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Tim Iacono


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Another good interview with Dr. Marc Faber, this one over at Bloomberg where he's been a regular for many years (recent appearances at the likes of CNBC are somewhat unusual as he tends to go against conventional wisdom, something that abounds at CNBC).
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There's lots of good stuff in this one - the outlook for the global economy, oil, gold, base metals, natural resource stocks, World War III having already started...

On the subject of alternatives to the government solutions for the current problems, he was asked how he expected the populace to stand for the government doing nothing?

That's the problem of society. If people can not accept the downside to capitalism, then they should become socialists and then they have a planned economy. They should go to eastern Europe twenty years ago and to Russia and China for the last 70 years.

How do you tell that to somebody in Detroit who's losing his home today?

Why is he losing his home? Because of government intervention. The government - the Federal Reserve - kept interest rates artificially low and created the biggest housing bubble, not just in the U.S. but worldwide. That is what I'd explain to the worker in Detroit.

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  •  
    Thanks for the lead. Uncomfortable as the truth is, only nations that will avoid all kinds of superstitions and thus face reality, will survive the competition for the limited resources of an overcrowded planet.
    Jan 07 06:49 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Having a golden parachute is always good!
    Jan 07 08:25 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    We can blame others (governments, banks, big oil, etc.) until the skies turn polka-dotted, but at some point we have to accept responsibility for the things we each do for ourselves and TO ourselves. WE the users went for those adjustable rate mortgages. WE believed the hype. WE didn't pay the mortgage. WE lost those houses/cars/boats. The government here is such that it makes things available, but no one forced anyone to sign the papers. WE did that. WE refused to read the papers. WE refused to do the math. WE refused to ask the loan-makers to show us the numbers on paper. WE refused to listen when the interest rates were going up. And WE liked it, because our house values were going up at the same time. WE wanted higher values for our houses because we knew it would make us rich when we sold to some poor sucker. The blame lies with each of us that made those stupid mistakes.

    I've been criticized by friends for living in a cheap apartment, not buying new furniture, not buying a new car, not taking that second credit card, not buying new clothes. But now, my rent is affordable, my heat is free, my lights are cheap, my car is paid off, my credit card carries a balance that will be paid off next week, and my furniture and clothes are still just as good as they were. I won't have a house to leave to my kids (and they won't have to try to sell it), but I will have money. The funny thing about money is that kids young and old like it. And they like it more than Aunt Gerda's antimacassar and Uncle Herb's rickety rocking chair.

    As a nation, as independent and FREE thinkers, we need to begin to take responsibility for our OWN actions, we need to stop whining and blaming everything else for what we have brought on ourselves. Housing bubble or not, global warming or not, it isn't important if WE don't take responsibility for ourselves. I'm tired of listening to everyone place blame.
    Jan 07 08:27 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    whisperonthewind

    Very great. I am from Europe and always being told that I am a communist or so.

    But take the article above, YOU USA complain more about government and less about your own actions as the people in the former communist states do.
    Jan 07 08:54 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Tim,
    Thanks for the post. Marc Faber is one in the small minority that saw this coming well in advance. His early warnings made me more cautious. Unfortunately, I also took in too much of CNBC and other serial propagandists and played it half way. That half got beat up. So those like Marc who go public on what was then a small minority view and boldly proclaim their analysis now have earned the respect and attention they deserve.

    CNBC on the other hand has been almost eliminated from my financial news input. Examples are endless, but here's just a few:

    Dot-com peak: The cheerleading was rampant and analysis was laughable (remember "price/page hits" for those companies who couldn't give a PE or PS cause they had no E, and often no S.) Timing was exactly wrong. That was the time to sell not buy.

    Late summer '02: Maria Barkarama was interviewing Bill Fleckenstein on closing bell after another awful day. After almost all the damage was done, then he finally gets some air time. Timing was exactly wrong. That was the time to buy not sell.

    2007: Cheerleading is again in vogue. And where bears get air time, they are often criticized by permabulls like Larry Kudlow and the Kool-Aid drinkers he seems so fond of. Ditto on timing comments.

    2008: After a nearly 50% selloff, bears are shown a little more respect.

    Now Larry Kudlow (who has been shockingly wrong the past year) is calling for a "panic rally".

    Like I said, I've about eliminated CNBC from my news input. Remember Bagdad Bob (the former Iraqi Information Minister)? He was interviewed live on air proclaiming certain victory as enemy tanks were rolling into Bagdad just a short distance from where he was standing. Now think of Larry Kudlow's predictions over the past year, and most of CNBC for that matter. CNBC has become the Bagdad Bob of financial journalism.
    Jan 07 09:14 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Faber’s prowess in dealing with economic trends coupled with his ability to feel out the geopolitical ramifications which act upon the markets makes him one of the most respected investors today. Always good to get his two cents.
    Jan 07 09:26 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Simmons: I would suggest that shorting the debt of the world's reigning empire (whoever it is at the time) against gold is probably the most profitable risk-free trade available. Anyone with the ability to wait decades or centuries for a certain payoff should be positioned this way. No one can be sure exactly when the payoff will come, but it always will. Empires just don't last.
    Jan 07 11:28 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Marc Faber called the U.S. recession back in September 2007.

    By October 2007, he said that Americans were experiencing recession only that they did not know it as yet.

    It took one year later by the NBER to declare such truth, thus proving Marc Faber right.

    To guess what should happen in stocks at the stock exchanges, what should happen in commodities at the commodity exchanges, a man must look outside such systems.

    This is what Marc Faber does. He travels the earth relentlessly visiting the marketplaces for goods, talking to manufacturers.

    Marc Faber looks at credit money growth and shipping levels to gain a better picture of what is happening.
    Jan 07 12:15 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    If only we were all as clear thinking as you are. Status symbols suck once they have a little fade on them and you now need something a little more shinny to take it's place. Especially when you use your 20% credit card to obtain it.
    Underspending your income and saving for a rainny day is where everyone should be.

    On Jan 07 08:27 AM whisperonthewind wrote:
    > We can blame others (governments, banks, big oil, etc.) until the
    > skies turn polka-dotted, but at some point we have to accept responsibility
    > for the things we each do for ourselves and TO ourselves. WE the
    > users went for those adjustable rate mortgages. WE believed the hype.
    > WE didn't pay the mortgage. WE lost those houses/cars/boats. The
    > government here is such that it makes things available, but no one
    > forced anyone to sign the papers. WE did that. WE refused to read
    > the papers. WE refused to do the math. WE refused to ask the loan-makers
    > to show us the numbers on paper. WE refused to listen when the interest
    > rates were going up. And WE liked it, because our house values were
    > going up at the same time. WE wanted higher values for our houses
    > because we knew it would make us rich when we sold to some poor sucker.
    > The blame lies with each of us that made those stupid mistakes.<br/>
    >
    > I've been criticized by friends for living in a cheap apartment,
    > not buying new furniture, not buying a new car, not taking that second
    > credit card, not buying new clothes. But now, my rent is affordable,
    > my heat is free, my lights are cheap, my car is paid off, my credit
    > card carries a balance that will be paid off next week, and my furniture
    > and clothes are still just as good as they were. I won't have a house
    > to leave to my kids (and they won't have to try to sell it), but
    > I will have money. The funny thing about money is that kids young
    > and old like it. And they like it more than Aunt Gerda's antimacassar
    > and Uncle Herb's rickety rocking chair.
    >
    > As a nation, as independent and FREE thinkers, we need to begin to
    > take responsibility for our OWN actions, we need to stop whining
    > and blaming everything else for what we have brought on ourselves.
    > Housing bubble or not, global warming or not, it isn't important
    > if WE don't take responsibility for ourselves. I'm tired of listening
    > to everyone place blame.
    Jan 07 12:27 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Don't people everywhere or are you something really special?????????


