Audio only. Nothing new here. Sell the dollar, buy gold.
ClickHere
Friday, September 21, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
'Sleepwalking Into Crisis'
Interview with former Shell chairman from The Independent. ClickHere
Here are some highlights:
He accused the industry of having its head "in the sand" about the depletion of supplies, and warned: "We may be sleepwalking into a problem which is actually going to be very serious and it may be too late to do anything about it by the time we are fully aware."
In an interview with The Independent on Sunday ahead of his address to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil in Ireland this week, Lord Oxburgh, one of the most respected names in the energy industry, said a rapid increase in the price of oil was inevitable as demand continued to outstrip supply. He said: "We can probably go on extracting oil from the ground for a very long time, but it is going to get very expensive indeed.
The latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration show that global liquid fuels production in August was almost a million barrels per day lower than the same period in 2006.
Here are some highlights:
He accused the industry of having its head "in the sand" about the depletion of supplies, and warned: "We may be sleepwalking into a problem which is actually going to be very serious and it may be too late to do anything about it by the time we are fully aware."
In an interview with The Independent on Sunday ahead of his address to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil in Ireland this week, Lord Oxburgh, one of the most respected names in the energy industry, said a rapid increase in the price of oil was inevitable as demand continued to outstrip supply. He said: "We can probably go on extracting oil from the ground for a very long time, but it is going to get very expensive indeed.
The latest figures from the US Energy Information Administration show that global liquid fuels production in August was almost a million barrels per day lower than the same period in 2006.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Marc Faber on Bloomberg
The always eloquent Marc Faber is much smarter than you and I. Here is his recent interview with Bloomberg. Enjoy.
ClickHere
ClickHere
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Welcome To The 1970s
As you're likely aware, today the Fed cut interest rates and it's discount rate both by 50 Bps. The dollar instantly tanked. Oil shot higher. Gold shot higher.
There was a few weeks where you almost had to give Ben Bernanke the benefit of the doubt. When he first cut the discount rate in response to the credit market turmoil it seemed like a reasonable move. Greenspan would have cut the Fed funds rate. Greenspan was a complete whore. So you figure Bernanke is attempting to act more responsibly. Then he says: "It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve--nor would it be appropriate--to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions." Those words actually came out of his lying mouth.
Well, today Bernanke proved that he is the Greenspan incarnate. Ofcourse we've known for a long time that the Fed would panic and slash rates in the face of a slowing economy. But the circumstances at this particular moment in time are especially insidious. Oil is at an all time high! All time high! The dollar is threatening a complete collapse having broken it's last support level. Well guess what, Bernanke just pushed the dollar over the cliff.
Let's put this in context. The Federal Reserve was founded with the primary objective of price stability. Control inflation. That is the mandate. Now we've devolved to the point where the Fed apparently doesn't give a damn about inflation.
You can bet that pushing the dollar over the cliff will have ramifications. To be felt by every single citizen of this country. There is no avoiding this now. You could probably paint the scenario...I guess, in which we impeach Bernanke and start jacking up rates in the face of a slowing economy. That's what it would take and the chances of that are virtually nil. That scenario wouldn't be pretty either but it's a whole lot better than what we're going to get.
Think $5/gal for gasoline. Think about your grocery bill doubling. Think about everything in Wal-Mart going up in price by 30%. That's all in our future. Kiss the middle class goodbye. They're history.
How did this happen? Bernanke wanted to bail out Wall Street. Pure and simple. Bernanke is a tool. A puppet. We just sacrificed the middle class of this country in an attempt to insure Wall Street players get their bonuses. Labor just got screwed again.
This rate cut will not even help the housing mess. Long term interest rates will be going higher not lower. Bernanke just made things worse for housing.
If I had the choice I would move my family out of this country right now. As it stands, that option is not on the table. It will be six years until it is. By then it will be too late and we'll be stuck here. That is my fear and such is my level of disgust that I am deadly serious. I would move-right now!
