Thursday, June 14, 2012

Daily Briefing for Thursday, June 14, 2012

I Debated Sharing This With You.

But if I don't, you're likely to hear it somewhere else.

James Wesley Rawles posted this directive on Survivalblog yesterday:


“The current liquidity crisis on the southern periphery of the Eurozone now appears likely to spread to all of Europe, and then globally. There are already quiet electronic bank runs in progress in Greece and Spain. On Monday, a bank "holiday" was announced in Italy. More bank runs will likely follow. As of today, Wednesday, June 13, 2012, I strongly urge all SurvivalBlog readers to immediately draw down their checking accounts and liquidate their CDs, passbook savings accounts, and most of the their stocks to buy tangibles. If you already own a retreat, an honest one year storage food supply, and a battery of firearms with ammo and plenty of magazines, then go ahead and buy physical silver. (But don't neglect investing in those crucial "Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids" first.) With spot silver presently under $28.70, this is an ideal time to get out of paper and into tangibles.”

In addition, he posted this piece entitled "20 Reasons Why America's Next Bank Holiday Will Be A Nightmare."

Late last night, I shared the above quote with a number of people who I know are paying attention to things.  I also checked with some folks who are in the industry and whose opinion I value.  A few observations:

1. Breathe.  And expect more of these types of posts and emails in the future, especially as Europe unwinds.  We may or may not have bank holidays here.  It's our job to be prepared for a wide spectrum of contingencies.  Not being able to access your money via ATM or bank due to a regional disaster is certainly one of those possibilities. 

2. Invest. I'm no financial expert, but here's what I think we should see in the short term.  First,  look for money from Europe to rush into the United States as a safe haven.  The dollar will get stronger as a result.  We may see a nice bump in the stock markets if foreign investors decide to park their money in stocks here in the U.S. as Europe unwinds.  Prices for gold and silver will likely drop - perhaps by a significant amount - as the dollar strengthens.  This would make for an excellent buying opportunity.

3. Continue to prepare, just as if you were preparing for hurricane season or a major earthquake.  Much of the population in the United States lives in an area at risk for either a hurricane or earthquake, so let that be your motivating factor if you need it.  It can also make for a good cover story if your friends and neighbors are wondering why you're preparing to be self sufficient for a period of time.

4. Pay attention to the news.  Turn off American Idiot or Dancing With The Tarts or whatever dumb ass reality show you're into (unless it's Whale Wars, Deadliest Catch, or Mountain Men; in that event, carry on.).  What's happening in Greece?  Spain?  Italy?  What is the British government saying publicly about the crisis?  And the Germans?   Read ZeroHedge a few times a week.

This will be very interesting in the coming days to say the least. 


Is Gold Money?

That's one of the questions addressed in a new documentary entitled "End Of The Road: How Money Became Worthless."  I watched this hour long presentation Wednesday night.  The producers do a great job of using graphics to explain how the Federal Reserve creates currency, as well as the distinction between currency and money.

Make no doubt - there's a blatant "pro-gold" theme throughout this video.  Their predictions as to what may happen to the global economy, due in large part to the decoupling of the dollar from the gold standard, are quite dire.  But as I have said before, and as they say in the video, it is not a day we should fear.  When it comes, it will be tough in the short term, but in the long term it will free us from many of the economic problems we have today. 

Regardless of what you think about the possibility of a economic crisis or whether gold is a good investment, it's worth your time to at least hear what folks like these in the video are saying.  Don't dismiss what you don't know.

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