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News on Precious Metals

News log

That Which is Unsustainable Will Go Away: Medicare. Posted 5/16/2012. The Medicare system would need about 10 workers for every beneficiary to be sustainable. Right now the ratio is just above 2-to-1. That simply is not sustainable.

Backwardation in Gold And Silver. Posted 5/16/2012. Backwardation going forward several months suggests markets for precious metals, silver more than gold, have become quite tight. There is a lack of unencumbered (i.e. available) metal.

Turk - Expect Tremendous Chaos, Europe Deteriorating Rapidly. Posted 5/15/2012. Europeans are exiting the Euro, which is strengthening the U.S. dollar. Europe is undergoing from all appearances a deflationary collapse, yet inflation is rising because of the ECB printing.

Silver Plunges Below Marginal Cost: Commentary from a Retired Geologist. Posted 5/15/2012. Marginal cost for silver is currently $29, according to the article. Essentially, silver has been produced below total costs since the 1930's, which is why only 22% of silver mines subsist on silver alone and the other 78% survive on their other metal production with silver as a mere by-product. No straight silver mine makes money, unless it is very, very high grade.

Gold miners need $3,000 price in five years - gold council. Posted 5/14/2012. Miners currently need a gold price of $1,300 to survive, but face steep rises in mining costs, along with the cost of dividends and host nation taxes.

24 Facts That Prove That America Is A Nation Of Slobs. Posted 5/9/2012. Mostly statistics on social condition, but a few on finances. The U.S. has more credit card debt, mortgage debt, and student loan debt than anyone in the world. On the social front, we are the most obese (36%), the greatest percentage of divorces, the most prescription and illegal drug usage, the most fast food and soda consumption, the highest teen pregnancy rate, etc.

Economic Alert: If You’re Not Worried Yet…You Should Be. Posted 5/8/2012. Originally posted on Zerohedge. Suggests 2012 will be the year that QE3 is announced, resulting in the $USD losing a lot of its value which will cause inflation in prices. Oil and energy prices will skyrocket. With high inflation, doing traditional business will become nearly impossible.

(YouTube) Fake Numbers. Posted 5/7/2012. Discusses the magnitude of the distortions in government GDP (Gross Domestic Product = private Consumption + private Investment + Government spending + (Exports - Imports)). Distortions occur in Imputations (16% of non-commercial activity). In the 1960s and earlier, GDP was not used but rather GNP (Gross National Product), GNE (Gross National Earnings), and NNP (Net National Product). The GDP includes Government Spending but does not subtract Revenue (i.e. Taxes, Licenses, Fees, etc). Investments equals "Stock Investments" which was one-third of GDP last quarter. That's why the FED puts so much effort at keeping the stock market up. There is a HUGE distortion in the "private Consumption" component, in that it constitutes the overriding (71%) share of the equation. It doesn't make sense to consider 71% consumption as economic growth. Also, the formula does not take into account when *both* Exports and Imports are falling--i.e. there is no net change when in fact economic activity is decreasing. Hedonics (e.g. ABS brakes were originally expensive, but in time the dropped in price, so the government adjusted inflation downward). In Substitution, if a price goes up, then change to a lower priced item (e.g. Chicken for Steak, or a Compact Car for a Family Car, if the Family Car went up in price).

The Fraud & Theft Will Continue Until Morale Improves. Posted 5/7/2012. Excellent article on inflation of various sectors these last 40 years. For example,

The average new home price in 1970 was $26,600. The average new home price today is $291,200.

The average cost of a new car in 1970 was $3,900. The average price of a new car today is $30,748.

A gallon of gasoline cost 36 cents in 1970. A gallon of gas today costs $3.85.

The average price of a loaf of bread in 1970 was 25 cents.

HOWEVER, total wages and salaries rose from $16,079 in 1970 to $22,060 today.

(YouTube) Why You Shouldn't Trust the BLS Number. Posted 5/2/2012. The BLS ( Bureau of Labor Statistics) unemployment percentage number are based on a Census Bureau survey of 60,000 households sent by mail, with probably half of respondents used for the numbers. In other words the unemployment percentage number touted and argued about endlessly is the result of 30,000 responders out of millions of households. How accurate can that be?

