A Run On The Banks Begins In Italy As Italian Banking Stocks Collapse

Italy Banner - Public DomainThe Italian financial meltdown that we have been waiting for has finally arrived. For quite a long time I have been warning my readers to watch Italy, and now people are starting to understand why. Italian banking stocks continued their collapse for a fifth consecutive day on Wednesday, and nervous Italians are beginning to quietly pull large amounts of money out of the banks. In particular, Monte dei Paschi is a complete and utter basket case at this point. A staggering one-third of their loans are “non-performing”, and the stock price has fallen a staggering 57 percent since 2016 began. Monte dei Paschi is going to need a major bailout, and the same thing could be said about almost all of the largest Italian banks. But where is the money going to come from? (Read More...)

2016: A Year For Living With No Fear

No Fear - Public Domain2016 is just a few days old, and already there has been a tremendous amount of shaking. Stock markets all over the world are crashing, a huge earthquake just hit India, the middle portion of the United States is dealing with record flooding, Islamic terror continues to spread in the Middle East and elsewhere, and Saudi Arabia has suddenly cut off relations with Iran. Our world is becoming increasingly unstable, and I believe that this is just the beginning. In fact, I am fully convinced that 2016 is going to be an incredibly chaotic year. (Read More...)

18 Numbers That Scream That A Crippling Global Recession Has Arrived

Scream - Public DomainThe stock market has been soaring, but all of the hard economic numbers are telling us that a major global recession is here.  This is so reminiscent of what happened back in 2008.  Back then, all of the fundamentals were screaming “recession” by the middle of that year, but the equity markets didn’t respond until later.  It appears that a similar pattern is playing out right now.  The trade numbers, the manufacturing numbers, the inventory numbers and even the GDP numbers are all saying that a very significant economic slowdown is happening, but stock traders haven’t gotten the memo yet.  In fact, stocks had an absolutely great month in October.  Of course just like in 2008, stocks will eventually catch up with reality.  It is just a matter of time.  The following are 18 numbers that scream that a crippling global recession has arrived… (Read More...)

It Is Time To Kick Prepping Into Overdrive, Because This Stock Market Crash Is Just The Beginning

Speedometer - Public DomainIf you have not been preparing for what is coming, you need to get off your sofa and you need to start prepping right now.  Just remember what happened back in 2008.  That crisis took most people totally by surprise.  Millions of Americans lost their jobs, and because most of them were living paycheck to paycheck, all of a sudden most of them couldn’t pay the rent or the mortgage either.  Large numbers of families that were once living a comfortable middle class lifestyle suddenly found themselves destitute.  Well, this coming crisis is going to be even worse by the time it is all said and done, and it is not just going to be economic in nature.  Over the past two trading days, the Dow has gone down more than a thousand points.  The shaking that so many have warned about has begun.  As this shaking plays out, you and your family will need cash, food, supplies and a whole bunch of other things.  If you do not already have everything prepared, then you need to kick your prepping into overdrive because we are on a very compressed time frame now. (Read More...)

The Economic And Financial Problems In Europe Are Only Just Beginning…

Euro Gears - Public DomainRight now, the financial world is focused on the breathtaking stock market crash in China, but don’t forget to keep an eye on what is happening in Europe.  Collectively, the European Union has a larger population than the United States, a larger economy than either the U.S. or China, and the banking system in Europe is the biggest on the planet by far.  So what happens in Europe really matters, and at this point the European economy is absolutely primed for a meltdown.  European debt levels have never been higher, European banks are absolutely loaded with non-performing loans and high-risk derivatives, and the unemployment rate in the eurozone is currently more than double the unemployment rate in the United States.  In all the euphoria surrounding the “deal” that temporarily kept Greece in the eurozone, I think that people have forgotten that the economic and financial fundamentals in Europe have continued to deteriorate.  Whether Greece ultimately leaves the eurozone or not, a great financial crisis is inevitably coming to Europe.  It is just a matter of time. (Read More...)

19 Reasons Why You Can Laugh When Anyone Tells You That The Economy Is In Good Shape

Laughing Woman - Photo by Peter van der SluijsHave you heard the one about the “economic recovery” in the United States?  It’s quite funny, but it is not actually true.  Every day, the establishment media points to the fact that global stock markets have soared to unprecedented heights as evidence that the economy is improving.  But just because a bunch of wealthy people have gotten temporarily even richer on paper does not mean that the real economy is in good shape.  In fact, as you will see below, things just continue to get even tougher for the poor and the middle class.  Retail stores are closing at the fastest pace since the fall of Lehman Brothers, the rate of homeownership in this country is the lowest that it has been in 19 years, one out of every five families do not have a single member that is employed, and one out of every five children is living in poverty.  We are working harder, earning less and going into more debt.  With each passing day, the middle class gets a little bit smaller and the ranks of the poor get a little bit larger.  But at least the stock market is doing great, eh? (Read More...)

Why Preppers Should Be THRILLED That The Stock Market Has Hit An All-Time High

NASDAQ stock market displays at Times Square - Photo by bfishadow on FlickrI am a prepper and I LOVE the fact that the stock market is at an all-time high.  In fact, I hope that it keeps going up for as long as possible.  Why?  Because it gives me more time to prepare for the inevitable collapse that is coming.  As I will discuss extensively below, anyone with half a brain should be able to see that a great financial disaster is coming to this nation.  If you still doubt this after reading this article, please go check out The Economic Collapse Blog where I have posted nearly 1000 articles that break this down in excruciating detail.  Unfortunately, a lot of preppers out there are being really, really stupid right now.  Over the past six months, I have noticed a tremendous amount of apathy among the prepper community.  A lot of preppers were doing really well for a while, but now a lot of them have apparently decided that we are no longer in imminent danger of an economic collapse and that instead of preparing it is time to party.  This is a critical mistake.  We should be thankful that this stock market bubble has given us a few more months to prepare.  Sadly, so many people out there are wasting this precious opportunity. (Read More...)

Is This The Beginning Of A Horrifying Stock Market Crash In Europe?

Is This The Beginning Of A Stock Market Crash In Europe?Are we witnessing the start of a historic financial meltdown in Europe?  In recent days, two massive corruption scandals have greatly shaken confidence in European financial markets.  The first involves Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.  It is being alleged that he has been receiving illegal cash payments, and the calls for his resignation grow louder with each passing day.  The second is a derivatives scandal at the third largest bank in Italy.  Allegedly, there were some very large unreported derivatives deals that were supposed to help hide losses at the bank, but instead they actually made the losses much larger.  The investigation that is looking into this derivatives scandal is starting to spread to other banks, and nobody is quite sure how far down the rabbit hole this thing goes.  But what everyone does agree on is that this derivatives scandal has shaken up Italian politics, and the outcome of the upcoming election is now very uncertain.  Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is rapidly rising in the polls, and the European establishment is less than thrilled about that.  Meanwhile, stock indexes all over Europe fell rapidly on Monday, and even the Dow was down 129 points.  So will all this blow over in a few days, or is this the beginning of a full-blown stock market crash in Europe? (Read More...)