Obama Wants to Control the Banks

I must be naive. I really thought the administration would welcome the return of bank bailout money. Some $340 million in TARP cash flowed back this week from four small banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California. This isn’t much when we routinely talk in trillions, but clearly that money has not been wasted or otherwise sunk down Wall Street’s black hole. So why no cheering as the cash comes back?

Obama Wants to Control the Banks Read More »

Ah, The Irish

Editor’s Note:  Just thought I’d pass along a little story (not mine). On vacation in Rome,  I noticed a marble column in St. Peter’s with a golden telephone on it.  As a young priest passed by,  I asked who the telephone was for.  The priest told me it was a direct line to Heaven, and

Ah, The Irish Read More »

Saving the Banks will Accomplish – Nothing

The old saying is that during a deflation cash is king. This is because as prices fall money becomes more valuable (i.e. it buys more). So it makes sense to hold onto it as long as possible and wait for it to increase in value. Because people hold onto their money it becomes scarce and harder to come by.

During a deflationary recession people also hold onto their money because they are uncertain about the continued supply of money (will they lose their job due to the recession, etc) so they in addition to holding money for appreciation, they are also “saving for a rainy day”.

Conversely during inflationary times money is becoming less valuable (buys less over time) so people want to get rid of it before it loses too much purchasing power and they even borrow as much as possible so they can pay it back with less valuable dollars. Keep that in mind as you read Andy Gordon’s excellent article on why bailing out the banks won’t help the economy. ~ Tim McMahon

Saving the Banks will Accomplish – Nothing Read More »

Doug Casey on 2009: Another Year of Shock and Awe

In their annual forecast edition, the editors of BIG GOLD asked Casey Research Chairman and contrarian investor Doug Casey to provide his predictions and thoughts on issues everyone’s thinking about these days. Read what he has to say on the economy, deficits, inflation, and gold… The $1.1 Trillion Budget Deficit My reaction is that the

Doug Casey on 2009: Another Year of Shock and Awe Read More »

Scroll to Top