Behind the Scenes - the US Financial Collapse Continues

7 & 9 February, 6 March 2009

OK. How bad is the US financial system? Are things on their way to getting better, as mainstream economists report?

The answer... Not really.

The following facts are derived from a Mises Institute paper entitled "The Insolvency of the Fed."

What is happening is that the Federal Reserve is "recapitalizing" the US financial system by buying up bad assets - and thereby compromising the Federal Reserve system itself. In order to maintain US bank capital ratios, the Fed is taking on mountains of low quality assets, thus weakening its own capital ratios.

By way of contrast, the Fed still has massive gold holdings, left over from the days of the gold standard, at which time the US established possibly the largest gold account in world history. On the books, the Fed values its gold holdings at a nominal $42.44 per troy ounce. Of course, the Fed's gold is presently worth 20 times that amount on today's market.

Based on its present bookkeeping system, the capital ratio of the US Federal Reserve Bank has deteriorated from a factor of 22 to 1 to an amount of 50 to 1. That is, if only 2% of the Fed's current assets have to be written down, the Fed itself becomes technically bankrupt.

Interestingly, the Fed can fix this problem by pricing its gold holdings at their actual market value, which would increase its capital from 2% of its obligations to 12.35% of its obligations. This simple strategy would lower the bank's nominal capital ratio to 8 to 1!

In other words, the only asset that the Fed has left that is of substantial value is its gold holdings, which in today's market are worth 5 times the value of all of its other assets!

And if you didn't think things were bad enough at the Fed, have a look at John Williams' latest unmassaged "shadow" financial statistics.

Inflation is down all right, but not from 2% to 0% as the government spin doctors will have you believe. It is down from 14% to 8% - in a world of declining incomes!

The rate of broad M3 money supply growth is down too - but from a horrendous 18% level to a still surging and dollar-destroying 12% level.

What do these super-inflationary rates of money supply growth add up to in terms of estimated total US M3 money supply? Well, as recently as 2006, you could have talked in terms of $10 trillion US dollars in circulation. This is when the Fed stopped counting, as the number had begun to grow uncomfortably quickly! (The total reached $1 trillion for the first time in 1974, as can be seen below....)

In billions of US dollars. Data on M3 and non-M2 components (except for institutional
  money funds) cease with the week ending March 16, 2006.

