Archive for March, 2013

Cyprus: A Test Case

Saturday, March 23rd, 2013

It appears that the European Union (EU) is using Cyprus as a test case.  Can they eliminate the sovereignty of the nation of Cyprus by strong-arming them to bail out the banks with the private money of the people?  I have long been opposed to the elimination of check writing and cash by replacing them with debit cards and/or credit cards.  A checkless society makes it easy for a few power hungry people to control the system.  Cyprus is a perfect example. Yes, checks must clear the bank but they are mini-contracts with signatures.  Cash needs no bank to clear.  Now, the Cypriot economy is at a virtual standstill because the heavy credit/debit card usage is concentrated among the large banks, not the small community banks. In the past, community banks could clear checks among themselves without going through the larger banks.  Centralized power makes it easier to control the financial system.

Notice that Cyprus is not the lead story on network news.  Why?  If Americans were to think this event through to its logical conclusion, they would begin taking money out of their banks now.  Not all of it, but certainly enough to survive a bank holiday or two.  They would look at alternative stores of value such as gold and silver where there is zero control when it is resting in your hand.

Food pantries would be stocked to handle an unexpected run on groceries.  The just-in-time distribution of American grocery stores has left the system vulnerable to the spread of fear over the population in the midst of a financial crisis.  Nobody wants to be at risk of hunger.

Gun control happens to be the hot topic in the midst of this financial crisis.  Do you think those in power have a hint of the potential explosiveness of a fragile banking system?  Gun fatalities are a much smaller percentage of the total than that of automobile accidents.  There is no suggested ban of cars however.

We are in the midst of a currency war with other countries.  Currency wars tend to precede major wars.  China, Russia, and Iran are on one side.  The U.S., E.U., and Arab countries are on the other side.  Newly elected Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing Friday morning for state visits to Russia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo.  His first stop, Russia.

Market risks are higher than ever before.  Looking back at the FED minutes, “Wrong Again Ben” was not worried about a recession while we were in one.  He is not worried about inflation while true inflation is running over 8%.  How long are we going to pay attention to the smoke and mirrors and live in denial?  It is of the utmost importance that we posture our families in a highly defensive mode now.  They Cyprus event is a clear warning signal of what those in power will do if given an opportunity.  They will throw the population under the bus in order to save themselves.  Do you think there is any difference in the mindset in other geographical locations?  Absolutely not!  I am not an alarmist but history tells us that a small event like Cyprus can trigger a much larger tsunami.  I would rather be prepared and wrong than the alternative.  “Gee whiz Wally”, I will just eat at home more to lower the pantry levels if I am wrong.  I will simply redeposit the excess cash once the danger passes.

The global events make it imperative that our spiritual man be strengthened each and every day.  As turmoil continues, our peaceful state will be a light to others.  Many will not be able to hear Our Heavenly Father and will look to those who do.  Our Heavenly Father’s Wisdom will guide us through the coming uncertainty and suffering, no matter how it develops.  The current banking system has left us seriously exposed to what happens across the water.  If you don’t pay attention, you will certainly experience regret.

More on Cyprus

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

The banking crisis in Cyprus is worsening.   The banks were supposed to re-open this past Tuesday after a 3-day weekend from a national holiday.   Now the authorities say they will open on Tuesday of next week. Who knows?

German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to be reelected and thus she was a part of this Black Swan event.  Germans are not keen on the idea of bailing out Cyprus, because unlike with Greece, Italy or Spain, there is little sympathy for a country seen as a haven for tax evasion and the ill-gotten gains of shady Russian oligarchs.  However, those shady guys hold a grudge and make good on their threats.

At least 2 banks are insolvent: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-21/euro-area-said-to-weigh-closing-two-cyprus-banks-asset-freeze.html

I doubt the number is that small, especially after the citizens jump at the opportunity to pull their money out.  Merchants in Cyprus have moved to a cash-only basis.  They no longer accept credit or debit cards because they do not know when or if ever they wil get paid by their bank.

As I have said in the past, cash is king… and it still is.  I have recommended keeping 30 days of cash on hand for years.  Do you think you will be the first to know if a “bank holiday” is proclaimed?  It would be done on the weekend after all banks are closed.  Those in the know would have sufficient means to buy necessities.  Are you heavily dependent on credit cards?  In a crisis, plastic goes by the wayside.

Do I think this crisis will happen in the U.S.?  I would rather be prepared and it not happen than to be unprepared and see it happen here.  The 2008 Financial Crisis was not announced beforehand.  Do you think those in power would provide the populous with an early warning signal?

Texas may start hoarding Gold

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

See: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/texas-may-start-hoarding-gold-secession-next-192407075.html

Jim Rickards is a credible spokesman and author of Currency Wars.

Be sure to watch the 2nd video.  Jim makes some very critical comments about Bernanke and his method of confiscation.  I believe Jim’s comments are “spot on”.

