Posted on 03/04/2013 11:14:06 AM PST by blam
12 Things That Just Happened That Show The Next Wave Of The Economic Collapse Is Almost Here
By Michael Snyder
March 3rd, 2013
Are we running out of time? For the last several years, we have been living in a false bubble of hope that has been fueled by massive amounts of debt and bailout money. This illusion of economic stability has convinced most people that the great economic crisis of 2008 was just an "aberration" and that now things are back to normal. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all. The truth is that the financial crash of 2008 was just the first wave of our economic troubles. We have not even come close to recovering from that wave, and the next wave of the economic collapse is rapidly approaching.
Our economy is like a giant sand castle that has been built on a foundation of debt and toilet paper currency. As each wave of the crisis hits us, the solutions that our leaders will present to us will involve even more debt and even more money printing. And each time, those "solutions" will only make our problems even worse. Right now, events are unfolding in Europe and in the United States that are pushing us toward the next major crisis moment. I sincerely hope that we have some more time before the next crisis overwhelms us, but as you will see, time is rapidly running out.
The following are 12 things that just happened that show the next wave of the economic collapse is almost here...
#1 According to TrimTab's CEO Charles Biderman, corporate insider purchases of stock have hit an all-time low, and the ratio of corporate insider selling to corporate insider buying has now reached an astounding 50 to 1....
While retail is being told to buy-buy-buy, Biderman exclaims that "insiders at U.S. companies have bought the least amount of shares in any one month," and that the ratio of insider selling to buying is now 50-to-1 - a monthly record.
#2 On Friday we learned that personal income in the United States experienced its largest one month decline in 20 years...
Personal income decreased by $505.5 billion in January, or 3.6%, compared to December (on a seasonally adjusted and annualized basis). That's the most dramatic decline since January 1993, according to the Commerce Department.
#3 In a stunning move, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder says that he will appoint an emergency financial manager to take care of Detroit's financial affairs...
Snyder, 54, took a step he avoided a year ago, empowering an emergency financial manager who can sweep aside union contracts, sell municipal assets, restructure services and reorder finances. He announced the move yesterday at a public meeting in Detroit.
If this does not work, Detroit will almost certainly have to declare bankruptcy. If that happens, it will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
#4 On Friday it was announced that the unemployment rate in Italy had risen to 11.7 percent. That was a huge jump from 11.3 percent the previous month, and Italy now has the highest unemployment rate that it has experienced in 21 years.
#5 The youth unemployment rate in Italy has risen to a new all-time record high of 38.7 percent.
#6 On Friday it was announced that the unemployment rate in the eurozone as a whole had just hit a brand new record high of 11.9 percent.
#7 On Friday it was announced that the unemployment rate in Greece has now reached 27 percent, and it is being projected that it will reach 30 percent by the end of the year.
#8 The youth unemployment rate in Greece is now an almost unbelievable 59.4 percent.
#9 On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Lisbon and other Portuguese cities to protest the austerity measures that are being imposed upon them. It was reportedly the largest protest in the history of Portugal.
#10 According to Goldman Sachs, bank deposits declined all over Europe during the month of January.
#11 Over the weekend, the deputy governor of China's central bank declared that China is prepared for a "currency war"...
A top Chinese banker said Beijing is "fully prepared" for a currency war as he urged the world to abide by a consensus reached by the G20 to avert confrontation, state media reported on Saturday.
Yi Gang, deputy governor of China's central bank, issued the call after G20 finance ministers last month moved to calm fears of a looming war on the currency markets at a meeting in Moscow.
Those fears have largely been fuelled by the recent steep decline in the Japanese yen, which critics have accused Tokyo of manipulating to give its manufacturers a competitive edge in key export markets over Asian rivals.
#12 Italy is an economic basket case at this point, and the political gridlock in Italy is certainly not helping matters. Former comedian Beppe Grillo's party could potentially tip the balance of power one way or the other in Italy, and over the weekend he made some comments that are really shaking things up over in Europe. For one thing, he is suggesting that Italy should hold a referendum on the euro...
