WHY THE ERA OF CHEAP FOOD IS OVER, CS Monitor. Food shortages worldwide, maybe just rising prices here in the U.S., but food supply is something to keep an eye on as we move forward. With the super efficiency of our transportation and distribution systems in this country, most people depend on supermarkets for their food supplies. Those supermarkets typically have less than a week's worth of groceries on hand. That's fine as long as nothing happens to disrupt the system.
...According to the article, food prices are rising faster than anytime in the past 30 years for two main reasons: 1. People in rising power economies of China and India are eating more meat. Grain is required to fatten food animals for slaughter. 2. More crops are being grown for biofuel at the expense of food production. Some estimates think that as much as 30% of U.S. grain production will go into biofuels this year.
...Higher food prices are a growing problem for everyone, but especially the world's poor since higher prices take an increasingly large bite out of their already meager resources.
...
2007 SAW RECORD SECURITY BREACHES, Boston (AP). This is subject is something to keep an eye on later, hopefully much later. A major contention of this blog is that we are in the last generation before the return of Jesus Christ so this world is in for some increasingly stressful times. One of them is the mark of the beast. People are conditioned to regarding that mark as an attempt by a future evil dictator to microchip everybody on the planet so that he and his minions can have complete control over them. However, I believe that the 'mark' is likely just biometric identification that will be required to participate in the world's future cashless financial system. Security breaches, computer hacking, identity thefts will all be solved by a new system that requires that anyone who wants to be able to buy and sell must log onto a central computer system using biometric identification.
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TOP ECONOMIST SAYS AMERICAN COULD PLUNGE INTO RECESSION. Robert Shiller, Professor of Economics at Yale University, said that there is a good chance that the housing recession will go on for years.
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THE CREDIT CRISIS GROWS, Mortimer B. Zuckerman, U.S. News and World Report. "What is now seriously in question is the capacity of our financial system to provide enough credit to support the scale of investment that has maintained our long economic expansion. Coming at a time of soaring oil prices, we may have a simultaneous decline in consumer spending, residential investment, and business investment."
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THIS YEAR'S HOUSING BUST IS SHAPING UP TO BE ONE OF HISTORIC PROPORTIONS. FORECLOSURES AND PRICE DROPS ARE THE LARGEST SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION - AND EXPECTED TO GET WORSE NEXT YEAR. (Washington Times).
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Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 03, 2007
12.03.07 Consumer Credit Crunching
The End of Consumer Credit As We Know It, by Peter Schiff on the SafeHaven site. Highly recommended read. Mr. Schiff is sometimes a voice crying in the wilderness on our favorite financial news channel. His article points out the fallacy of going further and further into debt in the expectation that rising prices and inflation will always bail out the debtor.
...In regard to that, I read a book some time ago by another one of that financial channel's more favored contributors, The Last Chance Millionaire by Douglas R. Andrew. I am certainly not trying to disparage Mr. Andrew, who could buy and sell me many times over I am sure. I read the book mainly to get a viewpoint that differs starkly from my own. Mr. Andrew is a proponent of borrowing as much as you can on your house. Not only that, but he believes that you should also buy a second home, say that vacation home you want to retire to, and borrow as much on that as you can, too. He says that every time he notices that he is paying his mortgage down, he refinances so he can owe as much as possible. In his defense, he doesn't use the proceeds he gets out of the refinancing for consumption. Rather, he invests it elsewhere in the expectation that he can get higher rates of returns on his investments than he is paying out in mortgage payments, and get the tax deductions on the mortgage interest at the same time.
...That is a strategy that has worked out well for him and and its many other practitioners over the past several years. But I think its day may be coming to an end, as both the markets and real estate head into increasingly turbulent waters. Foreclosures are cropping up all over the country in record numbers, and that number will increase next year. Nothing goes up forever in a straight line, not even real estate. Most investments end up reverting to the mean, but when human nature takes over in the inevitable corrections, they tend to overcorrect for a time in the process.
...The Trouble With Being A Guru. Ric Edelman is another financial advisor with the same theory as Mr. Andrew regarding real estate. Mr. Edelman has consistently advocated against paying off one's mortgage for much the same reasons as Mr. Andrew.
...I first came across Mr. Edelman years ago through his book The Truth About Money (I bought it for a dollar at a used book shop.) The book contains a wealth of excellent insights and recommendations. And once again, I am not attacking Mr. Edelman. He has made more money over the years than I ever will, I am sure. And I generally respect people who are willing to put their opinion out there for all the world to see. It is much easier to sit on the sidelines with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and criticize someone after the fact. But there was some advice in that book, besides the home mortgage advice, that I felt would eventually hurt people who believed it. Specifically, his advice on 401k accounts was not to diversify, but instead to put 100% of all one's contribution into the most aggressive mutual fund offered by your employer. His reasoning was that the employer match gave you an edge and a cushion against downturns. You would have to lose quite a bit of money before you actually started losing your capital and not just the company match. And that the periodic market downturns provided you with the opportunity to dollar cost average into the funds, a strategy that has indeed proved generally profitable over the years.
...I have wondered in the intervening years how the people who actually followed that advice feel about it now. They would have been pouring their retirement savings into tech heavy mutual funds at the very peak of the Nasdaq bubble. Those funds, now several years later, still have only recovered about half of their value, and in my opinion, will probably never get back to where they were in 2000. Now, in his latest book The Lies About Money, Mr. Edelman has come full circle and now ridicules and attacks the mutual fund industry that he defended in the prior years. Everybody has the right to change his or her mind. I have many times, and will undoubtedly do so many times again. It is a reminder that we all ultimately are responsible for our own decisions, good or bad, and we will live with the consequences. For the gurus, however, there will always be another book and they will always be the expert.
...On the other hand, Mr. Schiff points out that the person in his article, who originally bought her home for $105,000, after refinancing five times, owes $600,000 on the mortgage now after making house payments for 22 years. He wonders how the system could have ever gotten to the place where people who earn $60,000 a year could be granted $500,000 loans.
...The Bible says that the borrower is servant to the lender. Many folks are starting to realize that now, and many more will over the next year. Those ARM mortgages we hear so much about? More of them are resetting next year than did this year. There is no bottom in sight in the real estate markets, despite what you hear to the contrary.
...I know people who live decently on very small incomes because they avoid all debt at all cost. They don't have all the latest gadgets and McMansions, but they are much better positioned to ride out the things that are coming on our nation, and at a lot lower stress level.
...When your bank gives you less than 1% interest on your savings, and then your government compounds that insult by taxing you on the interest you were paid, they are intentionally discouraging you from saving and encouraging you to spend. That does not mean, though, that it is in your best interest to do so.
.
Christian Leaders Betray Christ For World Peace, by Paul Proctor, NewsWithViews.com.
.
When The Food Runs Out..If you've ever lived in an area that gets seasonal hurricanes, you've seen how fast supplies can fly off the shelves. In these days of just-in-time inventory controls and efficient transportation, most supermarkets have less than a week's worth of food on hand if the supply were suddenly curtailed for any reason. Stocking food ahead has always been a prudent policy throughout our nation's history. And in these inflationary times, even qualifies as a good investment. When is the last time your grocery bill went down?
...Famine is going to be a significant part of the end times scenario. Many parts of the world are experiencing drought and famine now. In our own country, the USDA projects that the 2007-8 wheat harvest will be the lowest in 59 years. And in pursuit of the almighty buck, an increasing percentage of our farmland, and more specifically corn production, is being converted from food production to crops for ethanol production.
.
...In regard to that, I read a book some time ago by another one of that financial channel's more favored contributors, The Last Chance Millionaire by Douglas R. Andrew. I am certainly not trying to disparage Mr. Andrew, who could buy and sell me many times over I am sure. I read the book mainly to get a viewpoint that differs starkly from my own. Mr. Andrew is a proponent of borrowing as much as you can on your house. Not only that, but he believes that you should also buy a second home, say that vacation home you want to retire to, and borrow as much on that as you can, too. He says that every time he notices that he is paying his mortgage down, he refinances so he can owe as much as possible. In his defense, he doesn't use the proceeds he gets out of the refinancing for consumption. Rather, he invests it elsewhere in the expectation that he can get higher rates of returns on his investments than he is paying out in mortgage payments, and get the tax deductions on the mortgage interest at the same time.
