Prepare for the Double Dip Recession

Art Cashin is a Wall Street legend. I had the privilege of starting my own investment career at Paine Webber (PaineWebber was bought by UBS) where Cashin worked providing daily market commentary from the trading floor. Today Cashin had this to say:

The year-over-year change in real GDP was 1.5 percent. There has never been a time since measurement commenced in 1948 when the annual pace of real GDP has fallen that low without the economy ultimately slipping into recession. Sub-2.0 percent readings are historically the warning signal.

Of course, Art Cashin is referring to "official numbers". Readers of this blog know we have been in a recession/ depression since 2008.

Negative GDP wasn't "Unexpected"

While the stock pumpers on CNBC were "surprised" and "stunned" by today's announcement that GDP for the fourth quarter of 2012 printed a negative 0.1%, readers of this blog were perhaps not surprised at all.

Record January Sales of America Silver Eagles

From Zerohedge:

A massive 7.4 million Silver Eagles were purchased from the U.S. Mint in January, considerably higher than the previous record from early 2011. After halting Silver coin production/sales for over a week, the Mint re-opened yesterday and demand once again surged. Having almost doubled from the first week in January, there remains two more days before the book is closed on January's sales. At 140,000 ounces, the Mint has also sold the most ounces of gold in January in almost three years, suggesting the rising 'currency wars' are stoking people's ongoing rotation from paper-to-physical assets as their 'wealth' slowing loses its value.

"We are Going to Kill the Dollar"

Ever wished you could pick the brain of a top hedge fund manager? One that not only saw the housing crisis coming but made billions off identifying the problems of the sub-prime market? One that speaks to top Obama economic advisers? Kyle Bass is that person. I don't want to even imagine how much his speaker fees are, but here, via Youtube we get to watch for free! Though its about one year old, 90% of it is relevant today (much even more so!).

Yes, China Will Back their Currency with Gold

When I came to the conclusion three years ago that China was acquiring massive amounts of gold to back their currency, I was but a lone voice. What was once a fringe idea is now becoming mainstream thought. Today, none other than the World Gold Council, has come to the conclusion that China is preparing to become a world reserve currency, and that demand for gold will continue to rise as China continues to acquire it as an asset with no counter party risk.

End of the Road: How Money Became Worthless

Many of my readers have likely either already seen this documentary or have heard of it. Its about one hour long and is a fantastic summary of much of what has been posted on this blog over the past year.

Silver: Bifurcating Between Paper and Physical? (Updated)

Gold and Silver Eagles sales by the US Mint have been climbing as noted by Zerohedge:

Tonight, Zerohedge reports the US Mint has already run out of  2013 coins:

Authorized Purchasers,

The United States Mint has temporarily sold out of 2013 American Eagle Silver Bullion coins.  As a result, sales are suspended until we can build up an inventory of these coins.  Sales will resume on or about the week of January 28, 2013, via the allocation process.

Please feel free to call us if you have any questions.

Regards,

Jack A. Szczerban
Branch Chief, Precious Metals Group
Department of the Treasury
United States Mint

Amazing. Don't these people realize they can just buy a silver ETF? Or maybe they just want to buy the real thing rather than a paper asset. Looking at APMEX, it would seem a nearly $6 premium over spot is the new market price for an American Eagle Silver coin.

UPDATE:
As of Friday, December 18th. APMEX is selling older Eagles at a $7 premium over spot!