Business / Economic / Financial

[ This link to a somewhat more cumulative blog posts page will precede current days news since most all topics remain current in terms of impact and longer-term effect and can be searched by topical index term more easily. The same is provided since the blog site http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com has just been censored as to size by google which is typical for google as nsa / cia / gov’t shill as more are becoming aware of. The same is true for microsoft, another co. that’s seen their best days and relies on the government to maintain their monopoly. Up to now the better page http://www.scribd.com/alpeia is provided for ease of formatting and clarity thereby while the Washington Post page is the real deal but without formatting http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/mypost/index.html?plckPersonaPage=PersonaComments&plckUserId=alpeia&newspaperUserId=alpeia ]

Market Outlook: Warning Signs Karl Denninger [ Yes, Karl … true as the night follows the day … Reality Does Bite! ] Anyone following the markets knows the drill by now.

A bad economic report comes out (e.g. consumer confidence) and the market plunges 1%. An hour later, there's a magical reversal and suddenly, we go to new highs for the day, which "sticks" until the close.

A huge IPO gets pulled (Liberty Mutual) due to bad conditions - the market sells off at the open, and goes down about 3/4%. Then there's a magical reversal and we go to new highs for the day.

Trucking volumes collapse and are reported. The market sells off, and then suddenly, there's a magical reversal and the market goes to new daily highs.

Merideth Whitney comes on the air and says that regional banks are cooked - their revenue model is broken and the collapsing yield curve will crush them. In addition, trading volumes are down at the major investment banks, so that will cream their earnings. BANK, the Nasdaq Bank index, takes off on a literal vertical tear as soon as she says this, rising by more than FORTY POINTS in an hour.

David Tepper says that if the economy is good, the market will go up. If the economy is bad, The Fed will print more money and devalue the currency, and the market will go up. Nobody questions the obvious disconnect (since when can you borrow your way to prosperity, or debase your way there - and in what instance in history has this ever worked?) but the magical buy-fairy shows up and the markets scream higher, rising nearly 3%.

Does anyone remember 2007 or early 2008?

Bear Stearns blew up and the overnight futures were essentially lock-limit down. What happened right after that? The magical buy fairy showed up and we went to recovery highs - nearly 200 handles above where we were when Bear exploded. (chart)

Anyone remember "Buffett will buy the world"? Was anyone ever prosecuted for all the false rumors that moved the market 1 or even 2% in the last hour of trade - those rumors always seemed to hit CNBS when the market was down 1% or more and threatening to break some key technical level. Suddenly, an outright lie would be "disseminated" and the market would violently reverse.

How about Dick "I'm gonna burn the shorts" Fuld? The market roared, right? For how long? And was he right - or was it Lehman that burned?

Look, you can blame manipulation, you can blame The Fed, you can blame whatever you want.

But what I know from more than 10 years of trading is this:

When the market starts to act like this - when there's this "invisible hand" that magically levitates things, when people resort to disseminating outright lies about the market or specific companies and do so to counteract actual bad news that would otherwise result in moves down, it is a sign of desperation - there are people with money and power who are on the wrong side of the bet and they are willing to deceive you and rip you off outright to avoid being the one with the bag.

Do with that information what you will.’

THE POP LOOKS LIKE A TOP - Harry Schiller ‘This morning's explosive pop to multi-month highs had many bulls excited about the much-anticipated breakout above resistance at the 1150 level of the S&P 500 (SPX) and the next big bull leg. But a simple look at the daily charts might have dispelled some of this bullish hoopla, as the morning gap-up opening not only served as a catalyst for this brief frenzy about a breakout, but also satisfied (or almost satisfied) some important overhead objectives. Here's the rule, folks: If the market surges at the opening, leaving big opening gaps and returning to the tops of previously unfilled gaps -- especially gaps that the market has been working on for several days -- DON'T BUY IT. It's that simple. In fact, I'd take it a step further: Look for spots to sell and sell short, but use tight stops above the tops of those gaps. This is,...’

The Stock Market Crash of the '00s Lounsbury ‘Here is a graph of the stock market crash over the past ten years, from Business Insider Clusterstock:

[ chart ]

The S&P 500 has declined approximately 85% from the 2000 high. This rivals the 1929-32 crash where the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 89%. These two declines are the worst U.S. stock market declines in history, when looked at with respect to the value of gold. A review of the secular market cycles since 1900 can be found here.

A more detailed analysis of the market decline from 2000 was published in January and contained this chart for DJIA data:

[ chart ]

With gold now over $1,300 an ounce, a return to the March 2009 lows would establish a valuation very close to the 89% loss line. If gold were to rise to the $1,500 mark, a Dow value a little above $7,000 would constitute an 89% loss from the year 2000. The inflation adjusted high from the early 1980s corresponds to a price for gold between $2,100 and $2,200 today. If that price were achieved the current market value for stocks would be an 89% loss from the top.’

Protests Against Austerity Sweep Europe Mail Online | Strikes and demonstrations caused chaos across Europe yesterday as rioters clashed with police and cities were brought to a standstill.

Dollar Set for Biggest Monthly Loss Since 2008 Bloomberg | The dollar headed for its biggest monthly loss since 2008 versus the euro as signs the U.S. economy is slowing damped demand for the nation’s assets.

Is Government About to Make Mortgage Market Even Worse? CNBC | Mortgage-purchase applications are 32 percent lower than they were last year.

Is Spain Is Faking Its GDP Data? An anonymous email making the rounds in Europe points out some disturbing discrepancies in Spanish economic data. In short, the report’s author asks why Spain’s massive surge in unemployment during the recession did not yield a commensurate drop in GDP, as was the trend across Europe.

Distressed Homes Sell at 26% Discount in U.S. as Supply Swells Homes in the foreclosure process sold at an average 26 percent discount in the second quarter as almost one-fourth of all U.S. transactions involved properties in some stage of mortgage distress, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Distrust In US Media Hits Record High, As CNBC (And Especially Mad Money) Viewership Drops To Multi-Year Low In today’s “less than surprising data point” category, the clear winner is Gallup’s analysis of people’s ever increasing distrust in the mass media.

Cheapening Currency Also Has Risks It is interesting to watch Wall Street defy reality. This is a scene we’ve observed since the early 1960s, the effect of debt on the economy and the nation and in turn on its currency.

(9-30-10) Dow 10,788 -47 Nasdaq 2,369 -8 S&P 500 1,141 -4 [CLOSE- OIL $77.86 (-54% for year 2008) (RECORD TRADING HIGH $147.27) GAS $2.74 (reg. gas in LAND OF FRUITS AND NUTS $3.11 REG./ $3.26 MID-GRADE/ $3.35 PREM./ $3.69 DIESEL) / GOLD $1,309 (+24% for year 2009) / SILVER $21.82 (+47% for year 2009) PLATINUM $1,663 (+56% for year 2009) / DOLLAR= .73 EURO, 83 YEN, .63 POUND STERLING, ETC. (How low can you go - LOWER)/ 10 YR NOTE YIELD 2.52% …..… AP Business Highlights ...Yahoo Market Update... T. Rowe Price Weekly Recap – Stocks / Bonds / Currencies - Domestic / International This Is a Secular Bear Market and The End of Buy and Hold … and Hope MARKET MANIPULATION AND HOW THE LATEST BUBBLE-FRAUD PRE-COMING CRASH IS BEING ACCOMPLISHED 3-11-10 6 Theories On Why the Stock Market Has Rallied 3-9-10 [archived website file] Risks Lurk for ETF Investors The bull market that never was/were beyond wall street b.s. when measured in gold Property Values Projected to Fall 12% in 2010 Jan 31, 2010 The Week Ahead: Risk Is Off the Cliff; Unwind Has Begun Jan 31, 2010 01-13-10 Forecast for 2010 from Seeking Alpha Contributor THE COMING MARKET CRASH / CORRECTION 1-28-10 Maierhofer (01-15-10) 11 Clear Signs Economy Sinking Economic Black Hole 1-22-10: 20 Reasons Why The U.S. Economy Is Dying And Is Simply Not Going To Recover Current Economic / Fiscal Charts Trendsresearch.com forecast for 2009 1-7-10 Crash is coming! ‘WORST ECONOMIC COLLAPSE EVER’ Must Read Economic / Financial Data This Depression is just beginning The coming depression… thecomingdepression.net MUST READ: JEREMY GRANTHAM’S QUARTERLY UPDATE 25 January 2010 (850 on the S&P) by TPC The Next Wave of Collapse is Coming Sooner than you think Sliding Back Into the Great Depression ABSOLUTELY, ABSURDLY, RIDICULOUS! SELL / TAKE PROFITS WHILE YOU CAN SINCE MUCH, MUCH WORSE TO COME!

National / World

‘Resentment Toward Government’ Number 1 Google Hot Topic Matt Ryan | On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google the phrase, “Resentment Toward Government” and once again, the the term given on the show reached the top spot on Google Trends.

New Infowars Search Term: Resentment Toward Government Kurt Nimmo | We need to draw attention to this criminal effort by the government to violate the Fourth Amendment and trash our founding ideals.

Authorities Plan To Trawl Phone Calls And E Mails For Signs Of “Resentment Toward Government” Paul Joseph Watson | Facecrime: Orwellian technology seeks to identify disgrunted Americans as terrorists.

UN Policy Paper Describes Incremental Steps Toward World Government Jurriaan Maessen | The IMF and World Bank will always have final say in the construction of any international system.

The Next Stage: Global Naked Body Scanners Kurt Nimmo | DHS boss Napolitano will urge 190 nations to adopt the dangerous machines.

Ultra Elitist Environmental Group Forced To Admit Doubts On Global Warming Science Ultra elitist environmental group The Royal Society has conceded that it has “uncertainties” over the science behind global warming, and admits that the planet is currently no longer heating up – a development that constitutes another significant blow to the idea that there is a scientific consensus on the matter.

Gold Buffalo Sells For $200 Above Spot As US Mint Runs Out One ounce gold American Buffalo coins are selling for nearly $200 dollars above spot on eBay following the US Mint’s announcement that it had run out of the highly sought after coin and would not restock supplies amidst soaring gold prices.

Authorities Plan To Trawl Phone Calls And E Mails For Signs Of “Resentment Toward Government” Do you resent the government for enforcing Obamacare or raising your taxes? Write about it in an email or talk about it on the phone and you could be placed under surveillance as a potential terrorist, if frightening new technology being shopped to law enforcement agencies is implemented.

Pakistan Blocks NATO Supplies After Deadly Air Strike Pakistan blocked the passage of supplies for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan after an air strike killed three of its soldiers, government officials in its northwestern border region said.

Russia denounces West’s beefed up Iran sanctions Russia Wednesday called on Iran to heighten cooperation with the UN atomic watchdog, but also criticized the United States and European Union for imposing extra nuclear sanctions outside the United Nations.

Drudgereport: [ Wow! Things and wobama are getting, in the immortal words of Lewis Carroll, curiouser and curiouser! And more desperate! ] HIP HOP BARACK!
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Democratic National Committee enlisted artist B.o.B to perform...
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PUMP UP THE BASE: 'IT TOOK TIME TO FREE THE SLAVES' [ How ‘bout freein’ them by putting them in jail! Do people really listen to that s**t? How totally regressive! Enough to make you want to vomit! ]
USA 'Practically Owned' by China... Irish Deficit to hit 32% of GDP!

House slaps China over currency (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Facetime / soundbites galore … and near the election no less … yet, reality says the structural shift is a fait accomplis and this is just more ‘too little / too late, meaningless grandstanding’. ] Vote allows tariffs to be imposed on countries that chronically undervalue their currencies to gain trade edge. Experts warn that the move could prompt retaliation. Previous: Trade legislation to advance (Washington Post) [ Riiiight! That evil Chinese currency, ‘the juan dragon’, and those sneaky communist Chinese practicing capitalism (how dare they – but they’ve already lost hundreds of billions on american paper) with the technological transfers from america along with those short-run economic / financial blasts from the past including contraindicated (for defacto bankrupt america) congressional / executive trade legislation (NAFTA, etc.) as america fades to red. Sounds like a plan … of too little, too late in light of the irrevocable structural shift; and, the inevitable blowback and there will be blowback. ] House leaders are moving forward with bill to combat China's currency policies, adding to pressure from the administration and giving lawmakers an election-year chance to vote on a sensitive trade issue.

U.S. pressures Iranian officials (Washington Post) [ Boy! You just can’t make this stuff up! Defacto bankrupt america (and their terrorist client state israel) has engaged in war crimes, including murders of civilians, among other literal killing, raping and plundering of nations, based literally in some instances on lies, etc., violating international laws, u.n. resolutions (ie., 242, 338, etc.), torture, kidnapping/torture and they’re talking about … Iran? What parallel universe do they purport to reside in …? I’d say a suitable place called he*l. ]The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Iran with a fresh set of penalties against eight senior officials for alleged human rights abuses.

Four key questions for the Fed (Washington Post) [ ‘Mr. wall street-glass-half-full-Irwin’, wall street’s behind the curve apologist who tries to make sense of nonsense; albeit spoonfed by media shills as Mr. Irwin to make manipulation seem to have a semblance of rationality. More Federal Reserve action: How would it work? (Washington Post) Here is a guide to the range of technical and strategic questions that Fed leaders will need to resolve, should they choose to act, on how to stimulate growth ( Wow! Talk about Mr. Glass Half-full Irwin being behind the curve. Who do you think’s been juicin’ the market. Graham Summers explains:

The Only Reason Stocks Have Rallied This Month Graham Summers The Fed generally claims that it stopped its first Quantitative Easing (QE) program back in March 2010 and that there were no additional debt monetizations between then and the announcement of its QE lite program in August.

Yet, as I’ve proven time and again, the Fed has continued to monetize Wall Street’s debts EVERY options expiration week since QE 1 ended… proving beyond a doubt that the Fed’s QE program did NOT actually end in March.

Here’s the chart of the Fed’s recent actions for those of you who haven’t seen this before. Options expiration weeks are in bold… ‘Unbeknownst to most investors, last week ( no-recession-helicopter) Ben (b.s. for b*** s*** shalom) Bernanke (oj the juice man) pumped an additional $11.05 BILLION into the system ON TOP of the $11.15 pumped via the POMOs. In plain terms, THE FED JUICED THE SYSTEM BY $20+ BILLION IN A SINGLE WEEK, BRINGING ITS LIQUIDITY PUMPS RIGHT BACK QE 1 LEVELS… ’

Dow 1000? Robert Prechter Thinks So) ]Key questions that the central bank will need to resolve if it decides to stimulate the economy.

Postal Service close to going broke (Washington Post) [ No surprise here! My most recent experience with the USPS regarding a very simple request, their dereliction, and email: Monday, September 27, 2010 5:07 PM

From:

"albert peia"

View contact details

To:

"United States Postal Service"

you still haven't provided the requested information. I'm astounded you're still in business. Don't contact me about this again. You're service is pathetic as one would typically expect in a corrupt, defacto bankrupt, third-world country.

--- On Mon, 9/27/10, United States Postal Service wrote:

From: United States Postal Service
Subject: Your recent experience with www.usps.com
To: albert_peia@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, September 27, 2010, 1:46 PM

To albert_peia@yahoo.com:

Recently you received an E-mail inviting you to participate in a Web-based survey from the United States Postal Service (USPS). If you have not already taken the opportunity to access the survey, we again invite you to provide your opinions. The survey is regarding your recent E-mail to the USPS customer service department. Your opinions are very important to the USPS as we continually monitor and improve the service provided to customers.

You can provide your feedback by completing a brief 5 minute survey. To participate in the survey, click on the Web address below. If that does not launch the survey, copy the Web address into your browser's address/location line. Please copy the entire Web address or the survey will not work correctly.

http://survey1.sendyouropinions.com/survey.aspx?I.project=w8177&id=148126&password=kkccv

If that does not launch the survey, please type in the following web address:

] Americans can still send and receive mail, but the U.S. Postal Service may not have much left in the bank after this week, as it's set to announce billions of dollars in losses as early as Thursday.

J.P. Morgan freezes foreclosures (Washington Post) [ Oooooh! Sounds like a plan! … a typical fraudulent wall street plan … always after the fact by a long shot! ] ]Decision will affect 56,000 borrowers in 23 states where allegations of forged documents and signatures are being used to try to overturn evictions.

Rethinking a Dollar-Heavy Asset Allocation Picerno "Like it or not, significant dollar depreciation is more probable than most now suppose," writes Simon Johnson, a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, in a Bloomberg column today. The market seems to be discounting no less. Certainly the gold market is roaring higher in part because the odds that the dollar will fall in the months (years?) ahead look quite a bit better than even. Johnson, co-author of 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, sees three reasons why the dollar will trend lower: 1) worries over political gridlock in Washington as the country grapples with a huge budget deficit; 2) sluggish U.S. economic growth, which will compel the Fed to focus on lowering long-term interest rates, a.k.a., a new round of quantitative easing; and 3) the growing appetite of emerging market nations to diversify their large and growing foreign exchange reserves into currencies other than the greenback. "The dollar is, therefore, likely to depreciate against all floating currencies," Johnson predicts. That's hardly a radical idea these days, considering that the buck has been more or less weakening since June. The previous rebound in the dollar that prevailed in the first half of this year now appears to be over. One reason is because of an increased appetite for risk in the global economy in recent months. When macro anxiety rises, liquidity tends to gravitate into dollars, the world's reserve currency. But as investors and governments have become convinced recently that the economic challenges aren't quite so acute, particularly outside of the developed economies, the appeal of non-dollar assets and currencies has taken flight once more. (Chart) "The safe bet is to keep selling the dollar, especially given reasonably supportive data from the euro," Peter Frank, currency analyst at Societe Generale, tells Reuters today.Safe? Well, that's going too far. But certainly it's prudent for U.S. investors to hold some amount of non-dollar allocations in their portfolios. There are several options, including broad commodity funds. Commodities, which are generally priced in dollars, tend to move in the opposite direction of the buck. Two of the more popular exchange traded products in this corner: iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) and iPath DJ-UBS Commodity Index TR ETN (DJP). The underlying index designs are energy heavy, however. For a lesser emphasis on oil and gas, take a look at ELEMENTS Rogers Intl Commodity ETN (RJI) and GreenHaven Continuous Commodity Index (GCC).Gold in particular is the leading commodity alternative to the dollar. The world generally sees the precious metal as the antidote to Washington's fiat currency, which is why the pair generally share a negative correlation. Two leading gold ETFs: SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU).Foreign stocks and bonds priced in local currencies are another option, although each must be analyzed in concert with the underlying fundamentals of their respective markets along with the forex outlook. Although most non-U.S. stock ETFs and mutual funds don't hedge forex, foreign currency exposure is a bit tougher to find in foreign bond products. Harder, but not impossible. A small but growing list includes SPDR Barclays Capital International Treasury Bond (BWX) and iShares S&P/Citigroup Int'l Treasury Bond (IGOV) Meanwhile, consider too the first local currency emerging market bond ETF: Van Eck Market Vectors Emerging Markets (EMLC). Keep in mind that the forex factor tends to be much larger for bonds vs. stocks. Why? Bonds generally have a relatively low expected return vs. equities, which means that the forex factor can easily overwhelm the risk/return profile for foreign bond portfolios.If you can stomach the volatility and have a taste for speculation, there's also a wide choice of foreign currency ETFs to capitalize on a weakening dollar, ranging from the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bearish (UDN), which is primarily a euro and yen play, to the emerging-market focused choices )WisdomTree Dreyfus Emerging Currency Fund (CEW)) as well as individual country targets (WisdomTree Dreyfus Brazilian Real Fund (BZF) and WisdomTree Dreyfus Chinese Yuan Fund (CYB)).Investing in currencies comes with a high risk, of course, and so it's not for the faint of heart. Caveat emptor.But even if you're a conservative investor with a long-term outlook, and your portfolio is missing equity and/or bond allocations denominated in foreign currencies, it's time to rethink what amounts to a huge bet in favor of everything going well in the U.S. I wouldn't discount the possibility, but neither would I bet the farm on that scenario either. Disclosure: None

The Seven Lean Years Scenario Is Still Intact Cam Hui ‘The was some recent buzz in the blogosphere when Jeffrey Hirsch of the Stock Traders' Alamanac forecast that the Dow would go on an eight-year tear with a target of 38,820 (see the full comment here). Most commentators focused on the maginitude of the gain. Lost in the noise of the forecast was that the start of the bull market would begin in 2017. I have written about this in the past. A lot of long-term analysis is pointing toward the 2017-8 as the start of a new bull, meaning that we would have to endure seven lean years. On September 7, 2010, I wrote that:\\

Jeremy Grantham revisited his “seven lean years” scenario in his July quarterly letter. About a year ago, Art Cashin highlighted the 17.6 year stock market cycle, which pointed to a bottom around 2017. I also wrote about an academic study that correlated demographic trends to P/E ratios, which pointed to a long-term bottom around 2018. I also suggested that while markets are likely to be flat longer term, they are going to be volatile and experience huge intermediate term swings.

Now Hirsch has bought a ticket on the 2017 train and that ticket is looking more and more interesting. In that kind of low-return environment, I would reiterate my thesis that buy-and-hold strategies are likely to disappoint, especially in an era of uncertain equity risk premiums. Investors need to look to new strategies to raise their returns.’

