Check out my latest blog post. Instead of posting it here, I figured I'd just point ------->> to it:

 The Sinking West. The Sideways Gold.

Hey, I've a couple of posts I think worth you're reading time over at my WordPress blog:

Just why do we pay taxes if the government can create money?

And this post has some interesting news items:

Gata, Russia, Greeks, Credit Default Swaps, China, Gold, and Unemployment.

Get ready. You're head may be on the chopping block.

Layoffs Cut Deeper Into Economy

The nation's employers, including some of its largest and most sturdy, announced plans yesterday to slash more than 55,000 jobs, a staggering one-day toll that highlighted how quickly layoffs are accelerating and how widely misery is spreading throughout the labor market.

That doesn't bode well for anything if you ask me (well maybe for gov to rush in and play hero with more bailouts and further enslavement). Doesn't look good to me when it comes particularly to production. You can only cut so much and then other areas of start to hurt and eventually you bleed to death.

Advice: Get out of debt asap.

I'm more than just a bit outraged by this Reuters report:

U.S. forgoes billions in tax on Citi: report

The U.S. government "quietly" agreed not to collect billions of dollars in potential taxes from Citigroup Inc as part of its deal to allow the bank to repay its taxpayer bailout, The Washington Post reported.

The Internal Revenue Service issued a notice on Friday that extends the benefit to Citi and other companies in which the government owns a stake, the Post reported.

Did you catch that last bit? Sounds like cronyism in the least to me, the beginnings of Fascism at it's worst.

Meanwhile more echoes of the end result of fiat currency (failure) is showing up around the world.


EU, IMF Revolt: Greece, Iceland, Latvia May Lead the Way

Total financial collapse, once a problem only for developing countries, has now come to Europe. The International Monetary Fund is imposing its "austerity measures" on the outer circle of the European Union, with Greece, Iceland and Latvia the hardest hit. But these are not your ordinary third world debtor supplicants. Historically, the Vikings of Iceland repeatedly repulsed British invaders; Latvian tribes repulsed even the Vikings; and the Greeks conquered the whole Persian empire. If anyone can stand up to the IMF, these stalwart European warriors can.

If you have debt, get out of it ASAP.

Right now the spot price of Gold is trading at $1137.80. Silver $17.69. Track the market in real time with the Adobe Air free application ExactPrice.

I wanted to point you quickly to two much read posts on the current dive in the spot gold price.

First there's this from one of my daily reads, Ed Steer:

But what I do know is this, that when this correction has run its course, it might be the last decent entry point to buy the precious metals and their shares for a very long time to come... as this bull market in gold and silver has a long long way to go before it breaths its last.

Then there's this guest post on Zero Hedge: Why The Big Drop In Gold?

In short, a stabilization in the jobs market does nothing to improve the balance sheets of zombie banks. An improvement in the big bank balance sheets is the prerequisite which would allow the Fed to mop up the excess liquidity, not am improvement in the jobs market. So, in short, the Gold market has probably overreacted a bit, and may continue to trade lower into the next jobs report. When market participants are reassured that the Fed is in a box and that the excess liquidity must stay in the system for the foreseeable future, gold prices will resume its trend higher and currency carry trades will be put back on.

I'm tracking gold and silver right now with ExactPrice and they are $1141.50 and $17.91.

This is a great video showing how the government has taking money from it's citizens through issuing certificates.




Right now the free ExactPrice app is showing gold at $1,055.40 and silver at $17.51. The commodities are taking a bit of hit today it seems because of poor housing data and the like driving people into the dollar. My guess they'll go into the dollar, gold will contract a bit and then see higher ground as people take those dollars and put them into hard assets.

Real quick. I saw this just a moment ago and thought it highly worth posting for others. It's been my feeling for over a year now that China would be doing everything they could to shed their holdings of the US Dollar. In my opinion they have been doing just that by using those dollars to buy hard assets like land, mining companies, other business, and of course gold. Don't forget that Hong Kong has called back all their physical holdings of gold in London banks.

Add all that to this bit of news on Jutia Group:

China May Ban Gold and Silver Exports

Right now, looking at the free real time widget, ExactPrice, gold is trading at $1,011.90. It really looks like $1k is now the support level.