	SEASONALLY ADJUSTED		NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
DATE	M3	NON-M2 M3	M3	NON-M2 M3
1959-Jan.	288.8	2.3	292.0	2.2
1959-Feb.	289.9	2.2	289.9	2.2
1959-Mar.	291.4	2.2	290.1	2.2
1959-Apr.	292.3	2.2	292.5	2.2
1959-May	294.4	2.2	292.5	2.3
1959-June	296.3	2.2	294.8	2.3
1959-July	297.4	2.2	296.7	2.3
1959-Aug.	298.5	2.1	297.0	2.2
1959-Sep.	298.8	2.1	298.2	2.1
1959-Oct.	298.5	2.0	298.9	2.0
1959-Nov.	299.1	2.0	299.7	1.9
1959-Dec.	299.7	1.9	302.4	1.8
1960-Jan.	300.1	1.9	303.4	1.9
1960-Feb.	300.4	1.9	300.4	1.9
1960-Mar.	301.4	2.0	300.2	2.0
1960-Apr.	302.2	2.1	302.4	2.1
1960-May	303.0	2.1	301.0	2.2
1960-June	304.5	2.2	303.1	2.2
1960-July	306.4	2.3	305.8	2.3
1960-Aug.	309.3	2.4	307.7	2.5
1960-Sep.	311.0	2.6	310.4	2.6
1960-Oct.	312.2	2.7	312.5	2.6
1960-Nov.	313.6	2.7	314.3	2.6
1960-Dec.	315.2	2.8	318.0	2.7
1961-Jan.	317.1	3.1	320.5	3.0
1961-Feb.	319.9	3.3	319.9	3.3
1961-Mar.	321.9	3.6	320.8	3.6
1961-Apr.	323.8	3.9	324.2	4.0
1961-May	326.5	4.3	324.5	4.4
1961-June	328.9	4.6	327.5	4.8
1961-July	330.5	5.0	330.0	5.1
1961-Aug.	332.7	5.1	331.0	5.2
1961-Sep.	334.8	5.2	334.0	5.2
1961-Oct.	336.5	5.4	336.8	5.2
1961-Nov.	338.8	5.5	339.3	5.2
1961-Dec.	340.8	5.3	343.7	5.2
1962-Jan.	343.0	5.5	346.5	5.4
1962-Feb.	346.1	5.9	346.2	5.9
1962-Mar.	349.4	6.3	348.4	6.3
1962-Apr.	352.1	6.6	352.7	6.7
1962-May	354.2	6.7	352.1	7.0
1962-June	356.3	7.1	355.0	7.3
1962-July	358.0	7.1	357.4	7.3
1962-Aug.	360.1	7.3	358.3	7.4
1962-Sep.	362.5	7.6	361.5	7.6
1962-Oct.	365.1	8.0	365.3	7.8
1962-Nov.	368.0	8.2	368.3	7.8
1962-Dec.	371.3	8.6	374.0	8.2
1963-Jan.	374.2	9.0	377.9	8.8
1963-Feb.	377.2	9.2	377.3	9.2
1963-Mar.	380.2	9.6	379.4	9.6
1963-Apr.	383.1	9.8	383.9	10.0
1963-May	386.2	10.1	383.9	10.5
1963-June	388.8	10.3	387.4	10.6
1963-July	391.5	10.4	390.9	10.7
1963-Aug.	394.5	10.9	392.5	11.0
1963-Sep.	397.3	11.3	396.1	11.2
1963-Oct.	400.0	11.7	400.1	11.4
1963-Nov.	403.8	12.3	404.1	11.8
1963-Dec.	405.9	12.7	408.7	12.2
1964-Jan.	408.5	13.2	412.6	13.1
1964-Feb.	411.3	13.7	411.4	13.7
1964-Mar.	413.6	13.8	412.9	14.0
1964-Apr.	415.8	14.1	416.8	14.4
1964-May	418.9	14.6	416.4	15.1
1964-June	422.1	15.1	420.8	15.4
1964-July	425.5	15.4	424.9	15.6
1964-Aug.	429.2	15.7	427.0	15.9
1964-Sep.	433.0	16.2	431.7	16.0
1964-Oct.	435.9	16.8	436.2	16.3
1964-Nov.	439.3	17.3	439.6	16.7
1964-Dec.	442.4	17.6	445.5	17.1
1965-Jan.	445.8	18.3	450.5	18.1
1965-Feb.	449.1	18.6	448.9	18.7
1965-Mar.	452.0	18.8	451.2	19.0
1965-Apr.	454.5	19.0	455.7	19.4
1965-May	456.4	19.3	453.6	19.9
1965-June	459.9	19.8	458.5	20.1
1965-July	463.3	20.4	462.6	20.5
1965-Aug.	466.8	21.0	464.5	21.2
1965-Sep.	471.1	21.6	469.8	21.3
1965-Oct.	474.9	22.4	475.4	21.7
1965-Nov.	478.3	22.6	478.7	22.0
1965-Dec.	482.1	23.0	485.5	22.4
1966-Jan.	485.1	23.1	490.1	23.0
1966-Feb.	487.8	23.2	487.1	23.4
1966-Mar.	490.8	23.6	489.8	23.9
1966-Apr.	494.0	24.8	495.3	25.2
1966-May	495.4	25.4	492.2	26.1
1966-June	497.1	25.9	495.7	26.1
1966-July	497.8	27.0	497.2	26.9
1966-Aug.	499.6	27.0	497.5	27.4
1966-Sep.	502.3	26.9	501.2	26.6
1966-Oct.	501.4	25.7	502.0	25.1
1966-Nov.	502.0	24.7	502.4	24.3
1966-Dec.	505.4	25.3	508.6	24.9
1967-Jan.	509.1	27.5	513.7	27.3
1967-Feb.	514.5	29.3	513.0	29.5
1967-Mar.	519.9	30.3	518.6	30.5
1967-Apr.	522.6	30.5	523.8	30.9
1967-May	527.7	30.5	524.5	31.2
1967-June	533.1	31.1	532.0	31.1
1967-July	537.7	31.4	537.3	31.1
1967-Aug.	542.5	31.7	540.9	32.3
