Free Republic

#1 According to a survey that was just released, 76 percent of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. But most Americans are acting as if their jobs will always be there. But the truth is that mass layoffs can occur at any time. In fact, it just happened at one of the largest law firms in New York City. #2 27 percent of all Americans do not have even a single pennysaved up. #3 46 percent of all Americans have $800 or less saved up. #4 Less than one out of every four Americans has enough money stored away...

Over the past week, various entities controlled by bailed out UK-bank RBS, focusing primarily on NatWest, have seen clients unable to access virtually any of their funds, perform any financial transactions, or even get an accurate reading of their assets. The official reason: "system outage"... yet as the outage drags on inexplicably for the 5th consecutive day, the anger grows, as does speculation that there may be more sinister reasons involved for the cash hold up than a mere computer bug.

'Beware a rerun of the Great Panic of 2008': Head of World Bank warns Europe is heading for 'danger zone' as world markets suffer bleakest day of the year so far Robert Zoellick: 'Far from clear leaders ready for impending catastrophe' Raft of dismal news from around world wreaked havoc on market Manufacturing output crashed in Britain, jobless up in Europe and U.S. Fast-emerging economies such as Brazil and China running out of steam By Hugo Duncan PUBLISHED: 15:49 GMT, 1 June 2012 | UPDATED: 22:52 GMT, 1 June 2012 The head of the World Bank yesterday warned that financial...

The collapse will be a cycle. Its wise to be prepared for all the angles of possibilities .It will be survival of the fittest and most aware. That's exactly what's happening. Either be aware, prepare, survive, and thrive.. or stay in denial and eventually die on your knees. People have a choice. Most choose to stick their heads in the sand while keeping their lazy fat asses in the air. Most of em enjoy the raping.Avoid big cities and crowded places ,Buy food, water, a water purifier, guns and ammo. You will need medical supplies, vitamins and ibuprofen. Power will...

Should our fine financial system cease functioning cash will become a rare and precious medium. Over the years Americans have exchanged paper currency with confidence. Yet, today everyone's cash is a digital value out of hand. Our vast nationwide cash money market holdings greatly exceed any paper currency supply making any Bank run a momentary event. Should the financial house of cards crash, holders of green back US Dollars will be able to engage in trade. Gold hoarders will not know what to do. Credit cards won't work. Checks won't either. If you can't barter, cash will be king. Get...

The Fed's "Operation Twist". Europe And America. Grim Economic Prospects Politics / US Economy Mar 31, 2012 - 12:03 PM By: Bob Chapman Seven months after the official announcement on 9/21/11 of “Operation Twist” not much progress has been made at the long end of the market to reduce yields. The yield on the 10-year T-note has gone from 1.88% to 2.3% and the 30-year bond went from 3.03% to 3.41%. The episode has been marred by hedge fund and sovereign selling, which has left the short end a little higher, but the long end much higher. The question now...

There’s $8 Trillion in global sovereign debt that needs to be rolled over in 2012. This does not include state, local, corporate or personal debt. There’s simply not enough cash in the world to buy all this debt. What is worse – who would? Who in their right mind would loan cash today for ten years for a guaranteed return of 1.85%. We know inflation is at least running at 10% in the real world, and you’re taxed on the gains you make before inflation, making bonds a very bad choice for anybody. But, this debt must be funded or...

With the IMF cutting its global growth forecasts and signs of slowing evident in the dramatic contraction in World Trade Volume in the last few months, it is perhaps no surprise that the central banks of the world have embarked upon what Goldman Sachs calls an 'Unprecedented Alignment of Monetary Policy Across Countries'. Our earlier discussion of the European event risk vs global growth expectations dilemma along with last night's comments on the impact of tightening lending standards around the world also confirms that this policy globalization is still going strong and is likely to continue as gaming out the...

Is Now The Time To Move Away From Major U.S. Cities?January 26, 2011 As the U.S. economy falls apart and as the world becomes increasingly unstable, more Americans than ever are becoming "preppers". It is estimated that there are at least two million preppers in the United States today, but nobody really knows. The truth is that it is hard to take a poll because a lot of preppers simply do not talk about their preparations. Your neighbor could be storing up food in the garage or in an extra bedroom and you might never even know it. An increasing...

I have received enough calls and emails on this within the last few weeks to A.) cause concern and B.) merit a post. People are having difficulty withdrawing cash from banks. I just received the SECOND call on this from California this week. The question is, do banks have the right to deny you cash withdrawals? The answer is NO. They do not. And both of the men I have heard from in California were obviously being bee-essed by their bank. The bank couldn't cite statute, and then started haggling over the amount of cash withdrawals they would allow. That's...