I've got a few links I think everyone should think about looking at in relation to investing and that precious metal, gold. Add to that silver, which tracks with it and some believe will out perform gold percentage wise in the long term because of it's commercial uses as well as it's monetary use.

If you've been following gold and silver over the last month and checking out the charts then you know there's a pennant formation going on and a consolidation where gold has been range bound around $950 and silver around $14.50.

It's drawing a lot of looks from a great many investors because it the feel is that there will either be a big reaction either to the negative side and a major sell off or their will be a big move to the upside. This is more likely for gold as silver is also an industrial meta.

My opinion has been for the last month, and it's just that, my opinion, is that we will likely see a sudden drop where there will be an opportunity to buy and then gold and silver will take off and for gold the $1000 price point will be crossed again and a new higher low will set up.

Right now, looking at the real time widget, ExactPrice, gold is at $950.20 as I type. It spiked up to $955.90 earlier in a sudden spike and then has fallen off just as suddenly. Same for silver.

Here are a list of articles that I think are must reads:

If your read only one, read this: The Shell Game - How the Federal Reserve is Monetizing Debt.

I don't know that we will see $5,000 gold, though I do think there's that possiblity given enough time, but this a worthy read: Will Gold reach $5000 plus?

Could Gold Confiscation Happen Again? The answer=You bet.

Finally: The Metastasis of Moral Hazard and its Effect on Gold.

Here's the opening paragraph from that last link that will draw your attention, I'm betting:

To those who study the numbers, it is now obvious that America’s fiscal situation is hopeless. Given the country’s current debt and unfunded liabilities of $75,000,000,000,000, an amount growing by at least $5,000,000,000,000 per year, it will be statistically impossible for the United States to pay its obligations unless it repudiates them in large measure, or the dollar is sacrificed on the altar of searing, society-altering inflation.

I'm watching all the action on the DOW and from around the world and I have to say I find it all very interesting. Not to sound too dramatice but I feel like things are teetering.

Add to that the political climate over health care, TALF, TARP, defict spending, jobs, and housing and... well, one could easily slip into a bit of bleak look.

So I guess I'm not the only one pondering all this. I came across a couple of article mentions via twitter and some financial sites I follow.

I figure I'll pass them on to you to read too.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT REALLY SAID ABOUT US HOUSING

by John Crudelle.

HERE'S a riddle: How many electricians, carpenters and painters does it take to build a seasonally-adjusted single-family home?

I'm waiting. Take a guess!

I figure that's enough of a taste to get you to jump over.

Now check out:

Green Shoots Wither As Gold Grows a New Set of Legs

By Graham Summers

Consider that:

• 34 million Americans are on food stamps
• 18% of incomes coming from an already broke government
• Seven million people will run out of unemployment insurance by Christmas (add their families and you have 13 million folks becoming destitute)
• Tax receipts are at their lowest levels since 1932
• 32 states have budget problems ($121 billion in total deficits) and the Federal Government is running a $2 trillion deficit
• Civil unrest growing: National Guard May Be Called to Alabama
• Industrial capacity for May ’09 was 68%: an ALL TIME low (roughly 1/3 of our plants and production facilities are doing nothing at all).
• Rail carload volume for 1H09 is down 19% from the already plunging level of 1H08.
• Even after laying off people and cutting costs, Quarter over Quarter Corporate Revenues and Profits fell 17% and 33% respectively in 2Q09.

It's in depth so read the whole thing.

Finally, check out:
 

Jim Sinclair’s letter on the US dollar

Where the price of gold is concerned, there is no other focus of interest as all points of interest have but one common denominator.

That entity is the US dollar.

The Fundamental illustration below is dollar flow momentum.

China holds in its hands the future of the category, “Foreign Purchasers of US bonds.”

China wishes the annihilation of the Fed policy of “Quantitative Easing.”

The Fed wishes to accommodate China.

Right now as I write gold's spot price is $942.30. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of action. Typical in my opinion of this time of year.

Here's a link to the free widget I use to follow gold, silver, and platinum spot prices in real time: ExactPrice.