It’s 2007 All Over Again

(Goldseek) – Several weeks ago I speculated that we were “On the Brink of an Asset Explosion” . So far events are unfolding about as expected.  I might even say they are moving more aggressively than I thought.  Well actually, there’s no doubt this cyclical bull is unfolding much more aggressively than anyone expected.

Compare the angle of assent of this cyclical bull to the last one. Read More Here

Video: Gerald Celente on ObamaCare & Dollar Collapse

Video: Bob Chapman’s Friday Economic Report on The Alex Jones Show Hosted by Jason Bermas

(April 9) – Bermas also talks with regular guest, Bob Chapman, the man behind The International Forecaster newsletter.

If The U.S. Economy Is Experiencing A Recovery Why Does It Seem Like Things Keep Getting Worse?

(EndOfTheAmericanDream) – The talking heads on all the major news shows keep telling us that the U.S. economy is experiencing a recovery.  Usually the term “recovery” is accompanied by a qualifier such as “jobless”, but they continue to use the word recovery anyway.  We are told that the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression is behind us and that the great American economic machine is roaring back to life and everything will be back to normal soon.  So why does it seem like things keep getting worse?  Why does it seem like the American Dream is out of reach for more Americans than ever?  Why does it seem like economic pain is spreading to more families and more businesses?

Well, maybe it is because things are getting worse.

Video: Geithner In Beijing – The Dangers of Exporting The Depression

(RussiaToday) – Treasury Secretary Geithner is on his way to Beijing, where he will meet with Chinese Vice Prime Minister Wang. The trip is in relation to US demands for a massive up valuation of the Chinese currency, the renminbi or yuan. This announcement has unleashed much gloating at the Associated Press and other pro-Wall Street news outlets, so it is important to issue a caveat at the very beginning: trips do not equal agreements. Obama made a personal visit to Afghanistan last month, and bilateral US relations with that country have been deteriorating in an alarming way ever since.

Video: Economic Collapse – William Black on TheRealNews.com

William Black is Associate Professor of Economics and Law, UMKC

The Bright Side of Hyperinflation

(LewRockwell) – Despite encouraging words from politicians and the establishment media’s talking heads, it is clear to me, and I believe most Americans who do not live in a regime ivory tower, that we are not coming out of the recession. In fact, things appear to be getting worse as unemployment continues to rise and businesses cut salaries or shut down. The fears that this recession could turn into another Great Depression are very real, as we have lost so much of our capacity to create wealth and the federal government seems determined to use up any remaining capital fighting endless wars, funding endless entitlement programs, and spending trillions of dollars on non-wealth-creating “stimulus” programs while handing out even more trillions to their bankster buddies and corporate cronies. However, another 1930s-style depression is not what keeps me up at night with worry.

Economy

(Politico) – CBO chief says debt ‘unsustainable’

The nation’s fiscal path is “unsustainable,” and the problem “cannot be solved through minor tinkering,” the head of the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday morning. Read More Here

(Infowars) – What do your IRS taxes really pay for?

Most taxpayers have no idea what their federal income taxes actually provide. When I ask folks if they know where their IRS check goes I get answers from, “…it pays for the operation of the Federal Government.” to, “… hummm, I really don’t know.” Actually both answers are partially true. Why were the IRS and the Federal Reserve created by the same act of Congress — what is their relationship to the Federal Government? Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – The Coming European Debt Wars – EU Countries sinking into Depression

Government debt in Greece is just the first in a series of European debt bombs that are set to explode. The mortgage debts in post-Soviet economies and Iceland are more explosive. Read More Here

(April 8 ) – Video: Article – Ben Bernanke Calls for Higher Taxes – Jason BermasBermas starts off the show with news from Ben Bernanke that americans will have to pay more in taxes then ever before to the Banking Ruling Crime syndicate. – Video Link Here

(InternationalForecaster) – A Debt Level Great Enough To Threaten The Dollar Rating – Bob Chapman

Your purchasing power is less and less with every passing day, changes coming to currencies, no end to corruption in government, Wall Street, and banking, US states on the verge of bankruptcy, economic and financial zombies on the old continent, globalization has brought us to the brink of collapse, Interest rate volatility to come soon, US debt far over GDP, property abandoned. Read More Here

(AP) – Initial jobless claims increase unexpectedly

New claims for jobless benefits increase unexpectedly, while total benefit rolls drop Read More Here

(LasVegasNow) – Las Vegas Schools Facing 1,000 Layoffs

Cash-strapped Clark County school trustees are poised to lay off more than 1,000 employees by July 1 unless the Las Vegas-based district can find another way to close a big budget shortfall. Read More Here

(DollarCollapse) – The Coming Precious Metals Short Squeeze

With the gold price suppression scheme apparently breaking open — see this article and this interview — the question becomes when, not if, holders of futures contracts will start demanding physical delivery. Most will discover that the metal isn’t there, which will, ahem, unsettle the commodity and currency markets. Read More Here

(RussiaToday) – Video: Wall street’s Naked short Swindle, $3.87 trillion dollar lawsuit

Its the largest fraud case in world history. Between June of 2004 and October of 2005, over 2 trillion dollars worth of fake CMKM Diamonds Inc. shares were sold to the public. The companys shareholders are now suing the S.E.C Commissioners for 3.87 trillion dollars. Tim Barello from the Manhattan Headlines Examiner joins Alyona from New York to tell you more.

10 Million Americans Disappeared during the Great Depression Time

FLASHBACK – Feb 2009 – While America lectures Russia on the 1932-33 famine in Ukraine, Russian historian Boris Borisov asks what became of over seven million American citizens who disappeared from US population records in the 1930s. Read More Here

Economy

(FoxBusiness) – Video: Ready for Triple-Digit Oil Prices? – View Video Here

(ThinkProgress) – ExxonMobil paid no federal income tax in 2009.

Last week, Forbes magazine published what the top U.S. corporations paid in taxes last year. “Most egregious,” Forbes notes, is General Electric, which “generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion.” Big Oil giant Exxon Mobil, which last year reported a record $45.2 billion profit, paid the most taxes of any corporation, but none of it went to the IRS: Read More Here

(Forbes) – What The Top U.S. Companies Pay In Taxes Read More Here

(WND) – America’s future? U.S. cities going bust – Jerome Corsi

In what may be the beginning of an explosion of city insolvency across the U.S., the city of Vallejo, Calif., with a population of 117,000 in the San Francisco Bay area, has filed bankruptcy, Jerome Corsi’s Red Alert reports. Read More Here

(OpEd) – The SCAM behind NAIS – “Our Land: Collateral for the National Debt” – Read More Here

(Reuters) – Special Report:Holy bubble! Churches struck down by foreclosures Read More Here

(WSJ) – Shortfall Awaits California’s Big Pension Funds

A study released Monday by Stanford University estimates that California’s three largest state-operated, public-employee pension funds—the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, California State Teachers’ Retirement System and University of California Retirement System—currently face a total shortfall of more than $500 billion. Read More Here

