Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Langone: 'Obama's Debt Solutions Are Generational Theft!'














Great clip.  Runs 2 minutes.
'A major debt storm is on the way.  We're eating our grandchildrens' breakfast, lunch and dinner.'
Home Depot Founder Ken Langone on Squawk Box this morning.
**
The nation's debt as a percentage of the economy is going to cause a fiscal storm, Home Depot Founder Kenneth Langone told CNBC on Tuesday.  President Barack Obama's roadmap to reduce the deficit and invest in the future is "generational theft of an enormous magnitude," Langone said in a "Squawk Box" interview.
"The fundamentals haven't changed ... And we don't know when the storm is going to hit.  It has to happen.  If you look at our debt to GDP, eventually you reach a point where there's no turning back."
He used an analogy to make his point. "If you had one meal left, and you had your grandchild with you, would you eat if or give it to your grandchild?"
He said all people would say "give it to my grandchild."
But pursuing the president's vision, he argued, "[Is] eating the grandchildren's breakfast, lunch and dinner right now. And the [grandchildren] haven't been born yet."
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Bonus clip:

 













Langone's Two Words: Simpson/Bowles

Money Is A Form Of Social Control And Most Of Us Spend Our Entire Lives Trapped In An Endless Cycle of Debt That We Never Escape Until We Die, Those That Own Our Debts Keep Getting Richer!

by Michael
Money Is A Form Of Social Control And Most Americans Are Debt Slaves - Photo by Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA
Is America really “the land of the free”?  Most people think of money as simply a medium of exchange that makes economic transactions more convenient, but the truth is that it is much more than that.  Money is also a form of social control.  Just think about it.  What did you do this morning?  Well, if you are like most Americans, you either got up and went to work (to make money) or to school (to learn the skills that you will need to make money).  We spend a great deal of our lives pursuing the almighty dollar, and there are literally millions of laws, rules and regulations about how we earn our money, about how we spend our money and about how much of our money the government gets to take from us.  Not that money is a bad thing in itself.  Without money, it would be really hard to have a modern society.  Unfortunately, our money is based on debt, and debt levels in the United States have exploded to absolutely unprecedented levels in recent years.  The borrower is the servant of the lender, and if you are like most Americans, nearly every major purchase that you make in your life is going to involve debt.  Do you want to get a college education so that you can get a “good job”?  You are told to get a student loan.  Do you want a car?  You are encouraged to get an auto loan and to stretch out the payments for as long as possible.  Do you want a home?  You are probably going to end up with a big fat mortgage.  And of course I could go on and on and on.  The cold, hard truth of the matter is that most Americans are debt slaves.  Most of us spend our entire lives trapped in an endless cycle of debt that we never escape until we die, and meanwhile our years of hard labor are greatly enriching those that own our debts.
Have you ever found yourself wondering why you can never seem to get ahead financially no matter how hard you work?
Well, it is probably because you have gotten yourself enslaved to debt.
Just consider the following example about credit card debt from aformer Goldman Sachs banker
On the debt side of things, how much does your credit card company earn if you carry just an average of a $5,000 credit card balance, paying, say, 22% annual interest rate (compounding monthly) for the next 10 years?
In your mind you owe a balance of only $5,000, which is not a huge amount, especially for someone gainfully employed.  After all, $5,000 is just a quick Disney trip, or a moderately priced ski-trip, or that week in Hawaii.  You think to yourself, “how bad could it be?”
The answer, including the cost of monthly compounding, is $44,235, or about 9 times what it appears to cost you at face value.
But a large percentage of Americans never pay off their credit cards at all.  They make small payments each month, but then they just keep on adding to their balances.
In the end, that is financial suicide.
If you carry an “average balance” on your credit cards each month, and those credit cards have an “average” interest rate, you could end up paying millions of dollars to the credit card companies by the end of your life…
Let’s say you are an average American household, and you carry an average balance of $15,956 in credit card debt.
Also, as an average American household, let’s assume you pay an average current rate of 12.83%.
Finally, let’s assume you carry this average balance for 40 years, between ages 25 and 65.  How much did your credit card company make off of you and your extreme averageness?
Answer: $2,629,618.64
Sadly, approximately 46% of all Americans carry a credit card balance from month to month.
How stupid can we be as a nation?
When you become enslaved to the credit card companies, your toil and sweat makes them much wealthier.  It is a form of slavery that does not require anyone pointing a gun at you.
But we never seem to learn.  Incredibly, 43 percent of all American families spend more than they earn each year.
As the chart below demonstrates, consumer credit actually declined for a short while during the last recession, but now it has turned around and the growth of consumer credit is on the same trajectory as it was before the last economic crisis…
Consumer Debt
Today, the total amount of consumer credit in the United States is 15 times larger than it was 40 years ago.
And every major “milestone” in our lives typically involves even more debt.
-The total amount of student loan debt in the United States recently passed a trillion dollars, and approximately two-thirds of all college students graduate with student loan debt at this point.
-Total home mortgage debt in the United States is now about 5 times larger than it was just 20 years ago, and mortgage debt as a percentage of GDP has more than tripled since 1955.
-Car loans just keep getting longer and longer, and approximately 70 percent of all car purchases in the United States now involve an auto loan.
-Want to get married?  That average cost of a wedding is now $26,989which is probably going to mean even more debt unless you have wealthy parents.
-Do you have a serious medical problem?  According to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine, medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the United States.
Are you starting to understand why approximately half of all Americans die broke?
And I have not even begun to talk about our collective debts yet.
Government debt is a collective form of debt.  You may not have voted for any of the politicians that have been racking up debt in your name, but part of it still belongs to you.
Since the year 2000, state and local government debt has more than doubled.  These are collective debts for which we are all responsible…
State And Local Government Debt
And of course the biggest collective debt of all is the U.S. national debt.
In a previous article, I discussed how the national debt has exploded out of control in recent years.  If you can believe it, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio has increased from 66.6 percent to 103 percent since 2007, and the U.S. government accumulated more new debt during Barack Obama’s first term than it did under the first 42 U.S. presidents combined.
When you break things down by household, the numbers look even more frightening.
During Barack Obama’s first four years in the White House, the amount of new debt accumulated by the federal government breaks down to approximately $50,521 for every single household in the United States.
And as I have mentioned previously, if you started paying off just the new debt that the federal government has accumulated during the Obama administration at the rate of one dollar per second, it would takemore than 184,000 years to pay it off.
Well, you might argue, none of that debt will ever be paid off in our lifetimes.
And you would be right.
But what we are doing is consigning our children, our grandchildren and all future generations of Americans to a lifetime of debt slavery.
How nice of us, eh?
Over the past 10 years, the U.S. national debt has grown by an average of 9.3 percent per year, but the overall U.S. economy has only grown by an average of just 1.8 percent per year.
How do we expect to continue doing this?
Fortunately, more Americans are starting to wake up to how foolish all of this is.
For example, the following is what Home Depot Founder Kenneth Langone told CNBC on Tuesday…
“The fundamentals haven’t changed … And we don’t know when the storm is going to hit,” he predicted. “It has to happen.If you look at our debt to GDP, eventually you reach a point where there’s no turning back.”
He used an analogy to make his point. “If you had one meal left, and you had your grandchild with you, would you eat if or give it to your grandchild?”
He said all people would say “give it to my grandchild.”
But pursuing the president’s vision, he argued, “[Is] eating the grandchildren’s breakfast, lunch and dinner right now. And the [grandchildren] haven’t been born yet.”
What we are doing to our children and our grandchildren is beyond criminal.  We are selling away their futures in order to make our lives more pleasant.
Right now, we are stealing more than 100 million dollars from our children and our grandchildren every single hour of every single day.
So where is the outrage over this theft?
Sadly, most Americans don’t even realize that all of this is by design.  When the Federal Reserve system was created back in 1913, it was designed to get the U.S. government trapped in an endless spiral of debt.
And it worked.  Today, the U.S. national debt is now more than 5000 times larger than it was when the Federal Reserve was first created.
Our society has become addicted to debt, and that means that we have become addicted to slavery.
We are not the “land of the free”.  The truth is that we are now the “land of the servants”.
Over the past 40 years, the total amount of debt owed in the United States (government, business, consumer, etc.) has grown from less than 2 trillion dollars to more than 55 trillion dollars
Total Credit Market Debt Owed
So who benefits from all of this?
I talked about this in a previous article.  The ultra-wealthy and the international bankers make enormous profits by lending money to all the rest of us.
According to a stunning report that was released last summer, the global elite have up to 32 trillion dollars stashed away in offshore tax havens around the globe.
How did they get so much money?
The borrower is the servant of the lender.  They have gotten rich at our expense.
But most people live their entire lives without ever understanding how the game is being played.
Today, most Americans see that the Dow is back above 14,000 and they hear the mainstream media telling them that happy days are here again and so they just believe that things are going to turn out okay somehow.
And it certainly does not help that most people seem to let others do their thinking for them.  In fact, about 23% of all Americans can’t even read at this point.
So is there any hope for us?
Please feel free to post a comment with your opinion below…
Money - Photo by selbstfotografiert

