, “Major banks have masked their risk levels in the past five quarters by temporarily lowering their debt just before reporting it to the public. . .” That makes it appear the banks balance sheets are less risky. I’ll bet it also justified some of those big bonuses too! (Click here for the complete article.) Uncertainty about the true value of assets in the banking system makes a real “recovery” impossible.
Here are another 138,000 reasons we are not in a recovery. That’s how many people filed for bankruptcy last month! An astounding 35% increase over February filings. This increase is almost totally ignored by the mainstream media.
And ignore this–we have lost more than 8.3 million jobs since December of 2007. We were told recently there was a big turnaround on the jobs front by the mainstream media. When you cut out the temporary census workers, we supposedly created 114,000 jobs last month. That job growth was so spectacular it did not even put a dent in the “official” unemployment rate of 9.7%. Although, shadowstats.com says unemployment is really at more than 21%, if you calculated it the way Bureau of Labor Statistics did it prior to 1994. After 1994, if someone is out of work for more than a year, then that person does not count according to the BLS. They keep calling this a “jobless recovery,” but without jobs this is no “real recovery.” Of course, all those unemployed people are probably just ignoring the good news.
More…


Santelli: $4 Gas, $150 Oil Coming this Summer


Unemployment Benefits Expire for Thousands


The Line Of Doom (The Mogambo Guru)


What Does it Mean to be Middle Class in 2010?


We will be paying 70%+++ very soon...
UK: High Earners Hit As 50% Tax Goes Ahead


What the hell do they mean...unexpectedly....
Initial Jobless Claims Increase Unexpectedly


Broke Icelanders Opt for Exile

Quote of the day;
"Ask the first man you meet what he means by defending freedom, and he'll tell you privately he means defending the standard of living." - Reverend Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984) German Lutheran pastor, was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Dachau in 1938. He was freed by the allied forces in 1945.

Quote Of The Year
"Surely something must be terribly wrong with a man who seems to be far more concerned with a Jew building a house in Israel than with Muslims building a nuclear bomb in Iran."
Columnist Burt Prelutsky



As Tax Hikes Loom, Investors Will Have to Rethink Strategy
High-end investors in New York, New Jersey, Oregon and California could take an especially big hit if they don’t take action now to protect their portfolios.


States Skip Pension Payments, Delay Day of Reckoning- Wall Street Journal


Big Banks Mask Risk Levels- Wall Street Journal


As Greek Bond Rates Soar, Bankruptcy Looms- NY Times


Debt Burden Weighs on Developed Nations- Washington Post


Why Are Silver Sales Soaring?


Sovereign debt crisis at 'boiling point', warns Bank for International Settlements


Report: Panicky Investors Pull Cash Out of Greek Banks


California's $500-billion pension time bomb.


World stocks drop as Greek debt crisis intensifies


Concern About Greece, US Jobs Holds Stocks Down


Greek Banks Hit By Wealthy Citizens Moving Money Offshore


Fed Saw Recovery Curbed By Unemployment


Is A Big US Bank Betting On A Greek Default In 11 Days?
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/big-us-bank-betting-greek-default-11-days

Order while you can...You need it NOW...There is a reason why people call Jim "Mr. Gold"

A Pocketbook Of Gold Posted: Apr 08 2010 By: Jim Sinclair Post Edited: April 8, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Filed under: General Editorial
Dear CIGAs,
With the assistance of a good friend and contributor to JSMineset, Mr. Peter Carlin, Jim has co-authored a book that will be released here on JSMineset before anywhere else.
A limited leather bound edition has been printed on top quality paper for JSMineset readers. Supply of these Pocketbooks are EXTREMELY limited. If you want a copy, this is your chance to order it.
The price is $39.99 plus a flat rate shipping cost of $5.00.
You can place your order by clicking the button below. You can pay via major credit card or PayPal.
http://jsmineset.com/2010/04/08/a-pocketbook-of-gold/

Synopsis:
"A Pocketbook of Gold gives you, in one easy handbook, the reasons why you should own Gold, the timing of when you should own Gold, and the types of Gold you should (and shouldn’t!) own. A Pocketbook of Gold also explains the true role of Gold in every individual’s financial planning as well as Gold’s place in the world monetary system. It is an all-in-one Pocketbook that answers your questions and guides you through the world of Gold as a personal form of investment and financial insurance in today’s increasingly uncertain financial outlook. A Pocketbook of Gold is a survival manual for monetary mayhem."


