Getting very Late in the Game...

[LongDonSilver]

I can't believe that some people fell for that zero inflation line by our sleepy Joe. He meant a zero (or near zero) rate of change in the inflation rate, of course. But that doesn't translate into stable pricing for goods. Even if inflation drops from 8+% to let's say 6.5% that just means that the rate of increase in pricing that goods are going through has slowed down, not stopped or reversed. So prices are going up, but less fast. You are going broke slower. If it wasn't for the slowing economy driving down demand for oil then gasoline would not be dropping at all. That's the only thing hiding the increases somewhat from people. When winter heating bills hit there's going to be squealing like you've never heard before from the very same people that just voted to put the same jack a$$es back into office that were in charge of this mess. Even with the now somewhat less expensive than it could have been heating pricing.

Coffee at my local supermarket has gone from $5.99 (store brand) last year to $9.99. Folgers or Maxwell House is $12.99 on sale and $14.99 a (plastic) can full price. Crappy Banquet breakfast sausage was often 10 for $10 on sale last year, now $2.50 each. Cod fillets used to be $5.99 to $7.99 and are now $12.99 or more. Freaking king crab prices are so scary high that I figure there's no point in even thinking about buying them for special treat. Last quoted price at my fish monger was $69.99/lb.

Zero inflation my A$$.

[SilverPalm]

The hedge is carrying a few different stories about how we are about to get forced into crypto -
https://www.zerohedge.com/sponsored-...-defund-dollar
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/we...shless-society


https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/...-world-economy
This one has a disturbing quote -
"But in truth, it is all deliberate, I’m sorry to say. The people who run the world today have no interest in a thriving social order and civilization."

[SilverPalm]

Who's who in the world today, by a number of metrics -

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...20-key-metrics

[brutus2]

Kentucky has a population of 4.5 million. Call it 2.5 million workers at best.

"Kentucky's primary pension fund for state government employees saw slight gains in Fiscal Year 2022, with a funding level of 18.5 percent as of June 30 and unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities of $13.5 billion, according to a draft valuation report released Tuesday.Nov 1, 2022"

I have a feeling it is going to get worse by the next report.

I watched a great video on US pensions by a forensic accountant specializing in pensions. He advised they overstated their assets, specifically alternative assets and illiquid, non marketable ones.
Hard to believe a pension fund could be any worse. Oops, I guess there is a place called New Jersey with over 100 billion in unfunded liabilities with population of less than 10 million. Lots more, almost as bad.

[brutus2]

Kentucky has a population of 4.5 million. Call it 2.5 million workers at best.

"Kentucky's primary pension fund for state government employees saw slight gains in Fiscal Year 2022, with a funding level of 18.5 percent as of June 30 and unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities of $13.5 billion, according to a draft valuation report released Tuesday.Nov 1, 2022"

I have a feeling it is going to get worse by the next report.

I watched a great video on US pensions by a forensic accountant specializing in pensions. He advised they overstated their assets, specifically alternative assets and illiquid, non marketable ones.
Hard to believe a pension fund could be any worse. Oops, I guess there is a place called New Jersey with over 100 billion in unfunded liabilities with population of less than 10 million. Lots more, almost as bad.

I guess there is always a solution to the above in a socialist country

U.S. federal outlays in January were $486 billion, up $140 billion, or 4%, from a year earlier due in part to Biden's $36 billion bailout of the Central States Pension Fund to prevent cuts to the pensions of over 350,000 Teamsters union workers and retirees that it serves.

[SilverPalm]

Banks seem to be getting hammered today. JPM, CS & SVB all got a spanking.

[LongDonSilver]

Interest rates going up and treasuries going down in value makes bank assets shrink. A bank in silicon valley is in deep doo-doo having to sell assets to cover an industrial customer pulling theirfunds out. Just a beginning, IMHO.

https://www.reuters.com/business/fin...rn-2023-03-09/

[silverone]

Interest rates going up and treasuries going down in value makes bank assets shrink. A bank in silicon valley is in deep doo-doo having to sell assets to cover an industrial customer pulling theirfunds out. Just a beginning, IMHO.

https://www.reuters.com/business/fin...rn-2023-03-09/

there is for SURE a Lot going on right Now..
the way stocks fell QUICKLY at the End yesterday was a HUGE Red flag to me.

[SilverPalm]

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ex...t-svbs-failure

https://www.fdic.gov/news/press-rele...3/pr23016.html

It appears that SVB has now been shuttered. I did not know that they were the 18th largest bank in the US. This could leave a mark.

[SilverPalm]

And then there is the world according to Rickards -

https://dailyreckoning.com/the-real-...-has-stumbled/

This is the meat & potatoes of it:
"What’s extraordinary over the past two years isn’t that gold hasn’t soared; it’s that gold has held its own in the face of a persistently strong dollar. So that leads to the next question:

What’s behind the strong dollar and what could cause the dollar to suddenly weaken and send gold prices into the stratosphere?

The strong dollar has been driven by a demand for dollar-denominated collateral, mostly U.S. Treasury bills, needed as collateral to support leverage on bank balance sheets and in hedge fund derivatives positions.

That high-quality collateral is in short supply (partly because U.S. Treasury issuance is lower due to smaller than expected deficits). As banks scramble for scarce collateral, they need dollars to pay for the Treasury bills. That fuels dollar demand.

The scramble for collateral also speaks to weaker economic growth, fears of default, decreasing creditworthiness of borrowers and fear of a global liquidity crisis. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting close with no relief in sight.

As weak growth turns into a global recession, a new financial panic will be on the horizon. At that point, the dollar itself may cease to be a safe haven, especially given the aggressive use of sanctions by the U.S. and the desire of major economies such as China, Russia, Turkey, and India to avoid the U.S. dollar system if possible.

When this panic hits and the dollar is deemed no longer reliable, the world will turn to gold."