America Over a Barrel


Canada Free Press – by Doug Hagmann
America finds itself “over a barrel” (perhaps literally), and at the precipice of financialArmageddon due to the coming collapse of the U.S. dollar.  It is most important for people to understand that our financial destruction has been orchestrated for a generation or more, and has been intentionally accelerated over the last two decades to complete a specific agenda.
All is well in the land of Oz
In order to survive what is coming, it is imperative to understand that agenda, who and what is behind it, and the motive. The bigger picture will connect some very important dots.
America is in serious financial trouble, and events on the immediate horizon will forever change our lifestyle. However, if you are like me, trying to convince your friends at work, your neighbors, or perhaps even your spouse that this is true is a formidable (if not impossible) task.  They might counter your warnings by pointing to the people walking out of retail stores with big ticket items, or if they are trying to appear more astute, cite the positive gains in the stock market while snickering at you for buying silver at nearly $50 per ounce, while it now hovers at $30 per ounce. You might have even been called a doomsayer or conspiracy nut for buying storable food or extra items for your pantry. However (if their ego permits it), these will be the same people who will turn to you for answers and practical advice when the financial house of cards falls to the floor.
It is an accepted mantra that the bigger the lie, the more readily people will believe it. That is the case in which we find ourselves today. The entire world (especially Americans and the West) is in for a “crude awakening.” In our current state, perception is not reality. We are being subjected to lie upon lie that feeds our normalcy bias. “Things will never get as bad as you say, at least not here in America,” is a common statement that you might be hearing. Others will argue that intervention by our government will prevent any significant financial disaster. They don’t understand that it is the elements within our own government (or elements working in conjunction with our elected leaders) who are actually responsible for the financial crisis that we will soon face.What people are seeing is not reality, but their perception of reality as a result of the conditioning and brainwashing by our elected leaders and the complicit corporate media. The American public has been conditioned and brainwashed en masse into believing a lie.

What is the truth?

The truth is that America is a “captured operation.” It has been captured from within. The Democrat-Republican, right-left paradigm is nothing more than an erroneous perception that permits the illusion of dueling agendas, when, in fact, there is only one. For example, how else would one explain the continuity of agenda between George W. Bush and Barack Obama?
If one accepts the fact that America is a captured operation, then it would be reasonable to ask, “Captured by whom or what?” And, “What is the end-game objective of those controlling the puppet strings? Who are the puppet masters?”
To gain insight and answer these questions, it is logical to follow the investigative adage, “follow the money,” and to understand that “he who owns the gold makes the rules.” To gain further understanding of our precarious position, it is also important to have a basic understanding of the U.S. dollar.
Since the dollar was taken off the gold standard on August 15, 1971 by then-President Richard Nixon, many believe that it is not backed by anything of value and is nothing more than a promise on a piece of paper. Technically, that would appear to be true. But in reality, the current stability of the U.S. dollar is backed by oil, or the promise of the free and unrestricted access to the flow of oil.
There is a lot of history about our economic system that should be known and understood, including the creation of the privately owned cartel of central banks that was made legal under the Federal Reserve Act and is now chaired by Ben Bernanke. That history, however, would be better served by a more extensive column at another time. Currently at issue is how things are about to play out for the average Americans who are straddled by a growing and oppressive debt, to the point that we have shamelessly permitted our own children, and the future generations of America, to be sold into financial slavery.
As Americans, we are over a barrel. If you look closely at the fine print on that barrel, you will see that the barrel is fully owned by the Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are the puppets of the Saudis, lock, stock and barrel. But there is more.

