I’ve been thinking about a trip for a while now.  I’m missing the adventure of travel, and given how much better I feel in the past year I know I’d enjoy another journey in a big way!  Not to mention it would be fun to look for more interesting photos across the country.

For now though, I won’t be rolling out anywhere.  Work, photo shows, appointments…..they’re all in the way of trip planning.  Oh, and one more reason for me……gas prices!

In a few weeks the International Rally will take place in Bozeman, MT.  Ah, I loved Bozeman.  Such a pretty area.  And so much closer to my friends Bert & Janie.  They’d meet up with me if I headed up, Bert said so!  But I’ll be taking a pass this year.

A round trip to Bozeman would be 2024 miles.  I checked it out on Mapquest.com.  1012 miles each way.

When I tow I get about 12 miles to the gallon.  Rounding up, that would be 169 gallons of gas to do the round trip, not including driving around the area while I’m there.  So, the trip’s gas, at an average of $4.00 per gallon (we’re at $3.95 here), would cost me $676.  Not too bad, but more expensive than my travel expenses in 06′.  At this point prices are well above the “extreme” prices I paid in California in 06′!

I have to wonder how the prices are impacting RVers over all.  Many folks tow with diesel trucks, or drive diesel Class A’s.  Diesel costs even more.  I’m sure people are cutting their trip lengths, and staying longer.

See, that’s one plus with an RV.  You can stay in a place for a while.  If I stayed in Bozeman for a month I could see the gas costs as “not horrible”.  Heck, last minute flights when I worked in wireless cost more than the gas cost I mentioned.  Staying in an area long term makes RVing feasible.

The problem is many folks aren’t full time.  They’ve got a 2 week vacation, and they like to pack a lot of stuff into the short time.  Stop somewhere, move the next day.  Rinse and repeat.  With fuel prices that could make for an expensive vacation fast.

Well, I’ll keep reading industry reports to see how RV’s get impacted.

One other thought…..my dad plans to roll out this fall with his little gas powered Class A.  I believe he gets 10 mpg.  Round trip from MA to AZ is 5228 miles (that’s round trip, direct no detours).  So, his trip total would be 522.8 gallons of gas if he came directly here.  Let’s pretend gas won’t go up in price any further….so $4 per gallon average.  That would be $2,091.20 in fuel expenses.  Ouch.  But he’d be transporting 3 people in total, and they’d be out for a while.  Might rival airline prices still, and might be better in the long run……

Alright RV’ers….tell me, are your wheels Idle due to gas prices?

Ah, let’s have a little fun today. I’m going to float a conspiracy theory that I just developed this morning. A few dots connected in my mind, and the dots made me pause.

Now, keep in mind, this is only a theory. I’m toying around with ideas, and I don’t believe them. But the fun part with weaving a story together is knowing that it could be possible given the information you have at hand.

After reading an article on Time’s website regarding Ben Bernake’s recent moves to salvage Bear Stearns I re-thought about my personal view of Alan Greenspan. A few key statements in the Time article made me start thinking harder about Mr. Bernake as well (I’ve never given the guy much thought, as I thought he was nothing more than Greenspan’s flunky). What were the dots? Why is it worth your time to read further? Here, I’ll give you the dots first….. one sentence set me off…..

Bernanke, himself an authority on the Depression, has been pushing ever more creative and aggressive means to avoid this, mostly by lending cash or Treasuries in exchange for mortgage securities.

What caught my attention, and has been over the past week, is that Bernake is an authority on the Great Depression. At this current moment in time the Fed has been examining the Great Depression at length. We’re apparently right on the edge if folks know that those running our banking system are examining that period of time closely.

So, how does all this work up to a fun theory that I’m toying with? Well, let’s talk about my personal thoughts on Greenspan for a moment.

During the 90’s I read a great deal about Alan Greenspan. Being a “gold bug” I learned that Greenspan was extremely vocal about NOT going off the gold standard in 71. He actually wrote a paper on the subject. Beyond the paper, Greenspan had deep concerns regarding leaving the standard, and the power of a central bank without a peg for a currency.

During the 90’s Greenspan went on to manipulate the money supply almost at will. Without the check of a peg for currency Greenspan helped to create and exacerbate the Dot Com bubble (sock puppets anyone), and from the tech bubble we moved immediately into the real estate bubble. Any person without rose colored glasses could see both bubbles forming, and more importantly, could trace the bubbles back to the easy money policies instituted by Greenspan.

