Pay Attention Folks

[Greta]

Originally Posted by Greta

As for the US, I am watching for more signs the dollar is losing its reserve currency status. Then I know the end is nigh... But I still believe the US has some time.

This may be good news for the US dollar, at least for 2011. Pimco Says U.S. Will Keep Reserve-Currency Status for 2011 because no other currency is ready to replace it at the moment. However, PIMCO also said back in August of 2009, "The greenback is losing its status as the world’s reserve currency"; and that seems to be what many experts are saying. It is not a matter of "if" but "when" that will happen. I am no expert; but from what I have been reading, I feel very confident this will happen, which will be a big change for America and the lifestyles Americans are accustomed to living. Niall Ferguson says perhaps in the next five years. So it is important to figure out how to prepare for such an event and position ourselves. From what I am reading, there still is time. I like what Peter Schiff has to say in this short video about the US dollar, which is from last year:

You Tube

[Ross]

The Shanghai Inter Bank Lending Rate is going ballistic .

Implying a severe shortage of liquidity . Note that this is
in an economy where the government tries to tightly
control interest rates . Government attempts to control
asset prices appear to be having unintended consequences.

The situation may settle in a few weeks as end of year pressures
decline and/or the Ministry of Finance may step in and help .

IMO if this situation continues for more than a week or two markets
are going to become very anxious indeed .




Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/05/2011 12:27 -0500
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/shi...uidity-problem

[leistb]

Originally Posted by Ross

The Shanghai Inter Bank Lending Rate is going ballistic .

Implying a severe shortage of liquidity . Note that this is
in an economy where the government tries to tightly
control interest rates . Government attempts to control
asset prices appear to be having unintended consequences.

The situation may settle in a few weeks as end of year pressures
decline and/or the Ministry of Finance may step in and help .

IMO if this situation continues for more than a week or two markets
are going to become very anxious indeed .




Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/05/2011 12:27 -0500
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/shi...uidity-problem

Boy, does that look familiar...

[Ross]

Greek 10 year bonds now at 12.62% . This ship is not
sinking it is in a power dive .

[Ross]

Irish 5 year Credit Default Swap now at 6422.922 .


Source Zerohedge.com

[Greta]

It is this echo of upcoming civil unrest in the US (from many different sources) that has me concerned. From Reuters...

Economists foretell of U.S. decline, China's ascension

The United States will need to come to terms with the fact that its prevalence in the world is fated to come to an end, Jorgenson said. This will be difficult for many Americans to swallow and the United States should brace for social unrest amid blame over who was responsible for squandering global primacy, he said.

[flourbug]

Greta, the article is saying current US policies will cause it to fall behind China, and people will get angry enough to cause social unrest.

People with far less resources than we have came to a wilderness and built a country. With the right leadership this country could pull itself from the brink to become Utopia within a decade.

Yes. In the words of our Great Leader, someone's ass does need to be kicked - and for dang sure, when my foot is raised, I won't be looking at my neighbor's rear end.

[Greta]

Greta, the article is saying current US policies will cause it to fall behind China, and people will get angry enough to cause social unrest.

Yes, just another economist who is talking about social unrest in America.

People with far less resources than we have came to a wilderness and built a country. With the right leadership this country could pull itself from the brink to become Utopia within a decade.

Sure, there may still be some rugged individualists in America; but those are few and far between. Currently, we live in a country with many people who simply want a hand out from the government or someone else to provide the way for them to survive. When the handouts are finally cut because the government has run out of options, then the masses will be angry.

With the right leadership, things could change; however, we are certainly not going to see any of that from (mainstream) Democrat and Republican politicians who care more about advancing their own party and saving their own political careers, than what is good for our nation. The only way I envision the "right leadership" is if we get rid of most of the bastards currently in office and start from scratch, but there are too many people that like the system as it is so that is not going to happen in my opinion until after a complete meltdown on a political, economic, and social scale.

[flourbug]

Originally Posted by Greta

Yes, just another economist who is talking about social unrest in America.

Scare tactics.

I am not concerned about social unrest. I AM worried CRIME will go up dramatically due to more people in dire circumstances, police slowdowns, and an understandable lack of citizen involvement in their communities.