Folks, I suggest you take actions to protect yourself and your family. Get out of the dollar as much as possible.
There was a few weeks where you almost had to give Ben Bernanke the benefit of the doubt. When he first cut the discount rate in response to the credit market turmoil it seemed like a reasonable move. Greenspan would have cut the Fed funds rate. Greenspan was a complete whore. So you figure Bernanke is attempting to act more responsibly. Then he says: "It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve--nor would it be appropriate--to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions." Those words actually came out of his lying mouth.
Well, today Bernanke proved that he is the Greenspan incarnate. Ofcourse we've known for a long time that the Fed would panic and slash rates in the face of a slowing economy. But the circumstances at this particular moment in time are especially insidious. Oil is at an all time high! All time high! The dollar is threatening a complete collapse having broken it's last support level. Well guess what, Bernanke just pushed the dollar over the cliff.
Let's put this in context. The Federal Reserve was founded with the primary objective of price stability. Control inflation. That is the mandate. Now we've devolved to the point where the Fed apparently doesn't give a damn about inflation.
You can bet that pushing the dollar over the cliff will have ramifications. To be felt by every single citizen of this country. There is no avoiding this now. You could probably paint the scenario...I guess, in which we impeach Bernanke and start jacking up rates in the face of a slowing economy. That's what it would take and the chances of that are virtually nil. That scenario wouldn't be pretty either but it's a whole lot better than what we're going to get.
Think $5/gal for gasoline. Think about your grocery bill doubling. Think about everything in Wal-Mart going up in price by 30%. That's all in our future. Kiss the middle class goodbye. They're history.
How did this happen? Bernanke wanted to bail out Wall Street. Pure and simple. Bernanke is a tool. A puppet. We just sacrificed the middle class of this country in an attempt to insure Wall Street players get their bonuses. Labor just got screwed again.
This rate cut will not even help the housing mess. Long term interest rates will be going higher not lower. Bernanke just made things worse for housing.
If I had the choice I would move my family out of this country right now. As it stands, that option is not on the table. It will be six years until it is. By then it will be too late and we'll be stuck here. That is my fear and such is my level of disgust that I am deadly serious. I would move-right now!
Folks, I suggest you take actions to protect yourself and your family. Get out of the dollar as much as possible.
Some Truth From The Nation
Someone is paying attention. I don't have any idea who this Greider guy is but he is spot on here (bold print is mine). In addition, there is a book review from Jim Grant in today's WSJ worth reading.
The Lies of Alan Greenspan
By: William Greider (TheNation)
Alan Greenspan has come back from the tomb of history to correct the record. He did not make any mistakes in his eighteen-year tenure as Federal Reserve chairman. He did not endorse the regressive Bush tax cuts of 2001 that pumped up the federal deficits and aggravated inequalities. He did not cause the housing bubble that is now in collapse. He did not ignore the stock market bubble that subsequently melted away and cost investors $6 trillion. He did not say the Iraq War is "largely about oil."
Check the record. These are all lies.
Greenspan's testimony endorsing the Bush tax cuts was extremely influential but now he wants to run away from it.
In the instance of Iraq, Greenspan is actually correcting his own memoir, The Age of Turbulence, which just came out. This weekend, newspapers reported provocative snippets from the book, including this: "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what every everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."
Wow, talk about your "inconvenient truth." Greenspan was blithely acknowledging what official Washington has always denied and the news media faithfully ignored. "Blood for oil." No, no, no, that's not what he meant, Greenspan corrected in a follow-up interview. [Bob Woodward in Monday's Washington Post] He was only saying that "taking out Saddam was essential" for "oil security" and the global economy.
Are you confused? Welcome to the world of slippery truth Greenspan has always lived in. He was the Maestro, as Bob Woodward's loving portrait dubbed him. Wall Street loved the Chairman best because the traders and bankers knew he was always on their side and would come to their rescue. The major news media treated him like an Old Testament prophet. Whatever the chairman said was carved on stone tablets, even when it didn't make any sense, as it often didn't.