Look... a page out of obamas playbook...
"The way to crush the bourgeois is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation." – V.I. Lenin



At King World News, more evidence of unbacked gold and silver certficates




Sprott talks about rejected bid for IMF's supposed gold




Study: 1.2M Households Lost to Recession- MSNBC


How $1 Trillion Time Bomb Posts a Phony Profit- Bloomberg


Harvard Econ: Bubbles Lurk in Govt Debt- Financial Times


Jobless Claims Higher Heading into Easter- Bloomberg


Bernanke Sounds Warning on Growing Deficit- Washington Post


Finding Safety in the Precious Metals

Mighty America's five stages of rapid decline; Jim Collins' danger signals: But can we halt the collapse of capitalism?





Business Software Maker CA to Cut 1,000 Jobs





Big Surprise: Your Uncle Sam Needs You


That's why, along with cap-and-trade and a VAT tax, Congress is considering an attack on your 401(k) as of late, as a juicy new way to keep on spending.
In a nutshell, Congress is planning to force Americans to turn their IRA and 401(k) savings over to the government — in exchange for an annuity-based fixed income stream during their twilight years. They are calling this program Guaranteed Retirement Accounts.


In fact, the groundwork is already being laid. Bloomberg reports: The Obama administration is weighing how the government can encourage workers to turn their savings into guaranteed income streams following a collapse in retiree accounts when the stock market plunged.
The U.S. Treasury and Labor Departments will ask for public comment as soon as next week on ways to promote the conversion of 401(k) savings and Individual Retirement Accounts into annuities or other steady payment streams, according to Assistant Labor Secretary Phyllis C. Borzi and Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Mark Iwry, who are spearheading the effort.
There is "a tremendous amount of interest in the White House" in retirement-security initiatives, Borzi, who heads the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, said in an interview.
So you see, they just want to save you from yourself again with the promise of a "universal, secure, and adequate retirement system".
(It's all totally harmless, I swear... )
And while this monumental change is not necessarily imminent, be aware that the plan is gaining inertia as Congress sizes up the $6.3 trillion in retirement assets of working Americans — followed by mandates that may one day ration your own money back to you.
So what's in this deal for you, you're wondering? As you might have guessed... it's not much.
Not only will you lose your coveted 401(k) tax break, but the government guarantee is only a mere 3% return on your investment.
It would be comical if it weren't so tragic.
A monkey throwing darts at board could earn 3% with his eyes closed.





Technical indicators tell Roger Wiegand that now is the time to buy gold

Parody Video: "You Picked a Fine Time to Lead Us, Barack": This is a parody of "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Lucille" by Kenny Rogers.


Dems Discussing New VAT Tax- NY Post


Alert that Euro on verge of real crisis



Jim’s Mailbox Posted: Apr 06 2010 By: Jim Sinclair Post Edited: April 6, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Filed under: Jim's Mailbox

Jim,
The following is from a diligent client of mine who went to the Toronto seminar hosted by you in February.

Regards, CIGA JB Slear
JB,

I was able to go to Toronto this past Thursday to attend a presentation by Mr. Sinclair to address what is currently going on in the world, including finances of course, which is his specialty. I regard him as one of the premier authorities on gold and currencies in the world, and as such value his opinion highly. I took copious amounts of notes, and tried, to the best of my ability to record precisely what he said and what he meant and pass them along to you all to make what you will of them, and to take whatever action you feel appropriate in your personal situation. After hearing him live, there is no question that what you read on the website is exactly what he thinks and sees going on. 50 years of experience in the investment world, at all levels does count for something. You decide what. The notes are in the order things were presented, including an hour and a half question and answer where Jim fielded all questions from the folks that were there. Some themes are repeated for emphasis. I recorded them as they came.