"I am a strong advocate of Europe. I am in favor of an online referendum on the euro," Beppe Grillo told Bild am Sonntag.
Such a vote would not be legally binding in Italy, where referendums can only be used to repeal laws or parts of laws, but would carry political weight. Grillo has said in the past that membership of the euro should be up to the Italian people.
In addition, Grillo is also suggesting that Italy's debt has gotten so large that renegotiation is the only option...
In an interview with a German magazine published on Saturday, Mr Grillo said that “if conditions do not change” Italy “will want” to leave the euro and return to its former national currency.
The 64-year-old comic-turned-political activist also said Italy needs to renegotiate its €2 trillion debt.
At 127 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), it is the highest in the euro zone after Greece.
“Right now we are being crushed, not by the euro, but by our debt. When the interest payments reach €100 billion a year, we’re dead. There’s no alternative,” he told Focus, a weekly news magazine.
He said Italy was in such dire economic straits that “in six months, we will no longer be able to pay pensions and the wages of public employees.”
And of course government debt has taken center stage in the United States as well.
The sequester cuts have now gone into effect, and they will definitely have an effect on the U.S. economy. Of course that effect will not be nearly as dramatic as many Democrats are suggesting, but without a doubt those cuts will cause the U.S. economy to slow down a bit.
And of course the U.S. economy has already been showing plenty of signs of slowing down lately. If you doubt this, please see my previous article entitled "Consumer Spending Drought: 16 Signs That The Middle Class Is Running Out Of Money".
So what comes next?
Well, everyone should keep watching Europe very closely, and it will also be important to keep an eye on Wall Street. There are a whole bunch of indications that the stock market is at or near a peak. For example, just check out what one prominent stock market analyst recently had to say...
"Every reliable technical tool is warning of major peaking action," said Walter Zimmerman, the senior technical analyst at United-ICAP. "This includes sentiment, momentum, classical chart patterns, and Elliott wave analysis.
"Most of the rally in the stock market since 2009 can be chalked up to the Federal Reserve’s attempt to create a ‘wealth effect’ through higher stock market prices. This only exacerbates the downside risk. Why? The stock market no is longer a lead indicator for the economy. It is instead reflecting Fed manipulation. Pushing the stock market higher while the real economy languishes has resulted in another bubble.
"The next leg down will not be a partial correction of the advance since the 2009 lows. It will be another major financial crisis. The worst is yet to come."
Sadly, most people will continue to deny that anything is wrong until it is far too late.
Many areas of Europe are already experiencing economic depression, and it is only a matter of time before the U.S. follows suit.
Time is running out, and I hope that you are getting ready.
So what do you think?
How much time do you believe that we have left before the next wave of the economic collapse strikes?
Be prepared.
Compiling 12 random points of bad news that include the unemployment rate in Italy is just absurd.
But I just read a story about a coming 3 year bull market. Now I’m all confused.
“”Most of the rally in the stock market since 2009 can be chalked up to the Federal Reserve’s attempt to create a ‘wealth effect’ through higher stock market prices. “
By POLICY and not words, Bernanke and Obama believe in trickle-down economics !?
I wish there would be a collapse, since it would shock people into realizing the failure of decades of idiotic policies and cultural practices.
The EU and Washington know better, and unfortunately won’t let it happen. They’ll cushion the blow with all this cooking of the books and instead slip into the “new normal” of stagnation.
People will adjust, and no one will question it except an angry minority like us who know better.
That’s my worst fear.
Me too!
Suspicions confirmed. The stock market "rally" is a fudge by the Federal Reserve to build up a false confidence in the soundness of the US business climate.
It was ALWAYS smoke and mirrors.
One of the main reasons Obama had no interest in changing the Sequestration agreement is so he can blame the coming economic downturn on Sequestration and the republicans.
And the press will make sure his meassage gets out in a way positive for him.
You can almost hear his whiny voice crying:
“We were right in the middle of a big turnaround and on the threshold of a big economic boom when the evil republicans sabotaged my efforts to avoid the Sequestration cuts just so their rich and greedy 1% pals would not have to pay their fair share of taxes.”
