This is inflationary right....

kcoop, can I have a sovereign default icon?

but .. but .. but just last friday anyone/everyone on tv declared that the good times were back.

How do you think they are going to PAY those claims when tax revenues are collapsing...

Yup I hear you loud and clear LBB.

Print.

Unexpectedly, my dear Watson.

Is it time to put my D11K hat back in the closet?

I'm starting to think that the global economy is now in 2003.

One thing everybody seems to forget is that the rest of the world had one less bubble than we did.

So everybody else still has one coming!

(BTW the picture this morning in the WSJ of the rising OECD house prices got me to thinking this, not to mention the global equity rocket ride currently going on.)

BTW if the global economic clock is currently at 2003 then CR has at least 4 more years of excitement left to report.

Mr Slippery wrote:

Yes, but keep your oil $100 hat at the ready.

I also have a $30 oil hat.

The best one in my collection is the $100k median home price hat. It's dusty. Maybe I should take it to the cleaners.

RPI looks to refinance $746 million in debt -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

TROY -- After years of operating at a serious deficit and with heavy reliance on its endowment, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is undertaking a massive refinancing of its $746 million in debt that should greatly improve its financial picture, a new bond market analysis reveals.

...

The school is replacing its variable rate bonds with fixed rate bonds, according to a new Moody's Investor Service report that praises the move. The report offers a rare glimpse into the internal finances of the secretive private college, showing just how rocky the school's financial course had become.

...

Yet the report also found that RPI's strategic plan has hurt the school's bottom line for years by drawing more heavily on the endowment than is typical. RPI's endowment, which stood at $643 million in December, is less than its outstanding $746 million of total direct debt. The report found that RPI's credit rating could be downgraded if it does not continue to chip away at its tremendous debt load.

and

Spa City's recreation suffers a hard landing -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Wearing a red helmet and black knee pads, second-grader Ryan Greene came to the city's skate park Wednesday to conquer its 8-foot-deep concrete bowl. But he arrived for the park's opening day to find the facility's main attraction filled with dirt.

City officials didn't have enough money to staff the park this year, and the Saratoga Springs school district, which owns the park land, declared the skating pool an unacceptable liability risk, so sand was dumped in it last month.

NY is also closing or cutting back on parks and recreation throughout the state at a time of record visits from citizens due to the cheap recreation they provide. People can't keep acting as if nothing is wrong this summer. All we need is some record foreclosures and a killer heat wave to really drive home the double dip.

Initial jobless claims increase unexpectedly -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY Unexpectedly!

And here is a snippit from an upbeat letter from the President of the State University of NY at Albany

However, without long-overdue flexibility/autonomy and critically important funding restorations, I remain deeply troubled and concerned about the University's ability to maintain the size of our faculty and staff, the breadth of our academic programs, and student enrollment. In light of these budgetary uncertainties and the real possibility of additional significant cuts to our core operating budget, it is imperative for the University to take the proactive steps required to appropriately shape and protect our future.

The US had two bubbles though -- the dot.com bubble and the housing bubble. The rest of the world wasn't affected by the dot.com bubble as severely as we were. Hence one more to go.

OT Gold: For those here who are positively undecided, gold is at 1150, and you've just stood on the side and forewent a 3% rise in the past few days.

Ah, but what's 3% among friends. Heck that solid, safe tbill is paying nearly 1/2 % and that's solid. So, you forewent merely 5 times the income on your tbills, earned annually.

Gold will be at the Great Doubling soon enough, and you won't. Look, most don't bag peaks. It's kewl.

Yra Harris today talked in terms of buying commodities. I thought I was hearing the ghost of Jim Rogers.

2000 or Bust.

Now, the clowns are invited on the stage. Heads up to the vast majority here. The clowns who say I repeat myself and that's boring, or who enjoy contextual bantering are exactly who they present themselves to be. Their jawboning their need to be seen as leaders. That's the Batan Death March. 2 + 2 = 4. Commod's are rising. The USG must drop the intrinsic value of the overhanging debt. The way to do it is to raise the price of commodities, thus reducing the value of fiat and in direct consequences, the demand of debt on the marketplace.

