Global Trade Dramatically Collapsing: “Next Major Downturn Has Officially Arrived”

by | Nov 11, 2015 | Aftermath, Commodities, Conspiracy Fact and Theory | 56 comments

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    This article was written by Michael Snyder and originally published at his Economic Collapse blog.

    Editor’s Comment: The real economy on the ground level is hurting badly. It is already happening. The numbers for commodities, global shipping and trade are all down so far that they indicate a major recession or worse, and the likelihood that darker times are still ahead. When will media “officially” tell you that the economy is toast?

    Likely not until the bankers behind the scenes are prepared for the panic, from which they profit, and likely not until political timing is considered for, and all channels have been exhausted. Only then will they be ready for people to scramble for the exits in a chaos that is largely orchestrated, and also partially just burnt toast beyond recall.

    We Have Never Seen Global Trade Collapse This Dramatically Outside Of A Major Recession

    by Michael Snyder

    If you have been watching for the next major global economic downturn, you can now stop waiting, because it has officially arrived.  Never before in history has global trade collapsed this dramatically outside of a major worldwide recession.  And this makes perfect sense – when global economic activity is increasing there is more demand for goods and services around the world, and when global economic activity is decreasing there is less demand for goods and services around the world.  So far this year, global trade is down about 8.4 percent, and over the past 30 days the Baltic Dry Index has been absolutely plummeting.  A month ago it was sitting at a reading of 809, but now it has fallen all the way to 628.  However, it is when you look at the trade numbers for specific countries that the numbers become particularly startling.

    Just within the last few days, new trade numbers have come out of China.  China accounts for approximately one-fifth of all global factory exports, and for many years Chinese export growth has helped fuel the overall global economy.

    But now Chinese exports are falling.  In October, Chinese exports were down 6.9 percent compared to a year ago.  That follows a decline of 3.7 percent in September.

    The numbers for Chinese imports are even worse.  Chinese imports in October were down 18.8 percent compared to a year ago after falling 20.4 percent in September.  China’s growing middle class was supposed to help lead a global economic recovery, but that simply is not happening.

    The following chart from Zero Hedge shows just how dramatic these latest numbers are compared to what we are accustomed to witnessing.  As you can see, the only time Chinese trade numbers have been this bad for this long was during the major global recession of 2008 and 2009…

    Chinese Imports Chinese Exports

    Other numbers confirm the magnitude of the economic slowdown in China.  I have mentioned the ongoing plunge of the China Containerized Freight Index previously, but now it has just hit a brand new record low

    The weakness in China’s economy and its exports to the rest of the world are showing up in the weekly China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI): On Friday, it dropped to the worst level ever.

    The index, operated by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange, tracks how much it costs, based on contractual and spot-market rates, to ship containers from China to 14 major destinations around the world. Unlike a lot of official data from China, the index is an unvarnished reflection of a relentless reality.

    It has been cascading lower since February and has since dropped 31%. At 742 currently, it’s down 26% from its inception in 1998 when it was set at 1,000.

    Here are some more deeply disturbing global trade numbers that come from my previous article entitled “18 Numbers That Scream That A Crippling Global Recession Has Arrived“…

    Demand for Chinese steel is down 8.9 percent compared to a year ago.

    China’s rail freight volume is down 10.1 percent compared to last year.

    In October, South Korean exports were down 15.8 percent from a year ago.

    According to the Dutch government index, a year ago global trade in primary commodities was sitting at a reading of 150 but now it has fallen all the way down to 114.  What this means is that less commodities are being traded around the world, and that is a very clear sign that global economic activity is really slowing down.

    Additionally, German export orders were down about 18 percent in September, and U.S. exports are down about 10 percent for the year so far.

    Clearly something very big is happening, and it is affecting the entire planet.  The CEO of the largest shipping company in the world believes that the explanation for what is taking place is fairly simple

    In fact, according to Maersk CEO, Nils Smedegaard Andersen, the reason why companies that are reliant on global trade, such as his, are flailing is simple: global growth is substantially worse than the official numbers and forecasts. To wit: “The world’s economy is growing at a slower pace than the International Monetary Fund and other large forecasters are predicting.

    Quoted by Bloomberg, Andersen says that “we believe that global growth is slowing down,” he said in a phone interview. “Trade is currently significantly weaker than it normally would be under the growth forecasts we see.