(MoneyNews) – Report: Panicky Investors Pull Cash Out of Greek Banks

Greek banks are being hit by a wave of redemptions as rich citizens and companies look to move their money to big global banks or offshore as the country’s debt crisis rages, the Telegraph newspaper reported on its Web site. Read More Here

(SicSempterTyrannis) – Video: Is the U.S. on its way toward a Debt Disaster? – Video Link Here

(BusinessInsider) – Meet The 26 Members Of George Soros’s Secret Team To Rewrite Economics – Read More Here

(MyBudget360) – What does it mean to be Middle Class in 2010? Beholden to the Banking Elite – Read More Here

(Telegraph) – Public sector pension black hole to cost taxpayers an extra £330 a year

Workers will have to pay an extra £330 a year each in tax to help plug the growing black hole in the cost of public sector pensions, business leaders warned last night. Read More Here

(RussiaToday) – Video: William Engdahl – US won’t recover for at least 15 years – View Video Here

(LATimes) – L.A. controller warns that city could exhaust general fund next month [Updated]

Los Angeles Controller Wendy Greuel on Monday said she expects the city’s general fund “will be out of money” by May 5 and that L.A. will likely deplete its reserve funds and be in the red by June 30. Read More Here

Video: Gerald Celente on the Regular Guys Show – April 1, 2010 – Video Link Here

(WashingtonsBlog) – Proof that Regulators Knew of and Allowed Debt-Hiding Accounting Tricks Like Lehman’s Repo 105

Regulators like the Fed and SEC have said they didn’t know about Lehman’s use of Repo 105s to hide its mountain of debt. Read More Here

(LegislativeGazette) – Paterson delays school aid for a second time

One day before state school aid was set to be paid to local districts, Gov. David A. Paterson decided that due to a shortfall in the state’s cash flow, the aid will be delayed by up to two months. Read More Here

(TheComingDepression) – FDIC wants your retirement cash to save banks: Bloomberg

“The FDIC is constantly looking at structures where we can get the greatest opportunity to tap into capital that we have not had the success reaching through previous disposition methods,” FDIC spokeswoman Michele Heller said in an e-mailed statement. “We welcome and work with all investors.”

It should be very very obvious that all future money will be in the hands of the globalist elites who will rob and plunder the worlds economies into their privately owned and ruled banks who will dump all of the nations accumilated wealth into their coffers. Gone will be all social security and 401Ks and all pensions as they will take everything that people own and steal it for their own use (like paying interest on loans that can never be repaid). Read More Here

(SFGate) – National debt seen heading for crisis level

Health care may have been the last big bang of the Obama presidency. Read More Here

(OrlandoSentinel) – Foreclosures’ coming wave: Commercial properties – Read More Here

(HuffingtonPost) – More Than 200,000 Could Lose Unemployment Benefits This Week

Thanks to congressional inaction, more than 200,000 laid-off workers could lose access to unemployment benefits this week, and no flood insurance policies will be renewed or issued until Congress returns on April 12 — despite record long-term joblessness and record rainfall. Read More Here

Video: Comex can easily go bankrupt – get physical gold & silver! – Peter Schiff – Video Link Here

(KingWorldNews) – Video: Gerald Celente, Prepare for new-survivalism

Economy

(Reuters) – EU safety net not quite enough to break Greek fall

The thing about a safety net is that it all depends where you hang it. Read More Here

(Reuters) – Office vacancy rate hits 16-year high

The U.S. office vacancy rate in the first quarter reached its highest level in 16 years, but the decline in rents eased and crept closer to stabilization, according to a report by real estate research firm Reis Inc. Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – Crisis of the Global Economy: Trade Conflicts and “Fair Trade”

Trade is now a favorite topic for many politicians and the media, especially between China and the U.S. Likewise, labor and progressive groups continue to delve deeper into trade issues, offering a variety of working class solutions. The far right, too, is obsessed with trade, using it to fuel nationalism and anti-China sentiment. No subject is prone to so much demagoguery combined with so little explanation.
Before one can offer a vision of “fair trade,” it’s helpful to understand what “trade” is. Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – The Greek Financial Crisis and the European Timetable

Now that the Lisbon Treaty of 2009 is behind us, after it was forced through Ireland, after the Irish were told to keep voting on this until they said “yes”; now the European Union moves on to the next item on its timetable. The next step is to create a centralized Ministry in Brussels for Finance and Taxation, thereby further eroding the diminishing national sovereignty of the now twenty-seven member states; and what better way to do this than to organize a specific potshot against the little country of Greece? Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – Imminent Dangers of Stagflation: U.S. Economic Policies Fail to Avert Hyperinflation

The United States send weak economic signals insufficient for a meaningful and sustainable economic expansion required to gain back confidence of national and foreign investors, futureofdollar.com finds in the present research. Political decision-making process is paralyzed by numerous disabilities, while external market constraints obstruct economic recovery. Stagflation is an imminent danger. Read More Here

(InfoClearingHouse) – What The Top U.S. Companies Pay In Taxes

As you work on your taxes this month, here’s something to raise your hackles: Some of the world’s biggest, most profitable corporations enjoy a far lower tax rate than you do–that is, if they pay taxes at all. Read More Here

(BusinessInsider) – Fed Still Fighting Over Whether The Problem Is Inflation Or Deflation

The Federal Reserve can’t make up its mind what the problem is. Specifically, it can’t agree on whether to fight inflation or deflation. So don’t expect any violent moves anytime soon. Read More Here

(WashingtonPost) – U.S. government a big commercial real estate player

Evidence of the federal government’s growing influence on Washington area commercial real estate is illustrated in big deals it is working on both sides of the table: auctioning a 127,000-square-foot Bethesda building previously occupied by the National Institutes of Health and moving to snatch up vast spaces in buildings on the private market that have been vacant for months. Read More Here

(WSJ) – Bank of Mom and Dad Shuts Amid White-Collar Struggle – Read More Here

(SilverBearCafe) – Will fraud lift gold prices to $10,000/ounce?

After the sub-prime catastrophe in banking and realty sector, which led to the global recession in 2008-09, it is the turn of bullion markets now. – Read More Here

(Gallup) – Underemployment Rises to 20.3% in March

Gallup Daily tracking finds that 20.3% of the U.S. workforce was underemployed in March — a slight uptick from the relatively flat January and February numbers. Read More Here

(InternationalForecaster) – The Smoke and Mirrors Economy – Bob Chapman

We have an economy run on smoke and mirrors, based on the manipulation of markets. That was accomplished via the executive order signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 in the aftermath of the stock market collapse of October 19, 1987, known as the “President’s Working Group on Financial markets.” This order intended to be implemented during emergencies has been used to manipulate markets worldwide 24/7. Read More Here

(CNN) – Unemployment Benefits Expire for Thousands

Extended unemployment benefits will temporarily expire for thousands of Americans on Monday because the Senate went on its spring recess without approving a one-month deadline extension. Read More Here

(MSN) – Inflation warning etched in steel

Pretend it’s 1933, as so many in the deflation camp think it is or soon will be (at least from the price-of-everything standpoint). If last Wednesday you reached for a copy of that day’s Financial Times, would you have expected to see the following headline — “Steel prices set to soar: Everyday goods will cost more” — in large print above the fold?

