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Re: The Great Depreciation - The Selling Of America
RHINEBECK, NY -- The United States of America is up for sale, and the Federal Reserve keeps lowering the selling price.
On January 22nd, with the global financial markets in meltdown, the Federal Reserve again bowed to Wall Street's demands for cheaper money by slashing short-term interest rates 75 basis points the biggest one-day rate drop in Fed banking history. Pressured by credit squeezed banks, brokerages, buyout firms, faltering bond guarantors and assorted deal makers wanting deeper cuts and cheaper cash the Fed dropped rates another 50 basis points eight days later.
The equation is simple, the formula is proven and the outcome is predictable: The deeper the Fed cuts rates, the cheaper it is to borrow money. The cheaper it is to borrow money, the less the dollar is worth against stronger foreign currencies. The less the dollar is worth, the less it costs holders of stronger currencies to buy up America. And that's just what they're doing. Strong currency nations are buying up America like a third world country. (See "Top Trends 2008," Trends Journal, Winter 2008.)
Already holding trillions of greenbacks in reserve and getting billions more each day from the USA  which imports most of what it needs from other nations  foreigners flush with cash will accelerate the pace of acquiring American assets at bargain basement prices. Indeed, even before the latest Fed rate-cut frenzy, last year, with the dollar down double digits against key currencies, foreign interests bought into  or bought out  nearly a half-trillion dollars worth of American banks, brokerages, factories, properties and prized possessions.
Up 90 percent from 2006 and more than double the average of the last decade, the "Buying of America" trend is seen as an encouraging sign of economic vitality by Washington and applauded as beneficial by beleaguered financial firms scouring the globe begging for bailouts.
For example, once a staunch critic of Arab owned entities controlling vital US interests, New York Senator Charles Schumer applauded the recent $6.6 billion infusion of foreign cash into Merrill Lynch saying it " strengthens our economy and creates jobs."
"This is a vote of confidence in the American economy, the American marketplace and the American worker," echoed deputy US Treasury Secretary, Robert Kimmitt, along with the steady chorus of pundits and professionals featured in the business press praising foreign ownership of US assets.
Among the presidential candidates, if they address the "Buying of America" trend at all, the stock campaign promise is a call for more "transparency" from foreign owners as though they would make it happen and that it would really matter.
As for the general public  even as wages shrink, living costs increase and debt burdens grow  there is little understanding of how cheap dollars deteriorate their living standards or how foreign ownership will affect their future.
Trendpost: The Trends Research Institute does not provide financial advice we forecast trends. We forecast that despite periodic corrections, the US dollar will continue its downward slide, and that the weak dollar = strong gold trend will push gold to $2,000 per ounce.
Gerald Celente
Founder/Director
The Trends Research Institute
- Communist China
- Rep: 130
Re: The Great Depreciation - The Selling Of America
As bad as a shape we are in and will be heading to, the equation is never simple in economics.
And as a side note, the government started talking about this recession when Wall Street was hit. Economic conditions for the middle and lower classes have been down since like 2002. Wall Street doesn't affect much for me, or those that I know. My community's economic standing hasn't changed due to the most recent scare.
I am concerned about the dollar losing value, but it's a global economy. The economic strength of a country and its government's military power are further dividing. Companies are well beyond countries, and for this reason I'm not as afraid as experts would like me to be.
Re: The Great Depreciation - The Selling Of America
Wall Street doesn't affect much for me, or those that I know. My community's economic standing hasn't changed due to the most recent scare.
I am concerned about the dollar losing value, but it's a global economy. The economic strength of a country and its government's military power are further dividing. Companies are well beyond countries, and for this reason I'm not as afraid as experts would like me to be.
You'd be surprised, the majority of Americans under the age of about 50 will depend on a 401k or some type of stocks for when they retire, as Social Security will run out as the Baby Boomers use it up. Granted the market always goes up in the long run, but if it increases slowly for a few years it can really be a drag on peoples investments & compound growth.
Also, when companies stocks are down, they usually do not hire, and possibly layoff. So companies with branches nationwide such as Merril Lynch, State Farm, Verizon etc may not be hiring. Even companies like Best Buy & Target may not hire as much, as less people are spending. And I know New Era Cap is located up around there somewhere, around Albany (Darby, NY?) I used to work with them on a job I had. And yes, it is a global market, but other countries who were below us (China, Russia, India etc) are rising, and if & when we meet we will likely have lowered ourselves a bit to meet them (Look at the Euro surpassing the dollar).
I'm not saying the sky is falling on the US economy, as I think in time it will rebound. Recessions usually last about a year to 1 1/2, but bad times do subliminally affect people more than you may think.
Re: The Great Depreciation - The Selling Of America
Companies are well beyond countries, and for this reason I'm not as afraid as experts would like me to be.
You will be when the dollar is worth about fifteen- twenty cents around the time you are in your college years.
It'll be worth even less if McCain grabs a hold of the currency and spends it into oblivion.
Re: The Great Depreciation - The Selling Of America
Communist China wrote:Wall Street doesn't affect much for me, or those that I know. My community's economic standing hasn't changed due to the most recent scare.