Bankrupt debt. Buy it and nationalize it (a high crime, imo). And inflate it away via cost-push with no flexibility to raise prices. Every which way possible, debt will be destroyed so the "system" can function as it did before.

The tragedy here is that the investment bankers will be allowed to walk free, after their savaging of the economic game. This is thanks to Republican small gov't, no regulatory enforcement, no new laws approach to being an amerikun. They screwed generations of people. A faster way to get to armaggedon, maybe? Their idiocy of removal of the safety nets would have meant bang bang shoot em up self help actions. Instead the liberal scum bags Food Stamps and UI have for the moment saved the day.

Keeping eye on commodities including gold, we await the big drop as we continue crawling to 2000 gold.

Eric wrote:

It's only 8:07, but now my day is complete.

Sadly, I still have to wait for my next ZH: Greece Is Gone post to complete my day.
.
Need more Greek !

A lot of 99ers (people who have used up their 99 weeks of UE + extensions) will be dropping off the UE rolls this month.

I don't think there is a way to track who dropped off vs. who got a job or who stopped looking, but it would be nice to know.

edit: T-shirt idea, "Nothing could be finer than to be a 99er"

Eric wrote:

It's only 8:07, but now my day is complete.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra ...

In other news; Jesse's Café Américain: Derivatives Exposure Among US Commercial Banks

Eric wrote:

Slumdog wrote:

Gold will be at the Great Doubling soon enough

It's only 8:07, but now my day is complete.

Eric! So good to hear from you. Another tremendous outpouring of comprehension and insight.

Bob Dobbs wrote:

Anything from here on out is the Great Idiocy -- maybe the Great Gravy.

The Great Pumpkin (PBUH)?

BobDobbs. I rode that doubling train to the first stop, for me 950. And I see it will double again, as well. Beyond that, three more doubles, but that's for later. Right now, we're just moving along to 2000. One must have patience and know that when others are saying 850 that they have no understanding of the underlying fundamentals.

The debt will be devalued. The choices are very limited. The best choice is to screw everyone who is parked in fiat. And that's what's happening.

Slumdog wrote:

OT Gold: For those here who are positively undecided, gold is at 1150, and you've just stood on the side and forewent a 3% rise in the past few days.

This is the same "gold" that was trading above 1225 ... FOUR MONTHS AGO... right? The same gold that has 3% price moves up and down in a few days... at least once a month? Kind of forgot to mention that, eh? What kind of idiot pumper are you?

Congratulations, you've just earned the coveted "ignore user" award from me. Only two others have been so anointed. I'm afraid that only gives you the "bronze" medal, though -- no gl0d!

"The Labor Department is not only citing Easter as a distortion but also the Cesar Chavez holiday in California"

Cesar Chavez? That's gotta be a first.

.......new jobless rises again - kinda like the South.........wait!......it was because of the Easter Bunny.........unexpectedly......Good Morning.....

Slumdog wrote:

gold is at 1150, and you've just stood on the side and forewent a 3% rise in the past few days.

Buy now or be priced out forever?

Searches pockets and couch cushions

I'll take 0.078 ounces, please.

Don't start criticizing people's styles, short of abuse... if you don't like it, block me. I can take the pain and loss Snark .

Gold is strictly speculative, in that we don't know what it's going to do. We have opinions. Personally, I would never advise anyone to get into gold now unless they were prepared to real losses. Investment 101, right? But gold is different -- people get out of control over it. It can be a religion. Hence, skepticism is always healthy. If gold is not now a bubble, at some point it will be. .

First off grow up with your block button I could careless what your life style is, just like you could careless what mine is, that is number one.

Explain to the class how a bubble can form in something that is really not in abundance. OR IN DEMAND.

Gold is strictly speculative

And the Market is what mayI ask?

Expiring ue benifits, real people dropping thru the cracks and those already in the hole not being counted. Who might be keeping the charts on this.

The Labor Department is not only citing Easter as a distortion but also the Cesar Chavez holiday in California"

"Strawberry fields" forever...led to "Penny Lane"...when migrant workers were buying 400k houses and up....but who ended up as the "Fool on the Hill?" I suggest we "Come Together"...before we find ourselves "Back in the USSR"

OUCH stopped out

Wisdom Speaker wrote:

This is actually a very favorable weekly claims report.