    On Jan 07 08:54 AM Vienna wrote:

    > whisperonthewind
    >
    > Very great. I am from Europe and always being told that I am a communist
    > or so.
    >
    > But take the article above, YOU USA complain more about government
    > and less about your own actions as the people in the former communist
    > states do.
    Jan 07 12:34 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    For a really different perspective, "The Market for Liberty", written back in the late 1960s, and published about 1970, is now available online, both as PDF, and MP3 of two qualities: freekeene.com/2008/02/.../
    Jan 07 12:54 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    basehitz,

    I agree. CNBC is a contrarian, backwards-looking indicator. The only people they show are the ones whose investment styles have been in style and are about to go out of style.
    Jan 07 01:36 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Farber's world view admits no shades of grey. A mixed economy such as we have today and which has given the world one of the greatest economic growth stories in human history is not acknowledged as a legitimate choice.You are either capitalist or communist.

    Farber's world view allows but a single cause for our current mess. The fact that many shady mortgage lenders chose to make risky loans to underdocumented and poor risk borrowers or that many borrowers chose to leverage their homes to the maximum extent possible based on the hype that home prices would grow forever at a 20% rate is not possible in his world. Nope, it was all the governments fault.

    Farber's world view has no room for compassion. Does he think that those people in Detroit who have worked hard and saved all their lives but have now lost their jobs and are in danger of losing their homes and healthcare and everything else as a result of the poor choices made by others should be left to their own devices? Why not, he is still rich. Why should he care?

    Farber may be a great investor, but I would never let such a narrow minded ideologue make social policy for the rest of us.
    Jan 07 01:53 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Carried to its proper conclusion, only a few survive, and a small few own everything. And class warfare begins. really Darwinian. Has the human race come down to survival of the fittest? What a bunch of hogwash. The reason we are where we are is all the rules have
    been thrown out the window. Theft is ok, greed is God.
    Jan 07 02:46 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Socialism might be defined as "compassion with other people's money". Most are quite happy with that. For a perspective from an earlier time in the US, read the description of how a farmer dissuaded Davy Crockett from spending other people's money (which is all any government has access to, at bottom) the following appears to be an excerpt from a book: theadvocates.org/libra...
    Jan 07 02:55 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Faber is a permabear, that I like, but I wonder how rich he really is. I have my doubts. Seems that he's gloating to a degree. Of course he's richer than you and I, but a lot of really richer people got rich catering to the governments all over this planet, who are the 'gatekeepers' to wealth. Witness the bailout.
    Jan 07 05:16 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Have been watching Joe Battapaglia for many years on Financial TV news, and my friends and I used to laugh and call him "the perpetual bull" -- Not any more!
    Joe has evolved and matured into one of the best analysts and deep strategic thinkers anywhere , bar none. He is always keen and razor sharp! And where do we see him , why, on CNBC.
    There are a few other great ones like Joe on CNBC, but they are not given their due or just time, just like Joe isn't , because CNBC is much too bland, Corporate and bureaucratic for that.
    Quentin Hardy on another channel is also excellent (and the ONLY one that is "fair and balanced" on that channel, if you know what I mean), and there are a few more , but not many as the readers have acknowledged.
    Just glad to give Joe and Quentin a hand of well earned applause where I can , because unable to tell them directly, and they richly deserve it. The best of continued success to them.
    Jan 07 06:57 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    PS , as a follow up, should have mentioned that I watched the Marc Faber video , and got a lot out of it. Expect him to be generally correct on most . if not all, of his observations and recommendations "in time". But as always , timing will be important to the success rate, and there, we all tend to commit our own errors, fallacies, and miscues. Still, I found his thoughts insightful and well worth considering seriously.
    Jan 07 07:14 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Can anybody understand of which Swiss Stock he is talking ?
    Thx
    Jan 07 07:23 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Brutely honest, but right on the target...
    Jan 07 07:41 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    AAAAA fuc*ing MEN brother.... man.. you said it. When will WE, as a nation, take responsibility for our OWN actions instead of asking GOV'T to take care of all our problems. Couldn't have said it better myself. We are about to learn how to lay in a bed that WE made... and it's probably the best lesson.

    Rich


    On Jan 07 08:27 AM whisperonthewind wrote:

    > We can blame others (governments, banks, big oil, etc.) until the
    > skies turn polka-dotted, but at some point we have to accept responsibility
    > for the things we each do for ourselves and TO ourselves. WE the
    > users went for those adjustable rate mortgages. WE believed the hype.
    > WE didn't pay the mortgage. WE lost those houses/cars/boats. The
    > government here is such that it makes things available, but no one
    > forced anyone to sign the papers. WE did that. WE refused to read
    > the papers. WE refused to do the math. WE refused to ask the loan-makers
    > to show us the numbers on paper. WE refused to listen when the interest
    > rates were going up. And WE liked it, because our house values were
    > going up at the same time. WE wanted higher values for our houses
    > because we knew it would make us rich when we sold to some poor sucker.
    > The blame lies with each of us that made those stupid mistakes.<br/>
    >
    > I've been criticized by friends for living in a cheap apartment,
    > not buying new furniture, not buying a new car, not taking that second
    > credit card, not buying new clothes. But now, my rent is affordable,
    > my heat is free, my lights are cheap, my car is paid off, my credit
    > card carries a balance that will be paid off next week, and my furniture
    > and clothes are still just as good as they were. I won't have a house
    > to leave to my kids (and they won't have to try to sell it), but
    > I will have money. The funny thing about money is that kids young
    > and old like it. And they like it more than Aunt Gerda's antimacassar
    > and Uncle Herb's rickety rocking chair.
    >
    > As a nation, as independent and FREE thinkers, we need to begin to
    > take responsibility for our OWN actions, we need to stop whining
    > and blaming everything else for what we have brought on ourselves.
    > Housing bubble or not, global warming or not, it isn't important
    > if WE don't take responsibility for ourselves. I'm tired of listening
    > to everyone place blame.
    Jan 07 09:28 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Besides Marc Faber, listen to financialsense.com which is replaying archived podcasts since 2002 of people who foretold this crisis. If you want to hear indepth analyses of the corruption on Wall St., the ignorance of the SEC and retail investors, the monumental scope of the disease, listen to the last two weeks of interviews.
    Jan 08 04:08 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    "
    That's the problem of society. If people can not accept the downside to capitalism, then they should become socialists and then they have a planned economy.
    "
    We do have a planned economy and socialism, but its for the ruling classes which were bail-out instead of liquidating.