1967-Sep.	546.8	32.2	546.2	32.0
1967-Oct.	550.2	32.1	550.8	31.6
1967-Nov.	553.9	32.7	554.1	32.5
1967-Dec.	557.9	33.1	560.9	32.9
1968-Jan.	560.4	33.0	564.7	32.8
1968-Feb.	563.6	33.2	561.4	33.3
1968-Mar.	567.0	33.8	565.4	33.9
1968-Apr.	569.2	33.5	570.5	33.7
1968-May	572.3	33.4	569.3	33.8
1968-June	575.9	33.3	575.4	33.1
1968-July	580.6	35.0	580.7	34.5
1968-Aug.	585.6	36.2	584.5	36.9
1968-Sep.	590.6	37.1	590.2	37.1
1968-Oct.	595.8	38.2	596.4	38.0
1968-Nov.	601.7	39.3	601.8	39.3
1968-Dec.	607.2	40.3	610.0	40.4
1969-Jan.	607.9	38.6	612.1	38.6
1969-Feb.	609.1	37.2	606.2	37.1
1969-Mar.	610.8	36.4	609.0	36.1
1969-Apr.	611.5	35.8	613.2	35.8
1969-May	611.6	35.1	608.9	35.4
1969-June	612.1	33.7	612.0	33.3
1969-July	610.1	30.6	610.7	30.1
1969-Aug.	607.7	27.7	606.6	28.2
1969-Sep.	608.5	26.5	608.0	26.6
1969-Oct.	608.9	25.5	609.3	25.6
1969-Nov.	613.5	28.1	613.0	28.2
1969-Dec.	615.9	28.0	618.2	28.1
1970-Jan.	616.1	26.5	618.3	26.3
1970-Feb.	613.3	27.0	610.3	26.9
1970-Mar.	615.7	28.5	615.7	28.4
1970-Apr.	619.5	31.2	624.2	31.4
1970-May	624.3	32.8	623.8	32.9
1970-June	627.1	31.9	629.0	31.5
1970-July	635.7	36.6	637.1	35.8
1970-Aug.	644.8	40.0	643.6	40.6
1970-Sep.	654.4	43.2	652.7	44.0
1970-Oct.	662.3	45.9	660.5	46.5
1970-Nov.	669.3	48.2	666.4	48.1
1970-Dec.	677.1	50.6	678.2	50.3
1971-Jan.	685.5	52.6	688.4	53.0
1971-Feb.	695.8	54.8	692.7	54.7
1971-Mar.	706.5	56.6	706.3	56.2
1971-Apr.	713.7	55.3	718.9	55.4
1971-May	723.3	56.6	722.7	56.6
1971-June	730.1	57.2	732.1	56.2
1971-July	738.3	58.7	739.8	57.4
1971-Aug.	744.0	58.5	743.1	59.4
1971-Sep.	751.7	59.3	750.0	60.4
1971-Oct.	760.2	61.8	758.3	62.7
1971-Nov.	768.3	63.7	764.9	63.7
1971-Dec.	776.0	65.7	776.6	65.3
1972-Jan.	783.8	66.1	786.1	66.1
1972-Feb.	792.9	67.2	789.2	67.0
1972-Mar.	800.6	67.1	800.5	66.8
1972-Apr.	807.9	69.5	813.2	69.4
1972-May	816.1	72.7	815.4	72.9
1972-June	824.6	74.9	827.0	73.8
1972-July	835.5	76.1	837.8	74.8
1972-Aug.	846.6	77.9	846.1	79.1
1972-Sep.	856.4	78.1	854.8	79.6
1972-Oct.	865.8	78.9	863.6	80.0
1972-Nov.	875.8	81.8	871.9	81.7
1972-Dec.	885.9	83.7	886.2	83.1
1973-Jan.	896.3	86.0	897.8	85.6
1973-Feb.	906.1	92.0	901.7	91.6
1973-Mar.	915.0	99.7	914.7	99.1
1973-Apr.	922.4	102.7	927.8	102.3
1973-May	932.3	105.5	931.6	105.8
1973-June	940.7	107.5	943.5	106.3
1973-July	950.3	113.7	953.2	112.5
1973-Aug.	959.0	120.2	959.5	122.1
1973-Sep.	965.8	126.5	965.0	129.0
1973-Oct.	972.0	129.4	970.2	130.9
1973-Nov.	977.3	128.5	973.8	128.4
1973-Dec.	985.0	129.5	985.2	128.7
1974-Jan.	993.9	134.3	994.6	133.1
1974-Feb.	1002.4	138.2	997.2	137.4
1974-Mar.	1010.7	140.6	1010.0	140.0
1974-Apr.	1020.8	147.9	1025.6	147.0
1974-May	1029.2	154.6	1028.5	155.1
1974-June	1037.8	159.9	1040.4	158.5
1974-July	1043.9	162.5	1047.3	161.3
1974-Aug.	1048.6	164.5	1049.6	166.7
1974-Sep.	1052.9	164.9	1052.6	167.9
1974-Oct.	1058.5	165.2	1057.2	166.8
1974-Nov.	1063.7	165.1	1060.5	165.1
1974-Dec.	1069.9	167.8	1070.8	167.3
1975-Jan.	1075.5	169.2	1076.8	168.9
1975-Feb.	1082.7	168.6	1076.3	167.6
1975-Mar.	1090.0	165.0	1088.7	164.2
1975-Apr.	1095.8	160.7	1100.8	159.7
1975-May	1105.9	158.0	1105.0	158.8
1975-June	1118.7	155.7	1121.2	154.3
1975-July	1128.7	153.6	1131.9	152.2
1975-Aug.	1135.1	152.0	1135.5	153.1
1975-Sep.	1145.9	154.4	1144.5	156.1
1975-Oct.	1153.8	156.0	1151.8	156.2
1975-Nov.	1163.8	156.9	1161.6	156.8
1975-Dec.	1170.2	153.9	1173.3	155.5