I don't think that is true until the new claimants face a different distribution than this:
energyecon: UEMPMEAN - 3 Month Moving Average Year Over Year Changes

and there spread between U- and U-6 tightens up:
energyecon: U-6 - U-3 Spread NSA - Update

Retailers defended at JP Morgan

theflyonthewall.com: the Fastest Breaking Financial and Equity News on the Web

Who knows what evil lurks -

Eric wrote:

Slumdog wrote:

Right now, we're just moving along to 2000.

Funny how you're never around when In glod we trust puts up negative prints.

Eric, what do you want me to say? I am invested, I have stated my position. I am of course miffed when gold goes down. Sinclair said it years ago. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the fire. Recently, when it was lower than this, again I said, "buy it". But at that time, there were barkers here saying it's going to 850. I say nothing when it declines. I've stated what I believe. There will be a destruction of the store of value. It always happens, throughout history. No society wins wherein there is easy money for everyone. Every RE buyer will wear their albatross. I said it in 2005 and was adamant at that time. Now, those necklasses are financially deadly.

I am saying that gold is finally for a while, as in during the next 5 years, unassailable by governments. So, just like it was mauled in 1982 forward, it will claw back in 2010++.

The USG won't fail. And the value of debt will not sustain. Gold is the grist for that mill.

Do appreciate that as soon as the public again embraces gold, as they did from 1000 to 1224, it will again crash on them and wipe out the weak hands. It does this every single time. Only those with profound conviction can take the heat.

Slumdog wrote:

One must have patience and know that when others are saying 850 that they have no understanding of the underlying fundamentals.

The true bulb buyers (the garden centers of the past) began to fill up inventories for the growing season, depleting the supply further and increasing scarcity and demand. Soon, prices were rising so fast and high that people were trading their land, life savings, and anything else they could liquidate to get more tulip bulbs. Many Dutch persisted in believing they would sell their hoard to hapless and unenlightened foreigners, thereby reaping enormous profits. Somehow, the originally overpriced tulips enjoyed a twenty-fold increase in value - in one month!

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
Ah

ah, ah, ah, ah, ah...

You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of Sarah Palin
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
all right, all right, all right

Rob Dawg wrote:

Many Dutch persisted in believing they would sell their hoard to hapless and unenlightened foreigners, thereby reaping enormous profits

I know I'm easing back in. But just the yellow ones this time. I've learned my lesson.

What’s the CR community’s position on the assertion (e.g., in Zero Hedge) that the paper rights to take physical delivery of gold and other precious metals exceed by something like 100x the value of the metals actually held by the custodians?

Bubble? Ponzi? Or merely the equivalent of fractional reserve banking?

Oops.

RobDawg, we're not near the parabolic curve end.
Look at the two charts of gold in the 5 yr and 10 yr time frames. Free at kitco.com.
Both are in parabolic curve rises.
Sinclair recommended French Curves long ago. I bought a set and looked. These two time frames are the pathway on which gold is moving. Gold will go nuts, but much later. Right now, the most important news is the failure of gold to drop like a stone when the IMF said, "Hey, we're gonna flood the public with gold." That was the Rubicon. Gold crossed it. The defenders of the system who have forced the public away from gold just lost the battle and thus the war. Gold and silver and commodities will be the great equalizers. Fiat is dead.

Again, it's the shake your head game. My dad related this story of Harlem in the early 1900's. Men fought with straight edge razors. Two fought. They each swiped at the other. One said, "You missed.". The other said, "No, I didn't. Shake your head."

That's what's happened here. Gold just sliced right through the IMF's power line. They're dead.

Consider platinum poppies. Even rarer than golden tulips and many more garden uses.

I like platinum poppies and the PGM's as rate of return plays, but they are not monetary poppies.

http://www.elliottwave.com/images/marketwatch/mw%2004-07-10%20club.GIF

SPOOL wrote:

Tulips : This time it's different.

It's never different. Every one of these booms is a parabolic curve. One must have patience. And one must guess correctly which curve is being "followed". And one must never be a pig. But the greed factor won't appear until we see massive rises, like 50 and 100 per day, in gold. Then, that's the time to set stops way below the market, and plan wise and over time exits.

The problem then, like always, is what to buy with the fiat. I think then it will be RRE.