I’ve always wondered, “Did Greenspan change his mind between the 60’s and the 90’s?” Sure, it’s possible. Actually, I’ve always thought about 3 options regarding Greenspan embracing the easy manipulation of an economy after strongly opposing such manipulations a few decades earlier. The options are:

1. Greenspan completely changed his mind, and now believes that the “right” person could guide an economy without a pegged currency, and that manipulation is not dangerous.
2. Greenspan forgot everything he believed back then.
3. Greenspan decided to manipulate the economy in such a way as to prove his thesis from the 60’s correct. Economists often show up as petty dictators in 3rd world nations, and that’s a fact. They’ve got an inherent belief that they can move an economy with the right models, etc. And from my personal perspective, given the opportunity, I too would attempt to prove my thesis correct even at the expense of the global economy. Ah, ego is fun.

I’ve always toyed around with option 3. Could the former chairman be so devious as to set out to create bubbles and bring our economy to the brink? Anything is possible. And I know I would have a hard time not doing it if I were in that role (yes, I’m grinning and doing a tongue & cheek thing here).

I haven’t run through my 3 options as to why Greenspan did what he did in a while. But reading this morning’s article regarding Bernake and Bear Stearns something struck me.

Bernake is an authority on the Great Depression.

Both Greenspan and Bernake were well aware of the causes of the Depression. One cause was massive mal investment and over investment in companies that would not fly long. Bubbles formed, just like the bubbles of the past decade.

It struck me. One man who warned of using a fiat currency (Greenspan) and one man who has studied the Depression and it’s causes (Bernake) spent a lot of time together at the Fed. Could they have chatted together, shared the experiments they’d like to conduct, and reached the conclusion they could help each other out?

Hey, if you create huge destructive bubbles I bet I could navigate us through them….. What do you say?

Well, you really think you could avert a Depression if we lowered real interest rates to nearly nil, over leveraged an entire country, and obliterated the value of the currency?

Not sure really, but I sure wouldn’t mind trying just to see what happens…..Want another beer?

It’s only a theory, and not one I believe, but you have to admit, it’s plausible. Take one guy who warned of leaving a pegged currency, and then demonstrates over a decade and a half that he was right, and take another guy with an interest in the Depression and how it could have been averted. Put them together with a few cocktails and you never know what could happen.

Ah, the fun things that bounce through my mind!

Before bed I made the mistake of looking at the latest metals prices on Kitco.com. I hadn’t looked since Thursday, as I don’t always watch the markets close (you have to take a day off here and there).

Gold was spiking more than $20 per ounce last evening…..why? I checked Prudentbear.com to see what’s going on. Bear Stearns. Ah, there was the explanation. The near collapse of a major financial institution, and it’s rescue.

From the New York Post I learned the following:

The panic struck trading desks early in the morning when the Federal Reserve announced that it was invoking a procedure from the Great Depression to save Wall Street giant Bear Stearns from going belly-up.

Click the quote above to read the entire article, entitled “US Economy’s Collapse Fear.”

So, the Fed moved to save Bear Stearns. Rumors several weeks ago indicated that the $200bn planned bailout for the financials was due to the coming collapse of a large financial house. Looks like it was Bear Stearns. It’s good to know that we’re going to bail out the financial institutions. I wonder how we bail out the American consumer and homeowner given the massive inflation the Fed has created over the last few years?

Oh wait, there’s no real inflation…..that’s their line. Did I ever mention that the chicken feed my dad uses for his hens has tripled in price over the course of 1 year? That’s 300% inflation gang. Too bad food prices don’t get counted.

In the end, we’re only at the starting point of what’s happening in the financial markets. More will fall in the near future, and I’m not the only one who believes this. Even with the bailout on Friday, Bear Sterns still imploded, and JP Morgan ended up buying them on the cheap.

I could provide links all day on this post, but I’ll stop. For regular readers I suggest you go through Prudentbear.com each morning. I suggest reading that site not to make you nervous, but to make sure you’re informed about what’s happening. Our Fed and government have been eroding the value of the dollar for years. In the end, we’ll be paying for it, and we already are. Oil is jumping because of inflation, nothing else. Food prices are soaring due to inflation and our insane ethanol policies. You might recall I once asked the question, “What great nation has ever burned its food supply?” The answer is none by the way.