    For the "peasants", capitalism, or what remains of it, for the capitalist elites, a bail-out to the tune of $trillions in newly printed dollars, courtesy of the FED. The even larger problem of hyperinflation is yet to come, of course. And, sad to say, the "peasants" will once again be taken "to the cleaners". So much for capitalism, as it is practiced in the USA.
    Jan 08 04:50 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    And we can start taking more responsibility by paying attention to elections, conducting research into the House of Representative members who are corrupt or inept. 2010 elections and 2012 elections will begin some changes in that area. You made a great point, also consider that it was government that ADVOCATED/ADVERTISED such poor behavior based on Efficient Market Hyposis. Save and Invest economy with limited leverage works. The citizenship is moving back in that direction no matter what political actions Washington creates.

    That is why reinflation will have limited effects. But tax cuts and creating the ability for entrepenuars to get loans (liked the 2007 Kerry plan on small business) is part of Obama's economic team plans. Let's see that plan before I make serious judgements/investment advice.


    On Jan 07 08:27 AM whisperonthewind wrote:

    > We can blame others (governments, banks, big oil, etc.) until the
    > skies turn polka-dotted, but at some point we have to accept responsibility
    > for the things we each do for ourselves and TO ourselves. WE the
    > users went for those adjustable rate mortgages. WE believed the hype.
    > WE didn't pay the mortgage. WE lost those houses/cars/boats. The
    > government here is such that it makes things available, but no one
    > forced anyone to sign the papers. WE did that. WE refused to read
    > the papers. WE refused to do the math. WE refused to ask the loan-makers
    > to show us the numbers on paper. WE refused to listen when the interest
    > rates were going up. And WE liked it, because our house values were
    > going up at the same time. WE wanted higher values for our houses
    > because we knew it would make us rich when we sold to some poor sucker.
    > The blame lies with each of us that made those stupid mistakes.<br/>
    >
    > I've been criticized by friends for living in a cheap apartment,
    > not buying new furniture, not buying a new car, not taking that second
    > credit card, not buying new clothes. But now, my rent is affordable,
    > my heat is free, my lights are cheap, my car is paid off, my credit
    > card carries a balance that will be paid off next week, and my furniture
    > and clothes are still just as good as they were. I won't have a house
    > to leave to my kids (and they won't have to try to sell it), but
    > I will have money. The funny thing about money is that kids young
    > and old like it. And they like it more than Aunt Gerda's antimacassar
    > and Uncle Herb's rickety rocking chair.
    >
    > As a nation, as independent and FREE thinkers, we need to begin to
    > take responsibility for our OWN actions, we need to stop whining
    > and blaming everything else for what we have brought on ourselves.
    > Housing bubble or not, global warming or not, it isn't important
    > if WE don't take responsibility for ourselves. I'm tired of listening
    > to everyone place blame.
    Jan 08 10:24 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    I love watching CNBC for about 20 minutes a week. It makes for great comedy.


    On Jan 07 09:14 AM basehitz wrote:

    > Tim,
    > Thanks for the post. Marc Faber is one in the small minority that
    > saw this coming well in advance. His early warnings made me more
    > cautious. Unfortunately, I also took in too much of CNBC and other
    > serial propagandists and played it half way. That half got beat up.
    > So those like Marc who go public on what was then a small minority
    > view and boldly proclaim their analysis now have earned the respect
    > and attention they deserve.
    >
    > CNBC on the other hand has been almost eliminated from my financial
    > news input. Examples are endless, but here's just a few:
    >
    > Dot-com peak: The cheerleading was rampant and analysis was laughable
    > (remember "price/page hits" for those companies who couldn't give
    > a PE or PS cause they had no E, and often no S.) Timing was exactly
    > wrong. That was the time to sell not buy.
    >
    > Late summer '02: Maria Barkarama was interviewing Bill Fleckenstein
    > on closing bell after another awful day. After almost all the damage
    > was done, then he finally gets some air time. Timing was exactly
    > wrong. That was the time to buy not sell.
    >
    > 2007: Cheerleading is again in vogue. And where bears get air time,
    > they are often criticized by permabulls like Larry Kudlow and the
    > Kool-Aid drinkers he seems so fond of. Ditto on timing comments.
    >
    >
    > 2008: After a nearly 50% selloff, bears are shown a little more respect.
    >
    >
    > Now Larry Kudlow (who has been shockingly wrong the past year) is
    > calling for a "panic rally".
    >
    > Like I said, I've about eliminated CNBC from my news input. Remember
    > Bagdad Bob (the former Iraqi Information Minister)? He was interviewed
    > live on air proclaiming certain victory as enemy tanks were rolling
    > into Bagdad just a short distance from where he was standing. Now
    > think of Larry Kudlow's predictions over the past year, and most
    > of CNBC for that matter. CNBC has become the Bagdad Bob of financial
    > journalism.
    Jan 08 11:23 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    On Faber: Notice how whenever the economic cycle moves in another direction there is always a new guru or three to say that he called it?

    My quote: "Capitalism will cease as a functionong economic system when everyone in it suspects every one else of trying to cheat them until there is no one left to cheat."

    I so believe that it is more a system of crook production than anything else, ever increasing, to the point where it can no longer effectively function economically and will be gridlocked due to paranoia.

    Then we can go back to being hunters, gatherers, and self-sufficient farmers, which I am not so sure we ever should have stopped in order to become capitalists.

    Jan 08 11:33 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Your characterizations of MarcFaber is all wrong. The guy is the ultimate observer without any ideological bias. His past comments and recommendations included China, Vietnam, countries newly emerging and still nominally communist.

    It is yourself who is looking at him with a very colored lens.


    On Jan 07 01:53 PM Skjellifetti wrote:

    > Farber's world view admits no shades of grey. A mixed economy such
    > as we have today and which has given the world one of the greatest
    > economic growth stories in human history is not acknowledged as a
    > legitimate choice.You are either capitalist or communist.
    >
    > Farber's world view allows but a single cause for our current mess.
    > The fact that many shady mortgage lenders chose to make risky loans
    > to underdocumented and poor risk borrowers or that many borrowers
    > chose to leverage their homes to the maximum extent possible based
    > on the hype that home prices would grow forever at a 20% rate is
    > not possible in his world. Nope, it was all the governments fault.
    >
    >
    > Farber's world view has no room for compassion. Does he think that
    > those people in Detroit who have worked hard and saved all their
    > lives but have now lost their jobs and are in danger of losing their
    > homes and healthcare and everything else as a result of the poor
    > choices made by others should be left to their own devices? Why not,
    > he is still rich. Why should he care?
    >
    > Farber may be a great investor, but I would never let such a narrow
    > minded ideologue make social policy for the rest of us.
    Jan 08 11:48 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Mr. Faber scoffs at the idea of the coming stimulus package and calls it a disaster. He thinks we should just leave the "market" alone and let it do what it will. He conveniently omits the fact that government spending is always a large part of the market – it is not some "outside force" manipulating the market, it is a portion of the market increasing it's share. Government spending is really no different than personal spending when it comes to the health of the economy with the exception that over time debt has to be repaid. If Mr. Faber is not an advocate of deficit spending then logically he would not be an advocate of anyone using credit to spend. Would he suggest the world rid itself of credit entirely?

