uwantsun's blog

The Panic Of '08

RHINEBECK, NY -- The United States' economy is in meltdown mode. The Panic of '08, the beginning of the worst financial crisis to ever have hit modern America, is under way.

But despite the daily doses of dire economic data pointing to disaster, the media doesn't report how bad it really is (if they report it at all), while Wall Street and Washington deny a recession is coming ... or proclaim that should one arrive, the economic landing will be gentle.

For all those needing more proof of just how bad it is or how bad it will get, the evidence is clear and the outcome is predictable.

The Dow fell 315 points on Friday, capping off its fourth-straight monthly decline. Oil prices have passed $103 a barrel, while gas at the pump is expected to hit $4 a gallon by the summer driving season.

The beaten down dollar continues its dive against the euro, and keeps dropping against six major counterparts to the lowest level since 1973 when Richard Nixon decoupled the greenback from gold.

New home sales are at their lowest level since February 1995, house prices slid by a record 15 percent from a year ago, and construction spending fell the most since 1994. Home prices in 20 US cities fell in December by the most on record and sales of existing homes in the US fell in January to the lowest level since records began. Nearly 200,000 newly constructed single-family homes are sitting empty, the most since 1973 when the Commerce Department began compiling the statistics.

Consumer prices surged 4.1 percent last year, the most in 17 years. Wholesale costs accelerated to 7.4 percent in January, the biggest jump since 1981. Durable-goods orders for January plunged 5.3 percent and consumer sentiment fell to the lowest level since February 1992.

The Commerce Department reported the economy grew a paltry 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, while the National Association for Business Economics estimates growth for the first quarter of 2008 will slow to a meager 0.4 percent.

The Labor Department reported initial claims for unemployment insurance climbed 19,000 last week the second-highest level since a surge in claims in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The National Association of Purchasing Managers-Chicago index of regional business conditions tumbled to 44.5, its lowest since December 2001 well below the level of 50 that separates growth from contraction while manufacturing shrank at the fastest pace in almost five years.

Duh Evidence

Yet, despite the facts that tell the story, "experts" and politicians claim the economic damage is light and the ship of state isn't sinking. "The evidence is piling up that the economy is slipping into at least a mild recession," said Scott Anderson, a senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co., who had forecast that the Chicago index would only drop to 48.

"I don't think we're headed to a recession," President Bush said last Thursday, echoing Fed Chief Bernanke's prediction to Congress that "the US economy will return to a strong growth path with price stability."

Inconceivably, despite the ample evidence pointing to Wall Street's failure to predict past and current economic trends ... and Washington's dismal track record of massive strategic blunders and costly economic errors the press pumps out the swill for the ill-informed and terminally gullible to swallow.

Publisher's Note: We do not provide financial advice, we are trends forecasters. As Trends Journal subscribers, you are well aware of our dollar/gold forecasts and their accuracy over the past several years. With the Federal Reserve trending toward moving interest rates lower and with the Euro zone planning to keep their rates steady the prospects for the dollar to dive toward $1.60 euros is highly probable before the fourth quarter.

As the dollar weakens, gold prices will move closer to hitting our $2000 per ounce target. (See "Gold 2000," 4 November 2007.) In the interim, and in the absence of wild card events, we forecast that gold will swiftly move toward the $1,200 to $1,500 trading range, and experience a sharp correction before proceeding higher.

Gerald Celente

Founder/Director

The Trends Research Institute

six comments:

To quote something I read not too long ago, ” When people have lost everything and have nothing more to lose, that is when you will see creativity flourish and the ability to stand up and say NO!”

People will simplify the hard way as these events will show. They need to interact with their neighbors again like they did in the old days. Society HAS to crumble down if something better is going to take its place.

So why don’t we simplify now, clear out our space physically and energetically and learn to grow veggies using non hybrid seeds. Go back to the old ways, get back to nature. I’m learning to do this now and it’s not easy to change but it has to be done.
Diane - 04 03 08 - 13:05

Agree completely.
db - 04 03 08 - 14:02

Just today, went to a downtown meeting about this very thing.
It was about a group of us working together for community gardening, and various people volunteering their time to work the gardens. We all will reap the benefits of local organically grown food. Everyone is feeling the urgency to get this in order and done. A handful of volunteers can accomplish quite a bit.
I’ll probably post about it, as we were given handouts with links, in a day or two.
Donna - 04 03 08 - 17:02

been there, done that. may do it, again.
happyjim - 05 03 08 - 13:31

I’ve got a Catalog somewhere, it’s titled: Heirloom Seeds.com has original Corn seeds from the indigenous native tribes of this continent who kept all of theirs intact and proliferated stocks by saving as much as they consumed. They have Blue Corn, Yellow Corn, White Corn, Red Corn Seeds, none are hybrids. Also there are other varieties including Turnip greens, etc, etc.
happyjim - 10 03 08 - 15:00

I’ve got a Catalog somewhere, it’s titled: Heirloom Seeds.com The company carries original Corn seeds from the indigenous native tribes of this continent who kept all of theirs intact and proliferated stocks by saving as much as they consumed. They have Blue, Yellow, White, and Red Corn Seeds, none are hybrids. Hope you find this catalog, too.
happyjim - 10 03 08 - 15:10

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