Prepare to have your breath sucked out of you and your world to start spinning ...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wiegand's Calls for 2009 - Ignore at Your Peril
This is quite a description of what this trader sees in store for the rest of the year. (Click on the link and scroll down to view the entire article.)
More Trader Tracks Predictions for 2009 - Series #3
Wednesday January 21, 2009
The following is by technical analyst, Roger Wiegand, editor of Trader Tracks.
Excerpt:
... in April we are expecting a quintuple smash of:
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More Trader Tracks Predictions for 2009 - Series #3
Wednesday January 21, 2009
The following is by technical analyst, Roger Wiegand, editor of Trader Tracks.
Excerpt:
... in April we are expecting a quintuple smash of:
1.Wave one of commercial real estate foreclosures and loan failures. Some of the biggest of the big buildings will be foreclosed and those planned but not built will never see daylight. Meanwhile, vacancies skyrocket while budgets are busted with dropping rents. One analyst estimated the New York City Financial district buildings will see 66% occupancies with breakeven budgets being much higher. You will see some major shopping malls shut down.
2.The second wave of residential foreclosures and loan failures arrives dragging down all real estate values both commercial and residential. They will sink like a rock in over-built states and within those regions previously hit the worst. This is related to the next mortgage failure cycle. Some of those formerly upscale, McMansion subdivisions will turn into ghost towns.
3.Wave one of auto loan failures containing billions in bank, credit union and auto finance company loans will smash credit markets. The reaction will be stunning and probably stop most vehicle lending temporarily for weeks paralyzing automakers and those lenders still doing car and truck loans.
4.Wave one of several future waves of credit card failures estimated at $40 billion by bank credit analysts will be an April smash. Normally card failures are in the 1-2% range annually. This larger event opens doors for a historic new number of non-payers and delinquents. This cycle is mostly job loss related but most of it is due to overspending by cardholders.
5.Wave one of the CDS Credit Default Swaps will hit markets like a Tsunami. These failures will be so overpowering, those in charge will be stunned and flabbergasted by the numbers. The figures are so large we cannot even imagine the amounts. One analyst said it was estimated between $500 and $750 Trillion dollars! There is no margin or deposit money on these trades.
View the article..
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Job Trends in Graph Form
Just came across this page at www.layoffdaily.com and thought some might want to bookmark it:Saturday, January 24, 2009
Global Economy Shutting Down Faster than Expected
Better consider carefully your next moves.Downturn Accelerates As It Circles The Globe
Economies Worse Off Than Predicted Just Weeks Ago
by Anthony FaiolaWashington Post
Saturday, January 24
The world economy is deteriorating more quickly than leading economists predicted only weeks ago, with Britain yesterday becoming the latest nation to surprise analysts with the depth of its economic pain.
Britain posted its worst quarterly contraction since 1980 on the heels of sharper than expected slowdowns reported from Germany to China to South Korea. The grim data, analysts said, underscores how the burst of the biggest credit bubble in history is seeping into the real economies around the world, silencing construction cranes, bankrupting businesses and throwing millions of people out of work.
"In just the past few days, we've had a big downward revision, we're seeing that an even bigger deceleration is on the way than we thought," said Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Read entire article.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A depression in store? When will we know?
This is certainly worth reading. Open minds agree that the answer won't be known for some time, but for those who embrace the logic of preparedness, the fact that another Great Depression is a very real possibility is reason for decisive action.
Senior producer, msnbc.com
By every measure — lost jobs, plunging stock prices, scarce credit and a profound loss of confidence in the banking system — the economy is in awful shape.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Recession or depression? Too early to tell
Many differences between now and 1930s but some similarities, too
by John W SchoenSenior producer, msnbc.com
The nation's 11th recession of the postwar era began in December 2007 and easily could become the longest since the Great Depression, although most forecasters expect a weak recovery to begin in the second half of this year.
But what are the odds that we’re in the early stages of what will eventually become a depression rather than just a recession?