US Dollar VS Gold: Epic Money Battle. Posted 4/25/2012. Suggests Eastern bloc billionaires are involved in the suppression of gold prices in order to raid gold. "The Eastern Coalition, not to be confused with the Eastern Alliance, continues to push down the gold price in order to execute some important very high volume purchases. The coalition is comprised of a handful of extraordinarily wealthy Eastern families with heavy motive to disrupt the balance of banking power dominated by the New York and London crowd to the point of chronic hegemony and abuse. They had a $50 billion infusion last November to move the bullion metal out of cartel banks methodically. The coalition pushes down the gold price in order to conduct raids on the gold cartel member banks, exploiting their vulnerability with respect to margin calls on sovereign bond positions and currency positions." Also suggests that Germany will ally with China and Russia, and together they will eventually ally with the Persian Gulf nations.

Peak Housing, Peak Fraud, Peak Suburbia and Peak Property Taxes. Posted 4/25/2012. Compelling article on why housing will remain depressed for years to come.

The Great Western Revenue Crisis, Part I. Posted 4/23/2012. In REAL dollars: (1) Spending on government social programs has been falling since the mid-1990s, (2) Wages for government workers have been falling since the 1970s, and (3) With our economy already totally hollowed-out, so-called "austerity" causes deficits to get larger, not smaller—a situation not unlike what has occurred in Greece.

The real unemployment rate is at 22.2% (SGS-alternate unemployment measure). Posted 4/9/2012. The peak unemployment rate in the Great Depression was 25% (1933), so we are currently near those levels. Another number to consider is the non-farm unemployment rate in 1933 of 35%, since roughly a quarter of the population (27%) worked on farms compared to 2% today.

The Broken Window Fallacy. Posted 4/2/2012. This short video explains one of the most persistent economic fallacies of our day.

Gold Coins (US Mint) In Q1 2012 Show "No Hysteria and No Bubble". Posted 4/2/2012. Dr Gurdgiev concludes that “in recent months demand for gold has been oscillating around the historic trend (as opposed to resting above that trend in August 2008-August 2011 period) is the good news - the current levels of demand are historically sustainable, trend reversion-consistent and show neither hype, nor panic buying.”

The Critical Number for Gold. Posted 4/2/2012. History shows that as long as REAL interest rates are 2% or lower, gold will remain in a bull market.

(YouTube) No U.S. economy in 2027. Posted 3/26/2012. Secretary Timothy Geithner admits to it on video before a government committee hearing.

China Syndrome 2: A Run on the US Treasury. Posted 3/20/2012. Explains the scenario that will play out when foreign lenders, particularly China, refuse to rollover their holdings of U.S. debt.

(Audio) Ellis Martin Report with Jim Sinclair and the Nuclear Economic Trigger. Posted 3/19/2012. James Sinclair outlines not a scenario but a reality that is here now. The US has pulled the nuclear economic trigger on India and Japan in the interest of coercing them to cease trading for oil with Iran. The gun is actually pointed at ourselves. Listen and hear why the dollar is ultimately doomed as these countries now look to the Yuan and Euro as a trading tool instead of the dollar. That’s India, Japan, Russia, China, Europe, etc.

Ben Bernanke Tries To Convince America That The Federal Reserve Is Good And The Gold Standard Is Bad. Posted 3/20/2012.

Savings & Capital Theory. Posted 3/11/2012. Good discussion of monetary versus physical capital. What is capital? Think in terms of capital creation, capital employment and capital consumption or destruction. If you build a house, you have created capital. If you live in the house, you are consuming the capital. If you use a special tool to build the house, you are employing capital. Savings is the result of production being greater than consumption. The act of saving is deferring the fruits of capital creation/employment/consumption until later, whether the capital is used by the saver or handed over to the next person for consumption. When savings is done poorly, it results in capital destruction. The article explains how governments are always net consumers of capital and, therefore, are net destroyers of capital. Governments confiscate capital in at least three ways: (1) via taxation, (2) by selling government debt (i.e. you are loaning your capital to a net consumer when buying government bonds, not creator of capital), and (3) via the fractional reserve system and money printing (i.e. the dilution of the currency in which the capital is valued).

