
From Barnes Capital Insight
Here is the year-to-date price change in commodities and stocks:
Crude oil up 43%
Ethanol up 21%
Heating oil up 44%
Natural gas up 77%
Unleaded gas up 40%
Cattle up 1%
Corn up 59%
Soy beans up; 26%
W…

Money & Markets – Week of 6.23.08
Shortages, Prices Hit California Food Banks as Schools Recess
By Ryan Flinn – Bloomberg.com (23 Jun 2008)
The Crime of the Century
Jim Puplava’s webcast presentation on Naked Short Selling
Billion D…

Money & Markets – Week of 6.23.08
Shortages, Prices Hit California Food Banks as Schools Recess
By Ryan Flinn – Bloomberg.com (23 Jun 2008)
The Crime of the Century
Jim Puplava’s webcast presentation on Naked Short Selling
Billion D…

Precious Metals – Week of 6.23.08
Inflation Explodes in Manufacturers’ Prices — But Not Gold and Silver
By Francesco Guerrera, et al – Financial Times, London (24 Jun 2008)
Correspondance re: Vatican Gold Accounts at the NY Federal …

Geopolitical – Week of 6.23.08
The Hedge Schools
By John Walsh – Irish Cultural Society of the Garden City Area
I Still crouching ‘neath the sheltering hedge,
Or stretched on mountain fern,
The teacher and his pupils met feloniousl…

Life – Week of 6.23.08
America at Home: Small Houses and Quirky Homes
Photos – At Yahoo News (16 Jun 2008)
Russian Spa Opens Monument to the Enema
Associated Press (19 Jun 2008)
Images from the Spitzer Space Telescope
Th…

How McCain’s Money Works
For those of you who do not typically use financial filings, I thought I would make it easy for you to access information on how the Presidential candidates’ money works. Once you see how to access …

How McCain's Money Works
For those of you who do not typically use financial filings, I thought I would make it easy for you to access information on how the Presidential candidates’ money works. Once you see how to access …

Is Your Safety Deposit Box a Crime Scene?
Money High Street
By Mark Nestmann
For many years, I’ve advocated keeping valuable items in private vaults, rather than safety deposit boxes. A raid June 2 on three private vaults in London has le…

Financial Truffles
I just love reporters who take the time to dig into financial statements and come up with the truffles to be found there. I posted Jonathan Weil’s gem from Boomberg this week on the Fed’s treatment of…

Shock Doctrine
I finally finished The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein. What a fine piece of investigative journalism. Klein nails Milton Friedman, Jeff Sachs and the line of economist…

Book Review: Shock Doctrine
I finally finished The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein. What a fine piece of investigative journalism. Klein nails Milton Friedman, Jeff Sachs and the line of economists…

Sam Smith on Hillary Clinton
Most Recent Hillary Clinton Stories:
The Clinton Scandals
What You Won’t Find in The Clinton Museum and Library
The Real Divide on Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama & Vanna White
Th…

“What’s Up in Alabama?” Updated
Catherine’s post – “What’s Up in Alabama?” has been updated. ~ View it here.

"What's Up in Alabama?" Updated
Catherine’s post – “What’s Up in Alabama?” has been updated. ~ View it here.

Jason Defense Advisory Group on Wind Farms
Wind farms that use spinning blades and turbines to generate electricity have the undesirable side effect of disrupting the operation of radar systems. The JASON defense science advisory group was ask…

Court Skinner Hot Tip
The coolest techie we know, Court Skinner of Computers for Everyone, in Palo Alto says Puppy Linux is going to resurrect antique computers (that is, more than ten years old). New computers can use it…

Derivatives Shoot the Moon
A new report from the Bank of International Settlements indicates that global outstanding derivatives just keep growing in amount.
Highlights of International Banking and Financial Market Activity – …

Another Unanswered Question
When Jim Johnson announced his resignation, the first uncensored thought that came to mind was “I wonder if Andrew Cuomo and Jack Kemp where in cahoots on this one?” It was just intuition, but with Ke…

Money & Markets – Week of 6.16.08
Charges at Bear Stearns Linked to Subprime Debacle
By Tom Hays – Associated Pres (19 Jun 2008)
~ Read the PRESS RELEASE – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York
~ Read the SEC C…

Money & Markets – Week of 6.16.08
Charges at Bear Stearns Linked to Subprime Debacle
By Tom Hays – Associated Pres (19 Jun 2008)
~ Read the PRESS RELEASE – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York
~ Read the SEC C…