On same store sales:

After march, yoy comparisons will be matched against rather than TEOTWAWKI. Going forward the gains will shrink (absent large government intervention - stimpack/QE/etc.) until the makes an appearance.

Maury the Credit Responsibility Panda wrote:

Well, this year, they had those great jellybean-pooping bunnies in stock. You had to have one of those.

You're killing me this morning, MtCRP - the tulips quip had me

The problem then, like always, is what to buy with the fiat. I think then it will be RRE.

Yes in a year, maybe 2....we still need prices to continue to go lower per actual income.

That's nice, CR. Thanks for the new feature!

TGT vs JWN, M, COST, DG and WMT
Target Corporation Common Stock Share Price Chart | TGT - Yahoo! Finance

AP: "Initial jobless claims increase unexpectedly" was anyone else really surprised?

"Not including 2009 umemployed grads living in ma & pa's basement and the upcoming 2010 grads with a BA or BS but no J-O-B..... Unemployed; the new status symbol"

Younger ants with no work...soon the whole ant hill will be on fire. Hopefully at least the music will be good

rps wrote:

Unemployed; the new status symbol

By definition, a status symbol can only be possessed by a small minority.

The church bubble could definitely use a popping. Esp in VA.

There are 5 incrementally different denominations within a mile, but those are small potatoes compared to some of the megachurches outside of the 1 mile radius.

rps wrote:

Not including 2009 unemployed grads living in ma & pa's basement and the upcoming 2010 grads with a BA or BS but no J-O-B..... Unemployed; the new status symbol

There is a very real danger in an extended recession of less recent grads becoming stale bread on the shelf.

LoserBeachBum wrote:

Hopefully at least the music will be good

I think the internet will be a bigger draw this time around.

Outsider wrote:

KD doesn't think the UE report is rosy.

KD never thinks anything is rosy.

broward wrote:

KD never thinks anything is rosy.

Not even roses.

Rob Dawg wrote:

There is a very real danger in an extended recession of less recent grads becoming stale bread on the shelf.

And the kicker is the student loan debt. Wonder what the tally is of extended deferred payments beyond the first 6 mos.?

The birth rate chart posted yesterday really should be tattooed on the backs of most purported economists.

The 90s cohort really shouldn't be underestimated as a political giant that will rock the world when it awakes. In many ways, this cohort will be a mirror image of the internal dynamics of the boomers, becoming less superficial and apathetic at the younger end of the group.

greenchutes wrote:

The 90s cohort really shouldn't be underestimated as a political giant that will rock the world when it awakes. In many ways, this cohort will be a mirror image of the internal dynamics of the boomers, becoming less superficial and apathetic at the younger end of the group.

I'll miss the free sex and easy drugs of two different generations, eh? me

greenchutes wrote:

becoming less superficial and apathetic at the younger end of the group.

Hmmm. And which demographic group in history does that sound like?

greenchutes wrote:

becoming less superficial and apathetic at the younger end of the group.

I'll see your "superficial" and raise you a "Sheldon Cooper".

Google Trends: tattoo

Google Trends: big bang theory

Not the Boomers, which was my point - early boomers (and the late war babies before them) are more innovative, intellectual and creative, the ones from the ending bulge circa 1960 are generally entitled wastes of oxygen.

greenchutes wrote:

the ones from the ending bulge circa 1960 are generally entitled wastes of oxygen.

That is a broad statement. I'm of the same opinion about the year you were born.

"Dealers refused to honor contracts"

But the banks where you store your gold will? Or are you sure that you neighbor won't steal it from your closet where you hid it some night when you and your wife go out for a movie? The government can come by and dig up your gold you buried in the backyard and seize it, too, if your neighbors haven't already stolen it...

I also evaluate an entire cohort by one person. It's the only way.

Help me out here - who is The Last Boomer?

Geithner, Barry Bonds, BHO and James Cameron are all good candidates. 1961 is where the second derivative finally gave it up, and I love the symmetry of Geithner and Clinton's birthdays as milestones.

traderwalt wrote:

But the banks where you store your gold will? Or are you sure that you neighbor won't steal it from your closet where you hid it some night when you and your wife go out for a movie? The government can come by and dig up your gold you buried in the backyard and seize it, too, if your neighbors haven't already stolen it.

