A Ron Paul Dollar?

Ron Paul (MAA) explains why the U.S. dollar needs to be backed by gold .. "if we had a gold standard, government couldn't spend", referring to out of control government spending & its impact on the economy .. explains that with a gold standard, interest rates would be able to go much higher, because borrowing costs would go higher. This would encourage people to save money for investment & for building a strong, long-term economy .. 7 minutes

You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

Mish Shedlock (MAA) provides several references on how the European Central Bank (ECB) will be pumping another trillion or two euros into European banks beginning next month .. Shedlock remarks that banks are supposed to be taking the money & applying it to increased bank lending, but they won't - the banks will likely simply take the guaranteed profit by speculating in Spanish or Italian bonds - "However, that's quite a risk, and in my opinion Spain will need a writedown. If so, Germany will be on the hook once again .. the operation will fuel more bank speculation and more leverage in government bonds. Money supply will soar, lending won't and this rates to be good for gold."

Link here to the article

Freddie Mac Wins if Americans Suffer

How perverted is that?

The mortgage giant, Freddie Mac, bailed out by U.S. taxpayers, has placed billion-dollar bets that American homeowners will stay trapped in expensive mortgages with interest rates well above current rates .. "The trades are .. highlighting a conflict of interest at the heart of the company. In addition to being an instrument of government policy dedicated to making home loans more accessible, Freddie also has giant investment portfolios and could lose substantial amounts of money if too many borrowers refinance."

Link here to the article

Wall Street Interview 

Nightmare Stories That Will 

Embarrass You As You Read 

Link here to the slideshow,

courtesy of The Business Insider

Monetary Debauchery

Chart courtesy of Bianco Research showing the balance sheets of the central bank of China & the European Central Bank (ECB) are actually bigger than the Federal Reserve when converted to dollars .. the Bank of Japan used to be the largest balance sheet in dollar terms until 2006. Since the financial crisis, it is the other central bank balance sheets that are going through the roof. (click on chart to enlarge)
link here - previous post reference

 

Courtesy of Michael Ramirez,

click to enlarge

 

Participation in gold is still low

courtesy of SRSrocco,

click to enlarge

Are Gold & Silver Poised 

for an Explosion?

Fund manager Egon von Greyerz has been analyzing the explosive growth of central bank balance sheets, observes their incredible levels of money printing .. He sees it as the perfect recipe for hyperinflation & massive price increases in gold & silver .. "It’s not just the European Central Bank (ECB) balance sheet that’s gone up in the last six months or even the last three months by hundreds of billions of dollars. It’s the same with the Fed, Bank of Japan, The Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank, they are all exploding. This can lead to only one thing and the market seems to be totally ignorant of this. The repercussions are going to come very soon." [A Cliff Consideration: The explosion in central bank 'funny money' is frightening & eventually should produce an explosion in monetary metals. However, could there be a CREDIT SYSTEM IMPLOSION coming sooner? Be Careful.]
Link here to the KWN interview notes

Petroleum Production Peaked?

End of the Era?

Scientific American looks at whether new oil discoveries, like Brazil & North Dakota, are enough to offset production declines worldwide .. according to Nature(the publishing group), the world is, at best, now living off an oil plateau—roughly 75 million barrels of oil produced each and every day—since at least 2005 .. an easy-oil plateau is not good news for the climate, either. 'Harder to extract' oil means increased burning of other fossil fuels .. a recent study shows how there is no longer any spare capacity to respond to increases in demand, whether it results from political unrest that cuts supply, as in the case of Libya's political upheaval last year, or economic boom times in growing countries like China. 'We are not running out of oil, but we are running out of oil that can be produced easily and cheaply.'"

Link Here-Scientific American article

Chinese Buying Gold 

'Like Buying Cheap Cabbage'

Bullion Vault reports that the Chinese are buying gold profusely.

Link here to the article