Figures for October, November and December of 2012 show a Fourth Quarter Drop and that the U.S. economy fell a surprising 0.1 percent instead of the 1.0 increase expected. How many trillions have we pumped into helping the economy? The turn down which has been described as a “shock” and “unexpected” by many, was a surprise to all but those who have been watching the declining figures for the previous few months. The decline would certainly not shock Lakshman Achuthan … Read More »
Month: January 2013
Consumer Confidence or Consumer Skepticism
When does consumer confidence turn into Consumer Skepticism? Perhaps it is not so much a point in space as a direction. Last month we may have experienced just such a move. The official Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell to 58.6, the lowest since November 2011. That figure was revised down from 66.7 in December. The drop occurs as the payroll tax exemption expires causing a two percent rise in payroll tax from everyone’s pay stub which probably caused something … Read More »
Expanding Your Personal Gold Reserves
Sometimes in determining what ones Personal Gold Reserves should be it is informative to review what large nations are doing. It has been recently learned that Russia and Kazakhstan have increased their gold reserves in December as the yellow metal gained for the 12th consecutive year. That means for the last 12 years in spite of the ups and downs throughout the year, gold has closed above where it was the year previous. One has to wonder what other commodity … Read More »
Economic Troubles
Watching the constant Economic Troubles of the United States is sometimes like viewing a yo-yo contest. It’s up, it’s down, then it goes into some odd gyration which you hope it will pull out of. This back and forth and up and down is quite evident in the ongoing Presidential/Congressional debate on the debt ceiling. It looms before us and the economy cringes. Some positive discussion takes place and the markets take courage. After some wrangling a stop gap measure … Read More »
Sound Money Vs. the Pitfalls of Stocks, Bonds, and Other Debt Instruments.
Gold and Silver are sound money. They have been for thousands of years. From the ancient Romans to the Chinese dynasties, history tells us that gold and silver have been a trusted currency around the world throughout human history. Why? Gold and silver are a STORE of value, it took physical work to find these metals that exist in limited quantities, and both gold and silver have physical uses. In fact, you can’t build an iPad, a smart phone, or … Read More »
President Obama Starts Fresh Negotiations for US Debt Ceiling
Freshly reelected President Barrack Obama recently kick-started negotiations for debt ceiling. However negotiating over the ceiling amount does not seem like a preference for him! And his current stance has fuelled the prospects of the new intriguing option for paying off debts that is being hugely marketed by monetary and fiscal wonks! The brand new proposal goes like this. In case the congress fails in extending the prevailing debt limit, Obama could in fact ask the national treasury to begin … Read More »
Gold Exodus from Afghanistan
Afghanistan, one of the poorer nations in the world, is witnessing a sharp exodus of gold to Dubai and other nations, according to the New York Times. Noorullah Delawari, the governor of Afghanistan’s Central Bank has termed the recent spike in gold transport as suspicious. According to reports, there has been a sharp increase in gold trafficking since last summer. Several passengers on commercial flights from Kabul to Dubai have been seen carrying bags full of gold. Over the last … Read More »
US Could Reach Debt Ceiling Faster than Expected
Things are not looking too good for the prevailing American debt crisis scenario. The worse is clearly round the corner.According to the facts furnished by a fresh report generated by the Bipartisan Policy Center; the country just has a time of over a month before its borrowing limit maxes out. Therefore, the American Government may not be in a position to pay all its outstanding bills. According to the authors, the date for hitting the maximum debt limit could be … Read More »
Americans to Pay Higher Taxes despite New Tax Package
The tax package passed by the US Congress on the New Year’s Day will protect a majority of Americans from an income tax increase. However, Americans will still have to pay higher federal taxes in 2013 due to the expiry of a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax, according to a Washington research group. The Congress has done nothing to prevent the expiry of the 2-percentage point cut in the payroll tax of about $1000 for a worker … Read More »
Bernanke Bigger Threat to Economy than the Fiscal Cliff
Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff has said that the ultra easy monetary policy being followed by the US Federal Reserve for the past five years is more challenging for the US economy than the fiscal cliff. Schiff who has been highly critical of the Fed’s Quantitative Easing or QE believes that the Fed policy is not appropriate and will lead to runaway inflation. The Federal Reserve has so far expanded its balance sheet to $2.86 trillion through its Quantitative … Read More »