Daily State of Markets: A Complete Contradiction? Moenning ‘Good morning. If you don't mind, please take a moment and put your thinking caps on for me. Now, let's put the following data into our crowded brains and see what we come up with. First, we learned yesterday that The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index took a dive in September as all the bad economic news finally caught up to the public. Next, we learned that the Richmond Fed also took a pretty big hit and continued its downtrend trend in September, falling to -2 from +11 in August (and for the record, here's the recent data: July +16, June +23, May +26, April +30). This was on top of the surprisingly weak data from Monday's Chicago Fed National Business Activity Index. Finally, let's toss in the fact that bond yields plunged with the yield on the 10-year falling to its lowest level of this cycle (2.456%).So, given the above inputs, what should we expect stocks to do? Let's review: Weak economic data plus falling bond yields equals... Yep, that's right, a Dow rally of nearly 50 points! Huh?As a trader, we should be applauding the bulls for pulling off a nice gain in what would appear to be a complete contradiction in terms. By definition, bond yields fall on bad news and stocks tend to follow suit. But as the saying goes, it ain't the news, but how the market reacts to the news that matters. So, traders everywhere could be heard cheering the bulls' big accomplishment on Tuesday. And putting all sarcasm aside, we will admit that our heroes in horns are to be commended for their efforts.But as a card carrying member of the There Has To Be a Reason Behind the Big Moves Club, I'm a little befuddled. While I can give you several reasons why stocks may move up on what would appear to be bad news, none of them are really great explanations. For example, we've got the end-of-the quarter window dressing rationale, which sometimes seems to be a factor in the market and sometimes not. And while I could go on, the most likely excuse for stocks to rally on bad news and falling bond yields (and rising gold prices) is the Tepper Trade.As you may recall, big-time hedge fund manager David Tepper told CNBC recently that stocks win whether the economy goes up or down. Mr. Tepper opined that if the economy tanks from here, the Fed would launch QE II (to froth the market) …’

Economic Data -- Que Sera Sera: Dave's Daily ‘Thursday and Friday bring more important data with GDP estimate, Jobless Claims (all estimates "locked" at 450K), Chicago PMI, Personal Income & Spending, U of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Construction Spending and the ISM Index. These, taken together, should give investors plenty to think about. The current theme of both good and bad data as good things will be tested. But, let's remember, Thursday marks the end of the quarter while Friday's the start of a new month. With the former, expect some window dressing where possible and the latter might mean who gives a rip. As trading volume shrinks layoffs in the financial sector are, and will be the result. Fearless heretic and analyst Meredith Whitney estimated yesterday 80K Wall Street types will lose their jobs in 2011. ICI (Investment Company Institute) has just noted domestic equity mutual funds saw a 21st sequential outflow of $2.5 billion, bringing the total year-to-date to over $70 billion. Volume has told us another thing; the only folks trading are HFTs and hedge funds. Some might suggest a few banks with their POMO from heaven but how will we ever know? There's no transparency from the most transparent....oh nevermind. Wednesday's volume was especially light as tension builds before the economic news onslaught. Breadth was mixed. ‘

Things are coming apart before our eyes Fred Cederholm | Do you feel this first downturn of the 21st century is behind us? I sure don’t.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ Guardian | The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Bloomberg | The dollar traded at almost a five-month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Dollar tumbles to record lows, gold hits record high The dollar sank against the euro and hit a record low point against the Swiss franc on Wednesday while gold struck a new all-time peak, as traders mulled possible US moves to boost its ailing economy.

Communists living the American Dream Amid the raging financial crisis, many in the US are left doubting the wisdom behind the American way of life. And in one enclave in the US state of Virginia, an increasing number of people are dropping the dollar and picking up a hammer and a sickle. RTs Priya Sridhar reports from a commune that is adopting a revolutionary way of life.

Gold Prices Not In A Bubble – Deutsche Bank Until prices hit $2,000 an ounce, the gold market is still “some way” from displaying the characteristics of a bubble, according to major bank research note.

Gold Fluctuates in London After Advancing to a Record; Silver Reaches $22 Gold fluctuated in London after climbing to a record for a fourth day on demand for an alternative to a weakening dollar. Silver reached the highest price since 1980.

Pentagon’s ‘Burn a Book Day’: War memoir destroyed as ’security threat’ The Pentagon has ordered the destruction of almost ten thousand copies of memoirs by a former intelligence officer involved in the Afghanistan campaign. The Defence Department called the book a threat to America’s national security.

European cities hit by anti-austerity protests Tens of thousands of protesters from around Europe have been marching across Brussels in a protest against spending cuts by some EU governments. Other protests against austerity measures are being held in Greece, Italy, the Irish Republic and Latvia.

Internet’s creator slams ‘blight’ of web disconnection laws Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with inventing the world wide web, warned Tuesday of the “blight” of new laws being introduced across the globe allowing people to be cut off from the Internet.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

Who Really Runs the New World Order Exposed Alex Jones extends his remarks on Glenn Beck, the co-opting of the Tea Party movement and who really runs the New World Order in a follow-up video address to “Is Glenn Beck for Real?” Despite what figures like Beck have portrayed, this global system is not run by Marxist ideologues or Communist revolutionaries; those groups and others are controlled by a psychopathic, offshore, corporate elite cabal who have sophisticated control over most of the world’s resources, peoples and territories.

‘Feds Radiating Americans’ Becomes Number 1 Google Trend On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google the phrase, “Feds Radiating Americans” and the response was outstanding. Once again, the the term given on the show reached the top spot on Google Trends. This is yet another example of united action on the part of freedom-loving patriots.

American People To Corporate Media: We Don’t Trust Anything You Say A Gallup poll has revealed that a record majority of Americans fundamentally do not trust the mass media and believe it to be politically biased.

Iraqi Security Forces Target Journalists With Car Bombings, Shootings Reporters Without Borders deplores a targeted attack on Alaa Mohsen, the host of the programme “Liqa Sakhen” on state-run Al-Iraqiya television, who was badly injured by a bomb placed underneath his car as he was about to leave his home in the Baghdad suburb of Saydiya on the morning of 27 September to go to work.

Feds Radiating Americans At Internal Checkpoints Federal authorities do not concern themselves about the flood of illegal immigrants and drugs crossing the border every day, they’re more worried about radiating American truck drivers at internal checkpoints with mobile scanners that shoot dangerous x-rays through both vehicles and passengers.

Terrorist Fearmongering About “Mumbai-Style Attacks” Is An Election Ploy The terrorists are up to their old tricks again – using the threat of violence as a psychological ploy to intimidate voters before an election. But these terrorists don’t live in caves in central Asia, they head up federal agencies, governments, and Hollywood production studios.

‘Feds Radiating Americans’ Becomes Number 1 Google Trend Matt Ryan | On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google the phrase, “Feds Radiating Americans” and the response was outstanding.

Mission Creep: TSA to Implement “Secure Flight” On November 1 Kurt Nimmo | “Secure Flight” may appear innocuous, but is designed to get citizens accustomed to government officials micromanaging every aspect of their daily lives, be it at the airport or at the local mall.

Who Really Runs the New World Order Exposed Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes | Despite what figures like Beck have portrayed, this New World Order is run by an offshore, corporate elite cabal with sophisticated control over most of the world’s resources, peoples and territories.

UPDATE: Is Glenn Beck for Real? Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes | Glenn Beck, as a national media figure, has never been consistent. He’s played many parts, but what Glenn Beck has never done, until now, is come so close to telling the truth.

Feds Radiating Americans At Internal Checkpoints Paul Joseph Watson | While illegals and hardcore drugs flood into the country from across the border, authorities target truck drivers in Atlanta.

Drudgereport: Paladino alleges Cuomo affair … former Kennedy wife Kerry backs Cuomo … Kennedys officially extinct ... Wobama Struggles to Reconnect With Voters … hoping they’ll believe his lies again ...
MESSAGE: GOP lying to americans … look who’s talkin’ wobama … (wobama’s such total b*** s***) ... UPDATE: Obama, Biden, Kerry Lash Out at Electorate... And she's (pelosi) as unpopular as BP... ...ethics pledge falters Maine guv candidate: 'I'd tell Obama to go to hell'... Fort Hood: Four soldiers 'killed themselves' in last week...
Gates’ Revelation: Military (nation) faces strains after decade(s) of war...
Troop Suicides On Pentagon's 'Emergency' List...

'We need to make clear ... the cancer is in Pakistan' (Washington Post) [ How ‘bout the reality that the cancer is in Washington and tel aviv! I mean, come on! … This from a guy who’s failed presidency speaks volumes about his own inability to govern. After all, wasn’t he elected based on campaign promises to end perpetual war as geopolitical strategy, particularly in light of the reality of america’s defacto bankruptcy and that ‘opposite effect / blowback thing’? Wobama is so full of s*** as indeed they all are, all three branches of the failed, corrupt u.s. government and those mini mini black / grey areas that purport to be patriotic americentric while enriching themselves, only. Anti-americanism has never been so real and globally popular.] The reason to create a secure, self-governing Afghanistan, President Obama told his aides last year, was "so the cancer doesn't spread there."

Pearlstein: Can business afford Jim DeMint? (Washington Post) [ At this point, given the structural shift in the most negative sense, the real question is whether the defacto bankrupt nation america can afford business, along with the costly over-priced / over-valued / pervasively corrupt and incompetent three branches of the u.s. government along with the corporate welfare programs, particularly involving the military industrial complex. The answer, obvious of course, is no! ]

Senate Republicans block outsourcing bill (Washington Post) [ Riiiiight! That election year, market-frothing ‘change of heart thing! That previous clintonian democrat, bushee republican ‘NAFTA’ / transfer technology to China thing, etc., no longer in vogue for the sake of soundbites (didn’t Perot warn of this?). Do they even have the slightest clue as to what they’re doing? After all, america’s defacto bankrupt! ]

Economy may cause cable subscriptions to slide (Washington Post) [ Wow! If that’s the only thing sliding in this depression they’d be breakin’ out the bubbly!].

A bumpy ride for Southwest and AirTran (Washington Post) [ From personal experience, Southwest is a well managed airline in every respect! ] Leaders of the industry's other quickly consolidating carriers are suddenly faced with a much bigger and more powerful low-cost rival. But the leader who has the most to worry about may be Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. His company's unique culture and business model will be tested like never before.

Household income plunged in 2009 for the second year in a row (Washington Post) D.C., suburbs show disturbing increases in childhood poverty. Fewer families earned over $100,000 a year and the ranks of the poor rose, according to census statistics. This is nationwide, black and white, transcending race as one would expect in a depression.

Week	Fed Action
July 22	-$8 billion
July 15	+$8.6 billion
July 8 2010	+$1 billion
July 1 2010	-$13 billion
June 24 2010	+$175 million
June 17 2010	+$12 billion
June 10 2010	-$4 billion
June 3 2010	+$2 billion
May 27 2010	-$16 billion
May 20 2010	+$14 billion
May 13 2010	+$10 billion
May 6 2010	-$4 billion
April 29 2010	-$1 billion
April 15 2010	+$31 billion
April 8 2010	+$420 million
April 1 2010	-$6 billion

You’ll note that the Fed ALWAYS made its largest capital contributions during options expiration weeks. Heck it pumped $31 BILLION into the system in April 2010, just ONE MONTH after it claimed QE 1 ended!

However, since that time the Fed has pumped a total of over $65 billion into Wall Street on options expiration weeks. On non-expiration weeks the Fed either withdraws money or makes small money pumps.

This pattern finally ended in August 2010 when the Fed failed to pump the system on options expiration week. But then again, why bother? The Fed was about to announce its QE lite program in which it would use the interest on maturing securities to purchase Treasuries from Wall Street Primary Dealers via its Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO).

I realize that last sentence is a lot to take in. So let me explain how this new QE Lite Program works before we continue.

During Treasury auctions there are 18 banks, called Primary Dealers, who are given unprecedented access to US Debt (Treasuries) in terms of pricing and control. These are the BIG BOYS of finance including firms like Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Credit Suisse (CS), and others.

During its QE 1 Program, the Fed bought over $1.0 trillion in securities from these firms. Its new QE lite program consists of it using the interest and proceeds from the securities in its portfolio that are maturing to buy Treasuries from the Primary Dealers via Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO).

In simple terms, the POMO actions allow the Fed to pump money into Wall Street (by buying Treasuries from the Primary Dealers) without DIRECTLY monetizing Treasury debt (the Treasuries had already been issued). The Primary Dealers then take this fresh capital from the Fed and plow into stocks, forcing the sort of ramp job we saw last week on Friday. (chart)

All told, the Fed has bought $20 billion worth of Treasuries in this fashion, $11.15 of which it purchased last week alone. With this kind of weekly money pumping in place, Bernanke and pals don’t need to continue their “behind the scenes” games (like the options expiration week money pumps).

Or do they?

Unbeknownst to most investors, last week ( no-recession-helicopter) Ben (b.s. for b*** s*** shalom) Bernanke (oj the juice man) pumped an additional $11.05 BILLION into the system ON TOP of the $11.15 pumped via the POMOs. In plain terms, THE FED JUICED THE SYSTEM BY $20+ BILLION IN A SINGLE WEEK, BRINGING ITS LIQUIDITY PUMPS RIGHT BACK QE 1 LEVELS.

If you want to know why stocks have rallied in the last month, this is THE reason. The economy isn’t improving and the European Crisis isn’t over. Nothing has improved. All that has happened is the Fed funneled money into the Primary Dealers who ramped the market.

This is also the reason why the latest rally has almost entirely consisted of gap ups: the Primary Dealers ramp the market and then the computer trading programs take care of the rest. (chart)

In plain terms, the market is being juiced higher, plain and simple. There is no fundamental reason for stocks to be rallying. Moreover, we have numerous signs of a top forming (mutual fund cash levels, insider selling to buying ratios, negative divergence, etc). Those who choose to buy into the farce of a rally are going to get what’s coming to them. And when they do, it won’t be pretty.

Disclosure: None ]

Consumer confidence drops to lowest since Feb. (Washington Post)

A Candid Appraisal of the Recovery John Browne Over the last two weeks, seemingly good economic news offered some shreds of optimism to a stock market that was desperate for a pick-me-up.

The week before last, the National Bureau of Economic Research declared that the US recession had ended back in June 2009. At the beginning of last week, news came in that month-on-month retail sales had risen by 0.4 percent. Combined with successful government debt auctions in the eurozone, increasing expectations that Republicans will take back the House (thereby blunting the leftward drift of Washington), and hopes that a new round of quantitative easing will pump up growth, mainstream analysts are developing a feeling of near-euphoria.

Although it hard to begrudge the punch drunk for grasping at a little hope, investing is a dispassionate endeavor that calls for close and realistic analysis. In that spirit, let's dig deeper into the recent 'good news.'

First, the single month's rise in retail sales was a blip on what has been a long-term downtrend. Furthermore, retail sales in August typically get a large boost from seasonal 'back to school' spending. This year, retail sales were boosted further by temporary tax incentives and vendor discounts.

Second, the successful auction of debt from worrisome eurozone countries, like Ireland, only served to further camouflage the ongoing risk of sovereign default by these states. None of them have committed to a comprehensive program of austerity and market liberalization - Ireland maintains a 'too big to fail' doctrine while Greece is on the verge of riots from its so-far modest efforts at privatization. None of the PIIGS would have had successful bond sales if Germany hadn't been pressured into becoming a 'sovereign of last resort' for the whole currency area.

Apart from health of the weakest nations, a more important issue is understanding how sovereign debt is analyzed by investors in the first place. Those who consider buying government debt have for many years relied on backward-looking measurements such as debt-to-GDP to analyze the investment quality.

But that's only half the picture, and oftentimes it's even less than that. It does not include off-balance sheet items such as unfunded pensions, social security payments, or health obligations. For the US, I estimate this total debt amounts to some $134 trillion - nearly ten times the 'official' figure.

On a deeper level, using the public debt-to-GDP ratio to assess sovereign solvency implies that governments have access to the entire annual production of their economies. In reality, they have access only to that portion which is taxable. As taxes increase, there are natural limits imposed by increasing inefficiency and avoidance behaviors. Therefore, 'net GDP,' the portion available to the government for debt service, is significantly smaller than the gross GDP of the nation.

With real government debts, including off-balance sheet items, far larger than officially recognized and net GDPs far smaller that top-line GDP, the solvency of many sovereigns should be considered dubious at best.

For example, the debt-to-GDP ratio of the United States is currently 65 percent, which puts the country towards the solvent end of the debt spectrum among developed Western nations. However, the real debt-to-net GDP ratio is a staggering 358 percent, making the US the most insolvent nation in the group, behind even Greece!

In the interest of brevity, I will only touch on the fact that the above number is actually still an underestimate. It does not account for the portion of gross GDP claimed by state and municipal governments to service their debts. After all, all levels of government tax the same base. So, the effective portion of GDP available to the federal government is even smaller still.

The third problem with the late round of 'good news' is that while a GOP sweep of House races looks likely, it is unlikely to make a large impact on policy. It is doubtful that the small number of freshman GOP Representatives will be able to win over their more mature, big government-minded colleagues. Any pending GOP 'small government' revolution will be heavy on talk and short on accomplishments.

It should come as no surprise that the Republicans' "Pledge to America" lacked specific commitments for cost-cutting. Republicans are terrified of becoming the party of austerity, and the next Republican President will want to avoid being seen as 'Hoover 2.0'. Therefore, any structural changes will come slowly - and perhaps too late.

Finally, whatever actions the Fed takes in the name of further stimulus will have the same unintended consequences as all previous stimulus efforts. Long-term sustainability will be sacrificed in favor of a short-term boom. Since World War II, the underlying strength of the US economy has allowed the central bank to get away with this strategy, as the economy simply outgrew the inefficiencies caused by monetary manipulation. But what happens when we are in a period of secular decline?

So we see that Wall Street is again playing the part of Pangloss. Unfortunately, their purported inklings of a renewed rally in the US markets do not stand up to candid appraisal.

Bad Data Rescues Stocks: Dave's Daily ‘Bad economic data (Consumer Confidence 48.5 vs 53 consensus) and more worries from Europe regarding Irish banks drove markets sharply lower early. But, then the Fed showed up with a small POMO operation reminding bulls that bad data keeps the Fed as their friend. The smokescreen for the day was deal-making. The new deal or theme taking root in markets is good news is good and bad news is even better…’

Report From Europe: Ireland's Bonds in More Trouble

Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt.

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! There’s an old axiom that remains as true today as ever; viz., ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’, that is of course unless you’re of the ‘buy and hold’ mentality. Specifically, if you recall the recent market rally on the better than expected unemployment numbers from the government, albeit false data based on estimates that of course were as true as ‘bernie madoff is a reliable, trustworthy, seasoned professional with whom to entrust your money for investment’. The unemployment numbers just came in decidedly worse than expected (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has this day rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales the other ‘heralded’ good news. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in for now, and window dressing for the month and the 3rd quarter which can be and is manipulated, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ]

Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

I’ve had a couple of conversations lately with people who follow politics and public affairs, but aren’t that close to the economic discussion — and I’ve discovered that there are two comforting delusions still out there.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

But it’s not at all true. GDP is growing below potential; employment, even if you focus just on private employment, is growing more slowly than the working-age population. If you ask how long it will take us to return to, say, 5 percent unemployment on the current track, the answer is forever.

Delusion #2 is the belief that the stimulus may yet do the trick, because there are still substantial funds unspent. I tried to deal with this last year. The level of GDP depends not on total funds spent, but on the rate at which funds are being spent, which has already peaked; GDP growth on the rate of change in the rate at which funds are being spent, which peaked last year. It’s all downhill from here.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Harry Dent, Jr. Economy will be in a Depression by 2011
The worst of this next depression is likely to hit between mid-2010 and mid-2013, especially around early 2011, but if the banking system continues to implode a deep downturn or depression could begin sometime in 2009 instead of 2010.
Dow will Fall to 3,800 – 4,500 by 2012
Nasdaq will Fall Below 1,100, its 2002 low, by late 2010 or mid-2012 at the latest.
Inflation will Increase until mid- 2010 and then turn to Deflation
Interest Rates will Increase
U.S. Dollar will Decline
Housing will Decline by 40 – 60% from Today’s Levels
Greatest Economic and Banking Crisis since the 1930s will Occur Between 2010 and 2012). ]

Dow 1000? Robert Prechter Thinks So

Marc Faber: The Fed Is Creating Dangerous Bubbles Around The World, And Stocks Will Tank In October The original merchant of doom Marc Faber has a good, wide-ranging interview with the Economic Times of India.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Before U.S. Housing, Sentiment Reports The dollar traded at almost a five- month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Get Ready For The Fixed Income Bloodbath Fixed income desks are going to be subject to severe layoffs, according to a highly placed Wall Street insider with information about the plans of his firm and the plans of rivals.

Prechter Reiterrates Call For Dow 1,000, Even As Surging Gold And Plunging Dollar Leave Much Credibility To Be Desired One has to wonder by now just what is so magical about the Dow 1,000 that Prechter has been so infatuated with since time immemorial.

Things are coming apart before our eyes Fred Cederholm | Do you feel this first downturn of the 21st century is behind us? I sure don’t.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ Guardian | The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Bloomberg | The dollar traded at almost a five-month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Another Record For Gold As Investors Forecast More Huge Gains Gold futures have once again surged to a new record high, with experts across the board forecasting that gold’s bull run has a long way to go.

Shut Down the Fed (Part II) All those hillsmen in Idaho, with their Colt 45s and boxes of krugerrands, who sent furious emails to the Telegraph accusing me of defending a hyperinflating establishment cabal were right all along. The Fed is indeed out of control.

National / World

Concealed Carry Event Coincides With University of Texas Shooting Infowars.com | Infowars.com has learned that an open carry event was scheduled on the UT campus today.

Glenn Beck Channels Alex Jones to Sell Globalist Snake Oil Kurt Nimmo | Glenn Beck is not a patriot, but he plays one on television.

New Cybersecurity Bill Gives Obama ‘Power To Shut Down Companies’ Paul Joseph Watson | Businesses who don’t follow government orders would be suspended for at least 90 days with no congressional oversight.

Healthcare Reform: A Huge Misdiagnosis Ron Paul | Central planning never increases choices and quality or cuts costs as promised.

Amazing “Coincidence”: UT Shooting Cancels Pro-Gun Speech A shooting at the University of Texas campus that was initially blamed on a lone nut took on a political aspect after it emerged that the incident coincided with a speech by second amendment expert John Lott about the right to concealed carry that was due to take place tonight but has since been cancelled.

Big Sis Tries To Force Body Scanners On Other Countries Amidst Backlash Amidst a global backlash against naked airport body scanners, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is attempting to corral 190 nations into signing a binding agreement that will force them to adopt the increasingly unpopular devices which have been slammed on both health and privacy grounds.

CIA Strikes Intensify in Pakistan In an effort to foil a suspected terrorist plot against European targets, the Central Intelligence Agency has ramped up missile strikes against militants in Pakistan’s tribal regions, current and former officials say.

Kim Jong-un appointed general in first official hint he will be next leader of North Korea North Korea’s ailing dictator Kim Jong-il appointed his youngest son a four-star general on Tuesday, giving his country the first official hint that he will be their next leader.

Drugged soldier recorded describing the killing of Afghan civilians One of five soldiers accused by the Army of involvement in the premeditated killings of Afghan civilians is scheduled to appear before a military judge today — on the same day ABC News aired tapes that show his confession to investigators about his own involvement and the involvement of several other soldiers in the slayings.

