Latest from Benjamin Fulford: “It’s time to look at the big Picture again”

Source: Benjaminfulford.net

When historical events are taking place, the daily rush of news event can fog the vision. We have entered such a time of fog now, so it is a good time to stand back and look at the big picture.  The European “crisis,” the US “fiscal cliff,” and the ongoing war-mongering by the NATO terrorist states in the Middle East are all part of a fundamental and unstoppable shift in the way this planet is ruled. No amount of propaganda in the Western corporate media and no amount of number inputting in central bank “black screens,” is going to change that reality. The vast majority of the world’s money is now controlled by non-Westerners who have a very different agenda from that of the people who have been ruling the West and most of the world since at least 300 years ago.

The best analogy for what is happening to the West is the fall of the Soviet Union. It started with a ship-yard strike in Gdansk Poland and ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in what in retrospect seems like no time whatsoever. At the time, though the several years in between those two event seemed to last an eternity.

Right now in the West, the regime change against bankster controlled criminal government has started with Iceland but it will end with the United States and the Vatican.

It is something like a Titanic hits the iceberg type of moment where technicians and the ship’s top crew know the vessel is doomed even if they cannot say exactly how long people have to get onto the lifeboats.

What happened to make the fall of the Soviet Union inevitable was not, as we are told, the economic failure of the Soviet model. Instead, it turns out it was the theft of the Soviet Union’s foreign exchange reserves that made the collapse a matter of time.

What we are seeing in the West is the same.  The money making machine at the Federal Reserve Board has been closed down so collapse is inevitable.

Think of it as following: a high flying Wall Street Trader has been fired.  He has enough money from his “golden handshake” and savings to keep on going as if nothing has happened. However, you notice that he has begun to sell off his sports cars and art collection.

He has also been borrowing money from banks but he is now fully mortgaged out so he has had to borrow from friends. That has also hit bottom so he has begun hitting non-bank financial companies and loan sharks for money. He has also been writing checks that he knows will bounce (think of the 19 announcements that the “euro crisis” has been solved).

If you are watching all this from the sidelines, you will know that it is not long before the Wall Street high flier will be moving out of his fancy digs.

The situation in the Western world is very much like what has been described above. For the past 30 years the United States and Europe (as a whole) have been running a trade deficit with the rest of the world.

The financial leaders in the West have been secretly financing this deficit by making promises they could not keep. That is why, for example, a $300,000 bond backed by a lifetime of labor is issued every time an American citizen is born. That is why the Chinese have been secretly issued liens on much of US real estate as well.

These maneuvers have bought time and created the appearance that all is well, especially in the US. However, just like Wall Street junkie above, you can deny reality for a certain time but it always catches up with you.

This is the case with the West.

What is now happening is that the creditor nations have stopped issuing new credit.

That is why there is now a 147 nation alliance, led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and Africa that is telling the Western nations they will not buy their bonds or other “financial products.”

The Western nations, however, have prevented the creditor nations of the world from investing their earnings in trade with the West in buying real things, like multi-national corporations, in the West.

The result has been what appears to be a Mexican stand-off, with two people pointing guns at each other while sitting across from each other on a table.

However, in this case, time is on the side of the 147 nation alliance. The big problem for the West is that the Western nations have “out-sourced” most of their industrial infrastructure. These nations made the arrogant assumption that the rest of the world would make real stuff while the Western world gave them orders through the banks and other financial institutions.

Now they find though, the money being earned at Chinese or ASEAN export factories is not being spent on Western IOUs. The Chinese have been taking their dollars and spending them all over the world on “real” things like real-estate, commodities and factories. Other countries have begun to do the same.

What this means is that both the EU as a whole and the United States are bankrupt but are refusing to admit it.

In the case of the EU, the member countries have been announcing they will print “Euros” in order to get themselves out of their crisis. The problem, of course, is that the European central bank does not have the legal right to print Euros any more Euros.

There is a similar situation with the US.

Many readers, at this point, will object and say that both the US Federal Reserve Board and the European Central Bank have announced massive money printing schemes. The question is then, “where did all this money go?” The answer is that it was blocked every time.

