Kerry Lutz's--Financial Survival Network

Jeff Bell is a Republican Insider who's been around a long time. A speech writer, strategist, consultant, author and candidate, he's seen it all. Now he's challenging New Jersey's Corey Booker for United States Senate. His main issue is adopting the Gold Standard to prevent further debasement of the Dollar and society; what a novel concept. He has our vote, although we stopped voting long ago. Listening to Jeff, you'd think he was a Libertarian, although he claims not to be. He's for small government and ending deficit spending and out of control government. We don't care what he calls himself, heck he could call himself a Democrat or a Communist, it really doesn't matter; his policies are what count and he's coming up aces with us. 

Would you believe that New York City is paying over $14 million per year to store the property of the homeless. It's paid over $200,000 since 2006 to store the items of Andrea Logan, a suspected hoarder. She's got 11 units that run the City $3500 per month in fees. The average homeless person costs the City nearly $1500 per month in storage costs. The world has truly gone nuts.

If you want to have a good laugh, take a look at the reviews of Andrew Cuomo's latest book, All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life.

They're quite hysterical and are quaranteed to lift your spirits. Over 500 one start reviews will keep you in stitches and even the 5 star reviews are not exactly enamored with Cuomo's writing skills. The reviews are so bad they're actually starting to make news. 

Also gold has hit Charles Nenner's buy signal and silver is almost there. Take it for what it's worth. 

John Rubino stopped by for our Monday discussion. IBM's disappointing earnings point to trouble on Wall Street. Perhaps it's time to buy back a few hundred million more shares. There's always a solutions for poor fundamentals, they've been doing it for years. Eventually the piper is going to have to be paid and it's not going to be a pretty site when the check comes due. 

Has "it" begun?

Signs everywhere…

 -third Chinese "backdoor QE" announcement in two months Friday

 -heightened chatter of increased BOJ stock purchases

 -European stocks plunging despite QE having started.  Major Western sovereigns (even France, which had its outlook downgraded to negative by S&P last week) plunging to all-time lows…but PIIGS stocks and bonds collapsing, led by Greece (Athens stock index down 30% since April, and Greek 10-year yields up 200 bps last week)

 -EU manufacturing, industrial production, sentiment plummeting, led by Germany - clearly in continent-wide recession, and falling quickly

 -U.S. retail sales, industrial production plummeting.  NFLX, WMT major earnings announcments last week, and IBM earnings catastrophe today

 -Aritcle - "need or want, demand is dying"

Last week's market carnage, PPT not withstanding, was horrific

                -vast majority of stocks in bear markets

                -volatility surged, at times overwhelming "manipulation organizations" like the PPT, Fed, and ESF

                -dollar index not "strong" last week b/c down vs. Euro, but continued to wreak havoc by surging against peripheral currencies

 -Article - "the single most bullish PM factor imaginable"

-biggest one-day percentage drop in Treasury history Wednesday morning, when 10-year plunged from 2.2% to 1.9% in an hour (en route to Japanese and German levels sub 1%, before hyperinflation inevitably destroys them)

 -Article - "most damning proof yet of QE failure"

 -commodities continue to crash, as well as all indicators of global trade

 -Articles - "Commodity Crash! (but don't worry, gold and silver are not commodities), "Crashing Oil prices portend unspeakable horrors"

Fed desperate to maintain calm

-Six Fed governors hinted at "QE and/or ZIRP to Infinity" last week, including Vice Chairman S. Fischer

-"coincidentally," five are on the 2015 FOMC voting committee, while the two biggest "hawks" (Plosser and R. Fisher) will be departing

- crucial FOMC meeting 10/29, when QE supposedly ends, just six days before critical mid-term elections (with both Presidential and Congressional approval ratings at all-time lows)

                                - Article - "Manipulation, Jawboning, and Prayer"

                                - of course, this is all that matters

PM fundamentals never stronger, with record physical demand for both metals

 -for silver specifically, best risk/reward in history

 -demand in India, the U.S., and Canada on pace to match 2014's record levels

Dan Freed of theStreet.com discusses how the big banks earn their profits. There's a number of areas besides bounced check fees and nickeling and diming you wherever they can. Business loans, M&A activity, stock buy loans, etc. Mortgage demand is down right now, but Uncle Sam is taking steps to remedy that situation now. But the big banks are always on the look out for new and creative ways to increase their bottom lines, and increase the potential for catastrophic losses. 