The Ramifications of Cyprus (Love)

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

First of all,

Cyprus means love, blossom!
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G2954&t=KJV

There have been many comments about Cyprus outside the mainstream press.  Cyprus may impact you and me on a personal basis.  Why?  The IMF has now shown that it will cross the line of the Rule of Law and confiscate your money to bail out the banking system.  The banks took profits and paid its primary players huge bonuses on poor banking practices.  When I was in banking, there was absolutely no way we would have considered the actions they took over and over again.  The regulators would have put an immediate stop to any reckless practice of investment or lending.  The banking schools taught conservative lending and investment practices, period!

Then came the greed.  The 1980’s brought Wall Street greed into the light.  Washington, D.C. obliged by relaxing long-held standards of conduct.  The result?  Confiscation attempts by the IMF, the EU, and politicians.  Their commitment to depositor money being sacred and secure went out the window.  The issue is not whether they succeed in getting Cyprus depositor money now but instead the issue is that they attempted!

I find it interesting this event happens on the island of Love just as we wrapped up our Bible study on Ascending to Love.  What a coincidence.  No one in their right mind would attempt to confiscate KGB money from Russians in power.  Talk about blindness!

Cyprus May Become Europe’s Lehman, Billionaire Potanin Says according to a Bloomberg article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-21/cyprus-may-become-europe-s-lehman-billionaire-potanin-says.html

This “Black Swan” event will be looked back as the event to change the financial system.  Cyprus is a member of the European Union.  Do you think that the citizens of Spain, Italy, Greece, or Portugal are resting easy today?  What would you do if your life savings was at risk of confiscation?  Government numbers have been massaged to make things look better than they really are.  Do you think the banks are as sound here in the U.S. as we have been led to believe?  Do you think we are really in a recovery when shadowstats.com who uses the same raw government numbers tells us that we are in the second dip of the Great Recession?  Would Ben Bernanke continue to shovel in $85 Billion per month of liquidity into the system if the system was in good shape?  Do you think that interest rates would be kept at zero with true inflation exceeding 8%?  Last night I was on a return flight from NY and sat next to a chemical distributor salesman.  His prices are constantly increasing to his customers, just like the early 1980’s.  As a note, he was unaware of Cyprus.  How many Americans are being kept in the dark about this global-changing event?

Here is the reality:

Depositor money is at risk.

Retirement money is at risk, even if only forced to buy government bonds at low rates, the rates float upward, the value of the bonds decline.  The same net effect of confiscation.

The current level of sovereign debt is unsustainable and something has to give.

The FDIC does not have enough reserve to handle a massive depositor withdrawal from the system.

The Chinese and the Russians continue to add to the gold reserves.

Calls of an audit of the U.S. gold reserves have fallen on deaf ears.  Some credible experts say that the gold was leased out and is gone.  Why not let an external audit settle the issue?

Trust in the current fiat currency system is heading south and may not be reversed.

I have been issuing warnings since October of 2007.  Those of you with money should protect yourselves for you may be called upon to help others.  Those of you without money should simplify your living standards, fast!  All of us, no matter what financial condition we are in, should be seeking the Voice of Our Heavenly Father to guide us through the turmoil ahead.  I trust that Our Heavenly Father will empower HIS remnant to guide mankind through any and all economic collapses in the future.  It started with Love and it will end with Love.

Yesterday’s Online Bible Study: Chapter 18 Love Compels and Cyprus Discussion

Monday, March 18th, 2013

Due to unusual technical difficulties, I recorded the final study today and posted it on ustream.tv

For those who watched live, you may have been unable to follow the entire study so you will be able to have some of the blanks filled in by watching the recorded session.  I also included a brief update on the Cyprus banking crisis.

Your beloved brother

It can be watched at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/30079766

Putin is put out

Monday, March 18th, 2013

See: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/us-russia-cyprus-loan-idUSBRE92H07M20130318

Also: http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_18/Russia-will-revise-ties-with-Cyprus-over-bank-savings-levy-Medvedev/

Confiscating of money is a big issue when it is your money!  The fact that they attempted it is enough to cause a major global issue.

The Cyprus “Shot heard ‘round the world”

Monday, March 18th, 2013

Early Saturday morning, the EU authorities decide to give Cyprus: a €10bn rescue package in return for a series of unusually harsh conditions. In a shock to everyone, including admittedly Open Europe, the deal included a “tax” on depositors: 6.75 per cent for anyone with less than €100,000 in a Cypriot bank account, 9.9 per cent for anyone with more than that.  See: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/matspersson/100023412/tomorrow-cyprus-could-vote-to-leave-the-euro-this-is-political-dynamite/

The Russians have a lot of money in Cyprus.  It is said that Putin is one of many former KGB officers who has a substantial account there.  If so, the fireworks are about to happen.  The moment you start messing around with someone’s personal money, there is “hell” to pay.  How would you like to simply have 10% less cash today than yesterday?  How would you like to have your life saving slashed on a Saturday morning without your knowledge or prior notice?

If the EU will do it, who else will?  With other countries moving down the black hole of major debt issues, all of them will be watching to monitor the fallout.  Will the bank runs jump the ocean to the U.S.?  Both gold and silver may be the immediate beneficiaries of this bold move.  The rule of law just went out the window in Cyprus.  the innocent are paying for the guilty once again.  Be vigilant, it may get ugly fast.