Who is doing the blocking? The answer is the 147 nations that are tired of NATO mass murder and invasion. They can tell the Bank for International Settlements, the BIS, to block the money and they do.

In the case of the United States, a slightly different situation exists. The US is in deeper debt to the rest of the world than the European Union. So far, the Chinese have been keeping them going because a US trade deficit with China is in China’s long term geopolitical interested. The more US dollars they get that they can spend in Asia, Africa or South America (but not Europe and the US) the more friends and influence they get around the world.

The result already has been that Chinese are perceived by the rest of the world as arriving with bags of  money and business plans while Western nations arrive with guns and plans for mayhem. Guess who is losing and who is making friends in these circumstances(hint: not the Westerners).

The big blockage remains on Asians and other countries being allowed to spend their money in Europe and the US without impediment. If that becomes possible, Europeans and Americans will be hired in large quantities to engage is a massive campaign to end poverty, stop environmental destruction and start a new age.

SaLuSa July 16, 2012: We shall introduce the forgiveness of debt, as it is clearly the only way to enable every country and those individuals worst effected to recover and start anew

Our allies are being bold and you are seeing more evidence of their work to bring out the truth, and to put in action the long overdue plan to clear out the dark Ones. It shall continue and become more widespread, and it is revealing to us who amongst you are still under their influence. It is fear and favour that keeps others under their control, and we are intent on changing such situations. As you are also seeing, political parties from all over the world are revealing their true colours with little compassion or action to deal with the heavy burden being placed upon the people, resulting from the criminal activities within the banks. We shall introduce the forgiveness of debt, as it is clearly the only way to enable every country and those individuals worst effected to recover and start anew. That will come with new technologies and other innovations that will put your feet firmly in the New Age.

The Internet continues to be your best source of information, but people are still taken in by disinformation websites. Dear ones if the information they give does not ring true set it aside, and also if it advocates the use of violence it is certainly not of the Light. Stick to what you have found to be reliable and well tried and tested. In time you will not need as much reliance on the Internet as you do now, as it will not be too long before we can give our own broadcasts. Everything is ready for such advancements, and as usual it is a matter of timing. Your involvement in these matters is important, but if it became a necessity, we would go ahead alone as the changes must soon commence as planned. However, whatever situation comes up it presents no real problem to us, as we allow for all possibilities.

The issues that are presently expressed through religion, will need a complete re-assessment if you are ever to progress. On the one hand you do not necessarily need teachers as all knowledge is within, but because you have not been given the truth it will help to guide you onto the correct path. As it stands you are getting nowhere fast, and still bound by inaccuracies and absolute falsehoods. There are many decent and loving souls within the churches, and their true potential will not be released until they can break away from religious controls. Your time and energy will be better used furthering your own understanding. This is not to infer that all religious teachings are unhelpful, but they are confusing and misleading compared to the truth. You have freewill choice and it will be up to you to decide how your future development proceeds.

We come to you for many reasons and we make a point of informing you that we are all One. We may be from quite different civilisations and in some respects appear different to you, but like you we are experiencing life as you also do for your spiritual evolution. At a higher level there is no difference at all as we come from the same Source, but have simply elected to follow different paths. Like myself as a Sirian, quite a few of the Galactic Federation of Light members are directly linked with you, as you came to Earth from their civilisations to be of service. You will find that “service to others” are the key words once you move out of duality into the higher dimensions. We are One in all we do, not just for the millions upon millions of souls in the Universe, but for all life including the planets, as they also have a high level of consciousness. It is not without reason that you talk of the Earth as Mother Earth, and when you understand her role pay her due respect and gratitude for what she does for you.

There are many subjects that up to know [now] have not been fully explained, as there has to be an appropriate time when your level of consciousness is ready to receive advanced knowledge. It would be no good overloading your brain with material that was too far ahead of your present understanding. Up to now spiritual evolution has come slowly and allowed you through personal experience to integrate it into your understanding. These processes have however been speeded up to hasten your progress towards Ascension. It is because there are those amongst you who have moved ahead, and ready to go much further.