Rob was again citing history, whereas you are going totally

JP wrote:
I also evaluate an entire cohort by one person. It's the only fair and objective way.

ResistanceIsFeudal wrote:

It's the only fair and objective way.

Sounds like Fox News got the memo, RIF

You're right. I used to evaluate an entire cohort by one person. But I've seen the light, and like you, I will expand my horizon to 4 or 5.

little early for boomer doomer smack.
We need more focusness on the gyros in Greece.

ghostfaceinvestah wrote:

Puerto Rico Forces FDIC to Scramble - American Banker Article

Plantain pizza... gotta try that sometime.

Maury the Credit Responsibility Panda wrote:

Plantain pizza... gotta try that sometime.

I prefer rum pizza.

greenchutes wrote:

if you can't spot the common theme of narcissism and intellectual vapidity in those characters from a thousand yards away

I'm agreeing with you. And like you, I judge the entire cohort by those 4 or 5.

TJ and The Bear wrote:

Rob was again citing history...

Enough tulips. South Seas Company:

The first issue of stock didn't even satiate the voracious appetite of the hardcore speculators, let alone the average investors who were assured of this company's coming dominance. The popular conception was that Mexicans and South Americans were just waiting for someone to introduce them to the finery of wool and fleece in exchange for mounds of jewels and gold! So nobody questioned the repeated re-issues of stocks by the South Sea Company--people just bought the expensive stocks as fast as they were offered. It didn't matter either to investors that the company wasn't headed by experienced management. Those who lead the company, however, were born public relations directors, who set up offices furnished with affluence in the most extravagant quarters. People, once they saw the wealth the SSC was "generating," couldn't keep their money from gravitating towards the SSC.

js esq. wrote:

Does anyone have knowledge of the diamond markets, and how prices fluctuate over time, or at least know of resources in this area?

Defining the term "wide bid/ask spread".

js esq. wrote:

I'm curious, what do people think of diamonds as a store of value/inflation hedge? I've been thinking about the possibility of buying a few rocks (probably ~$20k each)

I think you would be better off buying a yacht to store value than diamonds. The usual inflation hedges are TIPs, real estate, and REITs. Sometimes timber, and I'm sure someone will say "gold". Of course, you could also buy assets in a currency that you think won't have high inflation. However, you would be surprised at how many large brokers don't have the ability to keep nondollar assets.

js esq. wrote:

what do people think of diamonds

Not much. They only have value in that DeBeers is a virtual monopoly. They sit on a huge supply, plus (as you well know) perfect diamonds can now be manufactured.

Historically speaking, one of the most favored portable stores of value has been rare gemstones.

Rare Earths are also a good store of value, at least China thinks so.

js esq. wrote:

I'm curious, what do people think of diamonds as a store of value/inflation hedge?

Their value is tied to hegemony of DeBeers. If that ever falls apart...

As an aside, I worked in a lab that grew diamond thin films for electronics. Everyone was well aware of the implications for improving growth rate from microns/hour to mm/hour.

Maury the Credit Responsibility Panda wrote:

Those 1700s guys were sharp. Imagine Harley pitching it to the king... Here's how we can make all this government debt go away

2010 edition: "Mars is amazing!" [See Kornbluth's classic "The Rocket of 1955"]

Elvis wrote:

I think buying a yacht is a good way to store corn.

"When in doubt, carve a bigger stone head" - fleam

adornosghost wrote:

"When in doubt, carve a bigger stone head" - fleam

LOL!

Black Star Ranch wrote:

afterwhich they then again disappear

Not likely - the millenials are not a small cohort, and have been conditioned to be exhibitionists (think reality TV, myspace/facebook, etc).

shill wrote:

Rare Earths are also a good store of value, at least China thinks so.

Rare earth metals are one of the few areas I actually want to invest - paperwise. Lots of applications in energy and other manufacturing industries. But that's not obviously an area where I could buy the elements and hold them for a year or two. That's why I've thought about gemstones/diamonds, though not too much. I'm certainly aware of the DeBeers monopoly issues, though it seems like they've done a pretty good job up until now of keeping supply artificially low...

diamonds are good for smuggling, but their price is cartel dependent
other gem stones like opal are expensive because they're rare and not popular

Something cool in the medical technology world:
Inkjet-like device 'prints' cells right over burns - Yahoo! News

shill wrote:

All kidding aside a great store of value ( and I know some will snicker ) is guns.