1976-Jan.	1181.6	155.0	1183.2	154.8
1976-Feb.	1193.5	153.1	1186.7	152.5
1976-Mar.	1204.6	154.6	1202.1	154.4
1976-Apr.	1216.7	155.9	1221.7	154.8
1976-May	1227.6	155.5	1226.6	156.3
1976-June	1236.1	158.5	1237.9	157.2
1976-July	1245.9	159.6	1249.9	158.3
1976-Aug.	1259.2	160.6	1258.6	161.2
1976-Sep.	1268.2	157.4	1266.8	158.3
1976-Oct.	1280.8	155.8	1280.4	155.4
1976-Nov.	1294.5	156.2	1291.9	156.8
1976-Dec.	1309.9	157.9	1313.6	160.1
1977-Jan.	1322.5	157.3	1324.6	157.0
1977-Feb.	1335.5	158.0	1327.6	157.7
1977-Mar.	1348.4	159.9	1345.2	160.0
1977-Apr.	1360.6	161.0	1366.2	159.6
1977-May	1374.0	164.9	1371.2	165.7
1977-June	1387.6	169.8	1388.2	168.4
1977-July	1400.4	173.6	1405.2	172.3
1977-Aug.	1415.2	178.2	1414.0	178.7
1977-Sep.	1428.0	181.8	1426.9	182.2
1977-Oct.	1441.8	187.8	1442.8	186.9
1977-Nov.	1457.1	194.8	1456.4	196.1
1977-Dec.	1470.4	200.1	1476.2	203.1
1978-Jan.	1486.3	206.6	1488.9	206.6
1978-Feb.	1498.1	212.6	1489.8	212.9
1978-Mar.	1513.0	220.8	1509.7	221.5
1978-Apr.	1528.6	228.2	1533.1	225.7
1978-May	1544.3	233.8	1538.7	233.9
1978-June	1555.4	236.9	1553.7	234.7
1978-July	1567.0	242.9	1571.2	241.1
1978-Aug.	1583.2	249.6	1581.9	250.5
1978-Sep.	1597.2	252.1	1597.0	252.3
1978-Oct.	1611.1	258.8	1612.9	257.6
1978-Nov.	1630.2	271.1	1631.0	272.9
1978-Dec.	1644.5	278.6	1652.6	281.7
1979-Jan.	1656.8	285.2	1660.6	285.4
1979-Feb.	1669.2	291.4	1661.8	292.5
1979-Mar.	1683.2	295.4	1680.5	296.5
1979-Apr.	1700.8	298.7	1703.7	295.2
1979-May	1711.0	300.8	1703.7	301.0
1979-June	1728.1	305.1	1725.1	302.6
1979-July	1743.3	308.5	1746.6	307.3
1979-Aug.	1761.6	315.0	1761.8	317.5
1979-Sep.	1783.1	328.9	1783.6	329.1
1979-Oct.	1796.7	336.3	1798.4	334.8
1979-Nov.	1798.9	333.1	1800.7	334.3
1979-Dec.	1808.7	335.0	1815.2	336.2
1980-Jan.	1823.0	340.3	1826.4	340.1
1980-Feb.	1841.7	347.2	1835.4	349.2
1980-Mar.	1850.2	350.4	1848.5	351.3
1980-Apr.	1854.2	352.0	1856.0	348.3
1980-May	1867.0	354.6	1858.4	354.2
1980-June	1884.4	355.2	1880.3	352.9
1980-July	1903.2	357.7	1906.3	357.3
1980-Aug.	1920.8	359.3	1923.9	363.2
1980-Sep.	1935.2	361.2	1935.5	362.4
1980-Oct.	1953.6	368.8	1956.7	368.3
1980-Nov.	1975.3	379.5	1979.7	380.7
1980-Dec.	1995.5	395.7	2000.8	396.0
1981-Jan.	2020.6	413.6	2023.5	412.9
1981-Feb.	2039.5	420.8	2033.1	422.5
1981-Mar.	2058.1	421.5	2055.4	422.2
1981-Apr.	2086.4	427.1	2087.6	423.2
1981-May	2102.7	438.5	2093.5	438.1
1981-June	2118.4	448.1	2112.0	445.0
1981-July	2137.9	456.0	2140.1	455.0
1981-Aug.	2157.1	462.8	2162.1	467.5
1981-Sep.	2179.4	473.3	2181.7	475.3
1981-Oct.	2204.7	482.9	2209.5	483.1
1981-Nov.	2226.7	490.6	2233.0	492.0
1981-Dec.	2254.5	499.1	2259.0	498.8
1982-Jan.	2275.7	505.4	2276.6	503.8
1982-Feb.	2284.4	509.9	2276.4	511.1
1982-Mar.	2303.0	516.5	2298.8	517.1
1982-Apr.	2328.5	524.5	2328.1	520.3
1982-May	2343.1	527.7	2332.9	528.0
1982-June	2359.7	533.7	2353.0	530.3
1982-July	2372.2	537.8	2373.5	535.7
1982-Aug.	2396.6	547.2	2401.9	551.8
1982-Sep.	2413.0	549.7	2416.5	552.5
1982-Oct.	2435.0	560.3	2441.8	561.1
1982-Nov.	2447.4	559.0	2455.9	561.1
1982-Dec.	2460.6	550.4	2469.1	550.9
1983-Jan.	2488.9	525.6	2492.3	524.5
1983-Feb.	2517.8	517.4	2507.5	518.1
1983-Mar.	2534.1	515.5	2529.3	516.2
1983-Apr.	2553.9	522.0	2555.7	518.7
1983-May	2569.5	523.1	2559.8	524.7
1983-June	2585.0	528.4	2579.8	524.9
1983-July	2596.0	528.2	2597.6	524.9
1983-Aug.	2609.8	532.9	2610.8	535.4