...That is a strategy that has worked out well for him and and its many other practitioners over the past several years. But I think its day may be coming to an end, as both the markets and real estate head into increasingly turbulent waters. Foreclosures are cropping up all over the country in record numbers, and that number will increase next year. Nothing goes up forever in a straight line, not even real estate. Most investments end up reverting to the mean, but when human nature takes over in the inevitable corrections, they tend to overcorrect for a time in the process.
...The Trouble With Being A Guru. Ric Edelman is another financial advisor with the same theory as Mr. Andrew regarding real estate. Mr. Edelman has consistently advocated against paying off one's mortgage for much the same reasons as Mr. Andrew.
...I first came across Mr. Edelman years ago through his book The Truth About Money (I bought it for a dollar at a used book shop.) The book contains a wealth of excellent insights and recommendations. And once again, I am not attacking Mr. Edelman. He has made more money over the years than I ever will, I am sure. And I generally respect people who are willing to put their opinion out there for all the world to see. It is much easier to sit on the sidelines with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and criticize someone after the fact. But there was some advice in that book, besides the home mortgage advice, that I felt would eventually hurt people who believed it. Specifically, his advice on 401k accounts was not to diversify, but instead to put 100% of all one's contribution into the most aggressive mutual fund offered by your employer. His reasoning was that the employer match gave you an edge and a cushion against downturns. You would have to lose quite a bit of money before you actually started losing your capital and not just the company match. And that the periodic market downturns provided you with the opportunity to dollar cost average into the funds, a strategy that has indeed proved generally profitable over the years.
...I have wondered in the intervening years how the people who actually followed that advice feel about it now. They would have been pouring their retirement savings into tech heavy mutual funds at the very peak of the Nasdaq bubble. Those funds, now several years later, still have only recovered about half of their value, and in my opinion, will probably never get back to where they were in 2000. Now, in his latest book The Lies About Money, Mr. Edelman has come full circle and now ridicules and attacks the mutual fund industry that he defended in the prior years. Everybody has the right to change his or her mind. I have many times, and will undoubtedly do so many times again. It is a reminder that we all ultimately are responsible for our own decisions, good or bad, and we will live with the consequences. For the gurus, however, there will always be another book and they will always be the expert.
...On the other hand, Mr. Schiff points out that the person in his article, who originally bought her home for $105,000, after refinancing five times, owes $600,000 on the mortgage now after making house payments for 22 years. He wonders how the system could have ever gotten to the place where people who earn $60,000 a year could be granted $500,000 loans.
...The Bible says that the borrower is servant to the lender. Many folks are starting to realize that now, and many more will over the next year. Those ARM mortgages we hear so much about? More of them are resetting next year than did this year. There is no bottom in sight in the real estate markets, despite what you hear to the contrary.
...I know people who live decently on very small incomes because they avoid all debt at all cost. They don't have all the latest gadgets and McMansions, but they are much better positioned to ride out the things that are coming on our nation, and at a lot lower stress level.
...When your bank gives you less than 1% interest on your savings, and then your government compounds that insult by taxing you on the interest you were paid, they are intentionally discouraging you from saving and encouraging you to spend. That does not mean, though, that it is in your best interest to do so.
.
Christian Leaders Betray Christ For World Peace, by Paul Proctor, NewsWithViews.com.
.
When The Food Runs Out..If you've ever lived in an area that gets seasonal hurricanes, you've seen how fast supplies can fly off the shelves. In these days of just-in-time inventory controls and efficient transportation, most supermarkets have less than a week's worth of food on hand if the supply were suddenly curtailed for any reason. Stocking food ahead has always been a prudent policy throughout our nation's history. And in these inflationary times, even qualifies as a good investment. When is the last time your grocery bill went down?
...Famine is going to be a significant part of the end times scenario. Many parts of the world are experiencing drought and famine now. In our own country, the USDA projects that the 2007-8 wheat harvest will be the lowest in 59 years. And in pursuit of the almighty buck, an increasing percentage of our farmland, and more specifically corn production, is being converted from food production to crops for ethanol production.
.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
11.20.07 Food Shortages Next?
AFTER THE OIL CRISIS, A FOOD CRISIS? This is definitely something to keep an eye on. Food supplies are at a 35 year low. A quarter of the U.S. corn production this year went to biofuels instead of food. And 1 in 6 of people on the planet now suffer from malnutrition. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization expects the present situation to worsen.
...In this country in years gone by, people used to can and dehydrate foods for storage to help out when they couldn't get fresh food. With all our technology and modern conveniences, and the 'just-in-time' efficiency of the transportation and distribution sectors of the economy, those days are long gone. I read some time ago that the average supermarket has about 4 days of food on hand. What if the supply systems were disrupted for any reason?
...Putting some extra food and water supplies on hand can't hurt, and could be very helpful. And with inflation being such as it is, it even is a good investment.
...This is all another sign of the end times. With all the advances that have been made, 1 in 6 people on the planet are hungry - and even then, some of the corn production in particular is diverted from food use to biofuel production for additional profits.
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LENDING CUTBACKS MAY TRIGGER A 'SUBSTANTIAL RECESSION' IN THE U.S., according to a Goldman Sachs report. The report theorizes that losses due to home foreclosures may be as high as $400 billion for lending institutions. "The likely mortgage credit losses pose a significantly higher macroeconomic risk than generally recognized," Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist at Goldman in New York wrote in the report.
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ECONOMIST: GREENSPAN TO BLAME (Chicago Tribune). "I'm very pessimistic. Alan Greenspan really made a mess of all this. He pushed out too much liquidity at the wrong time. He supported the tax cut in 2001, which is the beginning of these problems. He encouraged people to take out variable-rate mortgages," said Joseph Stiglitz, a 2001 Nobel prize winning economist.
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...Lots of coverage the last few days even in the mainstream press about other countries moving away from the dollar. This is the kind of story that usually doesn't get a lot of play here in the U.S., so when they finally start covering it here, it is something else to watch.
.
...The warnings are now starting to leak out into the mainstream press. As the Bible says, "The prudent man sees the danger and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." Proverbs 22:3.
...In this country in years gone by, people used to can and dehydrate foods for storage to help out when they couldn't get fresh food. With all our technology and modern conveniences, and the 'just-in-time' efficiency of the transportation and distribution sectors of the economy, those days are long gone. I read some time ago that the average supermarket has about 4 days of food on hand. What if the supply systems were disrupted for any reason?
...Putting some extra food and water supplies on hand can't hurt, and could be very helpful. And with inflation being such as it is, it even is a good investment.
...This is all another sign of the end times. With all the advances that have been made, 1 in 6 people on the planet are hungry - and even then, some of the corn production in particular is diverted from food use to biofuel production for additional profits.
.
LENDING CUTBACKS MAY TRIGGER A 'SUBSTANTIAL RECESSION' IN THE U.S., according to a Goldman Sachs report. The report theorizes that losses due to home foreclosures may be as high as $400 billion for lending institutions. "The likely mortgage credit losses pose a significantly higher macroeconomic risk than generally recognized," Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist at Goldman in New York wrote in the report.
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ECONOMIST: GREENSPAN TO BLAME (Chicago Tribune). "I'm very pessimistic. Alan Greenspan really made a mess of all this. He pushed out too much liquidity at the wrong time. He supported the tax cut in 2001, which is the beginning of these problems. He encouraged people to take out variable-rate mortgages," said Joseph Stiglitz, a 2001 Nobel prize winning economist.
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...Lots of coverage the last few days even in the mainstream press about other countries moving away from the dollar. This is the kind of story that usually doesn't get a lot of play here in the U.S., so when they finally start covering it here, it is something else to watch.
.
...The warnings are now starting to leak out into the mainstream press. As the Bible says, "The prudent man sees the danger and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished." Proverbs 22:3.
Friday, November 16, 2007
11.16.07
ECONOMICS
FED MAKES BIGGEST TEMPORARY INJECTION SINCE '01, (Reuters on Yahoo News). The Federal Reserve put $47.25 billion in temporary reserves into the U.S. banking system, the largest amount since the attacks on 9/11/2001. Gee, it seems like just a couple of weeks ago that they were putting the most in since September 2001. Oh, wait it was. On November 1, Bloomberg reported that $41 billion had been added. Records are made to be broken, they say.
...Once again, why this matters is that the situation in the markets seems to be much more serious than we are lead to believe in the mainstream media. You can watch your favorite market entertainment network all day long and hear very little about such matters. Most of us with jobs and 401k accounts have little choice but to be in the markets.
.