Drudgereport: Consumer confidence drops to lowest since Feb...
Bush aide: Economy 'Close to Destructive Tipping Point'...
CEOs' view of economy darkens...

Afghan President Hamid Karzai breaks down in tears over state of country...

CIA INTENSIFIES DRONE AIRSTRIKES WITHIN PAKISTAN...GOLD NEW HIGH: $1311...

Murky waters for D.C.'s 'boat people' (Washington Post) [ Murky waters? Boat people? Yeah, sounds like the third world defacto bankrupt america of present and future. Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman seems to think so! Krugman: We’re Going To Have To Default On Our Debt One Way Or Another Some dour commentary from Paul Krugman this morning on the implications of our monster debt. Economists Herald New Great Depression The world is currently experiencing the modern day equivalent of the Great Depression, according to a prominent economist who has added his voice to scores of others now forecasting ongoing economic doom on a scale not seen since the 1930s.) , and my position and that of demographer Dent (This is a global depression. This is a secular bear market in a global depression. The past up move was a manipulated bull (s***) cycle in a secular bear market. This has been a typically manipulated bubble as has preceded the prior crashes with great regularity that the wall street frauds and insiders commission and sell into. This is a typical wall street churn and earn pass the hot potato scam / fraud as in prior crashes’. This national decline, economic and otherwise, will not end until justice is served and the wall street frauds et als are criminally prosecuted, jailed, fined, and disgorgement imposed. Krugman: It's All Downhill From Here Cullen Roche Love him or hate him Paul Krugman has been awfully right with regards to the macro picture in the last few years. He’s one of the rare economists who had the foresight to see the housing bubble and the likelihood of economic downturn that would result from it. Krugman recently caused a stir when he said the US economy was headed for the third depression. He isn’t back down from that outlook:

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

] Developers plan to unveil a revised master plan for a massive collection of hotels, apartment buildings and ground-level restaurants and stores even as the fate of more than a dozen businesses and hundreds of residents along Water Street and Maine Avenue SW are being debated.

Treasury developing plan to recoup AIG investment (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a plan! … fraught with fraud, or fraud with which it’s fraught; but a great way to do that typical Washington ‘bribe / quid pro quo’ thing that’s done ‘wonders’ for pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america. ]Federal officials are finalizing a plan aimed at recouping the massive taxpayer investment in American International Group and returning the bailed-out insurance giant to financial independence, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Connecticut, California join probe of Ally (Washington Post) [ Well, I’d be much more impressed if they initiated a probe of more readily discernible criminal offenses in violation of the RICO Act among other statutes and damaging their respective states and citizens thereof. http://albertpeia.com Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers)Covering Up for Other Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). In Productive Societies as China, Japan, etc., Fraudulent Liars (sic-lawyers) and the Fraudulent u.s. System They're a Part of Are Unheard Of/Non-existent. List of Files Regarding Filed Attorney Grievance Against Fraud coan et als Or Here For A Clearer View Of Filed Grievance Complaint, Response, Exhibits, and Related RICO Filings Note the Committee of Frauds/Liars (sic-lawyers). Included are DOJ Rep., State Court Rep., State Atty. General Office Rep., and even a Vegetable Garden yale law prof who probably never practiced law in his life. How Pathetic! http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ] Attorneys general in both states ordered Ally Financial's GMAC mortgage unit to freeze all foreclosures within their borders, joining a growing list of states investigating whether the firm and other lenders improperly kicked people out of their homes. Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ Well, I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally ] .

9-13-10

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

The document in 5 pages under penalty of perjury I was asked to forward to the FBI office in New Haven is probably the best and most concise summary of the case RICO Summary to FBI Under Penalty of Perjury at Their Request (5 pages) [ http://albertpeia.com/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf ( http://albertpeia.com/fbiofficela91310 ) ].

The correspondence I received from Congresswoman by way of email attachment (apparent but typical problem with my mail) along with my response thereto is included on the 3 disks as fbicorrespondencereyes.htm . With regard to the calls to the FBI’s LA and New Haven, CT offices: There was one call to the LA office and I was referred to the Long Beach, CA office where I personally met with FBI Agent Jeff Hayes to whom I gave probative evidentiary documents of the money laundering which he confirmed as indicative of same (he was transferred from said office within approximately a month of said meeting and his location was not disclosed to me upon inquiry). The matter was assigned to FBI Agent Ron Barndollar and we remained in touch for in excess of a decade until he abruptly retired (our last conversation prior to his retirement related to the case and parenthetically, Rudy Giuliani whose father I stated had been an enforcer for the mob to which he registered disbelief and requested I prove it, which I did – he served 12 years in prison, aggravated assault/manslaughter? – and no, there is no Chinese wall of separation – Andrew Maloney’s the one that prosecuted gotti).

In contradistinction to the statement in said correspondence, there is a plethora of information including evidence supporting the claims set forth in the RICO VERIFIED COMPLAINT (see infra). Such includes and as set forth in the case, inter alia,

A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

There is applicable insurance / surety coverage and neither LA, nor creditors, nor I should continue to have been damaged by this brazened corrupt and illegal scenario, which should be resolved in accordance with the meaningful rules of law apposite thereto.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******** (cell phone)

(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

Part 2: Woodward's 'Obama's Wars' Don't get 'locked into Vietnam,' Biden warns (Washington Post) [ Yeah, when you have a lobotomized VP you tend not to trust their opinion; but, I think they just cover their bases … you know, that Kerryish both sides of all issues thing. In any event, wobama bought this continued debacle and bears fault with the other Zionist war mongers. Previously (on Iraq and Afghanistan, infra): Obama: 'It is time to turn the page' on Iraq war (Washington Post) [ Oh come on! How patronizing to have wobama spew his b* s* which b.s. has become synonomous with wobama; ‘to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future’… Iraq’s been destroyed, covered in cancer-causing depleted uranium, america’s defacto bankrupt, etc. If only teleprompters had a brain of their own. ] He says the U.S. "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future -- a price that now includes more than 4,400 U.S. dead. ]On Thanksgiving weekend in 2009, Vice President Biden counsels President Obama about sending more troops to Afghanistan.

• Full coverage: 'Obama's Wars'

• Audio: Obama on length of the war

• Audio: Obama on attack possibility

• Audio: Obama on terrorism tactics

A subtler tack to fight Afghan corruption? (Washington Post) [ How about a not so subtler tack to fight corruption starting right here in the u.s. of a. where corruption and crime are pervasive and in fact, at the root of the Afghanistan problems, from american reinvigorated heroin trade to bribery attendant thereto to killing civilians, etc.. Defacto Bankrupt, Meaningfully Lawless, War Criminal Nation america, the leader of nations … in crime:

Though having but 5% of the world’s population, america can boast 76% of the world’s serial killers, followed by Europe with England/UK then Germany leading the way for the eu [excerpt, 6 minute video, Serial Killers: Real Life Hannibal Lechters http://www.albertpeia.com/realifeamericaserialkillers.mpg (as is consistent with crime generally, see infra)]. Defacto bankrupt, fraudulent america also spends more on offensive (defensive a misnomer / propaganda) military spending than all the nations of the world combined, and by a large margin at that. Do you see a pattern emerging here [ I unfortunately only belatedly did, and the feds, fed employees, cia, all 3 branches of the u.s. government, etc., are included in this evolved american trait of inherent criminality in the most nefarious sense ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm ) ]:

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

Go to following pages for above links:
http://www.albertpeia.com/currentopics2ndqtr10108.htm
http://www.albertpeia.com
http://www.scribd.com/alpeia
http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com
http://www.albertpeia.com/alresume.htm

http://www.albertpeia.com/wallstreetlunacy2ndqtr10108.htm

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

Hussman: Not Out of the Woods Yet Roche There are clear signs that the recovery has started to fade and the debate over a double dip continues to rage. The NBER thinks the recession is over, but John Hussman is concerned that just as the last recession ends the next one is already beginning. Dr. Hussman says we’re not out of the woods yet as the NBER’s own indicators appear to be pointing to another downturn just as they announce the end of the previous one:

Below, I’ve combined the long-term Stock and Watson data with the ECRI Weekly Leading Index growth rate to give a picture of how fluctuations in these measures have correlated with past recessions (shaded orange) identified by the NBER. Given the upward spike in growth that we observed in mid-2009, the choice of a June 2009 turning point is consistent with historical precedent. The Committee typically dates the beginning of a recovery at the point where the growth rates of underlying measures of economic growth clearly spike from negative to positive. What is of immediate concern though, is the trajectory that growth rates have taken since then. (chart) . Again, the graph presented here is as of June 30, 2010. While we know the ECRI data has deteriorated further since June, we won’t have GDP figures for a while yet. Given the data in hand, it’s clear that past growth downturns of the same extent have often gone on to become recessions. However, there are a few exceptions where these growth rates dipped below zero and then recovered. If we had good reason to expect positive economic tailwinds, we would be less concerned about the present deterioration. Unfortunately, my impression is that the bulk of the growth that we did observe coming off of the June 2009 economic low was driven by a burst of stimulus spending coupled with a variety of programs to pull economic activity forward. My concern is that these synthetic factors are now trailing off, with little intrinsic economic activity to carry a recovery forward. Suffice it to say that we’re not yet out of the woods.

Of course, the NBER (and most economists and most market participants) won’t acknowledge a new recession until long after it has become obvious. According to the NBER’s own indicators it looks like the next recession could very well be in its infancy. As always, I highly recommend Dr. Hussman’s full weekly letter which can be found here. Source: Hussman Funds

My Weekly Market Forecast Graham Summers ‘Last week I forecast that we would see a reversal in stocks. The market did indeed show signs of breaking down on Wednesday and Thursday, however, the Fed’s juice managed to keep stocks afloat and closing in the green for the week. (chart) All told, the Fed injected more than $10 billion into the market directly via its three Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO) pumps. However, Bailout Ben wasn’t content with mere open market juicing, so he pumped another $10 billion into the system “behind the scenes.” I’m going to address this activity in depth in Tuesday’s article, but for now I simply wanted to stress that more than $20 billion in Fed money pumps hit the market last week. This should clear up ANY questions as to why stocks are holding up, let alone rallying. Another way of looking at this, is that the Fed is trashing the US Dollar to prop up stocks. Indeed, the US currency has broken down below both its 50- and its 200-DMAs. Even worse, it has broken critical support at 80, which has served as a MAJOR line of importance over the last 20 years (the Dollar has only broken below this line twice: once during the 2008 lows and during the 2009 QE-induced collapse). (chart) This breakdown could turn out to be a bearish head-fake. However, if it is, the US Dollar needs to start rallying hard soon. Indeed, we are nearing a “death” cross pattern here: when the 50-DMA falls below the 200-DMA. These patterns typically are harbingers of further weakness. Combined with the fact the Dollar is below 80 for only the third time in 20 years, this is a MAJOR warning that unless we get a reversal soon, the Dollar is in VERY serious trouble. Indeed, we have the makings of a massive Head and Shoulders pattern here. As I write, we’re sitting just on the neckline of this pattern. Multiple closings below this line would confirm that the US Dollar is headed lower with a downside target around 71 or so. This would very likely mean stocks re-testing the April highs (1,220) and Gold exploding to $1,350 or even higher. (chart) This is certainly one outcome, however, I don’t think it will prove to be the case. Stocks are overbought and the US Dollar is oversold. At the least we need to see a retrenchment or consolidation in the former and a bounce in the latter. Big Picture: stocks have come up against MAJOR resistance at 1,150. This is occurring right as the S&P 500 reaches an overbought RSI reading (70) and on dwindling volume. (chart) Furthermore, stocks have risen to test the upper trend-line of their trading channel dating back to early May 2010. This line, which coincides with long-term resistance at 1,150, adds to the likelihood of a reversal here. (chart) The first line of support is 1,123 or so. We actually fell to test this last week, but Friday’s POMO-induced ramp job stopped the breakdown. So for now overhead resistance is 1,150 and support is 1,123 or so. A break above the one sets the stage for a rally to 1,170 or even 1,180… a breakdown below the other (1,123) and the next real line of support is 1,100 then 1,080. We have POMOs this week on Tuesday and Thursday. In light of this, I think we might see a final impulse push in stocks above 1,150. However, this effort will fail and we’ll see a retrenchment back to 1,123 or so. And if we take out support a 1,123 on a closing basis then the rally is likely over and we’re heading back down in a major way. When that happens selling pressure should pick up INTENSELY and stocks should absolutely collapse. This rally has occurred on nothing but fumes and short-covering. The only thing holding back the sellers is the Fed’s OBVIOUS intervention. But at some point, even this will prove irrelevant just as it did in 2008. Disclosure: None’

Brace Yourselves For Disappointing Quarterly Earnings Harding Nucor's Daniel DiMicco is one of many CEOs with unpleasant news about third-quarter earnings With only a few more days to the end of the quarter the market’s attention will turn ahead to the third quarter earnings reporting season, which traditionally begins with Alcoa’s earnings, due out on October 7. In what has appeared to be a conundrum for several months, Wall Street has been raising its earnings estimates for the third quarter while at the same time economists and even the Federal Reserve have been bringing down their estimates of economic growth quite dramatically. While we will have to wait awhile to see how those seemingly opposite outlooks actually reconcile, the third quarter earnings “warning” period is already underway and seems to be providing clues. Typically, only 20% to 25% of companies pre-announce results, and according to Thomson Reuters, so far 112 of the 500 companies in the S&P 500 have already issued pre-announcements. Of those, only 34 have said their third-quarter earnings will beat Wall Street’s estimates, while 78 have warned they will not. That 2.3 to 1 ratio is running considerably more negative than the second quarter earnings warning period when the ratio of positive and negative preannouncements was 1 to 1. Special Offer: Dividends don’t lie the way corporate earnings surely can. Click here for dozens of undervalued blue chips with superior financial stability, growth prospects and yields..in Investment Quality Trends.

Confused and Conflicted Markets Nyaradi “If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” -- Tom Peters Certainly, management guru Tom Peters’ quote could apply to last week’s market action as we saw significant moves in both directions only to end up at about where we started the week when the markets closed on Friday. The markets do seem confused and conflicted as we see gold, bonds and stocks all rising in unison. One or more of these markets has gotten it wrong and sooner or later we’re going to find out which one it is. Sooner could be as soon as this week with significant economic reports coming our way. Looking At My Screens As always, the chart tells the story: chart courtesy of StockCharts.com In this chart of the S&P 500 we see RSI at overbought levels and if you look back to early August and early April, you’ll find similar levels soon followed by significant declines. In “normal” market conditions you don’t see RSI at extreme overbought/oversold levels as often as we have lately, but typically, this is a very reliable indicator when these situations occur. Resistance marked by the horizontal red line is at the 1150 level and a break above here would indicate higher prices ahead. In the bottom display, the Full Stochastic is on a “sell” signal and in Overbought territory, and while this can be a choppy indicator, looking back to April, June and August, we can see similar levels followed by significant declines. To make matters even more interesting, one needs to consider these tantalizing facts:

Dow Theory, the oldest technical trading program in use today, will go on a “buy” signal when the Transports break the August high of 4516.35. Friday’s close was 4515.01, just one point away from this significant line in the sand.
Seasonality points to the fact that many significant stock market declines have occurred after the autumn equinox and in the month of October. In fact over the last 13 years, there have been 11 significant declines during this time frame for a probability of 85%.
Three significant crashes have occurred in the month of October; October 29, 1929, October 19, 1987 and “black week” starting on October 6, 2008 during which the Dow lost 18% or 1874 points in five trading days.
The AAII Investor Sentiment Index is at 45% bullishness which is similar to levels seen prior to several major market corrections.

The View from 35,000 Feet

On a fundamental level, the news remained dismal last week with weekly unemployment rising and Rite Aid (RAD) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) not reaching earnings expectations. The Senate postponed voting on extending the “Bush Tax Cuts” until after the election which adds uncertainty to the picture and Ireland slipped into a double dip recession with a contraction in its 2nd Quarter GDP. Existing home prices declined in July by -0.5% and the FOMC said it stands ready with more quantitative easing, effectively telegraphing a move in that direction at their next meeting. August Durable goods orders declined -1.3% from the previous +0.7% and August New Home sales rose, although this was the second worst report on record and so offers small comfort to the beleaguered real estate market. But stocks rallied on Friday on the hope of the “Bernanke Put” which says that the Fed will not let asset prices decline even if it means trashing the U.S. dollar for the rest of our lifetimes. That possibility, of course, is why gold is rallying through the psychologically important $1300 level. While a record, gold still stands far below its all time inflation adjusted high of $2318 and so could still have lots of room left to run.

Household net worth declined $1.5 Trillion in the 2nd Quarter and now stands 15% below its 2006 peak.

What It All Means

It’s now the Federal Reserve and the central banks of the world marshaled against a growing tide of deflation and economic deceleration. The record of success of quantitative easing is spotty at best and so we can only wait to find out if “things are different this time.”

The Week Ahead

As I mentioned at the outset, today’s markets are conflicted and confused, however, it’s likely we’ll soon gain some clarity with significant economic reports coming at us all week.

Pay particular attention to the Q2 GDP revision and Chicago PMI on Thursday and the blizzard of reports on Friday that include income, spending, consumer sentiment, construction spending and the all important ISM, Institute of Supply Manufacturing September report.

These data points should be significant enough to push markets higher or lower in a meaningful way and so by next weekend the way forward should be in sharper focus.

Wall Street Sector Selector remains in the “Red Flag” mode, expecting lower prices ahead.

Economic Reports:

Tuesday:

0900: July Case/Shiller Home Index

1000: September Consumer Confidence

Thursday:

0830: Q2 GDP Revision

0830: Initial Unemployment Claims, Continuing Unemployment Claims

0945: September Chicago PMI

Friday:

0830: August Personal Income

0830: August Personal Spending

0955: September University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final Report

1000: August Construction Spending

1000: September ISM

1400: September Car/Truck Sales

Sector Spotlight:

Leaders: Bonds, Thailand, Peru

Laggards: Regional Banks, Real Estate, Financial Services

Disclosure: SEF, SH, VXX, SPY Put Option

This is still an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! There’s an old axiom that remains as true today as ever; viz., ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’, that is of course unless you’re of the ‘buy and hold’ mentality. Specifically, if you recall the recent market rally on the better than expected unemployment numbers from the government, albeit false data based on estimates that of course were as true as ‘bernie madoff is a reliable, trustworthy, seasoned professional with whom to entrust your money for investment’. The unemployment numbers just came in decidedly worse than expected (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has this day rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure / distressed sales the other ‘heralded’ good news. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in for now, and window dressing for the month and the 3rd quarter which can be and is manipulated, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ]

Credit Collapse and the Shadow Banking System Ellen Brown | What went wrong in September 2008 was not that the existing Basel II capital requirements were too low but that banks found a way around the rules.

Credit Unions Bailed Out Wall Street Journal | Friday’s moves include the seizure of three wholesale credit unions, plus an unusual plan by government officials to manage $50 billion of troubled assets inherited from failed institutions.

US Is ‘Practically Owned’ by China: Analyst The US supremacy as the top world economy will end sooner than many people believe, so gold is a better investment than the dollar despite it hitting a new record, Tom Winnifrith, CEO at financial services firm New Rivington Street Holdings, told CNBC.com Monday.

Obama’s Internet Wiretap Move: Just One Small Facet Of Total Domination Project Steve Watson | Experts warn that Internet is being centralized under government control.

It’s the Dollar, Stupid Kurt Nimmo | For the sixth day in a row, the price of gold has skyrocketed.

Stuxnet False Flag Launched For Web Takeover Paul Joseph Watson | False flag to rush passage of draconian cybersecurity legislation?

Banksters Inflate Speculative Food Bubble, U.N. Offers Global Governance Solution Eric Blair | Never let a good crisis go to waste.

European Central Banks Halt Gold Sales Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade.

‘Euro is nonsense, Greek bailout illegal’ A currency expert protesting against Greece’s bailout says the bailout mechanism violates the provisions of the Treaty on European Union, and it may be a better option to stop the euro experiment instead.

Central Banks No Longer Selling Gold (Duh Factor: 10/10) Something funny (and quite revolutionary) happened during the CBGA’s (Central Bank Gold Agreement) year ending this Sunday – the group of 15 signatory banks sold a mere 6.2 tonnes of gold, a massive 96% decline from the year earlier, according to provisional data.

On the Secret Committee to Save the Euro, a Dangerous Divide Two months after Lehman Brothers collapsed in the fall of 2008, a small group of European leaders set up a secret task force—one so secret that they dubbed it “the group that doesn’t exist.”

Credit Unions Bailed Out Two years after the peak of the financial crisis, the federal government swooped in to stabilize a crucial part of the credit-union sector battered by losses on subprime mortgages.

Obama Stimulus Made Economic Crisis Worse, `Black Swan’ Author Taleb Says U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration weakened the country’s economy by seeking to foster growth instead of paying down the federal debt, said Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of “The Black Swan.”

David Rosenberg: Forget Gold $1300, It’s Going To $3000 It may be overbought on a near-term technical basis, but gold — now on the precipice of breaking above $1,300/oz — is likely to remain in this secular uptrend for quite a while longer. We’re talking years. We’re still talking $3,000/oz.

19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind The United States is rapidly becoming the very first “post-industrial” nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing.

Downhill With the GOP New York Times ‘Once upon a time, a Latin American political party promised to help motorists save money on gasoline. How? By building highways that ran only downhill.’
Paul Krugman
’I’ve always liked that story, but the truth is that the party received hardly any votes. And that means that the joke is really on us. For these days one of America’s two great political parties routinely makes equally nonsensical promises. Never mind the war on terror, the party’s main concern seems to be the war on arithmetic. And this party has a better than even chance of retaking at least one house of Congress this November.
Banana republic, here we come.
On Thursday, House Republicans released their “Pledge to America,” supposedly outlining their policy agenda. In essence, what they say is, “Deficits are a terrible thing. Let’s make them much bigger.” The document repeatedly condemns federal debt — 16 times, by my count. But the main substantive policy proposal is to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, which independent estimates say would add about $3.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade — about $700 billion more than the Obama administration’s tax proposals…’

National / World

‘US, Mossad played roles in 9/11 event’ Following the Iranian president’s doubts on the 9/11 event, a top military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution says the CIA and Mossad were involved in the attacks.

