Memorial Day Disaster
by
Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.
05-25-09
This would normally be my time for a quiet Memorial Day at home.
But even as we seek calm, investors overseas are doing precisely the opposite.
They’re dumping U.S. assets.
They’re driving those assets down in price.
And they’re threatening to sink our entire economy into a THIRD phase of this crisis.
Remember: The first phase was the debt disaster. The second phase was the collapse in the economy. Now, in the third phase, Treasury bonds and the U.S. dollar are getting hit hard, largely due to foreign selling.
The latest drama began this past Thursday …
The supply of U.S. Treasury bonds dumped on the market was so overwhelming, even the Federal Reserve, with all its massive efforts to buy up bonds, could not stop the avalanche.
Treasury bond prices sinking fast DESPITE Fed's big purchases!
By the time most traders left for the weekend Friday afternoon, ALL of the gains in bond prices the Fed had been able to engineer in recent weeks were wiped out — vanquished by market forces beyond the Fed’s control.
Why The U.S. Government Is the Next Victim of the Market’s Revenge!
Look. In each successive phase of this debt crisis, investors have consistently attacked and destroyed the market value of institutions that owned large amounts of toxic assets — Countrywide Financial, Fannie Mae, Citigroup, Bank of America and many others.
The shares of these companies were pummeled; their ability to raise new capital, virtually extinguished.
Now it’s the U.S. government that’s the next victim of the market’s revenge.
Why?
Because the government never was — and never will be — immune to market selling. Like private corporations, it borrows. Like any borrower, it has creditors. And like all creditors, it’s ultimately up to THEM — not up to the borrower — to decide what to do with their money.
But unlike most borrowers, the U.S. government has arrogantly thumbed its nose at its creditors. Without remorse.
“We can do anything we damn please,” was the message from Uncle Sam.
“We can spend our money wantonly. We can bail out our giant corporations to our heart’s content. We can even debase our currency.
“But YOU, our creditors, are stuck with us. No matter what we do, you’ve got to keep loaning us more money, endlessly.”
Our creditors swallowed hard and tolerated this message for a while. But not now.
Now they’re fed up. They can’t take it anymore.
Now, explicitly or implicitly, the U.S. government has assumed the liability for TRILLIONS of dollars of bad mortgages, sour commercial paper, and sick consumer credit.
Now, directly or indirectly, the U.S. government has placed its own credit and credibility in grave jeopardy.
And now, our creditors are raving mad, dumping U.S. bonds and the U.S. dollar.
The Immediate Consequences. . .U.S. dollar plunges to new 6-month lows!
* Treasury bond prices aren’t the only U.S. assets plunging. The U.S. dollar is also plunging against major world currencies. It has just fallen below 6-month lows. It’s almost certainly going to fall further.
* Gold has surged dramatically, coming within striking distance of the $1,000 level — and beyond.
* Meanwhile, new, unexpected supplies of bonds are being tossed on the market on TOP of the massive supplies the Treasury must issue to finance its mammoth $1.84 trillion budget deficit estimated by the Obama administration for fiscal 2009.
* Long-term interest rates are getting ready to soar far further. And as rates rise, consumers and businesses will have to pay through the nose to borrow. Or they won’t be able to borrow at any price.
* You can expect a sweeping, devastating impact on the economy, especially in the real estate market. Even with LOWER mortgage rates, commercial real estate is already collapsing. With HIGHER mortgage rates, any hope for stabilization will be dashed.
* Thousands of insurance companies and banks will suffer a new round of losses that could make the subprime mess seem small by comparison.
* The Dow will plunge to our target of 5,000; the S&P, to 500.
A Unique Convergence of Events
If all of these events can tell you anything, it’s that you now have the kind of opportunity that generations of investors could only dream about.
You have the ability to read the handwriting on the wall; to know in advance what is most likely to happen next.
Treasuries bond prices are already sinking. Interest rates are rising. The dollar is falling. Unemployment is surging. Commercial real estate is collapsing. General Motors is going bankrupt.
This is the recipe for disaster I’ve been warning you about.