RELIGION
ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY PROVOST TO QUIT IF PRESIDENT RICHARD ROBERTS STAYS ON AS PRESIDENT. Mark Lewandowski said he cannot in good conscience serve under Roberts' leadership. On Wednesday, Oral Roberts had called an emergency meeting of the board where Richard Roberts asked for a second chance. On Monday, tenured professors at the university had given him a vote of no confidence.
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...Many folks were surprised when Pat Robertson came out of the closet and gave his endorsement for Rudy Giuliani for President. It was surprising since Mr. Giuliani has been accused of being a cross dresser, is pro-abortion, has marched in gay rights parades, and once tried to block a Catholic parade in Babylon (er, New York City) because homosexual activists were not welcome to march in the parade. The move seems to put Mr. Robertson solidly in the 'anybody but Hillary' crowd, no matter what one's professed principles are.
POLITICS
IN A MONUMENT TO INDECISION, ALL FIVE SENATORS WHO ARE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT DID NOT CAST VOTES FOR OR AGAINST THE CONFIRMATION OF THE NEW U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL. Can't take a stand, doncha know, might come back to haunt you. Of course, we might well be trusting one of these people to make critical decisions that are vital to our nation at some point in the future.
.
...On that note, it was amusing to note Senator Clinton's tapdancing around the plan to give illegal aliens driver's licenses in New York. One of her opponents in that debate, John Edwards, noted that she had come down on both sides of the issue in the space of about two minutes. Now, after Governor Spitzer has finally bowed to public pressure on the issue and abandoned the plan, Hillary is suddenly and decisively against the policy. Too funny.
...Following that debate, her camp's immediate spin was that everybody ganged up on her because she was a woman. When that didn't spin well, then her husband rallied to her defense. When that looked like the little lady couldn't take care of herself, then it was everybody was piling on her not because she was a woman, and she could take care of herself, but her opponents were piling on her because she was ahead. Once again, too funny.
...In this latest debate she noted that her pants were made of asbestos for this debate. Does that mean she was afraid that her pants were going to catch on fire?
...Not to pick on Senator Clinton. She is just one of all but a couple of candidates running for the two parties that represent business as usual in the District of Corruption....And at this point it seems likely that we will continue the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton dynasty that has helped lead America to where we are now.
.
BORDERS: Did you know? Lost in all the sniping back and forth between the different sides in the invasion of our open southern border with Mexico, is that Mexico has a southern border problem of its own. And, guess what, they are interested in controlling immigration into their country from the south.
FED MAKES BIGGEST TEMPORARY INJECTION SINCE '01, (Reuters on Yahoo News). The Federal Reserve put $47.25 billion in temporary reserves into the U.S. banking system, the largest amount since the attacks on 9/11/2001. Gee, it seems like just a couple of weeks ago that they were putting the most in since September 2001. Oh, wait it was. On November 1, Bloomberg reported that $41 billion had been added. Records are made to be broken, they say.
...Once again, why this matters is that the situation in the markets seems to be much more serious than we are lead to believe in the mainstream media. You can watch your favorite market entertainment network all day long and hear very little about such matters. Most of us with jobs and 401k accounts have little choice but to be in the markets.
.
RELIGION
ORAL ROBERTS UNIVERSITY PROVOST TO QUIT IF PRESIDENT RICHARD ROBERTS STAYS ON AS PRESIDENT. Mark Lewandowski said he cannot in good conscience serve under Roberts' leadership. On Wednesday, Oral Roberts had called an emergency meeting of the board where Richard Roberts asked for a second chance. On Monday, tenured professors at the university had given him a vote of no confidence.
.
...Many folks were surprised when Pat Robertson came out of the closet and gave his endorsement for Rudy Giuliani for President. It was surprising since Mr. Giuliani has been accused of being a cross dresser, is pro-abortion, has marched in gay rights parades, and once tried to block a Catholic parade in Babylon (er, New York City) because homosexual activists were not welcome to march in the parade. The move seems to put Mr. Robertson solidly in the 'anybody but Hillary' crowd, no matter what one's professed principles are.
POLITICS
IN A MONUMENT TO INDECISION, ALL FIVE SENATORS WHO ARE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT DID NOT CAST VOTES FOR OR AGAINST THE CONFIRMATION OF THE NEW U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL. Can't take a stand, doncha know, might come back to haunt you. Of course, we might well be trusting one of these people to make critical decisions that are vital to our nation at some point in the future.
.
...On that note, it was amusing to note Senator Clinton's tapdancing around the plan to give illegal aliens driver's licenses in New York. One of her opponents in that debate, John Edwards, noted that she had come down on both sides of the issue in the space of about two minutes. Now, after Governor Spitzer has finally bowed to public pressure on the issue and abandoned the plan, Hillary is suddenly and decisively against the policy. Too funny.
...Following that debate, her camp's immediate spin was that everybody ganged up on her because she was a woman. When that didn't spin well, then her husband rallied to her defense. When that looked like the little lady couldn't take care of herself, then it was everybody was piling on her not because she was a woman, and she could take care of herself, but her opponents were piling on her because she was ahead. Once again, too funny.
...In this latest debate she noted that her pants were made of asbestos for this debate. Does that mean she was afraid that her pants were going to catch on fire?
...Not to pick on Senator Clinton. She is just one of all but a couple of candidates running for the two parties that represent business as usual in the District of Corruption....And at this point it seems likely that we will continue the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton dynasty that has helped lead America to where we are now.
.
BORDERS: Did you know? Lost in all the sniping back and forth between the different sides in the invasion of our open southern border with Mexico, is that Mexico has a southern border problem of its own. And, guess what, they are interested in controlling immigration into their country from the south.
Friday, November 09, 2007
11.09.09 Our Strong Dollar Policy?
ECONOMY
WE HAVE A STRONG DOLLAR POLICY? Who knew? According to a spokeswoman for U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, he remains "strongly committed to a strong dollar." I suppose we should be thankful for their strong dollar policy. Who knows what a weak dollar policy would look like, when the strong dollar policy finds the dollar regularly making record new lows.
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CHINA SIGNALS DOLLAR SWAP; DOW PLUNGES. (Washington Times). People in high places in other parts of the globe do not seem to agree with Mr. Paulson's spokeswoman:
..."The world's currency structure has changed....(The dollar) is losing its status as the world currency," said Xu Jian, a Chinese central bank vice director.
..."The dollar cannot remain 'someone else's problem. If we are not careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its victims," France's President Sarkozy warned in his address before the U.S. CONgress.
...Funny, I watched CNBC for a quite a while the day of the Dow's 360 point plunge and don't recall the Chinese comments being a reason for the drop. Thursday was even funnier. When the markets were coming back off the lows that afternoon, chief cheerleader Maria Bartiromo called it turnaround Thursday and was interviewing more brokerages mouthpieces about what we should be buying now. It's always what we should be buying now, whether we should be or not.
...Why does all this matter to people who don't play the market? Because it is getting nasty out there. The powers that be (PTB) have always been able to come through and hold things together. They have a lot of weapons at their disposal. But I think that there may be a day coming when they may not be able to do that. And who do you suppose will be hurt the most and be left holding the bag. As a hint, remember that the PTB set up a $100 billion bailout fund for lenders recently. Headlines announcing similar help for strapped homeowners are nowhere to be found so far.
.
Fed Chairman Says Economy Likely to Slow, (NY Times). He testified before CONgress that the economy will get worse before it gets better. What he didn't say was that the Fed's easy money policy has been a direct cause of all our current problems. For example, it was only a few years ago that Mr. Greenspan, Mr. Bernanke's predecessor as Fed Chairman, was luring people into the adjustable rate mortgages that are now blowing up in their faces, and in many cases, forcing them out of their homes. Mr. Greenspan basically said folks opting for those thirty year mortgages were losing thousands of dollars in the process. Until now, that is.
.
MEMORIES: Greenspan Says ARMS Might Be Better Deal, (USA Today 2/24/2004). According to the article, "Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday that Americans' preference for long-term, fixed-rate mortgages means many are paying more than necessary for their homes and suggested consumers would benefit if lenders offered more alternatives."
.
WE HAVE A STRONG DOLLAR POLICY? Who knew? According to a spokeswoman for U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, he remains "strongly committed to a strong dollar." I suppose we should be thankful for their strong dollar policy. Who knows what a weak dollar policy would look like, when the strong dollar policy finds the dollar regularly making record new lows.
.
CHINA SIGNALS DOLLAR SWAP; DOW PLUNGES. (Washington Times). People in high places in other parts of the globe do not seem to agree with Mr. Paulson's spokeswoman:
..."The world's currency structure has changed....(The dollar) is losing its status as the world currency," said Xu Jian, a Chinese central bank vice director.