1. Get a copy, if possible, of the BBC movie, "The Last Days of Lehman Brothers" it is exactly what occurred. They were flushed and allowed to go down. Those that did so made billions.

2. The same people that sold Greece the products to hide the true condition of their finances ratted them out and are hugely short of Greek debt at this time.

3. The more these people win at what they do, the more powerful they become.

4. The failure of Lehman set off the bankruptcy(s) that allowed government money (your money) to flow to large institutions, who were the winners on the bet.

5. The next phase of problems will come about because of a loss of confidence in currencies themselves.

6. Regulators are totally ineffectual in dealing with what is occurring.

7. If we have a failure of Greek debt it will be catastrophic and you and I will pay. If Greece does not fail, we will have money printing (quantitative easing is the buzz word) to infinity.

8. China is actively seeking control of the resources of the world, all JSMineset speculation on this has far exceeded what was postulated.

9. With the incredible bonuses being paid to Wall Street executives, you have to know it is there last lick of the cone. They know profits are not real.

10. To balance the US balance sheet, gold would have to go to insane numbers. The mechanism is in place to drive gold to incredible numbers.

11. Credit default swaps are being used as the hammer to destroy nations. They are doing this by shorting sovereign debt, then using the media to bring about the profit of their position (ie calling nations PIIGS – this isn’t flattering and does not inspire confidence, causing people to stay away). The players doing this have no conscience, are oblivious to the side effects, are power crazed, and believe they are gods. Sovereign debt is the next bomb to implode.

12. The only currency that will sustain what is coming is gold.

13. We are headed for a one world currency with a central bank of central banks. The world is going to change dramatically in possibly as little as two months.

14. The individual states in the US, which are bankrupt in many cases, will be attacked next. Big money is already hugely short of state debt. Ultimately this will take down the US dollar as well.

15. A one world government is coming.

16. Hyperinflation is a loss of confidence in paper currency.

17. Gold is money without liability on the other side. It stands alone. Make your balance sheet as good as it can be.

18. If Greece goes (is flushed and not bailed out), then the whole world changes, perhaps overnight. Look for 200 dollar swings in the gold price. Because the "dark side" (those who are in control of this) are smarter than you are, add to your positions in gold on reactions. Gold is an insurance policy.

19. China will rule the world. Friends of China will benefit from that. China’s interest in Africa and its treasure chest of mineral wealth isn’t an accident.

20. Yuan denominated paper, if one can get it, might be a place to be with some of your investment portfolio.

21. Equity markets may in fact go up due to a Weimar effect. All that money created from nothing finds its way into the stock markets of the world.

22. He stressed simplicity in your personal life. Be focused, balanced, and go back to basics. This is not a time to get fancy.

23. There will be no end to naked shorting by the players. The real game is destroying nations, countries (think Dubai, Iceland…)

24. He feels the flushing is in fact deliberate. If Greece does in fact go down, it will definitely be deliberate.

25. Gold’s window is still open here because those that know what is coming are still accumulating. Expect it to be closed by year end. That means if you don’t have any, don’t expect to be able to get any.

26. Hold any stocks you happen to own in certificate form in your hand, and don’t lose the certificate. If you are a stock player, check out true custodial accounts. Make certain that your holdings are in fact yours and NOT on the books of the bank.

27. A question was asked: If I had a million Canadian dollars to invest right now, where might I put that? The answer was 1/3 into gold bullion, held close, 1/3 in both Canadian Tbills and Swiss Franc’s, and the remaining 1/3 into what you do best.

28. Major financial houses today are acting like countries. Greece does not control its destiny, it is in the hands of those houses which become stronger with each situation they take down.