This is true. My Red Rider is worth $5 more than I paid for it. I hear if you shoot your eye out with one, the value doubles.

My favorite Charles McKay quote about the South Seas Bubble:

An unknown adventurer started the scheme that showed, more completely than any other did, the utter madness of the people. It was entitled "company for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is."

I swear I saw that SSC biz plan in 1999. There is truly nothing new under the sun.

EvilHenryPaulson wrote:
diamonds are good for smuggling, but their price is cartel dependent
So are health care costs.

This is true. My Red Rider is worth $5 more than I paid for it. I hear if you shoot your eye out with one, they value doubles.

Sweet a whole Saw buck.....don't spend it in all one place...in fact you should buy a scratch ticket with that return maybe you will scratch a million

Seriously though I have a few colts that I bought that have increased by the hundreds.

BTW, bought my wife a bottle of Cristal 16 years ago that we still haven't opened.

According to various web sources that vintage is now worth upwards of 400% more than I paid for it.

as a new grad, how do I stay fresh? Law school? Medical school? ski bum?

JP wrote:
I swear I saw that SSC biz plan in 1999. There is truly nothing new under the sun.
Human drives and desires don't change much over time. In the end, we're a 10,000BC caveman grafted onto an urban sophisticate, exterior...

shill wrote:

Seriously though I have a few colts that I bought that have increased by the hundreds.

Sell. Buy again later for much cheaper. Use you money to leverage a bulldozer. You'll thank me later.

as a new grad, how do I stay fresh?

Deodorant does wonders J/K

I was just looking at guitars from a store in Chicago. Early 60's models. Price on request. Never a good sign for affordability.

as a new grad, how do I stay fresh?

Sometimes, new grads get that "not so fresh,'" feeling.

j diggles jr wrote:

Law school

Very bad idea. Lots of unemployed law grads from last year. Law firms have been manically downsizing

rps wrote:

Very bad idea. Lots of unemployed law grads from last year. Law firms have been manically downsizing.

Or go to law school, do well, become a lawyer, and be miserable for the rest of your life.

j diggles jr wrote:

as a new grad, how do I stay fresh? Law school? Medical school? ski bum?

I believe the powers that be prefer you not to be seen and not to be heard. Maybe you could take an unpaid internship doing hard labour in a quarry owned by a pension fund. I'm sure that would be amenable

rps wrote:

Very bad idea. Lots of unemployed law grads from last year. Law firms have been manically downsizing

It isn't a "bad idea". The line I always here is "Unless you are determined that you won't fail regardless of the cost, then don't go."

TJ and The Bear wrote:

Petroleum engineer. Seriously.

How about a train engineer for Warren?

Your question raises an interesting point. The number of initial claims each month is many multiples of the job losses for the same month. In an economy where hires are strong, that could be the case but in this economy what it tells me is that many people who are ineligible for benefits are applying. The BLS figures never state, as far as I can tell, whether these initial claims are simply claims filed or claims approved (filed the previous week and counted after the waiting period). People eventually learn through the grapevine whether they are eligible or not. So a decline in claims doesn't mean things are getting better - it only means the slack of ineligible claims is being drawn out.

Oh man, I am SERIOUSLY jealous!

Practically brand new too TJ, maybe at best 300 rounds down the pipe.

Safe queen if you will, or better yet an insurance policy hahah!

TJ and The Bear wrote:

Shall we bring Hoops in for a point-counterpoint?

The 2nd part of my comment was the focus, not the first part.

Unemployment continues to rise here in NC and getting kinda scary. Rubin on TV is like rubbing salt in the wound...what a lousy way to start the day.

Banks Winning When Investors Sue - WSJ.com

Someone expected a different result from king George's judges ?

TJ and The Bear wrote:

Damned if he didn't sell it, though.

You can get a lot of money for human organs. I don't blame him. Do you still have the gun?

DP Roberts wrote:

The number of initial claims each month is many multiples of the job losses for the same month. In an economy where hires are strong, that could be the case but in this economy what it tells me is that many people who are ineligible for benefits are applying.