..."The dollar cannot remain 'someone else's problem. If we are not careful, monetary disarray could morph into economic war. We would all be its victims," France's President Sarkozy warned in his address before the U.S. CONgress.
...Funny, I watched CNBC for a quite a while the day of the Dow's 360 point plunge and don't recall the Chinese comments being a reason for the drop. Thursday was even funnier. When the markets were coming back off the lows that afternoon, chief cheerleader Maria Bartiromo called it turnaround Thursday and was interviewing more brokerages mouthpieces about what we should be buying now. It's always what we should be buying now, whether we should be or not.
...Why does all this matter to people who don't play the market? Because it is getting nasty out there. The powers that be (PTB) have always been able to come through and hold things together. They have a lot of weapons at their disposal. But I think that there may be a day coming when they may not be able to do that. And who do you suppose will be hurt the most and be left holding the bag. As a hint, remember that the PTB set up a $100 billion bailout fund for lenders recently. Headlines announcing similar help for strapped homeowners are nowhere to be found so far.
.
Fed Chairman Says Economy Likely to Slow, (NY Times). He testified before CONgress that the economy will get worse before it gets better. What he didn't say was that the Fed's easy money policy has been a direct cause of all our current problems. For example, it was only a few years ago that Mr. Greenspan, Mr. Bernanke's predecessor as Fed Chairman, was luring people into the adjustable rate mortgages that are now blowing up in their faces, and in many cases, forcing them out of their homes. Mr. Greenspan basically said folks opting for those thirty year mortgages were losing thousands of dollars in the process. Until now, that is.
.
MEMORIES: Greenspan Says ARMS Might Be Better Deal, (USA Today 2/24/2004). According to the article, "Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday that Americans' preference for long-term, fixed-rate mortgages means many are paying more than necessary for their homes and suggested consumers would benefit if lenders offered more alternatives."
.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
11.07.07 Dow Down 360
ECONOMY
GM Reports $39 Billion Loss on Deferred Tax Charge (Bloomberg). I chose the Bloomberg link because of their headline. If it wasn't so tragic, it would almost be funny. Without that charge, how would GM have done? Only a $16 billion dollar loss. Let's hope the old saying "As GM goes, so goes the country," still isn't true. Here's a link to the CNN Money article on GM's earnings report, which has more detail and is better than the Bloomberg article.
...From the perspective of middle class workers, and in this case anyone related to the automotive industry in this country directly or indirectly, there was more bad news in this report. GM pointed out that they earned $122 million in their overseas operations, but lost $247 million for the quarter in their U.S. based operations.
...I ran across a quote some time ago - I can't locate it now - by a GM executive who made the observation that GM was not really an American company anymore. He made the point that they were a multinational corporation that happened to be based in the U.S. The point was also made that capital is mobile, labor is not. In other words, grand times for multinational corporations who worship the bottom line, bad news for the workers in the countries who see their jobs going somewhere else.
...
The Fed Digs Us A Deeper Hole, by Bill Fleckenstein (MSN Money). Excellent article by MSN's resident bear Bill Fleckenstein. Quote: "No shortage of ink was spilled last week about the Fed's quarter-point rate cut. Yet none of it acknowledged the big elephant in the room: Why in the hell was the central bank easing the federal funds rate with (1) the dollar at a new low, (2) oil at $90, (3) gold at $800, (4) virtually every commodity on the planet going wild and (5), despite government statistics to the contrary, inflation raging?"
...Another quote from the article: "Just to show you what a pathetic joke the Federal Reserve is, last week the Mexican central bank raised interest rates from 7.25% to 7.5% -- and the peso has been far stronger than the dollar lately."
...He also pointed out, as I did a few days ago, that if the government had not come up with that unbelievable 0.8% inflation number to use in their calculations that allowed them to say GDP grew 3.9%, their report would have been much different. For example, if they had used an inflation figure of 3.9% (If you ever have to buy groceries, fill your gas tank, or pay for utilities, you probably agree that number is low, right?), then GDP growth would have been ZERO.
.
Quote by George Soros in his book Soros on Soros: "I cannot see the global system surviving. Political instability and financial instability are going to feed off each other in a self-reinforcing fashion. In my opinion, we have entered a period of global disintegration only we are not yet aware of it."
.
Quote from William Greider in his book One World Ready Or Not: "The nation-state faces a crisis of relevance. What remains of its purpose and power if authority over domestic social standards is yielded to disinterested market forces?"
.
...One of the themes of these blogs is that we have entered the last days before the return of Jesus Christ in His second coming. The pieces are falling into place politically, economically, and in the religious and social worlds. There are definite signs being fulfilled now that could never have been fulfilled at any other point in world history. Check my End Times Event blog for more on that. There are momentous events ahead.
...Are you ready to meet the Lord? Do you know where you will spend eternity? My father used to have a little wooden sign by the front door of our house that said, "Only one life, it will soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last."
.
Borders: If you believe the government, then you certainly know that they are unable to stem the tide of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs into this country, but at the same time, they are somehow able to keep terrorists out. Right?
.
GM Reports $39 Billion Loss on Deferred Tax Charge (Bloomberg). I chose the Bloomberg link because of their headline. If it wasn't so tragic, it would almost be funny. Without that charge, how would GM have done? Only a $16 billion dollar loss. Let's hope the old saying "As GM goes, so goes the country," still isn't true. Here's a link to the CNN Money article on GM's earnings report, which has more detail and is better than the Bloomberg article.
...From the perspective of middle class workers, and in this case anyone related to the automotive industry in this country directly or indirectly, there was more bad news in this report. GM pointed out that they earned $122 million in their overseas operations, but lost $247 million for the quarter in their U.S. based operations.
...I ran across a quote some time ago - I can't locate it now - by a GM executive who made the observation that GM was not really an American company anymore. He made the point that they were a multinational corporation that happened to be based in the U.S. The point was also made that capital is mobile, labor is not. In other words, grand times for multinational corporations who worship the bottom line, bad news for the workers in the countries who see their jobs going somewhere else.
...
The Fed Digs Us A Deeper Hole, by Bill Fleckenstein (MSN Money). Excellent article by MSN's resident bear Bill Fleckenstein. Quote: "No shortage of ink was spilled last week about the Fed's quarter-point rate cut. Yet none of it acknowledged the big elephant in the room: Why in the hell was the central bank easing the federal funds rate with (1) the dollar at a new low, (2) oil at $90, (3) gold at $800, (4) virtually every commodity on the planet going wild and (5), despite government statistics to the contrary, inflation raging?"
...Another quote from the article: "Just to show you what a pathetic joke the Federal Reserve is, last week the Mexican central bank raised interest rates from 7.25% to 7.5% -- and the peso has been far stronger than the dollar lately."
...He also pointed out, as I did a few days ago, that if the government had not come up with that unbelievable 0.8% inflation number to use in their calculations that allowed them to say GDP grew 3.9%, their report would have been much different. For example, if they had used an inflation figure of 3.9% (If you ever have to buy groceries, fill your gas tank, or pay for utilities, you probably agree that number is low, right?), then GDP growth would have been ZERO.
.
Quote by George Soros in his book Soros on Soros: "I cannot see the global system surviving. Political instability and financial instability are going to feed off each other in a self-reinforcing fashion. In my opinion, we have entered a period of global disintegration only we are not yet aware of it."
.
Quote from William Greider in his book One World Ready Or Not: "The nation-state faces a crisis of relevance. What remains of its purpose and power if authority over domestic social standards is yielded to disinterested market forces?"
.
...One of the themes of these blogs is that we have entered the last days before the return of Jesus Christ in His second coming. The pieces are falling into place politically, economically, and in the religious and social worlds. There are definite signs being fulfilled now that could never have been fulfilled at any other point in world history. Check my End Times Event blog for more on that. There are momentous events ahead.
...Are you ready to meet the Lord? Do you know where you will spend eternity? My father used to have a little wooden sign by the front door of our house that said, "Only one life, it will soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last."
.
Borders: If you believe the government, then you certainly know that they are unable to stem the tide of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs into this country, but at the same time, they are somehow able to keep terrorists out. Right?
.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
11.06.07
RELIGION
Senate Panel Probes 6 Top Televangelists for possible financial misconduct (CBS). The Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether the ministries are using their tax-exempt status to live lavish lifestyles. The ministries are those of Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland, and Benny Hinn. Apparently, much of the data that sparked the investigation was provided by Ole Anthony of the Trinity Foundation, a self-appointed religious "watchdog monitoring religious media, fraud and abuse."