But it’s also a prescription for some of the greatest profits of all time, using contrarian investments designed to profit from the decline.
Good luck and God bless!
Martin
Original Article
But even as we seek calm, investors overseas are doing precisely the opposite.
They’re dumping U.S. assets.
They’re driving those assets down in price.
And they’re threatening to sink our entire economy into a THIRD phase of this crisis.
Remember: The first phase was the debt disaster. The second phase was the collapse in the economy. Now, in the third phase, Treasury bonds and the U.S. dollar are getting hit hard, largely due to foreign selling.
The latest drama began this past Thursday …
The supply of U.S. Treasury bonds dumped on the market was so overwhelming, even the Federal Reserve, with all its massive efforts to buy up bonds, could not stop the avalanche.
Treasury bond prices sinking fast DESPITE Fed's big purchases!
By the time most traders left for the weekend Friday afternoon, ALL of the gains in bond prices the Fed had been able to engineer in recent weeks were wiped out — vanquished by market forces beyond the Fed’s control.
Why The U.S. Government Is the Next Victim of the Market’s Revenge!
Look. In each successive phase of this debt crisis, investors have consistently attacked and destroyed the market value of institutions that owned large amounts of toxic assets — Countrywide Financial, Fannie Mae, Citigroup, Bank of America and many others.
The shares of these companies were pummeled; their ability to raise new capital, virtually extinguished.
Now it’s the U.S. government that’s the next victim of the market’s revenge.
Why?
Because the government never was — and never will be — immune to market selling. Like private corporations, it borrows. Like any borrower, it has creditors. And like all creditors, it’s ultimately up to THEM — not up to the borrower — to decide what to do with their money.
But unlike most borrowers, the U.S. government has arrogantly thumbed its nose at its creditors. Without remorse.
“We can do anything we damn please,” was the message from Uncle Sam.
“We can spend our money wantonly. We can bail out our giant corporations to our heart’s content. We can even debase our currency.
“But YOU, our creditors, are stuck with us. No matter what we do, you’ve got to keep loaning us more money, endlessly.”
Our creditors swallowed hard and tolerated this message for a while. But not now.
Now they’re fed up. They can’t take it anymore.
Now, explicitly or implicitly, the U.S. government has assumed the liability for TRILLIONS of dollars of bad mortgages, sour commercial paper, and sick consumer credit.
Now, directly or indirectly, the U.S. government has placed its own credit and credibility in grave jeopardy.
And now, our creditors are raving mad, dumping U.S. bonds and the U.S. dollar.
The Immediate Consequences. . .U.S. dollar plunges to new 6-month lows!
* Treasury bond prices aren’t the only U.S. assets plunging. The U.S. dollar is also plunging against major world currencies. It has just fallen below 6-month lows. It’s almost certainly going to fall further.
* Gold has surged dramatically, coming within striking distance of the $1,000 level — and beyond.
* Meanwhile, new, unexpected supplies of bonds are being tossed on the market on TOP of the massive supplies the Treasury must issue to finance its mammoth $1.84 trillion budget deficit estimated by the Obama administration for fiscal 2009.
* Long-term interest rates are getting ready to soar far further. And as rates rise, consumers and businesses will have to pay through the nose to borrow. Or they won’t be able to borrow at any price.
* You can expect a sweeping, devastating impact on the economy, especially in the real estate market. Even with LOWER mortgage rates, commercial real estate is already collapsing. With HIGHER mortgage rates, any hope for stabilization will be dashed.
* Thousands of insurance companies and banks will suffer a new round of losses that could make the subprime mess seem small by comparison.
* The Dow will plunge to our target of 5,000; the S&P, to 500.
A Unique Convergence of Events
If all of these events can tell you anything, it’s that you now have the kind of opportunity that generations of investors could only dream about.
You have the ability to read the handwriting on the wall; to know in advance what is most likely to happen next.
Treasuries bond prices are already sinking. Interest rates are rising. The dollar is falling. Unemployment is surging. Commercial real estate is collapsing. General Motors is going bankrupt.
This is the recipe for disaster I’ve been warning you about.
