I have mentioned Chris Martenson’s blog on this site many times. Below is a Martenson’s weekly recap for registered users. He has just started this service.
To be a registered user, merely go to his site and sign up. It is free. He also has a subscription service which provides you more information sooner. That is a fee service.
Chris is an interesting guy who saw the financial crisis coming several years before others and several years before it occurred. He was so convinced of what was coming that he “put his money where his mouth was,” altering his and his family’s lifestyle to prepare. He does some of the best analysis on the web. While I don’t agree with everything he says, I do agree with most of it.
I have no relationship with Chris other than an admiration for his work.
Take the time to explore the links in this post. I think you will find them informative, eye-opening and well worth the time. These links represent just one week!
Weekly Newsletter for Registered Members
As we prepare to enter what promises to be a volatile 2011, we want to provide our registered users with a way to stay better on top of the accelerating events that we track here at Martenson HQ. To that end, we’ve compiled this weekly email digest. It recaps the major articles that ran on CM.com over the past week, so you don’t need to sweat about missing an important update if your busy life has kept you from visiting the site.
This is a free service for all of our registered users. We hope you enjoy staying updated and will appreciate any feedback you may have for improvement. If getting another email in your inbox just isn’t what you need right now, simply send “no weekly for me” to [email protected].
Cheers
– The CM.com staff
Friday, January 14, 2011, 12:17 pm, by cmartenson
Speaking of changing the rules…
Gold and silver are now down hard over the past two days, and the reason may have something to do with the fact that the CFTC utterly caved to JPM in their long-awaited decision on position limits in a 4-1 vote.
While position limits will eventually be set, maybe, someday, the course of action taken by the CFTC grandfathers in JPM’s (and HSBC, et al.) current outlandish positions.
Here’s the background (emphasis mine):
Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 9:52 pm, by cmartenson
To anyone paying the slightest bit of attention, these remain very uncertain and trying times. On one side of the intellectual divide are the folks who are counting on deflationary forces overwhelming the normal credit-operated machinery of modern life, resulting in an implosion of economic activity. On the other side are those counting on hyperinflation as the most likely outcome of the grand printing experiment currently being conducted across the globe with its epicenter located within the United States.
In the middle of the intellectual divide are people like me, who are leaning slightly towards one view or the other. Not yet committed to any particular outcome, they are tensed and ready to spring in whichever direction necessary, like the last kids left standing in a game of dodge ball.
Some are expecting an imminent recovery (whatever that means), some a long, slow grind downwards, and others a rapid, if not chaotic, plunge into new and unwelcome territory of one sort or another.
There are no right or wrong views here. All sides are on equally firm intellectual standing. However, I want to let you know why it is that I lean towards the inflationary line a bit (okay, a lot, by some people’s standards) and why I think that a wide-scale, final fiscal collapse is in the cards. read more »
Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 12:04 am, by Adam
Dan Ariely needs lab rats.
Our new friend, the renowned behavioral economics researcher, is conducting an experiment to better understand people’s perceptions around wealth inequality. A timely subject, as the wealth gap between rich and poor in many developed countries is now reaching all-time highs.
Following Chris’ recent interview with him, Dan has put together a survey for the CM.com audience to fill out on this topic. Perhaps we’ll become one of the colorful studies Dan is famous for citing in his talks!
If you’re game for it, take 10 minutes to fill out Dan’s survey. And remember, this is for posterity, so please be honest. (Can anyone cite that film reference?)
Here’s a bit more background in Dan’s own words:
Saturday, January 8, 2011, 3:07 pm, by Adam
We spend a lot of time on this site discussing the risks posed by Peak Oil. It’s important to us that you understand the magnitude of our national/global predicament and take appropriate preparations.
But in addition to tracking the gathering stormclouds (of which there are many), our info scouting efforts also look for developments with potential to change the situation positively.
In the podcast below, Chris and Willett Kempton explore the potential of wind power to reduce the energy pinch threat posed by depleting fossil fuels. Dr. Kempton is an electrical engineering professor at the University of Delaware and director of the Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration. Turns out, while still early in the game, there’s action going on in wind and electricity-management that offers real promise.
Friday, January 14, 2011, 11:00 am, by DailyDigest
- Fed’s Fisher Says Monetary Policy Not Cure for Nation’s `Fiscal Pathology’
- Europe Fears Motives Of Chinese Super-Creditor
- Markets Shrug Off Fresh Warnings About US Sovereign Debt
- Li Tests Yuan IPO Market
- 10 Things That Would Be Different If The Federal Reserve Had Never Been Created
- In Los Angeles, Officials Announce Attainment of a Cleaner-Energy Goal
- Gasoline’s Prepping For A Return To $4 A Gallon
Get started building resilience into your life with our ‘What Should I Do?’ guide
Thursday, January 13, 2011, 11:00 am, by DailyDigest
- Brazil Accuses US, China of Currency Manipulation, Looming Trade War
- Merk Commentary: Budget Battles Ahead
- Wildlife Wednesday – The Portu-Goose!