Sure, there may still be some rugged individualists in America; but those are few and far between.

The Galts, and Reardons, and D'Anconias are legion. The drive to succeed is our natural state.

Currently, we live in a country with many people who simply want a hand out from the government or someone else to provide the way for them to survive. When the handouts are finally cut because the government has run out of options, then the masses will be angry.

Are you worried they will come from the cities and sweep across the land like invading Huns? Your government is too. Next time you're near a city take notice of the "sound barriers" lining the highways leading to the suburbs.

Feel sorry for the people in the cities. They will be blocked from leaving just like people were blocked from leaving NOLA after Katrina.

With the right leadership, things could change; however, we are certainly not going to see any of that from (mainstream) Democrat and Republican politicians who care more about advancing their own party and saving their own political careers, than what is good for our nation. The only way I envision the "right leadership" is if we get rid of most of the bastards currently in office and start from scratch, but there are too many people that like the system as it is so that is not going to happen in my opinion until after a complete meltdown on a political, economic, and social scale.

I agree.

We - and our children, and perhaps their children - are about to walk through fire. But we WILL walk through.

People are the adaptable animals on earth, Greta. Those who "like the system as it is" are nothing more than survivors. They have adapted to our social conditions in such a way as to allow them to thrive within a system where they would otherwise fail. When the coin flips, they will adapt once again.

So will we.

[Greta]

Scare tactics.

I am not concerned about social unrest. I AM worried CRIME will go up dramatically due to more people in dire circumstances, police slowdowns, and an understandable lack of citizen involvement in their communities.

I don't believe these are scare tactics coming from people like Harvard professors. That is normally not where the scare tactics come from. Those usually come from people like Gerald Celente. But my point being with social unrest comes violence, crime, and everything you have mentioned here. So I am concerned about the same things.

Are you worried they will come from the cities and sweep across the land like invading Huns? Your government is too. Next time you're near a city take notice of the "sound barriers" lining the highways leading to the suburbs.

No, I am not worried (like wringing my hands worried). I try to keep my emotions is check, but I would like to be mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared for what lies ahead in America, if at all possible, especially if I feel fairly certain this is going to happen. The only way I know how to do that is to give it some careful thought ahead of time. And my theory is, when things get bad, then it will not be a big shock so I will still be able to function. About the city, I live in a rural area but I travel to the city to work so there could be problems there. But the rural areas may not be immune either. It is hard to know what exactly will happen, but I am guessing people in rural areas are going to be pissed too.

[flourbug]

No, I am not worried (like wringing my hands worried). I try to keep my emotions is check, but I would like to be mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared for what lies ahead in America, if at all possible, especially if I feel fairly certain this is going to happen. The only way I know how to do that is to give it some careful thought ahead of time. And my theory is, when things get bad, then it will not be a big shock so I will still be able to function. About the city, I live in a rural area but I travel to the city to work so there could be problems there. But the rural areas may not be immune either. It is hard to know what exactly will happen, but I am guessing people in rural areas are going to be pissed too.

Greta, three years ago people who read sites like this one were outside the norm. Now, more and more people are cluing in. Not to as you say, wring your hands worry, but to be aware and prepare for whatever comes.

History tells us the cities will not be safe. Logic tells us the suburbs (many can qualify as cities in their own right) won't be safe either. Rural areas are where the food is located. If the food doesn't get to the people you can be sure the people will go looking for food. Then a few million people seem to think they can disappear into the wilderness and live off of berries and wild game. The government can step in at any point and starve Peter to feed Paul. Safe may not be in our dictionary.

[Ross]

Accelerating Deposit Flight In Ireland Forces Irish Central Bank
To Print Money Independent Of ECB

Full article can be found at .
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/acc...nk-print-money


I think that headline says it all .

This ship is sinking faster than rats can climb the mast .

Doubtless the remainder of European citizens are absolutely ecstatic
that the Irish print with gay abandon the very stuff
they spend hours working for every day .

[Ross]

Chinese interbank lending rate goes beserkers again .

Obviously the money supply is very tight in China .