9/11: Where Are All The Whistleblowers? A common tactic used to debunk questions surrounding the official 9/11 story is to claim that if there was inside involvement in the plot, whistleblowers would have gone public and exposed the conspiracy.

Obama’s Internet Wiretap Move: Just One Small Facet Of Total Domination Project The Obama administration is drafting legislation that will see all internet providers and other online communication services, including email clients and social networks, be forced to allow the intelligence agencies unfettered backdoor access.

New Poll Confirms Massive Re-Election Crisis For Obama The midterms aren’t even here yet, but already the story is quickly turning to 2012, and whether Obama can win re-election.

Gold Could ‘Easily’ Exceed $1,500: Top Gold Miner Barrick Gold, the world’s number one miner of the precious metal, said on Monday gold prices could “easily” outperform recent record highs to rise above $1,500 an ounce in the next year.

Help Us Take the Infowar to the Next Level Millions of people are now awake and acutely aware of the private central mega-bank plan to meltdown the global economy and pitch humanity into a condition of groveling serfdom under the scientific control of a one-world government with its high-tech police state.

Iran struggling to contain computer virus (Washington Post) Iran suspects that a foreign organization or nation designed the "Stuxnet" computer worm. [ Look westward (plus israel) , but not homeward, Angel … Riiiiight! Riiiiight! Riiiiight! Stuxnet False Flag Launched For Web Takeover Israel and the United States have emerged as the prime suspects behind the Stuxnet worm attack, which has infected the Iranian nuclear plant at Bushehr, following the discovery that a “wealthy group or nation” must have been responsible for the malware assault. Drudgereport: `WORM HITS IRAN NUKE PLANT...` `...new versions of virus spreading` `Pentagon silent... ]`

Sordid Details About Killings of 3 Civilians New York Times JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - An American soldier accused of killing three Afghan civilians was under multiple prescription medications at the time of the killings and serving in a unit in which the use of hashish and other drugs ... Cpl. Jeremy Morlock's chilling description of how US soldiers killed Afghan ... New York Daily News Soldiers Charged in Afghan Thrill Kills Blame 'Crazy' Sergeant Calvin Gibbs ABC News

Army censors photos of Afghan corpses in ‘kill-for-sport’ trial Evidently worried about a repeat of the anger aimed at US forces over photos of torture at Abu Ghraib prison, the US military is restricting access to photos of Afghan corpses in the “kill-for-sport” trial of five US soldiers.

Will Stuxnet Malware Be Used In False Flag Attack? Iran has admitted today that Stuxnet malware has infected its industrial computer system.

Intelligence Report Envisions “Designing Humans With Unique Abilities” Under Global Governance Regime Recently a document was disclosed by the grace of the Freedom of Information Act entitled Global Governance 2025: At a Critical Juncture.

Rothschild and CIA Publications Attack “Constitution-worshipers” The editors of the Economist have declared constitutionalists mentally ill. “Indeed, there is something infantile in the belief of the constitution-worshipers that the complex political arguments of today can be settled by simple fidelity to a document written in the 18th century,” the editors wrote on September 23. “When history is turned into scripture and men into deities, truth is the victim.”

Obama health care reform imposes 3.8% tax on all income from home sales and home rental income The news about Obama’s health care reform just keeps getting worse — and we only find these things long after the bill has passed, of course.

GM food battle moves to fish as super-salmon nears US approval Buried in a prospectus inviting investors to buy shares in a fledgling biotech company is an arresting claim attributed to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

It Is Official: The US Is a Police State “Violent extremism” is one of those undefined police state terms that will mean whatever the government wants it to mean. In this morning’s FBI’s foray into the homes of American citizens of conscience, it means antiwar activists, whose activities are equated with “the material support of terrorism,” just as conservatives equated Vietnam era anti-war protesters with giving material support to communism.

Drudgereport: KRUGMAN: BRING ON THE DEFAULTS... Banks Keep Failing, No End in Sight... PILOTS SHOCK CLAIM: Aliens have deactivated nuke missiles... Confession Video: US Soldier Describes Thrill Kill of Innocent Afghans...
UN to appoint space ambassador to greet aliens...

Lawmakers question Fannie Mae on use of 'foreclosure mills' (Washington Post) [ Methinks they probably underestimate the magnitude of the ‘undertaking’. If they were really serious, they’d bring in their big gun, to confuse and throw off balance the questionees through the alice-in-wonderland surreal scene created by his mammalian rodent-like presence (yet he loves facetime, but that $12 billion in $100 dollar bills flown into Iraq is still missing) of that incompetent in the semblance of some beaver-toothed woodland creature as, ie., hedgehog, gopher, etc., viz., henry waxman of, yeah dudes, California fame (no tobacco smoking, just marijuana (actually, even more carcinogenic than tobacco and still, to deny the criminals/dealers the profit should be decriminalized if not legalized and taxed – and, no Sheriff Baca, pot’s not a gateway drug but a statistical correlation of that along with other drug use probably exists- , etc.) amidst characters that would rival the famed mad tea party, mad-hatters all. ]

GOP targets federal workers' pay (Washington Post) Issue becomes midterm flash point in wake of high unemployment, stagnant private-sector wages. Poll: Are federal government salaries too high? [ The obviousness of the answer to this question brings to mind such rhetorical queries as ‘do bears s*** in the woods’ and ‘is the Pope Catholic’, etc.. Of course, unequivocally responding in the affirmative does not do justice either to the obvious response or to the preposterousness of the sense of importance attached to these so-called employees who have to be considered the most over-paid, incompetent, and most cases corrupt (all 3 branches of the u.s. government included, along with the fed, etc.) and lazy employees anywhere, anytime. Indeed, given the damage they’ve done, they should be paying the taxpayers! ]

Pearlstein: It may be time to get back into stocks (Washington Post) [ Wow! With all the documented criminality, manipulation, computerized high-frquency programmed trades and fundamentals that make each uptick a walk through Alice’s Wonderland, one may only scratch their head and ask of Mr. Pearlstein, will you be the one left holding the hot potato in musical-chairs-like fashion and hence, making ‘roughly wrong or precisely wrong’ distinctions without a difference. There is nothing underpinning this overbought / overvalued stock market but hot air, outright lies / fraud, and a déjà vu scenario that once again as consistent with George Santayana’s admonition ("Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.") has eluded the masses (wall streets a**es).]

Stocks reignite a rally as economic woes fade (Washington Post) [Reitmeister and Slusiewicz (infra) … It is sheer folly ‘to believe that the negative, but less bad durable goods order number and the second worst ever, but still improved from July’s all time low, new home sales drove the markets up 2% on Friday…’ ]Stocks rose sharply on Friday, giving the market its fourth straight week of gains.

Obama reaches out to Iran with multiple messages (Washington Post) [ This is closer to the correct approach, conciliatory, especially in light of israel’s summarily and haughtily dismissing even the suggestion of or adherence to the Non-Proliferation Treaty as not in israel’s interest, the war crimes, violation of u.n. resolutions, flotilla murders, sinking of uss liberty/sailor murders, etc.. However, truth be told, I was dismayed and somewhat disheartened by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s confusion ( evincing a lack of understanding ) and hope the same a slip of tongue and correct him as follows: ‘9-11 was that ‘pearl harbor event’ heralded and sought by the neo-cons (don’t forget, there were orders for NORAD to stand down that day, symmetrical implosion, 9-11 truth, etc.) that facilitated a huge abrogation of rights (ie., Patriot Act, etc.), a diversion of funds to the military industrial complex among other lunatics, ie., cia, nsa, etc., but was not intended to nor did it help the u.s. economy; but helping the militant zionist israeli regime was indeed a goal and the cheers of the mossad agents on the banks of the Hudson in Weehawken, n.j. viewing the burning towers are testament to the truth of that part of his statement. ]

The Bulls Are Looking Tired by John Nyaradi ‘Today's Indicators:

Red Flag: We Expect Lower Prices Ahead
Daily Technical Sentiment Indicators: Optimistic (Bearish)
Short Term Market Condition: Overbought (short term bearish)
Short Term Trend: Down
Medium Term Trend: Down
Long Term Trend: Down

Negative action in the U.S. markets and around the world yesterday left me with the distinct impression that the bulls are getting tired.

On a fundamental basis, the bad news was headlined by that pesky unemployment problem just won’t go away with a rise in weekly claims yesterday, while on the corporate front, Rite Aid (RAD) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) got whacked for not meeting earnings expectations and Blockbuster (BBI) filed for bankruptcy.

The Senate decided they didn’t want to deal with the soon to expire “Bush Tax Cuts” until after the election which inserts more than a hint of uncertainty as well as a “ticking clock” into this all important situation.

Overseas storm clouds continued gathering (yet again) as Ireland is in a confirmed double dip with its 2nd Quarter GDP contracting while Germany’s growth slowed more than expected.

Finally, battle scarred veteran Paul Volcker summed it all up by saying that “the financial system is broken” and that it is “so difficult to get out of this recession because of the basic disequilibrium in the real economy.” (Mr. Volcker obviously doesn’t watch financial television.)

On the technical front, the S&P sliced right back down through the 1130-1135 level that had provided such strong resistance and now was supposed to be support and thus broke the upwards trend line in place since the beginning of the early September rally.

Yesterday’s close at 1124 leaves the index 8 points above its 200 Day Moving Average, the widely accepted demarcation line of bull and bear markets.

Internals continue to weaken in terms of breadth, Advance/Decline line, and Up/Down Volume, all indicating lack of strength in the upwards direction.

Today we get Durable Goods and New Home Sales but looming ever larger next week are some huge reports that we’ll discuss in detail on the weekend report.

For today, Wall Street Sector Selector remains in the “Red Flag” mode, expecting lower prices ahead.

Disclosure: SH, SEF, EFZ, VXX, SPY Put Option’

This is an especially great opportunity to sell / take profits! There’s an old axiom that remains as true today as ever; viz., ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’, that is of course unless you’re of the ‘buy and hold’ mentality. Specifically, if you recall the recent market rally on the better than expected unemployment numbers from the government, albeit false data based on estimates that of course were as true as ‘bernie madoff is a reliable, trustworthy, seasoned professional with whom to entrust your money for investment’. The unemployment numbers just came in decidedly worse than expected (and in the ‘wrong direction’, that spin accorded ‘down but not as bad as before’ b*** s*** ) yet the market has this day rallied like no tomorrow with used home foreclosure sales the other ‘heralded’ good news. This is about keeping the suckers sucked in for now, and window dressing for the month and the 3rd quarter which can be and is manipulated, particularly with computerized (and high frequency) trades and which commissions they’ll get again on the way down. There is nothing to support these overbought stock prices, fundamentally or otherwise. These are desperate criminals ‘at work’. Even wall street shill Buffett is saying we’re still in a recession (depression) Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ] … Then of course there’s been the full-moon-effect which enhances the lunacy already typical of the frauds on wall street.

Delusion #1 is that we’re on the road to recovery, just more slowly than we’d like; to be fair, the White House keeps saying this.

If you can ignore the schizophrenic market for just a second it’s hard to reject Krugman’s macro outlook. The private sector has been running on fumes since the debt bubble burst in 2007. The government’s extraordinary actions helped bolster the economy, but merely papered over what was a very weak private sector. As we see the government step aside it’s difficult to imagine that the weakness at the private sector won’t again be exposed for what it really is.
Here Are 13 Signs That We’re Actually In A Depression Right Now Gregory White | David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression… David Rosenberg has outlined, in his latest letter, the 13 reasons with this so-called recovery is actually a depression.Rosenberg sums it up like this:

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Examining the Current Market: No Fear Slusiewicz ‘…On Friday 98% of the S&P 500 companies were up. Generally fast run ups like the one we’ve just gone through, followed by exponential blow offs like what we witnessed on Friday causes me to take a more cautious point of view. It seems that the Fed is attempting to juice the markets with their Permanent Open Market Operations. This week alone the Federal Reserve purchased $11.15 Billion worth of various US Treasury securities from the seven primary banks. What the banks did what that immediate boatload of cash is unknown, but one would suspect that a portion of those founds found its way into the stock market. The alternative is to believe that the negative, but less bad durable goods order number and the second worst ever, but still improved from July’s all time low, new home sales drove the markets up 2% on Friday…’

Fridays Rally Makes No Sense at All Reitmeister ‘Thursday Reity Says: “For now, let’s just assume a healthy little pullback is in store and we’ll take the rest as it comes.“

Friday Reity enjoys foot in mouth sandwich for lunch.Why did the market explode higher on Friday? Maybe because it often does the exact opposite of what makes sense.Yes, you might read articles that say the Durable Goods report was the reason for the market to roar higher. Hey folks, it wasn’t that good, or durable, of a report to make investors feel like our economy is in great shape.

Some other experts may point out that this is a short covering rally. Meaning the hedge funds and traders are taking their money out of recent shorts that are now going awry and that creates additionally buying pressure that moves up the market in the short run. Perhaps that has some validity.And some other experts will talk about how we have gone above key technical levels that are bullish indicators. (Hey, weren’t these same technicians boo-hooing about the Hindenburg Cross just a few weeks ago and how that spelled doom for the market?)

Add it all up and we see why investing is so tricky. And why it’s hard to be 100% bullish or 100% bearish sometimes. The key is to strike a good balance between the possibilities of what might happen. Meaning that when you invest you have to realize there are good odds you can be wrong. So best to hedge your bets a little to realize that the other side of the argument may have some credence.

My Two Cents

(During the day I read many other investment articles of interest. Here are links to some new ones with my 2 cents added underneath).
Most (And Least) Valuable Global Brand NamesWhat's funny is that there is very little correlation between a highly respected brand and share price appreciation. Probably because most of these brands are former growth stories that are now much larger and the PE keeps getting compacted to get in line with current growth expectations. Certainly true for MSFT over the last several years. And for GOOG's underperformance this year (by the way, I think that move is way overdone and time to buy GOOG which is now a nice large cap GARP stock).

Goldman's 10 Stocks for Dividend Growth

Is this the best set of 10 dividend yielding stocks? Probably not.

The more important issue is that probably any combination of 10 high yielding stocks will outperform the low yielding 10 year Treasury over that 10 year stretch.

Warren Buffett: The Recession Is Not Over

Its a recognition that corporations can quickly cut costs and improve profitability making it seem like "alls well". However, John & Joan Q. Public are the "cost that gets cut" and for them the recession is alive and kicking.

News for bank failures september 24, 2010 Regulators close banks in Florida, Washington Ryan Holeywell | September 24, 2010 8:59 PM Regulators closed banks in Florida and Washington Friday night, bringing the total number of bank failures to 127 ... Bank Failure Friday - September 24, 2010 - Happy Failure Friday Everyone! With the approach of the election season, Barry and his "crack" financial team (those who haven't announced ... FDIC: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Bank Closing Information - September 24, 2010 ... Complete Failed Bank List · Failed Financial Institution Contact Search · Bank Failures in Brief ...

Get more discussion results

Housing and Jobs and Leading Economic Indicators...Oh My!

European Debt Worries Resurface

Buffett to taxpayers: Get over your anger Bloomberg News | Au contraire - ‘Taxpayer anger against Obama and Congress …’ is appropriate; after all, it’s your money!

Jobless Claims Up 1st Time in 5 Weeks Zacks | Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance climbed by 12,000 last week to 465,000. That is the first increase in five weeks.

New U.S. Home Sales Hold at Second-Lowest Level Ever Purchases were unchanged at a 288,000 annual pace, matching July as the second-lowest in data going back to 1963, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median price fell to the lowest level in more than six years.

Gold Climbs to $1,300 on Dollar Concern; Silver at 30-Year High Gold futures rose to a record $1,300 an ounce in New York as investors sought a protection of wealth and an alternative to a weakening dollar. Bullion traded at an all-time in London and silver reached the highest price since 1980.

Lauderdale man’s home sold out from under him in foreclosure mistake When Jason Grodensky bought his modest Fort Lauderdale home in December, he paid cash. But seven months later, he was surprised to learn that Bank of America had foreclosed on the house, even though Grodensky did not have a mortgage.

BOJ Intervenes For Second Time In A Week, Fails The half-life of central bank interventions is getting shorter and shorter.

Look Out Below! Harding ‘…And at a time when last week’s weekly AAII investor sentiment poll showed 50.9% bullish? That’s the highest level of bullishness and complacency since it reached 54.6% bullish in October, 2007 near the October, 2007 top of the 2003-2007 bull market. The other higher reading was 53.3% bullish on May 1, 2008, as the market ended a bear market rally and plunged into its unfavorable season leg down of 2008. Other readings not quite as high, but at interesting times: The poll reached 49.2% bullish just prior to the Jan/Feb correction this year, and 48.5% bullish at the April top this year …’

Nation / World

Feds Expand War On Terror, Raid Communist Antiwar Activists Kurt Nimmo | It will not be long before the government raids members of the patriot movement.

There Must Be Something More Daniel Taylor | Take a step back and look at the big picture.

Gold Breaks Psychological Barrier Kurt Nimmo | Gold has continued its astronomical ascent, reaching a new record-breaking high of $1,300 an ounce today.

Establishment Feigns Outrage At Ahmadinejad’s 9/11 Rant Paul Joseph Watson | Neo-Cons still embrace the official explanation behind the event that tripled the size of government and led to the feds targeting conservative Americans as domestic terrorists.

Killing Off the Small Farm: Alex Jones Talks with Judith McGeary Infowars.com | Alex talks with Judith McGeary, the Executive Director of FARFA, about the government plan to replace small family farms with large corporate factory farms.

Obamacare is even worse than critics thought Washington Examiner | Obamacare won’t decrease health care costs for the government.

The Choice Between Two Americas Scott Lazarowitz | The current America is one of Keynesian, socialist centralized economic social and defense planning, in which the government directs everything by force of gunpoint.

Why America Cannot Win in Afghanistan Infowars.com | An interview with Hamid Gul, the former director of Pakistan’s ISI.

Why an Underwear Bomber Trial with an Entrapment Defense Would be One of the Greatest Events in U.S. History Kurt Haskell | Such a trial could possibly wake up the millions of American citizens that fail to even consider that its government is corrupt, dishonest, and working for those who only seek to consolidate their power and wealth.

Establishment Reacts To Ahmadinejad 9/11 Controversy Like Kid Caught With Hand In Cookie Jar The reaction of establishment politicians and their corporate media mouthpieces to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments about 9/11 is akin to that of a guilty child caught with his hand in the cookie jar and chocolate smeared all over his face.

Establishment Feigns Outrage At Ahmadinejad’s 9/11 Rant The spectacle of a minority of UN diplomats walking out on a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he questioned the official story behind 9/11 was instantaneously seized upon by the establishment media and exploited as a way of demonizing any inquiry into the terror attacks.

David Rosenberg: Forget Gold $1300, It’s Going To $3000 It may be overbought on a near-term technical basis, but gold — now on the precipice of breaking above $1,300/oz — is likely to remain in this secular uptrend for quite a while longer. We’re talking years. We’re still talking $3,000/oz.

Dollar Hits All Time Low Against Swiss Franc The USDCHD just printed at 0.9780, the lowest ever in history. The dollar obliteration, and the rush to safety away from the psychopaths of the Federal Reserve continues.

Buffett to taxpayers: Get over your anger Taxpayer anger against President Barack Obama and Congress is counterproductive because policy makers took measures including deficit spending to stimulate the economy, billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC.

Gold Breaks Psychological $1,300 Barrier Gold has continued its astronomical ascent, reaching a new record-breaking high of $1,300 an ounce today. This is the fourth day of record high gold prices. Earlier in the week, the precious metal surged after Federal Reserve boss Bernanke said the banksters will provide extra “monetary stimulus” to boost the collapsing economy.

Bono’s ONE foundation under fire for giving little over 1% of funds to charity Daily Mail | The non-profit organisation set up by the U2 frontman received almost £9.6million in donations in 2008 but handed out only £118,000 to good causes (1.2 per cent).

Drudgereport: FBI Serves 'Terrorism' Warrants in Chicago, Minneapolis...
...raids homes of war protesters Justice Official Calls Dismissal of Black Panther Case 'Travesty'...
...Says Dept. Discourages 'Race Neutral' Enforcement of Laws... PAPER: QUEEN TRIED TO USE STATE POVERTY FUND TO HEAT BUCKINGHAM PALACE...

'We need to trust each other' (Washington Post ) [ Yeah! That’s leader of nations Turkey ‘talking turkey’ while the israelis, with a plethora of illegal nukes, casually as if by some unbenounced entitlement, say that they won’t sign the Non-proliferation Treaty because it’s not in their interest to do so. You can’t make this stuff up; yet, there’s bewilderment as to why the u.s., mid-east, and world are in such a deplorable and chaotic state. ]A23 (Post) ...with the United States, Israel and Iran. Excerpts: Q...is also party to the [Non-Proliferation...

Milbank: A broken pledge The GOP breaks its 'Pledge to America' (Washington Post ) [ Oh, come on! No surprise here. A cliché remains true and the bipartisan reality is that, quite simply, there’s no honor among thieves (and gutless scoundrels) ] It took the Republicans just three minutes to violate their Pledge to America.

Blockbuster goes bust (Washington Post ) [ Sounds like a plan! … The new america plan … Drudgereport: Zuckerman: The American Dream Has Become a Nightmare... Buffett: 'We're still in a recession'... ] The video retailer filed for bankruptcy after it failed to stand up to competition from the likes of Netflix.

Chaos in the nation's foreclosure system (Washington Post ) [ Is that all? If only the chaos was only in the defacto bankrupt nation’s foreclosure system; that would be something to cheer. Unfortunately, corruption in america is pervasive, systemic, structural and the chaos is a growth factor in the most negative sense ]Ally Financial's decision to halt home evictions in 23 states brought to light troubles in the overburdened foreclosure system including faked documents, forged signatures and lenders who take shortcuts.

Obama focuses on human rights [Washington Post ] At U.N., president urges nations to "not stand idly by" when those values, democracy are threatened [ except when defacto bankrupt america is doing the threatening, which is usually the case, and if you’re white … ( UPDATE: MORE CLAIMS OF RACE BIAS AT JUSTICE... CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL TO PURSUE FED PROBE IN BLACK PANTHER CASE... ex-Justice official quit over the handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party accused his former employer of instructing attorneys in the civil rights division to ignore cases that involve black defendants and white victims US v. AZ... Cases against Wall Street lag despite Holder’s vows to target financial fraud Obama broke promises ) ] .

