Tag: economy

‘The fire has been lit’: U.S. Federal Reserve’s push for digital dollar worries Wall Street

Joe Light – March 22, 2021

The financial services industry, braced for what could be its biggest disruption in decades, is about to get an early glimpse at the Federal Reserve’s work on a new digital currency.Wall Street is not thrilled.Banks, credit card companies and digital payments processors are nervously watching the push to create an electronic alternative to the paper bills Americans carry in their wallets, or what some call a digital dollar and others call a Fedcoin.

As soon as July, officials at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which have been developing prototypes for a digital dollar platform, plan to unveil their research, said James Cunha, who leads the project for the Boston Fed.

A digital currency could fundamentally change the way Americans use money, leading some financial firms to lobby the Fed and Congress to slow its creation — or at least ensure they’re not cut out.

Seeing the threat to their profits, the banks’ main trade group has told Congress a digital dollar isn’t needed, while payment companies like Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are trying to work with central banks to make sure the new currencies can be used on their networks.

“Everyone is afraid that you could disrupt all the incumbent players with a whole new form of payment,” said Michael Del Grosso, an analyst for Compass Point Research & Trading LLC.

https://financialpost.com

Disturbing prediction: Christians to be banned from jobs, bank accounts, money, plane travel

Joe Kovacs – December 8, 2021

The head of a free-speech social-media site is making a dire prediction for Christians, saying in coming days believers in Jesus won’t be able to get jobs, use money, open bank accounts or travel by airplane, among other routine activities.

The warning comes from Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab.com, a popular alternative to left-wing social platforms such as Twitter.

“On December 6th Twitter banned thousands of accounts in their latest purge of dissenting thought on the doomed and failing platform,” Torba says, noting the action resulted in a jump in the number of Gab users.

“While this is great news for the Gab community, it’s not great news for Christians. In fact, it’s a sign of what is soon to come which will be much worse than losing your Twitter account.”

“I have long seen where things are headed for the simple reason that I’ve experienced it first hand myself. Soon it won’t just be Twitter. If you’re a Christian you won’t be able to open a bank account. You won’t be able to host a website on the internet. You won’t be able to send emails. You won’t be able to access the app stores. You won’t be able to transact with money online, or off. You won’t be able to get a job. You won’t be able to fly in an airplane. This is coming for us all, and it’s already happening to many of us right now.”

His mention of not being able to engage in commerce is mentioned in the final book of the Bible, concerning the mark of the beast: “And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.” (Revelation 13:17 New Living Translation)

https://www.wnd.com

Shortages Are Getting Worse As The Global Supply Chain Crisis Enters An Ominous New Chapter

– December 21, 2021

All of the shortages were supposed to be gone by now.  During the first half of 2021, the blind optimists were assuring us that by the end of the year the pandemic would be over, the spike in inflation would have proven to be “transitory”, the global supply chain crisis would be resolved, and the U.S. economy would be booming.  Of course the truth is that none of those things happened.  In fact, overall conditions are even worse than they were six months ago.  Now we are heading into 2022, and even the optimists are finding it difficult to say anything positive about the coming year.

What is 2022 going to look like if global supply chain problems continue to intensify?  Not since World War II have we seen anything like the long-term shortages that we are now experiencing, and for many people this has been deeply frustrating.

For example, a lot of pet owners have been dealing with severe pet food shortages for months, and those shortages just seem to keep getting even worse.  The following comes from a Wall Street Journal article entitled “The Pet-Food Shortage Is Real, and Owners Are Scrambling”…

After an online order didn’t show on time, Phyllis Pometta stopped at five different stores before she hit pay dirt. There it was on the shelf: beef stew-flavored dog food.

Ms. Pometta scooped up about four cans, which weren’t her preferred brand. She was desperate, with supplies of the food she usually bought for her dog nowhere to be found online or in stores.

These shortages are not just limited to a few areas of the country.

This is truly a nationwide phenomenon, and experts agree that it isn’t going to end any time soon.

https://themostimportantnews.com

Mainstream Economists Are Struggling to Hide the Incoming Economic Collapse

Brandon Smith – December 1, 2021

For many years now there has been a contingent of alternative economists working diligently within the liberty movement to combat disinformation being spread by the mainstream media regarding America’s true economic condition. Our efforts have focused primarily on the continued devaluation of the dollar and the forced dependence on globalism that has outsourced and eliminated most U.S. manufacturing.

The problems of devaluation and stagflation have been present since 1916 when the Federal Reserve was officially formed and given power, but the true impetus for a currency collapse and the destruction of American buying power began in 2007-2008 when the Financial Crisis was used as an excuse to allow the Fed to create trillions upon trillions in stimulus dollars for well over a decade.

The mainstream media’s claim has always been that the Fed “saved” the U.S. from imminent collapse and that the central bankers are “heroes.” After all, stock markets have mostly skyrocketed since quantitative easing (QE) was introduced during the credit crash, and stock markets are a measure of economic health, right?

The devil’s bargain

Wrong.

Reality isn’t a mainstream media story. The U.S. economy isn’t the stock market.

