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Information Scouting Report: Vol 1 (2-2-11)

We received a lot of great feedback from the content survey, and one idea that popped back into our field of view was for me to provide additional commentary on the wide range of articles that I run across when I do my daily scouting.

Here are the most interesting articles I’ve run across the past few days and why they caught my eye:

Information Scouting Report: Vol 1 (2-2-11)

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

Here are the most interesting articles I’ve run across the past few days and why they caught my eye:

Why are the stock markets up?

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

The headlines are screaming at the top of every financial media outlet tonight: The Dow Closes Above 12,000 For The First Time In Two Years!

What’s going on here? Is the recovery well and truly underway? And, if it is, why is the Fed dropping hints again that “QE3 may get discussed” in the future, as Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig said today?

Given the raft of good economic news lately, one might be forgiven for wondering what the Fed has in mind here. Why are they already dropping trial balloons? What are they seeing that we are not seeing, and why won’t they just tell us? What, exactly, is it that justifies more than $100 billion in thin air money each month?

Here’s how member dbworld put it earlier today:

Why are the stock markets up?

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

The headlines are screaming at the top of every financial media outlet tonight: The Dow Closes Above 12,000 For The First Time In Two Years!

Here’s how member dbworld put it earlier today:

“Let Them Eat Cake”

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

There are great moments in history, critical turning points that seemingly hang upon a single phrase. In response to news that the peasants had no bread, Marie Antoinette allegedly said “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.” (A brioche is a luxury bread enriched with eggs and butter).

At the time of the French Revolution in the late 1700’s, the staple food of the peasants was bread, which absorbed 50% of their income, in contrast to fuel, which consumed only 5%. The obliviousness and selfishness of the ruling class sparked the violence that led to its downfall.

Fast forward to today, where food and fuel consume up to 50% of the income of people in developing nations, such as Tunisia and Egypt, as well as China and India. In an increasing number of these places, violence is breaking out, as the modern-day peasants grow increasingly restive at the burden of merely trying to stay fed.

“Let Them Eat Cake”

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

Inflation Is So Much Worse Than We’re Told (Full Report)

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

Inflation Is So Much Worse Than We’re Told

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Executive Summary

Why inflation is several percent higher than claimed
The criticality of correctly weighting the CPI & how the current methodology is flawed
- Case study using healthcare, one of the largest victims of underweighting in today’s CPI
Why the Fed (erroneously) sees deflation and is making dangerously-flawed policy decisions as a result
The 8-steps that will signal our progression into an inflation-induced financial crisis in the US
Recommendations for preserving the purchasing power of your assets

Full Report (for enrolled members only)

Provides a much deeper dive into the CPI, its flawed methodology, the likely implications of understating inflation, and strategies for individual investors than available in the public-only article. If you are a looking to protect the purchasing power of your current wealth, it’s important to understand the stealth tax your assets currently exposed to from the erroneously-low reported inflation rate.

Inflation Is So Much Worse Than We’re Told (Full Report)

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

Inflation Is So Much Worse Than We’re Told

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Executive Summary

Why inflation is several percent higher than claimed
The criticality of correctly weighting the CPI & how the current methodology is flawed
- Case study using healthcare, one of the largest victims of underweighting in today’s CPI
Why the Fed (erroneously) sees deflation and is making dangerously-flawed policy decisions as a result
The 8-steps that will signal our progression into an inflation-induced financial crisis in the US
Recommendations for preserving the purchasing power of your assets

Full Report (for enrolled members only)

The Week Ahead: More Inflation on the Way

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

I am putting the final touches on a new report today which reveals just how badly inflation is undercounted in the US. The bottom line is that with the rest of the world already reeling from and reacting to accelerating inflation, the game is much closer to an inflationary dénouement for the US than one might suspect by following the Fuzzy Number generator otherwise known as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The week ahead in the markets is simple enough to divine: more asset inflation, dead ahead.

That’s the plan, and here’s the thin-air money printing for the week that will provide the fuel for that plan:

The Week Ahead: More Inflation on the Way

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

The week ahead in the markets is simple enough to divine: more asset inflation, dead ahead.