    Global financial markets can run, but they can’t hide from these horrifying trade numbers forever.

    One of the big things that is contributing to this new global economic slowdown is the unwinding of the U.S. dollar carry trade.  A recent piece from Phoenix Capital Research explained the U.S. dollar carry trade pretty well…

    When the Fed cut interest rates to zero in 2008, it flooded the system with US Dollars. The US Dollar is the reserve currency of the world. NO matter what country you’re in (with few exceptions) you can borrow in US Dollars.

    And if you can borrow in US Dollars at 0.25%… and put that money into anything yielding more… you could make a killing.

    A hedge fund in Hong Kong could borrow $100 million, pay just $250,000 in interest and plow that money into Brazilian Reals which yielded 11%… locking in a $9.75 million return.

    This was the strictly financial side of things. On the economics side, Governments both sovereign and local borrowed in US Dollars around the globe to fund various infrastructure and municipal projects.

    Simply put, the US Government was practically giving money away and the world took notice, borrowing Dollars at a record pace. Today, the global carry trade (meaning money borrowed in US Dollars and invested in other assets) stands at over $9 TRILLION (larger than the economy of France and Brazil combined).

    But now the U.S. dollar carry trade is starting to unwind because the U.S. dollar has been doing very well lately.  As the U.S. dollar has surged against other global currencies in 2015, this has put a tremendous amount of stress on emerging markets around the world.  All of a sudden oil, other commodities and stock markets in nations such as Brazil began to crash.  Meanwhile, those that had taken out loans denominated in U.S. dollars were finding that it was taking far more of their own local currencies to service and repay those loans.  This financial crunch in emerging markets is going to take years to fully play out, and it is going to take a tremendous toll on global markets.

    Of course we have seen this happen before.  A surging dollar helped cause the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s, the Asian financial crisis of the 1990s and the major global recession of 2008 and 2009.

    If you thought that the financial shaking that happened in late August was bad, the truth is that it was nothing compared to what is now heading our way.

    So buckle your seat belts boys and girls, because we are definitely in for a bumpy ride.


    beginning-of-the-end-snyderMichael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years.

    Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream

    If you want to know what things in America are going to look like in a few years read his new book The Beginning of the End.

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      56 Comments

      1. Is the window opening ? Is there a general with enough hubris and arrogance to take the reigns ? Will the patriots follow? Or play it safe? Pay your taxes or die.then we throw your kids into politically correct foster care. Don’t mess with us. We got you by the kids or balls .And you know it. Lay down and die to maybe save your kids? Their ours now .Public education. That’s all we need . And you know the outcome. Grin and bear it. Your only hope is to die of old age and not have to watch.It will be easier for you that way. So look at the bright side. Grin and die. We will do the rest.

      2. So maybe it’s time for people to relax and take a breather for a while to get ready for the next round of frenzied recovery.

        Everyone needs a rest now and then.

      3. Regarding the rise in the USD it reminds me of a joke from years gone by.

        “How do you look young and thin”? “Hang out with old fat people”.

          • That’s a bunch AE.

        • Thanks Mr. Snyder for clarifying the matter. What’s new? I have been saying this for over two years. All you report is how much worse it gets. When every one every where are unemployed, we are living at our bug out locations what will you write telling us how much worse it will get?

          It’s bad already. Just a slow burning fire in a shit storm getting worse. So sick of it! The whole fucking thing! It’s not going to get better in our life time and some times I wonder why I keep trying. Maybe to get run over now instead of hoping for good news or good times to return which they ain’t!

          BigB

          • This is me 100%!!!!!

            So I decided to leave. Whether “it” hits the fan this year or in 10 years, it is no matter to me anymore. I resign from this system. I feel fortunate to have the skills to remain self sufficient after divorcing this crap shoot of an infrastructure.

            All I can say now is…. Do what you have to do, WANT to do, for you. I won’t invest any more of my time or energy into this intentional bullshit. I’m out.

          • if only 3% of americans are preppers, then it LOOKS to ME like we still need to “wake up” 97% of americans, no?…i say mr snyder is a true patriot and his work is much needed….and appreciated by ME, if no-one else. if there REALLY IS a god, there’ll be a special place in heaven for michael.

            • You can’t wake up Zombies. You’ll be lucky if you wake up 20%.