    Mr.s Faber's approach would likely lead to a deflation spiral in which people spend less causing companies earnings to shrink causing more job losses causing people to spend less... an ugly, long lasting cycle.

    Mr. Faber sounds good and he has been a keen observer of economic bubbles around the world, but his theory about capitalism needing to be free of what he calls "government intervention" is nonsense. This stimulus package will provide not only jobs and start to rebuild the the country's infrastructure which is in great need of repair, but also make the economy more efficient through better technology, better schools, less expensive energy, new research and discoveries. The benefits of the stimulus will be real and long-lasting. They will provide a much stronger foundation for economic growth after this downturn. This country has been given the wake-up call it needs to finally get to work re-building the country. Instead of a disaster as Mr. Faber would describe it, the stimulus plan will be a true blessing to everyone in the country and the world. The U.S. economy leads the world economy and it will lead the way out of this world-wide recession.
    Jan 08 11:51 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Don't forget that the UNIONS played a huge part in the demise of the auto industry.
    Jan 08 01:37 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Some times I wonder if we as a species have opened pandora's box.


    On Jan 08 11:33 AM bobbobwhite wrote:

    > On Faber: Notice how whenever the economic cycle moves in another
    > direction there is always a new guru or three to say that he called
    > it?
    >
    > My quote: "Capitalism will cease as a functionong economic system
    > when everyone in it suspects every one else of trying to cheat them
    > until there is no one left to cheat."
    >
    > I so believe that it is more a system of crook production than anything
    > else, ever increasing, to the point where it can no longer effectively
    > function economically and will be gridlocked due to paranoia. <br/>
    >
    > Then we can go back to being hunters, gatherers, and self-sufficient
    > farmers, which I am not so sure we ever should have stopped in order
    > to become capitalists.
    >
    Jan 08 01:41 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Qeutin Harding fair and balanced is funny. If San Fransisco is fair and balanced then he is your "man". He is left of Obama and Biden and wants higher taxes, more unions and free education health care for all Forbes only keeps him as a token lib.
    Jan 08 03:17 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Marc Faber saw this in advance like my broken clock sees the correct time twice a day. That's what he and Nouriel Roubini do. Roubini has a monthly commentary on his website - or at least he did when i last checked. He was predicting Worldwide depression at least as as far back as 2002 and we got nearly unprecedneted worldwide growth for 5+ years after. They are no worse than the perma bulls who when the market is up act like the oracle of the ages and then hide when the markets go down.
    Jan 08 04:25 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Marc Farber, sadly, is not gloomy enough.

    If much of what these guys (Peter Shiff, et.al) tell you comes true, do you really think the investments like gold, etc will be worth anything?

    First of all, I do believe that the United States and our economy will fail. There is no way the Obama administration can prop this economy up unless they spent $1trillion a month for a decade or more (that is just about the levels of loss that is going on right now). You won't be able to live on hope.

    Buy gold? You'd be richer with canned food, firearms and ammunition. In the not too distant future, that's what you'll really NEED. That is where the DEMAND will be.

    I went to a couple of box stores today. Nobody and I mean there was NOBODY in them. It was sorta spooky, but it tells me that things are going to spiral down rather quickly.

    Be ready.
    Jan 08 04:41 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    > Your characterizations of MarcFaber is all wrong. The guy is the ultimate
    > observer without any ideological bias. His past comments and
    > recommendations included China, Vietnam, countries newly emerging
    > and still nominally communist.

    No. Farber's INVESTMENT advice is non-ideological in the sense that he goes wherever he believes the returns are highest. But his GOV'T POLICY advice is decidedly Libertarian and therefore highly ideological. Like most ideologues, you are either with him or against him, there is no in between.

    > It is yourself who is looking at him with a very colored lens.

    Perhaps. While I am sympathetic to many aspects of Libertarianism, I find much of the philosophy and its proponents to be stuck in 1776 as if the world has been technically, economically, and environmentally static for the past 233 years.
    Jan 08 05:06 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Man it must be near a bottom. I haven't heard so much doom and gloom since the early 80's.

    Jan 08 05:06 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Marc Faber is worthy of respect.
    Jan 08 05:44 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Curbs-in,
    My research tells me you're right on the money . It's going to be a lot worse than the bubblevision viewers believe. I don't believe Marc Faber paints things as gloomy enough due both to his ability to make money whether things are going up or down and his desire to get lots of business enhancing face time on CNBC. You know, the old 'buy when there's blood in the streets' approach for the down side. Pick the bones clean by buying that foreclosure cheap after the mortgagee has been stripped of the house. At least Marc states the futility of the bailouts, even though he know's that all that money thrown into the game has a better chance of ultimately ending up in his bank account than someone elses. The esteemed Warren Buffet on the other hand, encourages the bailout process, also knowing full well he will cream off (has already) a fortune from bailout dollars to add to his existing fortune.
    Jan 08 06:20 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    whisperonthewind - You summed it up perfectly. Personal accountability is lost on everyone looking to dole out the blame for their pity-party.

    Mr. Faber makes some false statements:

    Individuals are not communist, socialist, or capitalistic - Societies/Governments/... are. Individuals do not create the system, they live in it. They may disagree or agree with it.

    Many people are lazy and will mooch what they can no matter what. Many people are hard working and will do what they can no matter what. Many people are dishonest and will try to make money any way they can at the expense of anyone. Many people are honest and will try to make money honestly and provide opportunities for others. None of this has anything to do with communism, socialism, or capitalism.

    Here Mr. Faber says he would tell worker in Detroit that the Government caused him to lose his home. Completely false and very populist type statement. While the government certainly created an environment that encouraged this whole mess. The government did not sign the contract.




    Jan 08 06:36 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Canned goods and ammunition. Anything but the dollar. Once the Epic Inflation Machine finally kicks in.


    On Jan 08 04:41 PM curbs-in wrote:

    > Marc Farber, sadly, is not gloomy enough.
    >
    > If much of what these guys (Peter Shiff, et.al) tell you comes true,
    > do you really think the investments like gold, etc will be worth
    > anything?
    >
    > First of all, I do believe that the United States and our economy
    > will fail. There is no way the Obama administration can prop this
    > economy up unless they spent $1trillion a month for a decade or more
    > (that is just about the levels of loss that is going on right now).
    > You won't be able to live on hope.
    >
    > Buy gold? You'd be richer with canned food, firearms and ammunition.
    > In the not too distant future, that's what you'll really NEED. That
    > is where the DEMAND will be.
    >
    > I went to a couple of box stores today. Nobody and I mean there
    > was NOBODY in them. It was sorta spooky, but it tells me that things
    > are going to spiral down rather quickly.
    >
    > Be ready.
    Jan 08 07:02 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    CJJ,
    I am reminded of a quote by Benjamin Franklin: 'Democracy can be likened to 2 wolves and 1 lamb voting on what to have for lunch'. People also vote with their dollars and credit debt, and the falling house of cards we're living through now is primarily the result of enough wolves voting to get something for nothing.
    As for the hypothetical foreclosure victim in Detroit- Caveat Emptor & Cui Bono- for lenders and for employers and unions.
    Jan 08 07:08 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Go for it, BUAHAHAHA. :)


    On Jan 08 05:06 PM bricki wrote:

    > Man it must be near a bottom. I haven't heard so much doom and gloom
    > since the early 80's.
    >
    Jan 08 07:21 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    employment numbers are going to be disasterous, but media will somehow spin it to be a good thing. Great article today at crashmarketstocks.com
    Jan 08 10:24 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Our biggest bad was not acting when we could have. All these messes stem from not paying attention to the wolf watching the chicken coop, so long as we were pitched a free meal ticket. The Boston Tea Party was over 10 cents man. They gave no ground. WE lost that ground, likely because of some feeble self-interest.