1983-Sep.	2626.3	540.2	2626.0	542.0
1983-Oct.	2646.1	543.9	2649.4	544.4
1983-Nov.	2673.9	558.5	2681.1	560.4
1983-Dec.	2697.4	570.9	2708.5	571.4
1984-Jan.	2714.9	573.7	2721.4	573.5
1984-Feb.	2742.6	581.2	2733.2	582.4
1984-Mar.	2771.9	593.6	2766.6	594.4
1984-Apr.	2801.2	606.3	2802.1	602.8
1984-May	2828.4	620.9	2817.8	623.0
1984-June	2850.2	631.7	2845.8	628.1
1984-July	2871.8	644.9	2870.7	639.4
1984-Aug.	2886.0	652.4	2885.8	653.7
1984-Sep.	2904.7	657.1	2905.6	659.7
1984-Oct.	2930.2	668.0	2932.3	669.4
1984-Nov.	2957.9	673.1	2965.9	676.2
1984-Dec.	2990.6	680.7	3004.6	682.5
1985-Jan.	3018.0	681.9	3026.5	683.3
1985-Feb.	3040.7	683.2	3031.7	684.9
1985-Mar.	3056.6	687.1	3051.6	687.8
1985-Apr.	3062.5	683.7	3062.5	679.4
1985-May	3078.8	685.6	3067.0	687.0
1985-June	3103.6	687.4	3100.0	682.9
1985-July	3112.7	679.6	3111.9	673.7
1985-Aug.	3131.4	683.9	3129.9	684.0
1985-Sep.	3149.7	689.8	3148.5	692.4
1985-Oct.	3167.1	695.5	3166.9	697.0
1985-Nov.	3182.3	701.1	3189.7	704.2
1985-Dec.	3208.1	712.4	3221.6	714.0
1986-Jan.	3232.8	727.1	3243.0	728.6
1986-Feb.	3250.7	734.6	3241.8	736.4
1986-Mar.	3277.2	741.0	3272.8	742.1
1986-Apr.	3307.7	746.7	3309.9	741.8
1986-May	3331.0	742.6	3318.4	743.7
1986-June	3353.0	744.4	3348.8	739.9
1986-July	3381.9	751.4	3381.2	744.9
1986-Aug.	3407.8	757.5	3407.3	757.6
1986-Sep.	3435.3	763.4	3432.2	766.4
1986-Oct.	3455.6	763.7	3453.7	764.8
1986-Nov.	3467.1	761.6	3474.9	765.4
1986-Dec.	3499.1	766.8	3513.3	768.3
1987-Jan.	3524.7	776.7	3536.0	778.4
1987-Feb.	3534.3	782.6	3524.1	784.6
1987-Mar.	3542.6	784.9	3538.4	786.4
1987-Apr.	3562.7	790.8	3568.1	784.9
1987-May	3578.2	801.0	3565.1	801.1
1987-June	3593.4	814.6	3588.0	810.4
1987-July	3599.2	815.9	3599.8	810.4
1987-Aug.	3620.1	827.8	3621.1	829.5
1987-Sep.	3642.5	838.9	3639.8	842.3
1987-Oct.	3667.9	848.7	3665.6	850.0
1987-Nov.	3681.5	857.5	3689.1	862.4
1987-Dec.	3686.5	855.0	3698.7	855.3
1988-Jan.	3709.1	856.7	3719.9	857.7
1988-Feb.	3737.2	861.8	3728.0	864.1
1988-Mar.	3762.1	866.4	3759.7	868.0
1988-Apr.	3788.5	872.7	3796.0	865.5
1988-May	3814.6	883.4	3798.5	882.6
1988-June	3834.2	890.9	3827.8	887.6
1988-July	3850.3	897.2	3851.5	892.4
1988-Aug.	3864.5	906.3	3864.9	908.9
1988-Sep.	3876.3	913.1	3872.3	916.0
1988-Oct.	3890.1	918.5	3888.4	920.1
1988-Nov.	3909.0	922.6	3917.4	928.5
1988-Dec.	3928.8	934.4	3941.1	934.3
1989-Jan.	3937.0	939.3	3944.3	939.4
1989-Feb.	3940.8	942.7	3932.8	944.3
1989-Mar.	3961.5	955.8	3962.2	957.1
1989-Apr.	3970.8	958.9	3980.0	950.8
1989-May	3974.9	957.5	3958.1	956.1
1989-June	3995.2	961.6	3987.5	959.2
1989-July	4017.4	959.2	4016.6	955.1
1989-Aug.	4027.5	947.1	4027.3	950.3
1989-Sep.	4035.2	936.4	4029.7	937.3
1989-Oct.	4047.5	926.8	4043.6	927.8
1989-Nov.	4063.1	923.7	4071.4	929.4
1989-Dec.	4077.1	918.6	4089.5	918.0
1990-Jan.	4089.2	916.4	4091.7	914.9
1990-Feb.	4095.6	910.0	4089.8	912.8
1990-Mar.	4098.3	901.7	4102.8	903.8
1990-Apr.	4105.8	897.4	4117.5	891.3
1990-May	4107.8	901.2	4093.4	900.7
1990-June	4115.1	895.9	4111.3	895.0
1990-July	4127.8	897.9	4125.2	895.2
1990-Aug.	4144.2	896.5	4145.4	901.1
1990-Sep.	4151.5	891.4	4147.1	892.3
1990-Oct.	4155.9	890.9	4149.8	890.2
1990-Nov.	4151.8	882.2	4156.8	884.7
1990-Dec.	4154.7	875.9	4166.1	874.2
1991-Jan.	4177.2	882.7	4177.9	881.7
1991-Feb.	4193.9	882.1	4191.0	887.7
1991-Mar.	4201.5	872.1	4209.9	875.4
1991-Apr.	4209.0	868.6	4220.9	863.7
1991-May	4208.4	857.9	4195.9	858.0
