Infinite Unknown

- Will It Be Inflation Or Deflation? The Answer May Surprise You (Economic Collapse, May 22, 2013):

Is the coming financial collapse going to be inflationary or deflationary?  Are we headed for rampant inflation or crippling deflation?  This is a subject that is hotly debated by economists all over the country.  Some insist that the wild money printing that the Federal Reserve is doing combined with out of control government spending will eventually result in hyperinflation.  Others point to all of the deflationary factors in our economy and argue that we will experience tremendous deflation when the bubble economy that we are currently living in bursts.  So what is the truth?  Well, for the reasons listed below, I believe that we will see both.  The next major financial panic will cause a substantial deflationary wave first, and after that we will see unprecedented inflation as the central bankers and our politicians respond to the financial crisis.  This will happen so quickly that many will get “financial whiplash” as they try to figure out what to do with their money.  We are moving toward a time of extreme financial instability, and different strategies will be called for at different times.So why will we see deflation first?  The following are some of the major deflationary forces that are affecting our economy right now… Continue reading »

Tags: Bonds, Collapse, Debt, Deflation, Economy, Fed, Federal Reserve, Global News, Gold, Government, Great Depression, Inflation, Money, Politics, Silver, Society, Warren Buffett

- Hyperinflation – 10 Worst Cases (ToTheTick, May 22, 2013):

I have a neat little app on my smartphone that I like to look at when I’m feeling bored. It won’t change anything in my life, but it makes me think as I see the numbers clocking up, and then suddenly stopping for a few seconds. It’s the app that tells me the how much the National Debt of each country stands at in real-time. As I sit down at my computer screen the USA National Debt amounts to $17 041 241 xxx xxx. Forgive the x’s…they’re not kisses…I tried to get the last six digits, but, there’s no point, they’re moving too fast! Speedie Gonzalez has got into that app! It works out to $54 087 per person. That’s the same value as 3 408 248 816 XXX Big Mac Meals.

Inflation is hot property today, hyperinflation is even hotter! We think we are modern, contemporary, smart and ready to deal with anything. We’ve got that seen-it-all-before, been-there-done-it attitude. But, we are not a patch on what some countries have been through in the worst cases of hyperinflation in history. Here’s the top 10 list of worst cases in history. We’ll start with the worst first…let’s think positive! Continue reading »

Tags: Argentina, Brazil, Economy, Germany, Global News, Greece, Hungary, Hyperinflation, Mexico, Poland, Taiwan, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe

- Four Signs That We’re Back in Dangerous Bubble Territory (Peak Prosperity, May 21, 2013):

Stocks, bonds – everything – at risk

…

Tags: Bonds, Bubble, Collapse, Debt, ECB, Economy, EU, Europe, Fed, Federal Reserve, GDP, Global News, Greece, Japan, Paul Krugman, Stock Market, Unemployment

Related info:

- If You Want To Survive The Coming Greatest Financial Collapse In World History: Bosnia War Survivor: ‘One year in Hell …’ – ’35 Excuses That Will Doom The Non-Prepper’:

“Money soon became worthless. We returned to an exchange. For a tin can of tushonka (think Soviet spam), you could have a woman. (It is hard to speak of it, but it is true.) Most of the women who sold themselves were desperate mothers.”

The greatest financial/economic collapse in (known) world history is well on its way.

The worst is yet to come.

This is the ‘Greatest Depression’.

Coming soon to a city near you …

- Greek Prostitution Soars By 150% As Youth Unempoyment Hits 75% In Some Areas (ZeroHedge, May 22, 2013):

With Greece suffering the biggest economic depression in decades, all so a few rich men can preserve their wealth and not have their EUR-denominated savings wiped out (even if the alternative means finally being able to rebalance externally using the Drachma instead of forcing internal rebalancing via unemployment and plunging wages), it was only a matter of time before we found out just how humiliating the conversion of the entire economy to a “gray”, non-tax paying one would be for the citizens of Greece.

As the NYT reports, in just the past two years, the numbers of Greeks engaging in prostitution as a last course source of income has more than doubled: according to the National Center for Social Research, the number of people selling sex has surged 150 percent in the last two years.

Furthermore, with every business in which there is exploding “competition” and rich client scarcity, it is not just any prostitution, but very deflationary prostitution:

“Five euros only, just 5 euros,” whispered Maria, a young prostitute with sunken cheeks and bedraggled hair, as she pitched herself forward from the shadows of a graffiti-riddled alley in central Athens on a recent weeknight.

As a chill wind swept paper and trash across a grimy sidewalk, Angelos Tzortzinis, a Greek photographer, caught sight of Maria lowering her price to the equivalent of about $6.50. Maria, who would only give a pseudonym, had hoped to get some money for food — and for a cheap but dangerous new street drug that has emerged during Greece’s crisis, guaranteed to obliterate her sorrows, if only for a moment.

Many prostitutes have been selling their services for as little as 10 to 15 euros, a price that has shrunk along with the income of clients afflicted by the crisis. Many more prostitutes are taking greater health risks by having unprotected sex, which sells for a premium. Still more are subject to violence and rape.

