Dear CIGAs,
When the stand up comedy in Euroland is over the next act is called the US Dollar.
Jim Sinclair`s Commentary
There is only one tool in the toolbox that can be utilized to stop a run on financial institutions possible at any time. It is called QE and will be used to infinity before this chapter of financial history closes.
Gold is headed into the $2000s.
Bottom Line – With few options, Fed turns to ‘jawboning’
By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer
With little ammunition left in its armory, the Federal Reserve has entered the "jawboning" phase of its campaign to spur stronger economic growth.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his fellow policymakers emerged from a two-day meeting to declare they planned no major changes in their policy of using low interest rates to get the job and housing markets back on track. In a statement, the Fed pointed to a recent improvement in the outlook but warned that the recovery is still very fragile.
"Economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter," the Fed said in its post-meeting statement. "There are significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets."
At least one committee member believes talk alone won’t cure the economy’s ills. Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Fed, formally dissented from the decision, saying he thinks his colleagues should be taking further action to revive growth.
So far, the Fed’s strongest artillery has had little apparent impact. Shortly after the Panic of 2008 rocked global financial markets, the central bank flooded the system with cash, slashing to zero the rate banks pay to borrow overnight. That move was followed by a massive program of buying nearly $2 trillion in bonds to force long-term rates sharply lower. But three years after embarking on its easy-money policies, unemployment remains stuck above 9 percent and the housing market is mired in its worst downturn since the 1930s.
Jim Sinclair`s Commentary
This is disgraceful.
Some 15% of U.S. Uses Food Stamps
By Phil Izzo
November 1, 2011, 4:53 PM ET
Nearly 15% of the U.S. population relied on food stamps in August, as the number of recipients hit 45.8 million.
Food stamp rolls have risen 8.1% in the past year, the Department of Agriculture reported, though the pace of growth has slowed from the depths of the recession.
The number of recipients in the food stamp program, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), may continue to rise in coming months as families continue to struggle with high unemployment and September’s data will likely include disaster assistance tied to the destruction and flooding caused by Hurricane Irene.
Mississippi reported the largest share of its population relying on food stamps, more than 21%. One in five residents in New Mexico, Tennessee, Oregon and Louisiana also were food stamp recipients.
Food stamp rolls exploded during the downturn, which began in late 2007. Even after the recession came to its official end in June 2009, families continued to tap into food assistance as unemployment remained high and those lucky enough to find jobs were often met with lower wages.
