September 25, 2008 | david | Comments 20

Signs That Indicate Our Economy Is About To Collapse.

A reader passed this along to me, and I am still waiting for the link to where it came from (if he did not write it himself; it was all that was in the email), but I found it to be pretty interesting and wanted to post it here. Seems someone that probably knows more than I do put together a list of indicators that our economic system is about to collapse and what we should be looking for. What do you guys think? I especially want to hear from those of you who know more about economics than I do (which, as little as it is, is still more than S. Palin knows. )

A sharp spike in the Federal Funds Rate

News of a failed Treasury auction, or news that Treasury rates have spiked

Overt talk of a US default by Asian or European bankers

Multiple (8+) simultaneous US bank failures on one Friday

Any large Northern Rock style bank runs in the US (with customers lined up on the streets)

A stock market drop of more than 1,200 points in one day

A large and sudden spike in inflation

Any suspension of US stock trading

Draconian new stock trading limits (for example any new “circuit breaker” rules, followed by news that the trading was halted because of the limits)

New restrictions on either precious metals purchasing reporting requirements

New limits on moving funds outside the US

Any large derivatives trading collapses.(Because of disappearing counterparties or illiquidity.)

News that hundreds of hedge funds are suspending redemptions

News that many Money Market funds are dropping below $1.00 Net Asset Value (NAV)

The US Dollar Index (USDI) dropping below 68 for more than one full week of trading.

Any sudden large interest rate moves by the FOMC. (Up or down.)

Rioting in several metropolitan centers simultaneously. Gold spiking past $1,500 per ounce

News that any major western power is no longer accepting US Dollars in payment for key commodities

News that any major trading partners are no longer rolling over the majority of their US Treasury paper

A closed session of the full congress that lasts a full day or longer.

The Treasury starts to extensively monetize debt. The resignation of either the Treasury Secretary or the Federal Reserve Chairman.

So, what do you think of this list?

Comments: 20 | Post a Comment | Trackback URL

Merna | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?p=1311843

This may be the link you’re looking for.
Christian Debt Relief | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

David, I could not agree with you more. Printing another $700 billion,
on top of the what 2 trillion we already owe. Life as we know it is over
man. The next question is how do we prepare for the the wreckage.
david | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

Thanks Merna - I wonder if the guy that emailed it me wrote it or copied and pasted? Interesting…

CDR - That is a very good question…
Jon | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

and you think Nobama knows more about the economy than Palin…man you are drinking the obama kool-aid
Christian Debt Relief | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

I agree, however how do we prepare for the wreakage!
Eden | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

I think this list will be fun to look at a year from now so we can laugh about how paranoid everyone was.
david | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

And Palin fans aren’t drinking theirs? I never said Obama knows everything and never would. He’s just my choice for this election, that’s all.
mjmcinto | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

I know my vote will be a throw away….but I can’t vote for McCain or Obama, neither is the solution for the country in my opinion. I will still be voting though. I’ll be doing a write in for the ticket of Bloomberg and Buffett.
Ron@TheWisdomJournal | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

One thing’s for sure: Warren Buffet is following his own advice. “Buy when others are fearful and sell when others are greedy.” Or at least he did the BUY part anyway… “D
david | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

Watch out though Ron - Buffet’s advice is to elect Obama.
Mr. ToughMoneyLove | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

David: Not sure why you pulled Palin into this discussion. I don’t know what level of economic expertise Sarah Palin has, nor does anyone else at this point. I will ask you to do this: Name one national level politician who does have expertise in economics. Not only are they ignorant in these areas but the Senate and House committee staffs are loaded with lawyers and political proteges with not an economist to be found. It’s an epidemic of economic ignorance on both sides of the aisle.
david | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

Because Palin is an insult to the American public. Things like “Russia is near Alaska” - so she knows foreign policy? It’s a joke and an insult to women everywhere that she was picked - there are so many intelligent and educated Republican women that could have been picked. Conservatives know it and Liberals know it. The interviews the last couple of days have only served to reiterate that she knows nothing about anything. I don’t either, don’t get me wrong - but I don’t have the chance to be VP. My grandmother is embarrassed by her - and she is a 96 year old who is still leaning towards McCain because Obama is black and she “is just not sure”. But she is sure about Palin and thinks she was the worst choice McCain could have made. She thinks she would be better suited to be VP than Palin!
cwaltz | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