    I see already, the need to receive deeper correction --ourselves. We fiddled while Rome burned. Had bread and circuses.

    Fiat $ selfishness always dies hard. Generosity of spirit is our saving grace. Together we can do what alone we cannot.
    Jan 09 03:07 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    what crap. a contract takes two parties to agree, you know. this is like saying that home buyers are responsible for the demise of the banking industry.

    i have another theory on the demise of the domestic auto industry. it has the most ignorant managers in american industry next to the commercial and investment banking business.

    On Jan 08 01:37 PM jrs87sch wrote:

    > Don't forget that the UNIONS played a huge part in the demise of
    > the auto industry.
    Jan 09 03:31 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    The only problem in the current stock market crash and a collapse of global economy - is the lack of oversight.
    OTC ( over the counter ) trading must be closed alltogether or regulated in the same way as excanges are, on the exchane like NYSE,NYMEX,ICE,CBOT,EU... or just any you can think of there is margin requirements, clearing, oversight by SEC, CFTC, NFA and then brokers look at their customer account to comply with all that.
    OTC platforms are founded by biggest investmant banks that in the first place lend money to investors and then require the same investors to trade on their trading platforms.
    It is not regulated, it is the biggest roulette table ever founded with huge risk as there is actually no margin requirements, only volume of few hundred trillion $$$.
    Now think if any fund with 1 mln $ would be allowed to trade 200-500 mln $ of Crude Oil, Gold, Coffee, IBM, Wheat, GE, Sugar on one of the following above shown exchanges - of course not.
    On OTC it is all welcome, as the contracts traded are not cleared or priced in real time like on the regulated exchange, those trades are reflection of a mix of assets like price of houses, price of Crude Oil, Treasury Bonds even the value of insurance to insure a 100 mln $ yacht against sinking or some person getting cancer at the age of 40.
    I am not kidding here, this is the fact that, as Mr.Buffett called OTC markets a WMD weapon of mass destruction, how come a hedge fund with 1-2 mln $ of assets to insure UBS Bank or GM debt in size of 500 mln $ against default in 10 years time.Any investor or hedge fund could do it on OTC, just pay a commission to a bank that will sell you insurance on any debt and you are welcome.
    CLOSE ALL OTC TRADING PLATFORMS NOW!!!
    Jan 09 08:00 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    More precisely, CNBC promotes the "stock market". They bring on stock fund managers who are required to be fully invested at all times. Hence, the extreme bias to promoting upward movements in common stocks. Otherwise, as we have seen, people pull money out of stock mutual funds, fees go down, and the major firms are forced to lay off staff. Occasionally, they interview contrarians and bond fund managers. They use Rick Santelli to report on the credit markets (i.e. bonds) only as a potnential "tell" for stocks. They are no better than carneys at a badly run, but slick carnival.


    On Jan 07 01:36 PM Chris B wrote:

    > basehitz,
    >
    > I agree. CNBC is a contrarian, backwards-looking indicator. The only
    > people they show are the ones whose investment styles have been in
    > style and are about to go out of style.
    Jan 09 10:46 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    I would agree we have to accept responsibility for things we do to ourselves. However, when Greenspan lowers rates to one percent, do you really think you should blame the old retiree for unhappily taking his money out of his savings accounts and and trying to find some income in the market or putting it in real estate? When Greenspan told banks on national TV not to be sensitive to borrower qualifications, do you think the resulting fraudulent loans were OUR fault? Have you actually read any of those loan docs? Now, I can't count how many people I've come across who are running for the "safety" of Treasuries. Except, they don't have a clue there's any difference between Fannie Mae, a 30 year T bond or a 3 month T Bill. They're moving to any FUND (of course) with the word "government" in it thinking their money will be safe because, "It's the government". Will you really be so heartless as to hold them responsible for their flight into government debt?

    Anyway, although your philosophy is paying off at present, I doubt you'll be in good shape several years from now and you'll return to being the sap that didn't know enough to buy fixed rate debt so inflation would work for instead of against him. There is intervention in the economy - that means it's not going to be market-based, sensible and certainly not ethical. These guys have ALWAYS tilted against the saver and even though the saver is having his day right now, it's going to be very brief. THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BASED ON DEBT.


    On Jan 07 08:27 AM whisperonthewind wrote:

    > We can blame others (governments, banks, big oil, etc.) until the
    > skies turn polka-dotted, but at some point we have to accept responsibility
    > for the things we each do for ourselves and TO ourselves. WE the
    > users went for those adjustable rate mortgages. WE believed the
    > hype. WE didn't pay the mortgage. WE lost those houses/cars/boats.
    > The government here is such that it makes things available, but no
    > one forced anyone to sign the papers. WE did that. WE refused to
    > read the papers. WE refused to do the math. WE refused to ask the
    > loan-makers to show us the numbers on paper. WE refused to listen
    > when the interest rates were going up. And WE liked it, because
    > our house values were going up at the same time. WE wanted higher
    > values for our houses because we knew it would make us rich when
    > we sold to some poor sucker. The blame lies with each of us that
    > made those stupid mistakes.
    >
    > I've been criticized by friends for living in a cheap apartment,
    > not buying new furniture, not buying a new car, not taking that second
    > credit card, not buying new clothes. But now, my rent is affordable,
    > my heat is free, my lights are cheap, my car is paid off, my credit
    > card carries a balance that will be paid off next week, and my furniture
    > and clothes are still just as good as they were. I won't have a
    > house to leave to my kids (and they won't have to try to sell it),
    > but I will have money. The funny thing about money is that kids
    > young and old like it. And they like it more than Aunt Gerda's antimacassar
    > and Uncle Herb's rickety rocking chair.
    >
    > As a nation, as independent and FREE thinkers, we need to begin to
    > take responsibility for our OWN actions, we need to stop whining
    > and blaming everything else for what we have brought on ourselves.
    > Housing bubble or not, global warming or not, it isn't important
    > if WE don't take responsibility for ourselves. I'm tired of listening
    > to everyone place blame.
    Jan 09 10:53 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    What got us into this mess? Excessive credit.

    How is the world trying to fix the problem? More credit.

    Is it not analagis to someone who already has a large debt load and is having trouble meeting its debt servicing and they fix the problem by going to another bank to borrow more money to service the debt they already have.

    Am I missing something here, or is this not completly insane?

    Are we not just postponing the inevitable?

    Who is kidding who, lets face it folks, bottom line, the whole world economy is a giant pyramid/ponzi scheme.