              • Hey, 20% more sheeple on board is 20% that true preppers don’t have sneaking around trying to steal their preps, or banging on their doors…..begging.

                I’d rather have them trying to steal, at least we would have no qualms about blasting their asses with 12 ga. loads of rock salt.

              • Unreconstructed Southron says,
                i have noticed in the last year there are LOTS more people aware of what they term ( might be happening ) problem is THEY still are NOT doing anything to prepare! and that is what will get them because when it comes down THEY will not have time to do anything about it, will be too late!!

            • BCOD.

              Only worry over things you have control over. There again, screw it. Don’t worry. Just prep.

              To make prepping easy is to identify what will hurt you. Then make a plan and get the materials to make that plan happen. Years of preps, large and small, with many changes. New tools and material. A better plan. You see it is never ending.

              I divide and conquer my Prepper Fatigue by completing tasks. By storing them correctly and labeling and in some cases for fast identification Color Codes using different colored tape. Ammo cans and ARMY Personal Foot Lockers.

              The poster who gave the idea to have a salvage and recovery tooling, heavy gear, was a terrific idea.

              Inventory sheets and check off lists help too.

              Think of yourself as a Military Quarter Master.

              They still have them?

            • If reports are true that Ted Koppel is buying freeze dried food, its the equivalent of the shoeshine boy giving JP Morgan stock tips, for the establishment.

              My guess is that prepping is about to go mainstream. 🙂

          • BTW, Happy Veterans Day to those of us who gave of ourselves for it to be torn down leaving very little for our sacrifice’s.

            BigB

            • BigB

              Thank you for your service as well. I hope it has been a great day for you.

        • Good point Kevin. China is in collapse. They made cheap crap. Now they just make crap. Not even cheap any more. They will be outsourced just like the Americans were. Its time for that country to either grow up or blow up. Since they are run by power hungry ruling class, they will probably blow up. But the Chinese are detailed and hard working. They are just failure-accepting due to the nature of their communist/dominated rulers for the last 2000+ years.

          Where is the next China? Where is the next India? Indonesia?

          So, Globalism is approaching completion. The Iron Law of Wages has come to play. Adjusted for taxes and other costs, global pay is nearly the same. Certainly no longer an order of magnitude off. Maybe a multiple or high fraction.

          So, the charts above show the Chinese government was straight up lieing about their economy. Duh! Volkswagon. Valeant. Big banks. Its the norm for the elites these days.

          The charts show China is busted. How far down it goes really may depend on this Christmas season. Since the USA government Department of Education has made a concerted effort to stamp out Christianity, then fewer and fewer people are nominal Christians and celebrate Christmas extensively. Its pretty typical that people are just putting off normal purchases until Christmas so they can be gifts. Without money in their pockets the Americans cannot fund the Chinese bubble.

          At the DQ today I saw the man before me order a sandwhich with ice cream and no drink. The lady after me asked the price of just a sandwhich, was told, and left without purchasing.

          I have started ordering water mostly and try to only go to restaurants which require no tip. We have blown through most of our savings this year due to medical and other reason. So, we are joining the frugal.

          If America goes frugal, China goes bust. Simple.

          Cheers,
          Mohammed

      4. And what is really shocking about these numbers regarding china’s exports; it should be up for Sept/Oct, if there is a “real” improvement in the economy, since the Christmas re-stock should have been in full swing.

        There is no hiding the fact that a majority of Christmas gifting, is linked to Chinese products, especially kiddies toys, and decorations.

        Anyways, I am inclined to agree with the statement by Mac, that they will “actually/officially” tell us it’s toast, when the banksters have done their deal/made their profits.

        Snyder may come across to some as “beating a dead horse”, but actually he is waking people up as more and more get off their collective assess, and log on to these sites. If they pull their heads out of the sand long enough to actually read and let it sink in, then, just maybe, they can make necessary changes before…..as Michael puts it….

        “If you thought that the financial shaking that happened in late August was bad, the truth is that it was nothing compared to what is now heading our way.”

        Stack those preps people….mostly food and potable water.

        • There is a YouTube video interview of a toy salesman inside this big, empty mall in mainland China who tells about how he is doing well to sell 1 or 2 toys a day. The Chinese wanted to emulate the consumer lifestyle of the West, but their people have different cultural, core values which have been screwed around with now since Mao and before. The one baby limit/law has produced a shortage of brides (because female babies were aborted more casually) now with the women getting to pick and choose the wealthiest of Chinese men as a result. Lots of lonesome guys over there. The peasants who flocked to urban areas when manufacturing was at its zenith are now packing it up and heading back to the countryside, where at least they can get something to eat. China is in big trouble.