.
...In other somewhat related news:
President of Oral Roberts to Take Leave of Absence, (NY Times). Richard Roberts announced that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence "until such times as these matters can be resolved." In the meantime, he will continue his television ministry and continue to serve as chairman and chief executive of Oral Roberts Ministries. Mr. Roberts denied all the allegations against him and his wife.
.
...John Hagee, another influential televangelist, is being accused in several quarters of heresy because of his latest book, In Defense of Israel. I have not read the book, only some reviews from several different sources. Mr. Hagee is accused of teaching that Jesus did not come to earth as Messiah the first time. He will come as Messiah at His second coming. Therefore, the Jews did not actually reject their Messiah. As I said, I have not read the book. I probably won't, unless I can find somebody else with a copy, or find it at a library sale.
...Mr. Hagee has been reported to be a believe in what is called dual-covenant theology, which says that Jewish people, because of their special relationship to God, can get to heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. Here is a link to an article in the Jerusalem Post regarding that. A quick internet search will turn up a lot more links, if you are interested. The Jerusalem Post article also points out that the late Jerry Falwell had come about to similar persuasion over the years. My Bible says that there is one mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ, and that there is no other name under heaven by which anyone can be saved.
POLITICS
Ron Paul Sets One-Day GOP Fundraising Record (MSNBC). $4.2 million from 37,000 supporters smashed previous online fundraising records. Politics pretty much sickens me anymore, as I am convinced that both parties, for the most part, are bought and paid for and in the pockets of their coporate masters. However, Mr. Paul seems to be an exception. He looks to me like one of the three candidates in both parties running for president who represent something other than business as usual.
...The money his campaign is generating is all the more remarkable when you realize that his campaign gets almost no coverage from the major media. Even for this story, CNN did not cover it on their website front page. You have to click on their Politics page under More News, and even then it is only the fourth story in that section.
...Several weeks Fox News listed the Iowa Straw Poll results as a TV graphic. Even though he finished fourth, Paul was not listed on the graphic. How is that for "fair and balanced", and "we report, you decide?" Tom Tancredo, who is leading the crusade to try and force the government to protect our southern border, also was not listed, even though he finished fifth.
...All that said, it would be an upset of earthquake proportions if Mr. Paul were actually able to win the Republican nomination. As a strict constitutionalist, he is the powers-that-be's worst nightmare.
.
ECONOMY
Foreclosure Wave Sweeps America, (BBC). The BBC reports that one in ten houses in Cleveland, OH, are vacant. According to the article, there have been 1.7 million foreclosure proceedings in 2007 year-to-date in the U.S.
.
Markets Fear Banks Have $1 Trillion Dollars in Toxic Debt, (The Indepedent (UK)).
If you think that this doesn't matter to you, think again. When you see the powers-that-be setting up a $100 billion bailout fund for the banks, and the heads of Merrill Lynch and Citicorp resign with a week of each other, watch out.
.
Senate Panel Probes 6 Top Televangelists for possible financial misconduct (CBS). The Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether the ministries are using their tax-exempt status to live lavish lifestyles. The ministries are those of Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland, and Benny Hinn. Apparently, much of the data that sparked the investigation was provided by Ole Anthony of the Trinity Foundation, a self-appointed religious "watchdog monitoring religious media, fraud and abuse."
.
...In other somewhat related news:
President of Oral Roberts to Take Leave of Absence, (NY Times). Richard Roberts announced that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence "until such times as these matters can be resolved." In the meantime, he will continue his television ministry and continue to serve as chairman and chief executive of Oral Roberts Ministries. Mr. Roberts denied all the allegations against him and his wife.
.
...John Hagee, another influential televangelist, is being accused in several quarters of heresy because of his latest book, In Defense of Israel. I have not read the book, only some reviews from several different sources. Mr. Hagee is accused of teaching that Jesus did not come to earth as Messiah the first time. He will come as Messiah at His second coming. Therefore, the Jews did not actually reject their Messiah. As I said, I have not read the book. I probably won't, unless I can find somebody else with a copy, or find it at a library sale.
...Mr. Hagee has been reported to be a believe in what is called dual-covenant theology, which says that Jewish people, because of their special relationship to God, can get to heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. Here is a link to an article in the Jerusalem Post regarding that. A quick internet search will turn up a lot more links, if you are interested. The Jerusalem Post article also points out that the late Jerry Falwell had come about to similar persuasion over the years. My Bible says that there is one mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ, and that there is no other name under heaven by which anyone can be saved.
POLITICS
Ron Paul Sets One-Day GOP Fundraising Record (MSNBC). $4.2 million from 37,000 supporters smashed previous online fundraising records. Politics pretty much sickens me anymore, as I am convinced that both parties, for the most part, are bought and paid for and in the pockets of their coporate masters. However, Mr. Paul seems to be an exception. He looks to me like one of the three candidates in both parties running for president who represent something other than business as usual.
...The money his campaign is generating is all the more remarkable when you realize that his campaign gets almost no coverage from the major media. Even for this story, CNN did not cover it on their website front page. You have to click on their Politics page under More News, and even then it is only the fourth story in that section.
...Several weeks Fox News listed the Iowa Straw Poll results as a TV graphic. Even though he finished fourth, Paul was not listed on the graphic. How is that for "fair and balanced", and "we report, you decide?" Tom Tancredo, who is leading the crusade to try and force the government to protect our southern border, also was not listed, even though he finished fifth.
...All that said, it would be an upset of earthquake proportions if Mr. Paul were actually able to win the Republican nomination. As a strict constitutionalist, he is the powers-that-be's worst nightmare.
.
ECONOMY
Foreclosure Wave Sweeps America, (BBC). The BBC reports that one in ten houses in Cleveland, OH, are vacant. According to the article, there have been 1.7 million foreclosure proceedings in 2007 year-to-date in the U.S.
.
Markets Fear Banks Have $1 Trillion Dollars in Toxic Debt, (The Indepedent (UK)).
If you think that this doesn't matter to you, think again. When you see the powers-that-be setting up a $100 billion bailout fund for the banks, and the heads of Merrill Lynch and Citicorp resign with a week of each other, watch out.
.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Still LOST At Sea
...George W. Bush, Globalist, by Pat Buchanan. Two of Mr. Buchanan's conclusions in the article follow:
"But now President Bush is about to take his country by the hand and make a great leap forward into world government. He has signed on to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), which transfers jurisdiction over the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans and all the oil and mineral resources they contain, to an International Seabed Authority. This second United Nations would be ceded eternal hegemony over two-thirds of the Earth. It is the greatest U.N. power grab in history and, thanks to George Bush, is about to succeed."
.
"The Law of the Sea Treaty is an utterly unnecessary transfer of authority from the United States and of the wealth of its citizens to global bureaucrats who have never had our interests at heart, and to Third World regimes that have never been reliable friends. That Republicans senators think this is a good idea speaks volumes about what has become of the party of T.R., Bob Taft, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan."
.
...HOUSING
.
Think Home-Price Slide Is Over? The Worst Appears Yet To Come, by Dean Calbreath, San Diego Union-Tribune:
“Everyone's talking about the real estate market coming back in 2009,” said Robert Simpson, chief executive of Investors Mortgage Asset Recovery Co. in Irvine. “We're not coming back anywhere near 2009. It took about five years for this market to build up, and it'll take five years to come down. Properties are going to slide back to neighborhood income, so people will be able to afford them. It has always been thus.”
.
...MARKETS
It's Time To Notice The Brokerage And Banking Stocks Implosion, by Terry Keenan, NY Post:
"It's not ill-advised to worry when the stocks of the nation's biggest bank (Citigroup) and best-know brokerage firm (Merrill Lynch) lose 17 and 13 percent of their value, respectively, in a single week. All this, even after Ben Bernanke actually cut rates on Wednesday and showered the banking system with an additional $41 billion on Thursday - the most since 9/11."
.
They Have Got To Be Kidding, by Peter Schiff.
"Yesterday, as the dollar fell to new record lows and oil and gold prices surged to new highs, Wall Street remained fixated on wholly meaningless government data that managed to report the lowest inflation in the last half century.... the government's ability to make "economic growth" magically appear is based purely on statistical finesse."
.
