Free Republic

"It's only going to get worse," is the sobering forecast of Gerald Celente, director of the Trends Research Institute. As discussed in a prior segment, Celente believes the "bailout bubble" is going to burst and the U.S. economy will slip back into recession, if not worse, in 2010.

US State Dept has advised embassies worldwide to stock up on a year's worth of the local currency in anticipation of collapse of the US dollar. Look for a temporary banking shutdown timed for around September 2009. As under Roosevelt, some banks won't reopen. 96% of bank reserves are currently held with the Federal Reserve who tells the banks not to loan the money, but rather to save it for further banking acquisition and consolidation. Chapman foresees a bank holiday lasting 4-5 days. Chapman thinks this first bank holiday presages a much more significant bank holiday months to years later...

What to do to prepare for a Presidential declaration of a Bank Holiday Several things have been going on that have really been bothering me. The first item is the fact that many US Embassies have been issued a yearÂ’s worth of operating expenses in US currency and told to convert it to the currency of the country in which they are located (except for the US Embassy in the UK). They have been told to do this right away. The second item that concerns me ties in with the first and comes from various underground news sources that the...

While I do not agree with 100% of what von Greyerz is claiming, the article is a very important wakeup call. It's obvious we have studied the same economics and are looking at the same numbers. These events do not have to be so pessimistic for ourselves personally if we wise up and take actions to prepare. I am a very strong optimist for our country in the long run - in fact, the actions of the US government is the only reason why I am short-term pessimistic - Jake by Egon von Greyerz – Matterhorn Asset Management In this...

was curious what a 'collapse' would look like for a superpower and the most recent reference point is the former Soviet Union 1991-1998 meaning these events reach a tipping point rather then instantaneous collapse. The Russians experienced both a deflationary environment on non-essential goods and hyperinflationary on essential goods such as energy and food. If you lived in the colder portions of Russia you could expect enough diesel or electricity for two to three hours a day which kept a few people together under one roof from freezing. Food rations such as wheat were provided so starvation was rare but...

A passel of bigwig economists has signed a petition urging Congress and the executive branch “to reaffirm their support for and defend the independence of the Federal Reserve System as a foundation of U.S. economic stability.” In support of this defense of the Fed against those now challenging the secrecy of its undertakings and, in some cases, its very existence, these economists offer three arguments. First, “central bank independence has been shown to be essential for controlling inflation.” A little difficulty for this claim, however, resides in the undeniable fact that for more than a century before the Fed’s establishment,...

In my earlier article, I outlined the economic backdrop that will push agriculture and food prices higher in the not so distant future. If you missed that essay, you can review it here. To rehash, we’ve added roughly three billion people to the earth’s population since the ‘60s. We accommodated this growth by using fertilizers, irrigation, and other systems that have deleterious effects on land overtime. As a consequence, worldwide arable land per person has essentially halved from 0.42 hectares per person in 1961 to 0.23 hectares per person in 2002. Because of this, stocks-to-use ratios are now at their...

ROME — Two Japanese nationals were detained by Italian financial police last week after trying to enter Switzerland with $134 billion worth of undeclared U.S. bonds, mostly Treasury bonds, an Italian daily said Wednesday. The Japanese consulate general in Milan confirmed that the detention had taken place and said it was trying to confirm with Italian authorities whether the two were indeed Japanese nationals and their identities. According to the report in il Giornale, two unidentified Japanese in their 50s concealed the bonds, including 249 U.S. Treasury bonds each worth $500 million, in a suitcase with a false bottom that...

Goldman to make record bonus payout Staff at Goldman Sachs staff can look forward to the biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after a spectacular first half of the year, sparking concern that the big investment banks which survived the credit crunch will derail financial regulation reforms. A lack of competition and a surge in revenues from trading foreign currency, bonds and fixed-income products has sent profits at Goldman Sachs soaring, according to insiders at the firm. Staff in London were briefed last week on the banking and securities company's prospects and told they could look forward to...

Props to Zerohedge for having the nads to run this unconfirmed: Which is why we were greatly troubled when we learned recently on good authority that Federal representatives may have opened multiple undisclosed-type accounts with none other than State Street Global Advisors over the past few months. All of these accounts are allegedly handled by one single trader, who is cocooned and isolated from interaction with other partners. Zero Hedge can, as of yet, not vouch for this being 100% factual and is asking readers who may have additional knowledge of the situtation to please come forward and share their...

On April 2, 2009, control of the planet’s banks was turned over to the secret decisions of eleven men--board members of a Swiss organization with a troubling Nazi past. Banking wasn’t always that way. . . . My secretary would come into my office every morning at 9:00 a.m. with a room-service smile and an armload of computer printouts. She would place the reports on my desk as if she were serving a fine meal and arrange them just so, with the overdraft report on top, and then slip out of the office as if she were trying not to...

Yesterday one of our members asked the question why the stock market continued to rise even though we have been and are being bombarded by bad economic news. Over the last few weeks I have noticed that on several occassions the stock market has been in negative territory near closing when, suddenly, a surge occurs just before closing to send it into positive ground. It would take a finer analysis than I am capable of but it did occur to me: What are the billions of dollars in TARP funds being used for? We all know what importance is attached...

In my May 12th article, “US Bank Shares: The Pump is Almost Over, Get Ready for the Dump”, I noted the “urgency of many financial institutions to complete their secondary public offerings of stock and debt as soon as possible.” However, given that one of the biggest beneficiaries of this crisis, JP Morgan, has just announced a secondary offering that may not be completed until the end of June, we can now be assured that the markets will not experience an extended correction until JP Morgan has completed its secondary offering. Thus for now, we can expect this US market...

Show Recap Monday - Apr 27, 2009 Flu Special George Noory hosted a special edition of C2C with examination and analysis of the recent swine flu outbreak. Dr. Gary Ridenour suggested that this virus could further mutate and become even more dangerous. Appearing in the latter half of the show, Alex Jones and Stephen Quayle both agreed the new swine virus was not natural. It's a "genetically altered bioweapon," possibly being "beta-tested in the field" to target specific races, Quayle contended. In an in-studio appearance, first hour guest, character actor Stephen Root talked about some of his intriguing and humorous...