Some of us who followed his tracks more closely, were not so kind. Harry Reid, now the Democratic Senate leader, said Greenspan was "one of the biggest political hacks in Washington." Amen. I called him "the one-eyed chairman" who could always spot reasons to stomp on the real economy of work and production, but was utterly blind to the destructive chaos in the financial system. No matter. The adoration of him was nearly universal.
Until now. The economic consequences of his rule are accumulating and even the dullest financial reporters are stumbling on crumbs of truth about Greenspan's legendary reign. It sowed profound and dangerous imbalances in the US economy. That's what happens when government power tips the balance in favor of capital over labor, favoring super-rich over middle class and poor, then holds it there for nearly a generation.
Things get out of whack and now the country is paying big time. A pity reporters and politicians didn't have the nerve to ask these questions when Greenspan was in power.
He retired only a year ago, but is already trying to revise the history. To explain away blunders that are now a financial crisis facing his successor. To rearrange the facts in exculpatory ways. To deny his right-wing ideological bias and his raw partisanship in behalf of the Bush Republicans.
The man is shrewd. He can see the conservative era he celebrated and helped to impose upon the American economy is in utter ruin. He is trying to get some distance from it before the blood splashes all over his reputation. Of course, he also came back to cash in--an $8 million advance for a book that is sure to be a huge bestseller. I don't want to be unkind, but Greenspan could have avoided all the embarrassing questions if his book was posthumous.
I haven't the read it yet. I have a hunch I am not going to like it.
The Lies of Alan Greenspan
By: William Greider (TheNation)
Alan Greenspan has come back from the tomb of history to correct the record. He did not make any mistakes in his eighteen-year tenure as Federal Reserve chairman. He did not endorse the regressive Bush tax cuts of 2001 that pumped up the federal deficits and aggravated inequalities. He did not cause the housing bubble that is now in collapse. He did not ignore the stock market bubble that subsequently melted away and cost investors $6 trillion. He did not say the Iraq War is "largely about oil."
Check the record. These are all lies.
Greenspan's testimony endorsing the Bush tax cuts was extremely influential but now he wants to run away from it.
In the instance of Iraq, Greenspan is actually correcting his own memoir, The Age of Turbulence, which just came out. This weekend, newspapers reported provocative snippets from the book, including this: "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what every everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."
Wow, talk about your "inconvenient truth." Greenspan was blithely acknowledging what official Washington has always denied and the news media faithfully ignored. "Blood for oil." No, no, no, that's not what he meant, Greenspan corrected in a follow-up interview. [Bob Woodward in Monday's Washington Post] He was only saying that "taking out Saddam was essential" for "oil security" and the global economy.
Are you confused? Welcome to the world of slippery truth Greenspan has always lived in. He was the Maestro, as Bob Woodward's loving portrait dubbed him. Wall Street loved the Chairman best because the traders and bankers knew he was always on their side and would come to their rescue. The major news media treated him like an Old Testament prophet. Whatever the chairman said was carved on stone tablets, even when it didn't make any sense, as it often didn't.
Some of us who followed his tracks more closely, were not so kind. Harry Reid, now the Democratic Senate leader, said Greenspan was "one of the biggest political hacks in Washington." Amen. I called him "the one-eyed chairman" who could always spot reasons to stomp on the real economy of work and production, but was utterly blind to the destructive chaos in the financial system. No matter. The adoration of him was nearly universal.
Until now. The economic consequences of his rule are accumulating and even the dullest financial reporters are stumbling on crumbs of truth about Greenspan's legendary reign. It sowed profound and dangerous imbalances in the US economy. That's what happens when government power tips the balance in favor of capital over labor, favoring super-rich over middle class and poor, then holds it there for nearly a generation.
Things get out of whack and now the country is paying big time. A pity reporters and politicians didn't have the nerve to ask these questions when Greenspan was in power.
He retired only a year ago, but is already trying to revise the history. To explain away blunders that are now a financial crisis facing his successor. To rearrange the facts in exculpatory ways. To deny his right-wing ideological bias and his raw partisanship in behalf of the Bush Republicans.
