News Commentary

What Happens After the Housing Bubble Reflates?

"This Forbes analysis is actually a fairly sophisticated analysis on how realtors decide whether houses are a good buy or not. The article concludes that houses may be cheap to buy given current conditions. Now, the larger question begins to percolate: Are houses cheap because of fundamental economic factors or for monetary reasons? After all, if central banks print lots of money – as they have been – then people are making more money. There will surely be a housing bubble given the rashness of central banking actions. Whether the dollar itself will survive upcoming monetary events is the larger – and even more serious – question." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: What a wicked world!

"The insiders risk losing everything if they run out of money. Without money, they can’t buy votes. They can’t continue to move resources to themselves. And they can’t afford their phoney programmes and claptrap redistributions systems either. In short, without access to money everything falls apart. So, a government such as Cyprus will do anything – including stabbing its major industries in the back – in order to keep the cash flowing. Cyprus is a tax haven and a money centre. Clipping bank accounts is ruinous for its business. But if that’s what it takes to stay in business, that’s what the Cypriot insiders will do. Is Britain different? France? America?" Continue reading →

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Thomas Sowell: Can It Happen Here?

"The U.S. government is very unlikely to just seize money wholesale from people's bank accounts, as is being done in Cyprus. But does that mean that your life savings are safe? No. If they do it slowly but steadily, they can take a big chunk of what you have sacrificed for years to save, before you are even aware, much less alarmed. That is in fact already happening. When officials of the Federal Reserve System speak in vague and lofty terms about 'quantitative easing,' what they are talking about is creating more money out of thin air, as the Federal Reserve is authorized to do -- and has been doing in recent years, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars a month." Continue reading →

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How The News Media Betrayed Us On Iraq

"The tenth anniversary of the start of America’s illegal and aggressive war against Iraq should not pass without recalling that the mainstream news media eagerly participated in the Bush administration’s dishonest campaign for public support. Most news operations were little more than extensions of the White House Office of Communications. The media became shameful conduits for unsubstantiated and outright false information about Saddam Hussein’s alleged threat to the American people. Unfortunately, even as media figures now issue mea culpas about their shameful Iraq 'coverage,' they are engaged in precisely the same shoddy business with respect to Iran." Continue reading →

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Cypriot Banking Crisis – A Turning Point for Your Portfolio?

"Most Americans would not be directly affected if North Dakota decided to seize citizens' money in order to pay its bills, but all Americans would be deeply disturbed by such an action. The principle of the matter couldn't be clearer; outright theft is wrong. But it'd probably be fear, not principle, that would have people heading for their banks in droves to withdraw cash as fast as possible. People not living in Europe should not kid themselves into thinking that this is just a European problem. With a fractional reserve banking system, it doesn't take a majority of bank depositors to decide to withdraw their cash to put their banks out of business." Continue reading →

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Ron Paul on the ‘Korean Threat’

"Tthe US and South Korea held a three day naval exercise last month that included, among many other warships, an American nuclear-powered submarine. This month, the US and South Korea are conducting another joint military exercise, this time with the US flying nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the Korean peninsula. Much of the current escalation came after the US drew up yet another set of sanctions for the UN Security Council to impose on North Korea. The North Korean government retaliated against the new sanctions with bellicose threats to launch a nuclear first strike against the US. The US response to the threats has been entirely predictable." Continue reading →

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The Seeds of War Have Been Sown

"Unless the Troika backs off the weaker, heavily-indebted countries, which is not likely, yes, I believe Europe is headed toward massive civil unrest and war. Vladimir Putin is up in arms over the crisis in Cyprus. He will not stand idly by while Russian money is at risk in Europe. Keep in mind that Russia largely controls the European energy sector. If Putin feels Russian financial losses in Europe are unjust, I don’t doubt for one minute that he would threaten to retaliate by 'turning the lights out' in Europe. War and massive civil unrest in many parts of the world is a very real threat. And it’s already starting to impact the financial markets." Continue reading →

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Read This Blog or the Puppy and Kitten Get It

"If your city faces a shortfall of tax revenues, the first response of overpaid bureaucrats in City Hall frantic to keep their jobs, pensions and perks will be to slash the hours the library is open. A 2% reduction in the Federal budget, we're told, will push orphans onto the frigid streets, send our troops into battle without ammo, and generally shut down every service the public cares about. The alternative you will never hear about is a reduction in the multiple layers of overpaid bureaucrats in City Hall, the White House staff, the Pentagon, the local school district, etc., or any reduction in funding the parasitic cartels that have captured the machinery of governance." Continue reading →

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Gerald Celente: The Financial System Is Collapsing Before Our Eyes

"All Cyprus is, it’s (similar to) a division of the Grand Cayman Island, it’s just a different group of people washing and money laundering. But this is about much more than Cyprus, bank runs, and stealing money from the depositors. What we are looking at, Eric, on another level is an alliance, an alliance leading to wars. Look, they just appointed a new President in China, Xi. Where is the first place he went to visit? Moscow. Putin. Then there is Iran. So you can see the alliances already forming: It’s China, Russia, and Iran, against the United States, the Arab League, and Nato. And then you look at where the United States is now moving its military - Asia." Continue reading →

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Peter Schiff Global Investor Newsletter – March 2013

"The Keynesians have overlooked a much more dangerous and demonstrable pitfall of their own creation: something that I call 'The Stimulus Trap.' This condition occurs when an economy becomes addicted to the monetary stimulus provided by a central bank, and as a result fails to restructure itself in a manner that will allow for robust, and sustainable, growth. The trap redirects capital into non-productive sectors and starves those areas of the economy that could lead an economic rebirth. The condition is characterized by anemic growth (masked by the delivery of perpetual stimulus) and deteriorating underlying economic fundamentals." Continue reading →

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