I don’t think so. Read More Here

(Reuters) – Oil hits 18-month high on economic outlook

U.S. crude futures hit an 18-month high on Monday, climbing toward $86 per barrel on expectations of faster-than-expected economic recovery and increasing demand for fuel. Read More Here

(BusinessInsider) – The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever (Another View)

Here’s another view of what we’ve been calling the “Scariest Jobs Chart Ever.” It’s from Calculated Risk, and it shows the percent of job losses since the peak for all the post-war recessions. Read More Here

Video: LBMA Bullion Market Ponzi Scheme. Financial Manipulation in the Gold and Silver Markets

Economy

(ChristianScienceMonitor) – Economist tallies swelling cost of Israel to US

Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If divided by today’s population, that is more than $5,700 per person. Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Geithner Delays Currency Report, Urges Flexible Yuan for China

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner delayed a scheduled April 15 report to Congress on exchange-rate policies, sidestepping a decision on whether to accuse China of manipulating the value of the yuan. Read More Here

(MailOnline) – Cadbury staff given ultimatum: Opt out of final salary pension or pay is suspended for three years – Read More Here

(NCoal) – Florida Teacher Pensions To Be Reduced – Read More Here

(NBCWashington) – Layoffs Ahead for DC Workers

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s spending plan includes hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts. He presented his 2011 budget proposal to the City Council Thursday morning. D.C. workers should brace for major layoffs. Read More Here

(DailyBell) – The Ethics of Tax Resistance – Read More Here

(DailyBail) – Bernanke Feels The Heat: Maiden Lane Asset Disclosure Reveals Truth In Bailout Farce – Read More Here

(Vlog) – Video: the GOVERNMENT is Bankrupting this Country… – View Video Here

(Infowars) – Video: Bob Chapman’s Friday Economic Report on The Alex Jones Show – Part 1 Here – Part 2 Here

(NaturalNews) – Bodies Stack Up in California Morgues as Families Can’t Afford Burials

Hard economic times have made the cost of cremation or burial prohibitive for many people, leading them to abandon the bodies of their loved ones to be disposed of in mass graves by the state. Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – Largest Money Transfer in Recorded History: $4.6 Trillion Spent on the Bank Bailout to Date

TALLY SHOWS THAT THE FEDERAL RESERVE IS THE REAL SOURCE OF BAILOUT FUNDS – Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – Let’s Put an End to Public Debt Blackmail! – Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – The Corrupt Practices of Financial Manipulation: The Meaning of the Greek Economic Crisis

Many things have been said about the Greek crisis in recent weeks, most of them obnoxious and confusing [1]. These stories result in an argument that is aimed for export to all developed countries. The media has extensively incorporated the official message, which could be divided into 5 chapters: Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – More Toxic Paper: New Subprime Bonanza in the Housing Market – Mike Whitney

Another Stealth Bailout for Pudgy Banks – Read More Here

(MediaChannel) – As The Crisis Deepens, More Attention Is Being Paid To Financial Fraud

The “F Word” (for fraud) is back in polite conversation on Wall Street. Fraud and financial crime are slowly becoming part of the debate over what must be done to restore confidence in what has so plainly been a confidence game.

Drilling for oil has knocked financial reform out of the headlines, but among commentators, a concern with crime and the absence of punishment is being raised again. Read More Here

(RollingStone) – Looting Main Street – Matt Taibi

How the nation’s biggest banks are ripping off American cities with the same predatory deals that brought down Greece Read More Here

(NYTimes) – Pay Garnishments Rise as Debtors Fall Behind

When the bank sued Leann Weaver for not paying her credit card balance, her reaction was typical for someone in that situation. Personal and financial setbacks weighed her down, and she knew she owed the $2,470. So she never went to court to defend herself. Read More Here

Video: Midas Resources: National Debt –

Economy

(RBC) – Canadians’ expectations for overall economic performance drop

According to the March RBC Canadian Consumer Outlook Index, most Canadians (65 per cent) are losing sleep over their finances. Read More Here

(WichitaEagle) – Report: More seniors to be homeless by 2020

A report released Monday by the National Alliance to End Homelessness projects a 33 percent increase over the next decade in elderly people who are homeless. Read More Here

(MarketSkeptics) – 2010 Food Crisis Taking Shape – Read More Here

(AP) – Verizon to take $970M charge from health care bill

The corporate tax impact of the recent health care overhaul grew Thursday as Verizon Communications Inc. announced it will record a related $970 million non-cash charge in the first quarter. Read More Here

(WakeUpAmericans) – More On Obama’s Offshore Drilling ‘Show’

Institure for Energy Research (IER) sticks to the facts of what Barack Obama’s actual proposals about off shore drilling really does: Read More Here

(SafeHaven) – You Still Believe The Fed Can Stop Deflation?

Think back to the fall of 2007. The deflationary “liquidity crunch” that over the next year-and-a-half cuts the DJIA in half, decimates commodities, real estate and world markets is only starting. Almost no one believes that the crash is coming — to a large degree, because everyone is convinced that the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, with Ben Bernanke at the helm, will never allow deflation to happen: It can just print money! Read More Here

(SilverBearCafe) – Gold and Silver Equal Future Purchasing Power

Today it is as difficult for a person to fathom gold at $5,000 per ounce as it was for a person to fathom $1,000 per ounce back in 2002. After all, hold a Krugerrand, in your hand and try to imagine it being worth the purchasing power of $5,000 – enough to buy a good running, nice looking used car. Read More Here

(Blog) – 6 Cities That Were Caught Shortening Yellow Light Times For Profit

Short yellow light times at intersections have been shown to increase the number of traffic violations and accidents. Conversely, increasing the yellow light duration can dramatically reduce red-light violations at an intersection. Read More Here

(SmirkingChimp) – BE CAREFUL:Cops giving out more speeding tickets due to recession. – Read More Here

(AP) – Ohioans say they’re pursued for paid-off fines

Some motorists are complaining that old traffic fines they already paid to one Ohio county are coming back to haunt them. About 1,000 people have contacted officials in southeast Ohio’s Hocking County this week to say they’ve heard from a collection agency about tickets already resolved, in some cases as far back as 20 years ago. Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – Financial Fraud and the Economic Crisis – A Cavalcade of U.S. Corruption Is Finally Being Scrutinized – Read More Here