Geopolitical – Week of 6.16.08
Beware the Chicago Boys
By Naomi Klein – The Guardian (14 Jun 2008)
Israel Seen Rehearsing Iran Attack
By Doina Chiacu – Reuters (20 Jun 2008)
Testimony at DC City Council Hearing on Police Checkpoi…

Mortgage Markets – Week of 6.16.08
Hundreds Swept up in Mortgage Fraud Arrests
By Lara Jakes Jordan – Associated Press (19 Jun 2008)

Food & Health – Week of 6.16.08
Cancer Patient Recovers After Injection of Immune Cells
By Roger Highfield – London Telegraph (18 Jun 2008)
IPM Matters. Why?
Integrated Pest Management website
Exposed: Harvard Shrink Gets Rich Lab…

Food & Health – Week of 6.16.08
Cancer Patient Recovers After Injection of Immune Cells
By Roger Highfield – London Telegraph (18 Jun 2008)
IPM Matters. Why?
Integrated Pest Management website
Exposed: Harvard Shrink Gets Rich Lab…

Life – Week of 6.16.08
Americans Drive 1.4 Billion Fewer Highway Miles
CNN.com (19 Jun 2008)
Court Overturns Father’s Grounding of 12-year-old
The Sydney Morning Herald (19 Jun 2008)
Old School Sanitation – An Outhouse is…

How Obama’s Money Works
For those of you who do not typically use financial filings, I thought I would make it easy for you to access information on how the Presidential candidates’ money works. Once you see how to access …

How Obama's Money Works
For those of you who do not typically use financial filings, I thought I would make it easy for you to access information on how the Presidential candidates’ money works. Once you see how to access …

The Smell of Our Money
I first met Jim Johnson in the early 1990’s. I was a great admirer of his predecessor at Fannie Mae, David Maxwell. David had recruited Jim from Lehman Brothers to serve as Vice-Chairman at Fannie Mae…

Alcohol Can Be a Gas
I just saw a fascinating presentation. David Blume explained ethanol and its economics in the context of reviving communities at the Sonnenschien Festival in Hohenwald, Tennessee. Here are links for h…

A Must Read
The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination
Harvard University Commencement Address
By J.K. Rowling – Harvard University Gazette Online (Jun 2008)
View a live video recording or…

Money Supply (MZM)
Money Supply at 5 Jun 2008
St. Louis Federal Reserve Report
~ Previous blog posts on MZM: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
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Adjusted Monetary Base
Adjusted Monetary Base
St. Louis Federal Reserve Report
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Money & Markets – Week of 6.09.08
Central Bank Body Warns of Great Depression
By Gill Montia – Banking Times (9 Jun 2008)
Germans Begin Rejecting Euros From Latin Bloc
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – London Telegraph (13 Jun 2008)
Chin…

Money & Markets – Week of 6.09.08
Central Bank Body Warns of Great Depression
By Gill Montia – Banking Times (9 Jun 2008)
Germans Begin Rejecting Euros From Latin Bloc
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – London Telegraph (13 Jun 2008)
Chin…

Precious Metals – Week of 6.09.08
Iran Says it Will Sell Euro Instruments for Gold and Stocks
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – London Telegraph (10 Jun 2008)
U.S. Silver Eagles Illegally Rationed
By Chris Powell – GATA (4 Jun 2008)

Food & Health – Week of 6.09.08
Listening to Cellphone Warnings
By Tyler Hamilton – thestar.com (31 May 2008)
More Evidence of Dangerous Insanity
By Dr. Tom O’Connell – doctortom.org (7 Jun 208)

Food & Health – Week of 6.09.08
Listening to Cellphone Warnings
By Tyler Hamilton – thestar.com (31 May 2008)
More Evidence of Dangerous Insanity
By Dr. Tom O’Connell – doctortom.org (7 Jun 208)

Geopolitical – Week of 6.09.08
BP Statistical Review – 2007
British Petroleum’s review of world energy trends
Rating Countries for the Happiness Factor
By Marina Kamenev – BusinessWeek.com (11 Oct 2006)
The Revolution Will Not Be…