Ugh. I wish I slept better last night. I know what’s coming. The mortgage bailout is next. For those of us without one that brings no relief thanks to the massive inflation in all necessary items. Being prudent and not overbuying is not being rewarded in this market. Over buying, maxing out your credit, etc., is being rewarded, and that’s a shame. At least living out of an Airstream is cheaper than other options.

Here’s the scoop in a nutshell. The dollar is backed by debt (US Tresuries), and the debt is backed by the dollar. The dollar had previously been backed (partially) by gold. That all changed in 1971 as we went off the gold standard.

From that point forward, debt backed the dollar and the dollar backed the debt.

Is that a head scratcher? Paper backs paper. It’s all about a promise to pay, nothing more.

If it makes you a little nervous, then I’ll let you know, it gets worse. Let’s talk simply about these credit derivatives that are causing problems for banks now.

Each bank is only allowed to lend a certain percentage of their assets. Pretend it’s 90%. And pretend the bank in question has $100 on deposit. That means that the bank can lend $90. Once they’ve lent up to the percentage allowed (the percentage is basically set by the Fed) they’re done. No more lending. No more cashing in on the housing boom.

Oh, woe to the banks. How can we cash in further? Ah, how about creating some derivatives?

The debt the banks held (from their lending) in the form of mortgages gets packaged up with magical paperwork, and is sold out as an asset. See, if you bundle enough debt paperwork it magically becomes an asset. The asset is a “derivative”, and there are institutions willing to take these blocks of debt and pay you for them. They’ll get a percentage of the returns when the debt is paid off (these derivatives are viewed as “bonds”).

Now the bank has more money on hand. What to do with that money? How about lend it out, and then repackage those loans as derivatives too? Sounds like a good plan. You can keep lending beyond what you’re allowed to. Brilliant!

This of course is an extreme over simplification. It gets deeper, and there are more layers to the derivatives. But if you’ve followed so far you understand….Banks were lending way more money than they should have thanks to these magic derivatives. In essence, they were creating an expansion in our money supply (the Fed’s job) in an unchecked fashion. Really nice!

Recently we’ve all heard that the Fed is going to inject $200bn (that’s billion guys) into the banking system. How are they doing it? Giving it out free and willy nilly? Of course not. The “loan” into the system will come at a cost. The banks will be turning over current debt as an asset to the Fed.

Alright, let’s stop for a moment. The dollar is backed by debt, and the debt is backed by the dollar. Credit derivatives are basically debts already loaned out, but then considered an asset. Money is given for them, so more of the same cycle. Now, with a few layers of debt backing cash, we’ll do a little more with the Fed’s move.

I ask you….if you went to your personal accountant with a scenario like this, would your accountant resign? Would they run fast? Maybe a few words would escape their mouth mentioning “fraud” and their fear of being implicated along with you…..just a thought.

The easy money, loose rates, structured finance, etc., are what brought both the dot com bubble and the housing bubble. Instead of unwinding all of this nonsense our course has been laid out to save the system. We’re going to get a little deeper with a little more of the same.  Do you think it will keep the inevitable correction at bay?  Business cycles still exist.  Maybe instead of digging a deeper hole we should let the cycle play out, clear out the bad paper and companies in the system, and gear ourselves for the recovery down the road……  just a thought.

Sure it would be painful, but often times doing the right thing isn’t the easiest thing to do.  Here’s my question for the finance folks out there…..  Where’s a Paul Volker when we need him?  The guy willing to do the tough stuff (even if it means recession), be disliked by the finance community, but is still willing to do it to hasten the system’s correction (read what he said back in 05′).  Think Mr. Volker would volunteer a second time at the Fed???

PS…..I’m not the only one who thinks we need a Volker.  As I was writing this post I googled Mr. Volker, and found a NY Post article from March 4th pointing at the same thing.  Read it, the John Crudele is dead on (and a good finance columnist).

A decade ago the story of the Titanic was retold. It was a box office hit. Not just due to cast members like Leonardo DiCaprio, but because of the story behind the tragedy.

Some of my personal favorite channels such as Discovery, The History Channel, and The Learning Channel have all dedicated time to the story of the Titanic. Special subs have gone out in search of the wreck, major research studies have dedicated countless dollars to investigating what happened.

Overall, it’s safe to say that decades later, we as a population have an interest in the story of the Titanic to this day. Is it the timeless love story of two people who were unfortunate enough to be on the ship? Is it the wonder that technology did not triumph over nature? Maybe it’s the arrogance of being too big to fail, and not bringing enough life boats…..?

Whatever it is, whatever the major fascination has been, we’ve learned nothing from the story.