But it’s also a prescription for some of the greatest profits of all time, using contrarian investments designed to profit from the decline.
Good luck and God bless!
Martin
Original Article
Hi There, I'm Rick Miller from Comprehensive Photography. I'm very pleased to see almost
50,000 visits since my site was started on
January 29th 2009 (about 215 per day).
PLEASE CHECK OUT SOME GREAT PHOTOS, ARTISTIC NUDES, via link NUDE ART — MY BLOG AND SOME VERY NICE MOVIES!
While you visit and navigate through my site, next to the home tab, there is now a BUY menu item, that will link you to my gallery of pictures for sale — all High Resolution and top quality. So clicking on 'BUY' simply directs you to a new page to view and shop at your leisure; with the understanding that you are not committing yourself to a purchase. I've put some nice music on this new page as well, you can manage this in the upper right hand quadrant if you would rather have silence.
If you have been to Amazon.Com, or any other online store, the procedure for purchasing my work is equally as easy thanks to PayPal.
Some may remember posing for an "impromptu" photo opportunity during every family gathering. You stood there frozen, with cemented smiles as you wondered if Aunt Thelma would ever take the photograph. Cheese...... then Bam! You were blinded by the bright flash bulb. Auntie had the right idea. She wanted to memorialize every event. It didn't matter if the developed film never made it out of the card board envelopes. What was important is that she enjoyed taking photos.
Amateur photographers everywhere are still snapping pictures as a favorite pastime. Photography is a good means to chronicle someone's life. A picture tells a thousand words, so what an excellent way to document special moments, highlights and milestones.
Over time, our memory isn't as iron-clad as it once was. With photographs you can still recall the special moment even when the memory fades. Photography is good for your well being. Reflect on all the studies that talk about how beneficial laughter is to your health. Now consider your emotions when you see photos of a new baby, or a wedding, or any of the other adorable photos that are found in email in-boxes on a daily basis. They make you happy! Photos elicit positive emotions. Think about the people who were in south Texas during the winter of 2004. I'm sure they were happy to be down there when they had snow for the first time in over 100 years. There were people outside taking pictures at midnight; what an opportunity!
Have you ever seen deer on the side of the road? Not too many bucks will stop long enough to be photographed. If you're fortunate enough to see sitting deer, you better hope to have a camera with you; as they likely won't be sitting there waiting for you the next time you drive by.
While some people still prefer film cameras, digital cameras now come in any size or budget. For the novice photographer who merely enjoys taking photographs as a way to relax or capture those one of a kind moments, suitable digital cameras are available for under $100. Some people are still using 1.3 mega pixel digital cameras. By today's standard, that is considered a dinosaur. However it would still work if the photographer just wanted to take an occasional photo to list items for sale on eBay. Today many amateur photographers are using digital cameras with 4-6 mega pixels. As a rule of thumb, the higher the mega pixel, the higher the price tag. Notwithstanding, higher mega pixel cameras also come with more bells and whistles and have a higher resolution. Most all digital cameras also have a timer and ability to make very small movie clips. Many also have zoom lens features.
With digital photography it is fun to play around with new technology. Create a screen saver of your best photo with Image Box from CoolUtils. If you came back from Hawaii and have lots of great photos that you want not to just show to your friends but amaze them - make an astonishing slideshow. Imagine all pictures will be shown one by one with different effects, accompanied by music and your comments. With ImageBox every photo stops being a snapshot but becomes a living part of the presentation. Your friends will be amazed! Don't think about how difficult it is – you will create your first slideshow in 6 minutes. There are software programs that allow you to make digital images look better than real life by removing unwanted blemishes, moles, or wrinkles. Experiment with the software to add or remove people or objects from the photo. New technology provides the ability to alter a photograph so that it looks like an oil painting, pencil sketch, negative, sepia, black and white, charcoal drawing and a plethora of other options.
While it is possible to make a living as a photographer, the majority of camera users simply take photos because they enjoy it. It's true that time will not stand still. The taunting school aged children had it right when they responded to stares, "Take a picture why don't you – it'll last longer!" Now you do the same - stop reading and go take a picture... it'll last longer! REGISTER
Thank all of you so much for helping me to do something I love and enjoy. Please REGISTER and tell me what you think of the site.