All the Federal Reserve really accomplished was to forge a devil’s bargain: Trading one manageable deflationary crisis for at least one (possibly more) highly unmanageable inflationary crises down the road. Central banks kicked the can on the collapse, making it far worse in the process.

The U.S. economy in particular is extremely vulnerable now. Money created from thin air by the Fed was used to support failing banks and corporations, not just here in America, but around the world.

Why does it matter where those dollars came from?

Because the dollar has been the world reserve currency for the better part of the past century, the Fed has been able to print cash with wild abandon and mostly avoid inflationary consequences. This was especially true in the decade after the derivatives crunch of 2008.

Why? The dollar’s global reserve status means dollars are likely to be held overseas in foreign banks and corporate coffers to be used in global trade. However, there is no such thing as a party that goes on forever. Eventually the punch runs out and the lights shut off. If the dollar is devalued too much, whether by endless printing of new money or by relentless inflationary pressures at home, all those overseas dollars will come flooding back into the U.S. The result is an inflationary avalanche, a massive injection of liquidity exactly when it will cause the most trouble.

We are now close to this point of no return.

https://alt-market.us

In Early 2022, Prices Will Be Going Up 20 To 25 Percent On Thousands Of Different Products

– November 23, 2021

If you think that inflation is bad now, just wait until we get into early next year.  As you will see below, some of the biggest corporations in the entire country have just announced major price increases which will take effect during the first few months of 2022.  So if there are some things that you want to stock up on, you may want to do it now, because your money won’t stretch as far once we get a few months down the road.  I really wish that I had better news for you.  I really wish that I could tell you that prices are going to level off and that economic conditions will return to normal soon.  Unfortunately, the truth is that it appears that our problems will soon be accelerating.

Earlier today, I was stunned to learn that General Mills has announced that prices on “hundreds of items” will be jacked up dramatically in early 2022.  In some cases, prices “will go up by around 20%”…

General Mills (GIS) notified retail customers that it’s raising prices in mid-January on hundreds of items across dozens of brands. They include Annie’s, Progresso, Yoplait, Fruit Roll-Ups, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charm’s, Wheaties, Reese’s Puffs, Trix and more, according to letters General Mills sent to at least one major regional wholesale supplier last week.

For some items, prices will go up by around 20% beginning next year.

Ouch.

When you go to the grocery store after the holiday season is over, get ready for a case of severe sticker shock.

Of course General Mills is not the only large corporation that will be doing this.

According to CNN, Tyson Foods, the Kraft Heinz Company, Procter & Gamble, and Kimberly Clark have all announced significant price increases for 2022…

General Mills’ plans are the latest evidence that rising prices won’t be going away anytime soon for some of the most recognizable food and household brands. The company is the latest consumer manufacturer to announce price hikes beginning next year, joining Tyson (TSN), Kraft Heinz (KHC), Mondelez (MDLZ), Procter & Gamble (PG), Kimberly Clark (KMB) and others.

In my entire lifetime, I have never seen anything like this.

https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com

Venezuelans Turn to Gold Nuggets as the Local Currency Implodes

Cryptogon – November 1, 2021

Dealing with physical gold in fractions of a gram seems extremely cumbersome, and, are vendors confident that they’re being paid in actual gold?

With the use of cryptocurrencies booming in Venezuela, I wonder if people are using any of the gold backed cryptos for the purposes described in this piece?

The most bugeyed Cryptogon readers will wave red flags and warn that these gold schemes could be scams. I understand this sentiment.

But…

If the point of using the physical gold is the protection it offers against the maniac state’s fiat emissions, it might make sense to use tokenized gold for day-to-day business operations. While tokenized gold isn’t physical gold, my guess is that there’s a good chance that alleged physical gold isn’t actual physical gold, in some cases.

If I was running a business and accepting payments in gold, I’d rather have tokenized gold than some yellow shiny stuff that came across the counter. Tokenized gold can be easily transferred anywhere, divided and, depending on the crypto, ultimately redeemed as physical gold. Allegedly physical gold, that is.

Keep in mind, actual physical gold can’t be disappeared by an EMP, a teenage hacker or a quantum computer.

Maybe business people could use tokenized gold for small amounts and eventually sweep these into a larger bar, or some other asset, for long term wealth preservation.

https://www.cryptogon.com

Schoolkids now pay for lunch by having their faces scanned

Ailan Evans – October 18, 2021

Nine schools in Scotland are using facial recognition technology to charge students for their cafeteria lunches.

The initiative, which debuted Monday in schools in the North Ayrshire area, was developed as a way of processing school lunch transactions faster and more efficiently, as well as eliminating close contact between individuals who may spread COVID-19, the Financial Times reported.

The technology scans the faces of students after they select their meal, identifying them and automatically charging their account, according to a pamphlet distributed by the North Ayrshire school system.

“It’s the fastest way of recognizing someone at the till — it’s faster than card, it’s faster than fingerprint,” David Swanston, managing director of CRB Cunninghams, the company that installed the technology, told the FT. “In a secondary school you have around about a 25 minute period to serve potentially 1,000 pupils. So we need fast throughput at the point of sale.”

