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1. •  
     CommentAuthorconceitedjerk
   • CommentTimeJul 3rd 2008

    
   <blockquote><cite>Posted By: Zwikster</cite>I agree with you on the Martinis! why the hell are they so expensive?!?!</blockquote>
   
   Guess it's whatever the market will bear ;)
   
   As an aside - I'll be publishing a few of my Martini recipes shortly!
2. •  
     CommentAuthorZwikster
   • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

    
   http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2008/07/16-trillion-new-esimate-on-writedowns.html
   
   U.S. study estimated losses of financial institutions at $1.6 trillion dollars
   
   by Marco Zanchi
   
   Those that assume the misery is coming to an end are wrong. When it comes to writedowns, losses and raising fresh capital, the crisis has only just begun for banks. Losses are expected to reach $1.6 trillion, only a fraction of which have been uncovered. This is the conclusion of a confidential study made available to Sonntagszeitung.
   
   But that is not everything. While banks give their word of honor that no further capital is needed, the paper by Bridgewater Associates says: "We have big doubts that financial institutions will be able to obtain enough new capital in order to cover the losses. This will worsen the credit crunch. "
   
   "If everything they say is true," says Charles Wyplosz, a professor at the University of Geneva, " a number of financial institutions will face bankruptcy." The research paper is ‘hot ‘in professional circles not only because of its content, but also because of the originator; Bridgewater Associates is the second-largest hedge fund in the world. The people behind it are brilliant, first among them Ray Dalio, who founded the company more than thirty years ago.
   
   $26.6 trillion of debt is considered risky
3. •  
     CommentAuthorGoth_chic
   • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

    
   <blockquote><cite>Posted By: conceitedjerk</cite><blockquote><cite>Posted By: Zwikster</cite>I agree with you on the Martinis! why the hell are they so expensive?!?!</blockquote>
   
   Guess it's whatever the market will bear ;)
   
   As an aside - I'll be publishing a few of my Martini recipes shortly!</blockquote>
   
   I may have to have a few martini's this evening....:-)
4. •  
     CommentAuthorconceitedjerk
   • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

    
   I know I will be...
5. •  
     CommentAuthorfabiocdn
   • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

    
   Copper.
   As predicted, copper mines all but closed by the year 1986, apart from a tiny few that are still open.
   The price went up a bit and then fell back due to recycling.
   It was obvious that demand would go up and supply down, thus raising the price.
   In the past few years, the price has skyrocketed, partially because of high demand from China.
   High copper prices are what drove up the price of gold. That's why silver didn't follow suit. For silver to go up, you must increase demand.
   The continued heavy usage of copper in the electric industry is also very damaging to the economy, and until we don't start using aluminum instead of copper, things will get worse. Speculators thrive on the copper market, too.
6. •  
     CommentAuthorZwikster
   • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

    
   I just stripped a crap load of thick copper wire...over $100 worth, easy.
   
   Silver is used in the industry also and there is a huge demand for it and a dwindling supply...both for investors/bullion and for industry. This is why it has tripled/quadupled in price in under 5 years.
7. •  
     CommentAuthorJimmytufish
   • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

    
   Didn't they try substituting aluminium for copper wire a few years back with disastrous results?
8. •  
     CommentAuthorgrumpy old man
   • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

    
   It was not aluminum wire itself per se J2F. Rather it was the connectors. Aluminum expands and contracts more than copper and it caused problems wherever there were connections (at the terminal on a light switch for example). As a result there was arcing, which led to fires.
   
   They have improved those connectors significantly, but copper is still superior. Lower resistance for one...
9. •  
     CommentAuthorfabiocdn
   • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

    
   You can use aluminum bars instead of copper, just a bit bigger in size.
   High voltage wires already have aluminum in them.
   Of what I know, there are two types of aluminum distributed on the market, the solid pure type,and the ply-sheet type. This second type cannot be used for electric purposes.
   Although, demand for aluminum has also gone up while production is falling behind.
   Even Coke has turned to steel for their canned beverages.
10. •  
      CommentAuthorZwikster
    • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

     
    its funny, they got rid of copper in the making of pennies, and they used Zinc..now Zinc is too expensive and they want to get rid of that too.
    