The answer starts with definitions. While the term "depression" is reserved for the most extreme economic collapses, there is no technical definition, say economists. [snip]
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Preparedness Today, in the Extreme
It's been a good long while since I've had the time for a genuine blog post here, so I'm going to steal the time right now to make various comments on the state of the world as they pertain to crisis preparedness.1. Note that Safecastle LLC is growing by leaps and bounds, especially in the last six months when the whole world has woken up to the fact that the economy is threatening to destroy pretty much all of what modern society has to offer. Those looking to sock supplies away at this late date are desperate. We and all other preparedness-related providers are scrambling to respond. Demand continues to trend upward. Unfortunately, supplies of available food and gear is finite and in many cases is being depleted faster than the capacity out there to replenish can deliver. And "deliver" is key. Transport and delivery is increasingly looking to be the weakest link in a deteriorating (or at least threatened) national supply chain.
2. There has always been a lively and imaginative subculture of doomsayers out and about. But these last several months seem to have given the type an injection of highly caffeinated HGH. The looming great depression is not enough to wail and moan about, so now we also have the threatening Yellowstone mega-eruption, a new ice age bearing down, the bird flu re-emerging, war in the Middle East (again), India and Pakistan in a staredown, a promised huge terror strike to test the new administration, Russia freezing out eastern Europe, and even a growing murmur in the American population that some might say sounds like the beginnings of widespread social strife. So yep--there's a lot to speculate about and potentially prepare for. The pundits who are so inclined are dealing with no dearth of material to work into their daily programming.
3. My personal bug-a-boo of the day is the socialism that once was creeping into our lives but is now front and center and in the spotlight. As an old Cold Warrior and a small business owner, I find it all very disturbing. The ways that the public are being frozen out of the governmental proceedings which are evidently aimed at bailing out a few powerful individuals is something that smacks royally of a last-ditch plunder-the-treasury effort just before the defenses break down and the marauders storm into the capital (metaphorically speaking?).
4. I have to admit that I too have been in prepping overdrive, looking to fill remaining gaps in our household's resource base. Friends and relatives who recently were merely curious about our line of work are now actively seeking our advice and assistance. I'm happy to do whatever I can for folks as that is why I went into the business, but I really don't know for how long our supply lines will be solid and dependable. The signs out there are real. The thing that even still most people can't seem to get past is that there could very well come a day when there aren't going to be needed resources available for purchase--convenient or not. Running down to the gas station, the hardware store, the grocery store, or the pharmacy for what you just remembered is not going to be an option if any of the current crises are brought to a boil.
For those of us who have been raised and lived all our lives in America, supply-chain failures, famines, or resource shortages are just completely off our radar. We have not truly experienced the depth and breadth of how those things ripple through a society and tear it apart if solutions are not visible on the horizon.
Most people recognize on some level now how close we are to the edge, though a majority still are in denial about it. God help us if and when conditions deteriorate much further and the masses break into a panic. If that happens, do not get swept up in it. Step away. Take refuge and bolster your defenses. In the meantime, get down to the grocery store, the pharmacy, and the hardware store. The doors are still open and the lines are manageable today.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Palin's Take on the Media's Appetite for Her
Preparedness? ... well, this interview with Sarah Palin and the larger documentary it will be part of regarding the media's behavior is worthwhile. How and why the media does what it does will continue to be important to all of us as we try to discern what is really afoot.
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Eyeballing Yellowstone, Keillor Says, Head for the Hills .... or Paris
Does Garrison Keillor harbor a fondness for the thrill of impending doom?
He does make a good point (in his always humorous way) ... that if Yellowstone's swarm of earthquakes the last few days presages the long-awaited eruption of the lava dome there, well, all the rest of this stuff that we like to worry about is just soggy Post Toasties.
Enjoy:
"If Old Faithful is about to blow big time, head for the hills. Or Paris."
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
He does make a good point (in his always humorous way) ... that if Yellowstone's swarm of earthquakes the last few days presages the long-awaited eruption of the lava dome there, well, all the rest of this stuff that we like to worry about is just soggy Post Toasties.
Enjoy:
"If Old Faithful is about to blow big time, head for the hills. Or Paris."
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Mountain House Sale, Dec. 6-19
You just cannot have enough good storage food available as we enter a period of unprecedented uncertainty in the world. So––consider this a gift for the holidays.