(HuffingtonPost) – It’s A Ponzi Scheme the Gold Market

We’ve had a string of amazing revelations recently regarding the world’s precious metals market. This is important stuff for anyone (like me) who holds gold as a means to avoid currency turmoil and counterparty risk. Read More Here

(ZMagazine) – Big Government, Budget Deficits, Entitlements and the “Centrist” Ploy – Read More Here

Economy

(IND) – China’s gold rush ‘will be stampede by 2020’ – Read More Here

(NYTimes) – Stocks Soar, but Many Analysts Ask Why

The unemployment rate remains locked in a range that recalls the economic doldrums of the early 1980s. Housing is stuck in a ditch, with foreclosures rising. And consumers are still reluctant to part with the little cash they do have. Read More Here

(NorthJersey) – Cash-strapped states using income audits to get funds

State audits on income and sales taxes for the smallest businesses as well as out-of-state inquiries on operations in other states are on the rise, accountants say. Read More Here

(BusinessInsider) – There Are No New Taxes Coming In America…. Except The Massive One That Will Sock The Economy In The Gut – Read More Here

(ContrCostaTimes) – Chiang: Worst yet to come for California budget crisis

State Controller John Chiang said Monday the worst of California’s budget crisis is still to come. Read More Here

(NYTimes) – State Debt Woes Grow Too Big to Camouflage

California, New York and other states are showing many of the same signs of debt overload that recently took Greece to the brink — budgets that will not balance, accounting that masks debt, the use of derivatives to plug holes, and armies of retired public workers who are counting on benefits that are proving harder and harder to pay. Read More Here

(InfoClearingHouse) – Eighteen Million, Out in the Road

How cold and callous can we become? When, as a society and as a nation, we can undergo a massive earthquake under our very feet and before our very eyes, how can we just ignore its victims? Read More Here

(InfoClearingHouse) – Video: Tent Slums Spring Up in America

Concentrations of homeless people are nothing new in America, but recent BBC and Los Angeles Times reports depict a rising trend of shanty slums, such as a “city” of newly homeless people living in tents near the Ontario airport in Los Angeles. View Video Here

(InfoClearingHouse) – Workhouse Nation – The Plight of Mass Unemployment in America. What are the Causes? Read More Here

(WickedLocal) – Bay State foreclosures up 13.8 percent

Completed foreclosures in Massachusetts fell 19.6 percent in February, compared to January, but were 10.4 percent higher than in February 2009, according to data released Thursday morning. Also, foreclosure deeds jumped 13.8 percent to 2,058 in the first two months of the year from 1,809 during the same period in 2009, the Warren Group reported. Read More Here

(CBS2Chicago) – Report: 20,000 Illinois Teachers Could Lose Jobs

9,800 Teachers Are Already Out, Many More Layoffs Are Planned Read More Here

(AP) – IN could see new wave of foreclosures

The number of Indiana mortgages that were 90 days or more overdue jumped to its highest level in more than a year in January, a statistic that has many fearing a surge of home foreclosures in 2010. Read More Here

(FortWorthBP) – Commercial real estate to see ‘storm’ of foreclosures

The 2010 Tarrant County commercial real estate market looks to be similar to 2009 with one big difference according to local foreclosure expert George Roddy Sr.: a ‘closing window of opportunity.’ Read More Here

Economy

(WAPost) – Wa. Post: Citi sale “would amount to a validation of bailout”

Among the banks that rule Wall Street, Citigroup got a bailout that was bigger than the rest. Now the company is about to pay a king’s ransom for its federal rescue. Read More Here

Video: Federal Reserve End Game – View Video Here

(TalkRadioNews) – Sarkozy Calls For World Economic Regulation – Read More Here

(Fox) – Peter Schiff Discusses The Jobs Bill On Freedom Watch – View Video Here

(GoldSeek) – Gerald Celente – This time they will close Banks & Wall Street – View Video Here

(CNBC) – Video: Jim Rogers – Commodities More Attractive Than Currencies – View Video Here

Marijuana Legalization ~ Grassroots Industry or Corporate Takeover

California state officials have determined that the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 has enough eligible signatures to appear on the November ballot. This ballot measure would allow the possession of 1 ounce of marijuana for personal use by individuals aged 21 and older and the ability to cultivate gardens up to 25 square feet. Currently, possession in California is a misdemeanor that carries a $100 fine. The Act would ban the use in public or around minors.

A no brainer … right … End the insanity of this aspect of the war on drugs, tax it and go on our merry way. Maybe it’s not that simple. Read More Here

(InternationalForecaster) – Credit Crisis, Outrage, Far From Over

Bernanke re-nominated, outrage at banks, insolvency the real state of banks, crime pays when you are at the top, sovereign debt crisis around the world, debt and derivatives products were all just a ponzi scheme, the problem wont go a way when the system is purged, PIMCO Bill Gross warns of inflation, big cutbacks in services… Read More Here

(PrimaPanama) – Disturbing new U.S. law aims to end individual foreign bank accounts – Read More Here

(WashingtonTimes) – KUHNER: Will America break up?

President Obama is splintering America. The passage of Obamacare was a historic victory for liberal governance. Yet, its true cost may be that it triggers the eventual breakup of the country. Read More Here

(CrooksAndLiars) – Too Big To Jail? DoJ: Wall St. Bailout Buds ‘Co-Conspirators’ In Plot To Rip Off State, Local Governments

Municipal bonds are where a lot of the political kickbacks and corrupt deals are typically hidden, so I can’t say I’m surprised. In fact, it’s sort of funny that the governments dealing with these guys apparently thought they could trust them, considering how crooked the business is. Lie down with dogs, rise up with fleas, as the nuns used to say:Read More Here

(AllGov) – Chertoff Joins Defense Firm that Defrauded U.S.

Michael Chertoff, the former homeland security chief who’s not been shy about exploiting terrorist threats for the benefit of his clients, has decided to join a top defense contractor that defrauded the U.S. government. Read More Here

(EconomicPolicyJournal) – Obama’s New Housing Program Is a Huge Gift to Banks

Dean Baker does a great job of explaining what it will do. And, while Baker does imply that the Administration may have been a bit naive in structuring the program this way, I doubt it. Further, you can be sure that Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon understand exactly what this structure means. Here’s Baker: Read More Here

(SeattleTimes) – Recession’s untold story

It turns out the job of dog-kennel assistant is even less glamorous than it sounds Read More Here

The Silent Entitlements Monster: Social Security, Medicare And Interest On The Debt Will Gobble Up Every Single Tax Dollar By 2020

(EconomicCollapseBlog) – There is a silent monster that looms menacingly over U.S. government finances. Every politician knows about it, but very few of them ever want to talk about it. This silent monster grows larger every year, and yet nobody seems to know quite what to do about it. Those who have closely analyzed this monster all seem to agree that one day it will create a financial tsunami of a magnitude that is absolutely unprecedented, but there is vast disagreement about how to escape this financial tsunami or if it is even possible to escape it. Read More Here