13. Wrestling was tossed out of the Olympics
14. The Super Bowl Commercials were all really, really awful.
15. Anne Hathaway keeps turning up in public without her underwear
16. Wendy’s raised the prices on their Dollar Menu to over a dollar
17. The Columbus Blue Jackets have only won six games all season
Gold, silver, lead and storable food
Be “prepared” how?
How do you protect digital wealth? And its just about all digital. Be kinda hard to walk into your branch bank and demand to see YOUR money...Or to have your 401k liquidated to shove under your mattress.
Food? check. Ammo? check. Weapons, of course...Your wealth?
Hmmm...
I just get confused...i KNOW its coming but I don’t know what to DO.
It may be painful, but the economy is trying to correct, which is necessary before it can get healthy.
Now if we can just get the thieving administration under control, the gods of the copybook headings can fix this mess.
You don't. A certain percentage (up to 100%) you must have in your possession and be able to defend it, hide it, or abandon it as necessary. That percentage of FRNs, silver & gold should be on hand for trading purposes. The percentage and mixture is up to you as you assess the likelihood and scope of change on a weekly/daily/hourly basis.
Be prepared with plenty of all that you mentioned and alternative living sites and/or the ability to survive alone.
Your wealth is your survivability.
Well, you prepare!
LOL, I'm just messin' with you. To protect your wealth, some financial guru might tell you to convert all your asets into precious metals such as gold and silver and stash it all in a hermetically sealed mayonnaise jar buried in the backyard.
However, I'm NOT a financial guru, so any info I could give you would be little more than BS!
Other than standing my ground with my guns and ammo, I don't have any better ideas. If you get some, please give me a holler. Thanks.
Dusty
from 2 zero hedge posters...
mick_richfield
That’s the brilliant thing about conquering a country with fiat currency.
Everybody thinks it’s still a democracy. It still looks like a democracy.
But it’s not. In a fiat currency nation, the political system will shortly be controlled by the people who create the fiat currency. The ‘citizens’ can vote all they want, but they will never quite be able to control their country again.
Then their reptilian conquerors say “You voted for thisss. You mussst pay.”
If they can convince a large enough part of the population that it’s their own damn fault, they have enslaved a nation without a shot fired.
Our enemies are not stupid.
OutLookingIn
“Democracy has proved only that the best way to gain power over people is to assure the people that they are ruling themselves. Once they believe that, they make wonderfully submissive slaves.”
- Joseph Sobran (1946-2010)
a couple of hundred more comments...here...
Convert your digital to commodity wealth.
Food, land, tools, ammo...
Listen to Jack: http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com
There are a few “getting started” shows and a bunch of specialty shows with a lot of information.
How do you protect digital wealth? And its just about all digital. . . .
__________________________________________________________
It is only digital if you allow it to be. . . .
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You walk into the financial instutition, ask for a check for all your funds then cash the check or better yet use the deposited check to order your junk silver and a few gold coins. Gold coils while an excellent store of wealth in a small space are hard to protect and harder to convert back to spendable cash.
Silver is VERY bulky but very spendable. One to two silver dimes is good for a gallon of gas. A roll of dimes in each trouser pocket is easy to carry but I wouldn’t expect someone to kill for it. A couple of Eagles on the other hand would be something that would be dangerous to carry.
You can easily convert your money into something that will hold its value. Real Estate will not necessairly hold its value but will always have some value. Commodities will hold their value. Stocks of any kind in a SHTF world may not mean anything.
Plan your fortress, plan to protect it. If you have family that has no place to go make sure they know the rules to stay with you.
Don’t plan on travel when times get tough. Read the stories from Cosovo about the people that tried to get out. They lost every thing they had on them and many lost even their lives.
The gangs will come. Just make sure that your gang can inflict unacceptable harm on the other gangs so that they leave you alone. If you don’t have a fortress and the ability to protect it you might as well move everything you have of value to the front lawn and let it disappear and hope nobody comes looking for more.
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