You see, for more than a decade and a half now we’ve all bought into the concept of “too big to fail.” Think back just a short way. The Internet revolution had brought on a “New Economy.” An economy that seemed to defy business cycles. It created profitless businesses that we were all eager to get in on. Buy a stock today, sell it tomorrow and retire to a small tropical island.

Too big to fail…….. the unsinkable ship of the new economy.

But the new economy (it just doesn’t deserve capital letters) was not too big to fail. And it still isn’t. It was built on fast talk, profitless companies with promises of a new age, and it was built on the same hype that made the 1920’s the “Roaring 20’s”.

Every IPO in the 20’s seemed to be for companies with the word Motor or Radio buried in the name. Thousands made their debut. Only a handful of truly profitable companies survived. The same can be said today of the Dot Com’s, Wireless, Communications, etc. Every technological revolution promises and delivers a lot. However, only the “real” companies survive. Many others toss their names into the ring just to capture the dollars of the over enthused and under informed. So went the 20’s, and so went the 90’s.

After our dot com bust people still had a ton of liquid finance to invest. And the over enthusiasm (irrational exuberance, as coined by a seemingly responsible Fed Chairman at the time…) carried itself right into the real estate markets. Housing prices went up not due to higher quality, better neighborhoods, etc. The prices went up because bidders had more money to bid thanks to low rates, loose lending, and more liquid finance pulled out of the last bubble.

Now as we find ourselves unwinding the errors of the real estate bubble mania most pundits believe it’s just the bad loans. Not even close. Since the 90’s the derivatives trade has grown to proportions that dwarf global economic production. The best part……Nobody understands how derivatives work. Many do acknowledge that they could be dangerous. Just like icebergs, derivatives are much bigger and more mysterious below the surface. And they could easily sink a ship like the Titanic.

In a recent Market Watch article, derivatives are described as “the new ticking time bomb.” Funny, they’re not new to me. Back in 98′ I was concerned about these financial devices. And they’ve only spread into more corners of our economy. Be sure to read the entire link.

So, where is the ship known as the American Economy really going? Some claim there’s no recession, but a risk of recession. They’re the folks on the deck telling the band to keep playing, and asking the guests to continue dancing. They surely don’t want you heading for the life boats or panicking that the unsinkable ship is indeed going under. But there are others who will still call it as it is……From the London Telegraph we have the following….”Fed takes boldest action since the depression to rescue the US mortgage industry.”

It’s nice to see some folks are getting escorted to the life boats. Keep in mind, just like the Titanic, seating is limited. For a society enamored with the Titanic story, you’d think more of us would have learned more from it. Are you watching the band, or are you looking outward at the rough seas around you?

***Note:  The photo in this article was licensed through Dreamstime.com.  

In a hat.

Several years ago while figuring out why I was so sick I felt like the after image of myself.  Or, like a shadow of myself.  But I haven’t felt that way in a long time.  Good to feel like me again.

But this morning I was checking out my accepted photos at Dreamstime, and one of the accepted shots was titled by the Dreamstime crew as “Shadow of a Man in a hat.“  That shadow was mine, and I just got a kick out of the title.  I know, I get a kick out of strange things.

So far I’ve uploaded 29 shots from the Anza-Borrego trip to Dreamstime.  And the acceptance ratio for that series of photos worked out to be 79.3%!  Wow, that’s really good.  At least, I think it is and I’m pretty excited.  Several Panoramics were accepted, many cool Palm Canyon shots, and of course some slot canyon photos too.

The rest of my photos have to wait.  Many have people in them, and I’m waiting on Model Releases before I can submit them.  So, more A-B shots will get some additional exposure, and friends will be part of the Dreamstime experience.  Pretty cool!

Today’s economic nightmares….

Alright, I’m shifting gears now.  If you don’t want to know about economics, and you don’t want to scare yourself any further, you’re not alone.  Go check out my latest podcast, see some happy images, watch some shaky video, and listen to a few tunes.   Skip the rest of this post.

For the rest of you…..well, it’s nice to know what’s coming, isn’t it?

Apparently the Fed is going to take on $200bn in mortgage securities.  Oh good, we’re saved.  Oh wait….where are they getting that money?  Are we printing more?  Are we causing more inflation?  Are we taking away people’s fear of risk?  See, people risk money loaning it out for stocks, home loans, bonds, etc.  On the upside everybody is super happy, and they wrap themselves up in capitalism.  On the down side, when their RISK goes the wrong way they’re socialists, and they want the government to fix it for them.

