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 this mornings precious metals pricing.
Gold - $1374.20 Up $9.69
Silver - $23.32 Up $0.39
Platinum - $1476.50 Up $11.00
Palladium - $737.50 Up $19.00
Poverty rate in U.S. remained unchanged in 2012
The U.S. Census Bureau reported on Tuesday that at 15.0%, the poverty rate in the United States in 2012 remained statically unchanged from the 2011 rate and that more than one in five children under the age of 18 still live in poverty.
This rate reflects the sobering statistic that there are 46.5 million Americans who presently live in poverty in one of the overall wealthiest nations on Earth.
Compared to the poverty rate prior to the 2008 financial meltdown, the 2012 poverty rate was 2.5 percentage points higher than in 2007. Read More...
Almost 50 million Americans now on food stamps as nation plunges into widespread poverty
(NaturalNews) As economic recovery continues to prove dismal if not illusory, American families are signing up for food stamps in record numbers, showing signs that poverty is increasing and the job market is far from recovering.
According to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) numbers, households on food stamps increased by 45,900 in one month, hitting a staggering new high in June of 23.117 million households, with an additional 125,079 individuals signing up for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, a near-record 47.76 million people that is just below the December 2012 peak of 47.79 million.
More than 80% of those families receiving food stamp benefits are at or below the poverty line, with more than 61% of households drastically below the poverty line, making less than $14,648 in a year per household of three.
These numbers reflect a bigger trend that is all but abysmal in scope - that more than 22 million people have been added to the government dole since December 2007, at the onset of the economic crisis that has spiraled into near depression levels. According to Zero Hedge, more than 2.2 million jobs are needed to reach equilibrium with Fall 2008 levels of employment and cost of living affordability. Read More...
Poland Confiscates Half Of Private Pension Funds To "Cut" Sovereign Debt Load
While the world was glued to the developments in the Mediterranean in the past week, Poland took a page straight out of Rahm Emanuel's playbook and in order to not let a crisis go to waste, announced quietly that it would transfer to the state - i.e., confiscate - the bulk of assets owned by the country's private pension funds (many of them owned by such foreign firms as PIMCO parent Allianz, AXA, Generali, ING and Aviva), without offering any compensation. In effect, the state just nationalized roughly half of the private sector pension fund assets, although it had a more politically correct name for it: pension overhaul.
To summarize:
1. Government has too much debt to issue more debt
2. Government nationalizes private pension funds making their debt holdings an "asset" and commingles with other public assets
3. New confiscated assets net out sovereign debt liability, lowering the debt/GDP ratio
4. Debt/GDP drops below threshold, government can issue more sovereign debt
And of course, once Poland borrows like a drunken sailor using the new window of opportunity, and maxes out its new and improved limits, it will have no choice but to confiscate more assets, and to make its balance sheet appear better, until one day, there is nothing left in the private sector to confiscate. At that point the limit itself will have to be legislated away, and Poland will simply continue borrowing until one day there are no foreign lenders willing to take the same risk as the nation's private pensioners. At that point, Poland, which is in the EU but still has the Zloty, can just go ahead and monetize its own debt by printing unlimited amounts of its currency.
Of course, we all know how that story ends. Read More...
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[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.