South African Gold Production Dives Again To 90 Year Lows. Posted 3/15/2012. The article suggest peak gold is here, "some data suggests that global gold production may have peaked in the early 2000s."

Making 9 Million Jobless "Vanish": How The Government Manipulates Unemployment Statistics. Posted 3/14/2012. By Daniel R. Amerman.

Russia Dumps Treasurys For 14 Consecutive Months; China Slashes Holdings To Lowest In Over A Year. Posted 2/15/2012.

Americans: Here’s How to Protect Your Retirement Assets From Coming Gov’t “Confiscation”. Posted 3/31/2011. It's dated, but still valid.

(YouTube) The Vote Pump. Posted 1/27/2012. Excellent video describing how much the federal government receives in taxes and spends.

States seek currencies made of silver and gold. Posted 2/3/2012. Worried that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. dollar are on the brink of collapse, lawmakers from 13 states, including Minnesota, Tennessee, Iowa, South Carolina and Georgia, are seeking approval from their state governments to either issue their own alternative currency or explore it as an option. South Carolina Republican Representative Mike Pitts proposed a currency system that would allow people to use any kind of silver or gold coin. Of all the state proposals circulating right now, Republican-controlled states including South Carolina, Georgia, Idaho and Indiana have the best chance of passing their proposed bills this year, said American Principles Project's Danker. If just one or two states implement an alternative currency, it could have a Domino effect, he said.

Corruption in Fascist Business Model. Posted 2/1/2012. The United States of America had been the beacon of capitalism and freedom. In the last 20 years, it has proven to be the epitome of anti-capitalism...The historians all too well are aware that the final chapter of a capitalist nation is embedded in fascism, as its institutions suffer from profound corruption. Headings: Corrupt Big Banks, Corrupt Central Bank, Corrupt Regulators, Corrupt Mortgage Business, Corrupt Wars, Corrupt Exchange Traded Funds, Corrupt Comex, Corrupt Economic Data.

The Debt Supercycle Part II: On Borrowed Time. Posted 1/31/2012. The U.S. deficit is structural and growing exponentially.

Pento - Gold Shines as West Continues to Destabilize the World. Posted 1/29/2012. We are going to engender a bubble that is ten times bigger than the real estate bubble and I’ll name that bubble, it’s the bubble in US Treasuries and in sovereign debt. The eventual collapse in that bubble is going to dwarf anything we have seen to date in this ongoing financial crisis. You don’t have to guess what happens during a period of intractable inflation or hyperinflation. If you look at the worst hyperinflation case the planet has ever witnessed, it was the Hungarian collapse in 1946. The Hungarian pengo was not even fit to line the bottom of a bird cage when the Hungarian government was finished with it.

How to Benefit from the Greatest Transfer of Wealth. Originally posted 2/16/2009. During the 7 years of famine in Egypt, in the time of Joseph, one of the greatest transfers of wealth in the history of this world took place. The Pharaoh of Egypt obtained great wealth in the amount of land and people who became his servants. “And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh: for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s” –Gen 47:20. Not only did he buy every man’s field but also every man as a servant. With what did he buy every man and his field? With bread – “buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh” –Gen 47:19.

Americans Are Deleveraging, But Not Because They Want To. Posted 1/23/2012. It would require another 22% reduction in house prices from mid-2011 in order to get to a ratio of debt relative to income of 2000. This may happen by mid-2013. By another more extreme measure, U.S. households are a bit more than one-third of the way through deleveraging.

(YouTube) Your Wages Will Be Cut In Half! Posted 1/20/2012. The text for the video is here. Expecting inflation to 20% in less than a year.

One Hundred Million Dollar Penny. Posted 12/13/2011. If a penny was worth $100,000,000, how much could you buy?