Video: Gerald Celente on Dori Monson about Fascism

(March 18, 2010) –

Economy

(Bloomberg) – Obama Pays More Than Buffett as U.S. Risks AAA Rating (Update3)

The bond market is saying that it’s safer to lend to Warren Buffett than Barack Obama. Read More Here

(ZeroHedge) – Underemployment At Record 20% According To Gallup

Just in case anyone needed confirmation that the DOL data is just a little, how should we say it, cooked, here comes Gallup with their March 15 undermployment number, which just hit a 2010, and series, high of 20%. Read More Here

(NYTimes) – A Ruinous Meltdown

A story that is not getting nearly enough attention is the ruinous fiscal meltdown occurring in state after state, all across the country. Read More Here

Video: Gerald Celente Interview by Helen Skopis of Athens International Radio – Audio Link Here

(ZeroHedge) – “Passage Of The Healthcare Bill Means The Double-Dip Is Coming” – Market Insight From Permabull Jim Cramer Who Just Turned Bearish – Tyler Durden

Jim Cramer may be in hot water with the SEC over his theStreet.com, and he may be a mouthpiece for the biggest ponzi enabling organization the developed world has ever seen, however, he did have some interesting and spot-on observations on the just passed health care bill. In a nutshell, and for once we agree with Cramer, if futures are not limit down right now, it is because of the same bidding hand that has kept the market going straight up at a 30 degree angle for the past year. Read More Here

Economy

(CBCNews) – European fraudsters steal $7B in carbon credit scam

Fraud within Europe’s carbon credit trading system has cost taxpayers more than $7 billion in the last 18 months, European police said Friday. Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Yuan Poised to Become Reserve Currency, Goldman’s O’Neill Says

China’s yuan is destined to become a global reserve currency rivaling the dollar and the euro, as the nation’s economic power increases the currency’s allure, said Jim O’Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Read More Here

(Telegraph) – Quarter of adults out of work, official figures show

More than one in four adults in Britain are not working, after a record number left the workforce in recent months, official figures indicated. Read More Here

(MyBudget360) – The Anti-Savings Model – Offer 0.1% APY on Savings Accounts and Charge 15% on Credit Cards. A System Designed to Punish Savers and Encourage Extravagant Spending via Usury. Read More Here

(Reuters) – NY Atty Gen seeks probe of public retiree payments

New York authorities, agencies, and local governments that pay public workers some of the highest salaries and benefits in the state must explain how they are calculated, the attorney general said on Thursday in a new bid to root out abuses. Read More Here

(Yahoo) – Bernanke Wants to Eliminate Reserve Requirements Completely Read More Here

(Telegraph) – Latvia government collapses amid economic crisis

Latvia’s coalition government has collapsed after failing to tackle a crippling economic crisis. Read More Here

(NPR) – U.S. Bank Auditors Got Bonuses Before Crisis

Banks weren’t the only ones giving big bonuses in the boom years before the worst financial crisis in generations. The government also was handing out millions of dollars to bank regulators, rewarding “superior” work even as an avalanche of risky mortgages helped create the meltdown. Read More Here

(SilverBearCafe) – Idaho’s plan to downgrade the dollar

A bill to allow citizens to pay their taxes with silver medallions gains support. Goldbugs are watching closely.Read More Here

Expose Transgressions and Set Boundaries on Stimulus Packages

AIG dragged onto the carpet for publishing falsified debt ratings, fines called for when fraud charges should be laid, white collar crime knows no end, books cooked, real estate downside points to deflationary depression, debt continues to grow, borrowing in the debt market again. stimulus packages knowing now boundaries. Read More Here

(AlterNet) – How the IRS Helps H&R Block Scam Taxpayers

Tax preparation giants are making a killing on short-term, high-interest, fee-laden loans on tax returns. Read More Here

(WCBSTV) – New York State Tax Refunds Put On Hold

Gov. Paterson Freezes $500 Million, Says Financial Situation The Case, Won’t Start Sending Again Until April 1 Read More Here

(WND) – YOUR PAPERS, PLEASE … Census threat: $5,000 fines

U.S. congressman slams ‘Big Brother’ questions Read More Here

(AuctionBytes) – IRS to Track Online Sellers’ Payment Transactions Beginning Next Year – Read More Here

(DailyMail) – £1,000 fine for using wrong bin: Families face new crackdown over household waste

Householders could be fined up to £1,000 if they fail to comply with complex new rules on refuse sorting. Read More Here

Video: Mish and Faber – US Destined for Failure

The government leads you to believe that we are in an economic recovery…however it is actually the total opposite. A depression and inflation are what the US is looking forward to.

Life is Great … But Only If You Are Already Mega-Wealthy

(WashingtonsBlog) – As I pointed out in November:

A report by University of California, Berkeley economics professor Emmanuel Saez concludes that income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression.

The report shows that:

• Income inequality is worse than it has been since at least 1917

• “The top 1 percent incomes captured half of the overall economic growth over the period 1993-2007″

• “In the economic expansion of 2002-2007, the top 1 percent captured two thirds of income growth.”

Economy

(WSJ) – Economists Say Fed Saved the U.S. Economy

The $787 billion stimulus package was a good for the economy, but the Federal Reserve played the biggest role in rescuing the U.S. economy from the financial crisis, according to the majority of economists in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey. Read More Here

(InternationalForecaster) – Pondering Our Collapse While We Watch Others Fall – Bob Chapman

Every important factor we see is working against the dollar and we believe that trend is irreversible. That means the present dollar rally probably cannot endure and it could well be the time to short the USDX. Read More Here

(AFP) – Police battle demonstrators in strike-hit Greece

Greek police battled demonstrators on Thursday as the country ground to a halt in the latest protest strike against government austerity measures aiming to end a crippling debt crisis. Read More Here

(EUObserver) – EU wants answers on Wall Street role in Greek debt

The European Commission has said it is seeking answers following allegations that Wall Street investment banks helped Greece hide the extent of its debt. Read More Here

(Reuters) – Strike Paralyzes Greece; Protests Turn Violent

Greek public and private sector workers went on strike on Thursday, grounding flights, shutting schools and halting public transport in the second nationwide walkout in two weeks in protest against austerity plans. Read More Here

(CrainsNY) – Gov: Budget failure could cause NY depression

Gov. David Paterson attempts a town hall meeting about the state’s budget issues in Brooklyn amid rumors on his political future. Some humor emerges amid the defiance. Read More Here

(WSJ) – School Crisis Rattles Missouri

The Kansas City Missouri School Board voted Wednesday night to shutter nearly half of its schools in an effort to avoid going broke. Read More Here

(MSNBC) – Fannie, Freddie’s $125 billion tab still growing

Sixteen months after being seized, the firms remain wards of the state Read More Here