    Jan 09 11:03 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    You say WE a lot in your post. I (as an American) did not over spend and most Americans did not over spend like the Liberal media would like you to believe.
    However, The socialist Democrats were pushing poor people to buy houses they could not afford and told them NOT to worry about it. THAT is at the center of the global crisis. Socialist Democrat congress meddlers in a capitalist economy. They just don't understand it. That is what caused this problem.
    Now, Americans have been sold another lie that Obama can solve the problems that the Socialist Democrats in Congress caused by electing a Socialist Democrat President to help KILL American Liberty and Private Businesses.
    America will now join the ranks of European Godless socialism.
    This will bode very badly for the entire world.


    On Jan 07 08:54 AM Vienna wrote:

    > whisperonthewind
    >
    > Very great. I am from Europe and always being told that I am a communist
    > or so.
    >
    > But take the article above, YOU USA complain more about government
    > and less about your own actions as the people in the former communist
    > states do.
    Jan 09 11:27 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    taking personal responsibility is fine, but don't fall for the Wall Street Criminals who are trying to re-write history and spin the facts with, "There's plenty of blame to go around". The criminal Ratings agencies, banks, politicians, and regulators need to be tried for treason and hung if found guilty. They looted trillions from the economy. If someone lied on their mortgage application etc. punish them also.although losing their house might be punishment enough.
    The banks and regulators who primarily caused this are being given more money and power. That is also a crime.


    On Jan 07 08:27 AM whisperonthewind wrote:

    > We can blame others (governments, banks, big oil, etc.) until the
    > skies turn polka-dotted, but at some point we have to accept responsibility
    > for the things we each do for ourselves and TO ourselves. WE the
    > users went for those adjustable rate mortgages. WE believed the hype.
    > WE didn't pay the mortgage. WE lost those houses/cars/boats. The
    > government here is such that it makes things available, but no one
    > forced anyone to sign the papers. WE did that. WE refused to read
    > the papers. WE refused to do the math. WE refused to ask the loan-makers
    > to show us the numbers on paper. WE refused to listen when the interest
    > rates were going up. And WE liked it, because our house values were
    > going up at the same time. WE wanted higher values for our houses
    > because we knew it would make us rich when we sold to some poor sucker.
    > The blame lies with each of us that made those stupid mistakes.<br/>
    >
    > I've been criticized by friends for living in a cheap apartment,
    > not buying new furniture, not buying a new car, not taking that second
    > credit card, not buying new clothes. But now, my rent is affordable,
    > my heat is free, my lights are cheap, my car is paid off, my credit
    > card carries a balance that will be paid off next week, and my furniture
    > and clothes are still just as good as they were. I won't have a house
    > to leave to my kids (and they won't have to try to sell it), but
    > I will have money. The funny thing about money is that kids young
    > and old like it. And they like it more than Aunt Gerda's antimacassar
    > and Uncle Herb's rickety rocking chair.
    >
    > As a nation, as independent and FREE thinkers, we need to begin to
    > take responsibility for our OWN actions, we need to stop whining
    > and blaming everything else for what we have brought on ourselves.
    > Housing bubble or not, global warming or not, it isn't important
    > if WE don't take responsibility for ourselves. I'm tired of listening
    > to everyone place blame.
    Jan 09 11:38 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    I like it when these semi-wealthy twerps get on tv and bad mouth socialism, because people who want the ten second answer to their problems can then feel at ease and not have to educate themselves about what has really happened. Delightful. Socialism is bad? We already have some socialism here. What do think the public library is all about? It's for the good of everyone. Should we do away with them? Let the roads go to crap then too, and Social security, buses, public water, all this stuff is being payed for with our taxes and it is for the good of the people. If I hear one more rich old man say socialism is bad I am going to scream. It's really about what level of socialism we want because we already have it; that's why we don't usually sarve to death when we lose our jobs. Everything on these shows is a vast oversimplification so that we can get the people who created the mess off the hook, and hey, let's kill any real solution to the problem while we're at it by making buzz words into a toxic term.

    Blaming the common man for this mess is partially correct, if you can blame him for being uneducated and doing nothing about his ignorance. But everyone who just listened to this interview is a dope too, becuase he is only giving you half the picture. Failing to understand that salaries wouldn't continue to rise because Bush started to funnel money to the rich, not reading the mortagage details because you thought your bank was looking for out for you, the list goes on and it is truly unfortunate for Joe Blow to have let this happen to himself. But to let the SEC off the hook for allowing naked shorting, Congress allowing the credit default swap market become so huge with no regulation, Greenspan dropping rates with no consideration to the risk it would create, removal of antimonoply laws despite what we learned from the Great Depression...give me a break, the list is huge. The elite group of people who have control over the nations finances are greedy idiots and they bear the biggest amount of responsibility for this.

    Blaming Joe Dummy because he bought a house he couldn't afford was simply the straw on the camel's back. The banks had already over leveraged themselves to Depression levels and bought debt that wasn't rated properly because the whole system is corrupt. Faber is yet another chamion of half truths - just what we need.
    Jan 09 01:20 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Some are calling a Recession, some are calling a Depression...

    I'm calling a Civil War beacuse the government has endorsed crime for far too long. I predict we will revisit a technologically enhanced 1862 before this is over but I hope I'm wrong.

    To prevent this: ARREST THE FELONS AND CONFISCATE THEIR ASSETS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THIS DEVOLOPS ANY FURTHER (instead of "stimulating" them). Again, the civil war ensues because the people in charge of doing the arresting are in fact the ones who need to be arrested, because of this, it will never happen. One more point, the Brainwashing Bubble will pop too and suddenly 80 years of Manufactured Consent Science (advertising) goes poof as the pent up realism becomes unleashed.

    Jan 09 04:50 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    What is this "we"? I had the opportunity to get a large second mortgage on my home at a cheap rate. I thought about it and finished paying of the home instead. Over 2007-8 I got everything paid off because I didn/t think those upside down interest rates portended good. Now here I am not owing anyone anything.


    On Jan 07 08:27 AM whisperonthewind wrote:

    > We can blame others (governments, banks, big oil, etc.) until the
    > skies turn polka-dotted, but at some point we have to accept responsibility
    > for the things we each do for ourselves and TO ourselves. WE the
    > users went for those adjustable rate mortgages. WE believed the
    > hype. WE didn't pay the mortgage. WE lost those houses/cars/boats.
    > The government here is such that it makes things available, but no
    > one forced anyone to sign the papers. WE did that. WE refused to
    > read the papers. WE refused to do the math. WE refused to ask the
    > loan-makers to show us the numbers on paper. WE refused to listen
    > when the interest rates were going up. And WE liked it, because
    > our house values were going up at the same time. WE wanted higher
    > values for our houses because we knew it would make us rich when
    > we sold to some poor sucker. The blame lies with each of us that
    > made those stupid mistakes.
    >
    > I've been criticized by friends for living in a cheap apartment,
    > not buying new furniture, not buying a new car, not taking that second
    > credit card, not buying new clothes. But now, my rent is affordable,
    > my heat is free, my lights are cheap, my car is paid off, my credit
    > card carries a balance that will be paid off next week, and my furniture
    > and clothes are still just as good as they were. I won't have a
    > house to leave to my kids (and they won't have to try to sell it),
    > but I will have money. The funny thing about money is that kids
    > young and old like it. And they like it more than Aunt Gerda's antimacassar
    > and Uncle Herb's rickety rocking chair.
    >
    > As a nation, as independent and FREE thinkers, we need to begin to
    > take responsibility for our OWN actions, we need to stop whining
    > and blaming everything else for what we have brought on ourselves.
    > Housing bubble or not, global warming or not, it isn't important
    > if WE don't take responsibility for ourselves. I'm tired of listening
    > to everyone place blame.
    Jan 09 07:05 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Too new for deja vu the dawning of a brave new world
    yottabyte data base has us all in it's blinking recognition box crosshairs. Well, not yet but...
    Jan 10 09:46 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    If you subscribe to WSJ/Barrons online, it's Interesting to look at Faber's picks in the Barrons Roundtable of 2007 here:

    online.barrons.com/art...