Recession is far from over for many Americans (Washington Post ) [ Many? How ‘bout most all! Beyond the election / incumbent desperation act / rhetoric. ] Buffett: We're Still in a Recession [ Wow! A moment of lucidity from Buffet which belies his prior ‘rosy wall street shill talk’, but his greater candor is welcomed nonetheless although the ‘d’ (for depression) word is more appropriate and accurate.] Roche ‘Warren Buffett disagrees with the NBER. He says we’re still in a recession and likely to remain in a recession for quite a while. These comments are far more tempered than the ones that were published last week. Of course, my favorite part in this clip is where he says the U.S. government did the right thing in responding to the crisis. They certainly did the right thing for Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. Whether or not they did the right thing for America is a whole other story…’ [ And, of course we now know that it wasn’t the right thing for america … The question inevitably becomes, ‘Who’s manipulating who, what, and why? After all, we know defacto bankrupt america’s pervasively corrupt! ]

We need another yardstick to measure how bad off we are, because the one we have now isn't good enough. The recession may be declared over, but the hole we've dug is too deep to be measured only by the macroeconomic factors considered by the bureau.

Thursday Market Outlook: Listening to Herbert Hoover

‘Red Flag: We Expect Lower Prices Ahead
Daily Technical Sentiment Indicators: Optimistic (Bearish)
Short Term Market Condition: Overbought (short term bearish)
Short Term Trend: Up
Medium Term Trend: Down
Long Term Trend: Down

So far, this week’s news and market action looks decidedly deflationary and even depression-like and so I went back in time to see what President Herbert Hoover, often blamed for the Great Depression, had to say about his times and to see what we might be able to learn from him about the times we live in.

Some of his most prescient and applicable quotes were:

“Let me remind you that credit is the lifeblood of business, the lifeblood of prices and jobs.” (Certainly an issue today and our money center banks should pay heed)

“It is just as important that business keep out of government as that government keep out of business.” (No doubt about it. Every policy maker in America needs to understand this.)

I’m the only person of distinction who has ever had a depression named for him.” (President Obama might be the second.)

“Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body – the producers and consumers themselves.”

(Dr. Bernanke and his colleagues really need to “get” this one, and judging from what I’m reading this week, I’m not sure they do.)

And, finally, old Herb had a morbid sense of humor when he said, “Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt.” (Unfortunately still too true today.)

So apparently as the old saying goes: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

This week so far has been more than a little spooky and reminiscent of Herbert Hoover’s times as we listened to Dr. Bernanke and the FOMC warn of deflation and further quantitative easing and then read today’s housing report which indicated that home prices declined in July by -0.5%.

The FOMC said that “the pace of recovery in output and employment has slowed in recent months…and that “employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Housing starts are at a depressed level. Bank lending has continued to contract, but at a reduced rate in recent months.”

“Measures of underlying inflation are currently at levels somewhat below those the Committee judges most consistent, over the longer run, with its mandate to promote maximum employment and price stability…..the Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and is prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support economic recovery and to return inflation, over time, to levels consistent with its mandate.”

So in a nutshell, deflation is a major concern, the $1.5 Trillion the Fed has thrown on this fire has failed to work and now they stand ready to throw more money at this problem in hopes of keeping our economic ship from sinking.

It’s clear what the market thinks of all of this as Treasury bonds continue to rally and gold heads for the stratosphere. Equities cheered Dr. Bernanke’s comments at first but then, realizing that deflation is a bad thing, settled back down to well below the top of the recent range.

One only needs to look at history to see that government efforts have little impact on ending depressions and deflation. The Great Depression didn’t end until the onset of World War II and Japan is a prime example of the ongoing failure of quantitative easing policies as they enter their second “lost decade.”

Today comes the jobs report, home sales and leading economic indicators and we’ll see if any light shines from this most recent data.

Technically, markets remain overbought and due for a correction and so from a fundamental, technical and seasonal perspective, we are in treacherous waters for sure.

We need to learn from Herbert Hoover’s words and experience or fall victim to George Santayana’s famous warning, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Wall Street Sector Selector remains positioned to the “short” side of the market, expecting choppy to lower prices ahead.

Disclosure: SH, EFZ, SEF, SPY put option’

Am I Too Bearish? [ In a word, No! ] Cullen Roche ‘1) Am I too bearish? Some commenters have noted that I seem a bit too bearish all the time. Some have even gone so far as to imply that I am a permabear. These are fair comments, but require some clarification. The other day I mentioned my top down approach to the markets. Most of what I write about here at Pragmatic Capitalism is a macro view. Therefore, you get a heavy dose of macro with a dollop of micro. I am of the belief that we are in a secular bear and a balance sheet recession. Therefore, you get a pretty heavy dose of bearish arguments thrown at you. Nonetheless, I try to balance the site out with some of the more reasonable bullish arguments. What I am not, however, is a permabear. Within this macro outlook I have been bullish at many of the most opportune moments in the last few years. Most notable was my bottom call on March 8th when everyone in the universe was negative and I said the government was about to engage in an unprecedented market intervention that would be bullish for stocks. More recently on September 1st I was asked specifically if I was shorting the market. My response:

Ideally I would, however, I think it’s dangerous to build shorts right now. If the market is about to collapse then it’s about the most widely known collapse ever. Markets don’t tank when everyone is this bearish unless there is some sort of extreme event (which isn’t occurring currently). I think the April period when I was very negative (and short) is a great example.

I have actually been looking for a spot to get long even though my macro outlook is negative (which it has been for several years)…

Now, in fairness, I did not buy for my macro equity strategy so don’t take this as some form of revisionist history where I am patting myself on the back for a trade that never occurred. On September 2nd I got what I later referred to as a “soft buy signal” as opposed to a conviction buy signal (more on this below). In hindsight it’s easy to say that I should have had more conviction in the signal and simply bought stocks, but that’s not my modus operandi. As I have previously explained, I have rules within my micro outlook that guide my various strategies and approaches. I trade the indicators (in this case a proprietary algorithm) and not the market. My rules tell me when to buy, sell and short. If my strict rules are not met I do not act.I have often referred to myself as a lion in the grass. The lion is not greedy. She does not just run wildly across the plains chasing antelope (thinking of day traders here). Instead, she devises a plan and lies in wait as the plan unfolds to her liking. If the environment is not right she does not act. There is too much at stake for her to make mistakes and risk losing a meal that might feed an entire pride for weeks or months. My mentality is no different. I am not frantically trading therefore you get a small dose of my trading perspective. Instead, I am measuring the risk environment day by day waiting for the antelope to step just close enough so I can react in a way that gives me very good odds of being right, fat and well fed for many months.

2) Quantifying the disequilibrium. As I previously mentioned, I use several strategies. One of these is global macro, however, it has never been my strong suit. It never has been, but it is an approach I have grown increasingly confident about in recent years (a little luck in a tough market environment apparently results in a bit of hubris). Within this strategy I have an equity component. I use dozens of different indicators that measure the markets on a daily basis. These indicators are best summed in an indicator I call quantified disequilibrium. It is a short-term indicator that measures whether the market is excessively risky or not. It combines fundamental analysis with behavioral finance in an attempt to measure the disequilibrium in the market. Since its inception in 2008 it has resulted in 74% total returns vs -22% for the S&P 500. Trade win rate is 84%. I have not calculated risk adjusted returns for the index, but I am certain that they are impressive. Some of its more notable calls include shorting the market crash of 2008, shorting the flash crash of 2009 and buying in early March 2009. After issuing a soft buy signal on September 2nd the index is now flashing the warning signal (but not a short signal). This does not mean the market is necessarily about to decline, but merely means that the risk/reward profile has deteriorated substantially in recent weeks. (chart)

3) Revisiting Swedish models. Some people in this country have a big problem with Swedish models. I certainly don’t. Throughout much of 2008 I mentioned that there were two historical approaches to tackling a debt crisis – the Japan model and the Swedish model. The results were dramatically different. In essence, the Swedes took their medicine. They bit the bullet, forced the banks to take losses and helped stem a panic from occurring. The Japan outcome, as we all know, has not been quite so successful. They allowed zombie banks to earn their way out of the crisis and largely avoided taking their medicine. On the consumer front the U.S. has implemented similar strategies. In general cash for clunkers, homebuyers tax credits, bank bailouts, etc have all been attempts to paper over he debt problem. It clearly hasn’t worked. We have attempted to create capitalism without losers. There is no such thing. In September of 2008 I wrote a letter to the Federal Reserve. It said:

I am writing this letter with regards to the current banking crisis. As you likely know there is precedent for the issues we are currently facing. Not only did Japan enter a similar deflationary period in 1991, but Scandinavia entered an even more similar period around the same time. I have attached the contact info and a paper with a descriptive response to the issue by Arne Berggren. I hope you will forward this message to the appropriate sources as it contains brilliant insight into a situation that is very similar to our current predicament. And please thank the board for their hard work during these trying times. http://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/managing/sym1-09.pdf

I wonder how different the world would be today if we had allowed more banks to be nationalized (or failed) while focusing our time and energy on the real crux of this crisis – Main Street. Instead, we listened to men who were either misguided and/or had a vested interest in saving the banks (Buffett, Paulson, Geithner, Bernanke, etc). It would be humorous if it hadn’t hurt so many millions of people. My guess is the long-term outlook for the U.S. economy would be far better than it is today if we had not repeated the mistakes of the past.’

Thursday: Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble [ As is obvious, things are getting quite dicey on fraudulent wall street and there’s a typical plethora of insanity in the air (of wall street).] ‘

"I’m forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air,
They fly so high, nearly reach the sky,
Then like my dreams they fade and die.
Fortune’s always hiding,
I’ve looked everywhere,
I’m forever blowing bubbles,
Pretty bubbles in the air."

Gold, Treasuries, Junk Bonds, Netflix (NFLX) (we shorted them yesterday), Priceline (PCLN) (we shorted them Monday), Credit Default Swaps - take your pick of what is going to be the next bubble to burst.

We shorted TLT again yesterday ($105) as I sure wouldn’t lend the US money at those rates and neither, it seems, will the "smart money" guys anymore. The cost to hedge against losses on U.S. government debt rose to the most in six weeks as investors bet the Federal Reserve will put more cash into the economy. Credit-default swaps on U.S. Treasuries climbed 1.7 basis points, the biggest increase in more than three weeks, to 49.4, according to data provider CMA. The Fed said Tuesday that slowing inflation and sluggish growth may require further action. The statement positioned the central bank to expand its near-record $2.3 trillion balance sheet as soon as their November meeting - just in time for a Santa Clause boost for the markets.

So why does this not make us bullish? Well, as I said to Members on Tuesday, it was an anticipated statement with no immediate action and we’re at the top of a 10% run for September so, as I said in yesterday’s post, we anticipate a pullback of 2%, back to our 4% line (see post). Also in yesterday’s post, I mentioned our IWM 9/30 $67 puts ($1.10) and the DIA Oct $105 puts (.89) both of which were good for a reload on yesterday’s silly spike, where I said to Members in the 9:56 Alert:

I like the same IWM and DIA puts as yesterday as we test 10,800 on the Dow - I don’t think it’s going to last. Tomorrow we lose the usual 450,000 jobs for the week and we have Existing Home Sales at 10, which can now disappoint as Building Permits were a big upside surprise yesterday. We also get Leading Economic Indicators at 10 but they are expected up just 0.1% and I doubt they go negative. Friday we have Durable Goods, which should be down 2% and New Home Sales at 10, also now set up to disappoint even the very low 291,000 expected. So caution, caution, caution PLEASE!

I had already mentioned in the morning post that "bear is the word" and this is where the free readers tend to get confused because I was all bullish for the beginning of the month but, as I say often enough and as our Members know very well - I am not bullish, I am RANGEISH - which is a very different thing. 10,700 is the top of our range and with the Russell failing to confirm our 5% line at 666 (they hit it but didn’t hold it) kept us cautious and then we turn to the news flow to see if we’re going to have the gas to get past our major resistance lines and, so far, no - we do not.

Right in yesterday’s morning post I said: "The weak dollar will mask a weak market this morning and that will support commodities and the commodity pushers in early trading but watch that dollar, which will likely get bought up by the BOJ at some point and that will send oil and copper down and those strong sectors will pull back and likely lead us back down to test our 4% levels at Dow 10,608, S&P 1,112, Nas 2,288, NYSE 7,072 and Russell 660." Just to be clear, I don’t MAKE the markets do these things - I can only tell you what the market is going to do and how to make money trading it but I’m not the guy with his hand on the switch, so don’t blame me. We flip-flop when we have to because the market changes every day and whether you are a bull or a bear, you are likely to be wrong soon.

Speaking of being wrong, that’s what we were about gold at the beginning of the week when we looked at GLL for a short position at $1,280. We are scaling in, of course but, as I said about gold in yesterday’s chat:

"It’s a bubble. The same statements they are making now were made about housing and oil and tulips. Just keep in mind that that doesn’t stop gold from going to $3,000, just like oil went to $147, up 47% in the last Quarter before it crashed and it ended up all the way at $35 yet "that time is was different" and 1,000 experts told me I was wrong for all of ‘07 and ‘08 and, for 75% of that time - THEY WERE RIGHT!"

Even as gold flies up to $1,299 and copper tags $3.594 in overnight trading, commodities under management dropped 2.3% last month from a record $300Bn to $293Bn. This was the first pullback since January as investors withdrew $5Bn from commodity index swaps - the first monthly decline in 5 years! “There was concern about the U.S. and concern about China that spooked the market,” according to Barclays Capital.

There’s even some in-fighting within the Gang of 12 as Morgan Stanley says investors should buy the lowest-rated corporate debt, while Goldman Sachs says stay away. Bonds graded CCC in the U.S. are the “cheapest” high- yield securities with “economic data once again beginning to surprise to the upside,” Morgan Stanley told clients yesterday in a report. Goldman Sachs says higher-rated speculative-grade debt is the way to go as the economy decelerates.

And what should we do when mommy and daddy are fighting like this? Cash out and go stay at a friend’s house is my advice. The September move may not be over but it sure does look fake at this point and making 10% in a month is plenty for most people’s year so I’m leaning towards quitting while we’re ahead and getting prepared to flip aggressively bearish if our 4% levels don’t hold.

Of course, this is just the follow-through of the pattern we expected post-Fed (see charts in Tuesday’s chat) so we’re just going to enjoy the ride down and we reserve the right to get bullish again (and this does not affect our long-term, hedged trades, just our directional short-term bets) - pending earnings reports, of course.

As we expected, jobs are a bust with weekly unemployment up 12K to 465,000, that’s dipping the US futures about 1% and we still have Existing Home Sales and Leading Economic Indicators at 10, which were already reasons we took bearish positions yesterday. The key is going to be what kind of volume we get on the way down and what levels hold up to give us a clue of whether we are still at the top of our 10,200, 1,070 range or whether we indeed can call our former mid-range new floor. Oil broke yesterday, as we expected (very nice for the OIH puts) and today’s natural gas report at 10:30 is not likely to cheer them up and $73.50 would be a shame to fail. We’ve been tracking the barrel counts over at the NYMEX in member chat and there is still quite a stockpile that needs to be worked off - another bearish factor that’s kept us on our toes as we approached our upside goals.

Asia was mixed this morning but mostly closed for holidays with the BSE posting yet another decline. We looked at some BRIC shorts yesterday, including India but I favored BGZ (ultra-short emerging markets) to shorting IFN (India ETF), which gives fantastic bang for the bearish buck.

The shine is coming off India as they’ve butchered their chance to impress people by hosting the 54-nation Commonwealth Games, with some countries threatening to pull out just weeks before training begins. Work for the Games has been plagued by construction delays, allegations of corruption and friction between officials of the Games Federation and the local organizing committee. A heavier-than-usual monsoon season made finishing the work harder. Some completed venues sprouted bad leaks.

Ireland’s GDP also sprang a bad leak in Q2 as an unexpected 1.2% decline casts serious doubts on the country’s ability to cut the deficit by 3%, feeding concerns over Dublin’s ability to repay it’s debts without outside help. Although "economists" called it wrong, the report is pretty much in-line with the IMF’s expectations, which were far more bearish so not a huge event but worth watching as a sentiment changer, nonetheless. Private sector growth dropped 5% throughout the Euro-zone to 53.8, down from 56.2 in August. Above 50 is still growing but, like Ireland’s GDP, these little set-backs can add up to a change in investor sentiment very quickly.

An appreciation of 20 percent in China’s currency would cause widespread bankruptcies in China’s export sector, where firms operate on thin margins, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Wednesday. "The conditions for a major appreciation of the renminbi do not exist," Wen said in a speech to U.S. businessmen in New York. He said the appreciation of China’s currency demanded by U.S. lawmakers would not bring jobs back to the United States because U.S. firms no longer make such labor-intensive products.

The Premier is in New York to get his ass kissed by Obama while we pretend to get tough on Chinese currency. As I mentioned last week, China has stopped bying US Treasuries and, for the moment, Japan is filling the gap - but how long will that last as Japan is pressured to apply more stimulus at home?

We’ll be on our toes as we test each of our levels on the way down. Hopefully those 4% lines will hold, which would be impressive with all this negative noise. Durable Goods is ahead of the bell tomorrow morning and it’s very unlikely that report is good and we also get record-low New Home Sales at 10 so there’s nothing to be bullish about into tomorrow’s open and next week we see our own GDP along with Case-Shiller, Consumer Confidence, Personal Income & Spending, ISM and Auto Sales so busy, busy into earnings.

Disclosure: None’

A Warning for the Bulls Cam Hui ‘As NBER has declared the recession over and with the SPX decisively rallied through technical resistance at 1130, traders should be tilting towards the bullish side, right?Not necessarily. Barry Ritholz posted on the 10 things that make him nervous about the market. I generally agree with Barry's assesssments and I would like to add a few more of my own. While I don't have ten items, here is what is bothering me about stocks at the current levels.

Technicals pointing to economic deterioration
Analyzing relative charts, sectors/industries relative to the market, can tell you a lot about what the consensus is thinking. Here is the relative chart of the Morgan Stanley Cyclicals Index: (chart)The chart looks like an inverted saucer to me - which is bearish. The cyclicals deteriorated through a relative uptrend in May and are now in a relative downtrend. This is not the picture of a robust economic recovery.What's more, when I look at housing, as proxied by XHB against the market, it isn't signalling a rip roaring recovery either. (chart)As well, the Banking Index looks terrible against the market. This picture looks a lot like the relative chart of the cyclicals - a relative downtrend within an inverted saucer top formation. Without leadership from the Financials, can a new upleg be launched?(chart)For the followers of my Inflation-Deflation Timer mode, I refer to my latest comment indicating that I am getting very mixed signals. The model has moved to a technical "inflation" signal. I would tend to discount that signal and remain in "neutral" because of the anomolous condition of strong commodity prices and falling bond yields.

Watch out for the double-tip talk
John Hussman has been writing in the last several weeks about impending deterioration in economic indicators [emphasis added]:

As I've emphasized in recent weeks, the U.S. economy is still in a normal "lag window" between deterioration in leading measures of economic activity and (probable) deterioration in coincident measures. Though the lags are sometimes variable, as we saw in 1974 and 2008, normal lags would suggest an abrupt softening in the September ISM report (due in the beginning of October), with new claims for unemployment softening beginning somewhere around mid-October. It's possible that the historically tight relationships that we've reviewed iin recent weeks will not hold in this particular instance, but we have no reasonable basis to expect that. Indeed, if we look at the drivers of economic growth outside of the now fading impact of government stimulus spending, we continue to observe little intrinsic activity.

Already, the employment picture is ominous:

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has warned about a jobless recovery.
The New York Times reports that older Americans are worrying that they will be permanently locked out of employment. Even if that isn't true, these concerns will serve to put a lid on their spending.
Polls show that unemployment is rising again.
At a local level, Gregor Macdonald reports that California employment is falling again.’

Jobless Claims Up 1st Time in 5 Weeks Zacks | Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance climbed by 12,000 last week to 465,000. That is the first increase in five weeks.

Is the Economy as Broke as Lehman Was? Michael Hudson | American homeowners are victims, not crooks.

State unemployment: Jobs picture gets worse in 27 states CNNMoney | On a state-by-state basis, the jobs picture continues to look a lot more grim in places like Nevada, Michigan and California.

Obama Administration Is ‘Anti-Business’: Jack Welch High unemployment may last for a long time because of the sluggish economy, bad politics and advances in technology, Jack Welch, author of “Straight from the Gut,” told CNBC Thursday.

Did the Fed Really Say Inflation Isn’t High Enough? Get ready everybody. Things are about to get a lot more expensive.

Manufacturing’s decline threatens national security, House panel hears The hollowing-out of the US’s industrial base means the country is risking its national security by being dependent on foreign contractors, experts told a congressional panel Wednesday.

Euro Survival ‘Silly’ Question: Ex-ECB Board Member The question whether the single European currency will survive the current crisis is a “silly” one because the present situation created opportunities to actually make the monetary union stronger, Otmar Issing, president of the Center for Financial Studies and a former ECB board member told CNBC Thursday.

Delaware Sends Infowars.com “First Offense Warning” for Sign Kurt Nimmo | The government of Delaware either is unaware that Alex Jones is not responsible for the sign, or is engaged in harassment.

Obama Admin predicts small scale terror… in time for elections, again? Aaron Dykes | “Terrorism” concerns necessarily hinge on fear, and it is now completely predictable that an otherwise unpopular Obama Administration would roll out the threat of terror to bolster support for the 2010 elections.

Proposed Law Would Allow Justice Department to Shut Down Websites Kurt Nimmo | Law is the latest effort by the government to control and eventually roll back the free and open internet under the guise of protecting copyright.

Alex Jones: ‘UN a Nazi movement’ Russia Today | A growing number of Americans are increasingly frustrated with international groups like the UN, IMF and World Bank.

The Globalists Plan for a Coming World Currency Mark Matheny | “Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes her laws.”

Proposed Law Would Allow Justice Department to Shut Down Websites The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will consider action today on a bill entitled Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, ostensibly designed to allow the Justice Department to combat copyright infringement.

Obama Admin predicts small scale terror… in time for elections, again? “Terrorism” concerns necessarily hinge on fear, and it is now completely predictable that an otherwise unpopular Obama Administration would roll out the threat of terror to bolster support for the 2010 elections.