Life – Week of 6.09.08
Transparent Butterfly
What Doctors Don’t Tell You ~ Dental Fillings: They Are Toxic
WDDTY e-news (12 Jun 2008)
Brazil Reveals Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Associated Press (30 May 2008)
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Water In The Stock Market
Water Crisis to be Biggest World Risk
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – London Telegraph (6 Jun 2008)
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In Memorium
Let’s take a moment and give thanks for the life and work of one excellent man.
Utah Phillips passed away on May 23rd. Described as the “Golden Voice of the Great Southwest,” you can learn more about…

American Wisdom
Just 17% Say Federal Government Represents Will of the People
Rasmussen Reports (3 Jun 2008)
Just 17% of voters say that the federal government represents the will of the American people. A Rasmussen…


Let’s Help the New President
I have been asked to start a list of things that the President could do to improve the economy. I thought I would start this list and invite you into the invention room to add. Remember, we are in bra…

Let's Help the New President
I have been asked to start a list of things that the President could do to improve the economy. I thought I would start this list and invite you into the invention room to add. Remember, we are in bra…

Most Americans Agree
Neither Honest Nor Trustworthy: The 10 Worst Corporations of 2007
By Russell Mokhiber & Robert Weissman – Multinational Monitor.org (Nov/Dec 2007)
“A November 2007 Harris poll found that less tha…

Comment on Bishop Jake’s Blog
Bishop:
Thank you so much for your words on this topic Negative Press Distracts Church from Mission and for offering us the opportunity to access your leadership and inspiration through your blog.
I…

Comment on Bishop Jake's Blog
Bishop:
Thank you so much for your words on this topic Negative Press Distracts Church from Mission and for offering us the opportunity to access your leadership and inspiration through your blog.
I…

Two New Morsels from GiftHub.org
From Phil Cubeta – At GiftHub.org:
Getting Your Philanthropy Advice from a Loan Shark?
(31 May 2008)
Mr. Repo Man as Philanthropic Advisor
(31 May 2008)

FRED Graph
Total Borrowings of Depository Institutions from the Fed – 1910 to present:

Advice to a University Student
Miss Catherine,
It is a pleasure to be introduced to you. I have been on Solari.com and read many of your papers. Your Narco Dollars series was particularly interesting/upsetting. I never realized ho…

Money & Markets – Week of 6.02.08
Economist Challenges Government Data
By Sam Zuckerman – SFGate.com (25 May 2008)
A Lawyer’s Open Letter to a CFTC Commissioner
By Chris Powell – GATA (7 Jun 2008)
Crisis Trade Talks in Paris as Prot…

Money & Markets – Week of 6.02.08
Economist Challenges Government Data
By Sam Zuckerman – SFGate.com (25 May 2008)
A Lawyer’s Open Letter to a CFTC Commissioner
By Chris Powell – GATA (7 Jun 2008)
Crisis Trade Talks in Paris as Prot…

Precious Metals – Week of 6.02.08
Reg Howe: Gold Derivatives Are Moving Up Again
By Chris Powell – GATA (30 May 2008)

Geopolitical – Week of 6.02.08
Gates Ousts Air Force Leaders in Historic Shake-up
By Robert Burns – Associated Pres (5 Jun 2008)
Weather Warfare
By Michel Chossudovsky – EcologistOnline.org (22 May 2008)
Negative Press Distracts …

Food & Health – Week of 6.02.08
How To Avoid Genetically Modified Food
At WikiHow

Food & Health – Week of 6.02.08
How To Avoid Genetically Modified Food
At WikiHow

Kirby’s Letter to WSJ
Rob Kirby wrote to the Wall Street Journal earlier this week:
Kate Kelly:
Congratulations on your article, “Fear, Rumors Touched Off Fatal Run on Bear Stearns.
Quite a story you’ve written there….

Kirby's Letter to WSJ
Rob Kirby wrote to the Wall Street Journal earlier this week:
Kate Kelly:
Congratulations on your article, “Fear, Rumors Touched Off Fatal Run on Bear Stearns.
Quite a story you’ve written there….

Return on Reputation: Mission Aligned Investing
The proprietor of GiftHub.org has his next comment for us:
Read the full article here.