Duality has in some ways sorted out the wheat from the chaff, and we do not mean that in a derogatory way but there is great chasm between those who have advanced themselves, and those who have not. Clearly the time has come for the Ascension of those who are ready, and should no longer be held back. Having the intent to ascend is a start but it must continue with an expanding consciousness. Thus your vibrations are lifted up and as long as your sights are focused on bringing more Light to yourself, you are certain to be one who ascends. That opportunity has been open to every soul, and it is no disgrace if you have not yet reached that point. There is no limit to the time you can take to prepare yourself, and it would not be expected that everyone would reach the same level together. That is where your freewill comes in although you are naturally encouraged to raise your vibrations at every opportunity. As a group your experiences are not complete until the very last soul has returned.

You presently have no way of knowing what a marvellous achievement you have made in having overcome the attention of the dark Ones. They have tried every trick in the book to prevent you ascending and rising up again into the Light. It would be true to say that things were loaded against you, but that was by design and it was known that it would be hard going. However, it was also realised that if you won the battle your gains would be enormous. That Dear Ones is where you stand now, and have achieved a wonderful expansion of consciousness, that will remain with you. Not all ascended Beings have taken the same remarkable path as you have chosen. Now do you see why in your Universe you are looked upon as very special souls. It is not egotistical to accept such adulation, as you are entitled to give yourselves a pat on the back for your achievements.

I am SaLuSa from Sirius, and would confirm that as slow as events are unfolding they are nevertheless taking off, and will continue to escalate until the momentum proves to be unstoppable. We send our love to you Dear friends and fellow co-workers, because that is what you are.

Thank you SaLuSa.
Mike Quinsey.

Robert Fitzwilson explains Rothschild ponzi in less than 3 pages

A Clash Of Two Systems On A Global & Historic Scale

Today 40 year veteran, Robert Fitzwilson, wrote the following piece exclusively for King World News.  Fitzwilson is founder of The Portola Group, one of the premier boutique firms in the United States.  Here are Fitzwilson’s observations:

“One of the most interesting episodes in monetary history has to do with something called a tally stick.  In ancient times, tally sticks were typically pieces of wood, bone, stone or some other suitable material upon which notches were made to denote numbers and other items worthy of memory.  Over time, these tally sticks moved from the mere recording of information to functioning as money.”

“King Henry I of England wanted to maintain an iron fist on the creation and use of money within his realm, so he took tally sticks to a new level. Crafted out of squared and polished wood, he had notches carved into them denoting denominations.  The sticks were then split evenly down the middle.  He kept one half for his treasury and then distributed the other half to the inhabitants of his realm.

By requiring them to be used for the payment of taxes, he insured that the sticks would function as money….

Continue Reading at King World News…

Geithner now involved with LIBOR scandal

This should be no surprise to anyone, but now Reuters is reporting Geithner has been implicated via the publication of internal e-mails in the LIBOR interest rate rigging scandal.  The documentation, evidence and facts all seem to be cascading now to show the world who has been intimately involved in the manipulation of our reality…The question is, what will the resolution be? When does it end?

Bank of England says took Geithner Libor views on board

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) – The Bank of England confirmed on Friday it had received U.S. recommendations to overhaul the Libor benchmark at the heart of a global rate-rigging scandal, saying it had passed them on to the banking group responsible for the rate.

Documents obtained by Reuters earlier on Friday showed that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed the British central bank in June 2008 to make changes to the way that the widely used interest rate benchmark was set.

Geithner, who was the head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank at the time, sent a private email to BoE Governor Mervyn King recommending six ways to enhance the credibility of the London interbank offered rate.

The BoE passed on Geithner’s thoughts in an email to the British Bankers Association (BBA) – the banking group responsible for Libor – which at that stage had already decided to launch a review of the rate.

“Both the Bank and the Federal Reserve were assured by the BBA that it would take on board the recommendations, either through actions or through questions on which it would consult,” the BoE said in a news release.

More than a dozen banks are under investigation by authorities in Europe, Japan and the United States over suspected rigging of Libor, which is used in financial contracts worth hundreds of trillions of dollars globally.