29. Expect mining company consolidations to greatly accelerate.

30. The Canadian dollar is very much a wild card. It may rise nicely, because it and Canada generally have remained conservative as opposed to other far more leveraged approaches. Canada is currently sitting in the cat bird seat, and it’s not really helping Canada because of our export based economy.

31. The number to watch on the Euro is 1.29 against the US dollar. Should it go lower, the Euro is in serious trouble.

32. The US has no strength for geopolitical disruptions at this time. It’s a house of cards that could come down at any time.

33. Keep it simple! Back to basics.!

34. The Asian and the Polish crisis were precursors to taking down the Euro. If the Euro is torched, the pound and dollar are next. As a side note, Jim Rogers feels the British pound is months or possibly weeks away from being heavily attacked once again. This is my comment, not Jim Sinclair’s. Look for the pattern here.

35. Money (the wealth of the world) has been concentrated into a very few hands. They are currently only interested in tearing down. There is no interest in creating, only destroying. China is building up. Algorithms (computer modeling and trading) are being used to destroy.

36. Gold stocks should leverage 2 to 5 times a bullion position.


Where to Next for Gold?
Dominic Frisby

Frisby had a spring target of $1,400 per ounce for gold. However, gold in 2010 has been lackluster and in January’s correction gold and gold shares were hit harder than the market. In the long term, however, Frisby remains a believer. The credit-based, fiat monetary system under which we operate is going to end badly; there is too much debt at almost every level of society, from government to the individual. The simplest way out of this mess is some kind of currency devaluation, either gradual or sudden, with the former being more likely. That, after all, has been the pattern of the last 100 years. And with interest rates for bank accounts generally below the rate of inflation, saving any sort of currency is not particularly attractive. That leaves gold. As for his target of $1,400 gold by spring 2010, Frisby thinks it may have been a little optimistic, but the lagging gold price could turn out to be a positive. He doesn’t like to see gold going too far too fast, as it did in 2006 and 2008. The subsequent corrections are too violent and the consolidations take longer. If we are indeed now in a period of consolidation, it's not likely to last for that long, as the previous up-move was comparatively small. What's more, it looks as though gold has found its low somewhere in the $1,060 to $1,080 area. Technical analysis shows similarities in the chart between now and the 2002-2003 up-move, which eventually became a fantastic run. To sum up, in the short term, Frisby is bullish on gold and gold shares. The spring is often a good season for gold and there seems to be plenty of support just below $1,100. And in the long term he is convinced that everyone should own some. It's essential.
www.moneyweek.com/investments/precious-metals-and-gems/where-to-next-for-the-gold-price-01306.aspx


The Silver Boom is Coming
The Mogambo Guru

Mogambo never stops warning about the price inflation that will result from the Fed’s inflation of the money supply. Buy gold, silver and oil, he says, in order to protect yourself from just such an outcome. Of course, it’s not only the Fed creating too much paper money; central banks the world over are doing the same thing, while governments the world over are engaging in insane levels of deficit spending. In the case of silver as a must-have investment, he discusses an article by Jeff Nielson, which notes that because silver kills the bacteria that causes body odour, “the use of silver in sportswear has exploded into one of the largest single applications of silver. This one usage already consumes more than 1,200 TONS of silver per year.” From virtually nothing a few years ago to being one of the largest single applications of silver – that has Mogambo believing the silver boom is just beginning. Expect soaring silver prices as demand surges, and increasing money supply meets falling silver supply. Nielson notes that the Gold Award for Healthcare Fabrics was recently given to a company that produced the first silver-impregnated upholstery for the healthcare industry. Meanwhile, the Fed is creating so much money that, writes Mogambo, “you will not want to live through the suffering of a future where prices are so impossibly high that you cannot afford to eat…you will wail and wish, wish, wish that you had listened when I told you to buy gold, silver and oil to protect yourself against the raging inflation in consumer prices that necessarily must – must! – follow such massive inflation in the money supply.” The potential usage in this one category of silver consumption is nothing short of mind-boggling. Analysts now forecast an additional 350 million ounces of annual silver demand by 2020 as a result of increased use of RFID tags, ID cards, solar panels and wood preservatives. In addition, because silver inhibits bacteria, there will be an increase of silver used in wound care, other medical uses and food hygiene, not to mention phenomenal growth in the aforementioned anti-odour/ anti-germ textiles. "Silver!" says Mogambo. "I mean, it just doesn’t get easier to invest than that! Whee!"
http://dailyreckoning.com/the-silver-boom-is-coming/