...It is fascinating that the government can report the lowest inflation in decades, isn't it? There is an old joke in accounting that goes something like, "Figures don't lie, but liars do figure." Anybody who has to buy groceries or put gas in the tank knows that inflation is alive and well, but did you know that your government does not put those figures into their inflation calculations? They are considered too volatile and they might skew the figures, goes the official line of thinking. A skeptic might counter that they might also frighten the sheeple, and of course, if the items that were necessary to everyday life were included in the data, it would also mean higher government payouts to those folks on fixed incomes who depend on government payouts (such as Social Security), since the calculation of those payouts is directly linked to the government inflation data.
.
...One final thought for the day. I am constantly surprised by the folks who get mad at others for buying an automobile with a foreign name on it or for shopping at Wal-Mart, but then keep re-electing the people who actually make the decisions that ship the American jobs overseas. It would be much more effective to direct one's dissatisfaction to the folks who make those policy decisions, don't you think? When lobbyists spend billions of dollars a year influencing politicians, who do you think those politicians are actually working for? You? Or the people who have the clout to keep them in or remove them from office?
.
...Quote: "People still think nationally or even locally. Steelworkers still think about steelworkers, auto workers about auto workers. The trouble is, the multinational corporations don't think European or American any more, they haven't for a long time. They think globally." Marcello Malentacchi, International Metalworkers Federation general secretary, quoted in the book One World, Ready Or Not by William Greider.
"But now President Bush is about to take his country by the hand and make a great leap forward into world government. He has signed on to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), which transfers jurisdiction over the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans and all the oil and mineral resources they contain, to an International Seabed Authority. This second United Nations would be ceded eternal hegemony over two-thirds of the Earth. It is the greatest U.N. power grab in history and, thanks to George Bush, is about to succeed."
.
"The Law of the Sea Treaty is an utterly unnecessary transfer of authority from the United States and of the wealth of its citizens to global bureaucrats who have never had our interests at heart, and to Third World regimes that have never been reliable friends. That Republicans senators think this is a good idea speaks volumes about what has become of the party of T.R., Bob Taft, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan."
.
...HOUSING
.
Think Home-Price Slide Is Over? The Worst Appears Yet To Come, by Dean Calbreath, San Diego Union-Tribune:
“Everyone's talking about the real estate market coming back in 2009,” said Robert Simpson, chief executive of Investors Mortgage Asset Recovery Co. in Irvine. “We're not coming back anywhere near 2009. It took about five years for this market to build up, and it'll take five years to come down. Properties are going to slide back to neighborhood income, so people will be able to afford them. It has always been thus.”
.
...MARKETS
It's Time To Notice The Brokerage And Banking Stocks Implosion, by Terry Keenan, NY Post:
"It's not ill-advised to worry when the stocks of the nation's biggest bank (Citigroup) and best-know brokerage firm (Merrill Lynch) lose 17 and 13 percent of their value, respectively, in a single week. All this, even after Ben Bernanke actually cut rates on Wednesday and showered the banking system with an additional $41 billion on Thursday - the most since 9/11."
.
They Have Got To Be Kidding, by Peter Schiff.
"Yesterday, as the dollar fell to new record lows and oil and gold prices surged to new highs, Wall Street remained fixated on wholly meaningless government data that managed to report the lowest inflation in the last half century.... the government's ability to make "economic growth" magically appear is based purely on statistical finesse."
.
...It is fascinating that the government can report the lowest inflation in decades, isn't it? There is an old joke in accounting that goes something like, "Figures don't lie, but liars do figure." Anybody who has to buy groceries or put gas in the tank knows that inflation is alive and well, but did you know that your government does not put those figures into their inflation calculations? They are considered too volatile and they might skew the figures, goes the official line of thinking. A skeptic might counter that they might also frighten the sheeple, and of course, if the items that were necessary to everyday life were included in the data, it would also mean higher government payouts to those folks on fixed incomes who depend on government payouts (such as Social Security), since the calculation of those payouts is directly linked to the government inflation data.
.
...One final thought for the day. I am constantly surprised by the folks who get mad at others for buying an automobile with a foreign name on it or for shopping at Wal-Mart, but then keep re-electing the people who actually make the decisions that ship the American jobs overseas. It would be much more effective to direct one's dissatisfaction to the folks who make those policy decisions, don't you think? When lobbyists spend billions of dollars a year influencing politicians, who do you think those politicians are actually working for? You? Or the people who have the clout to keep them in or remove them from office?
.
...Quote: "People still think nationally or even locally. Steelworkers still think about steelworkers, auto workers about auto workers. The trouble is, the multinational corporations don't think European or American any more, they haven't for a long time. They think globally." Marcello Malentacchi, International Metalworkers Federation general secretary, quoted in the book One World, Ready Or Not by William Greider.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
L.O.S.T. At Sea Still Sailing Along
LAW OF THE SEA ON FAST TRACK TO RATIFICATION, so says the Colonel's Corner blog by Ollie North on the Fox News website. The measure passed the Senate Foreign Relations committee by a 17-4 vote and is headed to the Senate floor for a vote. This is yet another one to keep an eye on, to see how our Lords & Masters will vote, as many critics see this as yet another step to undermining the sovereignty of the USA.
.
...Trent Lott, R-MS, says flatly, "If you want the UN on steroids, you want the Law of the Seas Treaty. I am absolutely convinced it undermines U.S. sovereignty."
.
...This is the latest attempt by the one worlders who rule us to bring us closer to being another member state in the larger global village...an important state, to be sure, but just a state - sort of like Kalifornia is here in the USA, I suppose. In the 1980's, President Reagan shot down the initial attempt saying that it did not "satisfy the objectives sought by the United States."
...In the 1990's, President Clinton tried to get another version approved by the Senate, but it was shot down.
...But now it is back on the fast track, amidst virtual secrecy among most of the bought and paid for corporate controlled media. Have you seen anything on it on any of the TV news shows you watch? Other than Lou Dobbs, I'm not aware of any of them covering this story from any angle.
...Speaking of Mr. Dobbs, it seems to me that ever since his interview on 60 Minutes with Leslie Stahl, the powers that be in the media have gone to the next step in their references to him. The first step is ignoring people who rock the boat. When that becomes impossible, the next step is to try to discredit the message. When they cannot win the battle based on facts, it is time for the next step, discrediting the messenger. Now it seems, Mr. Dobbs has become some sort of shrill racist, all because he speaks out on controversial issues, such as illegal immigration, from the politically incorrect (according to the one world powers that be) point of view. He has become the 'token' voice of the people on his network. Yet his audience keeps growing, unlike most of the other news shows on his network. His message is resonating with someone, obviously.
.
MR. BUFFETT GOES TO CHINA.
.
...The number of U.S. homes in foreclosure more than doubled in the third quarter (AP).
...Uh Oh--Are Consumers Starting To Rein In Spending? (CNBC)..
...Fed Adds $41 Billion in Reserves, Most Since September 2001 (Bloomberg).
.
...Trent Lott, R-MS, says flatly, "If you want the UN on steroids, you want the Law of the Seas Treaty. I am absolutely convinced it undermines U.S. sovereignty."
.
...This is the latest attempt by the one worlders who rule us to bring us closer to being another member state in the larger global village...an important state, to be sure, but just a state - sort of like Kalifornia is here in the USA, I suppose. In the 1980's, President Reagan shot down the initial attempt saying that it did not "satisfy the objectives sought by the United States."
...In the 1990's, President Clinton tried to get another version approved by the Senate, but it was shot down.
...But now it is back on the fast track, amidst virtual secrecy among most of the bought and paid for corporate controlled media. Have you seen anything on it on any of the TV news shows you watch? Other than Lou Dobbs, I'm not aware of any of them covering this story from any angle.
...Speaking of Mr. Dobbs, it seems to me that ever since his interview on 60 Minutes with Leslie Stahl, the powers that be in the media have gone to the next step in their references to him. The first step is ignoring people who rock the boat. When that becomes impossible, the next step is to try to discredit the message. When they cannot win the battle based on facts, it is time for the next step, discrediting the messenger. Now it seems, Mr. Dobbs has become some sort of shrill racist, all because he speaks out on controversial issues, such as illegal immigration, from the politically incorrect (according to the one world powers that be) point of view. He has become the 'token' voice of the people on his network. Yet his audience keeps growing, unlike most of the other news shows on his network. His message is resonating with someone, obviously.
.
MR. BUFFETT GOES TO CHINA.
CNBC has been touting Warren Buffett’s trip to
.
...The number of U.S. homes in foreclosure more than doubled in the third quarter (AP).
...Uh Oh--Are Consumers Starting To Rein In Spending? (CNBC)..
