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``Gold and gold mining shares were an average of around 25% of world financial asset between 1921 and 1981. Today, gold and mining shares are only 0.9% of world financial assets. If gold and mining shares were to go to 25% of financial assets, gold would go to over $31,000. But even if we assume that world financial asset would go down by 2/3rds from here that would put gold at over $10,000. ''

It would be nice if we had a real high-speed-rail system, but it doesn't look like this is going to get much done (nevermind the fact that there is a negative consequence to all spending that is not offset by cuts in government elsewhere).

I would say the money should be returned to the private sector, but this is just more borrowing, so there's no money to return anyways!

It will have roughly one thousandth the impact of the Roosevelt plan, demonstrating once again that in 80 years the only thing that has actually worked in America is the ongoing devaluation of the dollar.

"Transactions of used apartments at 10 of Hong Kong’s biggest private developments fell for a second straight week as sellers held out for their listed asking prices after consecutive government land auctions that beat estimates."

"Some contrarians might say it's a bullish sign that a mass market daily is playing up the bearish case. Maybe. But given that Wall Street still seems to think that it's business as usual and that things are in relatively good shape -- which most clear-headed individuals know is not true -- maybe the greater fools this time around are those they see when they look in the mirror."

"More than a year since President Obama announced an unprecedented national foreclosure-prevention program, many homeowners' experiences with the program have left them feeling frustrated and angry at mortgage servicers"

"I was born during the Great Depression of the 1930s and have lived long enough now to find myself in a new one. There are similarities between the two, but the first one led to the creation of a variety of government regulatory entities and programs that should have avoided or at least were expected put the brakes on the current one."

"The real estate and foreclosure crisis has stripped African-American families of more wealth than any single event in history."

"Bonds issued by China developers are rebounding from their worst first half in two years as a record $6.8 billion in offshore debt sales spurs confidence the borrowers have the resources to weather a slowing economy."

"Basel 3 wants to bake in the loan guarantees and make them permanent. The way that they would do this would be to allow the big TBTF banks to buy massive amounts of GSE securities, and place them as part of the mandatory tier 2 capital. Once the banks were in this position, congress and the taxpayer would no longer have the choice to overturn the guarantees. "

"The comments in the Financial Times by Yoshimi Watanabe, Japan’s financial services minister, are extraordinary. He ventured to give the US advice on its credit crunch based on Japan’s experience during its post-bubble-years banking crisis. And it’s not pretty."

"“If history is any guide, we should expect to see a much more significant reduction in private-sector debt, particularly of households, than has so far taken place after the recent crisis,” they wrote. “Lower house prices may induce households to reduce their desired level of debt. Similarly, a lower level of output and tighter financial conditions could put firms under pressure to reduce their leverage.”"

"General Growth Properties Inc., the second-largest U.S. mall owner, reached a $5.75 million settlement resolving a lawsuit against the company over losses in its 401(k) savings plan."

"This is a pivotal moment for those wondering if Japan can right its off-course economic system. It’s quite simple: a Kan win on Sept. 14 will challenge a status quo that left Japan trailing China sooner than many had imagined. An Ozawa victory may push Japan further off investors’ radar screens."

"Sorry, but you can’t read this… you have to listen to it! It’s fresh, it’s new… it’s very happening! It’s Mandelman in the Morning!"

"American officials have rejected Afghan pleas to bail out the country's largest bank as long lines of depositors sought to withdraw savings."

"And the majority of people counseled did not have subprime mortgages, but conventional, fixed-rate mortgages, according to Hudson River Housing Inc., a Poughkeepsie-based nonprofit."

"An unregulated shadow banking system that grew explosively over seven years, placed a quadrillion dollars in bets then palmed off the trillions of dollars in losses back on to the public while keeping its liberty and bonuses – is plotting to do it all again."

"“one of the premier terror impresarios of the age operating under Islamic fundamentalist cover.” More than a mere ideologue, al-Awlaki plays a vital role in the manufactured war against Muslim patsies and mental deficients the U.S. government has insisted for nearly a decade hate us for our freedom. “In particular, Awlaki and his work were used to motivate and encourage groups of mentally impaired and suggestible young dupes who were entrapped into ‘terrorist plots’ by busy FBI and Canadian RCMP agents during recent years, thus keeping the boogey man of Islamic terrorism in the public eye,” "

"With the seeming desperation of home sellers, and the continued drop in mortgage rates, buyers are in a very good position. But the plunging rate at which buyers are applying for mortgages tells a different story, which might explain sellers’ attitudes."

"With the seeming desperation of home sellers, and the continued drop in mortgage rates, buyers are in a very good position. But the plunging rate at which buyers are applying for mortgages tells a different story, which might explain sellers’ attitudes."