Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Sweeping Our Problems
Under The Rug
"We have bought ourselves some time by sweeping enormous problems under the rug. Through a combination of political cowardice, economic ignorance, and false confidence, we are digging ourselves into a hole so deep that it may take generations to crawl out." 
- Peter Schiff (AA)
Is It Rally Time 
for Gold Stocks?
Michael Pento (AA) identifies the current period of time as a hiatus in government intervention - hence the prevailing deflationary trend .. but explains how this could be the time to get into gold & gold stocks: "Investors need to understand that gold mining stocks have already discounted a severe dose of deflation, which in my view has a very low likelihood of actually coming to fruition. Remember, central banks may be on a counterfeiting holiday but they have a history of taking very short vacations. Just as oil and equity values declined in 2008, in the anticipation of a much stronger dollar, the gold mining shares have now retreated to a level that forebodes massive sovereign defaults in Europe, Japan and quite possibly even in the U.S.. Since a deflationary depression has already been priced into gold stocks, the odds strongly favor a rally at this juncture."
Dines Predicts War 
James Dines entertains people with his bold predictions. He thinks stock markets are going down this year because World War IV is coming [NNOO, but we do think the economic predicament could lead that way].. a slew of data suggests that the global economy is slowing down .. Dines: "To us, the growing tensions among nations are palpable, especially the convulsions among Arab nations marking the beginning of the end of their theocracies and dictatorships — again to be punctuated by a war .. the world is entering an economic slowdown of unknown depth and length .. We have been staunchly rejecting the supposition that there was an economic recovery after the 2008 downturn, identifying it instead as a ‘flash in the pan’ induced by the stupendous overprinting of paper money washing like a tsunami over the system." 
What investment returns 
more than gold, oil or 
other high-return asset classes?
Fine wine - returns about around 15% per year, according to Cult Wines Director Philip Gearing .. explains this alternative, non-financial investment .. 5 minutes
Courtesy of John Deering,
click to enlarge

Monday, May 28, 2012

If Greece Leaves, 
Markets Will Rally 
"I think the market would be relieved if finally Greece exited the euro. There would be some clarity. Although it wouldn’t be good for banks and insurance stocks in general, I think markets are oversold and, with an exit, markets would rally."
- Dr. Marc Faber,
It's Just Like Unscrambling An Egg
Creating the EU and the Euro was much like scrambling an egg. We are all familiar with the concept. You get an egg, a wire whisk and a bowl. Crack the egg into the bowl; a few swift whips of the whisk and you have your scrambled egg.
When Greece soon exits the Euro, all they have to do is reverse the process.
-Bob Moriarty (321 Gold)
Bubble in Austerity 
Shows Europe Is Ignoring 1997 
Bloomberg opinion essay on how the European crisis is bringing back memories of the Asian crisis of 1997-1998 .. the crisis went global, with hedge funds blowing up & giant bailouts becoming a norm .. in 1997, Asia sent contagion to the West; since 2008, Europe & the U.S. have returned the favor by sending turmoil eastward .. "Now, Europe is looking to deep-pocketed Asian nations for help. It should be doing something else: learning the lessons from Asia’s collapse and impressive revival .. Europe is forgetting that the quicker you deal with the root of financial problems, however painful that may be, the quicker you can recover from them. To do that, you need growth .. Europe’s failure to heed Asia’s lessons doesn’t leave me optimistic."
Rebuilding the American Dream
New York Times columnist Tom Friedman discusses the era-defining challenges facing America, explains why he calls himself a "frustrated optimist" .. emphasizes that America became great because of its education, its infrastructure, its immigation, its rules & regulations, its government funded research - all 5 of the are not heading in the right direction now .. 10 minutes
 
Courtesy of Alan Moir,
click to enlarge
Jim Rickards, Nigel Farage, 
Max Keiser & Others 
on the euro & Europe's crisis
The European Union (EU) according to Jim Rickards (AA), Nigel Farage, Max Keiser, Alan Watt, Bukovsky, Monckton & others .. 13 minutes
Recognizing Mistakes
Is The Key To Survival
”I’m only rich because I know when I’m wrong…I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes.” 
- George Soros (AA)
How Do You Fix The Problem, When Those Who Control The Money Don't Want It Fixed?
William Black is an economics professor at University of Missouri. He is one of our admired economists (AE) that has been helpful at explaining the fraud in the financial system. In a recent interview, that we posted, he explained one aspect to the dysfunction in the political system:
"...The reason the House Finance Committee has expanded dramatically? If you are put on the committee, you will get a fortune in contributions. Both political parties, when they have someone elected in a close race which may be contested, tend to put them on that committee to give them a leg up. The committee isn't there to protect us, it's there to give a leg up in political races."
We try to avoid posts about politics, other than to point out that both major parties are complicit in supporting Wall Street over Main Street. The Federal Reserve & the Government are partners. The American people were left out of the partnership.
If you missed the interview and the essay of Professor Black, you can go back & see it here: LINK HERE