...Fed Adds $41 Billion in Reserves, Most Since September 2001 (Bloomberg).
Friday, October 12, 2007
LOST: Law Of The Sea Treaty
"...Now President Bush is about to take his country by the hand and make a great leap forward into world government. He has signed on to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), which transfers jurisdiction over the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans and all the oil and mineral resources they contain, to an International Seabed Authority. This second United Nations would be ceded eternal hegemony over two-thirds of the Earth. It is the greatest U.N. power grab in history and, thanks to George Bush, is about to succeed." Pat Buchanan in his article, George W. Bush, Globalist.
.
.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
CAFTA: Ron Paul's Comments On How It Passed
In August 2005, your elected representatives passed CAFTA, another of those trade agreements that are good for us if you listen to the powers that be, but happen to come at the expense of middle class workers in this country. The president's press secretary called it a victory for the American people. But most people don't even know it exists, and the ones that do are overwhelmingly opposed to it.
.
In his excellent article, Congressman Paul details some of the behind the scenes machinations that the powers that be resorted to in order to pass this legislation. A Couple of Mr. Paul's quotes in this article:
"Leaving aside the arguments for or against CAFTA itself, the process by which the bill ultimately passed should sicken every American who believes in representative government."
.
"CAFTA was conceived and created by corporate interests, and to claim otherwise is preposterous. The CAFTA vote had nothing to do with the American public, or even trade policy per se. CAFTA was driven by politics and nothing more. Multinational corporations and political globalists share the same goals, namely the centralization of political power in international bodies and the diminution of national sovereignty. What we witnessed last week was not just the selling of votes, but also a sellout of American control over our own trade regulations."
.
...And we keep electing these people who no longer represent us, why? In my own state recently, there was an issue up for vote where our senator acknowledged that the emails and calls were running 20 to 1 against proposed legislation, but that he was going to vote for it anyway.
...Wouldn't things be better if we didn't have career politicians? Term limits might also encourage our representatives in CONgress to make tough choices when necessary. And how about straight up and down votes on all bills, and not sneak them them through in the dark of night by attaching them to some other bill. How may things get passed that most people never even hear about? How many times do we need our CONgressional representatives getting hundreds, and even thousands of pages, of information on a bill just hours before they are supposed to render an intelligent vote on it?
...Would Social Security work better if our elected representatives had to participate in it and give up their own cushy retirement packages?
.
In his excellent article, Congressman Paul details some of the behind the scenes machinations that the powers that be resorted to in order to pass this legislation. A Couple of Mr. Paul's quotes in this article:
"Leaving aside the arguments for or against CAFTA itself, the process by which the bill ultimately passed should sicken every American who believes in representative government."
.
"CAFTA was conceived and created by corporate interests, and to claim otherwise is preposterous. The CAFTA vote had nothing to do with the American public, or even trade policy per se. CAFTA was driven by politics and nothing more. Multinational corporations and political globalists share the same goals, namely the centralization of political power in international bodies and the diminution of national sovereignty. What we witnessed last week was not just the selling of votes, but also a sellout of American control over our own trade regulations."
.
...And we keep electing these people who no longer represent us, why? In my own state recently, there was an issue up for vote where our senator acknowledged that the emails and calls were running 20 to 1 against proposed legislation, but that he was going to vote for it anyway.
...Wouldn't things be better if we didn't have career politicians? Term limits might also encourage our representatives in CONgress to make tough choices when necessary. And how about straight up and down votes on all bills, and not sneak them them through in the dark of night by attaching them to some other bill. How may things get passed that most people never even hear about? How many times do we need our CONgressional representatives getting hundreds, and even thousands of pages, of information on a bill just hours before they are supposed to render an intelligent vote on it?
...Would Social Security work better if our elected representatives had to participate in it and give up their own cushy retirement packages?
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Trade Union For The Americas: Vicente Fox
"What we propose together, President Bush and myself, it's ALCA, which is a trade union for all of the Americas. And everything was running fluently until Hugo Chavez came. He decided to isolate himself. He decided to combat the idea and destroy the idea." Vicente Fox.
.
Another bombshell on common currencies among North American countries in the interview with Larry King:
King: It's going to be like the euro dollar, you mean?
Fox: Well, that would be long, long term. I think the processes to go first step into is trading agreement. And then further on, a new vision, like we are trying to do with NAFTA.
.
If you click on the link provided above, those comments are down near the very end of the CNN transcript. And you can see and hear it for yourself on YouTube. Here's the link for that.
.
Wouldn't you think that a former head of state saying that he and the president of our country have plans for a trade union for the continent, and hinting at a possible future common currency, would be making the news in the mainstream media? Wouldn't you think that your elected representatives would be interested as well? Why all the silence on these issues in our corporate controlled CONgress and corporate controlled media?
.
.
Another bombshell on common currencies among North American countries in the interview with Larry King:
King: It's going to be like the euro dollar, you mean?
Fox: Well, that would be long, long term. I think the processes to go first step into is trading agreement. And then further on, a new vision, like we are trying to do with NAFTA.
.
If you click on the link provided above, those comments are down near the very end of the CNN transcript. And you can see and hear it for yourself on YouTube. Here's the link for that.
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Wouldn't you think that a former head of state saying that he and the president of our country have plans for a trade union for the continent, and hinting at a possible future common currency, would be making the news in the mainstream media? Wouldn't you think that your elected representatives would be interested as well? Why all the silence on these issues in our corporate controlled CONgress and corporate controlled media?
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Thursday, September 06, 2007
09.06.07 Notes and News
...Hedge funds outflows hit 7 year high in July. Millions middle class folks are in the markets through their 401k and IRA accounts, which makes news like this something to keep an eye on once in a while. More here...
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...Paris based think tank warns on "quite significant" U.S. slowdown this year. Since there are railroad tracks near where I live, I watch the volume of daily train traffic as one barometer of how things are going. I can also keep an eye on the local terminal of a nationwide trucking company, and see how many doors they are working on their docks, and how many tractors and trailers are sitting idle in their yard. Simple but useful tool.
...On the other hand, for the local restaurants and traffic congestion on the roads, it seems pretty much like business as usual. Don't see where there has been much cutting back there.
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...Lenders now starting to tighten standards on credit cards, auto and personal loans. Credit cards can be dangerous to your financial health. Plastic surgery may be needed. Did you know that some credit card companies consider you a 'deadbeat' if you pay your entire balance off monthly? Credit card companies make billions of dollars in penalty fees.
...Banks are "...raising interest rates, adding new fees, making the due date for your payment a holiday or a Sunday on the hopes that maybe you'll trip up and get a payment in late," says Robert McKinley, founder and chairman of card research firm Cardweb.com and Ram Research, in this PBS program.
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...Food additives may cause hyperactivity in children. All those things that are put into our food to make them taste better and extend shelf life may sometimes have side effects, it seems.
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...Paris based think tank warns on "quite significant" U.S. slowdown this year. Since there are railroad tracks near where I live, I watch the volume of daily train traffic as one barometer of how things are going. I can also keep an eye on the local terminal of a nationwide trucking company, and see how many doors they are working on their docks, and how many tractors and trailers are sitting idle in their yard. Simple but useful tool.
...On the other hand, for the local restaurants and traffic congestion on the roads, it seems pretty much like business as usual. Don't see where there has been much cutting back there.
.
...Lenders now starting to tighten standards on credit cards, auto and personal loans. Credit cards can be dangerous to your financial health. Plastic surgery may be needed. Did you know that some credit card companies consider you a 'deadbeat' if you pay your entire balance off monthly? Credit card companies make billions of dollars in penalty fees.
...Banks are "...raising interest rates, adding new fees, making the due date for your payment a holiday or a Sunday on the hopes that maybe you'll trip up and get a payment in late," says Robert McKinley, founder and chairman of card research firm Cardweb.com and Ram Research, in this PBS program.
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...Food additives may cause hyperactivity in children. All those things that are put into our food to make them taste better and extend shelf life may sometimes have side effects, it seems.
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Wednesday, September 05, 2007
09.05.07
...More jobs heading out of the U.S. - this time in agriculture. Some U.S. farms have moved part of their operations to Mexico, where there is a ready labor force that doesn't have to worry about deportation, and also works for lower wages. But back here in the 'homeland', more middle class jobs that are indirectly dependent on agriculture are being lost.
