Update on Financial Crisis

In spite of the positive rhetoric by wishful thinkers, the state of the economy is still declining. The only good sign is that a number of people have been fooled into investing and spending their money--which is always good for the overall economy, even if they personally lose money.

The mortgage crisis is not over. In fact, it is just really getting started for commercial properties. But even home mortgages are "underwater" at the current rate of 23% and expected to climb to 30% by next year, according to today's AOL news:

http://247wallst.com/2009/08/11/underwater-mortgages-reach-epidemic-levels/

The collapse of the commercial property values would hurt small and regional banks more than the big banks, since that accounts for a larger part of their bank business. And secondly, the smaller banks are not "too big to fail," so don't expect them to be bailed out. The federal solution is to let them get swallowed up by the big banks that are already too big to fail. The money monopoly marches on.

What we really need is a Jubilee. Oh yes, another author apparently feels the same way:

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=106253

I hope more people get the idea and reach the same conclusion. Meanwhile, one more central bank is stopping its purchase of US dollars. The Bank of Israel says it has reached its goal now, after purchasing $100 million in US dollars each DAY for the past year. It's reported in the Jerusalem Post at:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1249418575155&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Meanwhile, it is reported that US embassies around the world have been given instructions to stock up on local currencies (a year's supply, they say), in preparation for an expected crisis in currency. Former army counterintelligence officer, Bob Chapman, is saying this, and financial analyst Harry Schultz believes him.

http://current.com/items/90485627_american-embassies-urged-to-stockpile-local-currencies.htm

Other reports are saying that the government will be shutting down banks one region at a time beginning August 24. When they reopen, reports indicate, it will be with a new currency that will replace your old account at a ratio of either 6:1 or 12:1. I have no way of knowing if the reports are true. There have been such reports since the early 1980's and probably even before that, and none of them have ever come true. But then, past years did not see trillion-dollar problems and an economic depression. We do live in unusual times.

Anyway, we should have all have contingency plans and should not fully trust the banks to publish their financial problems and let us know ahead of time that they are near broke. That would cause a run on the banks and ensure their collapse within hours. So we are always left guessing until the day the feds take them over and merge them with bigger banks. With the FDIC, it is not likely that anyone would actually LOSE money. It is more likely that accounts would be frozen for a time, causing inconvenience. I consider bank accounts to be part of the financial gamble of the day, and I personally would not want to bet my future on bank policy--especially when they are subject to federal regulators.

And by the way, August 24 is two months after June 24. If the old revelation that "July is like September" applies here, then June is like August, and June 24 is like August 24. On June 24 I was at the Black Forest in Colorado Springs for the overthrow of Pan/Azazel. Recall that Michael Jackson, "The Great Pan" from Neverland Ranch, died the following day. August 24 has been a watch date since then. Whether a bank holiday is what to watch or not, I can't say for sure. I'm not trying to predict anything; I'm just being watchful and trying to stay informed.