The Debt Supercycle Reaches Its Final Chapter. Posted 1/18/2012. Welcome to the final chapter of the Debt Supercycle—a period of trillion dollar deficits that are being monetized by trillion dollar expansions of central bank balance sheets, otherwise known as money printing. Once fiscal policy is pushed to the limits of sustainability, the Debt Supercycle will come to a violent end. Three potential market shocks: (1) A spike in commodity prices triggered by additional rounds of quantitative easing, (2) political instability and loss of confidence in government policy, (3) a default or restructuring of a sovereign debt that caused a domino effect.

Reggie Middleton Illustrates Pitfalls of American Education Using His 5 yr Old Daughter. Posted 1/16/2012. Why we have a failed educational system.

(Video) Mohamed El-Erian tells us that he believes QE3 is coming and that the Age of Credit is at Risk. Posted 1/13/2012. Interview with El-Erian, gives good summary and many layman-level terms to describe the world financial condition. To skip the very long intermission at around 13:15, click here.

Are China's gold imports reaching panic proportions? Posted 1/12/2012. Total gold imports expected to be around 490 tonnes for 2011 or double the 245 tonnes of 2010. Together with domestic production estimate of 375 tonnes, the total for 2011 would be 865 tonnes. At this rate, in a few years China's gold reserves will surpass Germany's 3,400 tonnes.

Deadly Dow 36,000 and The Secret History Of A 70% Market Loss. Posted 1/12/2012. Documents how inflation hid a 70% market loss from 1968 to 1982, and how it will do it again in our current situation.

Russian Move Against US Called “First Shot” Of World War III. Posted 1/11/2012. Also details Saddam Hussein's and Muammar Gaddafi's attempts to trade oil in non-US dollar based currencies.

Argentina to Maintain Cash Supply Growth at Inflationary Pace. Posted 1/3/2012. Argentina’s central bank plans to keep injecting cash into the economy at the current pace, a move that may further stoke inflation that’s already among the fastest in the world....Consumer prices in Argentina rose about 25 percent this year, according to private economists. That’s more than any major global economy except Venezuela as President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner increases government spending to spur consumer demand and boost local production.

It's All Been Done Before. Posted 1/10/2012. Everything that is currently going on in the US... government "stimulus", massive deficits, pending bankruptcy and the use of the crisis to institute more government controls and blame the "free market" has already happened twice in the last century in the US.

Ron Paul's Fantastic Speech After Taking 2nd In New Hampshire. Posted 1/10/2012. Succinct presentation of his views.

Simon Black: Another Consequence of Economic Decline. Posted 1/10/2012. After limping along for most of the last decade with a socialist agenda, the government of Argentina is at it again. The economy is rapidly deteriorating, and street-inflation has surpassed 25%.

The Arbitrageur: Silver In Backwardation. Posted 1/6/2012. In a normal commodity, backwardation means shortage. But in gold and silver it means something else entirely. People have the metal. They are just unwilling to decarry (i.e. sell) it.

Three Scary Sectors for 2012. Posted 1/3/2012. CNBC interview with Reggie Middleton. Explains the problems with F.I.R.E. (Financials, Insurance, and Real Estate) going into 2012. Mentions Bank of America's insolvent condition.

The Dismal Economic Outlook For The New Year. Posted 1/6/2012. Scathing commentary on the U.S. economy over the last 10 years.

January Surprise: Is Obama preparing a trillion-dollar, mass refinancing of mortgages? Posted 1/4/2012. Steps may be underway to give the economy a boost via a mass refinancing program for agency-backed mortgages.

(Video) In Depth with Author and Journalist Chris Hedges. Posted 1/1/2012. Three-hour interview Pulitzer-price winning news correspondent and author worth listening to. Topics covered include the economy, terrorism, religion and politics. He believes the great evil in the world's economies is corporatism in all its forms.

Food Price Volatility Hits the World. Posted 1/3/2012. Food-at-home (grocery store) prices are expected to have increased 4.25 to 4.75 percent for 2011 (from data as of November, 2011) and for 2012 are forecast to increase another 3 to 4 percent. The article presents many other issues related to food production, including energy (petroleum) costs, food stamps, arable land, and water. "The US no longer controls oil prices through our own demand structure. We are no longer the force in world oil price movements. It is the emerging demand from the 7 billion people in the developing world that control oil prices, and now that is going to be the case with milk, beef, and grains, as well. This means that the value of a home garden, although its "price" is not posted every day, is rising -- and will rise further."