We are really pleased to be able to offer you this chance once again to get some of the very best storage food in the world–
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Good for 25-30 years or even longer. So delicious, even kids love most of the entrees. Nutritious. Lightweight. Easy to store. Easy to prepare.
This sale offers the maximum discount allowed by the manufacturer. The food ships FREE to the continental USA. And, our buyers club members earn rebate vouchers that make us your smart source for the best prep food out there.
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The food ships to you fresh from the factory. Expect to take delivery within two to three weeks of your order.
- 25% off list prices, the maximum discount allowed by Oregon Freeze Dry.
- FREE shipping to the lower 48, regardless of quantity purchased.
- Our differentiator, elevating Safecastle over other dealers out there––our volume voucher program. Any eight cases of Mountain House cans gets buyers club members a voucher code back worth $120 on a subsequent purchase in our store. Any 35 cases gets a $500 voucher! (These vouchers can be used toward the purchase of anything in our store except for Mountain House can cases.)
The sale prices will be valid from Saturday, December 6, through Friday, December 19.
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Stay safe.
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BTW, we expect to run our next MH cans sale in March 2009.
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Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Take a Timely Survival Quiz
"Could You Survive Another Great Depression?"
My score:
You Are 57% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression
Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you're the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don't overspend, and you aren't very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love... which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
My score:
You Are 57% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression
Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you're the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don't overspend, and you aren't very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love... which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
"Executive Summary" of the Global Disaster in Progress
Still more high-level info for you, in case your coma kept you in bed the last several months.
World stability hangs by a thread as economies continue to unravel
The political bubble is bursting. Spreads on geo-strategic risk are now widening as dramatically as the spreads on financial risk at the onset of the credit crunch.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Last Updated: 7:15PM GMT 01 Dec 2008
Whether it is the Indian rupee, the Shanghai bourse, or Kremlin debt, the stars of the credit boom have fallen to earth. Investors are retreating into 3-month US Treasury bills – the ultimate safe-haven. The yield has fallen to 0.02pc, less than zero after costs. You pay Washington to guard your money.
The working assumption of the "Great Boom" is – or was – that we live in a benign era where most societies are converging towards some form of market liberalism; where trade and capital flows are unrestricted; where governments have enough legitimacy to keep order by light touch; where a major war is unthinkable.
This illusion is now being tested.
We should not to read too much into the Bombay carnage. It may or may not be significant that the Deccan Mujahideen – whoever they are – picked India's financial hub to launch their spectacular.
Even so, the love affair with Bombay's bourse was cooling anyway. The Sensex index is down almost 60pc from its peak.
The exodus of foreign capital may now quicken, laying bare the horrors of Indian public finance. The combined federal and state deficit is 8pc of GDP. Plainly, spending will have to be slashed.
If the atrocity now propels the Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi into office at the head of a revived Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), south Asia will once again face a nuclear showdown between India and Pakistan.
Events are moving briskly in China too. Wudu was torched by rioters this month in a pitched battle with police. Violence has spread to the export hub of Guangdong as workers protest at the mass closure of toy, textile, and furniture factories.
"The global financial crisis has not bottomed yet. The impact is spreading globally and deepening," said Zhang Pin, head of the national development commission. "Excessive bankruptcies and business closures will cause massive unemployment and stir social unrest".
We are about to find out whether China has made the wrong bet with a development strategy of vast investment in manufacturing plant for mass export at thin margins to the US and Europe.
The shocking detail in the World Bank's latest report on China is that wages have fallen from 52pc to 40pc of GDP since 1999. This is evidence of an economic model that is disastrously out of kilter, and unlikely to retain popular support.
The Communist Party lost its ideological mission long ago. The regime depends on perpetual boom to stay in power. As the economy sours, there must be a high risk that it will resort to the nationalist card instead.
Tokyo certainly thinks so. When I visited Japan's Defence Ministry last year the deputy minister showed me charts detailing the intrusion of China's fast-growing fleet of attack submarines into Japanese waters. "We see its warships in the Sea of Japan all the time," he said.
Shoichi Nakagawa, the head of the ruling LDP party, was even more explicit. "What happens when China attacks Japan? Will the US retaliate on our behalf?" he said.