    ---------------------
    
    Global metal prices began shooting upward in late 2003, driven by increased demand for raw materials, particularly in India and China. The price of copper quadrupled in the last five years. Nickel more than tripled, and zinc nearly did the same. The Mint lost $99 million on penny and nickel production in the 2007 fiscal year.
    
    Paul called the current proposal an unconstitutional delegation of power. America, he said, has failed to maintain a gold standard or silver standard for its currency. "Now," he said, "we cannot even maintain a zinc standard."
    
    http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=128341
    
    We could not maintain the gold standard nor the silver standard. We could not maintain the copper standard, and now we cannot even maintain the zinc standard. Paper money inevitably breeds inflation and destroys the value of the currency. That is the reason that this proposal is before us today.
    
    http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul440.html
    
    Canada and US coins-
    
    Its just like how the old quarters were made of silver, and the actual silver content nowadays is worth more than the 25c
    
    and the half dollars, are around $5 instead of 50c.
    
    same with the 1 Canadian dollar coin with the voyagers on them. the silver is worth much more than $1 face value. $10 actually, for the ones between 1935-1967
    
    check out this great site, and happy hunting.
    
    http://www.coinflation.com/silver_coin_values.html
11. •  
      CommentAuthorZwikster
    • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

     
    its because they just continue to print more and more money out of thin air. There is nothing backing the money they print!!!
    
    http://www.kmunk.com/kmunkv5_1/Investment/Investment_Home.aspx
12. •  
      CommentAuthorZwikster
    • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

     
    inflation!!

    
13. •  
      CommentAuthorZwikster
    • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

     
    U.S. Dollar Index -

    
14. •  
      CommentAuthorZwikster
    • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008

     
    dollar purchasing power -

    
15. •  
      CommentAuthorZwikster
    • CommentTimeJul 9th 2008

     
    http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/Issues.aspx?Oil-Crisis-Worsening-Whats-Next-1926
    
    What will spark the kind of gasoline crisis I'm talking about? Take your pick of potential disasters. Here are just the top three ...
    
    #1) U.S. Edging Closer to War with Iran
    
    #2) Monster Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico
    
    #3) Refiners and Retailers See Profit Margins Squeezed
16. •  
      CommentAuthorfabiocdn
    • CommentTimeJul 9th 2008

     
    You forgot about the Martian invasion!
    They didn't like getting sneeked up like that last month with the probe NASA sent, now we're in for it...
17. •  
      CommentAuthorZwikster
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2008 edited

     
    Fannie, Freddie stocks and bonds plummet
    Thursday July 10, 10:18 am ET
    By Al Yoon
    
    
    NEW YORK (Reuters) - A firestorm of anxiety over the ability of U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM - News) and Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE - News) to get the capital they need to survive sent their debt and stocks plummeting on Thursday.
    ADVERTISEMENT
    
    
    Stoking concerns, former St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said the two major U.S. mortgage finance companies were "insolvent" and may need a U.S. government bailout, according to Bloomberg News
    
    down 10% - 15 %
    http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=fnm Stock currently at $13, was around $60 - $70 in October!!
    
    down - 20% - 25%
    http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=fre Stock currently at $7, was around $60 - $70 in November!!
18. •  
      CommentAuthorZwikster
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2008

     
    and dont think for a second that the people in power give a shit about you -
    
    (CNN) — Democrats blasted former Senator Phil Gramm, a top McCain economic adviser and campaign co-chairman, Thursday for saying Americans who have named the economy as a top concern this campaign cycle were “a nation of whiners.”
    
    http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/10/mccain-adviser-nation-suffering-from-a-mental-recession/
19. • CommentAuthorMr. Nobody
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2008

     
    holy smokes ZWIK, I didn't realize how bad Freddie and Fanny were doing.
    
    If Bear Stearns required 30 Billion plus and the feds have close to 75 Billion available to investment houses, whats it gonna take to help these two.
    
    They will have to nationalize everything......Free market fiasco, what a joke.
20. • CommentAuthorDeanK
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2008

     
    on the bright side.. Canada has wizened up a small bit... no more 40 year mortgages with 0 down.