Confluence of events

If you find it difficult to accept that we are operating as a “branch office” of the Saudis, then consider our current financial and geopolitical situation, and work backward. Consider the meteoric rise to power by Barack Hussein Obama. Do you really believe that he rose to power on the merits of his political career as a junior senator from Illinois? What about the funding his campaign received from foreign donations, that was noted as an anomaly, yet not audited to the point of precise origin. Could not much of that money be traced to Saudi Arabia, or to specific elements acting on their behalf?
How about Obama’s education, including (but not limited to) his acceptance into Harvard? Who footed the bill? A bit of investigative research points to funding that originated from a very wealthy Saudi prince. But at what cost, or with what strings?
There are many more examples of his Saudi ties, and his capitulation to their agenda of a pan-Islamic state via the Muslim Brotherhood. These are available to anyone who is willing to perform the research.
The most significant bit of evidence of all, however, relates to Obama’s actions as the President of the United States, especially in one specific event: Benghazi.
Although one has to look no further than his war against developing a domestic oil drilling and refining program, the most blatant evidence of Saudi control can be found in his actions related to the September 11, 2012 murderous attacks in Benghazi. It is here that the curtain shielding the truth is pulled back, and some very important pieces of evidence become exposed. The events that took place in Benghazi reveal that the United States is providing the military muscle, the sweat and blood of our men and women in and out of uniform, to accomplish the objectives of the Saudis. It was a military extension of the much celebrated Arab Spring, which (contrary to media accounts) is a Saudi plan of expansion.
It is Benghazi that provides a glimpse into the truth, and is the reason that the Obama regime has viciously fought against any attempts at getting to the truth. Truth will reveal that America, to further the agenda of the Saudis, was involved in the largest arms supplying operation in history. We were providing the anti-Assad rebels with the arms and technical assistance to overthrow Assad, destabilize Syria, and (like Egypt) install a puppet of the Muslim Brotherhood. For detailed information on Benghazi, I would urge readers to review my investigative series published on this site.
At this point, you might ask what this has to do with our domestic financial situation and the coming collapse of the dollar. Again, we must look at the larger picture.

What is the end-game scenario?

What everyone has been witnessing, but failing to understand, is a geopolitical chess game being played by the globalist power brokers, or the international central bankers. Saudi Arabia is using the assets of the U.S. military, and building their pan-Islamic Kingdom on the blood and tears of our men and women. The Saudis are also instruments of the globalists, who are working overtime to implement a global currencyand a world power structure.
This is the brainchild of decades and generations of planning by an elite group of people who have the money and power to restructure the world. They are the members of the various societies no one wants to talk about, or no one wants to admit exist. Their seat of power is located in a single square mile in London. They control the wealth of the globe.
In order for them to be able to complete their plan of global governance, the United States must cease to exist as a Constitutional Republic and a viable military force. Since these elites are unable to do it by military might, they have planned and plotted, for at least a generation, to infiltrate our government with their own. If that sounds too outlandish to accept, then simply look at the many events over the last century through today. Our President is Barack Hussein Obama, a man who has yet to prove his Constitutional eligibility (and no one in Congress is willing to press the issue). We have an impotent Congress, stacked federal courts, and a draconian Homeland Security apparatus that appears to be gearing up for war. Against who?
We are witnessing the end game scenario beginning to play out. An expedient method to collapse the U.S. dollar would be to interrupt (or even threaten to interrupt) the free flow of oil, without having the ability to drill and refine domestically. Since the only commodity holding up the dollar is oil, what would that do to our domestic economy?
Considering that this condition has existed through multiple administrations, does this not indicate some level of complicity by Obama’s predecessors, simply by the continuity of agenda? What about the press? They have been absent and impotent as well, failing to dig deep into these issues. Instead, they provide sound bites, and just enough truth to thinly veil the lies it covers.
A financial collapse would certainly result in a societal collapse, at which point we would see violence across the country within days. Our food supply would be interrupted, and stores would be emptied in hours. Before stability can be restored, many will die. Those who have not been fooled by the agenda of the globalists will personally experience the reason why our domestic security force (known as the Department of Homeland Security) has been buying ammunition and weapons, and hardening their assets.
Meanwhile, there is an aggressive push to shred the Constitution and disarm law-abiding American citizens. The obedient, lapdog media is complicit in this as well, redefining the purpose of the Second Amendment to a mind-numbed public.
The confluence of events we are witnessing (from gun control to our foreign policies) is not by accident, but is the result of much planning. To those with discernment, the collapse of the dollar is one part of a larger plan of global governance. The lives lost within America will be collateral damage welcomed by the evil and insidious.
It’s not if, but when.

Economic Straight Talk

by Stephen Lendman

Things aren’t as good as they seem. Dire economic conditions masquerade as sound. Media scoundrels twist reality.

Big Lies proliferate. Repetition convinces most people hard times are good or not as bad as their personal situations suggest.

Wall Street manipulators transformed America into an unprecedented money making racket. Business models prioritize grand theft. Money is made by stealing it.

Government officials collude at the highest federal, state and local levels. They’re well rewarded for going along. Who said crime doesn’t pay?

Swindling is the national pastime. It’s the American way. It’s institutionalized. So are casino capitalism, market manipulation, front-running, pump and dump schemes, and other fraudulent practices.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Bankfein calls it “doing God’s work.” He left unsaid which one he means.

It’s hard imagining greater brazenness. It’s harder knowing the Supreme Court ruled banks and other financial entities immune from securities fraud by those harmed.

Washington alone may sue for redress. It rarely happens. Criminally prosecuting top officials never follows. They’re free to steal again. They take full advantage.

No one knows for sure what’s coming when. The late Bob Chapman warned about impending crisis conditions. He predicted an eventual house of cards collapse. Only its timing remains uncertain. It could come any time from now to 2017, he believed.

America’s economy is much weaker than reported. Europe’s in crisis. Conditions have been deteriorating for years.

Bailouts at best buy time. They delay eventual day of reckoning final say. They assure greater trouble. Burdensome debt gets more onerous and harder to repay. Solving a debt crisis by adding more assures failure.

Billionaire investor George Soros warns about a potential EU breakup. He compared it to Soviet Russia’s dissolution. “The European project is stalled,” he said.

“And if it can’t go ahead from here, it will go backwards. (T)he euro will go to pieces and the European Union, too.”

Market analyst Graham Summers warns about a European house of cards collapse. Politicians aren’t “famous for honesty,” he said. Systemic corruption exacerbates crisis conditions.

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is Exhibit A. From 1997 – 2008, he “allegedly received roughly $34,000 per year.” Perhaps he got much more. He won’t say.

His country faces crisis conditions. Unemployment exceeds 25%. Youth unemployment tops 50%. Austerity is prioritized when stimulus is needed. Rajoy enriches himself while impoverishing his people.

He lied to Spanish citizens. He denies troubled conditions. He claims bankrupt Spanish banks are solvent. Public rage rejects him.

“There can be absolutely no trust in” politicians like him. Transparency doesn’t exist. Nor do fairness or sound policies. “The EU crisis will (fester) until this sort of corruption, fraud,” and government malpractice ends.

Things aren’t improving. They’re worsening. The European house of cards heads for collapse. Responsible parties include prime ministers, financial ministers, treasurers, and ECB head Mario Draghi.

They’re “all implicated in corruption scandals” and other type financial malpractice.

France is deeply troubled. Wealthy people are fleeing. “(T)he economy has begun to implode.”