As for Europe, it is already fragile. Iceland, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, and Serbia have turned to the IMF. Russia is a hostage to oil prices. If Urals oil stays below $50 a barrel for long, we are going to see an earthquake of one kind or another.
It is too early in this crisis to conclude whether Europe's monetary union is a source stability, or is itself a doomsday machine. The rift between North and South is growing. The spreads on Greek, Irish, Italian, Austrian, and Belgian debt remain stubbornly high. The lack of a unified EU treasury has become glaringly clear. Germany has refused to underpin the system with a fiscal blitz.
In the 1930s, it was not obvious to people living through debt deflation that their world was coming apart. The crisis came in pulses, each followed by months of apparent normality – like today.
The global system did not snap until September 1931. The trigger was a mutiny by Royal Navy ratings at Invergordon over pay cuts. Sailors on four battleships refused to put out to sea. They sang the Red Flag.
News that the British Empire could not uphold military discipline set off capital flight. Britain was forced off the gold standard within five days. A chunk of the world followed suit.
Nor was it obvious that Germany would go mad. Bruning persisted with deflation, blind to the danger. The result was the election of July 1932 when two parties committed to the destruction of Weimar – the KPD Communists and the Nazis – won over the half the seats in Reichstag.
We can hope that governments have acted fast enough this time – with rate cuts and a fiscal firewall – to head off such disasters. But then again, the debt excesses are much greater today. If in doubt, cleave to those countries with a deeply-rooted democracy, a strong sense of national solidarity, a tested rule of law – and aircraft carriers. The US and Britain do not look so bad after all.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
World stability hangs by a thread as economies continue to unravel
The political bubble is bursting. Spreads on geo-strategic risk are now widening as dramatically as the spreads on financial risk at the onset of the credit crunch.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Last Updated: 7:15PM GMT 01 Dec 2008
Whether it is the Indian rupee, the Shanghai bourse, or Kremlin debt, the stars of the credit boom have fallen to earth. Investors are retreating into 3-month US Treasury bills – the ultimate safe-haven. The yield has fallen to 0.02pc, less than zero after costs. You pay Washington to guard your money.
The working assumption of the "Great Boom" is – or was – that we live in a benign era where most societies are converging towards some form of market liberalism; where trade and capital flows are unrestricted; where governments have enough legitimacy to keep order by light touch; where a major war is unthinkable.
This illusion is now being tested.
We should not to read too much into the Bombay carnage. It may or may not be significant that the Deccan Mujahideen – whoever they are – picked India's financial hub to launch their spectacular.
Even so, the love affair with Bombay's bourse was cooling anyway. The Sensex index is down almost 60pc from its peak.
The exodus of foreign capital may now quicken, laying bare the horrors of Indian public finance. The combined federal and state deficit is 8pc of GDP. Plainly, spending will have to be slashed.
If the atrocity now propels the Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi into office at the head of a revived Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), south Asia will once again face a nuclear showdown between India and Pakistan.
Events are moving briskly in China too. Wudu was torched by rioters this month in a pitched battle with police. Violence has spread to the export hub of Guangdong as workers protest at the mass closure of toy, textile, and furniture factories.
"The global financial crisis has not bottomed yet. The impact is spreading globally and deepening," said Zhang Pin, head of the national development commission. "Excessive bankruptcies and business closures will cause massive unemployment and stir social unrest".
We are about to find out whether China has made the wrong bet with a development strategy of vast investment in manufacturing plant for mass export at thin margins to the US and Europe.
The shocking detail in the World Bank's latest report on China is that wages have fallen from 52pc to 40pc of GDP since 1999. This is evidence of an economic model that is disastrously out of kilter, and unlikely to retain popular support.
The Communist Party lost its ideological mission long ago. The regime depends on perpetual boom to stay in power. As the economy sours, there must be a high risk that it will resort to the nationalist card instead.
Tokyo certainly thinks so. When I visited Japan's Defence Ministry last year the deputy minister showed me charts detailing the intrusion of China's fast-growing fleet of attack submarines into Japanese waters. "We see its warships in the Sea of Japan all the time," he said.