1991-June	4209.2	850.0	4205.2	848.1
1991-July	4202.5	839.8	4197.0	835.5
1991-Aug.	4197.1	835.5	4197.1	838.9
1991-Sep.	4191.2	829.3	4182.8	828.5
1991-Oct.	4195.4	828.5	4187.1	826.4
1991-Nov.	4201.2	829.3	4209.7	831.6
1991-Dec.	4210.3	830.5	4222.8	829.4
1992-Jan.	4215.8	827.6	4218.1	828.1
1992-Feb.	4236.2	829.1	4234.3	837.3
1992-Mar.	4238.4	826.6	4241.6	829.7
1992-Apr.	4226.1	818.9	4240.1	814.4
1992-May	4220.5	815.9	4211.1	816.4
1992-June	4218.7	818.1	4211.4	815.0
1992-July	4218.9	817.6	4212.2	811.3
1992-Aug.	4227.1	821.4	4227.9	824.0
1992-Sep.	4235.7	818.6	4225.1	816.7
1992-Oct.	4234.9	803.8	4227.8	801.6
1992-Nov.	4230.8	796.6	4240.7	799.9
1992-Dec.	4222.6	789.5	4237.6	788.3
1993-Jan.	4204.5	777.2	4210.1	778.3
1993-Feb.	4207.7	784.2	4201.2	792.3
1993-Mar.	4211.1	790.0	4210.9	792.1
1993-Apr.	4212.6	791.8	4225.3	786.9
1993-May	4241.9	797.7	4231.4	798.2
1993-June	4242.1	792.4	4238.4	790.7
1993-July	4238.9	788.9	4234.7	783.3
1993-Aug.	4240.4	785.7	4237.8	787.3
1993-Sep.	4249.6	788.4	4239.4	786.4
1993-Oct.	4256.5	791.2	4253.0	791.1
1993-Nov.	4275.3	795.9	4283.5	799.4
1993-Dec.	4285.6	801.3	4304.5	800.1
1994-Jan.	4282.4	797.3	4288.5	798.5
1994-Feb.	4268.7	782.3	4258.1	788.7
1994-Mar.	4279.6	786.8	4276.8	788.2
1994-Apr.	4290.4	793.2	4307.0	788.8
1994-May	4300.8	795.4	4285.3	795.5
1994-June	4297.3	805.3	4294.9	804.5
1994-July	4318.3	820.5	4317.4	815.5
1994-Aug.	4319.7	824.2	4316.7	824.3
1994-Sep.	4329.4	832.7	4318.0	830.0
1994-Oct.	4339.7	844.6	4335.6	846.2
1994-Nov.	4355.4	857.4	4364.0	861.2
1994-Dec.	4369.8	872.2	4389.0	870.4
1995-Jan.	4393.7	890.3	4397.4	891.9
1995-Feb.	4396.5	895.9	4387.0	902.3
1995-Mar.	4415.7	913.8	4417.7	916.4
1995-Apr.	4436.5	926.6	4454.0	922.0
1995-May	4476.0	942.8	4459.4	943.1
1995-June	4514.6	956.0	4510.2	954.6
1995-July	4540.2	963.0	4537.6	957.2
1995-Aug.	4575.5	976.1	4570.0	973.4
1995-Sep.	4596.4	985.2	4585.7	980.4
1995-Oct.	4613.6	990.4	4604.8	992.2
1995-Nov.	4624.4	993.5	4631.1	997.3
1995-Dec.	4636.3	995.7	4658.8	995.0
1996-Jan.	4670.3	1011.8	4676.3	1015.1
1996-Feb.	4700.6	1028.0	4694.8	1037.9
1996-Mar.	4734.7	1036.6	4746.4	1042.0
1996-Apr.	4753.0	1043.6	4770.7	1039.6
1996-May	4788.1	1069.2	4769.3	1069.5
1996-June	4811.0	1079.0	4807.1	1075.9
1996-July	4837.4	1089.9	4827.5	1081.9
1996-Aug.	4857.3	1101.3	4850.3	1095.4
1996-Sep.	4885.4	1119.4	4869.6	1112.1
1996-Oct.	4925.6	1145.7	4911.9	1146.1
1996-Nov.	4946.3	1151.4	4954.3	1155.7
1996-Dec.	4985.5	1170.3	5008.0	1172.4
1997-Jan.	5013.0	1183.9	5021.6	1188.6
1997-Feb.	5045.3	1205.2	5047.3	1219.0
1997-Mar.	5079.8	1224.8	5100.4	1234.1
1997-Apr.	5120.7	1248.7	5145.3	1245.5
1997-May	5146.8	1262.6	5128.8	1264.0
1997-June	5176.9	1275.0	5166.8	1270.9
1997-July	5235.2	1313.6	5216.1	1300.9
1997-Aug.	5291.5	1339.9	5278.7	1328.7
1997-Sep.	5333.7	1362.7	5309.2	1350.8
1997-Oct.	5376.2	1387.6	5358.6	1384.6
1997-Nov.	5417.2	1407.1	5425.1	1411.6
1997-Dec.	5460.9	1429.3	5489.2	1436.4
1998-Jan.	5508.6	1453.0	5522.2	1460.6
1998-Feb.	5545.5	1457.3	5554.2	1475.2
1998-Mar.	5610.7	1495.5	5638.5	1508.6
1998-Apr.	5647.1	1508.7	5679.9	1508.0
1998-May	5687.0	1527.6	5673.2	1531.7
1998-June	5728.4	1543.1	5711.8	1538.5
1998-July	5749.6	1546.8	5721.5	1528.7
1998-Aug.	5814.7	1586.1	5792.2	1569.3
1998-Sep.	5883.9	1612.9	5851.5	1593.6
1998-Oct.	5953.6	1641.5	5927.5	1631.3
1998-Nov.	6010.3	1658.5	6015.4	1663.7