World's Biggest Hedge Fund [Bridgewater Associates] Is Bearish For 2012 Through 2028, And Is Long Gold. Posted 1/3/2012.

(Audio) Jim Rickards predictions for 2012. Posted 12/31/2011. Several predicts. Predicts QE3 by May or so.

$135 Billion Redeemed From US Equity Mutual Funds In 2011, 34 Of 35 Consecutive Weekly Outflows. Posted 12/29/2011. An all time record outflow for any year in which the S&P closed even nominally positive for the year.

A Run On The Global Banking System—How Close Are We? Posted 12/27/2011. Discusses the implications of the MF Global bankruptcy scandal. “The MF Global scandal has made it clear that the integrity of the system has disappeared...As I write this, a lot of investors whom I know personally—who are sophisticated, wealthy, and not at all the paranoid type—are quietly pulling their money out of all brokerage firms, all banks, all equity firms. They are quietly trading out of their paper assets and going into the actual, physical asset. Note that they’re not trading into the asset—they’re simply exchanging their paper-asset for the real thing. Why? MF Global."

(Video) Republic, Lost. Posted in Nov, 2011. Lawrence Lessig examines the way in which money links every issue that Americans — both liberal and conservative — care about. "Money buys results in Congress." That belief erodes trust. Low trust erodes participation.

(YouTube) Silver Fundamentals Explained 3 - Office Series 9. Posted 12/29/2011. Fun video on what one billionaire could do to the price of silver.

How Gold, Silver And Platinum Will Respond To ECB's Money Printing. Posted 12/22/2011. The author believes that Europe is going to see significantly better nominal growth levels than the assumptions gave it credit for. It is also going to see a lot of monetary inflation, at least over the next 3 years. The money supply in Europe will exponentially increase, on a scale that will exceed that of America and Britain. Gold and silver will inevitably rise in direct response to this monetary liquidity.

The European Central Bank Loses Its Virginity. Posted 12/23/2011. Gonzalo Lira explains how the recent ECB bailout will cause SPG (Spain, Portugal, and Greece) to ultimately exit the EuroZone. This assumes, of course, that the money the banks receive from the ECB will be used to buy sovereign debt. Other commentators suggest that only a fraction of that money will be used for that purpose, and that the bulk will be used to shore up other bank debt obligations.

The Fed vs The ECB - Presenting "The Correlation Of 2012" And What It Means For Gold. Posted 12/23/2011. In the last six months the ECB has printed more than the FED did in all of QE2. However, gold has not (yet) reacted to this reality. The expectation is that it will happen in 2012.

(VIDEO) Outlook for Gold in 2012. Posted 12/21/2011. Investors are leveraged 100:1 on paper gold assets.

Richard Russell issues a super-bearish warning. Posted 12/21/2011.

Three dramatic housing trends closing out 2011. Posted 12/21/2011. – Impact of overstating home sales, foreclosure wave will return in 2012, and a very creative agent picture of a property.

Mike Platt believes this time is significantly worse than 2008. Posted 12/21/2011. Hedge fund manager of $30 billion who made money in 2008. Platt is not a permabear by any means. He caught the rebound nicely in 2009 but now believes the prudent thing to do is completely avoid risk for the time being as better opportunities will come down the road for those who stay liquid.

The Silver Rush at MF Global. Posted 12/19/2011. Also posted here.

Money supply explosion will lead to accelerating inflation. Posted 12/17/2011. Singularity or the point where the gold price goes to theoretical infinity, is in February 2014, only 26 months away. Unless this long-term trend (since the 1900s) is somehow broken, gold is also telling us the dollar is heading for hyperinflation.

Kyle Bass on the Fate of the World. Posted 12/16/2011. Must watch video.

The Coming Collapse might be your Final Chance to Legally Buy Physical Gold this Decade. Posted 12/14/2011. This is a repeat of 2008.

