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What Higher Mortgage Rates Mean in the Real World

"Rates on the roughly 48 million outstanding mortgages in the U.S. will rise. There are still millions of adjustable rate mortgages out there, often second mortgages or HELOCs. Those will start ticking higher in the months ahead. $240 a month ($2,880 a year) may not seem like much, but multiply that by a million, and then by many millions, and the number starts becoming consequential: that money is no longer available for consumption or investment. Rising mortgage rates reduce household purchasing power just like higher taxes and inflation. That means there is less household income to spend on other things, and that's not good for 'growth.'" Continue reading →

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The 5 Richest Cabinet Members of All Time

"No. 5: W. Averell Harriman, commerce secretary, 1947-48; Estimated wealth in current dollars: $841 million; Harriman earned his money the old-fashioned way: He inherited most of it from his father, E.H. Harriman, founder of the Union Pacific Railroad. No. 4: William C. Whitney, Navy secretary, 1885-89; Estimated wealth in current dollars: $1.1 billion; Whitney came into his money via political connections and by marrying Flora Payne, the sister of Oliver Hazard Payne, one of John D. Rockefeller’s close assistants and earliest investors. No. 3: Penny Pritzker, commerce secretary, 2013." Continue reading →

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Crony Chicago-Based Billionaire Heiress Joins Obama Cabinet

"The Senate has confirmed Chicago-based billionaire Penny Pritzker as new Commerce Secretary. She was an early and important source of money in Obama's first presidential campaign. Pritzker is also on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. She serves as trustee of Stanford University. She's an advisory board member of Robert Rubin's Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project. This, folks, is a major insider. Forbes lists her wealth at $1.7 billion. Her father co-founded the Hyatt Hotel chain." Continue reading →

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17 Signs That Most Americans Will Be Wiped Out By The Coming Economic Collapse

"The vast majority of Americans are going to be absolutely blindsided by what is coming. They don't understand how our financial system works, they don't understand how vulnerable it is, and most of them blindly trust that our leaders know exactly what they are doing and that they will be able to fix our problems. They seem to have forgotten what happened back in 2008. When the financial markets crashed, millions of Americans lost their jobs. Because most of them were living on the financial edge, millions of them also lost their homes. Unfortunately, most Americans seem convinced that it will not happen again. Right now we seem to be living in a 'hope bubble'." Continue reading →

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Fed Committee Member Warns Off ‘Feral Hogs’ in Markets

"Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve and a member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, said in an interview with the Financial Times that while the big players in financial markets acted like 'feral hogs' by scenting any weakness in policy makers’ intent, he did not think anyone could break the US central bank. Commenting on the market turbulence that has followed Fed chair Ben Bernanke’s signal that the bank could begin tapering its $85bn monthly bond purchases before the end of this year, Fisher told the FT: 'My personal feeling is that you don’t walk up to a lion and flinch.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Committee Member Warns Off ‘Feral Hogs’ in Markets

Fed Chairman Bernanke Admits the Fed Has No Clue

"ROBIN HARDING. Mr. Chairman, you’ve always argued that it’s the stock of assets that the Federal Reserve holds which affects long-term interest rates. How do you reconcile that with a very sharp rise in real interest rates that we’ve seen in recent weeks? And do you think the market is correctly interpreting what you think is most likely to be the future path of the Federal Reserve’s stock of assets? Thank you. CHAIRMAN BERNANKE. Well, we were a little puzzled by that. It was bigger than can be explained I think by changes in the ultimate stock of asset purchases within reasonable ranges. So I think we have to conclude that there are other factors at work..." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Chairman Bernanke Admits the Fed Has No Clue

Bernanke Has Gone Rogue

"Bloomberg said it well: 'Federal Reserve officials intensified efforts to curb a growth-threatening rise in long-term interest rates, seeking to clarify comments by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke that triggered turmoil in global financial markets.' Clarify, my foot. They are seeking to rein in Bernanke, who on his own authority changed the targets. Dudley is the Vice Chairman of the FOMC. They are trying to put out the interest rate fire that Bernanke’s comments last week produced in the bond market and mortgage market — the targets of QE3. Bernanke has gone rogue. Dudley is trying to bring him under control. He is trying to persuade investors that QE3 is here to stay." Continue reading →

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Gold rush as Lao prices drop

"The recent drop in gold prices on the Lao market has brought buyers out in droves to purchase gold jewellery while it remains cheap. According to gold shops in Vientiane, sale prices yesterday were at 5,060,000 kip (US$655) per baht-weight for gold jewellery - down about 500,000 kip per baht-weight on previous months. According to gold traders, large numbers of buyers have visited gold shops in Vientiane to purchase gold jewellery and bars as an investment. Some shops at the Talatsao Mall were stripped bare of all of their wares as a result of the gold rush." Continue reading →

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Silver Demand Surges In India While Gold Premiums at $35/oz In China

"Attempts to prevent Indians from buying gold are contributing to them buying poor man’s gold, or silver. There has been a massive increase in silver demand in India in recent months and the government's meddling and controls in the gold market will likely led to even more demand for silver. While India imported 1,900 tonnes of silver in 2012, in the first five months of 2013 alone, imports have touched 2,400 tonnes. According to industry estimates, silver imports during the January-March quarter stood at 760 tonnes. Imports shot up 720 tonnes in April alone, and in May, they further swelled by 920 tonnes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSilver Demand Surges In India While Gold Premiums at $35/oz In China

Gold rush 2013 style has Dubai scrambling

"There is not enough space on airlines flying in to Dubai to meet the rapidly rising demand for physical gold in the emirate since the price plunged to record lows this week. The price drop led to a rush of buyers for Dubai gold from the Middle East, South East Asia, the Balkans, Turkey and parts of Europe according to Tarek El Mdaka, the managing director of Kaloti Gold in Dubai. 'I cannot find a place for transporting gold on Emirates, on BA on Swiss Airlines this weekend,' Mr El Mdaka said. 'I am shipping in one-and-a-half to two tonnes of gold every day and it is going straight out.' Gold is in such short supply in Dubai that he is able to charge a US$3 premium per ounce." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold rush 2013 style has Dubai scrambling