The Wrong Kind of Bubbles
Bill Bonner, 05/30/08
"Don't look, Edward." The instruction came from Elizabeth, directed at her youngest son. We were driving through the Bois de Boulogne, a notorious hangout of extravagant prostitutes. "Besides, they're not what you think they are...Read More >>

The Road to $200 Oil
Paul Van Eeden, 05/29/08
When the crash dummies up on Capitol Hill see crude oil at $130 a barrel, they cry "Manipulation!" and start looking around for someone to blame. The funny thing is; they're right. Manipulation is causing the oil price to soar...manipulation of...Read More >>

Weimar Inflation in America
James Turk, 05/28/08
Probably almost everyone is familiar with the hyperinflationary episode that engulfed Germany after the First World War.  That nation’s economy was crippled by monetary problems that resulted in dreadful personal hardships, even though up...Read More >>

The Fading of the Mirage Economy
Steven Pearlstein, 05/28/08
Suddenly, it seems, we're getting hit from all directions. Energy and food prices are soaring. The housing market continues to collapse. Government revenue is falling, and taxes are rising. Airlines are jacking up fares and fees while reducing service...Read More >>

Hmmmmm?
Bill Gross, June Investment Outlook
What this country needs is either a good 5¢ cigar or the reincarnation of an Illinois “rail-splitter” willing to tell the American people “what up” – “what really up.” We have for so long now been willing to be entertained rather than informed...Read More >>

Drastic action may be needed if housing slump worsens
Thorold Barker, The Financial Times
The US has already faced its black swan event. A roughly 15 per cent slump in house prices across the country since the boom ended is something that many senior risk managers and, clearly, rating agencies thought could never happen...Read More >>

A Red Herring
Doug Noland, 05/16/08
The entire framework of ignoring asset Bubbles when they are expanding and “mopping up” when they burst is a recipe for disastrous policy mistakes. And how was this not made unmistakably clear when the post-tech Bubble...Read More >>

Did Bear Stearns Fall Or Was It Pushed?
Ellen Brown, 05/12/08
How Insider Trading Saved JPMorgan and Looted the American Taxpayer. The mother of all insider trades was pulled off in 1815, when London financier Nathan Rothschild led British investors to believe that the Duke of Wellington had lost...Read More >>

Not Your Father's Recession
Bill Bonner, 05/13/08
"Recession, and its vicious-cycle effect on employment and consumer spending, remains a threat," says Bill Gross of PIMCO. "This recession, though currently mild, and, as of yet, not even officially validated, may not...Read More >>

A New Inflationary Epoch
Doug Noland, 05/09/08
Crude oil closed today above $126. The most vitally important commodity in the world has now posted a stunning y-t-d rise of better than 30% and has now doubled in the past year. It is worth noting that during the ten-year period 1996...Read More >>

In a Social Democracy with a Fiat Currency, All Roads Lead to Inflation    Bill Fleckenstein, 05/08/08
In Time, Homebuilders May Crumble...Now I'd like to turn now to a topic which I believe does not get enough attention -- inflation. Regular readers know my motto, which is on the masthead of this site: "In a social democracy with a fiat...Read More >>

What Comes After A Trillion?
Eric J. Fry, 05/08/08
...[T]he skyrocketing oil price is as much a monetary phenomenon as a geophysical one. The supply of newly-minted dollars bills has doubled since George W. Bush took his first oath of office. The world’s known supply of crude oil has..Read More >>

Consumeris Americanus: A Look at an Endangered Species
Bill Bonner, 05/08/08
A quick look at the numbers: Yesterday [Wed., 05/07], the Dow fell more than 200 points. Oil, up $1.69, hit a new record. The dollar rose to $1.53 per euro. And gold lost ground...dropping down to $871. Up, down...up, down...what’s going on?..Read More >>

What Would Dr. Richebacher Do?
Dan Denning, 05/08/08
...[Y]ou cannot spend or borrow your way to wealth. You have to make things to make money. There are some days when we want to call up the late Dr. Kurt Richebacher and ask him to clarify something for us. Dr. Kurt was our economic..Read More >>

Fannie Mae: What if the Lifeguard Can't Swim?
Michael Pento,  05/07/08
Today's earnings report from government sponsored Fannie Mae (FNM) should cause investors to question whether the very entity charged with saving the real estate market will actually need to be rescued itself. The company's first quarter...Read More >>

Honig's Illusion
Jim Sinclair,  05/07/08
Fed mouthpiece Honig says the Fed might increase interest rates to fight inflation. The dropping of rates has had no impact yet, but an increase in rates would have an IMMEDIATE impact called an IMPLOSION. There is no chance in...Read More >>

Revisting Financial Arbitrage Capitalism
Doug Noland, 05/02/08
Washington’s validation of the current dysfunctional Credit system structure could very well lay the groundwork for extreme global price distortions, volatility, and social/political unrest. On the current course of things, it’s difficult for me...Read More >>

The “Goldman Sachs Phenomenon”
Eric Fry, 05/02/08
Now that the American financial sector is safe and unsound once again, has the threat of serious economic crisis genuinely passed? And has the structure of American capitalism actually improved? Or did the Fed merely dress a sow in lingerie...Read More >>