Months earlier, Germany examined the impact of economic collapse.

“German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has asked a panel of advisers to look into reform proposals for France, concerned that weakness in the euro zone’s second largest economy could come back to haunt Germany and the broader currency bloc.”

Two officials spoke on condition of anonymity. They drafted a report on what France should do. So-called “wise men” said:

“The biggest problem at the moment in the euro zone is no longer Greece, Spain or Italy, instead it is France, because it has not undertaken anything in order to truly re-establish its competitiveness, and is even heading in the opposite direction.”

Recent French economic data confirms fears. They’ve been “truly horrific.”

Auto sales fell 13% year-over-year. Existing home sales outside Paris dropped 20% in the same period. New home sales plunged 25%.

Even high-end real estate markets collapsed. Paris apartments costing over two million euros plummeted 42% in 2012.

Since late 2007 crisis conditions began, France and Germany were “two key countries backstopping the implosion.”

France now faces its own crisis. It bodes ill for the euro and EU. Germany also faces slowdown. Its economy was hard hit in 2012 Q IV. It dropped 0.5%. Annual growth fell 0.7%.

It shrank more than any time “in nearly three years as traditionally strong exports and investment slowed.”

Europe’s unravelling “at the precise time that EU banks are showing warning signs and the most important EU economies are heading sharply south.”

Massive monetary intervention and promises of much more alone held Europe together so far.

Spain raided 90% of its social security fund. It did so to buy sovereign Spanish debt. It robbed ordinary people in the process.

Corruption scandals threaten to collapse its house of cards. It could happen when least expected.

Switzerland authorities informed Spain’s judiciary that ruling People’s Party (PP) former treasurer, Luis Barcenas, amassed a fortune. He secreted 22 million euros in Swiss accounts.

In 2009 he resigned. He faced charges alleging kickbacks and illegal payments. Other party officials were involved.

Spanish corruption is pervasive. Hundreds of political figures are involved. Prime Minister Rajoy has unrevealed skeletons in his closet.

Other EU scandals threaten to erupt. Bits and pieces slip out. Doing so suggests much more to come. Expect potentially major political and financial fallout.

Corruption scandals compound crisis economic conditions. Spain’s banking system faces collapse. Italian bonds are imploding.

In 2012 Q IV, the Eurozone economy declined 0.6%. France is teetering. Powerhouse Germany shows weakness. Britain’s in recession. Major economies are too big to bail out. Day of reckoning time may arrive sooner than expected.

Summers expects trouble in 2013. European reality suggests collapse, he says. “It’s only a matter of time.” It’ll be far worse than 2008 when it happens.

Markets are dismissive, he says. They’re disconnected from reality. They approach all-time highs when depression conditions affect growing millions.

Reality takes time unfolding. Economic conditions have final say.

The Fed may begin gradually removing the punch bowl. Its January 3 minutes expressed concerns. Continued accommodation could do more harm than good.

Unemployment, homelessness, and hunger grow with profits. They’re slowing but who cares. Anomalies abound. Something “doesn’t pass the sniff test,” says economist David Rosenberg.

US raw steel production is down about 6% year-over-year. Railroad traffic is negative. So are Port of Los Angeles and Seattle containers shipped.

Air carrier available seat miles are negative year-over-year. So are railroad ton miles. Truck tonnage is down. Real goods and services exports are marginally positive but heading south.

At the same time, positive investor sentiment is soaring. It’s approaching dangerous levels. Major market reversals often follow.

“Investors are tripping over each other in catching the risk train,” says Rosenberg. It’s happening as insider selling gathers steam.

In 1995 – 1997 and 2004 – 2007, a high sell-to-buy ratio preceded market declines. Rosenberg wants positive confirmation before turning bullish. From his perspective, it’s absent.

Global depressions have final say. Economic conditions reflect nothing positive. Western majorities experience extreme hardships. Class war targets them relentlessly. Wealth disparity extremes are unprecedented.

Faith-based economics failed. Ordinary people are held hostage. Debt peonage benefits an elite few. Austerity harms most others. Draconian harshness is prioritized.

Jobs, benefits, living standards, futures and economies are wrecked for profits. Institutionalized inequality is policy. It’s hard imagining why people don’t resist. The only solution is world revolution.

George Bernard Shaw once said “Democracy is a form of government that substitutes elections by the incompetent many for the appointment of the corrupt few.” Western societies offer proof.

Obama governs to the right of George Bush. He wages war on humanity. He looted the nation’s wealth. He wrecked the economy.

He sacrificed people needs and institutionalized tyranny. He presides over a bogus democracy under a repressive police state apparatus.

Trends watcher Gerald Celente says “the entire financial system is collapsing.” Ponzi scheme economics alone keeps it afloat. What can’t go on forever, won’t. Collapse will come in the fullness of time.

On February 8, Money Morning chief investment strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald headlined “As Insiders Head for the Exits, Do They Know Something ‘We’ Don’t Know.”

Whenever markets look “toppy,” watch out, he said. Recent insider trades reflect nine sales for every buy. They’re more often right than wrong.

Aggressive selling suggests a “looming correction in the works.” Markets expanded despite “seriously flawed fundamental data,” money printing madness, “political disarray,” and Wall Street operating unregulated.

Earnings are declining. Forward-looking forecasts dropped sharply. Insiders have firsthand knowledge. Markets react in their own way and time. Manipulation affects performance.

Forewarned is forearmed. Trouble often comes when least expected. Rosenberg said the combination of tax hikes, higher food and gas prices, and “looming government spending squeeze” portends “challenged” consumer spending.

Far more looks troubling than promising. Media scoundrels won’t say. Nor do corrupt politicians and central bankers. They’re waging financial war on humanity.

Neoliberal priorities let essential public needs go begging. How much more people will take before erupting remains to be seen. The longer fiscal pain continues, the closer an ultimate day of reckoning approaches. It’ll arrive disruptively.

Predatory finance is a new form of warfare. It’s more destructive than standing armies. It wrecks millions of lives. People don’t have enough to live on. Venal politicians support policies this harmful.

Money power runs America. Washington is Wall Street occupied territory. Money, credit, debt, and markets are controlled and manipulated. It’s done for private enrichment.

Change never comes top down. Bottom up only works. Society’s privileged never yield it. Pressure slowly builds for change. Growing human need takes so much.

When pain levels cross a threshold of no return, all bets are off. Celente says “(w)hen people lose everything and have nothing else to lose, they lose it.”

Hopefully it’ll be soon enough to matter. The world can’t tolerate much more.

Peter Schiff: It's Going To Hit The Fan During Obama's Second Term - Fox Business 2/18/2013

via

Rioting Across America - The Great Depression


Before we were sheeple and addicted to cable.
Newsreel footage of rioting across the U.S during the great depression.