Commodity Unwind Continues As Global Liquidity Scramble Accelerates. Posted 12/14/2011. Suggests that the drop today (nearly 4% in gold and 8% in silver) ) was as a result of European banks running out of USA dollars. Having already dumped U.S. safe-haven securities, they are only left with gold and silver to dump.

RIP Fed Dollar Swap Intervention: Central Bank Liquidity Injection Half Life Two Weeks. Posted 12/14/2011.

Blood is in the Streets - Time to Review the Fundamentals of Precious Metals. Fundamentally nothing has changed. Review the facts.

Central Bank Appetite And The Monetary Case For $10,000 Gold. Posted 12/12/2011. Latest estimates predict global central banks will purchase between 475-500 tons of gold in 2011. While the price of gold has followed the same upward path as money supply over the past 14 years, it hasn’t been able to keep pace with M2 growth. Based on M2 growth, gold would be greater than $5,000 per troy ounce if just half of global money supply were backed by gold.

Realtors: We Overcounted Home Sales for Five Years. Posted December 13, 2011. Data on sales of previously owned U.S. homes from 2007 through October this year will be revised down next week because of double counting, indicating a much weaker housing market than previously thought.

Headwinds for Housing. Posted December 12, 2011. Excellent article on housing prices over the last three decades. Predicts bottom in the 2013-2014 timeframe.

60 Minutes: Prosecuting Wall Street. Posted December 4, 2011. It's been three years since the financial crisis crippled the American economy, and much to the consternation of the general public and the demonstrators on Wall Street, there has not been a single prosecution of a high-ranking Wall Street executive or major financial firm even though fraud and financial misrepresentations played a significant role in the meltdown. We wanted to know why...

China's September gold purchases leap sixfold. Posted December 1, 2011. The Chinese mainland imported about 140 tonnes of gold via Hong Kong in the 3rd quarter of 2011, more than the roughly 120 tonnes for all of 2010.

Kyle Bass redux. Posted December 1, 2011. Hour-long interview full of information. Kyle sees a forest-fire crisis coming as early as end of December, 2011.

Japan outlook severe. Personal savings of the Japanese population is forecast to be below zero by the middle of 2012. Their ability to fund themsleves internally is coming to an end. We believe that Japan would have a bond crisis of is own within the next two years without the current European debt crisis. The European debt crisis will simply act as an accelerant to the Japanese situation....We believe that this sequence of events is set to begin in the next few months (beginning with defaults in Europe).

No Laws Were Broken. Posted November 28, 2011. The IMF is bailing out the EU at nearly $800 billion. Discusses the MF Global scandal (i.e. more than $1 billion of missing customer funds) and lack of prosecution.

Why Silver For A Monetary Collapse? Part 1. Posted November 21, 2011. Includes gold-silver ratio and DOW-gold ratio charts.

Not your grandfather’s Republican Party; President Obama and Mitt Romney are Nearly One and the Same! Posted November 25, 2011. Mish endorses Ron Paul and contrasts him to the other candidates. "As preposterous as it may have sounded at first glance, Obama and Romney are nearly One and the Same! Neither will tackle the budget deficit. Both will keep military spending intact....To be fair, Romney is more likely to start a devastating trade war with China (in fact he has guaranteed it), while president Obama is more likely to waste money on social programs and big labor....The simple fact of the matter is: it does not matter much if you vote for Mitt Romney or Barrack Obama. Both will destroy the country. Both support wars. Both will spend the country into the ground (but perhaps in different ways)."

Currency Wars - Russia Officially Adds 19.5 Tonnes of Gold Reserves in October Alone. Posted November 25, 2011. It was the first time in recent years (since French President de Gaulle 35 years ago) that a head of state of one of the larger and more powerful G8 global players has expressly endorsed its central bank buying gold and probably the first time that a head of state has been photographed many times holding and admiring gold bullion bars.

Imminent Threat. Posted November 16, 2011. Watching the farce of America’s political theater play out, it’s clear that this ticking time bomb will go off after Election Day 2012. As polarized as voters are, and as dismal the federal balance sheet is, there’s little chance of society keeping it together afterwards.