Shoichi Nakagawa, the head of the ruling LDP party, was even more explicit. "What happens when China attacks Japan? Will the US retaliate on our behalf?" he said.
As for Europe, it is already fragile. Iceland, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, and Serbia have turned to the IMF. Russia is a hostage to oil prices. If Urals oil stays below $50 a barrel for long, we are going to see an earthquake of one kind or another.
It is too early in this crisis to conclude whether Europe's monetary union is a source stability, or is itself a doomsday machine. The rift between North and South is growing. The spreads on Greek, Irish, Italian, Austrian, and Belgian debt remain stubbornly high. The lack of a unified EU treasury has become glaringly clear. Germany has refused to underpin the system with a fiscal blitz.
In the 1930s, it was not obvious to people living through debt deflation that their world was coming apart. The crisis came in pulses, each followed by months of apparent normality – like today.
The global system did not snap until September 1931. The trigger was a mutiny by Royal Navy ratings at Invergordon over pay cuts. Sailors on four battleships refused to put out to sea. They sang the Red Flag.
News that the British Empire could not uphold military discipline set off capital flight. Britain was forced off the gold standard within five days. A chunk of the world followed suit.
Nor was it obvious that Germany would go mad. Bruning persisted with deflation, blind to the danger. The result was the election of July 1932 when two parties committed to the destruction of Weimar – the KPD Communists and the Nazis – won over the half the seats in Reichstag.
We can hope that governments have acted fast enough this time – with rate cuts and a fiscal firewall – to head off such disasters. But then again, the debt excesses are much greater today. If in doubt, cleave to those countries with a deeply-rooted democracy, a strong sense of national solidarity, a tested rule of law – and aircraft carriers. The US and Britain do not look so bad after all.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Citigroup Internal Client Memo: Gold to Blast Off as Economy Tanks
Looking back at the last several posts here, it looks like we're proclaiming the end of the world via a dissolving economy. We normally try to keep an even keel and simply raise awareness of a wide range of potential threats. Our overall goal is to encourage preparedness.A full spectrum of critical threats remain visible all around the globe. However, the economy is obviously so integral to everyone's well-being, the dismal state of the world's finances is now raising most every other threat level out there as well.
Today's post, linking to an article at www.telegraph.co.uk, indicates that there is a belief within Citigroup that either the world is on the brink of an inflation shock or we are nearing widespread economic and political meltdowns leading to unrest and probably wars. Either way, the financial giant expects gold to skyrocket in value over the short to medium term.
Another must-read:
Citigroup says gold could rise above $2000 next year as world unravels
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Friday, November 28, 2008
Martin Weiss: Collapse of the Banking System Possible
On November 25, Dr. Martin Weiss posted a well-detailed warning to his legions of readers, which thankfully is available to the public. Read this all the way through if you have any aspirations for keeping your head above water in the coming deluge:
"Citigroup Collapses! Banking Shutdown Possible!"
Weiss mentions in his article the free service on Jim Cramer's TheStreet.com ratings of financial institutions. Check your own bank's ratings here: http://www.thestreet.com/screener/index.html?src=ratingsindex&tab=3
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
"Citigroup Collapses! Banking Shutdown Possible!"
Weiss mentions in his article the free service on Jim Cramer's TheStreet.com ratings of financial institutions. Check your own bank's ratings here: http://www.thestreet.com/screener/index.html?src=ratingsindex&tab=3
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Economy to Take Years to Recover
We have to say it again--optimism is increasingly rare. The authorities are hoping things can take a turn for the better in a few years. Do what you must now for your family's future well-being.
Worst of financial crisis yet to come: IMF chief economist
Nov 22 07:04 PM US/Eastern
The IMF's chief economist has warned that the global financial crisis is set to worsen and that the situation will not improve until 2010, a report said Saturday.
Olivier Blanchard also warned that the institution does not have the funds to solve every economic problem.
"The worst is yet to come," Blanchard said in an interview with the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper, adding that "a lot of time is needed before the situation becomes normal."
He said economic growth would not kick in until 2010 and it will take another year before the global financial situation became normal again.