No different than I lived in Indonesia as a child therefore I have foreign policy experience. At least Palin is at the bottom of the ticket. Palin seems very intelligent. I, personally have a lot of respect, for a woman who starts in the PTA and works her way up to governor. I may not agree with her but I respect her. Addditionally, Obama could have avoided the drama had he been able to tuck his ego to the side and put the woman on the ticket who garnered over 18,000,000 votes. He couldn’t do that though. As it was it took a whole bunch of wrangling to make sure she got the same respect every male candidate that was before her(that didn’t get nearly as close as she did)and got her name called for a roll call to acknowledge her supporters and their position. It is my personal hope Obama’s decision goes down as the dumbest decision ever and the DNC ’s cowardice for not having a brokered convention has the consequences it so richly deserves.
david | Sep 25, 2008 | Reply

Just because Clinton got 18 million votes does not mean she won. Obama, like it or not, got to choose whoever he wanted to. And to wish for him to lose because of it - handing the Presidency to people that are nothing like Hillary just to spite him and his 19 million supporters - is quite strange.

That being said, I think we are in for a surprise come early Oct. regarding Biden/Clinton. Watch for it.
D. | Sep 26, 2008 | Reply

You know, I used to love this blog. This blog, along with several others, helped me realize just how poor my personal finance skills were and helped me improve them.

Then you got all political. Five of your last thirteen posts are about the government bailout, and this post is very obviously political. I understand it’s your blog, and if you wanted to start posting about things not-personal-finance-related, then that’s certainly your prerogative. Just understand that for people like me who want posts about personal finance, My Two Dollars is quickly becoming irrelevant.

What really sucks about all these political posts is that not only are the posts themselves political, but then the comments turn into political bickering as well. When I want political bickering and pointless finger-pointing, I’ll go watch Senate hearings on C-Span.

The irony is that most of my political viewpoints fall pretty much in line with the main contributor to this site, as well as many of those who post comments. However, I read personal finance blogs for, you know, personal finance viewpoints, not political viewpoints. So it’s been a great year, I appreciate all the great content and comments, but I am right now removing this blog from my feed reader.
David | Sep 26, 2008 | Reply

Sorry to see you go because of people’s opinions, but its probably for the best at this point. Thanks for being a reader in the past though, hope you find what you are looking for.
Gena | Sep 27, 2008 | Reply

Well you lose one and you might gain one. I’m a new visitor coming over from a link at Being Frugal. I read a lot of PF blogs. The PF bloggers have helped me start to stabilize and build my financial life and personal safety net.

When I started reading PF blogs 99% said start where you are. Assess your situation. Commit to clearing your debts and start a savings plan. Pay attention. Be responsible. It worked.

Now while I was doing all of the above on a national level there was rampant greed, corporate malfeasance, misinformation and a long list of what they told you not to do in MBA school.

Here we are. I got cash in the bank and 6+ major U.S. companies tank in a week. Scary huh?

Now a formerly lax Congress and governmental are expected to come up with a plan to give money to bail out what I believe to be criminal acts. May not be legally criminal but wrong has been done.

So for you anti Kool-Aid drinkers & haters I ask you, if you had to work with someone opposite to your beliefs what can be done on a PF level that could mitigate or help folks for the times that are coming?

It doesn’t matter which person is elected. I understand the passion but not the partisanship snipping. We are in trouble no matter if you are Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Undeclared. On a PF level what can you do about it? Gimme one thing. Anything.
David | Sep 27, 2008 | Reply

Thanks for the comment Gena; I am a big fan of Being Frugal myself. Your question raises an interesting quandry - Republicans never want govt to do anything for you, so shouldnt they want the bailout to never happen and let the chips fall where they may? I am a Democrat, though, and I am against the bailout altogether - even though we are supposed to want govt help with these kinds of things. When it comes to socialism issues like welfare, health insurance, etc, there is a very clear line. But when it comes to socialism issues surrounding the wealthy and greedy corps, the line is not so clear anymore. Food for thought, glad you left the comment - appreciate it.
Allison | Sep 28, 2008 | Reply

Simply put, politics, government, banks, personal finance. Nothing exists in a vacuum. Thanks for including this aspect in your personal finance blog.

And as for the crack at Palin, I got a chuckle out of it. Whether or not you’re for or against, I think we can all agree her experience is lacking in many areas, including finance.
David | Sep 28, 2008 | Reply

My thoughts exactly Allison - if people don’t think this bailout and financial crisis involves their personal finances, they are badly mistaken. This IS your personal finances! Thanks for the comment