    For those who don't, a partial list of his Longs were:
    proshares short midcap 400
    Gold
    Silver
    Yen
    some S.E. Asian stocks (no China)

    Shorts included:
    30 yr U.S. Bonds
    iShares DJ U.S. broker/dealer Index fund


    Jan 10 12:06 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    XSRAF:OTO Xstrata plc i think


    On Jan 07 07:23 PM Cem Unal wrote:

    > Can anybody understand of which Swiss Stock he is talking ?
    > Thx
    Jan 10 12:50 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Cafengo: I'm glad to hear that you've done EVERYTHING right. I'm sure your stock portfolio is up 37% in the past 12 months too! The "we" that whisper discussed (correctly) is the collective "we" of 330M people. For sure, there are a lot of "I" who did some things right, but it is clear that "WE" did most things wrong in the last 4 years and will suffer for it for the next 3-5 years, maybe more if the incoming prez has his way and saddles our kids and Grandkids with another $4T of debt.
    ----------------------...
    >"What is this "we"? I had the opportunity to get a large second mortgage on >my home at a cheap rate. I thought about it and finished paying of the home >instead. Over 2007-8 I got everything paid off because I didn/t think those >upside down interest rates portended good. Now here I am not owing anyone >anything.
    Jan 10 01:03 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    And neither do money systems. Gold backed money is an arcane idea. If it weren't then Gold would be about $5K an ounce today.


    On Jan 07 11:28 AM bearfund wrote:

    > Simmons: I would suggest that shorting the debt of the world's reigning
    > empire (whoever it is at the time) against gold is probably the most
    > profitable risk-free trade available. Anyone with the ability to
    > wait decades or centuries for a certain payoff should be positioned
    > this way. No one can be sure exactly when the payoff will come,
    > but it always will. Empires just don't last.
    Jan 10 04:07 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Actually it would be around $500,000 an ounce.

    In the meantime, none of the gold bugs are really thinking this through. When the apocolypse comes what are you going to do with all your gold?

    How will you protect it from being stolen by theives? How will you transport it? How will you leave it alone to go elsewhere? How will you protect your family from being kidnapped and ransomed for your gold?

    How will you use it as money - chip off little pieces and then weigh them? Imagine going to the grocery store to get a loaf of bread and taking your gold bar with you. If this is how it will work, then the winners will be anyone with a scale and a smelter.

    At the end of the day you will end up using most of your gold to hire protection and buy guns. Of course to pay for all that, well see the problems above.

    Gold is nothing more than a short term (read day trader) trading strategy based on the same Wall Street con game as every other financial product. It is not the ultimate answer.



    On Jan 10 04:07 PM Dave Wrixon wrote:

    > And neither do money systems. Gold backed money is an arcane idea.
    > If it weren't then Gold would be about $5K an ounce today.
    Jan 10 05:21 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Bookmark this video and refer to it frequently in coming months. Lots of good investment advice in it. Market hit an interim bottom in Nov., rallied in December. Rose a little too fast in early Jan., and is now correcting. After correcting in Jan/Feb, market will likely rally in March/April. Sell in May and go away. The market after that will likely be a tough one and hard to predict for many years.

    Focus on beaten down issues or market leaders that will emerge unimpaired as Jim Rogers also says. The world will continue to need base metals, food, oil, coal, bulk cargo shippers, semiconductors, etc. Be selective. Pay attention to timing, market psychology, Government and banking actions as well as stock-picking fundamentals. Stay on top of the news. In other words, it's still a battle for investment survival out there as it always has been.

    My one word of caution is that although Asian market prices are tempting, beware of individual stocks. Stick with funds, ETFs, and companies with excellent reputations. As corrupt as individual American companies can be, foreign companies can be even worse and even less transparent.

    My worst losses in the market have been complete blindsides by individual companies hiding bad news. Intel may be OK, but below that level, due diligence may not be enough.
    Jan 10 06:32 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    I no longer "watch or listen" to CNBC (also MSNBC &NBC). My wife got tired of me B*i*t*c* hing about the "financial channel" . I always had the channel on "mute" until I caught a banner teaser which made me "unmute". She knows that I watch the top and bottom tickers all the time. She took and cut a piece of cardboard to cover the central part of the tv screen leaving the upper and lower tickers visable. Thank you CNBC for my "free tickers" with out all the B.....S.... and hype. I have a ticker on my investment software but not nearly as encompassing as theirs.

    Thanks again CNBC for the grreat tickers!
    Rikiki
    Jan 10 08:50 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    CNBS is nothing but an infomercial for the advertisers that keep it in business. If I buried gold coins and dollar bills in my garden and they are found 100 years from now the dollar bills will be looked at with curiosity,but will be worthless. The gold coins on the other hand will still be able to be purchase something.
    Jan 10 10:36 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Or the story of the day just like soup in a moderately pricedly dinner. And they must sell time to people and companies for additional revenue streams.
    Some of their data is flashed fast, no resources shown or footnoted and the constant ego in fighting makes CNBC a limited source. Kudlow is FUN and is showing some of the GREENSPAN SYMPTOMS- BABBLE TALK- recommend ARICEPT....OLD AGE IS CREEPING into all of us actually.
    RESEARCH YOUR INVESTMENTS; it is alot of hard work but you control your FUTURE ...but this mess blind sided me because MEGA MEDIA TV WAS CAUGHT BY REALITY AND DID NOT REPORT IT .
    NOW FOR INVESTMENTS: LONG VALERO,COP, DNN, ALCOA, CAT, SHAW GROUP,GG,CVS AND OTHERS ALL BOUGHT ON MAJOR DROPS AND NORFOLK SOUTHERN.
    Work hard at your career and enjoy family and hopefully you have a HOME to ENJOY and hang on to cash in 2009.
    DIEGOJAMES
    NORTHRIDGE, CALIFORNIA


    On Jan 07 01:36 PM Chris B wrote:

    > basehitz,
    >
    > I agree. CNBC is a contrarian, backwards-looking indicator. The only
    > people they show are the ones whose investment styles have been in
    > style and are about to go out of style.
    Jan 11 11:34 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Faber isn't making social policy, he making investment insights. He says that when the social policy wonks try to influence the economy, they cause havoc. But they also crete opportunities for the shrewd and the swift.