Community Business – Banking Locally
Tonight, Dennis Bernstein and I are going to be back on Flashpoints helping Dennis switch from his existing bank, Wells Fargo, to a local credit union.
Here are some links that we will be using durin…

Mortgage Market Madness
Oh, my.
Terrorizing honest government regulators and their contractors in life threatening ways, seizing and stealing their software tools and databases providing public access to transparency regard…

The Auction Rate Securities Mess
If you are curious to know more about the headlines regarding losses on auction rate securities, here is a new lawsuit filed against UBS that outlines some of the background and issues.
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Money & Markets – Week of 5.26.08
Mad Finance Must Not Rule Us
By Jacques Delors, et al – Truthout.org (21 May 2008)
The Pentagon’s $1 Trillion Problem
By Scot Paltrow – Portfolio.com (May 2008 Issue)
Asian Countries Begin to Burst …

Money & Markets – Week of 5.26.08
Mad Finance Must Not Rule Us
By Jacques Delors, et al – Truthout.org (21 May 2008)
The Pentagon’s $1 Trillion Problem
By Scot Paltrow – Portfolio.com (May 2008 Issue)
Asian Countries Begin to Burst …

Precious Metals – Week of 5.26.08
Weimar Inflation in America
By James Turk – Kitco (26 May 2008)
The Next Attack on Gold Has Begun
By Gary North – LewRockwell.com (28 May 2008)
As If You Can’t ‘Mingle With Criminals’ At a Bank . . …

Mortgage Markets – Week of 5.26.08
With Builder in Bankruptcy, Buyers Are Left Out
By David Streitfeld – New York Times (3 Jan 2008)
Foreclosures in Military Towns Surge at Four Times U.S. Rate
By Kathleen M. Howley – Bloomberg.com (2…

Geopolitical – Week of 5.26.08
Segway – Ultra Efficient Mobility
At PeakOilDebunked Blog (27 May 2008)
Future Scenarios – Mapping the Cultural Implications of Peak Oil and Climate Change
Bush Claims More Powers Than King George I…

Life – Week of 5.26.08
Teenager’s Science Fair Project May Deliver Us Form Plastic
By Casey Miner – MotherJones.com (23 May 2008)
Energy Fears Looming, New Survivalists Prepare
By Samantha Gross – Associated Press (24 May …

Opening This Weekend
John Cusack’s latest . . .

Your Tax Dollars At Work
Good news! The Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor has announced the April Producer Price Index. You will be delighted to hear their finding that gasoline prices decreased 4.6 p…

The Next Shoe to Drop
Rob Kirby of Financial Sense discusses his conversation with Catherine about the demise of Bear Stearns and related events.
The Next Shoe to Drop
By Rob Kirby – Financial Sense WrapUp (19 May 2008)…

Money & Markets – Week of 5.19.08
World Bank ‘Destroyed Basic Grains’ in Hondouras
By Alison Fitzgerald, et al – Bloomberg.com (22 May 2008)
House Passes Bill to Sue OPEC Over Oil Prices
By Tom Doggett – Reuters (20 May 2008)
Oil’s …

Money & Markets – Week of 5.19.08
World Bank ‘Destroyed Basic Grains’ in Hondouras
By Alison Fitzgerald, et al – Bloomberg.com (22 May 2008)
House Passes Bill to Sue OPEC Over Oil Prices
By Tom Doggett – Reuters (20 May 2008)
Oil’s …

Food & Health – Week of 5.19.08
What the Farm Bill Means for Organic
By Samuel Fromartz – Natural Foods Merchandiser (19 May 2008)
Bush Aid Package Includes GM
By Vicky Uhland – Natural Foods Merchandiser (20 May 2008)
A Family Fa…

Food & Health – Week of 5.19.08
What the Farm Bill Means for Organic
By Samuel Fromartz – Natural Foods Merchandiser (19 May 2008)
Bush Aid Package Includes GM
By Vicky Uhland – Natural Foods Merchandiser (20 May 2008)
A Family Fa…

Life – Week of 5.19.08
TALKS – Jill Bolte Taylor: My Stroke of Insight
A Video at TED – Ideas Worth Spreading (Posted Mar 2008)
Read about Dr. Taylor at Wikipedia
New Zealand Pilots Land on a Wing and a Prayer
By Sanjeev M…

Dmitry Orlov’s “Reinventing Collapse”
Dmitry Orlov’s book “Reinventing Collapse” is an excellent introduction to the de-industrialization that numerous areas of the world have experienced, written for Americans interested in preparing for…

Dmitry Orlov's "Reinventing Collapse"
Dmitry Orlov’s book “Reinventing Collapse” is an excellent introduction to the de-industrialization that numerous areas of the world have experienced, written for Americans interested in preparing for…