(NYTimes) – 972 Foreclosure Filings in Hawaii in February – Read More Here

(AP) – City Closes Public Schools, Stops Bankruptcy

The school board narrowly approved the plan Wednesday night to close 29 of the district’s 61 schools to try to stave off bankruptcy. The closures have angered many parents, students and teachers, but administrators say they had no choice. View Video Here

(ZeroHedge) – It’s Going To Implode: Buy Physical Gold – NOW

Evidence seems to be mounting that we are headed towards some sort of implosion in the paper Gold market, and perhaps the currency/bond markets in general. Let’s take a look: Read More Here

Video: Gerald Celente – Obama is just another Bush; he out bushed Bush many times over

(57GoldRadio) – This is a global Catastrophy. The Calamity is happening and people that are not Neo survivalist are the ones that are going to suffer the most

Economy

(NYTimes) – Program to pay homeowners to sell at a loss

In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave. Read More Here

(BuffaloNews) – Food-stamp recipients up to record 39 million

Almost 39 million Americans received food stamps in December, the most ever, as the jobless rate hovered near a 26- year high, the government said. Read More Here

(Freep) – Owners walk from homes, values erode

With more than 500,000 households in Michigan owing more on their mortgages than the homes are worth, thousands of Michigan residents are choosing to abandon their homes and walk away, even if they can afford to continue making payments. Read More Here

(Blog) _ Are Traders Demanding US Credit Default Swaps Payable in Gold?

If another author had said this I might not pay it so much attention. Lately some have been given over to a tabloid approach to overstatement and sensational headlines to attract attention. This is a strong temptation as the blogosphere expands, similar to the development and evolution of newspapers as a popular medium in Victorian London for example. Read More Here

(WorldTribune) – Organized crime: The ‘looting’ of $11 trillion from the U.S. economy

The following is based on a report by Cliff Kincaid for Accuracy in Media. Read More Here

(MSNBC) – Public pension funds are ‘going to Vegas’

States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers’ retirement. Read More Here

(ABC) – A Complicated Enemy: Obama Seeks to Vilify Health Insurers, Give Them $336 Billion Check

ABC’s Z. Byron Wolf reports: President Obama and Democrats launched a campaign to vilify insurance companies in the final stretch of their health reform effort. Read More Here

(Telegraph) – The end of the road for Barack Obama?

Barack Obama seems unable to face up to America’s problems, writes Simon Heffer in New York. Read More Here

Greek police stormed a government printing

In Athens, Greek Ministry of Internal Affairs officers stormed the state printing office. It is reported by TV channel “Russia 24”.

Greek police want to prevent the publication of government paper with the text of the law of the new stringent economy measures of the federal budget. According to the law of the country, passed a law can come into force only after publication in the official newspaper of the Government of Greece. Read More Here

(OpEdNews) – First Iceland, then the World

Who cleans up the mess when ignorant, greedy bankers rack up massive debt then go broke? The people of Iceland made a strong statement Saturday. The sins of big bankers and government regulators shouldn’t fall on the citizens. By a 93% to 2% margin, they voted down a proposal requiring them to cover bad debt incurred by one of the nation’s oldest and largest banks. Covering the debt would have cost Iceland’s 317,000 citizens around $17,000 each. Read More Here

(DailyTelegraph) – Fuel bills will pay for eco-upgrades

Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said seven million homes will have insulation or renewable energy devices like solar panels fitted by 2020. Read More Here

(TulsaWorld) – No bottom yet – Big revenue source down 12th straight month

Tulsa’s sales-tax revenue this month dropped 11.6 percent or about $2 million from March 2009, capping off 12 straight months of negative numbers. Read More Here

(Reuters) – China at the wheel of the Soros and Goldman Gold Hedging Vessel – Read More Here

(CNN) – Chevron to cut 2,000 jobs – Read More Here

(Tennessean) – Ford finance arm to cut 200 jobs in Franklin – Read More Here

(MercuryNews) – Cash-strapped LA County courts to begin layoffs – Read More Here

(KCTV5) – Shawnee Mission Schools Cutting $10 Million, 128 Jobs – Read More Here

(CNN) – 43% have less than $10k for retirement

The percentage of American workers with virtually no retirement savings grew for the third straight year, according to a survey released Tuesday. Read More Here

(TaxProf) – CBPP: 33 States Have Raised Taxes by $32 Billion/Year – Read More Here

(BaltimoreSun) – Counties face more cutting as state income tax payments fall – Read More Here

(BusinessInsider) – Flashback – Video: Simon Johnson Decries Influence Of Wall Street Oligarchs, US A Banana Republic – Read More Here

Video: How Goldman Sachs runs the government!

When it comes to Goldman Sachs there is no free Market.  This video is a visualization of Matt Taibbi‘s “The Great American Bubble Machine”  – It has been cut down slightly to fit the 10 minute time constraints.

The 2009 Financial Report Of The U.S. Government Is Out – America’s Economic Goose Is Cooked

(ComingCollapseBlog) – The 2009 Financial Report Of The U.S. Government has finally been released, and the news is not good.  It basically confirms much of what we already know – that the United States government is a complete financial mess.  The U.S. government budget deficit for 2009 was a record-setting 1.417 trillion dollars.  The total liabilities of the U.S. government rose from 12.178 trillion dollars at the end of 2008 to 14.123 trillion dollars by the end of 2009. Read More Here

“It is Not Because Things are Difficult that We Do Not Dare; It Is Because We Do Not Dare that They are Difficult.”

(WashingtonsBlog) – So many people seem to have given up any hope of taking back our power. So I am re-posting two essays I wrote a couple of years ago to help re-light the fire …

Video: REALITY REPORT #34 – FOX the Gateway Drug, Greater Depression, Mouse-Pig Hybrids, Inside CPAC

In this edition of the Reality Report Gary lets off some steam with a brief history of how Fox has manipulated the Ron Paul Revolution and covers a story on Greenspan’s recent admissions about the economic crisis and reports on the recent Grecian National Strike.

Video: Ron Paul – Another Crisis is Coming!

(Fox) – Ron Paul appeared on Fox Business today to discuss the economy and the coming currency crisis.

Video: Americans + Bailout = REVOLUTION

Video: Ron Paul on Cafferty File – The U.S. Government is Broke

Economy

(Reuters) – Sweden unexpectedly slides back into recession

Sweden’s economy unexpectedly slid back into recession in the fourth quarter, figures showed, sending the crown lower and raising questions about how soon interest rates will rise. Read More Here

(BobChapman) – Bonuses for Wall Street And Unemployment Elsewhere Continue To Grow

People should not underestimate the rational of those in high places because their agenda may be totally different then what they say it is. That includes the predicament of Dubai and Greece and a host of other nations that include the US and UK. The credit crisis, borne of the subprime crisis just didn’t happen; it was planned that way. Read More Here

(WashingtonTimes) – American reliance on government at all-time high

The so-called “Great Recession” has left Americans depending on the government dole like never before. Read More Here

(CumberlandAdvisors) – Commercial Real Estate: More Trouble Ahead

“Between 2010 and 2014, about $1.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans will reach the end of their terms. Nearly half are at present “underwater” – that is, the borrower owes more than the underlying property is currently worth. Read More Here

(OrlandoSentinel) – George Soros not satisfied with Barack Obama, claims he saved country from recession

CNN’s Fareed Zakaria introduced George Soros as “the billionaire investor, financier, speculator, philanthropist and thinker.” Read More Here

(LondonTimes) – Green fuels cause more harm than fossil fuels, according to report

Using fossil fuel in vehicles is better for the environment than so-called green fuels made from crops, according to a government study seen by The Times. Read More Here

(BusinessInsider) – Is March 9 The Day Greece Gets Its Bailout From Tim Geithner?