          • They’re planning on doing a “Ghengis Khan” to your women shortly. Prepare thy self.

            • BE MY GUEST!

              Here you go, I’ll even gift wrap ’em for you. If you can roll back these shit-stain laws and deal with their crap attitudes by all means, BE MY GUEST.

              Suckers.

              Hope you save one for yourself.

          • now with the women getting to pick and choose the wealthiest of Chinese men as a result…

            This is limited to China?

            Um no. In the US we call that “divorce and re-marriage” (also known as permanent private welfare payments for having a vajayjay).

            In the real world we call it polygamy but who’s counting.

            • Well, I might agree we have proportionate problems when dead guy’s families start buying female corpses for “ghost brides”. Another example of deep rooted culture that their government has tried to outlaw, making it lucrative on the black market for entrepreneurs to go out at night with shovels.

        • …speaking potable water:

          I’m on a well. Had it drilled back in the 90s. Its a fantastic resource. 700 gallon per hour and soft, pure water.

          One thing many don’t know is that the biggest wear and tear on a pump is starting up and shutting down. Its that way with any electric motor.

          Some time ago I figured that it would make the pump last a lot longer if it ran longer. So, I engineered and installed a 100 gal tank. Now, instead of the pump running 1 minute or so, it runs for about 7 minutes just a few times a day.

          Just a little tip I thought you all might be interested in.

          Speaking to the article: Snyder does a good job. He used to be way too alarmist. He’s now more pragmatic. I enjoy his articles and the facts they contain.

          I’m not sure what the future holds, but, life has always been difficult. I really don’t care about the economics. My costs and debt are both low and I can make most of my own energy. My biggest worry is about the smashing of my rights that allow me to be self sufficient. One thing that is very dangerous is the fact that the corporate system and the government system are the same. Guys like me hurt the corporate system because I don’t have to pull harder with the rest of the sheople. I just pull back, break off and do my own thing. The fascist system really doesn’t like that. They’ll just have to suck it up without me.

          I’ve been opposing the system for years. Finding ways around it and outright rejecting it, hiding and letting it pass me by. The only things that concern me are rights violations mostly from government and secondly from the sheople. The sheople, I don’t worry about. Typically, they don’t have formidable backup. Government, however, just keeps at you: it is a zombie that just won’t die. Evasion is a must with government. You can’t take it head-on.

          For many, I know employment and economic opportunity are important. Since I am already established, I’m much more concerned with rights violations such as theft through taxes and the color of law rules that try to keep you from cutting and burning firewood and being self sufficient.

          We all do what we have to. Hide. Oppose. Defend. Evade.

          Good luck everyone.

      5. Just for your reference. Next time your kid comes home in a Che Guevara T-shirt, ask him if he knows what the Cuban murderer actually stood for. Sit him down, strip the gauze of ignorance from his eyes and have him read these Guevara quotes. Then burn the damn (this is not frivous swearing BTW) T-shirt.

        1. “Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood. With the deaths of my enemies I prepare my being for the sacred fight and join the triumphant proletariat with a bestial howl!”

        2. “Blind hate against the enemy creates a forceful impulse that cracks the boundaries of natural human limitations, transforming the soldier in an effective, selective and cold killing machine. A people without hate cannot triumph against the adversary.”

        3. “To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary … These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution!”

        4. “A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate. We must create the pedagogy of the The Wall!” The Wall is a reference to the wall where Che’s enemies stood before
        his firing squads.

        5. “I am not Christ or a philanthropist, old lady, I am all the contrary of a Christ … I fight for the things I believe in, with all the weapons at my disposal and try to leave the other man dead so that I don’t get nailed to a cross or any other place.”

        6. “If any person has a good word for the previous government that is good enough for me to have him shot.”

        7. Che wanted the result of the Cuban missile crisis to be an atomic war. “What we affirm is that we must proceed along the path of liberation even if this costs millions of atomic victims.” (he would have probably targeted the campuses today, figuring all his fellow leftists would just have to be “collateral damage”

        8. “In fact, if Christ himself stood in my way, I, like Nietzsche, would not hesitate to squish him like a worm.”