A New Version of "Survivor"
And You Thought It Could Never Happen
By Sharon Astyk – Casaubon’s Book Blog (14 May 2008)
On Television, the new version of “Survivor” takes over with a new theme – participants must create a fu…

Futures Market 101
One of the signs watched to determine risks of inflation or deflation is the relationship of current commodities prices to those expressed in future contracts. Here are two words we are going to be se…

Pricing Ethics
Does Being Ethical Pay?
By Remi Trudel & June Cotte – Wall Street Journal (12 May 2008)
<ul>”After reading about the company and its coffee, the people told us the price they were willing t…

Freddie Mac Conference
“Now previously we have said that we expect housing prices to fall at least 15% nationally, and today they [have fallen] about 9% through the measure we use which is relative to our market. We want …

Geopolitical – Week of 5.19.08
Lawmaker Questions Google Over Privacy Practices
By Diane Bartz – Reuters.UK (21 May 2008)
America’s Best Days
The Rasmussen Report (20 May 2008)
China’s All-Seeing Eye
By Naomi Klein – RollingStone…

Precious Metals – Week of 5.19.08
GATA Appeals Fed’s Denial of Access to Gold Records
By Chris Powell – GATA (22 May 2008)
Gold Bugs’ Grit Pays Off
By Peter Brimelow – MarketWatch.com (18 May 2008)
Yes, Gold Dehedging Will End, But …

Man From Plains
I am a great admirer of patience and fearlessness combined in a persistent person. I got a chance to see Man from Plains which chronicles President Jimmy Carter’s book tour across America to publicize…

Kaufman Launches Growthology
The Kaufman Foundation has an excellent mission. I always want to know what Bob Litan is thinking about, so I have high hopes for Growthology, a new blog from the Kaufman Foundation. I wonder what the…

Oldie (2002) But Goodie
Investors’ New Worry: “Auditor Risk”
By Robert Barker – Barker.Online (25 Jan 2002)
“Thank heaven for Arthur Andersen.
You may think I’m nuts, given the hellfire now licking at the once-venerable Ch…

The Most Profitable Economic Hit in History
I was speaking with Dennis Bernstein of Flashpoints about our show, Community Business, which we do each Wednesday night. We were talking about Solari Audio seminar, “The REAL Economic Hit Men” I me…

You Can’t Take It With You
I just saw an excellent presentation by Kathryn W. Mirree, J.D, called The Top Ten Charitable Planning Ideas for 2008. The seminar was presented by the Planned Giving Council of Greater Memphis and Co…

You Can't Take It With You
I just saw an excellent presentation by Kathryn W. Mirree, J.D, called The Top Ten Charitable Planning Ideas for 2008. The seminar was presented by the Planned Giving Council of Greater Memphis and Co…

Loaded for Bear?
Bernanke Lunched with Dimon, Rubin Before Bear Rescue
By Scott Lanman – Blomberg.com (12 May 2008)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke lunched on March 11 with a Who’s Who of Wall Street leade…

Money & Markets – Week of 5.12.08
Non-Borrowed Reserves of Depository Institutions
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
All of Inflation’s Little Parts
A Chart – New York Times (3 May 2008)
Derivaties Monster Morgan to Enter Oil Mark…

Money & Markets – Week of 5.12.08
Non-Borrowed Reserves of Depository Institutions
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
All of Inflation’s Little Parts
A Chart – New York Times (3 May 2008)
Derivaties Monster Morgan to Enter Oil Mark…

UBS Issues Shareholder Report on Write-downs
Investor Releases
Zurich / Basel, April 21, 2008, 07:00 AM
UBS announced today that it has issued a Shareholder Report detailing the key facts relating to the firm’s positions and losses in the U.S. s…

Earthquake in Chengdu
China is Hit by 7.8-Magnitude Earthquake Near Chengdu
By Aaron Sheldrick & Eugene Tang – Bloomberg.com (12 May 2008)
China Earthquake Information – USGS
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org…

Volcano in Chile
Chilean Volcano Erupts ~ View all photos in the series
Chile Volcano Forces Evacuations
BBC News (2 Jan 2008)

Geopolitical – Week of 5.12.08
A New Role for the Exchange Stabilization Fund
Cleveland Fed | 01 August 2019
Legal Defense Fund Moves to Stop Animal ID Program; Files Intent to Sue Letter
Press Release – Farm-to-Consumer Legal D…