Forget Greece...watch Cali


The Dodd Bill: Bailouts Forever- Wall Street Journal


Fed Indicates Zero Rates May Last a Long Time- Reuters


Deflation on the Prowl as Bernanke Shuts Down His Printing Presses


Higher Steel Prices Signal Return of Inflation


Black Tea Partiers Labeled 'Traitors'
Black conservatives are taking heat for their involvement in tea party and for opposing president's policies



"All previous attempts to base money solely on intangibles such as credit or government edict or fiat have ended in inflationary panic and disaster."
--Winston Churchill

Report: Panicky Investors Pull Cash Out of Greek BanksGreek banks are being hit by a wave of redemptions as rich citizens and companies look to move their money to big global banks or offshore as the country's debt crisis rages, the Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site. Read the Entire Article — Go Here Now.


John Licata: Gold Stands Its Ground


It's Impossible to 'Get By' In the US


Report: NY Budget "Shell Game" Hides Deficits- Bloomberg


This will soon happen to the U.S.
Greek Bond Yields Soar to 7.1%- Wall Street Journal


Oil Soars 2.1% to $86.61/Brl; Gas Prices Edge Higher- LA Times


NY Times Gropes at Hope with Talk of Job "Surge"- NY Post


Los Angeles Controller Says City to Run Out of Cash in a Month CIGA Eric
Maybe the IMF will be needed to back loans to California? Good thing the US doesn’t need the IMF help to print money.

Los Angeles will run out of cash on May 5, city Controller Wendy Greuel said today in a release in which she requested a $90 million transfer of reserve funds to pay bills.
Source: bloomberg.com
More…


All major US cities and certainly all US States, one way or another, will be bailed out of bankruptcy. They are all heading there en masse.
The US dollar is not a safe haven.
Regards, Jim


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Energy and food should not be in the CPI because we do not consume either?
What a set up hiding in public view.


Basic grocery prices up 6.2%
Rising demand and reduced supply drove supermarket prices for 16 basic foods up 6.2% in the first quarter, led by gains in staples such as cheese, vegetable oil and eggs, the American Farm Bureau Federation said.
The average cost of the items for a typical consumer each week rose to $45.54 from $42.90 in the fourth quarter of 2009, the group said Monday, citing an informal survey. Costs fell 4.3% from a year earlier.
Rising the most were sliced ham, apples, bacon and boneless chicken breasts.
More…



A Jobless Recovery is bull, and there is no possibility of any major SUSTAINED betterment of the jobs situation.

Food stamp rolls break record again April 6, 2010

About 39.4 million Americans, the most ever, received food stamps in January, the government said.
The number of recipients was up 22% from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The total of Americans getting the subsidy has hit records for 14 consecutive months.
The national unemployment rate has hovered at 9.7% since January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Beginning Oct. 1, an average of 40.5 million people are expected to get food stamps each month this year, rising to 43.3 million in 2011, according to White House estimates.
More…


Astonishing chart shows how high taxes could surge
Tuesday, April 06, 2010Text Size:
From Zero Hedge:For all who doubt the Obama administration will raise tax rates into the stratosphere in the very near future, here is a chart created by dshort.com which compares the total level of debt to GDP with Federal tax brackets over the past century.The correlation between the two is unmistakable.Unless the administration promptly finds a way to reduce the massive amount of debt that it continues to issue...Read full article...




