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August 2011

Gotta Love Those Juniors

by John Rubino on August 22, 2011 · 28 comments

Gold and silver have been pretty much the best things to own during the past few years. But the mining stocks…not so much. This is no secret, though why the miners are underperforming is a subject of debate. You hear about high energy prices (though oil is way down lately) and potential nationalizations (though most [...]

Welcome To The Third World. Part 1

by John Rubino on August 22, 2011 · 31 comments

One upon a time, the US was a place where police came when you called, a basic safety net caught those who fell on hard times, and a lifetime of work was rewarded with a decent retirement. A First World country, in other words. To be born here was to win life’s lottery. But apparently [...]

Welcome To The Third World

by John Rubino on August 22, 2011 · 31 comments

One upon a time, the US was a place where police came when you called, a basic safety net caught those who fell on hard times, and a lifetime of work was rewarded with a decent retirement. A First World country, in other words. To be born here was to win life’s lottery. But apparently [...]

Both Sides Shoot The Messenger

by John Rubino on August 15, 2011 · 17 comments

Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the U.S. confused the markets but not the pundits. From far-left to far-right, everyone with a stake in the existing order is shocked that a lowly rating agency would critique the emperor’s wardrobe. Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore, for instance, views the downgrade as a crime: Michael Moore to Obama: ‘Show [...]

Don’t Forget America’s Failed States

by John Rubino on August 12, 2011 · 33 comments

London is burning. Greece is in receivership. Nobody wants Italian bonds. France’s AAA rating is at risk. The headlines do seem to be a bit Euro-centric lately. But that’s temporary. Before long the spotlight will swing back to America’s failed states, beginning, as always, with California. Consider: Signs point to California facing new budget gap [...]

Is This It? Or Can They Fool Us Again?

by John Rubino on August 9, 2011 · 47 comments

A stressful weekend for the world’s bankers and politicians, followed by a sleepless Monday, and all with a single question rattling around in their heads: How can we fool them again? For decades now the financial/public sector complex has been able to clean up its recurring messes — from Long Term Capital Management to the [...]

Real Estate Rolling Over — Everywhere

by John Rubino on August 3, 2011 · 10 comments

The double dip in the US housing market isn’t unique, based on all the similar reports popping up around the world. Here are four from yesterday: Hong Kong Home Sales at Lowest Since Early 2009 on Rates, Curbs The number of housing transactions in Hong Kong plunged to the lowest in 30 months on rising [...]

The Con Went Off Without A Hitch

by John Rubino on August 3, 2011 · 26 comments

A comment thread on a recent DollarCollapse post reflects a debate that’s pretty widespread these days: eugene August 1, 2011 at 6:17 pm The thing that fascinated me the most was the media supported “sale” of Social Security/Medicare as an immediate problem that is destroying the country. While Social Security/Medicare are an issue that needs [...]

Does the Deficit Deal Guarantee a Recession?

by John Rubino on August 1, 2011 · 28 comments

As pretty much everyone knew they would, Congress and the president have stitched together a sad little “deficit reduction” plan that allows them to keep borrowing through the next election. But the details are less important than the timing, which coincides with what might be the start of a double dip recession. Consider this (slightly [...]