[snip]
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Worst of financial crisis yet to come: IMF chief economist
Nov 22 07:04 PM US/Eastern
The IMF's chief economist has warned that the global financial crisis is set to worsen and that the situation will not improve until 2010, a report said Saturday.
Olivier Blanchard also warned that the institution does not have the funds to solve every economic problem.
"The worst is yet to come," Blanchard said in an interview with the Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper, adding that "a lot of time is needed before the situation becomes normal."
He said economic growth would not kick in until 2010 and it will take another year before the global financial situation became normal again.
[snip]
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Thursday, November 20, 2008
A Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On
Riding out the seismic collapse of the global economy probably won't provide much in the way of learnin' applicable to the genuine "big one" if and when it rumbles through our living rooms.It's not the easiest thing to prep for a mega earthquake. Most critical is to ensure your own home (and hopefully your workplace) is built to rigorous standards. Beyond that, standard water, food, and reserve power resources are in order.
Government Warns of "Catastrophic" U.S. Quake
By Carey Gillam
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - People in a vast seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States would face catastrophic damage if a major earthquake struck there and should ensure that builders keep that risk in mind, a government report said on Thursday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said if earthquakes strike in what geologists define as the New Madrid Seismic Zone, they would cause "the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States."
FEMA predicted a large earthquake would cause "widespread and catastrophic physical damage" across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee -- home to some 44 million people.
Tennessee is likely to be hardest hit, according to the study that sought to gauge the impact of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in order to guide the government's response.
In Tennessee alone, it forecast hundreds of collapsed bridges, tens of thousands of severely damaged buildings and a half a million households without water.
Transportation systems and hospitals would be wrecked, and police and fire departments impaired, the study said.
The zone, named for the town of New Madrid in Missouri's southeast corner, is subject to frequent mild earthquakes.
Experts have long tried to predict the likelihood of a major quake like those that struck in 1811 and 1812. These shifted the course of the Mississippi River and rang church bells on the East Coast but caused few deaths amid a sparse population.
"People who live in these areas and the people who build in these areas certainly need to take into better account that at some time there is ... expected to be a catastrophic earthquake in that area, and they'd better be prepared for it," said FEMA spokesperson Mary Margaret Walker.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Merrill Lynch CEO Warns that Epic Global Slowdown to be Like 1929
Arnaud De Borchgrave's columns are always worth reading and often incude unique scoops. This week's column about the velocity of the economic spiral is no exception.
Click on the title below to read the entire column. The excerpt included here is confirmation that Wall Street barons see the blight at the end of the tunnel.
TARP Trap
Arnaud de Borchgrave
Monday, November 17, 2008
... John Thain, chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, warned that the global economy is entering a slowdown of epic proportions. Addressing the company's annual banking and financial services conference, Mr. Thain said: "Right now, the U.S. economy is contracting rapidly. We are looking at a period of global slowdown. This is not like 1987 or 1998 or 2001. The contraction now going on is bigger than that. We will in fact look back to the 1929 period to see the kind of slowdown we are seeing now."
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Click on the title below to read the entire column. The excerpt included here is confirmation that Wall Street barons see the blight at the end of the tunnel.
TARP Trap
Arnaud de Borchgrave
Monday, November 17, 2008
... John Thain, chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, warned that the global economy is entering a slowdown of epic proportions. Addressing the company's annual banking and financial services conference, Mr. Thain said: "Right now, the U.S. economy is contracting rapidly. We are looking at a period of global slowdown. This is not like 1987 or 1998 or 2001. The contraction now going on is bigger than that. We will in fact look back to the 1929 period to see the kind of slowdown we are seeing now."
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Thursday, November 13, 2008
"Prepare for Mass Layoffs"--Chicago's Mayor Daley
This is the kind of thing that can spark panic, so you have to wonder why Mayor Daley is sharing this at this point. I mean, what is there to gain from this knowledge?
Oh yeah ... I guess there IS a last chance at some level of preparedness, right?
Anyway, there appears to be little reason for optimism or hopefulness anymore. If you haven't yet taken the time to carefully read the entire "Five Stages of Collapse" linked in my previous post, do it now and really think about how you might be able to cooperate with others in your area who are reliable and trustworthy. And get started on that immediately.
