Last Updated: Oct 22nd, 2010 - 15:35:08 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 Thought for the Day We call Australia the "Lucky Country", and explain that all they need to do is to go into the outback and kick over a few rocks and sell the minerals thus revealed. In New Zealand we explain that we will never get to be as wealthy as "The Lucky Country" and then complain bitterly that our government is contemplating wandering into our outback and digging up the gold and silver that is lying under the surface. I know that we have a large number of socialist thinkers and assorted dogooders amongst our voting population who voted for Helen and poverty, but this attitude does seem to be a little perverse. We have been living off the hard work of our ancestors for the last 50 years and the wealth is ebbing away. Our farmers go to Australia and Argentina to buy cheap land for their dairy herds and China buys up our farms. We work hard and profits go to owners overseas. We persistently run a balance of payments deficit so that we then have to sell our assets to pay for the goodies we import. It is a comfortable life for us but it will be very hard on our children and our grandchildren. Mar 25, 2010, 18:31 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 It’s Déjà Voodoo Economics... All Over Again The world is struggling with a sea of debt. We won't be free to grow until the debt is paid back or forgiven or just written off. Read this recent history. We came within a gnat's whisker of complete meltdown of the world's banking system. The problem has been "solved" by creating more debt out of thin air - where the last lot of debt came from. I was explaining this four and five years ago but no-one believed that it could happen. Now, nobody (almost) understands that it very nearly did and we are now in a much worse position just waiting for the second shoe to drop. Those who understand will be able to protect themselves. [ Visit Website ] Mar 25, 2010, 13:40 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 Central Bank Gold Holdings Expand at Fastest Pace Since 1964 The New Zealand Reserve Bank informs me that it does not own any gold. The Central Banks of the world have had an admitted policy of selling gold for the last 20 years. In the last 10 years the price of gold has risen from $250 per ounce to $1100 per ounce while the banks sold 500 tons of gold per year. There has been massive manipulation of the price by bullion banks in America selling short and also selling paper promises of gold which people think are actually gold. This proposition is now being examined closely by the regulating authorities. As REAL Money comes to the fore once again we hope that this will help promote the ideas of REAL Economics. We do indeed, live in interesting times. [ Visit Website ] Mar 23, 2010, 11:12 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 What or Who is Driving up Prices? Modern economists have theories about markets, such as the stocks & shares market; the current market price must be the actual true price since all available information is available to the market participants and it is their assessment which produces the price. However in the modern world with the government playing a big part in the economy we can get some strange anomalies. We have mentioned the US government's "Plunge Protection Team" before. They are in the news again in this article. The ramifications of this activity are startling. Can the government keep spending tax-payer money buying shares to keep the share market buoyant forever? If not, how long will this strategy last? Then what happens? [ Visit Website ] Mar 22, 2010, 15:28 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 The Patsy Revolt of 2010 Bill tells an interesting story. As far as I can see it is all true. Mar 20, 2010, 13:03 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 Why Aren't These Guys in Handcuffs Yet? Bankers talk about the moral hazard created when the nation starts to use paper money and fractional reserve banking. When you see the amount of money that one banker earned prior to the current US money meltdown, ($500,000,000) you may begin to see how we have developed the current troubling situation. Will these bankers get away with it? [ Visit Website ] Mar 18, 2010, 16:42 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 Blanchard Pushes for More Inflation Marius Gustavson is a research fellow at the Reason Foundation, where he examines economic issues, including monetary policy, the recent financial crisis and its aftermath. He also works for the Norwegian think tank Civita, where he published a book-length report on the causes of the financial collapse. Gustavson is currently writing a book on the global recession and working on the "Sound Money Project" organized by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. This article explains carefully the points I have been making for the last few years. If you understand this you will know why modern economists are making such a hash of things. You will also know why our booms and busts are inevitable. The busts are devastating for those who don't know they are coming. But for those who do know, they are simply one more opportunity to create REAL Wealth. [ Visit Website ] Mar 18, 2010, 11:55 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? Paul Krugman is a famous economist. This article shows that he has come to the conclusion that what modern economists (including himself) think they know is just not true. But he notably fails to find the answer! I do not think the economic profession can heal itself. [ Visit Website ] Mar 17, 2010, 14:49 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 75 Years of Funny Money When the popular press starts to understand this the end will come suddenly. At the moment most of this thinking is found on the internet. But more and more people are starting to understand what is happening in the financial world. At the tipping point there will be panic and mania. [ Visit Website ] Mar 17, 2010, 14:16 Newsletters : 2010 Newsletters : 26 March 2010 Quote for the Week I place the economy among the first and most important virtues... and public debt as the great danger to be feared. To preserve your independence, we must not let our leaders load us with perpetual debt. We must make our choice between economy and liberty... or profusion and servitude. Thomas Jefferson Mar 16, 2010, 18:29