1998-Dec.	6051.9	1668.2	6087.9	1681.6
1999-Jan.	6080.9	1675.0	6102.9	1687.5
1999-Feb.	6134.1	1702.0	6151.2	1725.6
1999-Mar.	6132.3	1690.2	6172.0	1708.2
1999-Apr.	6172.7	1699.1	6211.7	1700.3
1999-May	6200.4	1708.6	6188.3	1715.6
1999-June	6237.5	1723.9	6219.7	1720.1
1999-July	6268.7	1730.9	6232.2	1707.9
1999-Aug.	6299.2	1740.0	6265.7	1719.4
1999-Sep.	6323.0	1748.7	6282.4	1723.0
1999-Oct.	6378.4	1784.6	6346.7	1766.6
1999-Nov.	6465.0	1845.2	6467.2	1849.9
1999-Dec.	6551.5	1902.8	6597.1	1922.0
2000-Jan.	6605.5	1929.9	6630.9	1946.2
2000-Feb.	6642.2	1951.1	6661.1	1976.2
2000-Mar.	6704.0	1983.4	6753.1	2006.7
2000-Apr.	6767.3	1996.2	6812.4	1998.2
2000-May	6776.9	2013.5	6765.3	2025.5
2000-June	6823.6	2043.1	6805.1	2041.7
2000-July	6875.2	2081.6	6836.1	2055.1
2000-Aug.	6945.0	2116.7	6905.8	2092.4
2000-Sep.	7003.5	2142.4	6957.5	2108.2
2000-Oct.	7027.0	2147.9	6982.0	2120.2
2000-Nov.	7038.3	2149.6	7043.7	2154.1
2000-Dec.	7117.6	2186.3	7173.8	2211.1
2001-Jan.	7237.2	2250.1	7259.5	2269.1
2001-Feb.	7308.5	2281.3	7332.5	2311.3
2001-Mar.	7372.0	2284.2	7428.5	2313.7
2001-Apr.	7507.8	2358.4	7546.0	2357.6
2001-May	7564.1	2414.8	7551.6	2427.0
2001-June	7644.7	2456.4	7631.7	2455.9
2001-July	7691.9	2470.1	7644.1	2437.6
2001-Aug.	7696.3	2438.9	7658.0	2412.5
2001-Sep.	7853.2	2484.1	7802.5	2441.9
2001-Oct.	7897.8	2534.6	7845.9	2500.2
2001-Nov.	7973.0	2568.2	7981.4	2574.7
2001-Dec.	8035.4	2584.0	8105.8	2619.8
2002-Jan.	8063.9	2586.6	8086.7	2613.2
2002-Feb.	8109.3	2604.1	8128.1	2637.0
2002-Mar.	8117.3	2604.2	8174.2	2634.5
2002-Apr.	8142.6	2624.7	8171.9	2619.1
2002-May	8175.1	2630.8	8159.6	2638.6
2002-June	8190.8	2624.4	8184.9	2624.7
2002-July	8244.2	2629.8	8202.6	2600.2
2002-Aug.	8298.1	2645.0	8268.9	2623.1
2002-Sep.	8331.5	2653.6	8285.5	2615.5
2002-Oct.	8368.9	2642.6	8317.1	2608.5
2002-Nov.	8498.8	2726.2	8513.4	2730.6
2002-Dec.	8568.0	2767.4	8633.5	2801.3
2003-Jan.	8588.1	2757.6	8602.0	2782.0
2003-Feb.	8628.7	2759.1	8635.5	2789.6
2003-Mar.	8648.8	2761.6	8694.4	2787.0
2003-Apr.	8686.0	2757.3	8714.2	2748.9
2003-May	8741.9	2758.1	8728.4	2765.9
2003-June	8791.6	2767.8	8792.3	2772.7
2003-July	8888.7	2815.5	8850.5	2787.4
2003-Aug.	8918.2	2797.5	8902.7	2781.9
2003-Sep.	8906.5	2806.6	8871.7	2780.2
2003-Oct.	8896.8	2810.9	8852.1	2780.1
2003-Nov.	8880.3	2800.9	8894.6	2798.7
2003-Dec.	8872.3	2792.7	8927.8	2815.9
2004-Jan.	8930.2	2841.9	8930.7	2859.9
2004-Feb.	9000.3	2868.1	8993.9	2892.5
2004-Mar.	9080.7	2907.6	9108.2	2927.3
2004-Apr.	9149.6	2932.9	9178.3	2926.1
2004-May	9243.8	2963.4	9236.2	2972.6
2004-June	9275.7	2987.1	9281.4	2993.5
2004-July	9282.7	2987.5	9257.1	2964.2
2004-Aug.	9314.4	2997.3	9299.9	2987.5
2004-Sep.	9351.8	3005.1	9333.8	2989.6
2004-Oct.	9359.4	2990.3	9329.1	2965.7
2004-Nov.	9395.1	2991.3	9396.0	2982.5
2004-Dec.	9433.0	3011.1	9482.2	3025.4
2005-Jan.	9487.2	3051.1	9479.3	3063.8
2005-Feb.	9531.6	3076.2	9511.8	3096.3
2005-Mar.	9565.3	3090.4	9584.7	3107.0
2005-Apr.	9620.9	3139.9	9660.5	3136.6
2005-May	9665.0	3175.5	9654.6	3186.4
2005-June	9725.3	3209.3	9734.3	3215.5
2005-July	9762.4	3226.4	9745.7	3206.5
2005-Aug.	9864.6	3298.4	9852.8	3291.0
2005-Sep.	9950.8	3354.3	9938.7	3344.9
2005-Oct.	10032.0	3406.3	10005.7	3386.3
2005-Nov.	10078.5	3431.0	10077.2	3416.4
2005-Dec.	10154.0	3478.5	10201.4	3488.3
2006-Jan.	10242.8	3506.0	10221.9	3515.2
2006-Feb.	10298.7	3540.2	10276.1	3560.7