Nov 13, 2008 11:05 am US/Central
Mayor Daley: Prepare For Mass Layoffs
CEOs Tell Mayor They Plan Huge Layoffs In November, December
CHICAGO (CBS) ― The warning is out – Mayor Richard M. Daley says a parade of corporate chief executives have told him huge layoffs are planned around the city and will carry into next year.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, when Daley made the announcement, workers around the city felt a chill, and they are wondering who will be laid off next.
The news is especially alarming because the discussion concerns not just city jobs, but the private sector. Thus, it seems the City That Works is about to become the city that gets laid off.
Mayor Daley says corporate leaders told him huge layoffs will impact the city this month and next, and into the new year. He also says city, county and state governments should be prepared for their revenue to fall dramatically because of the souring economy.
"This is going to be all year, so it's going to be a very frightening economy," Mayor Daley said. "Each one tells me what they're laying off, and they're going to double that next year. We're talking huge numbers of permanent layoffs for people in the economy. It's going to have a huge effect on all businesses."
The mayor said the gravity of the situation cannot be underestimated.
"We never experienced anything like this except people who came from the Depression," Mayor Daley said. "When you have that many layoffs early – and they're telling me this is only the beginning of their layoffs – that is very frightening."
Mayor Daley also warned that local governments will be in jeopardy and may not have enough money to meet payroll, although he is not worried about paying City of Chicago employees.
In addition, the federal bailout plan is changing, and the big three automakers are all warning they could go bankrupt, and lawmakers say if the auto industry goes down, the huge number of jobs lost would cause more house foreclosures.
[snip]
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Oh yeah ... I guess there IS a last chance at some level of preparedness, right?
Anyway, there appears to be little reason for optimism or hopefulness anymore. If you haven't yet taken the time to carefully read the entire "Five Stages of Collapse" linked in my previous post, do it now and really think about how you might be able to cooperate with others in your area who are reliable and trustworthy. And get started on that immediately.
Nov 13, 2008 11:05 am US/Central
Mayor Daley: Prepare For Mass Layoffs
CEOs Tell Mayor They Plan Huge Layoffs In November, December
CHICAGO (CBS) ― The warning is out – Mayor Richard M. Daley says a parade of corporate chief executives have told him huge layoffs are planned around the city and will carry into next year.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, when Daley made the announcement, workers around the city felt a chill, and they are wondering who will be laid off next.
The news is especially alarming because the discussion concerns not just city jobs, but the private sector. Thus, it seems the City That Works is about to become the city that gets laid off.
Mayor Daley says corporate leaders told him huge layoffs will impact the city this month and next, and into the new year. He also says city, county and state governments should be prepared for their revenue to fall dramatically because of the souring economy.
"This is going to be all year, so it's going to be a very frightening economy," Mayor Daley said. "Each one tells me what they're laying off, and they're going to double that next year. We're talking huge numbers of permanent layoffs for people in the economy. It's going to have a huge effect on all businesses."
The mayor said the gravity of the situation cannot be underestimated.
"We never experienced anything like this except people who came from the Depression," Mayor Daley said. "When you have that many layoffs early – and they're telling me this is only the beginning of their layoffs – that is very frightening."
Mayor Daley also warned that local governments will be in jeopardy and may not have enough money to meet payroll, although he is not worried about paying City of Chicago employees.
In addition, the federal bailout plan is changing, and the big three automakers are all warning they could go bankrupt, and lawmakers say if the auto industry goes down, the huge number of jobs lost would cause more house foreclosures.
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Five Stages of Collapse, by D. Orlov
Several months ago, uttering the word collapse in "respectable circles" in reference to the economy or America in general, probably would have resulted in your being ostracized.Today, the word causes everyone to shut-up in an effort to overhear and glean some tidbit of wisdom that might mean one's very survival in the upcoming crisis.
Dmitry Orlov is a well-known individual in the fields of "peak oil" and societal crisis. Linked below, he provides an important, rather detailed overview of what it is America may very well be mired in already at this very moment, and what we yet can expect to come about ...
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/47157
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Get Ready ... Seriously - http://www.safecastleroyal.com
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