Establishment Upset We’re Not Discussing Mindless Drivel Tom Krazit of CNet News is apparently upset that someone would attempt to create talking points of national interest that are not focused around the moronic behavior of vacuous celebrities like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and whatever other mindless drivel the corporate media serves up on a daily basis.

Congressman Wants Overpopulation Myth To Be Taught In Schools A Democratic Congressman has called for schools and centres of education to “promote the agenda” of climate change and the idea that unfettered population growth is killing the planet.

Google’s Eric Schmidt: “when you post something, the computers remember forever” Google CEO Eric Schmidt went head-to-head with Stephen Colbert yesterday evening to discuss everything from data-mining to China to Schmidt’s “joke” about privacy.

Feds Target Americans As Terrorists In Effort To Break Back Of Big Government Resistance The feds are up to their old tricks once again – demonizing American citizens who are politically engaged and use the Internet as domestic terrorists in a transparent ploy to chill free speech and immobilize resistance to big government – when in actual fact every major terror plot in the United States was provocateured, contrived or directly facilitated by the federal government itself.

US walks out on Ahmadinejad's UN speech (AP) - The U.S. delegation walked out of the U.N. speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday after he said some in the world have speculated that Americans were behind the Sept. 11 terror attacks, staged in an attempt to assure Israel's survival.

Drudgereport: Spitzer: Cuomo 'Dirtiest, Nastiest' Of Politicians … but he made mob’s man cuomo his Cujo / consiglieri attorney general anyway … how pathetic is new york ..... Dead in Afghan chopper crash were all American... Jobless claims rise again... Welch: Administration Is 'Anti-Business'...
Zuckerman: The American Dream Has Become a Nightmare...
Buffett: 'We're still in a recession'...

Military toughest on Obama (Washington Post) [ Almost hard to believe since wobama foolishly, in contravention of campaign pledges and sound judgment, has given the ‘sullen mullen militants’, also contrary to reason, everything they’ve asked for and more; kind of a dumbya bush in disguise (but I believe Woodward). Credit must be given to the three officers - retired Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, retired Gen. James L. Jones and Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the generals tapped for key positions that are traditionally filled by civilians, for their astute but ignored analysis and courage for standing up to the darkly dysfunctional sullen mullenights who got their ill-found way. ) ] Bob Woodward's new book presents three generals in civilian posts as his most skeptical critics.

Large U.S. paramilitary presence in Afghanistan (Washington Post) [ Yeah … defacto bankrupt america can really afford it … you know, to protect (and participate in) their resurgent heroin trade to the benefit of the few ‘insiders’. ] Existence of covert CIA teams, operating near the Pakistan border, is revealed in a new book by Bob Woodward and documents released by WikiLeaks.

GOP to call for spending freeze (Washington Post) [ Presumably because in defacto bankrupt america you can’t spend what you don’t have (or can you) which of course hasn’t stopped them in the past and certainly didn’t stop war criminal dumbya bush, et als. I don’t believe anything they say; and that’s a bipartisan statement. ]"Pledge to America" illustrates how party would govern if it wins control of Congress in Nov.

Trade legislation to advance (Washington Post) [ Riiiight! That evil Chinese currency, ‘the juan dragon’, and those sneaky communist Chinese practicing capitalism (how dare they – but they’ve already lost hundreds of billions on american paper) with the technological transfers from america along with those short-run economic / financial blasts from the past including contraindicated (for defacto bankrupt america) congressional / executive trade legislation (NAFTA, etc.) as america fades to red. Sounds like a plan … of too little, too late in light of the irrevocable structural shift; and, the inevitable blowback and there will be blowback. ] House leaders are moving forward with bill to combat China's currency policies, adding to pressure from the administration and giving lawmakers an election-year chance to vote on a sensitive trade issue.

Mourning in America (Washington Post) [ More like, ‘mourning america’ while the rest of the world, in light of america’s fabricated, illegal wars and war crimes is saying, ‘good mourning america’.]

Sucker's Rally? Reitmeister ‘Why am I trimming profits when the market seems to be rallying?

Are economic conditions really better than a few weeks ago when we were pressed down on Dow 10,000? No. It's just that it’s not as bad as some double dippers thought and so we rallied higher in the range.
Why should we go higher right now? Yes, there does seem to be some “technical momentum”… but I am not a technician. I am a fundamental investor. Plain and simple, the fundamentals don’t support us going much higher until there is more proof of economic growth…
I am a contrarian by nature as I think most investors will guess wrong given how fear and greed leads to “less than rational” decision making. So I said buy when everyone said to sell. And I was right. Now with many former sellers becoming buyers they are pushing the market above where it should be and thus I say sell...
Bond investors waving a yellow flag: We have a breakdown once again between bond and stock investors. The rates on Treasuries went down yesterday when the stock market raged higher. Why is there more flight to safety into government bonds on a day stocks are at the highest level in months? Probably because stock investors are wrong…’

Shortcuts, forgeries mar foreclosure process (Washington Post) [ Wake up everyone! Defacto bankrupt america’s financial, legal, judicial, etc., processes are so flawed and pervasively corrupt that illegal becomes legal to give the appearance of a working though broken system throughout … and, then there’s the cover-up, which ‘dog don’t hunt no more’.] The nation's overburdened foreclosure system is riddled with faked documents, forged signatures and lenders who take shortcuts reviewing borrower's files, according to court documents and interviews with attorneys, housing advocates and company officials.

Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ Well, I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally ] .

9-13-10

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge

Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

I enclose herewith 3 copies of the within DVD rom autorun disk (which will open in your computer’s browser) as per your office’s request as made this day (the disk and contents have been scanned by Avast, McAfee, and Norton which I’ve installed on my computer to prevent viral attacks / infection and are without threat). I also include a copy of the DVD as filed with the subject court as referenced therein (which files are also included on the aforesaid 3 disks in a separate folder named ‘112208opocoan’). The (civil) RICO action (as you’re aware, the RICO Act is a criminal statute which provides a civil remedy, including treble damages and attorney fees, as an incentive for private prosecution of said claims probably owing to the fact that the USDOJ seems somewhat overwhelmed and in need of such assistance given the seriousness and prevalence of said violations of law which have a corrupting influence on the process, and which corruption is pervasive). A grievance complaint against Coan was also filed concurrently with the subject action and held in abeyance pending resolution of the action which was illegally dismissed without any supporting law and in contravention of the Order of The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District Connecticut. The files below the horizontal rule are the referenced documents as filed. (Owing to the damage to the financial interests of both the U.S. and the District of Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, viz., Los Angeles, the Qui Tam provisions of the Federal False Claims Act probably would apply and I would absent resolution seek to refer the within to a firm with expertise in that area of the law with which I am not familiar).

A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******** (cell phone)

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

Rank	Countries	Amount
# 1	United States:	11,877,218
# 2	United Kingdom:	6,523,706
# 3	Germany:	6,507,394

… ]

A quandary in Afghan corruption fight (Washington Post) [ Come on! Is this some cruel joke? Corruption, lawlessness is now synonomous with america. Afghans question U.S.-style corruption/capitalism (Washington Post) [ As indeed they should inasmuch as the same is neither capitalism nor american style in the traditional sense referenced here. Defacto bankrupt, in decline, and pervasively corrupt, meaningfully lawless america is a nation unworthy of emulation! ] Kabul Bank became the pride of Afghanistan's financial system by offering the conveniences and thrills of 21st-century capitalism. But the scene outside the bank's headquarters Wednesday was far from that modern ideal.U.S.-backed investigative teams have assembled evidence of rampant corruption in Afghanistan, and the findings have had unintended consequences.

Trade legislation to advance (Washington Post) [ Riiiight! That evil Chinese currency, ‘the juan dragon’, and those sneaky communist Chinese practicing capitalism (how dare they – but they’ve already lost hundreds of billions on american paper) with the technological transfers from america along with those short-run economic / financial blasts from the past including contraindicated (for defacto bankrupt america) congressional / executive trade legislation (NAFTA, etc.) as america fades to red. Sounds like a plan … of too little, too late in light of the irrevocable structural shift; and, the inevitable blowback and there will be blowback. ] House leaders are moving forward with bill to combat China's currency policies, adding to pressure from the administration and giving lawmakers an election-year chance to vote on a sensitive trade issue.

Sucker's Rally? Reitmeister ‘Why am I trimming profits when the market seems to be rallying?

Are economic conditions really better than a few weeks ago when we were pressed down on Dow 10,000? No. It's just that it’s not as bad as some double dippers thought and so we rallied higher in the range.
Why should we go higher right now? Yes, there does seem to be some “technical momentum”… but I am not a technician. I am a fundamental investor. Plain and simple, the fundamentals don’t support us going much higher until there is more proof of economic growth…not just proof of no double dip.
I am a contrarian by nature as I think most investors will guess wrong given how fear and greed leads to “less than rational” decision making. So I said buy when everyone said to sell. And I was right. Now with many former sellers becoming buyers they are pushing the market above where it should be and thus I say sell. But not an outright sell. Just trim profits and be a bit more defensive until the fundamentals can provide support for a greater advance.
Bond investors waving a yellow flag: We have a breakdown once again between bond and stock investors. The rates on Treasuries went down yesterday when the stock market raged higher. Why is there more flight to safety into government bonds on a day stocks are at the highest level in months? Probably because stock investors are wrong…’

Market Rallies on 'Recession End': Is This a Joke? Satwaves ‘We learned Monday that the recession that has gripped this country for the last two and a half years actually ended in June of 2009. The markets rallied on the news, yet left a lot of my readers asking what it meant. One of our members whom happens to own over thirty wireless phone stores for example, explained that before the recession, a great month meant 150 to 200 activations per store. A good month resulted in 100 to 150 activations per store, while a not-so-good month came in between 80 to 100 activations per store. Since the recession took hold, this subscriber considers himself lucky to acheive 50 to 65 activations per store, per month. Not wanting to let go of employees with families, this member continues to pay his employees out of his own pocket in the hope that things will get better. Is the recession really over for him? The answer will surprise you. The short answer is yes. Economists define a recession as two quarters of negative GDP growth. In layman's terms, it means only that things stopped getting worse as of June 2009. It does not signify that anything has improved. Think of a receding hairline if you will. Just because it has stopped receding does not mean new hair has grown back. For my friend, and millions of small business owners like him nationwide, things stopped getting worse back in June of 2009. A bottom had been established. Unfortunately, this is where most Americans find themselves living these days. The question going forward is how to fix it. Economists are looking for moderate growth of about 2.6% as we climb out of the recession. Let's apply this factor to the gentleman in the example above. Instead of 50 to 65 activations per month, my friend can look forward to that number increasing to 52 to 67 activations per month over the coming year. This is not something my friend is happy about, and needless to say he gets quite upset when he hears people touting the end of the recession. This will not create jobs. This will not end foreclosures. This will not put an end to the record number of poverty stricken Americans this country now has to contend with. There is a solution however, but unfortunately it would require the politicians on Capital Hill to put aside their differences and actually work for the benefit of the people they represent. It would require a sitting Democratic President to accept an idea from his former Republican rival. Americans want jobs, not unemployment checks and certainly not government programs designed to acclimate people to a life of poverty. The government can and should create those jobs, by building nuclear power plants across the country. Just as job creation in infrastructure lead us out of the great depression, so too can it lead the country now. By now everyone knows about the troubled electrical grid our country faces. Oil and coal generate most of the power we use today. Still, on a hot summer day air conditioning usage results in blackouts in cities and towns across the nation. A new movement is now underway which will test our capacities like never before, in the way of the electric automobile. Where will the power needed come from? I know of one non-public company for instance that has ordered 6000 such cars. Although the idea was first presented by a Republican, a Democrat has the ability to say today that it is a good idea whose time has come. Let both take credit and let America and its people prosper. Nuclear power plants will create jobs in every field from architecture and engineering to food service. It will put to work thousands of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, drywall installers, roofers, landscapers, excavators and the like who will purchase everything from groceries to shoes and yes....even that brand new Droid along with a two year activation. Disclosure: No positions

Investor 'Sugar High' Becomes 'Sugar Crash' Reitmeister … I am highly amused by the different reactions that took place after the FOMC Meeting Announcement. In particular day traders acted like hyperactive children at a birthday party. Instead of screaming for more cake, candy and cola they pounded the table for more stimulus. So when they saw the Fed leaning more in that direction they pushed up the Dow by 100 points in just minutes. Investors came in a bit later to find the traders crashing from the “sugar high”. You could say that the investors were like the parents who needed to clean up after the children’s mess. What investors heard from the announcement was “if the Fed is ready to use more stimulus, then economy must be a LOT worse off than we suspected”. From there the traders rally was deflated and the market ended the day in the red. It will be interesting to see which sentiment prevails going forward …’

The Great Recession is Over. Long Live the Great Deleveraging Marta ‘… The NBER declared that the recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009. The 18-month recession represents the longest since the end of WWII. The problem with declaring the recession over is that it suggests an end to the Great Recession. The term Great Recession relies on a misguided concept of the latest period of negative growth as a normal downturn in the business cycle, even if on a global scale. Furthermore, in circumscribing the situation within an 18-month period, the term fails to appreciate the breadth, depth and enormity of the recent - and ongoing - crisis. Think back on the Great Depression. At least that phrase contains the word, “depression,” which carries with it the stigma of a really, really bad, multi-year, economic downturn. However, even that term proves inadequate … What is happening right now, and what has been happening in fits and starts since 2000, is the Great Deleveraging, which in many ways parallels the origins and path of the Great Depression. From 1991 to 2000, just as from 1918 to 1929, the world enjoyed the benefits of The End of History (end of the Cold War), known in the former period as The War to End All Wars. The benefits showed up in the period of “Irrational Exuberance”, known in the earlier period as the “Roaring ‘20’s.” The “Crash of ‘29” was mirrored by implosion of the Internet Bubble in 2000. However, a Depression did not ensue in the ‘00’s because the Fed and the Federal government responded in exactly the opposite way that they did in 1929 and the early-‘30’s. In 2001-2003, the Fed cut interest rates and the Federal government cut taxes. An economic recovery ensued. However, just as growth during the ‘30’s proved ephemeral and sporadic, the recovery of the early- to mid-‘00’s proved unsustainable. In fact, the above-mentioned policies during the early-‘00’s, in concert with other government initiatives like “a home for every American”, increased leverage for large banks, and a failure to regulate hedge funds, actually caused something of another “roaring ‘20’s” that ended in tears in 2007 with the collapse of home lending and then hedge funds. The financial system continued to teeter through 2007, before the start of the Great Recession, and nearly collapsed in 2008. To those who believe that the financial collapse is complete and that the end of the Great Recession marks the end of an economic cycle, if not all our economic woes, you are likely to be surprised when you look back in 10 to 15 years and discover that the term Great Recession spans a much longer period than originally thought; just as the term "Great Depression" has been expanded to an indeterminate end date. There are several reasons that the Great Deleveraging will continue. First, the toxins have not been fully purged from the international banking system, and so financial intermediation will remain significantly impaired. Second, private citizens have yet to fully delever. For example, in the US, many individuals and families are slowly bleeding out financially, trying to offset underemployment in jobs paying considerably less than those lost in the past two years by slowly draining savings to pay for houses that cannot be sold. Third, the governments of several nations, as well as the ECB, the Fed and the IMF, have onboarded or underwritten many of the toxins from the private financial system. These bailouts, combined with the excesses of government forays into excessive social welfare programs, will lead to crises in the future. For example, in the US, government leaders still fail to act on the insolvencies of social security, Medicare and Medicaid. Instead, they outrageously create even more healthcare entitlements and promise that there will be no extra cost. Fourth, some governments, like the U.S. and Japan, have engaged in fruitless Keynesian stimulus projects that have worsened the countries’ fiscal situations without providing the hoped-for growth. In fact, the situation is becoming dire enough that we are beginning to see competitive quantitative easing, which presents Japan with the specter of yet another recession, deflation and a third lost decade. As they try to save their own economy, they will put more pressure on the economies of their trading partners and competitors. At some point, all the balance sheets, those of individuals, banks, governments, central banks and extra-national entities like the IMF, will need to be purged in order to right the global economy. This is the Great Deleveraging, and it’s got years to run before it finally burns out.’

State unemployment: Jobs picture gets worse in 27 states CNNMoney | On a state-by-state basis, the jobs picture continues to look a lot more grim in places like Nevada, Michigan and California.

U.S. household net worth drops Reuters | U.S. household wealth fell by $1.5 trillion in the second quarter.

More Forensic Evidence of Gold & Silver Price Manipulation In this article I have unearthed even more forensic evidence in the form of a correlation between the gold and the silver price which again could not happen by random chance. It is necessarily a result of deliberate market intervention and what’s more it occurs on a continuous basis.

The Dollar Is Just Getting Crushed, And It’s Fallen Through Its August Lows Oof. The dollar is still getting hammered, and it’s not like equities are rallying to make up for it.

Albert Edwards On Terminal Competitive Devaluation, The Nuclear Option, And How The Fed’s Policies May Start An All Out War The recent intervention by the BOJ has quickly become the most contentious decision in global economic circles, with many wondering now that the world economy is off on a course of radical currency devaluation, who will be next, and how far will this game continue?

Israel again makes case for Iran’s Need for Nukes by refuses to join nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty It is against Israel’s interests to join a global anti-nuclear arms treaty and the UN atomic watchdog is overstepping its mandate in demanding it to do so, its nuclear chief said on Tuesday.

Gold Hits Another Record as Dollar Tumbles On Fed Announcement It is yet another example of the indispensability of gold as a hedge against the bankster engineered economic implosion.

National / World

US official confirms CIA has 3,000-man ‘covert army’ in Afghanistan A security professional in Kabul familiar with the operation says the 3,000-strong force was set up in 2002 to capture targets for CIA interrogation and handle / enforce the american initiated resurgent heroin trade. Both sources spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

US House puts oceans, coasts under UN: Senate vote will seal the deal “It’s too late; it’ll just have to be stopped in the Senate,” Tom, the young male answering the phone in U.S. Rep. John Boehner’s (R-Ohio)Washington D.C. office, said about HR 3534 (CLEAR Act).

Israel again refuses to join nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty It is against Israel’s interests to join a global anti-nuclear arms treaty and the UN atomic watchdog is overstepping its mandate in demanding it to do so, its nuclear chief said on Tuesday.

“Progressive” Washington Think Tank Censors All Independent 9/11 Research The director of a prominent investigative journalism group has told reporters that the organisation’s work is being censored because it continues to highlight stories surrounding questions over the official explanation of events on the 11th of September 2001.

Orwellian Doublethink: Collapse Is Recovery When the National Bureau of Economic Research announced, after much deliberation apparently, that the economic recession ended in June, 2009, it was as if the news were broadcast from some other planet.

CNN Declares the Constitution Racist In a discussion about Texas governor Rick Perry, CNN’s Rick Sanchez told Wayne Slater of the Dallas Morning News that “people of color” consider the Constitution — in particular the Tenth amendment — racist.

Forget $1,300, Gold Is Heading To $11,000 On Dollar Collapse In light of gold hitting a new all time record high today, Omnis senior managing director James Rickards’ forecast that the precious metal will soar to anything up to $11,00 in the aftermath of a dollar collapse makes the current $1,300 level look tame in comparison.

Google Trends #1 Hot Search ‘Save His Presidency’ Matt Ryan | Today on the Alex Jones Show, Alex asked listeners to Google ‘save his presidency’ in an effort to get the word out about a powerful article by Paul Joseph Watson outlining President Obama’s claim that America can “absorb” a terror attack.

9/11 research to be censored from ‘Project Censored’ Steve Watson | According to its directors, ‘Project Censored’ is facing censorship due to its ongoing commitment to cover 9/11 Truth stories.

Will Obama Force America To “Absorb A Terror Attack” To Save His Presidency? Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | Ominous words suggest desperate administration could turn to false flag in bid to crush resistance against big government.

Alex Jones Talks About Humanity’s Struggle & Future Potential Steve Watson & Alex Jones | Or die before you physically perish.

Economic Collapse Leading to Privatized Police and Corporate Mercenaries Eric Blair | As America continues to implode, it appears that security will go to the highest bidder, leaving average citizens to fend for themselves.

Foreclosure snag could hit other lenders (Washington Post) [ As if banks, etc., didn’t need even more uncertainty. After all, even from the fed’s standpoint the economic outlook is ‘uncertain’; then there’s the even more uncertain that for them is absolutely certain; viz., that those now marked to anything toxic assets / paper / securities are not now and won’t ever be what they’re currently valued at under the new FASB rules that allowed them to inflate there balance sheet positions. ] Some of the nation's largest mortgage companies used a single document processor who said he signed off on foreclosures without having read the paperwork -- an admission that may open the door for homeowners across the country to challenge foreclosure proceedings.

Fed statement sets table for possible action in autumn (Washington Post) [ Sounds like a prescient ‘no-plan’ without the prescience from ‘no-recession-helicopter-ben b.s. bernanke’ who we all know is not prescient. Yeah … ‘open-door policies’ which can kill 3 birds with 1 stone, so to speak; viz., the economy, illegal immigration, and China’s trade dominance in one fell swoop giving new meaning to that historical ‘open door policy’ vis-à-vis China. A soldier of fortune is that man called ben shalom bernanke (he looks a little bit like Paladin / Ricard Boone … maybe not).] Federal Reserve policymakers Tuesday ‘OPENED THE DOOR’ (emphasis/quotes added) to new action to try to boost the economy. They just didn't step on in.

In new aid policy, Obama seeks to boost promising economies (Washington Post) [ Wow! Just make sure defacto bankrupt america’s on the list and at the very top at that, wobama, which means you’ll have to leave out that ‘promising’ part / criteria. Talk about out of touch and disconnected! You can’t make this stuff up! ] President Obama will roll out his long-awaited policy on foreign aid Wednesday, pledging to target U.S. assistance at a select group of countries to help transform them into the next generation of emerging economies, officials said.

Top economic adviser is leaving White House for Harvard (Washington Post) [ Back to the league ivy filled vegetable gardens for you … dear Larry … Riiiiight! … Sounds like a plan … for the other ivy vegetable leagers to step up … and do a soft shoe or two … and back to the fold … as does the nation … fold … I mean, really … when you look at the results of their failed tenures … one has to start wondering about basic, general competence … (evidencing a lack thereof, viz., dumbya bush, ‘no recession helicopter ben b.s. bernanke, wobama the ‘changemeister’(riiiiight!), etc.. ] The departure of Lawrence H. Summers will complete the turnover of three of President Obama's four top economic advisers as the administration struggles with the political fallout of a stubbornly weak economy.