While you visit and navigate through my site, next to the home tab, there is now a BUY menu item, that will link you to my gallery of pictures for sale — all High Resolution and top quality. So clicking on 'BUY' simply directs you to a new page to view and shop at your leisure; with the understanding that you are not committing yourself to a purchase. I've put some nice music on this new page as well, you can manage this in the upper right hand quadrant if you would rather have silence.
If you have been to Amazon.Com, or any other online store, the procedure for purchasing my work is equally as easy thanks to PayPal.
A NICE THOUGHT
Photos
Why do we take them?
By Mary Banas
Jan 22nd 2007
Some may remember posing for an "impromptu" photo opportunity during every family gathering. You stood there frozen, with cemented smiles as you wondered if Aunt Thelma would ever take the photograph. Cheese...... then Bam! You were blinded by the bright flash bulb. Auntie had the right idea. She wanted to memorialize every event. It didn't matter if the developed film never made it out of the card board envelopes. What was important is that she enjoyed taking photos.
Amateur photographers everywhere are still snapping pictures as a favorite pastime. Photography is a good means to chronicle someone's life. A picture tells a thousand words, so what an excellent way to document special moments, highlights and milestones.
Over time, our memory isn't as iron-clad as it once was. With photographs you can still recall the special moment even when the memory fades. Photography is good for your well being. Reflect on all the studies that talk about how beneficial laughter is to your health. Now consider your emotions when you see photos of a new baby, or a wedding, or any of the other adorable photos that are found in email in-boxes on a daily basis. They make you happy! Photos elicit positive emotions. Think about the people who were in south Texas during the winter of 2004. I'm sure they were happy to be down there when they had snow for the first time in over 100 years. There were people outside taking pictures at midnight; what an opportunity!
Have you ever seen deer on the side of the road? Not too many bucks will stop long enough to be photographed. If you're fortunate enough to see sitting deer, you better hope to have a camera with you; as they likely won't be sitting there waiting for you the next time you drive by.
While some people still prefer film cameras, digital cameras now come in any size or budget. For the novice photographer who merely enjoys taking photographs as a way to relax or capture those one of a kind moments, suitable digital cameras are available for under $100. Some people are still using 1.3 mega pixel digital cameras. By today's standard, that is considered a dinosaur. However it would still work if the photographer just wanted to take an occasional photo to list items for sale on eBay. Today many amateur photographers are using digital cameras with 4-6 mega pixels. As a rule of thumb, the higher the mega pixel, the higher the price tag. Notwithstanding, higher mega pixel cameras also come with more bells and whistles and have a higher resolution. Most all digital cameras also have a timer and ability to make very small movie clips. Many also have zoom lens features.
With digital photography it is fun to play around with new technology. Create a screen saver of your best photo with Image Box from CoolUtils. If you came back from Hawaii and have lots of great photos that you want not to just show to your friends but amaze them - make an astonishing slideshow. Imagine all pictures will be shown one by one with different effects, accompanied by music and your comments. With ImageBox every photo stops being a snapshot but becomes a living part of the presentation. Your friends will be amazed! Don't think about how difficult it is – you will create your first slideshow in 6 minutes. There are software programs that allow you to make digital images look better than real life by removing unwanted blemishes, moles, or wrinkles. Experiment with the software to add or remove people or objects from the photo. New technology provides the ability to alter a photograph so that it looks like an oil painting, pencil sketch, negative, sepia, black and white, charcoal drawing and a plethora of other options.
While it is possible to make a living as a photographer, the majority of camera users simply take photos because they enjoy it. It's true that time will not stand still. The taunting school aged children had it right when they responded to stares, "Take a picture why don't you – it'll last longer!" Now you do the same - stop reading and go take a picture... it'll last longer! REGISTER
Thank all of you so much for helping me to do something I love and enjoy. Please REGISTER and tell me what you think of the site.
Sincerely
Rick Miller