Warren Buffet: Commercial Real Estate Is Sinking Fast

About half of the country's commercial real estate mortgages will be "underwater" by the end of 2010, meaning the value of the assets will be less than what's owed on them, says Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor and chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
That's bad news for the economy and small and midsize banks, which will need up to three years to work out the problems, Warren says.
“We now have 2,988 banks — mostly midsize, that have these dangerous concentrations in commercial real estate lending,” Warren told CNBC.
Warren's commission has said hundreds of banks could fail if economic conditions and tighter lending standards prevent borrowers from refinancing.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said he is also keeping an eye on the sector. “Commercial real estate's still going to be a problem for the country,” Geithner tells CNBC.
“But we can manage through this process.”
Some, however, say the many worries are overblown.
Hugh Kelly, a New York University real estate professor, says an improving economy and eventual job creation will soften a crash.
“I think forecasts of a crash are navigating out of a rear-view mirror of a recession that is over,” says Kelly, according to the Palm Beach Post.
“Demand for use of commercial space remains weak and absorption is negative, but we're growing in terms of consumption.”
© Moneynews. All rights reserved.


Today's ISM Manufacturing Report Screams Inflation


Greenspan Signals Warnings For Bubble-Maniacs


Geithner: Disparity in Recovery "Deeply Unfair"


Next Meltdown Will Be Driven By "Big Collapses In Emerging Markets"


Housing Collapse Trickles Down- Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Just Say No!

The best currency in the world is Gold and Silver.
The best North American currency is the Canadian dollar.
The best continental currency is the Swiss Franc.
Regards, Jim Sinclair

This is bad...really really bad...
10 Year Treasury Yield Rises to 4 Percent For First Time Since June 2009 (click here for yields)


Bond Buyers Demand Record Downgrade Protection- Bloomberg


US Bonds Midday CIGA Eric
US bonds, TLT, have already breached the swing low on pretty decent volume just after midday. Ignore the headline spin on bonds and equities, a breach of this low, which is also the straight line neckline from June 2009 is no small matter.
Last week’s COT data (10- and 30-year) illustrated big inflows to protect this zone. If this line in the sand cannot hold, a new lower line will be conceded and the neckline will have failed. Very The market’s reaction to an identifiable technical top could be difficult for even the spinsters to contain.
With that said, I expect this zone to be heavily defended as the technical implication of a break are huge. Failure after a critical support despite intensified efforts will reveal the severity of the technical damage. A point that will not be missed by the trading sharks that will show no mercy.
US Long Bonds ETF (TLT)
More…



Speeding Toward the Currency Graveyard
http://www.uncommonwisdomdaily.com/speeding-toward-the-currency-graveyard-9109?FIELD9=4



Gold - Ready to Roar



Debtor Nation



Voting with their feet: "Atlas Shrugged" taxes blow up in Maryland's face.



Marc Faber and Mish Shedlock on Inflation, Deflation, Doom and the End of Civilization.



Water bills go up in down economy as usage drops.



Health Plan May Hobble Economic Recovery



Harrisburg, Pennsylvania May Miss Debt Payment; Go Into Chapter 9 Bankruptcy



Speeding "Cushion" May Dwindle Due to Recession



the security of the national food supply is being compromised.

Christopher Barker: Is your safe haven a house of cards?

Peter Brimelow: Gold price suppression suspicion now mainstream

"People put up with the devils they know. They do not look for a lifeboat when they hear the ship's hull scrape the iceberg. They assume that it will be business as usual. Then, one fine day, it isn't." - Dr. Gary North

IMPORTANT...For your financial safety, you need to read and understand what this says...
ShawdowStats article published late last year that was previously available only to their paid subscribers: Hyperinflation Special Report


The Continuing Decline of the Consumer ....More Struggling Borrowers Face Pay Garnishment


More Financial Bubbles Ahead in the US Housing Market


US Bankruptcy Filings Highest Ever Since 2005 If the economy is recovering...then why are bankruptcies rising...at record pace I might add.