The June 1, 2008 email, first reported by the Washington Post, included a two-page memo dated May 27 of that year that suggested establishing best practices for calculating Libor, “including procedures designed to prevent accidental or deliberate misreporting.”

It recommended the British Bankers’ Association require that auditors for banks reporting their borrowing costs for the calculation of Libor attest to the accuracy of their rates.

The New York Fed is due to release documents later on Friday that it has said will show it took “prompt action” four years ago to highlight problems with Libor.

Continue Reading…

US Attorneys General Jump On The Lieborgate Bandwagon; 900,000+ Lawsuits To Follow, And What Happens Next?

Source: ZeroHedge

The second Barclays announced its $450 million Libor settlement, it was all over – the lawyers smelled not only blood, but what may be the biggest plaintiff feeding frenzy of all time. Which is why it was only a matter of time: “State attorneys general are jumping into the widening scandal over whether banks tried to manipulate benchmark international lending rates, a move that could open a new front against the top global banks. A handful of state attorneys general said they are looking into whether they have jurisdiction over the banks, and are starting preliminary discussions to determine what kind of impact the conduct involving the Libor rate may have had in their states.”

From Reuters:

“Our office is aware of the allegations around the manipulation of the Libor, and we are working with other state agencies to determine whether Massachusetts has suffered any losses as a result,” a spokesman for Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said. A spokesman for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said his office is aware of the recent settlement reached by British bank Barclays with U.S. and UK authorities and “will look at the case to the extent that our office might have any jurisdiction in the matter.”

A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts transportation authority, MassDOT, said the agency “is actively investigating its portfolio for the purpose of determining if it was underpaid on its bonds due to the brewing Libor situation,” as are many other issuers of debt whose rate is governed by Libor.

Lawyers for several states have had early discussions about whether they might pool investigative resources and launch a broader, multi-state effort, but no formal consortium has been established yet, people familiar with the discussions said. New York might be expected to lead such an effort, since most of the banks’ U.S. operations are based there. A spokesman for the New York attorney general declined comment on whether the issue is being looked at.

Some municipalities, including the city of Baltimore, and funds including the Frankfurt-based Metzler Investment GmbH, which manages 47 billion euros ($59 billion) in assets, have already sued more than a dozen banks, arguing they were bilked of potentially billions of dollars.

How many potential lawsuits are we talking about here? Quite a bit in fact as the FT explains:

There are at least 900,000 outstanding US home loans indexed to Libor that were originated from 2005 to 2009, the period the key lending gauge may have been rigged, investigators have said. Those mortgages carry an unpaid principal balance of $275bn, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a bank regulator.

Also, as explained here before, not only is this a legal bonanza, but it will be a political feast for the Congressional circus to earn numerous C-SPAN brownie points.

“I think the US government should be just as aggressive in getting to the bottom of this scandal as the United Kingdom has been,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, chair of the bank regulatory subcommittee on the Senate banking committee.

“This was not isolated to London, but affected tens of millions of investors, borrowers and taxpayers in our country as well,” Mr Brown added.

What does the above mean?

Continue Reading to find out…

We don’t have the first amendment so we can talk about the weather, we have it so that we can talk about very controversial things

Sheldan Niddle July 10, 2012: “Money is merely a transitional tool between your present existence and the new one that is ready to manifest.”

I don’t always post Sheldan Niddle’s messages but this one really resonated today.  Specifically, Sheldan corroborates a lot of what Cobra said in my interview with him regarding the future role of money as our current socio-econonmic paradigm falls apart.  Before reading Sheldan’s channel, have a look at these quotes and try to see the forest through the trees.  It is quite clear we have a fork in the road regarding our financial system, one which could lead us into the darkest night of human history or into the golden age of peace and prosperity.

TGR – So do you have any direct intel on whether this gold is just going to back up some type of currency or are people going to start exchanging gold in the future?  And eventually, you know the progression would lead to a society without gold, correct?

