My name is Shawn Ozbun, and our goal is to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the world of Gold and Silver by providing you with current news and precious metals pricing.
The Silvertowne Vault Cast is brought to you by www.Silvertowne.com
Let's have a look at our precious metals pricing for today.
Gold - $1234.25 Down $9.20
Silver - $19.49 Down $0.21
Platinum - $1372.00 Down $3.00
Palladium - $733.00 Up $0.50
Too Big To Fail Banks Are Taking Over As Number Of U.S. Banks Falls To All-Time Record Low
The too big to fail banks have a larger share of the U.S. banking industry than they have ever had before. So if having banks that were too big to fail was a "problem" back in 2008, what is it today? As you will read about below, the total number of banks in the United States has fallen to a brand new all-time record low and that means that the health of the too big to fail banks is now more critical to our economy than ever. In 1985, there were more than 18,000 banks in the United States.
Can you guess where most of the bank branches are being closed?
If you guessed "poor neighborhoods" you would be correct.
According to Bloomberg, an astounding 93 percent of all bank branch closings since late 2008 have been in neighborhoods where incomes are below the national median household income...
And if you are waiting for a whole bunch of new banks to start up to serve these poor neighborhoods, you can just forget about it. Because of a whole host of new rules and regulations that have been put on the backs of small banks over the past several years, it has become nearly impossible to start up a new bank in the United States. In fact, only one new bank has been started in the United States in the last three years. http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/too-big-to-fail-banks-are-taking-over-as-number-of-u-s-banks-falls-to-all-time-record-low
JPMorgan Chase is roughly the size of the entire British economy.
-The four largest banks have more than a million employees combined.
-The five largest banks account for 42 percent of all loans in the United States.
-Bank of America accounts for about a third of all business loans all by itself.
-Wells Fargo accounts for about one quarter of all mortgage loans all by itself.
-About 12 percent of all cash in the United States is held in the vaults of JPMorgan Chase.
As you can see, without those banks we do not have a financial system.
JPMorgan Chase
Total Assets: $1,947,794,000,000 (nearly 1.95 trillion dollars)
Total Exposure To Derivatives: $71,289,673,000,000 (more than 71 trillion dollars)
Citibank
Total Assets: $1,319,359,000,000 (a bit more than 1.3 trillion dollars)
Total Exposure To Derivatives: $60,398,289,000,000 (more than 60 trillion dollars)
Bank Of America
Total Assets: $1,429,737,000,000 (a bit more than 1.4 trillion dollars)
Total Exposure To Derivatives: $42,670,269,000,000 (more than 42 trillion dollars)
Goldman Sachs
Total Assets: $113,064,000,000 (just a shade over 113 billion dollars – yes, you read that correctly)
Total Exposure To Derivatives: $43,135,021,000,000 (more than 43 trillion dollars)
Please don't just gloss over those huge numbers.
Let them sink in for a moment. Read More....
Wow – The Holiday Shopping Season Is Off To A Horrible Start
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent an average of 4 percent lessover the four day Thanksgiving weekend than they did last year. Overall, that means that approximately$1.7 billion lesswas spent at U.S. retailers compared to last year. It had already been projected that this holiday shopping season would be the worst for retailers since 2009, but if these numbers are any indication it may be even worse than expected. So why is this happening? Well, basically the American consumer is tapped out. The unemployment crisis in this country is actually getting worse, poverty is absolutely exploding and the middle class is being systematically eviscerated. In other words, you can't get blood out of a stone. Many retailers are offering extreme discounts in a desperate attempt to lure more shoppers, but the money simply isn't there.
According to Yahoo News, the decline in shopping over the four day Thanksgiving weekend was the first decline that we have seen since the last recession... Read More...
The Coming Global Wealth Tax
Between ObamaCare, Iran and last quarter's uptick in U.S. economic growth, taxpayers these days may be distracted from several dangers to come. But households from the United States to Europe and Japan may soon face fiscal shocks worse than any market crash. The White House and New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio aren't the only ones calling for higher taxes (especially on the wealthy), as voices from the International Monetary Fund to billionaire investor Bill Gross increasingly make the case too. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304355104579232480552517224
Chinese Yuan overtakes Euro in Trade
The Chinese yuan has overtaken the euro to become the second most used currency in the global market place. Last year its share of world trade was just over 1 percent compared to the euro's almost 8 percent. The yuan has now reached almost 9, leaving the euro way behind. Keith Boyfield from the Centre for Policy Studies joins RT to discuss this issue. Read More...
For the best source for acquiring gold and silver please contact Silvertowne at 1-877-477- Coin, that’s 1-877-477-2646 or you can visit us at www.silvertowne.com. Silvertowne has been a trusted precious metals and numismatics dealer since 1949.
One of the most common ways to invest in silver is with silver ingot. They are affordable, portable and easy to stack and store.
Popular SilverTowne Trademark Silver Bars, featuring a classic prospector and his donkey, are guaranteed .999 fine silver and available in 1, 5 and 10 ounce sizes and SilverTowne is currently offering free shipping for these ingots. Contact Silvertowne today.
[Disclaimer] Shawn Ozbun is not a licensed financial adviser, there is risk associated with all investment including gold and silver. You should seek advise from a licensed financial expert before making a purchase.