Occupy Vatican?

Will The Vatican Need A Bailout?



Vatican bank in trouble with regulators.
You can't use a credit card in Vatican City because of a money-laundering crackdown by Italian bank regulators.

Relted:

Max Keiser - The Vatican Bank Is Corrupt!

Will Obama Confiscate Guns and Gold?

click to enlarge
Wendy McElroy
Activist Post

Barack Obama often compares himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt. When he does, gold owners reach for a gun, of which they usually have several. Gold and guns are becoming politically entangled, and a connecting word is often “confiscation.”

The prospect of gun confiscation is fueling discussion of FDR's 1933 nationalization of gold ownership, which resembled Hugo Chavez's nationalization of Venezuelan gold mines in 2011. FDR did so by executive order; Chavez did so by decree. If guns in America are also 'nationalized', then the 1933 gold grab may have insights on how the state could proceed and how American public may react.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 1933 GOLD HEIST

Roosevelt was inaugurated as President on March 4th, 1933. He immediately moved to outlaw the private ownership of gold. He proceeded in several steps.

On March 6th, FDR issued Proclamation 2039 that declared a bank holiday in order to halt “heavy and unwarranted withdrawals of gold and currency from our banking institutions for the purpose of hoarding”; that is, to cease redeeming money for gold or releasing client-held gold from its vaults. FDR blamed the “severe drain on the Nation's stocks of gold” on foreign speculation and individual hoarding, which were causing a “national emergency.” The President assumed the power to “investigate, regulate or prohibit” the so-called wrongful use of gold. Americans violating the Proclamation or the regulations produced under its authority would “be fined not more than $10,000” or “imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both.”

 On March 9th, the Emergency Banking Act passed Congress without being read because it had not been distributed. The Act affirmed all of FDR's orders since March 4th, and amended the WWI Trading with the Enemy Act to give the President “absolute control over the national finances and foreign exchange” not only in times of war but also in emergencies. It required that “any individual or organization...deliver any gold that they possess or have custody of to the Treasury” in return for other lawful currency. Only Federal Reserve-approved and accountable banks were to remain open; private or independent banks were no longer permitted. In effect, all banks had to meet Fed regulations, including reporting and turning over gold in their vaults upon demand.

On April 5th, FDR signed Executive Order 6102 that prohibited the ownership, called “hoarding,” of “gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates...by individuals, partnerships, associations and corporations.” (There were minor exceptions such as jewelry.) Gold-holders had until the end of April to surrender gold to the Federal Reserve. They were reimbursed in currency worth $20.67, which had been the gold price per troy ounce since the late 1800s.

On January 30th, 1934, the Gold Reserve Act required the Federal Reserve to surrender its gold and gold certificates to the US Treasury. It also arbitrarily changed the price of gold from $20.67 to $35. This caused a 69% devaluation of the dollar. Otherwise stated, the government increased the value of its gold by 41%.

The process: a declaration of absolute Presidential authority; Congressional affirmation; an executive order of implementation; and, an arbitrary devaluation of the dollar to increase government's wealth.

Remember that Obama models himself on FDR [A good reason to get your larger gold holdings out of Dodge and beyond his reach while you can. --Ed.]. Obama actively pursues a path of regulation through executive orders. For example, a January 16th, 2013 Forbes headline reads, “Here Are The 23 Executive Orders On Gun Safety Signed Today By The President.” Obama also favors rule through policies imposed by massive and unaccountable federal agencies of which there are close to 70; their counterparts in FDR's time were called Alphabet Agencies. Congressional approval is rarely required. Executive power has swelled since FDR's days and Congress has been largely reduced to a funding role. As for devaluing the dollar, what else can you call the incessant increase in the currency supply? The increase enriches government because it is first to spend the new dollars before they can devalue through circulation. The main element missing from the FDR procedure is the executive order that provides implementation.

But how will the American people respond?

A PASSIVE PEOPLE NO MORE?

FDR was able to confiscate private gold for a combination of reasons. A major one was the cooperation of banks under the Federal Reserve. But what of the multitudes who directly surrendered their wealth? (In 1933, gold still circulated as currency and private ownership was widespread.)

One reason was fear of punishment. Another was patriotism. The Austrian economist Thomas Woods explained yet another reason. “The paper currency [$20.67] they were receiving in exchange for the gold had always been redeemable in gold in the past.” It was only later that they realized “they weren't getting that gold back, and that the paper dollars they were being given in exchange would be devalued.” In short, they were duped.

Today's gold-holding public is not so naïve or patriotic. Gold is not a circulating currency and those who buy it do so knowing that government is devaluing every dollar through inflation. Moreover, they know history.

Will Obama move to confiscate gold? No one knows. If he does, I expect it will not start as a direct confiscation from individuals. It would probably begin through steps toward nationalizing private retirement accounts such as IRAs. This could happen in one of two ways: require accounts to hold some percentage of government security, especially Treasury bonds; or, have a government agency manage the accounts.

On the Austrian economic LewRockwell site (August 21st, 2010), Ron Holland (contributing editor to the Swiss Mountain Vision Newsletter and Swiss Confidential) wrote:

Just as with the...nationalization of Healthcare, the tremendous amount of funds in private retirement plans and IRA accounts are also being targeted to meet future revenue needs. Bills have just been introduced in both the House and Senate to create the new Auto IRA accounts which will at first be voluntary but later will become mandatory like Social Security and I expect the early 3% employee after tax contribution levels to eventually rise to 10 to 15% of compensation rising even more than Social Security has increased over the years....The Auto IRA is the first step to... replace our private system with a forced, government controlled Social Security type program. In addition they will force much of your retirement funds into buying junk treasury bonds along with the Federal Reserve when the dollar/national debt crisis hits as billions of retirement funds become the buyer of last resort... (Auto IRA bills remain in both the House and the Senate, a glaring sign that you should get into a self-directed IRA while there's still time.)
The relevance of such “pension reform” to gold is twofold: many retirement funds contain a considerable amount of gold in some form; and, the state control would set a precedent.


Gold confiscation would likely begin with pension accounts because the state mechanisms to do so are already in place. Moreover, as with the gold in FDR-era bank vaults, the location and quantity is known; the organizations holding it would cooperate fully. (Again, more reason to make sure your IRA is self-directed and that you can internationalize the assets therein.)

Direct confiscation from individuals would be more problematic, and not merely because of its comparative anonymity. Direct confiscation returns us to guns. Given the personality of the typical gold bug and the simmering state of society, Obama must know that gun confiscation is a political prerequisite of a direct gold grab. On February 13th, the UK Market Oracle predicted for 2013, “The collection programs for guns will be eclipsed by collection of private pension funds and perhaps gold itself.” Guns and gold are blurring.