COBRA – Yeah, when the new financial system is introduced, it will be an intermediary phase. and gold, most of this gold that was confiscated from humanity by the cabal and was not confiscated from the cabal by the positive forces, will not be on the open market.  It will be stored somewhere with other precious metals and things of that nature to back up the new system.  This new system will be in use only to the point where Humanity will be grown enough spiritually to live without money, which will be quite soon because after the cabal surrenders, there will be intense process of, I would say, disclosure of first contact with other positive races which will accelerate the evolution of humanity dramatically.

Click Here to revisit my exclusive interview with COBRA

TGR – And we would progress to the point where our productive capacity would make gold obsolete as a unit of exchange, is that accurate?

COBRA – Exactly, yes.  Because some advanced technologies can manifest or materialize anything at will, also Gold.  So, Gold will not have the same meaning as it has now.  We will go beyond the need to be fixated on any specific material object.  We will go beyond that.

Compare the above with what Sheldan says below:

The purpose of these detentions is to separate the dark cabal members from their positions of power and thus create an opportunity for corrupt banking and financial institutions to be reformed. This will be accompanied by across-the-board debt forgiveness. The ever-mounting debt of most nations is the result of massive spending, brought on by the political and fiscal policies of the cabal. What is needed is a means to rectify this, and debt forgiveness accomplishes this. It also sets the stage for the universal abundance that will quickly follow.

This abundance is the prime financial vehicle. It is necessary to raise up the expectations of a world that for too long believed in the supremacy of the few and the intractable poverty of the many. This belief is to be replaced by a new one. There is no need to be poor, or to accept lack and limitation as a given. Rather, you need to see that the wealth and freedom being provided is only a stepping-stone to a new level of Being. Higher levels of consciousness understand how to create and use money, and abundance ushers in this capability for all. Wealth ends poverty, but not poverty-thinking. Hence, we are to ensure that your new governance impresses upon you the need to rethink your perceptions about wealth and prosperity, and the fact that money is merely a transitional tool between your present existence and the new one that is ready to manifest. You will see that money per se is soon to disappear, as new technologies make it possible for all to obtain the basics for a comfortable life. Further, you will move from being job-oriented to passion-oriented.

Update by Sheldan Niddle for the Spiritual Hierarchy and the Galactic Federation

Dratzo! We come with much to tell you! Currently, our associates are preparing for the events we have been describing to you. The dark cabal is reeling from some major accusations that are reaching the mainstream media in a number of European nations. These accounts of wrongdoing include the daily fraud involved in setting the interest rates for most of your world. And yet these revelations are only the beginning of what is to follow. Your world is engulfed in a tide of ever-mounting debt that is the result of these self-serving activities, and it is for this and many other reasons that the dark ones have reached the end of their protracted rule upon your world. They have long withheld from you a wide range of advanced technologies and related appliances, and our Earth allies have insisted that one of the first acts of the new governance is to bring these discoveries into the limelight. These technologies can vault your societies forward to a point where first contact makes more sense. Added to our own technology, your now-suppressed devices can reveal to you how best to serve your planet and your fellow humanity.

This shift in consciousness by its very nature is tied to divine service. We humans are physical Angels whose primary purpose is to serve the multitudes of living stars and planets that make up our Milky Way Galaxy. We come from faraway worlds to set the stage for a first contact with you, which will be complete once you have transformed back into your fully conscious Selves. Only then can you begin to understand why you fell into limited consciousness in the first place, and how the wisdom garnered there can assist you to create Light Bodies for the denizens of the formerly dark empires of Anchara. This is a venerable task which requires your unique wisdom and your infinite reservoirs of Love. The Agarthans realize that once you return to full consciousness there is much you can teach them, and they look forward to coming together with you to form a great star-nation. This new entity is to secure a galactic peace and make it possible to move nearly half the galaxy into the Light. It will be a time for carrying out divine prophecy!

These present moments lead up to a series of events which will change your world forever. Those who are to arrest certain individuals in your society are being prepared by various procedures that are reaching their formal conclusion. The heads of state of several western nations are being made aware that their resignations will shortly be expected and we are poised to use our technology to ensure that these detentions proceed exactly as planned. The purpose of these detentions is to separate the dark cabal members from their positions of power and thus create an opportunity for corrupt banking and financial institutions to be reformed. This will be accompanied by across-the-board debt forgiveness. The ever-mounting debt of most nations is the result of massive spending, brought on by the political and fiscal policies of the cabal. What is needed is a means to rectify this, and debt forgiveness accomplishes this. It also sets the stage for the universal abundance that will quickly follow.