Now, it doesn’t matter to me if you’re a capitalist or socialist.  But wouldn’t it be nice if we picked a path and stayed on it?  I’m getting sea sick readjusting to what America wants.  Upside, stay out of my business.  Downside, I’d like the Feds in my living room helping my family along.  Ugh.

Just keep in mind…..we’ll all be paying for this one, through taxes, inflation, and the erosion of our savings.  Mad about your 401K’s going down already?  Inflation erodes them too…..  Hey, let’s drop interest rates some more.

Speaking of 401K’s…..

By the way, this is why I’m really wound up this morning.  Folks borrowed against their perceived equity gains in their homes, thought Netscape made them billionaires, etc.  Now we have the next phase…..

Have you heard about the 401K Debit card???  Seriously, you can draw against your 401K today, and we’ve got a wonderful piece of plastic that can help you out.  And no, there’s more than one article on this new financial device.

What kind of commercial could we create for this new card?

Feeling squeezed financially?  Did your Dot Com portfolio tank a few years ago?  Have you maxed out your housing ATM?  Can’t find an Adjustable Rate Mortage any longer due this silly credit crisis?  Credit card balances nearing the national debt levels (fat chance)?  Well, there’s good news!  You can access your last retirement funds quickly and easily……

Yeah, I think that works as a commercial…..

Take the following items and put them together:

• Returning from a super fun trip where you were on the go the entire time (while fighting the flu).
• Going back to work after the super fun trip.
• Get some really bothersome news that affects you.
• Get some incredibly good news that helps you feel better about the bad news.
• Receive a correspondence from someone that makes you truly uncomfortable.
• Stay up many nights reviewing photos for Dreamstime.

Put all these things together and you might just find one super exhausted person. In the case of this list, I was the super exhausted person.

Yesterday I was planning on a trip to Sycamore Canyon (the long way), or at least a short climb. I was hoping for many wonderful photos, a fun time with friends, and an interesting blog post for the evening.

Instead, when I woke up I found that there was nothing left in me at all. Well, there was the desire to curl up in a tight ball and sleep all day. Or wander around in a haze until I finally took that extra long, extra necessary nap (I finally did do that, and it helped).

So, the blog stayed silent for the weekend. I got some laundry wrapped up, minor shopping, and a really good nap. And after all of this mundane stuff I found myself awake once more. Nice to be awake. And after sleeping all night, I’m even more awake this morning! Hello again world, relaxed guy here.

Oh, and now that I’m awake…….

The latest must read article from Bill Fleckenstein.  If you haven’t bookmarked his page at MSN yet, I’d suggest you do.  He’s had it right for a long time, he was just off on timing.  Now that the ball is rolling, I believe Bill has a great handle on the road map of where we’re going.  He writes weekly, and I’m always awaiting his next posting.

This morning I’ve been uploading trip shots to Flickr.  :)  What’s my Flickr address?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gadgetat/ 

I’ll be uploading more over the next few days as I sort the shots and categorize them.  :)  Ah, post processing is so much fun.  Glad I have Lightroom on my computer. 

On other notes…..economics once more.  Just a few links for your reading pleasure.

From the New York Post we have an article on why the Fed Chairman should really start worrying.  Interesting to know about the assumptions that go into our labor statistics….isn’t it?

The second article comes from Bloomberg.  The title?  “Bernake Policy to Destroy US Dollar, Faber Says.”   Ominous.  But true as well.  We’re destroying the value of the dollar trying to avoid recession / stagflation.  The more dollars we print, the lower the rates go, the worse the situation will become.  Any economist can tell you this…..

On other notes, I just need to say something about the talk about mortgage bailouts.  I’ve been reading about them too much lately.  Recently Bernake suggested that banks forgive a portion of mortgages that people have if they’re in trouble.  Wow, talk about a bailout.  Didn’t these folks read the documents they signed?  Didn’t they shop around for a mortgage?  Didn’t they plan ahead at all?  And now we’re to forgive the debt, and put it on the backs of taxpayers?  Wow.

I wonder, where is my bailout?  I paid my mortgage on time, had great jobs, good savings, etc.  Then an illness and divorce led me to living out of my Airstream.  I sure would like a home again you know.  Do I get a bailout for a bad couple of years?  I’ll tell you, I’d love to have a bailout.  But my situation is my responsibility, not yours.  So, I’ll continue to bail myself out, and I’ll keep my hands out of your wallet…..