        9. “It’s a sad thing not to have friends, but it is even sadder not to have enemies.”

        10. This one is not verbatim, but close. I still need to find the source: “I know the campesinos (peasants) support us now; but when we come to power, they too will have to be liquidated.” (apparently they were not sufficiently communist…

        • Awww he’s such a sweet ‘lil guy isn’t he?

          9_9 fuck’s sake… wow.

          … oh your teenager knows. This is what happens when you regale him with tales of responsibility being required to get laid or even taken halfway seriously and treated with any more respect than a fly ifested piece of dogshit… but no one will even hire him to wash cars.

          What you think just because they have a 15 word vocabulary that they’re unobservant and stupid? How would you feel about it??

          Better just duck I’m just sayin.

      6. There are many in Christian circles likening what is before us a “Storm.” Spiritual in nature and bearing down like a freight train. In some areas, the outer bands have already come ashore and are wreaking havoc, but the core of this storm has yet to make landfall. Once it does, it will change the face of the Earth (for the better)…But like all storms, things will get worse…much worse before they get better. And the alleged rescue from this storm is “late 2017.”
        If true, that means we’ll be enduring a 2 year Hurricane that will increase in magnitude over that span of time. But the good news is there’s Hope when you can see the finish line. Focus on God’s rescue in 2 years…It may be the only thing that gets you through.
        -Dad

        • good points, yourdaddy.

          I used to think the same thing, that there would be a rescue/return of our Saviour in a few years. And, oh how i wish it were so. However; the prophecies speak otherwise, for there are many things left to unfold and be fulfilled.

          When we realize that God is all knowing of everything and everybody, from His early Creation, and even until His final close on this dispensation of time. He gave His elect the unction and wisdom to correctly divide the word and make the connections to the times/days that we are in. That is why He told Daniel to “seal up the vision…”. It was not given, except those things which pertained at the time, for the benefit of those in Daniel’s days, but for when we had the “increase in knowledge”, to rightly divide the word, and compare historical, and current events, to determine when the end of the age was drawing near.

          For example…. the Isaiah prophecy concerning Damascus, it is almost fulfilled, but still in the process. Never in history was it to this point.

          The Ezekiel 38/39 prophecy speaks of a “seven year period” within it’s parameters associated with the cleaning up period.
          Maybe it isn’t a literal seven year period, but until it is here and happens,literally, we will not know for sure.
          To just say it was a spiritual/figurative seven years is plain speculation unless God spelled it out in a personal angelic visitation. I am not hearing anyone standing up and saying they have heard different.

          So just on those two, yet to come, prophesies; and there are many more written that are yet to come, we have a pretty long row yet to hoe.
          As i have it narrowed down, at least 15 years and possibly closer to twenty. I am not setting a day and hour, and am commanded by Christ to learn the signs and know the season.
          I believe we are in that season. Everyone has to make their own minds and sail their own ship.

          In summation….it has been an eternity for some people just getting from 9/11 to this point. Others have only awakened to the possibilities since the 2008 mini collapse. It has been a slow burn and will continue for a while even after a financial collapse. What people do with the facts and how they react is all dependent upon their biblical beliefs, and understandings.
          Atheists and liberals, don’t care because they don’t see God ever becoming as personal to them as what He really is.
          When the Word says He has even numbered the hairs on our heads, that is pretty darn personal, and the NSA has nothing on our Creator.

          • The Euphrates River is drying up right now too. That is a precursor to the Kings of the East invading the ME with their millions as per the book of the Revelation of St John the Divine.

            • By closing the water gates on Hydro dams upstream they can dry up the Euphrates anytime they want to.

              • Point is, it is already happening- and water rights are an added source of contention over there.

        • Sorry Daddy but as soon as I read “Christian” I stopped reading. Might I suggest you stop waiting for god to redeem you and get yourself ready NOW.

        • listen to karl denninger if you want the truth. we been in a recession, and posssibly depression for over ten YEARS now, if you subtract all that borrowed/printed money the FED’s been tossin’ around for all these years..that borrowed/printed money counts as a PLUS to the GDP number…as if we didn’t have to PAY BACK the money…it sounds wacky, but that’s the way it is!…and it aint gonna be no “year or two” to get out of this one…it’s gonna be a GENERATION, if not much more….awww, the hell with it!…i’m gonna PARTY LIKE IT’S 1941!!!