Shouldn't you be doing the same?
Hoarding Not Hiring--Corporations Stockpiling Hoards of Cash


Geithner Delays Currency Report


Just wait, riots are coming soon as the entitlements dry up...
L.A. City Employees Make Impassioned Plea Against Layoffs

Very funny
http://www.just-a-regular-guy.com/2009/11/23/obama-meets-chinese-president-saturday-night-live-style/


Max Keiser covers silver market rigging on Russia Today network


Jim Grant Wonders When People Will Wake Up And Realize That Currency Is Based On Nothing?


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The interesting question will be how many other official entities have used this devious devise devoid of any economic foundation that is designed to deceive.

They change its name to 105 whatever, but substantively it is a duplicate of what the US sold Greece via a British entity created for the purpose of being a beard.

Looting Main Street How the nation’s biggest banks are ripping off American cities with the same predatory deals that brought down Greece
MATT TAIBBIPosted Mar 31, 2010 8:15 AM

If you want to know what life in the Third World is like, just ask Lisa Pack, an administrative assistant who works in the roads and transportation department in Jefferson County, Alabama. Pack got rudely introduced to life in post-crisis America last August, when word came down that she and 1,000 of her fellow public employees would have to take a little unpaid vacation for a while. The county, it turned out, was more than $5 billion in debt — meaning that courthouses, jails and sheriff’s precincts had to be closed so that Wall Street banks could be paid.
As public services in and around Birmingham were stripped to the bone, Pack struggled to support her family on a weekly unemployment check of $260. Nearly a fourth of that went to pay for her health insurance, which the county no longer covered. She also fielded calls from laid-off co-workers who had it even tougher. "I’d be on the phone sometimes until two in the morning," she says. "I had to talk more than one person out of suicide. For some of the men supporting families, it was so hard — foreclosure, bankruptcy. I’d go to bed at night, and I’d be in tears."
Homes stood empty, businesses were boarded up, and parts of already-blighted Birmingham began to take on the feel of a ghost town. There were also a few bills that were unique to the area — like the $64 sewer bill that Pack and her family paid each month. "Yeah, it went up about 400 percent just over the past few years," she says.
The sewer bill, in fact, is what cost Pack and her co-workers their jobs. In 1996, the average monthly sewer bill for a family of four in Birmingham was only $14.71 — but that was before the county decided to build an elaborate new sewer system with the help of out-of-state financial wizards with names like Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase. The result was a monstrous pile of borrowed money that the county used to build, in essence, the world’s grandest toilet — "the Taj Mahal of sewer-treatment plants" is how one county worker put it. What happened here in Jefferson County would turn out to be the perfect metaphor for the peculiar alchemy of modern oligarchical capitalism: A mob of corrupt local officials and morally absent financiers got together to build a giant device that converted human shit into billions of dollars of profit for Wall Street — and misery for people like Lisa Pack.
And once the giant shit machine was built and the note on all that fancy construction started to come due, Wall Street came back to the local politicians and doubled down on the scam. They showed up in droves to help the poor, broke citizens of Jefferson County cut their toilet finance charges using a blizzard of incomprehensible swaps and refinance schemes — schemes that only served to postpone the repayment date a year or two while sinking the county deeper into debt. In the end, every time Jefferson County so much as breathed near one of the banks, it got charged millions in fees. There was so much money to be made bilking these dizzy Southerners that banks like JP Morgan spent millions paying middlemen who bribed — yes, that’s right, bribed, criminally bribed — the county commissioners and their buddies just to keep their business. Hell, the money was so good, JP Morgan at one point even paid Goldman Sachs $3 million just to back the fuck off, so they could have the rubes of Jefferson County to fleece all for themselves.
More…





The coming inflation wave





World on Edge of Double Dip Recession





60 Minutes Exposes United States Financial Collapse





Cowboy Economics (The Mogambo Guru)





Geithner Says Unemployment is Terribly High





New Credit Report Rules Kicking in on Friday





Stocks: Strong Quarter Ends with Loss





Hoarding, Penny-Pinching And Buying Gold CIGA Eric
Bunch of poll results about economic conditions. One poll result caught me eye.
6% purchased gold (to protect themselves)
Wow, a whole 6%. Store that in the memory banks when some hand waiving "expert" says gold has become the ultimate bubble. When the number goes north of 50%, you’ll know at least a few of the "experts" are not planting disinformation.
Source: forbes.com
More…

You want the truth?