European Debt To GDP Map: French Contagion. Posted November 15, 2011. This morning CNBC interviewed Blackrock's CEO Larry Fink, who said liquidity is vanishing everywhere in Europe. He sees a major crisis erupting in the markets in the next two weeks if major action if major action is not taken.

European Debt Crisis: You Haven't Seen Anything Yet. Posted November 14, 2011. Though the daily market gyrations might indicate otherwise, realization is beginning to creep in that the European debt crisis and its effect on the U.S. will not take days, weeks or months to unwind—but years. How many years is up for debate, but a common range bandied about among investment experts is two to five.

Ten Million Homes (19%) Face Foreclosure; 50% of Mortgages Underwater. Posted November 9, 2011. Nearly 20% of homeowners will, at some point during this crisis, fall into the delinquency/foreclosure process. That is a massive number. Out of 100 homes that may be in your neighborhood, on average, 20 of the homeowners will not be able to make their monthly mortgage payments.

Chinese Silver Investment Going Parabolic. The volume in September of this year was more than six times that of the same period in 2010. Chinese silver trading is largely a paper market today. These paper silver contracts are redeemable in silver bars at the banks yet the banks do not have the silver. Curiously, the Chinese word for “Bank” is literally translated as “Silver House”.

Four Facts That PROVE The EFSF Doesn’t Matter… At All. FACT #1: Europe’s entire banking system is leveraged at 25 to 1. FACT #2: European Financial Corporations are collectively sitting on debt equal to 148% of TOTAL EU GDP. FACT #3: European banks need to roll over between 15% and 50% of their total debt by the end of 2012. FACT #4: In order to meet current unfunded liabilities (pensions, healthcare, etc) without defaulting or cutting benefits, the average EU nation would need to have OVER 400% of its current GDP sitting in a bank account collecting interest....Europe’s ENTIRE banking system (with few exceptions) is insolvent. Numerous entire European COUNTRIES are insolvent. Even the more “rock solid” countries such as Germany (who is supposed to save Europe apparently) have REAL Debt to GDP ratios of over 200% and STILL HAVEN’T RECAPITALIZED THEIR BANKS....What happened in 2008 was literally just the warm up. The REAL DEAL is coming in the next 14 months. And it’s going to involve corporate, financial, and sovereign defaults.

Chris Hedges: "This one could take them all down." Regarding Occupy Wall Street movement. What happens is in all of these movements ... the foot soldiers of the elite -- the blue uniformed police, the mechanisms of control -- finally don't want to impede the movement and at that point the power elite is left defenseless.

Eric Sprott, Financial Sense NewsHour 19 Oct 2011. Discusses silver purchases being equal to gold in dollar amounts.

America Will Surpass 100% Debt To GDP On Halloween. Posted October 19, 2011. As of today, total US Debt, is $14.942 trillion. Q2 GDP as was reported by the BEA three weeks ago, was $15.012 trillion. Tomorrow the Treasury will announce approximately $99 billion in 2, 5 and 7 Year bonds to be auctioned off October 25 through 27... with a very appropriate settlement date: October 31.

James Turk's AIER speech. Presented in late July, 2011. James Turk outlines why gold should be considered "money" rather than an investment, and why the fiscal policies of governments and central banks all over the world are robbing paper currencies of their purchasing power.

COMEX Commercial Silver Net Shorts Lowest in Eight Years. Posted Friday, October 7, 2011. Large traders the CFTC classes as “commercial” report lowest combined net short position for silver since April 1, 2003. COMEX Commercials reduce net short bets on silver by 60% past month as silver drops 28.5% - position suggests low confidence in lower silver prices.

(September, 2011) News to expect in the coming weeks. Posted by Dr. Pippa Malmgren. Outlines the events to occur in Europe--i.e. Greece default, Germany leaves the Euro, Euro (and European banks) collapses and the US dollar rises, inevitable need for QE3. If huge liquidity is thrown at the problem then it will lean toward US Treasuries and hard assets. Gold, agricultural assets, and energy prices will rise.