I am concerned about the dollar losing value, but it's a global economy. The economic strength of a country and its government's military power are further dividing. Companies are well beyond countries, and for this reason I'm not as afraid as experts would like me to be.
You'd be surprised, the majority of Americans under the age of about 50 will depend on a 401k or some type of stocks for when they retire, as Social Security will run out as the Baby Boomers use it up. Granted the market always goes up in the long run, but if it increases slowly for a few years it can really be a drag on peoples investments & compound growth.
Also, when companies stocks are down, they usually do not hire, and possibly layoff. So companies with branches nationwide such as Merril Lynch, State Farm, Verizon etc may not be hiring. Even companies like Best Buy & Target may not hire as much, as less people are spending. And I know New Era Cap is located up around there somewhere, around Albany (Darby, NY?) I used to work with them on a job I had. And yes, it is a global market, but other countries who were below us (China, Russia, India etc) are rising, and if & when we meet we will likely have lowered ourselves a bit to meet them (Look at the Euro surpassing the dollar).
I'm not saying the sky is falling on the US economy, as I think in time it will rebound. Recessions usually last about a year to 1 1/2, but bad times do subliminally affect people more than you may think.
Its worse this time. The dollar has been thrown off the cliff by the republicans out of control spending without bringing any money in to offset the idiotic spending. In the future, historians will look back at the Bush tax cuts as the beginning of the end of the death of america. Tax cuts like that work in theory, and have worked under prior administrations, but only under presidencies that kept spending in check. You have to balance this shit out. The republicans for the past 8 years(who controlled each branch of government), spent like money was growing on trees and didn't give a shit about what it would do to this country. Bush and his lapdogs were obviously hoping the collapse would start once he was out of office. They were wrong. The republicans pretty much bought us a one way ticket into the abyss. History will not be kind to these psychos, and I laugh at people wanting 4 more years of it. The country cant survive four more years of it. We'll be lucky if it even survives the rest of this year.
The dollar could suffer a total collapse at any moment. The Fed is having to make the dollar worthless just to try and prop up the country for a bit longer. There are so many sectors of the economy tanking they don't even know what to do. Houses aren't even worth anything. The auto industry is on the verge of not even existing here. Our agriculture industry(which is HUGE) is already taking a one way ticket to Mexico. Health care is in shambles. Our schools are a joke. We're spending trillions(money that doesn't even really exist) on a meaningless war.
But people want 4 more years of this mess?
Like I said a few months ago, if you've been delaying doing certain things, do them now. Take a trip. Go to concerts. Party "like its 1999". List goes on. This country is in its death throes, and nothing is going to be what it used to be in the coming years. Other than having to miss the BH show coming up, I plan on going to concerts of all artists that interest me this year, and even though my partying days pretty much ended in my late 20's, I have been going out more often lately.
Might as well spend your dollars before they turn into monopoly money.
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: The Great Depreciation - The Selling Of America
alarmist?
No,a realist. Since you could only post a one word post to refute what was said, you pretty much agree with the post. People aren't blind anymore. I know you McCain swingers are begging to kill this country off completely, and you might get your wish. But people aren't falling for the bullshit anymore. The fact that you(and others with similar beliefs) cant defend one policy enacted during this administration tells the whole story. All you can do is attack the opposition. This is the first time I know of in history where the party in power for two terms cant even run on its record. Pathetic.
We are most likely beyond saving when Obama or Hillary kills McCain in the election, but the Neocons already destroyed us, so you can sleep easy at night in November even though your party will have lost the election.
Re: The Great Depreciation - The Selling Of America
Would like to add one more thing...
This isn't the 80s and 90s where partisan bickering happens for the sake of entertainment where both sides bitch about how bad certain things are when both sides know damn well things were great.
We are on the verge of a nightmare, and semi witty republican one liners aren't going to accomplish anything. You act like its treason to acknowledge the fact we are on the verge of becoming a third world country. The few people still drinking the kool aid need to open their eyes and look at what it is they are drinking.
- Randall Flagg
- Rep: 139
Re: The Great Depreciation - The Selling Of America
America will never be a third world country and I'm suprised you're so worried about a non-issue. For someone who loves to label the GOP as a bunch of fear baiters, you sure are buying into the rhetoric of a looming recession. Even if there is going to be a recession, the world won't collapse and people will survive. You have yet to explain how the Democrats will prevent a recession, simply that they'll tax us more to pay for the programs the'll enact. Personally I see the economy alarmist as no different than the neocons who screamed Bin Laden was behind every mailbox. The Democrats are capitzalizing on the fear of the economy much like people point to the exaggerated terror threats the GOP supposedly used.
If Democrats were seriously concerned about the economy and really thought it was in trouble, the last thing they would want to do is create the biggest social program the world has ever seen. People have been yelling recession for over a year now and it still hasn't happened. Unemployment is at record lows. America could strengthen the dollar simply by calling in the billions in loans it has given to the rest of the world.
Everything will be fine and the "economy" will balance out regardless if Clinyon, Obama, McCain or James is elected. Contrary to popular belief, the market will take care of itself and isn't controlled by who is in office. It's cyclical and this won't be the last time people yell the sky is falling.