          • 10 thumbs up buttcrack, that is if we still had thumbs up. Everything changes and if you don’t change and “adapt” you die. Well I don’t like change. I liked the way things were just 20 years ago. But nope things have been changed up to it appears fuck guys like me and reward the “cans” and all people of color who just have not been able to integrate into the American life styles.

            BigB

            A bit of a bitter vet today.

        • HOOSE!

          (play on your handle name… bah nevermind).

          What’s special about 2017?

          Yeah overshoot will do this shit… huh?

      7. This is a repost.

        Those of you who are going it alone will have to find ways to augment your defenses and firepower. You must be able to stand them off. Deny them access. Deny them cover. Slow them down. Make them move in the direction you want them to move.
        There are actions you can not prevent like getting run over by a tank. You can prevent cars, trucks, Quad runners and motorcycles from running in on you.
        We have discussed about hiding in plain sight. Materials to be use to fortify. How to fortify your doors. Your windows and garage doors. Window film and tape against breakage. What happen when bullets enter your home.
        I mostly prepare against the “Local Yocals”.
        I watch the vids and notice what they wear. The shoes pants and shirts. Sneakers, Baggy pants, Baggy shirts.
        Same clothes they will wear when they riot.
        With this in mind I mean to ensnare to slow them down or stop them in their tracks. I will make items that “THEY” think can be used for cover but can’t. The faster they run the more they encounter. The best bet to live is to make them leave you alone and move on down the road.

        I know three ways to make caltrops and you better not fall to the ground.

        Other items re-enforce the first ones.
        I told you about vehicle prevention run up.

        Simple prevention is to use those 4x8x16 solid concrete blocks and arrange them like the tank traps of WW2 Dragons Teeth. Moveable and disrupts a straight line makes vehicle driving hard. Like hitting the curb over and over. Place like a checkerboard. Gives you time and time will be important for the single prepper.

        There is lots more in the archives.
        @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

        To add.

        Slingshots
        Good little piece of survival gear but the ammo for it can become expensive.
        Do you have a box with all the nuts, bolts and screws from the past 20 years you have saved. Lots of practice ammo.

        Are you ready?

        • I have a stockpile of concrete blocks and a slingshot with extra rubber and plenty of ammo. A slingshot can be a deadly accurate weapon. Just ask Goliath.

          Here’s a video of a man in central NC who could shoot a quarter out of the air. He was probably the best slingshot expert in the world. He explains how he aims in this video.

          ht tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ieWrWLjii0

          Here’s the Wikipedia article about him:

          ht tps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Hussey

        • I have a stock of BBs for practicing. A little half-pint carton contains 2,500 BBs. I have larger steel shot for small animal hunting later.

        • ok, another repost…fire extinguishers can be had from your local fire extinguisher company that sevices them for businesses..we got to inspect/service them every year or two, and many get replaced for no good reason…a while back i asked my guy if he had any used ones for sale, and i got 13 of them (5 and 10 pounders!)for 130 bucks…molotov cocktails….need i say MORE

      8. Sling- yup, wearing baggy pants and shirts so we can’t see the outline of the guns, knives and pepper spray (and whatever else) they are concealing.

      9. Snyder is doing his chicken little thing again? Didn’t he say we were all fucked in September? Didn’t he say Dow 40k? He always points to the being the only one who foresaw the mortgage/housing crisis. He wasn’t the only one and a lot of people make the same claim. Snyder has zero cred and hasn’t been right in years.

      10. NORTH SALEM, N.Y. (AP) — The 83-year-old wife of a millionaire McDonald’s franchisee found dead in the couple’s New York hilltop estate died of blunt force trauma, police said Tuesday.

        A caretaker at the 300-acre manor found Lois Colley’s body in the laundry room of the couple’s home in North Salem, authorities said. The Journal News reported that investigators believe Colley, a socialite know to mingle among New York’s most powerful families, died sometime between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Monday.

        Investigators don’t know the whereabouts of Colley’s husband, Eugene, known for his empire of roughly 100 McDonald’s restaurants,

        things that make you go hummmmm

        • That’s crazy and unfortunate, something tells me that the Butler(uncle Remus) did it in the laundry room with a candlestick.