Maybe I’m getting a cold again.  Something is up.  Maybe it’s being out all day, and being out too long.  I don’t know.  But I do know I returned home last night, made some tofu dogs, and then flopped on the couch with no energy left.  Of course, making tofu dogs takes a lot of energy. 

Fortunately tomorrow will be a day of rest!  And boy howdy, I need it.  Of course, I’m going to run around and take a few more photos.  Unwind a little.  Hopefully I’ll be rested enough.

Bed time will probably be 7 tonight……I think that’ll work…..after making more tofu dogs, or tofu patties of course. 

For tomorrow, I’m thinking about taking a ride to Wickensburg.  I drove through the other week after my Phoenix meeting.  Unfortunately, I had a few more things to get done here in Prescott, so I didn’t take the time to look around the town.  And I got the feeling there were many interesting things to see and shoot.  So, a return trip is in order!

If you have any suggestions about places I should visit there, please leave a comment and let me know.  I’ll be playing tourist!

Now I’m going to shift gears, and make a small note (oh yeah) about economics once again.  Sorry. 

I heard this morning that the head of the GAO is resigning.  Who is the head of the GAO, and why is it important?  Well, his name is David Walker.  Basically he’s the head bean counter for the government.  He’s been there a while, through many Presidents.  And the guy has always stayed out of politics, and never commented on the economy.  A few months ago he started making comments.

The GAO is basically a neutral organization.  They just keep track of government spending.  Walker has never wanted to influence politics, elections, etc.  So clearly, for him to come out recently to warn about how out of control government spending is, it must be pretty serious.  Did you know the U.S. keeps 3 sets of books?  You know what would happen to a business that did that?  Yeah, investigations, resignations, and eventual failure.

Mr. Walker’s warnings were pretty simple.  With our current spending and current debt load every man, woman and child currently owes over $400,000.  And the load is increasing.  Soon we won’t be able to pay for current programs, as we’ll only be paying the interest owed on government debt.  The numbers aren’t debatable, they are what they are.

Isn’t it nice to see every Presidential candidate talking about new programs, new expenditures, and not cutting any programs?  All sounds sensible when your accountant tells you that you’re going under.  Did you know we fund cancer research and subsidize tobacco growers?  Seems like cutting one program would help the other…..we’ve got lots of that stuff.

So, what do we do?  Hey, don’t ask me.  My solution would be cutting so many expenditures.  You can’t keep living off your credit card, and rolling it to a new card.

Too bad we don’t have a backed currency…..silver coins are awful pretty, aren’t they?  At least they make a good macro shot! 

I really have to stop reading financial stuff in the morning before blogging.  It just doesn’t help at all.  Not at all.  The worst part….readers of this blog pay the price.

This morning I read a super short piece from Reuters regarding the IMF and a planned gold sale.  By the way, the IMF is the “International Monetary Fund.”  These guys are out there every day watching out for our interests…..really, they are.

Apparently, the IMF plans to sell some gold in the very near future.  They’re looking to raise some funds to reinvest elsewhere.  The specific statement…..

“This is arguably a good time to consider selling some of these gold holdings and investing the proceeds in financial securities with positive yields.”

Ah, sell gold so you can invest elsewhere in paper assets that have positive yields.  Hmmm.  In the decade I’ve followed the yellow metal it has gone from $270 per ounce to well over $900 per ounce.  I guess the yield isn’t positive enough.  Maybe they’d like to invest in some securities backed by sub-prime mortgages.  It would make sense…..those things were super high yield…..oh wait, isn’t that falling apart?

Maybe they’d like to invest in ethanol.  There’s a good bet!

Several years ago the Bank of England dumped gold too.  The man in charge at the time isn’t so popular now in England……ah well.  Somebody should send him a VT. Teddy Bear to cheer him up.

One of the key arguments against gold (for those who want to stay away from a pegged currency) is that it doesn’t yield a return.  It costs a lot to store it, and it’s not easy to deal with in international trade.  These are also the people who think printing money at will is a good idea, and that as long as we under-report the true state of inflation everybody will be ok.

So, if you’re interested in a little financial security there will surely be a dip in the price of gold in April.  If the IMF dumps the price will dip, and you’ll have a buying opportunity.  Oh, by the way, the whole point of the sale isn’t to cash in….it’s an attempt to slow gold’s giant leaps ahead (a clear indicator of economic weakness and inflation).