Beware of bubbles of false hope. Right now there is a lot of talk about how the U.S. economy is improving, but it is all a lie. The mainstream media can be very seductive. When you sit down to watch television your brain tends to go into a very relaxed mode. In such a state, it becomes easy to slip thoughts and ideas past your defenses. Sometimes when I am watching television I realize what the media is trying to do and yet I can still feel it happening to me. In this day and age, it is absolutely...

How To Prepare For The Difficult Years AheadMichael SnyderJanuary10, 2012 How should people prepare for the difficult years that are coming? I get asked about that a lot. Once people really examine the facts, it is not too hard to convince them that an economic collapse is coming. But once they accept that reality, most of them want to know what they can do to prepare themselves and their families for the hard times that are ahead. Well, the truth is that it does not have to be complicated. Many of the things discussed throughout this article are things that...

Cyrus a devoted listener to the Financial Survival Network asked several questions. And this is one of the great things about doing a show, listener feedback. Have you wondered what the US will look like if there’s a complete economic meltdown? Or how much longer it will take? What about the government’s willingness to bring on a false flag attack to justify going to war once again? And if that war does come to pass, will it be a World War or just another case of military adventurism? These are all important questions for which you will receive my opinions....

Forget stocks, the real crisis is coming… and it’s coming fast.   Indeed, it first hit in 2008 though it was almost entirely off the radar of the American public. While all eyes were glued to the carnage in the stock market and brokerage account balances, a far more serious crisis began to unfold rocking 30 countries around the globe.   I’m talking about food shortages.   Aside from a few rice shortages that were induced by export restrictions in Asia, food received little or no coverage from the financial media in 2008. Yet, food shortages started riots in over...

The Philly Fed Current Business Outlook Survey came out at a print of 35.9 compared to 19.3 before, and expectations of 21.0. This print is the highest reading since January 2004. Yet the only component metric that matters is, you guessed it, the Prices Paid index, which came at a ridiculous 67.2 from 54.3 previously! The prices paid index, which increased 13 points in February, has now increased 55 points over the past five months. And confirming the crush in margins was the in the prices received index which tacked on a barely notable 3.9 points to 21. The Prices...

If you "want to be hedged for complete disaster – World War III… you are better off in commodity-related investments", says Marc Faber in the latest issue of US financial paper Barron's. That might seem drastic. But Faber is convinced that China's rise, and its diminishing dependence on America, means that "eventually, we will have a war, big time".

Housing Armageddon: 12 Facts Which Show That We Are In The Midst Of The Worst Housing Collapse In U.S. History2-2-2011 We are officially in the middle of the worst housing collapse in U.S. history - and unfortunately it is going to get even worse. Already, U.S. housing prices have fallen further during this economic downturn (26 percent), then they did during the Great Depression (25.9 percent). Approximately 11 percent of all homes in the United States are currently standing empty. In fact, there are many new housing developments across the U.S. that resemble little more than ghost towns because foreclosures...

Don’t ignore the warnings! Keen observers say debt-addicted America
is about to learn some tough lessons from bygone empires. Two years. That is how much time America has to fix its problems—or risk sudden collapse. This is the startling conclusion of Harvard historian Niall Ferguson. And that was six months ago. The world has witnessed what happens when investors lose faith in a country’s fiscal policy, he says. Just look at Greece. Is it possible that the richest, most powerful country in the world could realistically face sudden collapse? After all, America isn’t Greece. But that is just the problem. America...

Son of Subprime By Addison Wiggin   In 2007, the writing was on the wall. The famous “perfect storm” had gathered above the US housing market, its eye hovering over subprime loans. As you know, the storm came…and it rained, and rained, and rained… Ultimately, it washed away trillions of dollars in investor wealth.Now in an entirely different sector – probably the last place you’d look – the clouds are turning black once again. Strip out the finer details, and you’ll find the very same mechanics that brought the subprime market from boom to bust: Widespread investor acceptanceComplicated derivativesIntense...

Signs Hyperinflation Is Arriving Economics / HyperInflation Oct 30, 2010 - 10:18 AM By: Gonzalo Lira Back in late August, I argued that hyperinflation would be triggered by a run on Treasury bonds. I described how such a run might happen, and argued that if Treasuries were no longer considered safe, then commodities would become the store of value. Such a run on commodities, I further argued, would inevitably lead to price increases and a rise in the Consumer Price Index, which would initially be interpreted by the Federal Reserve, the Federal government, as well as the commentariat, as a...