Now - I guess you had better round off that recent (February 2006) $10 trillion figure to $15 trillion US dollars in circulation today. Only three years was required to achieve this dramatic near-50% ($5 trillion) increase. Or, you could break out the Monopoly game board and use your US dollars as "Monopoly money."

Because the great majority of the $4-5 trillion in new dollars were created out of thin air, they were just "imagined" into existence by the Federal Reserve, if you will, as illustrated in Mr. Williams' chart below:

Let's look at the other sectors.

How about unemployment? It's up almost double - from 10% in 2000 to 18% today.

GDP growth? Down from 7-8% in 1983, but not to 0%, as we are told by the authorities. Rather, US GDP growth is now running at a -4% annual clip.

How about the trade-weighted dollar? Well, it's been up since the financial system fell apart. Why? Because investors who are scrambling out of illiquid assets into US treasuries have to buy US dollars to purchase the Treasuries. But the "ascending" dollar has held only 55% of its value since 1985, and pretty soon, it is going to fall considerably lower than that, as it continues its death spiral.

So are we soon going to be getting back to normal?

The answer? Not a chance.

All that's left is "the new normal" - an insolvent Federal Reserve, US money centre banks that are wards of the indebted US government, a US government that will never pay its trillions of dollars in mounting debts, and a US dollar that is spiralling towards parity with the Zimbabwean currency.

Want to know what the new normal is?

The new normal is that gold is money again, and investors are beginning to figure that out in larger numbers - as the market value of gold has continued to climb against almost all other assets.

In fact, little known to most - the value of gold has moved to record highs this year in almost every global currency save the US dollar and the Japanese Yen. Let's close with a look at the market value of Canadian dollar gold (now $1150 Canadian per ounce):

Gold is the new normal. And the golden tsunami continues its roll to shore from the centre of the deep ocean. I'd guess we're continuing on our way to $6000 gold.

9 & 27 February, 6 March 2009: How bad can the general economic circumstances get? As mentioned previously, Mark Lundeen has been tracking the current stock market crash against the grand-daddy of them all - the 1929-1932 (89.16%) crash.

The current crash is now the second worst on record, with a 53.44% drop as of March 5, 2009. Only the great depression stands as competition to the downside. As Mr. Lundeen pointed out February 9, the Fed had drained a further 11% of its reserves in just the previous 6 weeks. Behind the scenes, the fundamentals have perhaps never been uglier - even in 1929! After all, in 1929, no one had even dreamed of a multi-trillion dollar derivative market, nor any of the other disastrous financial inventions of the recent ultra-bubble era.

So, have we seen the bottom yet? I don't think so. A bounce is due at some point - probably a big one. But this bounce is likely to be only a hiccup on the way down as the Greenspan Depression continues its descent! Mr. Lundeen's best guess is that this decline will be at least the second greatest in US history, and over the past 3 weeks, it has moved from 5th to 3rd, and now (March 2, 2009) 2nd on the list (not yet entered in chart above). Note that this decline stands as first for greatest one-year decline - the low point can be seen at week 52 on Mr. Lundeen's chart.

Bill Fleckenstein also noted today that the past ten years have been the worst ten year-period in history for US investors, reminding his readers that Alan Greenspan's easy money policies triggered the series of financial bubbles that morphed into the current meltdown. And believe me, we are in for considerably more than 10 bad years. There will be ups and downs, but the bad investment news is going to continue for many, many more years to come!
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