    On Jan 07 01:53 PM Skjellifetti wrote:

    > Farber's world view admits no shades of grey. A mixed economy such
    > as we have today and which has given the world one of the greatest
    > economic growth stories in human history is not acknowledged as a
    > legitimate choice.You are either capitalist or communist.
    >
    > Farber's world view allows but a single cause for our current mess.
    > The fact that many shady mortgage lenders chose to make risky loans
    > to underdocumented and poor risk borrowers or that many borrowers
    > chose to leverage their homes to the maximum extent possible based
    > on the hype that home prices would grow forever at a 20% rate is
    > not possible in his world. Nope, it was all the governments fault.
    >
    >
    > Farber's world view has no room for compassion. Does he think that
    > those people in Detroit who have worked hard and saved all their
    > lives but have now lost their jobs and are in danger of losing their
    > homes and healthcare and everything else as a result of the poor
    > choices made by others should be left to their own devices? Why not,
    > he is still rich. Why should he care?
    >
    > Farber may be a great investor, but I would never let such a narrow
    > minded ideologue make social policy for the rest of us.
    Jan 11 03:08 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Mark Faber is on my short list of people who are getting it right. It seems the mainstream economists don't know whats up and these eccentric somewhat geeky guys that are out on the margin are the ones who know.


    The only problem with people like Mr Faber is that they don't understand POLITICAL economics they just know what works. Keynes understood I think that economics was one part science and one part politics.
    Jan 11 07:23 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    San Anton Resource Corp. SNN.T

    Kings, Goldcorp bite into rich 'donut'
    Kings Minerals, as well as Cerro Del Gallo regarding past intercepts, location and size of the deposit. The deposit starts at surface and is open at depth. There are 3 geological domains present which may or may not be included in the mine plan. Based on the previous history of management. PJO, BOLNISI ect....Kings Minerals are conservative miners and look at the big picture and have been working at San Anton since 2004.

    www.miningnews.net/sto...

    Managing director Dudley Leitch said the company had previously thought the gold-rich zone was discontinuous, but these results indicated otherwise.

    "We now believe that the gold zone extends right around the central felsic intrusion," he said. "That makes it pretty significant.

    "The annulus is basically like a circular zone or donut. In the middle is the core, which is a granitic-type of material and surrounding that, roughly 80m wide, is the part of the donut that you eat and it goes right around this intrusion. The distance from one side of the donut to the other is roughly a kilometre north-south and east-west so it's a big feature."

    Leitch added that the centre of the annulus might yet warrant mining itself.

    "We may well take the whole thing, not just the annulus," he said.

    "There's enough evidence to suggest that the core part of the donut is reasonably well mineralised."

    Meanwhile, drilling at Cerro del Gallo continues to focus on the annulus, with a view to obtaining further samples for metallurgical test work and better defining the resource.

    The project currently contains a known resource of 165Mt at 0.5gpt gold, 16gpt silver and 0.12% copper at a cut-off grade of 0.8gpt gold equivalent. According to Kings, however, the system remains open laterally and at depth.

    Following the completion of a scoping study by Intermet Engineering earlier this year, the joint venture partners put a $US265 million ($A351.8 million) price tag on the development of an openpit mine at Cerro del Gallo.

    The proposed operation would have an initial lifespan of 11 years and produce more than 180,000 ounces of gold, 6.1 million ounces of silver and 14,000t of copper per year.

    Brisbane-based Kings holds a 51% stake in Cerro del Gallo, while Goldcorp, the Canadian gold miner that is the most profitable in the world, owns the remaining stake.




    KINGS Minerals and Goldcorp have been buoyed by results from drilling at their jointly owned Cerro del Gallo gold-silver-copper project in Mexico that they say suggest the continuity of a gold-rich annulus, or "donut"-shaped feature, within the wider mineralised system.


    ASX-listed Kings released the results to the market yesterday, highlighting in particular holes returning intervals of 145.8m grading 1.51 grams of gold per tonne, 12gpt of silver and 0.08% copper (1.89gpt gold equivalent) from 12.2m; 302.9m at 0.69gpt gold, 10gpt silver and 0.1% copper (1.09gpt gold equivalent) from 3.1m; and 111.25m at 1.17gpt gold, 4gpt silver and 0.04% copper (1.33gpt gold equivalent) from surface.


    ----------------------...
    Resource Category Tonnes Au Ag Cu Au Ag Cu
    millions g/t g/t % Moz Moz Mlbs
    ______________________...
    Gold Domain
    ----------------------...
    Measured 129 0.54 12 0.09 2.2 50 250
    ----------------------...
    Indicated 80 0.38 8 0.08 1.0 21 140
    ----------------------...
    Meas/Indicated 209 0.48 11 0.08 3.2 71 391
    ----------------------...

    To date, two main phases of preliminary metallurgical work have been completed. The flotation test work indicates that copper can be recovered to a saleable grade concentrate from the Copper and Gold Zone material. At the same time, results from the leach test work indicates that gold is readily recoverable using a cyanide leach process with good kinetics.



    In 2007, Golder Associates carried out a series of pit optimization studies which indicate that potential pits already contain a significant resource and have a very low strip ratio of 0.44. Preliminary metallurgical recoveries were assumed at 80% for gold and silver, and 85% for copper.


    Work has also commenced on some of the other higher grade exploration targets elsewhere on the San Anton Property. The main target is the Carmen-Providencia vein system, a north-northwest trending low sulphidation epithermal silver-gold system located approximately two kilometers west of Cerro del Gallo and traceable on surface for three kilometers. First pass drilling designed to test the upper levels of the epithermal vein systems is now completed with encouraging results from the Dolores and Empalizada prospects including 4.6m grading 428g/t Ag and 3.52g/t Au, 1.5m grading 590g/t Ag and 3.40g/t Au, and 7.6m grading 168g/t Ag and 1.51g/t Au.

    www.321gold.com/editor...

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    Jan 11 08:18 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    very well said.
    farber is over rated


    On Jan 07 01:53 PM Skjellifetti wrote:

    > Farber's world view admits no shades of grey. A mixed economy such
    > as we have today and which has given the world one of the greatest
    > economic growth stories in human history is not acknowledged as a
    > legitimate choice.You are either capitalist or communist.
    >
    > Farber's world view allows but a single cause for our current mess.
    > The fact that many shady mortgage lenders chose to make risky loans
    > to underdocumented and poor risk borrowers or that many borrowers
    > chose to leverage their homes to the maximum extent possible based
    > on the hype that home prices would grow forever at a 20% rate is
    > not possible in his world. Nope, it was all the governments fault.
    >
    >
    > Farber's world view has no room for compassion. Does he think that
    > those people in Detroit who have worked hard and saved all their
    > lives but have now lost their jobs and are in danger of losing their
    > homes and healthcare and everything else as a result of the poor
    > choices made by others should be left to their own devices? Why not,
    > he is still rich. Why should he care?
    >
    > Farber may be a great investor, but I would never let such a narrow
    > minded ideologue make social policy for the rest of us.
    Jan 11 08:40 PM | Link | Reply