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...Danger, Steep Drop Ahead, shouts the surprising headline on CNN Money's site this morning. Surprising because the article is appearing on a mainstream site. Author Jeremy Grantham gives another take on the housing situation. In recent years mortgage levels of four times income have been considered normal. But here in the U.S., they have risen to six times normal. That has created part of the unsustainable bubble, as the ability of homeowners to pay their mortgages was based on rosy projections that are now proving to be unrealistic. Markets tend to revert to the mean. That is a point that Mr. Grantham makes in the article. Folks tend to extrapolate returns out into the future as if they can expect those same returns to continue indefinitely. Historically, it doesn't work out that way.
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...The longer you keep your car, the better. If you could keep your car 15 years you could save about $31,000 compared to replacing it every five years. I read sometime ago that if you replace your car every ten years you will keep up with all the new innovations and features on cars, too.
...Fleck says central banks are stealing from average citizens. Bill Fleckenstein seems to be pretty much a permabear, which naturally makes him one of the writers I read on a regular basis. Interesting article, with some pertinent quotes and links to other articles in it.
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...Danger, Steep Drop Ahead, shouts the surprising headline on CNN Money's site this morning. Surprising because the article is appearing on a mainstream site. Author Jeremy Grantham gives another take on the housing situation. In recent years mortgage levels of four times income have been considered normal. But here in the U.S., they have risen to six times normal. That has created part of the unsustainable bubble, as the ability of homeowners to pay their mortgages was based on rosy projections that are now proving to be unrealistic. Markets tend to revert to the mean. That is a point that Mr. Grantham makes in the article. Folks tend to extrapolate returns out into the future as if they can expect those same returns to continue indefinitely. Historically, it doesn't work out that way.
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...The longer you keep your car, the better. If you could keep your car 15 years you could save about $31,000 compared to replacing it every five years. I read sometime ago that if you replace your car every ten years you will keep up with all the new innovations and features on cars, too.
...Fleck says central banks are stealing from average citizens. Bill Fleckenstein seems to be pretty much a permabear, which naturally makes him one of the writers I read on a regular basis. Interesting article, with some pertinent quotes and links to other articles in it.
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Sunday, September 02, 2007
Now They're After Our Trucking Industry
An appeals court has ruled that Mexican truckers can start roaming the U.S. as early as this coming week. The court struck down the latest attempts by the Teamsters Union and other groups to block the move. That deafening silence you hear is the coverage this story is getting in most of the corporate controlled mainstream media, and in the corporate controlled halls of Congress. The same fine folks who brought us NAFTA so that we could buy goods for a lower price in our stores, goods produced in other countries where wages are lower than here in the U.S., are selling us out again.
Here's a rich comments from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regarding the ruling. They regard this latest anti-American-working-class ruling as "...welcome news for U.S. truck drivers anxious to compete south of the border and U.S. consumers eager to realize the savings of more efficient shipments with one of our largest trading partners."
That comment would be a hoot if it weren't another blow against more middle class workers. First, it will be interesting to see how many U.S. trucking firms will be lining up for the right to send their drivers and trucks all over Mexico. If that does occur, it will be just as interesting to see how many of those trailers actually make it back to the U.S. Years ago, the railroad I worked for would not allow their cars to go across the border because so many of the cars that made their way across the border were never seen again.
The last part of the comment is even more ridiculous when you translate the comment into what it actually means. How are those eager U.S. consumers going to realize more efficient shipments? Answer: By using Mexican trucks and Mexican drivers, and eliminating those pesky U.S. drivers with their higher wages.
Just another example in a depressingly long litany of sellouts by the people we voted into office. With a few notable exceptions, our Congress does not represent 'we the people' as much as they represent the corporations who contribute to their campaigns, give them cushy lobbying jobs when they leave CONgress, and actually have the power to put them in and remove them from their offices. But when we keep voting them in, we get what we deserve.
Ross Perot warned everybody about the perils of NAFTA during his unsuccessful run for the Presidency. He was right. We used to run a trade surplus with Mexico. Now we have a trade deficit. In fact, at one time we were the biggest creditor nation on the planet. Now we are the biggest debtor nation. But not only do we not hear anything in Congress about repealing NAFTA, they are looking for more sellout deals. Ever heard of CAFTA? That's the push for expanding NAFTA to include all of Central America as well.
A report by the Council on Foreign Relations from sometime back seems to have served almost as a blueprint for what we have seen happening all around us. The CFR report is entitled Building A North American Community. The CFR is a grouping of the mucketiest of the muckety mucks in our country. Take a look at the membership list sometime. It is composed of nothing but leaders in government, society and business. Mere mortals need not apply. If you think their opinion doesn't count and their recommendations are just something for them to talk about over a good cup of grog, then you're probably happy with the way things are going anyway, so why are you reading this?
Here's a few highlights from that report. On page 10, under the heading What We Should Do By 2010, we read that "...the three governments should commit themselves to the long-term goal of dramatically diminishing the need for the current intensity of the governments' physical control of cross-border traffic, travel, and trade within North America." There's your answer if you ever wondered why your government wasn't more interested in guarding our borders.
Page 12 contains this nugget. "NAFTA was designed to create new opportunities for trade and investment in Mexico and thus complement Mexican development programs. Officials hoped that Mexico would grow much faster than its more industrialized partners and begin to narrow the income gap among the three countries." Bet you don't remember your elected legislators telling you all about that when they voted for NAFTA, eh?
And on page 30 here's another neat recommendation. "Develop teachers exchange and training programs for elementary and secondary school teachers. This would assist in removing language barriers and give some students a greater sense of a North American identity." A North American identity? What a brave new world is being foisted upon us.
Here's a rich comments from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regarding the ruling. They regard this latest anti-American-working-class ruling as "...welcome news for U.S. truck drivers anxious to compete south of the border and U.S. consumers eager to realize the savings of more efficient shipments with one of our largest trading partners."
That comment would be a hoot if it weren't another blow against more middle class workers. First, it will be interesting to see how many U.S. trucking firms will be lining up for the right to send their drivers and trucks all over Mexico. If that does occur, it will be just as interesting to see how many of those trailers actually make it back to the U.S. Years ago, the railroad I worked for would not allow their cars to go across the border because so many of the cars that made their way across the border were never seen again.
The last part of the comment is even more ridiculous when you translate the comment into what it actually means. How are those eager U.S. consumers going to realize more efficient shipments? Answer: By using Mexican trucks and Mexican drivers, and eliminating those pesky U.S. drivers with their higher wages.
Just another example in a depressingly long litany of sellouts by the people we voted into office. With a few notable exceptions, our Congress does not represent 'we the people' as much as they represent the corporations who contribute to their campaigns, give them cushy lobbying jobs when they leave CONgress, and actually have the power to put them in and remove them from their offices. But when we keep voting them in, we get what we deserve.
Ross Perot warned everybody about the perils of NAFTA during his unsuccessful run for the Presidency. He was right. We used to run a trade surplus with Mexico. Now we have a trade deficit. In fact, at one time we were the biggest creditor nation on the planet. Now we are the biggest debtor nation. But not only do we not hear anything in Congress about repealing NAFTA, they are looking for more sellout deals. Ever heard of CAFTA? That's the push for expanding NAFTA to include all of Central America as well.
A report by the Council on Foreign Relations from sometime back seems to have served almost as a blueprint for what we have seen happening all around us. The CFR report is entitled Building A North American Community. The CFR is a grouping of the mucketiest of the muckety mucks in our country. Take a look at the membership list sometime. It is composed of nothing but leaders in government, society and business. Mere mortals need not apply. If you think their opinion doesn't count and their recommendations are just something for them to talk about over a good cup of grog, then you're probably happy with the way things are going anyway, so why are you reading this?
Here's a few highlights from that report. On page 10, under the heading What We Should Do By 2010, we read that "...the three governments should commit themselves to the long-term goal of dramatically diminishing the need for the current intensity of the governments' physical control of cross-border traffic, travel, and trade within North America." There's your answer if you ever wondered why your government wasn't more interested in guarding our borders.
Page 12 contains this nugget. "NAFTA was designed to create new opportunities for trade and investment in Mexico and thus complement Mexican development programs. Officials hoped that Mexico would grow much faster than its more industrialized partners and begin to narrow the income gap among the three countries." Bet you don't remember your elected legislators telling you all about that when they voted for NAFTA, eh?
And on page 30 here's another neat recommendation. "Develop teachers exchange and training programs for elementary and secondary school teachers. This would assist in removing language barriers and give some students a greater sense of a North American identity." A North American identity? What a brave new world is being foisted upon us.
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