Facial recognition is a controversial technology, with U.S. states including Maine, Washington and New York banning or severely curbing its use. However, the North Ayrshire council said 97% of children or parents consented to the new system.

https://www.wnd.com

The Inflation Train Is Still Gaining Speed

Peter Reagan – September 2021

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and other members of the Fed have been using the term “transitory” to downplay the threat that the last 16 months of skyrocketing inflation would last.

But inflation has been sharply on the rise since March 2020, with only a minor pause toward the end of last year before rising even more sharply since January 2021. Two Fed officials dissented in June of this year, but Powell’s money-printing habit hasn’t slowed.

The “light at the end of the tunnel” for the Fed? A miniscule .1% (one tenth of one percent) down tick in the official monthly inflation report this August.

You can almost hear the relief in the Fed’s chatter… “See, we were right! It was only transitory inflation, and it’s already going down! There’s nothing to see here, move along, buy more stocks.”

Don’t crack open the champagne just yet.

Unfortunately for us, the Fed’s optimism seems misplaced. That 0.1% reduction in monthly official inflation leaves us with a 5.3% annual inflation rate, more than 2 1/2 times higher than the Fed’s official inflation target.

And if you think everyday folks have it rough, small businesses have taken a major hit:

Inflation for businesses reached a year-over-year rate of 8.3% — the metric’s highest level since at least 2010.

On top of that, consumers are waking up to the reality that inflation won’t be “transitory,” but instead will likely stick around for a few years.

https://www.newsmax.com

Plunging Crop Supplies Send Prices Soaring And Reignite Food Inflation Fears, WASDE Reports

Tyler Durden – August 12, 2021

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was released Thursday afternoon and pointed to declining grain supplies that sent grain futures prices higher and will keep food inflation in focus.

The closely watched supply and demand report slashed estimates for corn yields and stockpiles. World inventories for wheat were reported near a five-year low.

Grain and oilseed futures soared to a near-decade high earlier this year but have been in a holding pattern for the last month, awaiting new reports on the outlook for upcoming U.S. harvests. A megadrought and back-to-back heat waves have plagued the corn belt and the U.S. West for much of the summer. 

Bloomberg outlines the key takeaways from the August WASDE report:

  • DROUGHT BITES: U.S. corn and soybean yields fell below analyst expectations and the declines were largely centered in the drought-stricken northern Plains, where severe drought has withered crops.
  • RUSSIA: So goes Russia’s harvest, so goes the wheat market. A large cut in the harvest means a lot less global wheat supplies and Russia’s wheat-export throne as the world’s top shipper is in doubt with the current forecast in line with exports out of the E.U.
  • WHEAT PEAK: Benchmark Chicago wheat prices hit the highest levels for a most-active contract since 2013. Corn and soybeans each touched multi-week highs but remain below multi-year peaks from earlier in 2021.
  • YOUR MOVE, FUNDS: With the USDA seeming to appease bullish traders with aggressive cuts and dry weather continuing to grip the Plains, an influx of speculative buying could bring the rally in grains, nearly a year-old at this point, to new heights.
  • FOOD INFLATION: Of course, with grain and soybean prices elevated for months, the higher costs should start to filter through the supply chain, pointing to higher prices for feed, seed, fertilizer, food and other goods.

This report means that adverse weather conditions are another driver of food inflation that shows no signs of stopping. We noted not too long ago, grocery store prices were expected to rise through the fall. Earlier this week, Tyson Foods Inc. said the surge in raw materials costs would force them to raise food prices in the coming weeks.

https://www.zerohedge.com

China on Cusp of Eliminating Cash, Pushing the World Toward Total Government Surveillance

George Thomas – July 28, 2021

The Chinese were the first in the world to invent paper money back in the 7th Century.

Now, more than 1,400 years later, China is again on the cusp of creating a new form of government currency that some say could pose a serious economic threat to America and the West.

“In effect, they are not cryptocurrencies, they are not so-called stable coins, in effect, they are the national physical currency of a country just represented in a digital form,” said Erik Bethel, former U.S. executive director with the World Bank.

Bethel says while the world fixates on private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Beijing is busy building a digital version of its own currency, the Yuan, also known as the Renminbi, to control its citizens and eventually threaten the dominance of the U.S. Dollar.

“They’ve pretty much created all of the building blocks that will allow a central bank digital currency to flourish,” Bethel told CBN News.

Yaya Fanusie, a former economic and counterterrorism analyst in the CIA, says China’s goal is to replace cash with a digital currency that’s controlled by the communist government’s central bank.

“China has said for a while that it expects to be pretty much a cashless society in the future so the idea is that cash notes, coins will no longer be around and so people will be using digital currency that’s going to be in their wallets,” said Yaya Fanusie, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

That digital currency will also be issued by the government bank allowing what Congressman Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says is unprecedented access to people’s financial transactions.”This will give them data on behavior and on how people spend,” Rep. McCaul (R-TX) told CBN News.

https://www1.cbn.com