That’s the plan, and here’s the thin-air money printing for the week that will provide the fuel for that plan:

Interview with Jim Rogers: Why Inflation is Raging Worldwide And He’s Shorting US Treasury Bonds

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

“I see more inflation and more currency turmoil as we go forward. There are huge debt imbalances in the world. U.S. is the largest debtor nation in the world and all the assets are in Asia. The largest creditors in the world are China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore – this is where the assets are and the debts are in the West. Those imbalances have to be resolved. They frequently lead to more currency turmoil. We’ll see more inflation, we’ll see more governments fall. We just saw Tunisia fall – more are coming because the world is going to continue to have these problems, and especially inflation that is going to cause more social unrest.”

So said investing legend Jim Rogers when he spoke recently with PeakProsperity.com about the inflationary pressures rising dramatically around the globe, despite some governments’ best efforts to downplay them. Jim shares his “outside in” perspective on US monetary and fiscal policy, and how international players find themselves forced to react. He sees a lot of fundamental imbalances that need to be corrected for, as well as shortages of almost everything developing. In his words, “It’s going to be a real mess before it’s over.”

We’re making this important interview available first to our enrolled members.

Interview with Jim Rogers: Why Inflation is Raging Worldwide And He’s Shorting US Treasury Bonds

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

We’re making this important interview available first to our enrolled members.

Missing the Big Picture – Economists Risk Everything

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

In a different time we could happily go about our lives, ignoring economists as largely irrelevant to our daily lives. That is no longer the case.

In helping to shape central bank policies, economists are performing one of the largest social and monetary experiments in all of history, and its outcome, good or bad, will shape all of our lives enormously over the coming years. In fact, this experiment is already well underway and yielding results. Perhaps not the desired results, but results nonetheless.

The biggest problem with most, but not all, economists is that their theories are founded on incorrect assumptions.

This biggest of them all is assuming that the economy has some sort of an ‘equilibrium point,’ a magic place where just the right number of monetary actions and policies will create high jobs, price stability, and economic growth.

Unfortunately, this is just completely the wrong way to look at things.

Niall Ferguson recently pointed this out and made a critically important point:

Missing the Big Picture – Economists Risk Everything

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

In a different time we could happily go about our lives, ignoring economists as largely irrelevant to our daily lives. That is no longer the case.

The biggest problem with most, but not all, economists is that their theories are founded on incorrect assumptions.

Unfortunately, this is just completely the wrong way to look at things.

Niall Ferguson recently pointed this out and made a critically important point:

Interview with Bill Fleckenstein (Part 2): Outlook for 2011

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

The second part of Chris’ interview with Bill Fleckenstein is reserved below for you, our enrolled members.

If you’ve not yet listened to Part 1, click here to do so.

Part 2 of this interview delves into Bill’s vision on where the Fed’s money printing is leading: notably, to a currency and/or bond market crisis.

He and Chris discuss the timing of how quickly such an event could play out, what advance signals to look for, and where investors can position themselves in advance.

Interview with Bill Fleckenstein (Part 2): Outlook for 2011

PREVIEW by Chris Martenson

The second part of Chris’ interview with Bill Fleckenstein is reserved below for you, our enrolled members.

If you’ve not yet listened to Part 1, click here to do so.

Part 2 of this interview delves into Bill’s vision on where the Fed’s money printing is leading: notably, to a currency and/or bond market crisis.

He and Chris discuss the timing of how quickly such an event could play out, what advance signals to look for, and where investors can position themselves in advance.

Interview with Marc Faber (Part 2): Prognosis for 2011

PREVIEW

by Chris Martenson

The second part of Chris’ interview with Marc Faber is reserved below for you, our enrolled members.

If you’ve not yet listened to Part 1, click here to do so.

Part 2 of the interview takes a critical look at longstanding and widely-held assumptions that are dangerous to maintain in today’s reality. America is due for a rude awakening as it increasingly realizes the rest of the world is less dependent upon it (and less respectful of it) than it thinks. Or that there’s not enough global energy supply to keep historic growth trajectories continuing ad infinitum.

Marc discusses his vision for the most likely way in which the current economic situation will play out, plus his specific outlook for 2011 – including the investments he believes are best-suited to the future he sees.