We’ve joked that if all else fails, then surely Tim Geithner will come to the rescue of Greece.

At least we thought we were joking. Read More Here

(Reuters) – UPDATE 1-Winter storms to distort US jobless figures-Summers

White House economic adviser Larry Summers said on Monday winter blizzards were likely to distort U.S. February jobless figures, which are due to be released on Friday. Read More Here

(Telegraph) – Don’t go wobbly on us now, Ben Bernanke

Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois is near the point of fiscal disintegration. “The state is in utter crisis,” said Representative Suzie Bassi. “We are next to bankruptcy. We have a $13bn hole in a $28bn budget.” Read More Here

(GlobalEconomicAnalysis) – California Delays Payments, Ponders IOUs Again, Demands 80% of Income Tax Paid Before It’s Even Earned

Tactics in California to shore up its municipal bond rating are quite humorous. Supposedly, by delaying payments to schools, California can boost confidence in its bonds. Read More Here

(Reuters) – Euro in most difficult phase since launch – Merkel

Europe’s single currency project is facing its toughest period since its launch over a decade ago and it is essential that Greece tackle the roots of its troubles to restore confidence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Read More Here

(TheAtlantic) – How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America

The Great Recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably just beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. Read More Here

Denninger: Let’s Cut the Crap — We Are in a Depression Right Now

(SHTFPlan) – So let’s cut the crap – we are in a Depression right now.  We are pretending we are not, just like you can pretend you didn’t really lose your job so long as your credit card does not reach its limit.  We have been in that depression for about 18 months and there is no evidence that we will exit it, as we have yet to find a way to pull back the deficit spending without an instantaneous collapse in the economy.

The Bank of the Fed is Closed… Forever – Robert Singer

(Infowars) – In an effort to explain our escalating financial crisis, an American Nightmare (an Environmental Dream), the pundits are focusing their angst on the 44th POTUS, who might very well go down as the single most inept president in all of American history. (How to Squander the Presidency in One Year, David Michael Green)

Economy

(FinancialTimes) – US senator warns of ‘financial meltdown’ risk

The US is heading for a debt-driven “financial meltdown” within five to seven years, according to Judd Gregg, the outgoing Republican senator for New Hampshire. Read More Here

(SteveWatson) – Prominent Investor: Pound Could Collapse Within Weeks

Billionaire financier Jim Rogers has predicted that the British Pound could completely collapse within weeks, sending shockwaves throughout the global economy and heralding the beginning of a downturn that would make the recent economic crisis look tame in comparison. Read More Here

(WSJ) – The Euro’s Next Battleground: Spain

Greece set off the crisis rattling the euro zone. Spain could determine whether the 16-nation currency stands or falls. Read More Here

(DailyReckoning) – A Real Economic Phenomenon

The depression is alive and well, thank you. Read More Here

(CNN) – The secret lives of America’s debtors

Americans are loaded up with credit card debt. What’s worse is that some husbands, wives and even children hide those money woes from their families. The results are often devastating. Read More Here

(DetroitNews) – Detroit Mayor Bing emphasizes need to shrink city

Mayor says it’s not ‘an easy conversation,’ but people, services must be focused to save city Read More Here

(WashingtonTimes) – Bernanke delivers blunt warning on U.S. debt

Stage is set in U.S. for a Greek tragedy Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Junk Debt ‘Wall’ to Trigger U.S. Defaults, Bank of America Says

A “wall” of junk debt maturing in the next four years will increase the risk of corporate defaults in the U.S., according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Read More Here

(HuffingtonPost) – Freddie Mac 4Q Results: Freddie Mac Posts $7.8 Billion Loss

Freddie Mac lost almost $26 billion last year, ominous news for taxpayers who are footing the bill to rescue the mortgage finance company and its sibling Fannie Mae. Read More Here

(DigitalJournal) – Jim Rogers: British Pound could collapse within weeks

Jim Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Holdings, has once again made a bold prediction and that is the British Pound could quite possibly collapse within the coming weeks. Read More Here

(DailyMail) – Man who broke the Bank of England George Soros ‘at centre of hedge funds betting against crisis-hit euro’

The man who broke the Bank of England in 1992 is said to be at the centre of a plot to cash in on the demise of the euro. Read More Here

(HuffingtonPost) – Jim Bunning Repeatedly Blocks Unemployment Benefits Extension, Tells Dem ‘Tough Shit’

Jim Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky, is single-handedly blocking Senate action needed to prevent an estimated 1.2 million American workers from prematurely losing their unemployment benefits next month. Read More Here

(SeekingAlpha) – Recent Stats Indicate U.S. Economic Recovery Was an Illusion

A number of economic reports in the last few days indicate that the U.S. economy has not only not failed to recover from the recession, but continues to fall deeper into a hole. Read More Here

(Truthout) – Documents Reveal Anthem Blue Cross Manipulated Data to Justify Massive Rate Hike

Internal documents show one of the country’s largest for-profit health insurers, in an effort to maintain profits, manipulated data to justify a rate increase on individual premiums in California this year by as much as 39 percent. Read More Here

(ConnexionFrance) – Seniors march in pensions protest

THOUSANDS of retired people have taken to the streets to call for changes to the way the state pension is calculated. Read More Here

(Cryptogon) – Banks Bet Greece Defaults on Debt They Helped Hide

But first, a quick walk down memory lane: Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won: Read More Here

Greenspan: Worst Financial Crisis EVER, INCLUDING the Great Depression

(WashingtonsBlog) – Greenspan just said that the current credit crunch is “by far the greatest financial crisis, globally, ever” — including the 1930s Great Depression.

Bloomberg notes:

Greenspan said that while the economy was in worse shape in the Great Depression, the recent financial crisis was potentially more harmful than that in the 1930s because “never had short-term credit literally withdrawn.”