What’s Happening with Gold? Posted September 27, 2011.

Gold & Silver Bubbles, Panics and Stink Bids. Posted September 26, 2011. Panic buying on this price drop.

Is China Ready To Pull The Plug? Posted September 16, 2011. China is discreetly moving to dump U.S. debt.

'Unsinkable' Gold'. Posted August 29, 2011 by Jeff Neilson. "We are currently living through a period of unparallelled economic crisis....We are facing (simultaneously) the most extreme inflationary fears in history and the most extreme deflationary fears (i.e. a solvency crisis). And...there is strong risk that we will simultaneously experience the worst deflationary collapse in our history combined with hyperinflation....Gold is the only asset class capable of outperforming other asset classes in either an “inflationary” or “solvency” crisis."

Denominators Matter! What the Price of Gold Tells Us About the Value of Other Assets. Posted July 22, 2011.

Utah Coin Act. Posted June 23, 2011. Discussion on the ramifications of the act (i.e. making gold and silver legal tender for intrastate transactions) and other states considering it.

(Video) Silver the greatest investment of the next 10 years. Posted April, 2011. David Morgan is the presenter.

Debt Collapse - The Case For $20,000 Gold - Mike Maloney (FULL PRESENTATION). Posted August 16, 2011.

No Way Out, Part 1. Posted August 9, 2011. By James Puplava. Basically, we are doomed.

10 Reasons Why Gold Is The Gut Reaction And Why Silver Is The Smart Decision. Posted August 9, 2011.

Agriculture: The Next Big Bull Market. Posted August 5, 2011. Jim Rogers, "Agriculture prices are still, on a historic basis, extremely depressed, and in my view I'll probably make more money in agriculture than other things."

(Video) Credit Constraints. Posted July 18, 2011. Sean Egan of Egan-Jones Rating Co. "The US debt to GDP ratio is on par with Portugal." Bond haircut will be about 70% for Ireland and Portugal and 90% for Greece.

Numbers On The Debt. Posted July 27, 2011 by Karl Denninger. A must read. "The Federal Government borrows about 43 cents of every dollar it spends. This is, approximately, what you would be doing if you made $100,000 a year but spent about $175,000, each and every year for the last three years. Would you be able to get away with that?"

Broke! 10 Facts About The Financial Condition Of American Families That Will Blow Your Mind. Posted July 25, 2011.

(Video) Fiat Money Produces Endless Sea of Wars, Debt, Social Inequality, Economic Bubbles, Rampant Consumerism, Environmental Rape; Why Gold is the Answer.

The Truth About Budgets. Posted July 18, 2011 by Karl Denninger. A must read.

The Screaming Fundamentals For Owning Gold And Silver: Chris Martenson. Posted June 29, 2011.

Chris Martenson developed the "The Crash Course" which explains the hyperinflationary event, among other important concepts.

U.S. Debt Clock.

Futures prices.

Fiscal Crises and Imperial Collapses presented by Niall Ferguson on May 13, 2010.

Fiscal Crises and Imperial Collapses transcript in PDF.

GoldSilver.com Industry News.

China plays Europe card. Speculation on how China is accumulating gold via support for the troubled Southern European countries (i.e. the PIGS). Dated January 26, 2011.

China buys 47% of the World’s Gold. Posted March 10, 2011.

China buying silver hand over fist. Posted March 21, 2011.

China buying all the gold she could lay her hands on. Posted February 17, 2011.

More silver than you imagined. Estimates 10 billion ounces of silver above ground and 510,000 metric tons of known silver reserves worldwide--i.e. silver that has been located and is currently being mined or is slated for future mining.

Edwin Vieira Interview with James Turk. Mr. Vieira talks about how several states are contemplating legislation to allow gold and silver as alternative currencies.

Obama's Stimulus is Proving as Disastrous as FDR's New Deal. Posted July 6, 2009. A correct reading of the disastrous New Deal which prolonged the economic recovery in the 1930's Great Depression.

Silver mining will roughly peak in 2020. Posted November 29, 2010 by David Morgan.