The man is shrewd. He can see the conservative era he celebrated and helped to impose upon the American economy is in utter ruin. He is trying to get some distance from it before the blood splashes all over his reputation. Of course, he also came back to cash in--an $8 million advance for a book that is sure to be a huge bestseller. I don't want to be unkind, but Greenspan could have avoided all the embarrassing questions if his book was posthumous.
I haven't the read it yet. I have a hunch I am not going to like it.
Apparently I'm Not The Only One Concerned
Think I'm full of hot air. Maybe you'll consider similar commentary from one of the greatest investors of all time. Jim Rogers echoes what I have been saying...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYBOOiT5mAO0&refer=home
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYBOOiT5mAO0&refer=home
Monday, September 17, 2007
Wake Up!
So, my friend sent me an e-mail this morning. One of those keep-out-the-immigrants-pass-it-along type e-mails. I couldn't contain myself. Instead of just ignoring it I blasted back that illegal immigration is almost entirely inconsequential in light of the larger issues we face. Seriously, watching the news, reading the papers and listening to the conversation of others it seems as if I might as well be living on another planet. In this country we have our collective head up our collective ass.
Britney Spears' lack of undergarments gets more airtime then the legitimate threats we face. For one, the global peak in oil production. Or the fact that our Federal Reserve is in the process of debasing our currency. Really hate to say it but we deserve what we are going to get. What are we going to get? Eventually, a wake-up call to the new reality. Just because we are collectively ignoring it doesn't mean everything is going to turn out just peachy.
Global terrorism? Who the hell cares. We lost 2,000 fellow Americans on 9/11. A tragic loss indeed but an American would have a better chance of winning the lottery then getting blown up by a terrorist in this country. Meanwhile, every single one of us is going to be affected when our dollar is virtually worthless.
Here is what to expect. Incredible price increases (measured in years not months) for all the things we need to sustain our current lifestyle. Oil, water, electricity, agricultural commodities just to name a few. Now is the time for us to wake up in order to have any chance of controlling our fate. I'm losing hope.
We'll eventually be confronted by this new reality. By then it will be too late. Future generations will wonder why it is that their parents and grandparents ignored these problems. They'll wonder how it is that we could have been so irresponsible and distracted by nonsense. We are going to hand down to our children a nation in shambles. As a new father, it all makes me so angry, that I just want to reach out and shake those around me. Wake Up! Before it's too late! I want to drive to Washington and burn down Bernanke's house for what I think he is about to do. I want to see Greenspan strung up in the town square.
Britney Spears' lack of undergarments gets more airtime then the legitimate threats we face. For one, the global peak in oil production. Or the fact that our Federal Reserve is in the process of debasing our currency. Really hate to say it but we deserve what we are going to get. What are we going to get? Eventually, a wake-up call to the new reality. Just because we are collectively ignoring it doesn't mean everything is going to turn out just peachy.
Global terrorism? Who the hell cares. We lost 2,000 fellow Americans on 9/11. A tragic loss indeed but an American would have a better chance of winning the lottery then getting blown up by a terrorist in this country. Meanwhile, every single one of us is going to be affected when our dollar is virtually worthless.
Here is what to expect. Incredible price increases (measured in years not months) for all the things we need to sustain our current lifestyle. Oil, water, electricity, agricultural commodities just to name a few. Now is the time for us to wake up in order to have any chance of controlling our fate. I'm losing hope.
We'll eventually be confronted by this new reality. By then it will be too late. Future generations will wonder why it is that their parents and grandparents ignored these problems. They'll wonder how it is that we could have been so irresponsible and distracted by nonsense. We are going to hand down to our children a nation in shambles. As a new father, it all makes me so angry, that I just want to reach out and shake those around me. Wake Up! Before it's too late! I want to drive to Washington and burn down Bernanke's house for what I think he is about to do. I want to see Greenspan strung up in the town square.
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