Bob Woodward book details Obama battles with advisers over exit plan for Afghan war (Washington Post) `Drudgereport:` WOODWARD DOES OBAMA: KISS OR DISS? [ What strategy? … toward what end? … why, other than the newly cultivated heroin trade, which of course is great for cash money sub-rosa, which is great for the few, and of course, the war’s great for the military complex but bad for the u.s. economy generally (resources literally blown up). Win what? You see; for the defacto bankrupt american nation, this is one of those lose, lose scenarios regardless of so-called outcome. Then there the ‘what did wobama expect’ in keeping bush appointees, gates, et als, etc., but there’s no question at this point that wobama’s bought this war and has none to blame but his fool self.] WASHINGTON — Some of the critical players in President Obama’s national security team doubt his strategy in Afghanistan will succeed and have spent much of the last 20 months quarreling with one another over policy, personalities and turf, according to a new book. The book, “Obama’s Wars,” by the journalist Bob Woodward, depicts an administration deeply torn over the war in Afghanistan even as the president agreed to triple troop levels there amid suspicion that he was being boxed in by the military. Mr. Obama’s top White House adviser on Afghanistan and his special envoy for the region are described as believing the strategy will not work …’ `Professorial president assigned 'homework' to advisers... Critical players in national security team 'doubt strategy in Afghanistan will succeed'... Axelrod 'complete spin doctor'... President of Afghanistan suffers from 'manic-depression' … [Wow! No wonder he’s aligned with the u.s. … fits right in, one nutcase to another ] ... Rahm cheers drone attacks: 'Who did we get today?'...` `Mob’s man cuomo undecided on debating … how embarrassing for new york … and their cuomo coma … ask cuomo how many mob prosecutions he’s brought ... Cuomo Caught Lying About Voting For Bloomberg... Developing... POLL: USA Loses No. 1 to Brazil-China-India Market...`
`HOUSEHOLD NET WORTH DROPS...`

IS THE RECESSION REALLY OVER? SIMON MAIERHOFER, ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2010, 12:29 PM EDT ( link to all charts used in this article )

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - a panel of economists entrusted with the responsibility to officially declare the beginning and end of recessions - declared the end of this recession. But wait, amidst the sound of popping champagne corks, the snore of complacency and a cheer leading media, you can hear the economy's distress signals.

THE GOOD NEWS

But who likes to hear about gloom and doom. Let's focus on the good news. As per NBER, the longest recession the country has endured since World War II officially ended in June 2009 (see chart below). During this recession, the economy has lost over 7 million jobs while the major market indexes a la Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI), S&P (SNP: ^GSPC), Nasdaq (Nasdaq: ^IXIC), and Russell 2000 (Chicago Options: ^RUT) lost well over 50% of their value. By declaring that the recession ended 14 months ago, NBER takes advantage of the much-coveted privilege of evaluating the economy in hindsight, as it did in December 2008 when it declared that the recession had started 12 month earlier. (chart)

Investors don't have the luxury of placing trades based on hindsight and need to rely on forward looking data, not the rear view mirror. Based purely on forward looking indicators, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter predicted the biggest counter trend rally since the October all-time highs on March 2, 2009 and recommended buying long and leveraged long ETFs, such as the Financial Select Sector SPDRS (NYSEArca: XLF - News), Technology Select Sector SPDRs (NYSEArca: XLK - News), Ultra S&P ProShares (NYSEArca: SSO - News), Ultra Financial ProShares (NYSEArca: UYG - News) and many others. Are forward looking indicators now in line with NBER?

THE BAD NEWS

What does the NBER base its decisions on? To make its determination, the NBER looks at figures that make up the nation's gross domestic product, incomes, employment, and industrial activity.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT

Obviously, recent downward revisions to the GDP did not prevent NBER from its assessment that the recession had ended. The chart below shows recent revisions to GDP. (chart)

Telling the 15 million unemployed Americans that the recession has ended is like telling a homeless person that real estate prices (NYSEArca: IYR - News) are about to pick up. It's ironic at best and cruel at worst.

UNEMPLOYMENT

The chart below shows the real percentage of unemployed Americans expressed by the U-6 unemployment data, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With unemployment near an all-time high, can the recession really be over? (chart)

CONSUMER SENTIMENT

It is said that consumer spending makes up about two thirds to three quarters of the economy. What causes consumer spending? Money flow and confidence in future growth are often the catalysts. Judging by the unemployment numbers, money flow is limited. This no doubt has had an effect on consumer confidence. The chart below shows the Consumer Confidence Index. If the recession is over, why is confidence near an all-time low? (chart)

Friday's release of the University of Michigan's Confidence Index was another blow against the economy. Based on this report, Americans planning to buy a home have fallen to a five-month low. Also, Americans planning to buy a car have dropped to the lowest level since December 2008, and 20% of Americans incomes are at risk of deflating. Not only is the lack of spending power a practical threat to any economy, it is also a statistical threat to future GDP numbers. A piece of statistical news that fits into the picture of falling consumer confidence is that the nation's poverty rate jumped to 14.3%

(datasource: U.S. Census Bureau). Poverty in the U.S. is defined by a family of four living on less than $21,954 a year. Currently, 43.6 million Americans fall into this category. But perhaps this doesn't make a difference, as the government is counting on the faithful flock of economists that don't see their own demise and the few thousand Wall Streeters' that cashed in on multi-billion dollar bonuses to lift the economy.

THE SILVER LINING

Even though the NBER declared this recession over, it doesn't preclude the occurrence of another recession. According to NBER, if the economy starts shrinking again, it could mark the onset of a much feared but unexpected double-dip recession. As the first chart shows, this happened in the early 1980s.

NO DOUBLE DIP

To Wall Street's cheerleaders, the worst-case scenario is that the economy is stuck between a rock and a hard place as illustrated by this Bloomberg headline: 'Escaping double dip still means no relief for jobless.' As for investors, they seem not to care much. Monday saw U.S. stocks (NYSEArca: VTI - News) rally by 1.5%. International stocks (NYSEArca: EFA - News) and emerging markets (NYSEArca: EEM - News) were up 1.5 -1.7%. Even European stocks (NYSEArca: FEZ - News) were up, although the European Central Bank had to intervene to stabilize the Irish bond markets on Friday. In other words, the ECB had to prevent another Greece-style default. In fact, does not the emergence of yet another European country defaulting, remind us of the February - April 2010 rally. This rally occurred on ultra-low volume and against a backdrop of bad news. It then stopped all of a sudden for seemingly no specific reason. On April 16, the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter warned: 'the pieces are in place for a major decline. We are simply waiting for the proverbial domino to fall over and set off a chain reaction.' The situation is similar right now. Even though stocks have broken out of the 1,040 - 1,130 trading range, they have done so on low volume and increased investor optimism. Within the past three weeks, the percentage of bullish investors tracked by AAII has soared by 30.15%, to the highest level in over a year. This doesn't mean that stocks can't inch up a bit further, just as they did earlier in April, but a look at all pieces of the puzzle doesn't paint the picture of a new bull market. The October issue of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter evaluates the bullish and bearish potential of the market with a unique approach, along with corresponding target levels and profit strategies.

Bulls Go to Extremes: Don't Buy the "Breakout", Sell It, Prechter Says Stocks jumped Monday with the Dow rising 1.4% to 10,753 and the S&P gaining 1.5% to 1143, its highest close in four months. The S&P eclipsing 1130 for the first time since late June would seem to confirm the long-awaited technical breakout for the index, and could pull many reluctant investors off the sidelines. "Many automatic buy and sell orders are set around market milestones such as these, and investors watch those levels closely for clues about which way the market may go next," the AP reports. But the wise move now is to sell this recent rally, says Robert Prechter, president of Elliott Wave International. "I think we're getting ready for another leg on the downside," Prechter says, citing evidence of what he says are extreme levels of optimism, including:

-- The most-recent AAII poll shows bearish sentiment at 24%, less than at the Dow's peak in October 2007.
Mutual fund cash positions being at record lows, which Prechter says should be taken at "face value" rather than the result of massive redemptions from equity mutual funds.
The TRIN Index (a breadth indicator) at one of its lowest levels in recent years, indicating extreme buying pressure of stocks at 52-week highs, i.e. investors chasing momentum/performance.

In addition, Prechter notes volume has been punk during the rally in recent weeks a sign, to him, that buyers lack conviction. The veteran market-watcher says the current environment is similar to the 1930-31 period. "The market can make its high while optimism makes a peak despite the fact you're going stair-step lower," he says. "What we had in May with the ‘flash crash' was the first wave down." Prechter predicts these periods of downturns sandwiched around 4-5 months of recovery "where people think we've hit the bottom" is likely to "go one for quite a long time" until a true bottom is reached well below the March 2009 lows, much less today's levels.

Macro Insights From Seth Klarman Seth Klarman, the legendary hedge fund manager at Baupost is increasingly concerned about the macro investing environment. With the retirements of several prominent hedge fund managers in recent months he’s clearly not alone in his thinking. In a recent interview (see here for the entire interview) Klarman provides some excellent macro insights and explains why he is more worried about the world than he has been in his entire career. Klarman echoes comments I have often made here. In effect, the recovery has been almost entirely artificial and will result in unquantifiable future threats. Klarman calls the current market a “Hostess Twinkie”:

A Hostess Twinkie is a confection that has made many childhoods slightly happier, but it is composed of totally artificial ingredients. My context, of about 6–12 months ago, was that virtually everything was being manipulated by the government. Nothing was natural in the markets. Interest rates were held at zero, the government was buying all kinds of securities—notably, mortgage securities—and who knows what else has ended up on the Fed’s balance sheet.

We have had lending programs—Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Cash for Clunkers, and even Cash for Caulkers. We just don’t know the full extent to which investors have been manipulated. But certainly, the government wants people to buy equities, to invest so that the market will move higher, creating a wealth effect or at least eliminating the negative wealth effect in order to make people feel better about their situation, to restore a degree of optimism so that the economy might recover.

I am worried to this day about what would happen to the markets, to the economy if, in the midst of all these manipulations, we realized that they are, in fact, a Twinkie. I think the answer is that no one knows, including those in Washington. Will the economy continue to recover and grow at a healthy rate or will we sink into a double-dip recession? As we can all see, the high degree of government involvement continues.

Of course, the USA isn’t the only country kicking the can. Klarman cites the European bailout as another game of government kick the can:

The European bailout is gargantuan. I doubt it will work because it kicks the can further down the road and is yet one more manipulation that encourages people to own securities. It is almost as if our government is in the business of giving people bad advice: “We are going to hold rates at zero. Please buy stocks or junk bonds that will yield [an inadequate] 5 or 6 percent.” In effect, it forces unsophisticated investors to speculate wildly on securities that are too overvalued.

All of this has Klarman more concerned than he has ever been. That’s a mouthful from a legend like Klarman who has seen more than his fair share of cycles:

I am more worried about the world, more broadly, than I have ever been in my career.

Like myself, Klarman believes there are unquantifiable repercussions from the bailouts:

I am also troubled that we didn’t get the value out of this crisis that we should have. The Great Depression led us to a generation—or even two generations—of changed behavior. I grew up hearing about how our grandparents had a “depression mentality.” It’s awful to have a depression, but it’s a great thing to have a depression mentality because it means that we are not speculating, we are not living beyond our means, we don’t quit our job to take a big risk because we know we might not get another job. There is something stable about a country, a society built on those values.

In some sense, from the recent crisis we have developed a “really bad couple of weeks” mentality, and that’s not enough to tide us through, teach us to avoid future bubbles, and ensure a strong recovery.

Klarman isn’t a macro expert (he’s a bottom up investor), but something just doesn’t pass the sniff test with all these bailouts. How can the global economy continually bailout the losers without ever allowing these excesses to truly pass from the system? Klarman says we will eventually reach a tipping point:

A tipping point is invisible, as we just saw in Greece. In most situations, everything appears fine until it’s not fine, until, for example, no one shows up at a Treasury auction. In the meantime, we can be lulled into thinking all is well, that the United States will always be rated triple-A. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner speaks as if—at least in his public statements—he has been lulled into thinking that the United States will always be triple-A. That kind of thinking guarantees that someday the United States will no longer be triple-A. A sovereign deserves to be rated triple-A only if it has valuable assets, a good education system, a great infrastructure, and the rule of law, all of which are called into question by an eroding infrastructure, a government that changes the law or violates it whenever there is a crisis, and a legislature that shows no fiscal responsibility. There is an old saying, “How did you go bankrupt?” And the answer is, “Gradually, and then suddenly.” The impending fiscal crisis in the United States will make its appearance in the same way.

Klarman finds the current environment particularly difficult because many of the hedges that have been working are more speculative in nature. He finds little value in most commodities (with the exception of land) because commodities offer no real cash flow and instead rely almost entirely on some future “greater fool” buying the asset from you. Klarman makes an exception with gold, however:

Gold is unique because it has the age-old aspect of being viewed as a store of value. Nevertheless, it’s still a commodity and has no tangible value, and so I would say that gold is a speculation. But because of my fear about the potential debasing of paper money and about paper money not being a store of value, I want some exposure to gold.

Klarman sees all of this government intervention resulting in higher rates of inflation:

I think the odds are low that such high inflation will happen in the near future, but looking ahead five years, it becomes more likely, although certainly not a 50/50 chance. With a very limited initial outlay, I think a hedge like ours is a reasonable protection.

Ultimately, the downside of the current bailout fever comes in the form of an intangible risk. Capitalism without losers is like Catholocism without hell. Klarman sees no way of avoiding future collapses given that we’ve never actually been forced to learn from our past collapses:

Essentially, the problem is that government intervention interfered with the lessons investors needed to learn. Those who stared into the metaphorical abyss are right back at it, with the possible exception of college endowments, for whom the pain has been long lasting because of their spend rate. Almost everybody else is drinking the Kool Aid again, and it is very troubling. We could have another serious collapse, and people would again not be prepared for it.

Secular Bear Market Myths, Part 2 Claassen In yesterday's Secular Bear Market Myths Part 1 we debunked the myth that a secular bear market requires poor earnings growth. In part two, we illustrate the typical price pattern of a thirteen to sixteen year secular bear market and use that pattern to provide a near term and long term Market Outlook. The market may be nearing a critical juncture. If you want to know what to expect, read on ….

A Secular Pattern

Inflation Adjusted (Real) S&P 500 Index 1953-1991 (chart)

After adjusting for inflation, both the high inflation driven secular bear markets and the deflation driven secular bear markets take on a more similar form. This is especially true when a secular bear market is defined as the period between the peak and trough of the average P/E ratio. Using the numbers on the above chart we see that from the 1966 peak in the P/E ratio [1] (see chart of Shiller’s CAPE in first report) to the 1982 low [4] was sixteen years. Both the nominal and real price peak was in late 1968, thirteen years from the 1982 low. This is indicative of the typical secular bear market; a period of sixteen to thirteen years.

There are seven years between the two peaks [1] and [2] along with two major declines [3]. After the second major decline, there is a relief rally [R], then a multi-month trading range as a period of distribution, followed by a multi-year decline to complete the bear market [4].
S&P Composite 1917-1951 with Present S&P 500 (chart)

We can see a similar pattern of behavior in the deflationary bear market of the 1930’s. Yes, the market overlay in orange is our present S&P 500. We will get to that next.

Like the inflation adjusted 1970’s (and 1900-1921) the major highs and lows follow a pattern. The entire period from 1929 to 1942 encompasses thirteen years. The two major tops [1] and [2] are seven years apart. There are two major declines [3], a relief rally [R] followed by a prolonged sideways period, and finally a decline to complete the bear market [4].

The 2000 - 2016? Bear Market

Overlaid in orange on the above chart is the current S&P 500 with the P/E ratio peak in 2000 lined up with the P/E ratio peak in 1929. Not surprisingly, the peak [2] and troughs [3] all line up within a couple of months of their 1930’s counterparts. It appears the rally from the March ’09 low was the relief rally [R]. If our current S&P 500 follows the same path as these previous bear markets, we should expect a prolonged sideways period and decline to final low of the bear market sometime in-between 2013 and 2016. As illustrated in the historical chart of the S&P Composite, when this secular bear market is complete the trailing Shiller CAPE ratios should be under ten. The higher the earnings from now until that time, the less the market will need to decline to complete this period and move into the next secular bull market. Conversely, the lower the earnings, the more the market averages would need to decline to meet their sub 10 trough in the index P/E ratio.
Inflation Adjusted (Real) S&P 500 1959-1983 with Current Inflation Adjusted S&P 500 (chart)

As nicely as the current bear market has fit within the profile of the past, the chart above and the chart below should serve as signs of caution not to expect too tight a correlation between past markets and the present. The patterns of past market behavior are a good guide; they help us understand the environment we are in and keep our expectations in check. But the turning points that look so perfect on the monthly charts have still been accurate only within a +/- of several months. In hind sight that does not seem like much, in real time two or three months can feel like an eternity.

Also, each secular period is unique, and the market will respond to that uniqueness in a manner different than what our past market roadmaps might lead us to expect. For example, when we line up the current market with the 1966 P/E ratio peak (above), although the major turning points line up, there is a unique rally peak in 1968 (see above chart). That difference can be explained by the difference between inflation and deflation based bear markets. But, for now, the current environment is not completely identical to either the pure inflation or deflation periods.

Obviously, current inflation is not the least bit similar to the 1970’s and despite deflationary pressures; this is not the Great Depression. We do believe that this cycle will have more in common with deflationary cycles than inflation. If we look back again at the P/E chart on (reposted below) we can see that secular bear markets have cycled between a falling interest rate and falling P/E environment, and a rising interest rate falling P/E environment. The current economic background is more similar to the deflationary period. In previous Market Updates we have illustrated how, since 1998, the intermarket correlations have been indicative of a market that fears deflation more than inflation, which fits very well with this cycle.
P/E Ratio (CAPE) for US Equities and Long Term Interest Rates: source RJ Shiller (chart)

NASDAQ Composite Aligned with Nikkei 225 1984-2010 (chart)

Japan is another example of a deflationary bear market. We have shown the above chart before, with the overlay of the NASDAQ Composite matching the year 2000 peak of the NASDAQ and the 1990 (December 1989) peak of the Nikkei 225. The major turning points fit very well with the pattern, but the volatility between the turning points is very different. For example, where our S&P Composite model suggest a modest decline followed by a sideways period (after [R]), the Nikkei 225 collapsed without pause. It is very unlikely that the NASDAQ Composite will decline at same rate with which the Nikkei 225 declined at this stage of their bear market. It is more likely that the sharpness of the Nikkei’s decline from 2000 [R] to 2003 [4] will be a feature unique to their bear market. We should also note that it is apparent from our model that Japan’s bear market should have been complete in 2003 [4]. The Nikkei’s rally from the 2003 low to 2007 high was an astounding 140%! But, the decline that followed, and the current persistent deflation shows they have not yet pulled themselves out of their economic bear market. Is this because of incorrect monetary or fiscal policy decisions? Have we made similar policy mistakes? We don’t know and won’t know until after the fact.

Thus, while we have a good road map to follow, we must still diligently monitor our indicators and market conditions. It is more important to follow what the market is doing, than what it should do relative to any predictive model.

Short Term Outlook

The above pages were originally written in June, 2010. The addendum below is a short term outlook as of September 19, 2010. (chart)
Current Dow Jones Industrial Average Daily with NASDAQ 100 Year 2000 Overlay

…’

Homebuilder Confidence Remains in the Dump

U.S. household net worth drops Reuters | U.S. household wealth fell by $1.5 trillion in the second quarter.

For the Unemployed Over 50, Fears of Never Working Again New York Times | A growing number of people in their 50s and 60s are starting to worry that they may be discarded from the work force — forever.

Gold Hits Another Record as Dollar Tumbles On Fed Announcement Kurt Nimmo | Another example of the indispensability of gold as a hedge against the bankster engineered economic implosion.

Fed Responds To Allegations Of POMO-based Stock Market Manipulation It is no secret that the Federal Reserve, and its now semi-daily interventions in market liquidity via ever increasing Permanent Open Market Operations (aka POMOs, next on deck – Wednesday and Friday for a total of about $7-8 billion), is rather hell bent on creating the impression that the economy is alive and well.

For Sale: Welcome to United States of Tent Cities As the mortgage crisis cuts deep, real estate firms say over a million Americans may lose their homes to foreclosure this year.

Gold Is Not Going Up: The Dollar Is Collapsing Jim Rickards on CNBC talks about gold, the dollar and their relationship.

America Is Today In Worse Shape Than Japan During Its Lost Decade? BIS – the central banks’ central bank – agrees that Americans are in worse shape than the Japanese.

National / World

Biocratic Solution to Poverty and Disease? Eradicate the Human Jurriaan Maessen | This is the religion of the scientific dictatorship in a nutshell.

Second Amendment Group Made Terror Threat List in Pennsylvania Kurt Nimmo | Israeli company said violent militias would be at peaceful event held at the Pennsylvania capitol.

Global Tax Scam Shifts From Climate Change To Poverty Paul Joseph Watson | The elite are determined to rob the American people blind while creating a slush fund for world government by any means possible.

Latest Vaccine Propaganda: It Prevents Heart Attacks Kurt Nimmo | Government and Big Pharma are desperate to convince you to take their toxic vaccines.

American People To Congress: Shut Up And Get The Hell Out Of Office Americans are sending a pretty clear message to Congress members who have continually pushed hugely unpopular legislation this election year – shut up and get the hell out of office.

Israeli Company Listed Second Amendment Group As Terror Threat Last week it was reported that Tea Party activists had made the Pennsylvania terror threat list generated by an Israeli company. Now we learn that Second Amendment as well as anti-tax activists were also snooped by the state with the assistance of he Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.

Discover Your Humanity And Live Forever In a deeply considered and impassioned call for the re-energisation of humanity, Alex describes how our species is still only in a pre-embryonic stage, and that our intellect is being shaped and limited by force fed distractions.

Average American Works 231 Days To Support Government With Taxes “The average American worked 231 days just to support government, which consumes 63.41 percent of national income.” Yow! The government consumes two-thirds of income! We’re freaking doomed!