This abundance is the prime financial vehicle. It is necessary to raise up the expectations of a world that for too long believed in the supremacy of the few and the intractable poverty of the many. This belief is to be replaced by a new one. There is no need to be poor, or to accept lack and limitation as a given. Rather, you need to see that the wealth and freedom being provided is only a stepping-stone to a new level of Being. Higher levels of consciousness understand how to create and use money, and abundance ushers in this capability for all. Wealth ends poverty, but not poverty-thinking. Hence, we are to ensure that your new governance impresses upon you the need to rethink your perceptions about wealth and prosperity, and the fact that money is merely a transitional tool between your present existence and the new one that is ready to manifest. You will see that money per se is soon to disappear, as new technologies make it possible for all to obtain the basics for a comfortable life. Further, you will move from being job-oriented to passion-oriented.

Blessings! We are your Ascended Masters! We come to you with a progress report. It is essential that the dark cabal and its myriad henchmen be isolated from you. Until this is accomplished, it is almost impossible to deliver your prosperity without dire consequences. This is why we have begun to implement a plan to isolate them, and once this is done, to take them into custody. You most definitely need a proper physical separation from those who continue to intend you harm. Each one whose name appears on the very long arrest lists are having their auric field ‘marked,’ and this temporarily prevents them further seriously damaging the planet or you. However, these dark ones also need to be physically restrained by the proper authorities. We are now completing the procedures that can deliver what is required. We ask you to add your great Loving energies to what we are doing as the time for your liberation is at hand!

Indeed, the blessed waves of Angels and the local Administrative Councils of Heaven are acting to bring about your liberation. For eons the dark has fostered a group of disembodied dark energies that have inhabited the Earth realm and caused all manner of mischief. These energies are concentrated in particular spots around your globe and our galactic friends are removing this negativity, which is clearing the way for all to move into the Light. We are assisting, and joining with our Inner Earth family to help in freeing Gaia from this muck. We can report that we have nearly finished this job. The cabal realizes that its powers are weakening, and the time comes to transform this magnificent world back into the beacon of Light that it was when Lemuria was founded some 900,000 years ago.

Every one of us knows the necessity of completing the liberation of surface humanity in right divine time. We have asked our galactic and Inner Earth families to do what is deemed necessary to deliver you from your bondage to the dark. Those in the various sacred societies that dot our planet are also doing all they can, with divine intelligence, to finish their projects in right divine time. Heaven and the Light remain in charge. The divine time that you are presently in is collapsing into a single time-reality, and this reality is wholly of the Light. The dark comprehends fully what is taking place, and can only delay this for a short span of cosmic time. You are close to the transition point when this dark-controlled surface world morphs into a realm of Light, Abundance, and full consciousness! Hence the dark knows that its time of dominion over you is truly over.

Today, we reviewed the activities that are transitioning your reality to the Light. It is also a time for disclosure and first contact. Be ready for some immense changes and for announcements that will change for the better how you view life on planet Earth. We will soon have a most wonderful celebration! Know, dear Ones, that the countless Supply and never-ending Prosperity of Heaven are indeed Yours! So Be It! Selamat Gajun! Selamat Ja! (Sirian for Be One! and Be in Joy!)

Jean Marie Eveillard: “Elites are discredited…They will end up hanging a few.”

Source: King World News

Today legendary value investor, Jean Marie Eveillard, told KWN that elites throughout the world are discredited.  Eveillard, who oversees $50 billion at First Eagle Funds, also said, “The implications (if the trend continues) would be a chaotic or semi-chaotic period.  If the economy does not recover, in what would appear to be a sustainable manner, then the politicians will be under pressure to take very unusual steps.”

He also discussed the gold market, but first, here is what Eveillard had to say about the danger elites and bankers are facing:  “Elites are discredited, not just in the US but throughout the world, including possibly in China if the economy there continues to do poorly.  And it’s not just government elites, it’s also business elites, particularly financial elites in many countries, including the US, the bankers and the like.  They will end up hanging a few.  I suppose I’ll be spared because I’m too old.”