CR posted a chart of JOLT data on Tuesday--it shows total hires and fires running at about a million per week, with layoff/discharges being about half that number. 500,000 layoffs, 460,000 filings. There's no evidence that a lot of people are filing for benefits who weren't just laid off (eligibility is another question).

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pMscxxELHEg/S7s_oNIp_LI/AAAAAAAAH-Y/k8gu5T41IUE/s1600/JOLTSFeb2010.jpg

EvilHenryPaulson wrote:

rhodium is traded, but no futures
cobalt and molybdenum trade and have futures
beware about the rarity aspect, it brings price swings and you might have to take your time selling

I should have specified - I'm most interested in investing in the extraction industries, not the end products.

My dad had a Vietnam-era AK that fit that description -- Soviet built, folding stock, selectable fire. Taken off a brand new NVA captain who met his demise on his first patrol.

Damned if he didn't sell it, though.

Nice, yes this is how I acquired the one I have, thorough my old man, who can't shoot anymore. Arthritis and what not. And as I noted I do not fire it much at all, but I do break her down and clean it just for the hell of it. One of my prized possessions ( not for money purposes ) just because it was from my old man..And a dam fine shooter it is.

You could always just sponsor a coup in a small central African nation. That's usually the method rare earth investors use.

The freshly displaced can get the plentiful census jobs.

"Unless you are determined that you won't fail regardless of the cost"

Well I could go to work in the pension fund quarry now, without further education. Or I could borrow $100,000, get the professional degree, then work in the pension fund quarry upon graduation. Either way my life is ruined, but in the latter case I get a free education

TJ and The Bear wrote:

Petroleum engineer. Seriously.

Winner winner chicken dinner...

greenchutes wrote:

You could always just sponsor a coup in a small central African nation. That's usually the method rare earth investors use.

My old firm does a lot of work in one particularly unstable central African nation. Perhaps I just call on my contacts there...

True, even EIC-LR types from top schools are getting deferred these days. But this was inevitable - the way that dozens of big law firms levered up over the past two decades from 200 sharks to 1500 or so and a few offices to a dozen here and a trophy one or three abroad was even more unsustainable than the housing bubble.

Elvis wrote:

js esq. wrote:

It took me 10 months to find work, and it's not as a lawyer.

It is like you won lotto. Consider yourself lucky.

I like being a lawyer. I went into law after spending time on two other career paths - it wasn't a default choice for me. I have a mind that is made for investigating and writing, so it's a great fit temperamentally.

I believe you. I know someone who became a millionaire off asbestos removal

js esq. wrote:

I like being a lawyer.

Apparently you weren't getting enough sleep. Consider yourself lucky that you are free.

j diggles jr wrote:

Either way my life is ruined, but in the latter case I get a free education

Borrow 100k and get a professional degree is a "free education"? Talk about a good sign for peak credit!
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I think most people missed my point. My point was that people make it sound like you have to have some kind of Alexander the Great with the insight to unbind the Gordian Knot to make it through law school and not drown in debt, competition, and a shrinking job market. In other words, you all would be LSAT FAIL and lawyer FAIL. Read between the lines; understand what was not said.

TJ and The Bear wrote:

Petroleum engineer. Seriously.

Or some flavor of energy analyst. GHG modeling is going to be big, assuming we see emissions limits.

js esq. wrote:

Or some flavor of energy analyst.

Just don't become an ethanol analyst. Because those guys apparently get hooked on crack easily.

Elvis wrote:

Get a full scholarship. Problem solved. Next...

Elvis, times have changed since August 16, 1977.....full scholarship.....bwwwahaha

j diggles jr wrote:

Well I could go to work in the pension fund quarry now, without further education. Or I could borrow $100,000, get the professional degree, then work in the pension fund quarry upon graduation. Either way my life is ruined, but in the latter case I get a free education

If you're relatively young, have relatively few attachments, and want to do something that will set you apart for the rest of your career, take the first overseas job you can find that you can see yourself gutting out for the next 2 years or so. Preferably in a market with high growth prospects.

Immerse yourself in the language and the business culture. Get to know every local employee of every multinational you stumble across.

