by John Galt

December 31, 2009

R.I.P.

She was a good furkid and we miss her greatly….

By John Galt

December 31, 2009

No comments are necessary and no, I couldn’t post every picture possible. Enjoy or cry it was ten years for the history books…..

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Part 2 will focus on the shift geopolitically and Part 3 on the Economic disaster……

By John Galt

December 31, 2009

Don’t Worry, be Happy!

Of course that’s the view of the Bubblemedia and Bubbleconomists spouting off this morning with today’s unemployment number because they just love to stay focused on the Seasonally Adjusted numbers and know deep down in their hearts that there is just no possible way that the United States Government would ever use statistical HooDoo-Voodoo to manipulate economic data for political purposes, right?

Nah, no way that would happen and those are not bananas on your screen (had to bring the boys back one more time this year, sorry).

Thus with only 4 days last week for people to file claims the Non-Seasonally adjusted numbers should be pretty darned good. And realistically it was more like 3 days for new claims to be filed as many states cut hours or closed offices on Thursday for Christmas Eve and lots of people were already in transit to or relaxing with family. Thus if they were laid off they probably said “Screw it, I’ll file the Monday after Christmas” or words to that effect. So let us take a look at the numbers of the surging Obamaconomy for December 31, 2009, the final report of this year:

Okie-dokey. That’s not good. In fact that’s pretty damned bad. In fact you shouldn’t worry, probably shouldn’t be happy and should panic. Because if those are the claims levels on a holiday week and in the case of Extended Benefits and EUC on the week before Christmas, what in the world are we going to face in January when the most common phrase we will see in the business world, especially retail, will probably be “Tango Uniform” if you catch my drift.

Wow. I’m glad this recovery is going so well. Perhaps Obama can hire them all in January to get those numbers lower. Or maybe those Birth/Death companies that do not exist had best get their act together and create oh, 20,000,000 new jobs or so in the next 90 days.

Good luck selling this line of bullcrap to the sheeple. Too many of them are in these unemployment claims lines looking for work and help to buy it any longer.

And they are getting pissed off.

Happy ElectionYear to come New Years!

Here’s an interesting tidbit which despite the nation involved, gives one some idea of what happens when third world economies begin to collapse and the dictators have no clue how to manage or run an economy in any way, shape or form:

North Korea bans use of foreign currency as communist government tightens grip on economy

U.S. in fiscal peril with $12.1 trillion debt

December 31, 2009
By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — After $787 billion in stimulus spending and $700 billion in bank bailouts, 2010 is fast shaping up to be the year of the federal budget diet.

Bipartisan support is growing in Congress for action to stabilize the nation’s bulging debt, which is now $12.1 trillion. Influential experts from former Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan to former comptroller general David Walker have joined the cause.

(Click on the link above to continue reading)

My Take: The Keynesian fools know they have to keep spending so if anyone thinks the socialist bent dominating D.C. politics is about to abate, you’re smoking something in an aluminum foil pipe. The deficit will expand and not just due to their lack of fiscal restraint but because the debt servicing costs on the existing spending extravaganza and outstanding debt is about to go up in price dramatically as foreigners demand more to buy the crap paper we are issuing. And 2010 is a year where we will issue more Treasury debt than ever in United States history.

Better go read this one gang. Wow! It may not go anywhere but everyone is pressuring Ben and the Boys now…..JG

GATA sues Fed to disclose gold market intervention records

Submitted by cpowell on Wed, 2009-12-30 18:33. Section: Daily Dispatches

2p ET Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

GATA today brought suit against the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, seeking a court order for disclosure of the central bank’s records of its surreptitious market intervention to suppress the monetary metal’s price.

(Continued at GATA Link above)

Wow, all these great posts tonight and I haven’t even finished my thoughts. Check this one out from The Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Outstanding.-JG

Why State “Economic Central Planning” Fails

Reams of empirical evidence indicate that when it comes to increasing the prosperity and opportunities of the people in a state, nation or society, government “economic development” programs fall far short of what their proponents advertise. Here are three of the reasons this is true.

Far and away the most important reason is what economists call “the Knowledge Problem.” Regardless of their good intentions, and no matter how brilliant they are as individuals, government central planners simply cannot possess all the knowledge that’s necessary to sort winners from losers in the marketplace. At least not in a way that consistently produces a result superior than simply leaving everyone alone.

The magnitude of the problem is illustrated by annual “job churn” figures. Every year in Michigan some 400,000 jobs disappear – around 10 percent of the entire state payroll work force. In a good year slightly more than 400,000 new jobs are created. In recent years, somewhat less than this were created. The same is true in every other state in America’s dynamic economy.

(Continued at original link above)

Hat tip to Zero Hedge for finding this gem:

December 31, 2009, Fairfield Weekly:

We’re Screwed: ShadowStats.com founder John Williams

explains the risk of hyperinflation

by John Galt

December 30, 2009

If you really want a better picture than I would paint about the housing numbers from S&P via Case/Shiller I would strongly advise you go to Zero Hedge and read this article by Reggie Middleton:

If Anybody Bothered to Take a Close Look at the Latest Housing

Numbers…

Well done and kudos to ZH and Reggie!

FYI, here’s a blurb from The Mortgage News mobile flash I got on my phone yesterday and worth reading…..

Deterioration Deepens at Fannie

Tuesday, December 29, 2009
12:49 PM Texas Time

$43.1 billion in November secondary purchases

November new business acquisitions fell by more than a quarter from the prior month at Fannie Mae, according to monthly operation data.

The company’s book of business declined by $186 billion from October.

Record residential delinquency increased another 26 basis points between September and October.

By John Galt

December 30, 2009

NY investment firm gaga for green acres

Optima Fund Management aims to profit from the rise in commodities prices with its intention of purchasing 10,000 acres of agricultural land in Arizona and California.

Now read that headline from the December 29th edition of Crain’s NY Business and think for a minute. Then get excited.

Why get excited? The introduction of hedge funds into the agriculture arene within the United States domestic market is a very dangerous break from the past. Instead of the proverbial “Family Farm” model  performing its historic function of growing crops, going to market and repeating the cycle, now hedge funds will have the ability to determine what is grown and which markets those products are sold to. Thus if a corn farmer in Kentucky agrees to sell his land to XYZ Hedge Fund, then they determine that soybeans will be the most profitable path and those crops are to be sold on the Chinese or Indian markets, that’s no longer product available for domestic consumption. In the end we could have to bid an even higher price due to our deteriorating dollar against foreign competition to insure a steady supply of food, thus losing our advantages of historically cheap domestic agricultural supply. It also introduces the risk of land mismanagement although the returns should be sufficient if the funds follow the advice of the farmer/sharecropper occupying the land.

If you extend this out, it is not a big deal; or is it? China and India already have private corporations engaged in leasing farms throughout Asia to grow and export food to their domestic markets. It is perfectly logical for them to do the same within the United States as a follow up to their other international ventures. The problem people will have is that as domestic price pressures intensify in 2010 and beyond, especially for necessities like food, then the specter or protectionism will rear its ugly head and that will be the final nail in our economic coffin. This is not a warning that bad things could happen from this, but in my opinion when non-farming interests begin to view the American farmer, especially non-corporatized entities, as profit centers the long term future for the independent American family farm looks bleaker by the minute.