Continue Reading…

Audit the Fed bill headed to the House Floor!

Last week supporters of Federal Reserve transparency had a major victory when the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform passed my Audit the Fed bill, HR 459 unanimously with all major audit provisions intact.  This clears the way for a House floor vote expected sometime in late July, and with a whopping 263 cosponsors, the chances of it passing have never looked better!  This is an unprecedented opportunity for transparency into how the currency of the United States is handled, and mishandled by the Federal Reserve.  It is more important than ever that my colleagues in the House and Senate understand what this legislation does and why it is so important.

The Federal Reserve is an enormously destructive and unaccountable force in both the U.S. economy and the greater global economy. Federal Reserve policies affect average Americans far more than fiscal, spending, and tax policies legislated by Congress; indeed the Fed “spends” more than Congress when it creates trillions of new dollars on its balance sheet to bail out favored financial institutions.

For several decades the Fed has relentlessly increased the supply of U.S. dollars (both real and electronic) and kept interest rates artificially low. These monetary policies punish thrift, erode the value of savings, and harm older Americans living on fixed incomes and the poor. The Fed’s expansion of the money supply, combined with artificially low interest rates, creates destructive cycles of malinvestment. This results in housing, stock market, and employment booms and busts that destroy lives.

While the Fed was created by Congress, current law prohibits Congress from fully auditing the Fed’s monetary policy – the Fed actions that impact Americans the most. The Fed’s financial statements are audited annually, but the Fed’s monetary policy operations are exempt from audit. Congress’ investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), currently is prohibited by law from examining discount window and open market operations; agreements with foreign governments and central banks; and Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) directives. It is precisely this information that should be made public.

The audit mandated in the Dodd-Frank Act focused solely on emergency credit programs, and only on procedural issues rather than focusing on the substantive details of the lending transactions. Most of the data on its other activities, such as open market operations and discount window lending, have only been published as a result of lawsuits—not because of Congressional action.  Dodd-Frank requires this information to be disclosed going forward, but with a two year time lag and with GAO restricted to auditing only the procedural components of any programs. H.R. 459 grants GAO and Congress access without special exemptions and ensures that ALL of the Fed’s lending actions will be subject to oversight.

Also, given the Fed’s establishment of dollar swap agreements with foreign central banks (which lent up to $600 billion at a time in 2008), and the increasing economic uncertainty surrounding Spain, Greece and the European Union, the Fed’s continued financial assistance to Europe should not be exempt from public accountability and Congressional oversight. H.R. 459 brings transparency to the Fed’s agreements with the European Central Bank and other foreign entities.

H.R. 459 does not limit the focus of the audit, making a full audit finally possible. An entity that controls the value and purchasing power of the dollar should not be permitted to operate in the dark without oversight by Congress and accountability to the people. The Fed needs transparency and H.R. 459 would provide it. We now have this opportunity to ensure solid passage of HR 459 on the House floor, then the Senate floor and have it promptly signed into law.

Japanese machinery orders plunge 14.8%

ZeroHedge

Japan Machinery Orders Implode As Global Economy Grinds To A Halt

Japan’s core machinery orders were expected to post a modest -2.6% drop. Instead they had a worse collapse than anything seen in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, plunging by a stunning 14.8% . And the kick in the groin cherry on top was the current account surplus plunged by 62.6%: consensus forecast: -14.5%. The Japanese economy has once again ground to a halt, only this time it has no earthquake or nuclear explosion to blame. This time it is the entire world’s fault, where demand has collapsed proportionately. As a reminder the BOJ expanded its QE yet again on April 27. Must be time for another QE because this time will certainly be different after more than 30 years of failures.  It is time for those brilliant central planners Ph.D’s to do engage in more of the same insanity that Einstein warned about decades ago. And incidentally this is not a joke: on Thursday the BOJ is expected to ease yet again. As a reminder, the BOJ already buys ETFs, Corporate Bonds, and REITs. What’s left: gold?

Continue Reading…