Yes we know it could be the weather but frankly
no . This is an emerging clusterFk of epic proportions .
When liquidity is this tight everything gets hit , business
working capital , stock markets , credit rollovers etc .




full article at ..
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/hol...e-snow-problem

[Ross]

On China ...

it appears that banks have begun attempting to extract the missing liquidity from end consumers. Various Chinese commercial banks raised lending rates between 10 and 45% over the benchmark rate because of a shortage of funds

Either TPTB have steel balls or they are not getting the message .
No action means a hard to reverse cascading effect will be set in progress .
Our assumption is tight liquidity but could this situation also include
a fear of lending to other Chinese banks ?



Source ... Zerohedge again .

[Kassy]

You can link to them.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/chi...ing-rate-surge

[Greta]

I just saw this article and video on CNBC. David Stockman talking about the employment numbers and the upcoming bond crisis. Stockman says Democrats and Republicans in America are paralyzed. Fiscally speaking, that will lead to a "bond market conflagration". Then (and only then) will there be huge cuts in government spending. What's my point? There are just too many people with respected credentials who are saying the same thing. Unless the US economy starts growing at a miraculous pace on its own, without government intervention pretty soon, I see this bond market crisis as inevitable. The only question is when will it occur?

US Economy 'Heading for a Wall': Stockman

[Ross]

It only requires group belief or fear of a looming crisis .
Markets will act in a pre-emptive fashion rather than be left holding the bag .

Holding the bag is your job .

TPTB understand a need to act in a pre-emptive fashion so
there will most likely be unexpectedly early announcements of
intended action .

However there are some areas that TPTB will enter most reluctantly
( like responsibility for state debt ) and make no early announcements .

To forecast increases in market anxiety I would be looking for
looming deadlines in areas of conflicted responsibility .

[leistb]

2 year.85%
5 year 2.4%
10 year 3.74%
30 year 3.77%

[Greta]

Originally Posted by Greta

As for the US, I am watching for more signs the dollar is losing its reserve currency status. Then I know the end is nigh... But I still believe the US has some time.

I got the link to this article from Infowars, but many people may not appreciate the Alex Jones/Infowars spin on things, so I will provide just the original link from CNN. Maybe someone can help me out here, this sounds like they are trying to move toward a one world currency. Perhaps I am misunderstanding it, but maybe not...

IMF calls for dollar alternative

[Ross]

Everybody wants a better international currency system ( except maybe the US ) .

Rampant money printing is giving our current system the
life expectancy of an Illinois revenue surplus .

"Where there is a will there is a way "

[DReynolds]

Originally Posted by Ross

Everybody wants a better international currency system ( except the US ) .

Our current system is capitalist. Each currency (that's floating) trades against every other currency. People are free to use whatever they want. Lots of people use dollars so it's called "reserve currency" but that's not a legal term. Many countries hoard both $ and Euros, like China and Japan. So there are really two "reserve" currencies already.

It's true the US gets a benefit from its currency being the reserve currency. But the US hasn't forced anybody to do anything in this regard.

[Greta]

Originally Posted by Ross

Everybody wants a better international currency system ( except the US ) .

Our current system has the life expectancy of an Illinois revenue surplus .

"Where there is a will there is a way "

Of course Americans don't want to see the value of their dollars turn to worthless pieces of paper, or substantially less. For many people, that is everything they have worked for their entire lives. You know, the old saying, work hard and save money. Well, so much for that theory. Better yet, work hard then quickly convert those dollars into something with a tangible value.

About Special Drawing Rights from the IMF, which I know very little about; but maybe I should educate myself. This is a pretty good video from CNBC (an establishment news network). This isn't a conspiracy theory, there appears to be a genuine plan in place to intentionally replace the US dollar. Americans (at least) should be paying attention. From 2009:

You Tube

[leistb]

Oil Goes Berserk In Electronic Trading As WTI Passes $98.

[Malcolm]

About 5 or 6 well aimed bullets will burst that bubble...........

[benjamindees]

Originally Posted by DReynolds

It's true the US gets a benefit from its currency being the reserve currency. But the US hasn't forced anybody to do anything in this regard.

So I guess it's just a coincidence that the US invaded Iraq after Saddam started selling oil in Euros and one of our first acts after deposing him was to convert their oil sales back to dollars?