Continue reading »

Tags: Collapse, Drugs, Economy, EU, Europe, Food, Global News, Greece, Prostitution, Sex, Society, Unemployment

- America’s Bubble Economy Is Going To Become An Economic Black Hole (Economic Collapse, May 22, 2013):

What is going to happen when the greatest economic bubble in the history of the world pops?  The mainstream media never talks about that.  They are much too busy covering the latest dogfights in Washington and what Justin Bieber has been up to.  And most Americans seem to think that if the Dow keeps setting new all-time highs that everything must be okay.  Sadly, that is not the case at all.  Right now, the U.S. economy is exhibiting all of the classic symptoms of a bubble economy.  You can see this when you step back and take a longer-term view of things.  Over the past decade, we have added more than 10 trillion dollars to the national debt.  But most Americans have shown very little concern as the balance on our national credit card has soared from 6 trillion dollars to nearly 17 trillion dollars.  Meanwhile, Wall Street has been transformed into the biggest casino on the planet, and much of the new money that the Federal Reserve has been recklessly printing up has gone into stocks.  But the Dow does not keep setting new records because the underlying economic fundamentals are good.  Rather, the reckless euphoria that we are seeing in the financial markets right now reminds me very much of 1929.  Margin debt is absolutely soaring, and every time that happens a crash rapidly follows.  But this time when a crash happens it could very well be unlike anything that we have ever seen before.  The top 25 U.S. banks have more than 212 trillion dollars of exposure to derivatives combined, and when that house of cards comes crashing down there is no way that anyone will be able to prop it back up.  After all, U.S. GDP for an entire year is only a bit more than 15 trillion dollars.

But most Americans are only focused on the short-term because the mainstream media is only focused on the short-term.  Things are good this week and things were good last week, so there is nothing to worry about, right?

Continue reading »

Tags: Bill Gross, Bonds, Bubble, Collapse, Debt, Derivatives, Derivatives market, Economy, Fed, Federal Reserve, GDP, Global News, Japan, PIMCO, Stock Market, U.S., Wall Street

- Argentine Inflation: It’s Tough When All You Get Is Lies (Testosterone Pit, May 21, 2013):

The issue of inflation is complex everywhere. Official rates are disputed. People can’t reconcile them with what they see at the store. There are different formulas and data sets, resulting in different rates, and everyone picks and chooses what suits their needs. But nowhere is the issue as “complex,” infested with lies, and shrouded in obscurity as in Argentina.

Continue reading »

Tags: Argentina, Collapse, Economy, Global News, Government, Hyperinflation, Inflation, Politics, Society

- Germany Fires Live Ammo In Sino-European Trade War … At Brussels (Testosterone Pit, May 20, 2013):

The solar-panel industry, once fattened by taxpayer subsidies and false hopes, has been in a death spiral around the world. In the US, a slew of photovoltaic standouts like Solyndra went under, taking billions of subsidies and investor capital with them. In Germany, it has been just as brutal. Even large companies are licking their wounds.

Bosch Solar Energy AG will shut down production early next year, after having burned through €2.4 billion; 3,000 jobs are at risk. Siemens is trying to shed its solar units, if it can find a buyer. Victims of Chinese companies that flooded world markets with cheap solar panels. But even Chinese companies are going bankrupt, including one of the big four, Wuxi Suntech, subsidiary of US-listed Suntech Power.

Continue reading »

Tags: Bosch, China, Collapse, Economy, Energy, EU, Europe, Germany, Global News, Government, Politics, Solar Energy, Solar Power, Technology

- The Housing Unrecovery Is Here: Lumber Enters Bear Market (ZeroHedge, May 21, 2013)

Tags: Collapse, Economy, Global News, Lumber, U.S.

YouTube

Description:

• European Parliament, Strasbourg, 21 May 2013

• Speaker: Nigel Farage MEP, Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Co-President of the ‘Europe of Freedom and Democracy’ (EFD) Group in the European Parliament – http://nigelfaragemep.co.uk

• Joint debate: European Council meeting (22 May 2013) – tax fraud and tax havens

Speech transcript:

“Thank you. Well there is a great degree of unity here this morning, with a common enemy – rich people, successful companies evading tax, which of course is a problem.

Avoiding tax, which is not illegal, but it gives this whole chamber this morning a high moral tone.

And as Mr Barroso says it is all about the perception of fairness. Because there is the added bonus of course that it drives a wedge between the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, and the Caymans.

But before we declare our virtues, perhaps we ought to look just a little bit closer to home.

And I hope that the taxpayers all over Europe listen to this. If we look at the EU officials who work for the European Commission and the European Parliament, the highest category [the most common grade is AD12] are people that earn a net take home pay of just over 100 thousand pounds a year. And yet under EU rules they pay tax of 12 per cent. It is tax fraud on an absolutely massive scale.

And Mr Barroso I would say to you, how can that be deemed to be fair? How can people out there struggling – the 16 million people unemployed in the eurozone – how can they look at these institutions, not only paying people vast sums of money but allowing them tax and pension benefits on a scale not seen anywhere else in the world? So I suggest we have a bit less of this high moral tone.

And what have these officials given us? Well, they were the architects of the euro, which is a complete disaster. Their obsession with global warming which chimes very strongly here means we are despoiling our landscapes and seascapes with these disgusting wind turbines and driving up energy prices.

But never let it be said that I cannot acknowledge success when I see it. And I am sure the citizens of Europe will all clap and cheer loudly that the grave, mortal danger of olive oil in dipping bowls has been removed by the officials. Well done everybody.”

Tags: Economy, EU, Europe, Global News, Government, Nigel Farage, Politics, Taxes, Taxpayers, UKIP

- Thanks To QE Bernanke Has Injected Foreign Banks With Over $1 Trillion In Cash For First Time Ever (ZeroHedge, May 21, 2013)

Tags: Banking, Ben Bernanke, Economy, Fed, Federal Reserve, U.S.