Economy

(Reuters) – Nearly 20% of US Workers Underemployed in Jan

Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce lacked adequate employment in January and struggled to make ends meet with reduced resources and bleak job prospects, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. Read More Here

(Reuters) – Regulators report 27 percent jump in problem banks

The number of “problem” U.S. banks jumped 27 percent during the fourth quarter of 2009 to 702, the highest level since 1993 and a sign the industry’s recovery is still shaky, regulators reported on Tuesday. Read More Here

(Reuters) – US Jan mass layoffs edge up on weak manufacturing

The number of mass layoffs by U.S. employers edged up in January as manufacturers stepped up job cuts, data showed on Tuesday, but probably not enough to alter views that the economy is on the brink of creating jobs. Read More Here

(AP) – Report: States’ tax collections fall again

States again saw sharp declines in tax collections in the last quarter of 2009 — a record fifth straight quarterly drop, according to a new report that predicts more looming spending cuts or tax increases. Read More Here

(TheComingDepression) – Mainstreet in the gutter while wallstreet post 17% bonuses in 2009

Bonuses on Wall Street rose 17 percent last year to $20.3 billion even as the industry faced a public backlash over pay practices. Read More Here

(Telegraph) – Concerns grow over China’s sale of US bonds

Evidence is mounting that Chinese sales of US Treasury bonds over recent months are intended as a warning shot to Washington over escalating political disputes rather than being part of a routine portfolio shift as thought at first. Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Secret AIG Document Shows Goldman Sachs Minted Most Toxic CDOs

When a congressional panel convened a hearing on the government rescue of American International Group Inc. in January, the public scolding of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner got the most attention. Read More Here

(Aljazeera) – Spain engulfed by pension protests

Spain’s debt-laden Socialist government has witnessed the first mass protests by unions in its six years in power as anger over a plan to raise the retirement age spilled onto the streets. Read More Here

(247WallSt) – Underwater Mortgages Hit 11.3 Million

There is a reason that 702 American banks, nearly one in ten, were on the FDIC “problem list” as of the end of 2009. A large number of small and mid-sized banks are burdened with home and commercial mortgages that are in default and may even go into foreclosure. Read More Here

(VancouverSun) – U.S. economy is a shambles, with no improvement in sight

President Obama’s claim that a second depression isn’t possible doesn’t square with the relevant numbers Read More Here

(ZeroHedge) – FDIC Hits Record “Default” Level As Deposit Insurance Fund Plunges By $12.7 Billion To NEGATIVE 20.9 Billion

The U.S. banking industry continued to struggle in the fourth quarter, as the number of banks on the brink of failure continued to rise and the government’s fund to protect deposits fell sharply into the red. Read More Here

(EconomicPolicyJournal) – Where Did the Links Go That Point to the Government Forcing Your 401k and IRA Money into Treasury Securities?

Forget about hedging inside your 401k and IRA against inflation. Sooner than you think, you will not be allowed to own gold ETF’s, gold mining stocks or gold related mutual funds in your 401k or IRA. Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Greek Police, Protesters Clash in Nationwide Strike (Update2)

Greek police fired tear-gas and clashed with demonstrators in central Athens after a march organized by unions to oppose Prime Minister George Papandreou’s drive to cut the European Union’s biggest budget deficit. Read More Here

(ChimpPlanet) – Trillions for War And None For The American People

In 2001, George W. Bush attempted to destroy Social Security by turning the people’s money over to Wall Street. Then, 9/11 happened and Social Security was saved for the time being. Read More Here

(WashingtonsBlog) – Foundation for the Study of Cycles: Gold to $2,000 By Late 2011, While Dollar and Stocks will Sink

I’m agnostic about different cycle systems, but – for what it’s worth – the Foundation for the Study of Cycles is predicting: Read More Here

(ZeroHedge) – The $100 Trillion Problem: Can America Learn From Chile Before It’s Too Late?

Jose Pinera provides an Entitlement State 101 lecture, in which Chile’s former Labor and Social Security Minister demystifies the U.S.’s $100 trillion unfunded benefits problem. Since Pinera is the man who many years ago privatized Chile’s entitlement system, America, and the entire Western system, which for the past century has been relying on unfunded liabilities to provide benefits to the population in the hopes that funding day will never come, may do well to listen to what he has to say. Read More Here

MSM: Pretending We Are Not in a Depression

(MarketTicker) – I’m going to write today about a very somber subject. It will be, as it usually is here in one form or another, about math.

First, some background. If you believe that we have “escaped” from the mess that gripped this nation in 2008 and 2009, or that said mess “suddenly appeared” and “nobody saw it coming”, stop reading now and have your Thorazine dosage checked. It’s way off.

Economy

(MoneyNMarkets) – RED ALERT: Next debt crisis near!

One year and five months ago — armed with a 92-page white paper and 59,000 petitions — we warned Congress about the grave danger of government bailouts Read More Here

(GlobalResearch) – White House Projects Long-Term Mass Unemployment

The White House Council of Economic Advisers released its Economic Report to the President on Thursday, outlining the administration’s economic projections and policies. The report shows that the White House is expecting mass unemployment to continue for years, with only minor decreases from the current rate of nearly 10 percent through 2012. Read More Here

Exclusive: Sweetheart Mortgage Deals for Billionaires that will Make Your Blood Boil

It all started with a phone call I received in early May/2009. The caller sounded troubled, as so many are these days. He told me he had spent several days researching his options. Read More Here

(KoreaTimes) – Fed Plans to Wind Down $2.2 Tril. Stake

The Federal Reserve Board faces a delicate task. Having pumped $2.2 trillion into the economy to fight the recession, it must start pulling that money back. It would have to sop up over half of that liquidity to get back to pre-recession levels. Read More Here

(NYTimes) – The Making of a Euromess

Lately, financial news has been dominated by reports from Greece and other nations on the European periphery. And rightly so. Read More Here

Five Million Workers to Exhaust Unemployment Benefits by June

Back in December, the qualification dates for existing tiers of unemployment benefits were extended for an additional two months. Time is up at the end of February. Read More Here

Video: (Frontline) – Tax me if you can – The Great American Tax Dodge – View Video Here

(TheAtlantic) – Unemployed? Your Banking May Have Just Become More Expensive

When you lose your job, the last thing you need is for your expenses to increase. Yet, at some banks, that’s exactly what can happen with your checking account. A friend of mine recently learned this lesson the hard way with Bank of America. I thought her experience might be worth sharing. Read More Here

Euroland, the Horror Movie

An Olympian game of musical chairs in global finance heads for a climax in the days ahead as so many eyes are diverted to alternate festivities in British Columbia, where grown men compete for gold by riding things that look like cafeteria trays down icy mountainsides — is this the moment that comes every four years when you wonder why you didn’t get your kid a luge for Christmas? Read More Here

(BBC) – Cut working week to 21 hours, urges think tank

The working week should be cut to 21 hours to help boost the economy and improve quality of life, a left-wing think tank has said. Read More Here

How U.S. states cook their books

(TheComingDepression) – Here’s a trick used by bankers, states trying to add debt without getting voter approval and companies like Enron or Worldcom — and we know how that worked out (they both went bankrupt and their executives charged with fraud). This from the New York State Comptroller (hat tip to our of our viewers): Read More Here