- Fed’s Kocherlakota: Not Yet Time For Fed’s Exit Strategy
- France Says Concerned By Surging Global Food Prices
- US Mint Bullion Product Revenue Rises 68.5% to Record $2.8 Billion
- Fed Bid to Limit Rescission Rights Sparks Consumer Outrage
Insightful analysis on the Three E’s. Take home a Special Edition DVD today. (NTSC or PAL)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 11:00 am, by saxplayer00o1
- US EIA Jan Outlook: Sees Oil Prices At $99 By End-2012
- Governor To Disconnect 48,000 Cellphones In Hands Of State Workers (California)
- Food Prices To Soar
- Christie Calls for New Jersey Pension Overhaul, Education Cuts
- Fiscal Challenges Deepen For Md. Lawmakers
- Japanese Pledge Eases Tension In European Markets
- Newark Losing Police Horses Due To Budget Woes
- Atlantic City Casino Revenue Falls To $3.57bn In 2010
- Villaraigosa Threatens Layoffs And Furloughs (Los Angeles)
- Portugal Debt Woes Grow As Economy Now Seen Shrinking In 2011
- Texas’s Perry Faces Record Budget Gap on Revenue Drop
- Restaurants Could Be Food Stamp Option For Some (San Diego)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 11:00 am, by DailyDigest
- Toward Sensible Monetary Policy
- The Invention of Money
- Monday Market Movement – 10 Days of ’11
- Food Prices Set To Spike In Wake Of Floods
- Virginia Creates Subcommittee To Study Monetary Alternatives In Case Of Terminal Fed “Breakdown”
- EMU Debt Crisis Edges Ever Closer To The Core
- 300 Year Old Food Forest in Vietnam
Monday, January 10, 2011, 11:00 am, by DailyDigest
- Debt Default Fears will Spread to US and Japan, Warns Citigroup’s Willem Buiter
- World Food Prices Enter ‘Danger Territory’ To Reach Record High
- Rumour of €80bn Bail-Out To Squeeze Portugese Bonds
- Deepening Crisis Traps America’s Have-Nots
- Massive Silver Withdrawals From The Comex
- European Debt Worries Again Weigh on Shares
- Gold Rises A Bit But High Prices Limit Buying
Sunday, January 9, 2011, 11:00 am, by DailyDigest
- Greenspan Warns of Risks From U.S. Debt
- U.S. Stock Investors Ready For Earnings Start
- Yellen Says Fed Asset Purchases Avert Deflation, to Create 3 Million Jobs
- A Tale of 2 Employment Surveys, at a Glance
- Facing Scrutiny, Banks Slow Pace of Foreclosures
- BP to Cut Alaskan Oil Production
- Duke Is Said to Be Near Deal to Buy Progress Energy
Saturday, January 8, 2011, 12:58 pm, by DailyDigest
- Why the World Is Financially Doomed in Four Charts
- Thrilling Thursday – Comedy or Tragedy?
- Europe Unveils Sweeping Plans To Govern Reckless Banks
- Brazil Moves To Curb Rising Currency
- Spanish and Portuguese Bonds Hit Hard on Sovereign Debt Financing Concerns
- China Helps Take Pressure Off Euro
- Food Stamp Usage Hits New High Of 43.2 Million
Friday, January 14, 2011, 5:02 pm, by maceves
History
Roman history notes that the women washing in the water below the temples after sacrifices found the water there to be foamy and excellent for washing clothes. The fat had run down through the ashes and rain had washed it down the hill. They took credit for the invention of soap, although some historians believe it was actually first invented in Egypt. The Spaniards later found that they didn’t have to use animal fat; they used olive oil and created the gentle Castille soap.
In the United States, at the end of the 19th century, the meat packers discovered that they could take the fat from the pigs, make soap, and extract the glycerin for nitro glycerin. The money was in the glycerin, but with mass production and clever advertising the soap sold well too.
Justification
There are lots of reasons not to make soap at home. It takes a lot of equipment you shouldn’t use for other purposes. It is inherently dangerous and the raw materials must be respected. It takes some training and skill to make a product that is gentle and pleasant to use. But any soapmaker will tell you that the process is creative and addictive. The soap forms as if by magic. The fragrance of drying soap is intoxicating. The soap itself is better for the skin than commercially produced soaps.
Monday, January 10, 2011, 10:24 am, by apismellifera
My CM username is the Latin name of the common honeybee (“Apis mellifera”). So it should come as no surprise that I’m a beekeeper. I started keeping bees about seven years ago, long before I had any awareness of “Peak Everything” or the three E’s. And I enjoy keeping bees more than just about anything else. It requires a small amount of regular attention to make sure my hives are healthy, and conversely, to make sure a hive is not doing too well and preparing to swarm, which really ruins honey production. But beekeeping is not really a lot of work compared to most livestock. So, maybe consider a few beehives in your plans for self-sufficiency.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011, 9:52 pm, by cmartenson
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Executive Summary
- Why the inevitable market correction will be triggered by a forcing event, and which one is most likely
- Why the US has too much debt
- Why state bailouts are inevitable despite the Fed’s denials
- Why there’s “not enough oil to repay the debt”
- Why the cost of debt service will drown us, even if interest rates remain low
- Why the bond market will be the canary in the coal mine
- The key signs to watch for that will signal the endgame is playing out
- Recommended investment classes for preserving wealth
Part I – They’ll Just Change the Rules
If you have not yet read Part I of this report, please click here to read it first.
Part II – How This All Ends
In Part I of this report, I laid out my reasoning for why the game has managed to continue on as long as it has. Where a massive financial dislocation should have happened by now, in practice the impacts have been relatively minor compared to what many people had expected to happen.
But we cannot escape the fact that entirely too much debt and liabilities exist to pay off in current dollars. Either those debts will have to be defaulted upon, or they will have to be inflated away.
Even more important than the question of which one it will be is the question of when. That’s what we will explore here.