Welcome to Poundland: Derelict properties bought for up to £70,000 under Prezza's failed regeneration scheme go on sale at rock-bottom price of a QUID EACH

  • Liverpool City Council to offer Victorian terraced homes in 'Granby Triangle' in Kensington area
  • Each sale has clause saying buyers must use 'construction skills' to fix home
  • 'Pathfinder' was part of ex-Deputy PM's scheme to raze thousands of houses
  • Granby Triangle largely avoided demolition due to 'resilience' of residents

  • Houses bought for as much as £70,000 each under John Prescott's regeneration Pathfinder scheme are now to be sold off for just £1 each.
    Liverpool City Council is to offer the Victorian terraced homes in the 'Granby Triangle' area of Kensington at the rock-bottom price to DIY enthusiasts.
    Each sale will include a clause for the purchasers to demonstrate they can bring the houses back up to scratch using 'construction skills'.
    Twenty houses will be available in the Kensington area of Liverpool for just £1 each
    Twenty houses will be available in the Kensington area of Liverpool for just £1 each
    Each sale will include a clause for the purchasers to demonstrate they can bring the houses back up to scratch using 'construction skills'
    Each sale will include a clause for the purchasers to demonstrate they can bring the houses back up to scratch using 'construction skills'
    An estimated £2.2bn was blown on buying and demolishing homes - but far fewer new homes were built for the displaced occupants and others on waiting lists
    An estimated £2.2bn was blown on buying and demolishing homes - but far fewer new homes were built for the displaced occupants and others on waiting lists
    Homes in the Granby Triangle were part of former Deputy Prime Minister Prescott's plan, launched in 2003. to raze thousands of homes across the country.
    An estimated £2.2billion was blown on buying and demolishing homes - but far fewer new homes were built for the displaced occupants and others on waiting lists.

    The Granby Triangle largely avoided demolition due to the 'resilience' of residents who resisted pressure to leave the blighted properties.
    Hundreds of homes in the triangle were in line to be demolished in a £25million scheme promoted by the development company Leader1.
    The Granby Triangle largely avoided demolition due to the 'resilience' of residents who resisted pressure to leave the blighted properties
    The Granby Triangle largely avoided demolition due to the 'resilience' of residents who resisted pressure to leave the blighted properties
    One of the derelict terraced homes on Arnside Road in Liverpool, which council bosses are selling for just £1 apiece
    One of the derelict terraced Victorian homes on Arnside Road in Liverpool, which council bosses are selling for just £1 apiece
    But city chiefs pulled out of the deal after the developers failed to meet deadlines for signing the contract last November.
    Private landlords will also be able to bid for the tender to refurbish some of the vacant homes which come complete with the freehold.
    Liverpool's Deputy Mayor and Finance Chief Councillor Paul Brant said: 'This allows people who may be excluded from mortgages but have construction skills to play a part in the regeneration of their communities.
    'We've seen that the private sector model has not succeeded so far and, through this way of doing things, if there is any profit it will stay with local people.'


    THE FOLLY OF PATHFINDER

    Homes in the 'Granby Triangle' area of Kensington in Liverpool were part of former Deputy Prime Minister Prescott's plan - launched in 2003 - to raze thousands of homes across Britain.
    An estimated £2.2billion was blown on buying and demolishing homes.
    However, far fewer new homes were built for the displaced occupants and others on waiting lists.
    The Granby Triangle largely avoided demolition due to the 'resilience' of residents who resisted pressure to leave the blighted properties.
    Local residents welcomed the idea of bringing the houses back into use.
    Granby Triangle householder Theresa MacDermott said: 'This is a much better scenario.
    'Obviously there were delays because of the situation with Leader1, and although there's some uncertainty at the moment it's positive.'
    As part of the initial pilot scheme, 20 houses will be offered for sale to residents for £1 in the Granby area and Arnside Road in Kensington.
    In the 'Webster Triangle' in Picton, the council will either partner up with housing associations or 'dispose of the properties to private landlords'.
    Jonathan Brown, spokesman for the Merseyside Civic Society, called the move a 'true testament to the resilience of people in Granby'.
    He said: 'This is what we have been pushing for for years and it's fantastic to see it come to fruition.
    'The houses are an asset for the community and the public need them.
    'It gives the opportunity for young, local people to learn skills in regeneration and construction and give something back to the area.
    Hundreds of homes in the triangle were in line to be demolished in a £25m scheme promoted by the development company Leader1
    Hundreds of homes in the triangle were in line to be demolished in a £25m scheme promoted by the development company Leader1. But city chiefs pulled out of the deal after the developers failed to meet deadlines for signing the contract last November
    Homes in the 'Granby Triangle' area of Kensington in Liverpool were part of former Deputy Prime Minister Prescott's (above) plan to raze thousands of homes across the country
    Homes in the 'Granby Triangle' area of Kensington in Liverpool were part of former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's (above) Pathfinder plan to raze thousands of homes across the country
    Homes in the 'Granby Triangle' area of Kensington in Liverpool were part of former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's (above) Pathfinder plan to raze thousands of homes across the country
    'I think this is a prime example of the council biting off more than they can chew.
    'This development is a true testament to the resilience of the people in Granby who have seen promises come and go.
    'We fought against Prescott's scheme and it's great to have won all these years later.
    'Local people have been let down over and over again for decades.
    'I hope this now rolls out to other areas of the city in desperate need of regeneration.'
    Council Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Richard Kemp had previously questioned the decision to get involved with private firms in the delivery of social housing.
    He now said he hoped the scheme would succeed.
    Cllr Kemp added: 'I think this is a good idea, provided there's a solid basis for it.
    'Either housing associations or private individuals need to be doing this, as there's no profit to be made out of this kind of scheme, as we've seen through those that have failed.'