Also see:  http://www.arabianmoney.net/gold-silver/2013/03/17/58bn-to-flood-out-of-cyprus-banks-due-to-10-deposit-confiscation-by-the-eu-and-into-gold-and-even-uae-banks/

Who says we can go paperless with technology?

Saturday, March 16th, 2013

Click on link below:

Le papier ne sera jamais mort / Paper is not dead on influencia.net ! from INfluencia on Vimeo.

The Three Giant Bubbles

Saturday, March 16th, 2013

The Bond Market Bubble is being propped up with negative real interest rates promoted by the Fed Reserve Bank (Fed).  The Bond Market is rigged.

The Stock Market Bubble is being inflated with artificial liquidity provided by the Fed.  New highs are not a result of greater economic output.  Banks are being given access to huge funds from the Fed and they are investing in the Stock Market thus pushing the market up.

The Dollar Bubble, the reserve currency of the world, is being propped up with printing and monetizing of debt by the Fed.  This is occurring to the tune of $1 Trillion per year now.

What happens when these three bubbles pop?  The wealth of stock and bondholders will evaporate.  At the same time we will see dramatic inflation across the board.  I expect to see a notable rise in import prices which will fuel the inflation.  Since the U.S. has sent its manufacturing offshore, it is now an importer of physical goods.  I have long suggested that the pursuit of a “service” economy was a mistake.  As a former CFO, when profits got squeezed, I always looked at cutting services, never physical inventory.  You can’t live without food but you can forego premium cable.

In my opinion, there is no known solution to the current monetary policy other than from Above.  Other countries know that the U.S. Dollar is in dire straits and are wanting to depart from its use as a reserve currency.  Smaller countries have realized sudden adverse upheavals after vocalizing plans to accept other means of payments other than the U.S. Dollar.  It was hazardous to their health.  This fiat currency experiment may be on its last leg.

The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are developing means to settle their own trade among themselves bypassing the U.S. Dollar.

The Fed is price-fixing the Bond price in full view of everyone.  However, I believe they are fixing the gold price below $1,750 by using the large banks as agents and allowing them to invest in “naked shorts”, a means to push the price down without any collateral to support the risk of loss.  The evidence is hidden in the numbers published by the gold paper market.  Those who publicize these actions are demonized by the media as kooks, crazies, and/or extremists.  A simple question must be asked however.  Look at the following chart:

Who in their right mind would bet against the bull market in gold where the rising prices have consistently outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average?  Private investors would get wiped out.  Institutional money managers would be fired for failing in their fiduciary responsibility.  Only someone with an unlimited money supply would bet against this market.  I wonder who that could be?

The price of gold stocks have been decimated by short sellers in their stocks.  Their price does not equate to the rise in price of gold.  Newmont Mining, a senior gold producer, is near its 52 week low and is paying a 4.3% dividend.  Go figure!  On the other hand, Chevron is at a 52 week high.

The same banks who are being given virtually unlimited funding to suppress the price of gold were the same banks that participated in the LIBOR rate scandal.  There is no requirement for transparency at the highest levels.  Regulators for whatever reason are not forcing compliance in these markets.  Fines are too small to dissuade the lawless to refrain from their acts.  It is simply a cost of doing business.

How long can the Fed contain the price of gold?  Definitely not forever.  What is my best protection when the Perfect Storm of these three bubbles pop?

– Low or no debt

– Lower my monthly obligations

– Simplify my living

– Buy gold as “insurance” against the decline of the U.S. Dollar (if possible)

– Buy silver but note it is intrinsically more volatile than gold and is not for the feint of heart ( I happen to be more of a risk taker)  A safe deposit box in a community bank may be sufficiently safe to store physical silver.  However, if you have nothing, they can’t take it away.

– Most of all, focus on hearing Our Heavenly Father’s Voice.  HE will guide us all through the coming calamity.

– Focus on Our Heavenly Father’s most fundamental characteristic: Love.  Whatever economic pain comes, we will need to be ready to minister Love to those who lose their perceived wealth and future.  What they placed their faith and trust in will be lost.  The illusion created by the current economic environment will be the ultimate bubble to pop.

Massive Secular Bear Market Ahead

Friday, March 15th, 2013

The Dow Jones has been reaching new highs and is reflecting the excessive money printing by the central banks.  Is the average guy on the street living better?  Not on main street.  True unemployment is still around 23%.  The gap between the rich and the poor is growing dramatically.  Central banks have increased their balance sheets by $10 Trillion in the last ten years.  Corporate debt is at 80% of GDP and that is a record high.  Unlimited money printing is the current paradigm.  This will come back to haunt the economies.  The rich feel better right now but this may soon change.  The U.S. has $220 Trillion of total debt including unfunded liabilities.  How will the U.S. pay for this debt?  By unlimited money printing.  You better hug that tree now before the central banks need it to print more money.  But wait, they can now print using a stroke of a computer key.  How efficient!  It is so easy to “print” money, it is like a drug addict working inside the pharmaceutical manufacturing facility of Loritab.

Once the investing public realizes that the money printing is fueling the new highs in the bull market and not corporate profits, they will head to the exits.  Don’t get trampled.