Jimmy Carter Says US More Polarized Than During Civil War “This country has become so polarized that its almost astonishing…. Not only with the red and blue states… President Obama suffers from the most polarized situation in Washington that we have ever seen – even maybe than the time of Abraham Lincoln and the initiation of the war between the states.”

Global Tax Scam Shifts From Climate Change To Poverty As the science behind global warming becomes increasingly discredited and its proponents are exposed as eugenics-obsessed control freaks who care only about destroying freedom, the effort to make Americans pay a global tax has shifted from the justification of climate change to that of poverty.

President Ahmedinejad Threatens U.S. With War ‘Without Boundaries’ Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad warned the Obama administration today that if Iran’s nuclear facilities are attacked, the U.S. will face a war that “would know no boundaries.”

China tells U.S. to keep out of South China Sea dispute China told the United States not to interfere in a regional dispute over claims to the South China Sea, saying it would only complicate the matter. China has been increasingly strident in asserting its territorial claims, especially maritime ones.

Gulf States Order $123 Billion of U.S. Weaponry to Counter Iran, FT Says [ See, say the neocons / military industrial complex, who says that war, rumors of war, and threats of war don’t pay dividends they say … riiiiight! The guns v. butter argument. Sounds like a plan … for continued national bankruptcy and conflagration. Bad economics. ] Arab states around the Persian Gulf have ordered U.S. weapons systems worth a total of $123 billion “to counter Iran’s military power,” the Financial Times reported.

Riot Police On Standby, As Greek Truckers Form Massive Protest Blockade The news out of Greece continues to suggest that every attempt to reform the economy and liberalize key sectors is being met with serious resistance.

Nato helicopter crash kills nine in Afghanistan’s bloodiest year Telegraph | The crash early on Tuesday in Zabul province brought this year’s death toll to at least 529.

Sen. DeMint champions 'tea party' candidates (Washington Post) Bill Maher digs up O'Donnell 'witchcraft' clip (AP) [ She’s done! There’s no excuse for that! None! ] ‘… "I dabbled into witchcraft. I never joined a coven," she said. " ... I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do," she said. "... One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar, and I didn't know it. I mean, there's little blood there and stuff like that," she said. "We went to a movie and then had a little midnight picnic on a satanic altar." …’ Occult Obsessed Elite Claim Christine O’Donnell is a Witch Kurt Nimmo | The corporate media, the propaganda organ of the global elite, sets its sites on Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell. … Sorry kurt … there’s no excuse for that … she’s done! An O'Donnell repeat is unlikely (Washington Post) There are at least three reasons to be skeptical of Del. Senate candidate's ability to win. OPINION: O'Donnell's forgivable sin? | Politerati Rough Sketch: 10 reasons O'Donnell may be a witch

Justice: FBI improperly opened probes (Washington Post) [ Well, I just hope they’re as zealous (in probing readily discernible crime) with regard to my RICO matters and the corruption in the (judicial / legal) process since, in the final analysis, it will have been the corruption within that will have brought the nation down irrevocably and totally ] .

September 13, 2010

Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director In Charge
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1700

Los Angeles, CA 90024

Dear Sir:

A judgment had been entered in my favor in the case, United States District Court Case #3:93cv02065(AWT)(USDCJ Alvin Thompson), worth approximately now in excess of $300,000 remains unaccounted for and which could be used for payment to creditors, Los Angeles, etc..
Counsel Robert Sullivan on my behalf documented by way of certification upon investigation that Alan Shiff, USBCJ, had falsely stated a dismissal upon which false statement he predicated a retaliatory and spurious contempt proceeding against me causing substantial damage, and for which he sought Judicial Notice of those and related proceedings as did I in some of my filings.
The Order of Dismissal With Prejudice by Alan Shiff, USBCJ, owing to Defendant Coan’s failure to file anything whatsoever by the court’s deadline causing creditors and me substantial damages: [ Shiff Order of Dismissal With Prejudice on Coan’s Failure to File Page 1 Page 2 ]
Defendant Coan had filed an action against me to prevent me from suing him which necessitated me to fly to Connecticut for a hearing before The Honorable Robert N. Chatigny, Chief Judge, USDC, District of Connecticut, who denied Coan’s requested relief as to Coan but precluded my action against Shiff (although there is no immunity, judicial or otherwise, for criminal acts, ie., fraud connected with a case under Title 11, USC, etc.) . [ transcript in pertinent part - crossexamofcoanbypeia.pdf ]
Newly appointed judge, Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump’s sister, was assigned the RICO case despite the conflict of interest in light of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal (drug) money being laundered through the Trump casinos by the RICO defendants, and despite my motion to recuse her which motion she heard herself and denied, and U.S. Trustee Hugh Leonard with whom I met personally refused to join or file a separate motion to recuse and not long thereafter left said office for private practice at Cole, Shotz, et als on retainer with the RICO defendants as his primary client.
Probative and evidentiary documents, affidavits, exhibits, including those turned over to FBI Agent Jeff Hayes in Long Beach, CA, had been given to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lacey with whom I met personally at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, N.J., at which time Samuel Alito was U.S. Attorney, and went over said documents and their probative value with him. Within approximately a month thereafter upon inquiry I was told that Jonathon Lacey was no longer with the office, that the file/documents could not be located, and that there was no further information available concerning contacting him or his location. I thereupon delivered by hand, copies of said documents to the office of then U.S. Attorney Alito, addressed to him, with assurance they would go directly to him. In addition to being inept [ I looked in on the one mob case he had brought, bungled, lost (accidently on purpose?) since I was suing some mob-connected under RICO and the court (I had known / previously met outside of court the judge Ackerman through a client) was absolute bedlam and a total joke since incompetent corrupt Alito brought in all 20 mob defendants (rather than prosecute one or a few to flip them first) who feigning illness had beds/cots in the courtroom along with their moans during testimony and had the jury in stitches. As much as I hate the mob, it truly was funny, if not so tragic.], Alito is also corrupt (and maybe corrupt because he is inept). After a reasonable (but still rather short) time I called to determine the status and was told that Alito was no longer with the Office of the U.S. Attorney, that he was (appointed) a federal judge, and that neither the documents nor any file or record of same could be located. Alito did parley the same / cover-up into quid pro quo direct lifetime appointment to the Court of Appeals, 3^rd circuit, despite the absence of judicial experience or successful tenure as U.S. Attorney (Maryanne Trump Barry as well). This is the same Sam Alito that now sits on the purported highest court in the land. The real application of the illegal rule ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’.

Sincerely,

Albert L. Peia

611 E. 5^th Street, #404

Los Angeles, CA 90013

(213) ******** (cell phone)
(213) 622-3745 (listed land line but there are unresolved problems with the line, computer connection may be the reason but I hesitate to chance greater non-performance / worsening by their ‘fix’ so cell phone best for contact).

The ritual of sound-bite economics (Washington Post) Samuelson | Opinion ‘The right's sweeping indictment of Obama for the sluggish recovery is wildly exaggerated. It is not, however, entirely misplaced … Rhetorical claims grow more partisan and self-serving. We are now deep in this process. President Obama's policies either averted another Great Depression -- or have crippled the recovery.’ [ How ‘bout neither is correct: We’re still in what some have even referred to as ‘hyperinflationary (to come from over-printing of currency) depression; and, incurring insurmountable debt / debt service to give a better feel pre-elections, is a far cry from economic recovery, particularly owing to the irrevocable structural shift that has occurred. ]

That nest egg is feeling fragile (Washington Post) [ Fragile indeed! And, much more fragile than most realize owing to obfuscation, manipulation, and outright fraud in the this continuing year of desperation; politically, economically, financially, and legally. YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: ‘The S&P 500 pushed through technical resistance to set a fresh four-month high on Monday. There were no catalysts or headlines to account for the climb. Only a bullish bias among market participants underpinned the move. Stocks made only modest gains in the early going. Most traders took their cues from Europe, where the major bourses staged strong gains as concerns about sovereign debt subsided. Early action was generally consistent with the relatively cautious trade that typically precedes an FOMC announcement, the latest of which will be released tomorrow afternoon. Though no rate actions are expected tomorrow, many will look for changes in the verbiage of the actual the FOMC statement to give clues about where policy might be headed …’ Riiiiight … changes in VERBIAGE … in other words, b* s* alone … Come on! … you just can’t make this stuff up … again! (the no-recession fed, then nation-bankrupting spending, then just before election ‘recession over’ … the recession that’s a depression that never ended and there’s desperation in the air … and the the frauds on wall street are taking advantage of the pre-election b* s*) … the new ‘churn and earn fraud they’ll get their commissions again on the way down’ … THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SELL / TAKE PROFITS SINCE THERE’S MUCH, MUCH WORSE TO COME! ]Discouraging returns over the past decade and a sputtering economy that shows few signs of reviving soon are leaving many families confused and frustrated over how to secure their financial future.

Recession ends, anxiety lingers (Washington Post) Come on! This is typical, pre-election, fraudulent wall street, full moon b*** s*** ; you know, like the no recession … just more defacto bankruptcy of the nation to tide / smooth things over! Obama confronts deepening angst from Americans who have little faith that the recovery is for real.

I finally saw ‘Avatar (2009)’ and felt compelled to put this on the ‘record of posts’. A previous post (infra) referenced that well proportioned, comely, oscar-winning giant of a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, who did the timely oscar-winning piece, ‘Hurt Locker’, which from my longstanding opposition to the Iraq, now Afghanistan, etc., illegal debacles further bankrupting this already defacto bankrupt nation, was laudable from my perspective if only to point out and emphasize the insanity of same (much like ie., the masterful works ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘Platoon’ vis-à-vis Vietnam, albeit after the fact). I was disappointed to hear James Cameron talk up NASA as if it wasn’t the antithesis of his theme as written in ‘Avatar’ inasmuch as NASA is but a CIA / Military / Industrial complex boondoggle, fraud, and ultimately that militarization of space vehicle/thing for the lunatics at ie., the CIA, NSA, Pentagon, some halls of congress, etc. [http://www.albertpeia.com/UFOetryWeNeverWentToTheMoonPNTV.wmv http://www.albertpeia.com/moonfraud.htm ] . I know he’s intelligent, so one may infer he’s one of those ‘do as I say but not as I do’ types in reverse; or, a hypocrite. I’ve seen so many films that I comfortably say without boast or exaggeration that I’ve probably seen all the films in the history (excepting a very few foreign language films) of film worth seeing and then some, and including those by the greatest directors. I previously wrote on my site, ‘I happen to like and respect film as a rich medium which presents large amounts of audio, visual, and thematic information which can be processed in relatively small amounts of time, etc..’ My hat’s off to Kathryn Bigelow; but that said, I must ask what the ‘Academy’ was thinking, or smoking, in overlooking what I believe to be the greatest film ever made thus far in the history of film. Imaginative like no other before it, visually, audibly, and uniquely spectacular while profound in thematic message, and superbly directed, it is disheartening that one might only explain this misstep by the ‘Academy’ which belittles and questions the Academy’s credibility, very existence and prestige as a reluctance to grant Mr. Cameron a second great cinematic achievement of epic proportion (which of course, in reality, they cannot do). Gasoline prices hit 8-month low (Washington Post) [ Strange days indeed. There was a time not long ago that the same news would engender a ‘glass-half-full’ spin for a fraudulent wall street rallying point. At the same time, higher oil prices one of those reasons for selling into the bubble. Today, higher oil prices day to day provide a ‘glass-half-full’ spin for a fraudulent wall street rallying point that drives the oils (stocks) higher. Yes, that’s how bad the economy really is. (Not a reference to ‘Strange Days’ the interesting film from that impressive oscar-winning giant (amazon) of a woman, Kathryn Bigelow, which sported a cast that included Tom Sizemore which of itself meant strange indeed.) ].

Thursday, September 30, 2010

September 30, 2010 posts

Business / Economic / Financial

Protests Against Austerity Sweep Europe Mail Online | Strikes and demonstrations caused chaos across Europe yesterday as rioters clashed with police and cities were brought to a standstill.

Dollar Set for Biggest Monthly Loss Since 2008 Bloomberg | The dollar headed for its biggest monthly loss since 2008 versus the euro as signs the U.S. economy is slowing damped demand for the nation’s assets.

Is Government About to Make Mortgage Market Even Worse? CNBC | Mortgage-purchase applications are 32 percent lower than they were last year.

Distressed Homes Sell at 26% Discount in U.S. as Supply Swells Homes in the foreclosure process sold at an average 26 percent discount in the second quarter as almost one-fourth of all U.S. transactions involved properties in some stage of mortgage distress, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Distrust In US Media Hits Record High, As CNBC (And Especially Mad Money) Viewership Drops To Multi-Year Low In today’s “less than surprising data point” category, the clear winner is Gallup’s analysis of people’s ever increasing distrust in the mass media.

Cheapening Currency Also Has Risks It is interesting to watch Wall Street defy reality. This is a scene we’ve observed since the early 1960s, the effect of debt on the economy and the nation and in turn on its currency.

National / World

‘Resentment Toward Government’ Number 1 Google Hot Topic Matt Ryan | On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google the phrase, “Resentment Toward Government” and once again, the the term given on the show reached the top spot on Google Trends.

New Infowars Search Term: Resentment Toward Government Kurt Nimmo | We need to draw attention to this criminal effort by the government to violate the Fourth Amendment and trash our founding ideals.

Authorities Plan To Trawl Phone Calls And E Mails For Signs Of “Resentment Toward Government” Paul Joseph Watson | Facecrime: Orwellian technology seeks to identify disgrunted Americans as terrorists.

UN Policy Paper Describes Incremental Steps Toward World Government Jurriaan Maessen | The IMF and World Bank will always have final say in the construction of any international system.

The Next Stage: Global Naked Body Scanners Kurt Nimmo | DHS boss Napolitano will urge 190 nations to adopt the dangerous machines.

Pakistan Blocks NATO Supplies After Deadly Air Strike Pakistan blocked the passage of supplies for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan after an air strike killed three of its soldiers, government officials in its northwestern border region said.

Russia denounces West’s beefed up Iran sanctions Russia Wednesday called on Iran to heighten cooperation with the UN atomic watchdog, but also criticized the United States and European Union for imposing extra nuclear sanctions outside the United Nations.

Dow 1000? Robert Prechter Thinks So) ]Key questions that the central bank will need to resolve if it decides to stimulate the economy.

] Americans can still send and receive mail, but the U.S. Postal Service may not have much left in the bank after this week, as it's set to announce billions of dollars in losses as early as Thursday.

Things are coming apart before our eyes Fred Cederholm | Do you feel this first downturn of the 21st century is behind us? I sure don’t.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ Guardian | The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Bloomberg | The dollar traded at almost a five-month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Dollar tumbles to record lows, gold hits record high The dollar sank against the euro and hit a record low point against the Swiss franc on Wednesday while gold struck a new all-time peak, as traders mulled possible US moves to boost its ailing economy.

Gold Prices Not In A Bubble – Deutsche Bank Until prices hit $2,000 an ounce, the gold market is still “some way” from displaying the characteristics of a bubble, according to major bank research note.

Gold Fluctuates in London After Advancing to a Record; Silver Reaches $22 Gold fluctuated in London after climbing to a record for a fourth day on demand for an alternative to a weakening dollar. Silver reached the highest price since 1980.

European cities hit by anti-austerity protests Tens of thousands of protesters from around Europe have been marching across Brussels in a protest against spending cuts by some EU governments. Other protests against austerity measures are being held in Greece, Italy, the Irish Republic and Latvia.

Internet’s creator slams ‘blight’ of web disconnection laws Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with inventing the world wide web, warned Tuesday of the “blight” of new laws being introduced across the globe allowing people to be cut off from the Internet.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

American People To Corporate Media: We Don’t Trust Anything You Say A Gallup poll has revealed that a record majority of Americans fundamentally do not trust the mass media and believe it to be politically biased.

‘Feds Radiating Americans’ Becomes Number 1 Google Trend Matt Ryan | On today’s Alex Jones Show, Alex called for everyone to Google the phrase, “Feds Radiating Americans” and the response was outstanding.

Mission Creep: TSA to Implement “Secure Flight” On November 1 Kurt Nimmo | “Secure Flight” may appear innocuous, but is designed to get citizens accustomed to government officials micromanaging every aspect of their daily lives, be it at the airport or at the local mall.

Who Really Runs the New World Order Exposed Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes | Despite what figures like Beck have portrayed, this New World Order is run by an offshore, corporate elite cabal with sophisticated control over most of the world’s resources, peoples and territories.

UPDATE: Is Glenn Beck for Real? Alex Jones & Aaron Dykes | Glenn Beck, as a national media figure, has never been consistent. He’s played many parts, but what Glenn Beck has never done, until now, is come so close to telling the truth.

Economy may cause cable subscriptions to slide (Washington Post) [ Wow! If that’s the only thing sliding in this depression they’d be breakin’ out the bubbly!].

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

Marc Faber: The Fed Is Creating Dangerous Bubbles Around The World, And Stocks Will Tank In October The original merchant of doom Marc Faber has a good, wide-ranging interview with the Economic Times of India.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Before U.S. Housing, Sentiment Reports The dollar traded at almost a five- month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Get Ready For The Fixed Income Bloodbath Fixed income desks are going to be subject to severe layoffs, according to a highly placed Wall Street insider with information about the plans of his firm and the plans of rivals.

Prechter Reiterrates Call For Dow 1,000, Even As Surging Gold And Plunging Dollar Leave Much Credibility To Be Desired One has to wonder by now just what is so magical about the Dow 1,000 that Prechter has been so infatuated with since time immemorial.

Things are coming apart before our eyes Fred Cederholm | Do you feel this first downturn of the 21st century is behind us? I sure don’t.

World gripped by ‘international currency war’ Guardian | The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.

Dollar Trades Near Five-Month Low Bloomberg | The dollar traded at almost a five-month low against the euro after U.S. home prices rose at a slower pace in July, fueling speculation the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy.

Another Record For Gold As Investors Forecast More Huge Gains Gold futures have once again surged to a new record high, with experts across the board forecasting that gold’s bull run has a long way to go.

Shut Down the Fed (Part II) All those hillsmen in Idaho, with their Colt 45s and boxes of krugerrands, who sent furious emails to the Telegraph accusing me of defending a hyperinflating establishment cabal were right all along. The Fed is indeed out of control.

Concealed Carry Event Coincides With University of Texas Shooting Infowars.com | Infowars.com has learned that an open carry event was scheduled on the UT campus today.

Glenn Beck Channels Alex Jones to Sell Globalist Snake Oil Kurt Nimmo | Glenn Beck is not a patriot, but he plays one on television.

New Cybersecurity Bill Gives Obama ‘Power To Shut Down Companies’ Paul Joseph Watson | Businesses who don’t follow government orders would be suspended for at least 90 days with no congressional oversight.

Healthcare Reform: A Huge Misdiagnosis Ron Paul | Central planning never increases choices and quality or cuts costs as promised.

CIA Strikes Intensify in Pakistan In an effort to foil a suspected terrorist plot against European targets, the Central Intelligence Agency has ramped up missile strikes against militants in Pakistan’s tribal regions, current and former officials say.

Kim Jong-un appointed general in first official hint he will be next leader of North Korea North Korea’s ailing dictator Kim Jong-il appointed his youngest son a four-star general on Tuesday, giving his country the first official hint that he will be their next leader.

This is what a depression is all about — an economy that 33 months after a recession begins, with zero policy rates, a stuffed central bank sheet, and a 10% deficit-to-GDP ratio, is still in need of government help for its sustenance.

] Developers plan to unveil a revised master plan for a massive collection of hotels, apartment buildings and ground-level restaurants and stores even as the fate of more than a dozen businesses and hundreds of residents along Water Street and Maine Avenue SW are being debated.

• Full coverage: 'Obama's Wars'

• Audio: Obama on length of the war

• Audio: Obama on attack possibility

CRIME STATISTICS > TOTAL CRIMES (MOST RECENT) BY COUNTRY SHOWING LATEST AVAILABLE DATA (america’s No. 1).

You may post a comment on my blog on any topic: http://alpeiablog.blogspot.com

Credit Collapse and the Shadow Banking System Ellen Brown | What went wrong in September 2008 was not that the existing Basel II capital requirements were too low but that banks found a way around the rules.

Credit Unions Bailed Out Wall Street Journal | Friday’s moves include the seizure of three wholesale credit unions, plus an unusual plan by government officials to manage $50 billion of troubled assets inherited from failed institutions.

Obama’s Internet Wiretap Move: Just One Small Facet Of Total Domination Project Steve Watson | Experts warn that Internet is being centralized under government control.

It’s the Dollar, Stupid Kurt Nimmo | For the sixth day in a row, the price of gold has skyrocketed.

Stuxnet False Flag Launched For Web Takeover Paul Joseph Watson | False flag to rush passage of draconian cybersecurity legislation?

Banksters Inflate Speculative Food Bubble, U.N. Offers Global Governance Solution Eric Blair | Never let a good crisis go to waste.

European Central Banks Halt Gold Sales Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade.

‘Euro is nonsense, Greek bailout illegal’ A currency expert protesting against Greece’s bailout says the bailout mechanism violates the provisions of the Treaty on European Union, and it may be a better option to stop the euro experiment instead.

Credit Unions Bailed Out Two years after the peak of the financial crisis, the federal government swooped in to stabilize a crucial part of the credit-union sector battered by losses on subprime mortgages.

Obama Stimulus Made Economic Crisis Worse, `Black Swan’ Author Taleb Says U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration weakened the country’s economy by seeking to foster growth instead of paying down the federal debt, said Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of “The Black Swan.”

‘US, Mossad played roles in 9/11 event’ Following the Iranian president’s doubts on the 9/11 event, a top military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution says the CIA and Mossad were involved in the attacks.

9/11: Where Are All The Whistleblowers? A common tactic used to debunk questions surrounding the official 9/11 story is to claim that if there was inside involvement in the plot, whistleblowers would have gone public and exposed the conspiracy.

New Poll Confirms Massive Re-Election Crisis For Obama The midterms aren’t even here yet, but already the story is quickly turning to 2012, and whether Obama can win re-election.

Gold Could ‘Easily’ Exceed $1,500: Top Gold Miner Barrick Gold, the world’s number one miner of the precious metal, said on Monday gold prices could “easily” outperform recent record highs to rise above $1,500 an ounce in the next year.

Will Stuxnet Malware Be Used In False Flag Attack? Iran has admitted today that Stuxnet malware has infected its industrial computer system.