          Speaking of CRAZY – douche bag Dave Hodges just put out an article …

          Russia Is Preparing to Attack Israel as the Antichrist and Armageddon Draw Near

          Yep, that isn’t a misquoted headline. Dave Hodges certainly knows how to pump fear into Christians with his made up fictional theories that has zero facts to back up his long winded story.

        • McDonalds isn’t doing well. Probably a fight over money problem as they might have had to cut their household budget to $1,000,000 / yr. Times are tough and everyone is sacrificing.

          • yep, I kinda thought the same

        • Are you from that area also enemy ?

      11. It is actually much worse than these numbers alone.

      12. I expect the Christmas season to give us an idea how the economy goes. It doesn’t look good. If you have to do Christmas get people things that are needed,not wanted. No time to waste and no money to waste.

        • You got that right J.i.V.,

          Make it a gift of usefulness. We have a pretty big extended family with several half bros and sisters and their kids.
          Fortunately, we finally got the adults to draw names a few years ago, until everyone just wanted gift cards, then it became a stupid act of exchanging money.

          We dropped out of the game, and it all folded/ended last year.
          We continued giving small gifts of grab bags of various fruits and canned peanuts and such to the adults and spent real $$ on the kids.

          Fortunately, once again, the youngest has reached the age that she appreciates cash in a card, to be able to shop and buy the things she actually wants or needs.

          We bought nice Christmas tins ( who doesn’t like tins and has a use for them) full of gingerbread cookies for the adults at 10 bucks a pop at the mega shopping mart, and are putting cash in a card for all the kids from 9 to 19. Our own children and grandbabies get more, but not exuberant amounts.

          People should put more emphasis on what family and relationships should mean, and less on stuff. The reason for the season is what is important and sadly has been lost with greed for stuff and materialism.

          Hopefully, all the veterans that have actually served, got a lot of appreciation today.

      13. I’ve had this feeling all week that we are at the tipping point. I’m not going to be surprised by anything now. Tick tock, tick tock.Take care everyone.

      14. Very good veterans day today, corporate America bought lunch for my vet buddies and I. This I suppose was payback for our time in service as mercenaries for the crony capitalist system that we enforcers propped up. As Smedley Butler said “War is a racket” As for Jerimiah Johnson and others, we did the bidding of the bankers for patriotic reasons as we are idealist and could not help ourselves in our youthful zeal for truth, justice and the American way.Keep prepping yall its the right and responsible thing to do. KEEP YOUR POWDWER DRY!

      15. Even here folks are not fully aware of the severity of the collapse of society when it all falls apart. They talk about a reset or 1800,s lifestyle or their religious superstition saving them. Most will die. Those that remain will be living a stone age existence. Most don’t have the metal fortitude or Know How to survive.

      16. Michael,

        I read your articles often. Thanks for writing them. They are informative. I have one question, and I do not ask this in any other way, other than to understand why things happen the way they do. So, if world trade is collapsing, why and how are things so robust in the US, like in Dallas, Texas? I mean, you can’t get a seat in a good restaurant after 6:30′ and that’s not just the trendy ones. Real Estate has exploded, including purchase, rental and remodel. The stores and malls are cramm packed, especially on weekends. It almost fells like 1999, well maybe not that exuberant! But anyway, why aren’t we feeling or experiencing this collapse in demand?

        • The US economy is not homogenous across the whole country. At any one time you have areas that are doing well, areas that are okay, and areas that are going to crap. Because the economy is going down in general, there are fewer areas that are doing well. Where you are happens to be doing well. Where I live, there are more stores being built than are closing at present. We’ll see how they fair through Christmas, especially since I won’t be shopping in any of them until next year at the earliest.

      17. Was listening to breitbart this morning…..China is selling “deflation” .Basically, in the wake of 08, China did not slow production . They got inventories sitting in warehouses and on the docks .Because they need cash to pay on loans use to purchase raw goods, they must liquidate assets even at a loss. The report said.They are stripping new airconditioners of copper and other metals to sell as raw materials. Things are about to get real .

      18. Was listening to breitbart this morning…..China is selling “deflation” .Basically, in the wake of 08, China did not slow production . They got inventories sitting in warehouses and on the docks .Because they need cash to pay on loans use to purchase raw goods, they must liquidate assets even at a loss. The report said.They are stripping new airconditioners of copper and other metals to sell as raw materials. Things are about to get real .

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