    'I was one of the lucky few to get a job at Costa': Worker picked from 1,700 applicants for just EIGHT jobs at new coffee shop

  • Average of 212 applications for each post at the branch in Nottingham
  • Just 3 of the jobs - with wages from £5.40 to £10-an-hour - were full-time
  • Many applicants had been made redundant by HMV or Clinton Cards
  • Some rejected applicants had more than 15 years experience in retail
  • Around 2.5million people are currently unemployed in the UK

  • With so many people unemployed, Costa always expected a healthy response to its search for eight workers to staff a new outlet.
    But not quite as healthy as the response it got.
    The coffee chain was swamped by 1,700 applications, the equivalent  of 212 for each post at the new shop in Nottingham.
    Desperate times: More than 1,700 people applied for just eight jobs at a Costa Coffee branch in Mapperley, Nottingham - averaging 212 applications for each job
    Desperate times: More than 1,700 people applied for just eight jobs at a Costa Coffee branch in Mapperley, Nottingham, pictured - averaging 212 applications for each job
    One of the lucky eight: Heather Davies was taken on as a barista at a new Costa cafe in Nottingham after 1,700 people applied for eight jobs
    One of the lucky eight: Heather Davies was taken on as a barista at a new Costa cafe in Nottingham after 1,700 people applied for eight jobs
    Caffeine hit: Heather Davies said said she felt 'incredibly lucky' to have been taken on at Costa
    Caffeine hit: Heather Davies said said she felt 'incredibly lucky' to have been taken on at Costa
    A company spokesman said there had been a ‘wave’ of applications from people who worked for HMV and Clinton Cards, both of which recently went bust.
    Unsuccessful applicants for the vacancies included senior retail managers with more than 15 years’ experience.
    Sham Ramparia, Costa’s area manager for the Midlands, said he was surprised by the huge number of jobseekers who wrote in for the posts – three full time and five part time.

    ‘It just shows how hard times are these days,’ he said. ‘There have been a lot of good, high-calibre applicants, some with ten to 15 years of experience at the likes of Comet and HMV, who are now looking for work because of big companies going into administration.
    Looking for a job: There are currently nearly 2.5million people out of work in the UK - which is still 185,000 lower than this time last year
    Looking for a job: There are currently nearly 2.5million people out of work in the UK - which is still 185,000 lower than this time last year
    ‘Many applicants were actually hugely overqualified. It seems to be a barometer of two things – the way the current market is and the strength of our brand.
    ‘More than 90 per cent of the applicants came from Nottingham and we didn’t have to advertise that extensively either.
    ‘We listed it on only one job website and put a sign up on the building while we were renovating it, but the applications just came flooding in. I was amazed at the level of interest.’

    One of the new staff  members at the Mapperley shop is Heather Davies, 25, from the Sherwood area of Nottingham.
    ‘I feel incredibly lucky to have been taken on. This is the perfect job for me,’ she said.
    Many applicants had been made made redundant from the failed music store HMV, which announced the closure of 66 of its 220 stores last month - affecting more than 900 employees
    Many applicants had been made made redundant from the failed music store HMV, which announced the closure of 66 of its 220 stores last month - affecting more than 900 employees
    Steven Tomlinson, 25, of Aspley in Nottingham, was successful in his application to be a part-time barista – the name given to coffee shop staff.
    ‘I’m really excited. I’m hoping to be made full time,’ he said. ‘I’ve always loved coffee so I thought why not go for it?
    ‘When I heard there were another 1,000 people going for the job I thought I’d struggle – but I thought the interview went really well. Obviously it did. I’m looking forward to working my way up the chain, it seems a good company to work for.’
    The wage for the role of barista varies from £6.10 to £10 an hour. The new cafe, in a former HSBC building, opens on Friday.
    Unemployment figures released last month show 2.49million are out of work with 30million others in employment – a record high.
    The overall percentage in work has fallen slightly however due to  a growing population. Of people aged 16 to 64, 71.4 per cent have a job, compared with 73 per cent at the beginning of 2008.

    Quarterly changes in unemployment and the claimant count (aged 18 to 64).
    This graph shows the quarterly changes in unemployment and the unemployment benefit claimant count (aged 18 to 64) between September 2007 to November 2012

    CNBC: Pension Timebomb On The Horizon














    Corporate pension timebomb.
    Gary Kaminsky on the $400 billion pension deficit sitting on the books of public companies.

    Lloyds Banking Group fined £4.3m for delaying PPI compensation and losing details of 25,000 claims

    Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £4.3million today by the City watchdog for making thousands of  victims of payment protection insurance mis-selling wait more than six months for compensation.
    Failings in Lloyds TSB, Lloyds TSB Scotland and Bank of Scotland systems and controls resulted in up to 140,000 customers suffering delays for compensation on payment protection insurance (PPI) which was mis-sold alongside credit cards.
    Between May 2011 and March 2012, Lloyds sent 582,206 decision letters to PPI complainants agreeing to pay redress.
    PPI failings: The banking group has been fined by the FSA for being too slow when it came to paying out PPI compensation
    PPI failings: The banking group has been fined by the FSA for being too slow when it came to paying out PPI compensation
    FSA rules state that compensation must be paid promptly after a decision is made and Lloyds aimed to make payments within 28 days of the letters it had sent out.
    However, in total over 140,209 customers – nearly a quarter – received their payments after this 28 day window.
    Around 87,000 had to wait over 45 days, 56,000 of these over 60 days and 29,000 of those over 90 days. The worse affected were 8,800 customers who had to wait over six months.

    Of the total, 24,589 payments 'inadvertently dropped out of the process', the FSA said. Lloyds had to take action to ensure the payments were made.  The payments were identified as a result of customers calling to chase payment and media attention.
    When customers telephoned Lloyds to enquire about the non-receipt of expected PPI redress payments, deficiencies in its process meant it was unable to fast-track the payment to the customer, inform them when payment would be made, or explain why it had been delayed.
    Tracey McDermott, the FSA’s director of enforcement and financial crime, said: ‘The industry let customers down badly in relation to the sale of PPI. The significant volume of complaints is a product of Lloyd’s own failings and the least customers can now expect is that redress, when it is due, will be paid promptly.
    ‘In short, Lloyd’s PPI redress payment systems fell well below the standard the FSA expects, and the size of this fine reflects how seriously we view these breaches. All regulated firms must treat those who complain fairly and that includes paying redress promptly when it is due.
    ‘PPI is an area of continuing focus for the FSA and we continue to monitor how firms handle complaints and pay redress.’
    The FSA says the High Street banking group has since completed a comprehensive review of PPI payments to ensure that all customers have been paid the correct amount and compensated for any delay in receiving their payment.
    It has also paid interest at eight per cent on the outstanding redress figure and the FSA said it has since improved its processes to address the failings.
    Lloyds agreed to settle with the FSA at an early stage of the investigation so qualified for a 30 per cent discount. Without the discount it would have been fined over £6million.
    The fine is far larger than the £100,000 the City watchdog issued to Co-operative Bank in January for failing to 'handle PPI complaints fairly’.

    BLACKROCK: Where Will Gold Be In Three Months?



    Outlook for the price of gold.
    Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Blackrock Portfolio Manager Catherine Raw.