- March Unemployment Rose to 9.8% Net of Census Hiring
- Official Reporting: BLS U-3 Held at 9.7%, U-6 Rose to 16.9%, SGS Rose to 21.7%
- March Employment Gain of 162,000 Was 114,000 Net of Temporary Census Hiring - Economic-Deterioration Signal Intensifies
"No. 289: March Employment and Unemployment, Liquidity Crisis" http://www.shadowstats.com/


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Our friend Greg Hunter explains MOPE perfectly.

Don’t Let The Facts Get In The Way Of A Recovery 2 APRIL 2010 By Greg Hunter

For awhile, the term “green shoots” was the buzz word for the economic rebound. Remember that? The “green shoots” have now turned into a“recovery” almost every time the economy is mentioned. It seems we are constantly bombarded with stories of how the economy is turning around when the facts say otherwise.
I do want to be positive, but some of the spin I am hearing would make “Baghdad Bob” (Mohammed Saeed al Sahaf) proud. You remember the former Iraqi Information Minister who made wildly false statements about the 2003 Gulf War. One of “Bob’s” last zingers was, “This invasion will end in failure.”
There has been some good news, such as a story that came out earlier this week in the Los Angeles Times. The headline read: “Home prices in California show strong, unexpected gains in January.” The Times story went on to say, “L.A. leads the S & P/Case-Shiller index of 20 cities with a 1.8% increase from December. The index rises 0.3% overall, its eighth monthly increase in a row.” This is great news, but buried in the story is this fact, “A breakdown of the index showed mixed results, with 12 cities posting increases and the rest decreases. When left unadjusted for seasonal variations, the 20-city index fell 0.4%.” Yes, the index “fell 0.4%,” if you leave out the “adjustments.” (Click her for the complete L.A. Times story.) Do you see a recovery in the mortage reset chart on the left below?
More…





Follow The Money





With health bill, Obama has sown the seeds of a budget crisis.





Bob Chapman: Credit Crisis and Outrage Far From Over





Peter Schiff: Very Good Reason to Believe Home Prices Will Collapse


CME Working with Fannie, Freddie on Swaps

WILL YOU SURVIVE THE FINANCIAL MELTDOWN?

"Start educating yourself, stay current on news. The people that intend to destroy this country are becoming very arrogant, they sense victory is near. Turn off your sports television, put down your can of beer and learn to read the news, they are telling us in advance, what they are going to do."
Quote written by C.F.

Thinking the Unthinkable: A US Rating Downgrade- Wall Street Journal


Next Meltdown Will Be Driven by "Big Collapses in Emerging Markets," Johnson Says


Nathan Lewis: It's Ponzimonium in the gold market
Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2010-04-01 14:48. Section: Daily Dispatches
10:50a ET Thursday, April 1, 2010

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
The gold price suppression scheme made it to The Huffington Post today, thanks to an essay by Nathan Lewis, a New York fund manager and market analyst and commentator. Lewis' essay takes note of last week's stunning hearing of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and is headlined "It's Ponzimonium in the Gold Market." You can find it at The Huffington Post here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-lewis/its-ponzimonium-in-the-go_b_5...



Zero Hedge: How much of supposed U.S. gold reserves are real?


Central Banks Stashing Away Gold at a Brisk Pace


Default Through Money Printing: The US Scenario


Will ObamaCare Trigger the Next Financial Crisis?- RealClearMarkets


PIMCO: Credit Downgrades Coming in Developed World- Reuters


The dollar's danger: A debt-driven collapse?


America: Prepare for an Avalanche of New Taxes


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Thank you,