You will wind up better-connected and more employable than 98% of graduates of US higher-ed mills, and might even have more fun too.

ghostfaceinvestah wrote:

The global economy is currently taking the “botox” cure. A flood of money from central banks and governments – “financial botox” – has temporarily covered up unresolved and deep-seated problems

But we have a much-improved ability to get a date despite our advanced age.

rps wrote:

Elvis, times have changed since August 16, 1977.....full scholarship

Apparently you didn't try hard enough.

Elvis wrote:

Rob Dawg wrote: Invest in a company with a business plan, assets, customers, all that who actually makes something?

Do they make something or do they just extract something that is already made?

Alright, adds value instead of makes something. Just semantics IMO. Is bauxite mining extraction but aluminum smelting production?

Is corn farming extraction as it leaves the soil poorer? What then are nitrogen fixing rotation crops?

Rob Dawg wrote:

OMG. Invest in a company with a business plan, assets, customers, all that who actually makes something? What kind of subversive are you? My kind of subversive that's who. Good idea.

You think that's subversive? Hell, I rent. And drive a 13 year old car, once a week. And live within my means, save money, and pay down my education debt. I'm the worst type of American.

1.2 million households lost to recession - Eye on the Economy- msnbc.com

Elvis wrote:

Is corn farming extraction as it leaves the soil poorer?

Corn farming is extracting subsidies from the government.

Shoulda seen that one coming.

js esq. wrote:

Hell, I rent. And drive a 13 year old car, once a week. And live within my means, save money, and pay down my education debt.

Elvis wrote:

Do both your kidneys work?

OK, which one of you wise guys gave Elvis a second coffee this morning.

NG is really extracting maximum $ from the maximum # of suckers lately. 5 print on UNG, anyone?

Eric wrote:

feel the . You know you want to.

Transports been telling that story all morning.

JP wrote:

OK, which one of you wise guys gave Elvis a second coffee this morning.

I think it was only one coffee, with a couple slices of left over rum pizza from last night.

Go to medical school.

Assuming you can get in, with the high competition for admission. A 7-11 year timeline before you can practice, with huge debt from tuition that you carry the whole way. When you get done, you get to start paying the whole shebang back, plus you can start at the bottom of any practice you join wrt call responsibilities, case load, OR time, vacation priority etc. And you can watch Obamacare get implemented and try to manage your expectations in real time the whole way.

Bonus : when you are done, everybody will think you are a rich doctor, no matter if you are a pediatrician or neurosurgeon.

Rob Dawg wrote:

Transports been telling that story all morning.

Just watching the EUR/USD cross here...same story

Go to medical school.

Thanks for your comments SPOOL

traderwalt wrote:

Gold will have a conversion price whether it's $500, $5,000, or $50,000 per ounce or is convertible into another new currency, say maybe, 30 "node" to the ounce.

In England many years ago there some cases of small pox- the doctors had no idea what it was because they had never seen it before. I think all this talk about physical gold falls into that category. Do you honestly think that you are going to be able to go into a store and get them to give you anything in exchange for your "gold coin". Do you think they are going to make change for your 1 oz gold coin? While theoretically it is a store value in practice realizing is going to be impossible. Even a basket economy like Zimbabwe has paper currency as a medium of exchange. If you are buying physical gold for that eventuality you are probably doing it for your grand children not for yourself.

If you believe that gold prices are going up there really is no reason to hold the physical as long as you have a good margin systems. Holding physical gold because you are worried the government is going to seize your bank account your just substituting the risk that some criminal seizes your gold- personally I think the latter is more of a concern than the former if you are not a criminal yourself.

j diggles jr wrote:

By "free education" I meant, how can the government make me pay back $100k if i'm stuck working in a quarry with no family and no assets besides my education

Until federal student loans can be bankrupted or forgiven, it will be your problem, not their problem. I'm not sure you realize what I am saying (unless you are saying you want to be a poor, homeless vagabond with a piece of worthless paper).
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Also, there are states like Tennessee that are looking into adopting state rules that would allow them to rip your license (or deny giving you a license) if you default on your law school student loans. As soon as you turn up on the grid, you will have whatever wages you do make or assets you do inherit ripped from you.

BTW, I wanted to thank everyone for their input on my questions in this thread.