    European Bank CEO Admits: "The Whole Thing Is Doomed"

    Source: Zero Hedge
    As the European parliament attempts to create a budget and Draghi repeats how the temporary lull in European growth is merely a prelude to a growth renaissance in the second half of the year (not to be confused with the verbatim lie rehashed by European dignitaries in 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009), it appears a few leaks of truthiness are seeing daylight in the disunion. In a shockingly frank interview, the CEO of Saxo Bank describes the Euro's recent rally as illusory and that "the whole thing is doomed," as the continent is not supported by a fiscal union. As Bloomberg reports, Lars Seier Christensen says he would be a "seller of the EUR at anything near 1.40," noting that "right now we’re in one of those fake solutions where people think that the problem is contained or being addressed, which it isn’t at all." Confirming that the only thing holding the farce together is political not economic efforts, he sums the situation up perfectly: "people have been dramatically underestimating the problems."
    Via Bloomberg,
    Lars Seier Christensen, co-chief executive officer of Danish bank Saxo Bank A/S, said the euro’s recent rally is illusory and the shared currency is set to fail because the continent hasn’t supported it with a fiscal union.
    “The whole thing is doomed,” Christensen said yesterday in an interview at the bank’s Dubai office. “Right now we’re in one of those fake solutions where people think that the problem is contained or being addressed, which it isn’t at all.”
    ...
    I’d be a bigger seller of the euro at anything near 1.4,” according to Christensen, who said he isn’t making any speculative bets against the currency.
    ...
    “Another possible fallout is getting rid of some of the countries that are being ruined by being in the euro, notably the southern European economies,” Christensen said. “People have been dramatically underestimating the problems the French are going to get from this. Once the French get into a full- scale crisis, it’s over. Even the Germans cannot pay for that one and probably will not.”
    ...
    Record Debt
    Public-sector debt is at record levels, having more than doubled from 40 percent of gross domestic product in 2008. The European Commission, which is due to update its forecasts this week, sees it rising to 97.1 percent of GDP next year.
    “It’s the political world that has been extremely supportive of the euro, not for economic reasons but for political reasons,” said Christensen, a long-time critic of the single currency who now lives in Switzerland.
    ...

    Are We Days Away From A Financial Collapse ?


    Central Banks Are About To Completely Lose Control: World’s Top Economies Shrink For First Time In Four Years Despite Massive Money Printing Around The World. More Currencies Are Risk Of Large-Scale Devaluation As Countries Are Entering The Currency Wars. ERIC SPROTT: AT SOME POINT IT BLOWS!!

    World’s top economies shrink for first time in four years

    The world’s richest economies shrank for the first time in nearly four years in the final quarter of 2012, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation said on Tuesday, as the eurozone crisis continued to drag on global growth.  

    A Currency War Has Broken Out And Is Intensifying: Japan Will Keep Printing Until Nikkei Hits 13,000, The Fed Is Buying $85 Billion A Month Until Unemployment Hits 6.5%, ECB Launched Unlimited Bond Buying To Cap Governments’ Borrowing Costs, Venezuela And Egypt To Devalue Their Currency… Banks: G20 Must Act To Avert Currency War!!

    Brazil Minister Says Global Currency War Is Intensifying – WSJ.com

    Norway Enters The Currency Wars

    While the G-20 and the G-7 haggle among each other, all (with perhaps the exception of France) desperate to make it seem that Japan’s recent currency manipulation is not really manipulation, and that the plunge in the Yen was an indirect, “unexpected” consequence of BOJ monetary policy (when in reality asRichard Koo explained it is merely a ploy to avoid the spotlight falling on each and every other G-7/20 member, all of which are engaged in the same type of currency wars which eventually will all morph into trade wars), Europe’s energy powerhouse Norway quietly entered into the war. From Bloomberg: “Norges Bank is ready to cut interest rates further to counter krone gains that interfere with the inflation target, Governor Oeystein Olsen said. “If it gets too strong over time, leading to inflation that’s too low, we will act,” Olsen said yesterday in an interview at his office in Oslo.

    Sterling At Risk Of “Large-Scale Devaluation”

    The pound took a fresh beating yesterday as concerns of currency wars and debasement of sterling led to another sell-off and experts said the currency was at risk of a “large-scale devaluation”.
    Sterling trails only Japan’s yen as the worst performer against a basket of international currencies this year as a 4.5 per cent decline fuels import prices and pushes up the cost of food, insurance and other necessities for hundreds of thousands of households.
    As central banks tolerate higher levels of inflation, the pound is set to weaken further across the board particularly against safe haven gold.
    George Soros Is Going After The Two Most Hated Currencies In The World


    We’re Witnessing An Unprecedented Moment Where Countries Lined Up Demand Return of Their Golds Reserves While Central Banks Around The World Are Anticipating Unlimited Money Printing

    World’s Top Gold Producer Holding Onto All of Its Gold
    While Western central banks have frittered away their gold, China is quietly building up its reserves.
    Countries Lined Up Demand Return of Their Golds Reserves
    Are Central Banks Overstating their Gold Holdings?
    Romania has demanded for many years that Russia return its gold.
    Last year, Venezuela demanded the return of 90 tons of gold from the Bank of England.
    The German high court recently ruled that Germany must audit its gold reserves held in foreign countries such as the U.S., England and France. And German inspectors will actually travel to the New York Federal Reserve Bank’s gold depository and the Bank of England to inspect their gold.
    Germany will also repatriate 150 tons of gold in order to test it for purity.

    Turk – Central Planners Are About To Completely Lose Control

    KWN: Today James Turk told King World News that “… central planners have hijacked the world’s monetary system,” and they are about to completely lose control. Here is what Turk had to say:“After a week like last week, Eric, I always ask myself what if anything am I missing? So I spent a lot of time this weekend going through the basics, and I have concluded that the premise upon which I have been recommending the ongoing accumulation of gold and silver still holds.”
    James Turk continues:
    “Currencies are being mismanaged, and gold and silver are the best protections against the erosion of the purchasing power of national currencies. Consider some of the things that happened last week. Most commodities resisted the selling seen in the precious metals. Crude oil was little changed on the week and near multi-month highs.

    ERIC SPROTT: AT SOME POINT IT BLOWS!!

    Eric Sprott manages $10 billion, and he’s worried about the global financial system. He says, “There is this huge chaos going on in the financial business which I think we all sense. They are using desperate measures here to hold it together. . . . at some point it blows.
    There’s no doubt about it.” Sprott says the price of gold and silver are being suppressed because, “It’s the canary in the coal mine.” Rising prices in precious metals, according to Sprott, would tell people, “Central bank policies are ridiculous and irresponsible, and people would realize that with the price of gold and silver going up.” When it comes to silver, Sprott says, “People keep buying at a rate to 50 to 1 to gold.” As far as gold is concerned, Sprott contends, “Physical demand for gold is out of line with supply. How can all these new people come into this market when there has been no increase in supply . . . for the last 12 years?” Sprott’s analysis shows central banks are selling to make up for the shortfall and opines, “I would hate to think what happens when we all find out there is no gold in the Treasury.” Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with Eric Sprott….