Craig Lack wrote the book on how to survive and thrive under Obamacare. As we get closer to the election, for now small business has been spared the full effects of the law. The net result will be paying more for less coverage. This means that it is up to every individual to take responsibility for their own health. That means making diet and lifestyle changes to minimize the chances of illness. If everyone in the country made these changes, there would be no health care crisis. Medical costs would drop by 80 percent! 

John Manfreda stopped by today for a discussion about precious metals and oil. He believes, as many do, that oil prices are deliberately being manipulated downward to injure Russia, Iran and Venezuela. For now, it appears to be working, but it's hurting the American Energy Sector too. How much longer can it go on for? Precious metals may have put in a bottom, we'll know shortly. Probably a good buying opportunity. 

Jake Shannon is a high-functioning polymath with successes across a broad domain of endeavors. He is currently a highly sought after comedy hypnotist, performing for corporate and private events. He is also interim Chief Financial Officer for Gatemaster Systems, a software company based in the Bay Area. 

A veteran entrepreneur with experience in start-up and early stage venture formation, he has founded a number of businesses in domains including web publishing, media production and rights management ventures, and coaching. He hosted The Jake Shannon Radio Show on Utah's AM630 K-Talk before walking away to focus on writing and performing. He is the author of seven books and frequently appears on both radio and television. 

You'll enjoy his approach to getting ahead in life and finding your purpose and achieving it. Comments are always welcomed at khl@kerrylutz.com.

Aaron Clarey a/k/a Captain Capitalism just returned from his first trip to Europe. He was not overly impressed, for a number of reasons. He was happy to be back in the once free US of A. He's currently writing a book on ending black poverty in America. Interestingly, the fastest growing demographic to his podcast and blog is Hispanic and African-American. They understand that the welfare state promises nothing but a permanent state of dependency and failed dreams. Aaron on the other hand, helps people breakout of dependency and realize their dreams. Expect the book to be controversial and fun, typical hallmarks of his books. 

Rob Kirby joined us today for an intense look at the financial chaos taking place across the globe. The situation is getting worse by the day as The Powers That Be contine to lose control over the markets. As Rob said there isn't one market left that's performing its basic price discovery functions without constant interference from the Central Bank Cabal. The pressures are building and eventually it's all going to blow apart. Until that day arrives we're going to see increasing instability and ever more manipulation. 

Emeka Iwenofu has had a rocky road in life and he wouldn't have it any other way. His challenges have set the path for his successes. His Miracle Trilogy has received accolades from all over the world. And while it's not always easy to get your words down on paper, Emeka always triumphs. His books are classics and will sell for many years. Be one of the first 10 people to sign up for our newsletter and send a screenshot to khl@kerrylutz.com and we'll send you a free hard copy of his latest book Mandi’s Miracle.

Never before have quasi-omnipotent financial gods had so few powers. A lot is being written about central bank policies now as the Federal Reserve ends its primary quantitative easing (QE) program and the limitations of central bank easing become increasingly apparent in Europe and Japan. Markets across the globe are in utter turmoil. Oil is down, the dollar is up and chaos is breaking out all over. What's next? 

Robert Ian has been preparing people for change for decades. When we started warning people about what was going to happen after the 2008-09 collapse, we weren't speaking as gold bugs. Rather we were looking back at history and the way that all fiat monetary systems eventually imploded. For the past 3 years, the powers that be kept close control over all world markets, especially precious metals. It tended to make those of us advocating purchase of precious metals look silly or like stopped clockers.  Now that might be ending, but even it's not, the final result can never be in doubt. 

Denis J. Burke came to America from Ireland in 1986 seeking to become extremely wealthy. He succeeded and he knows that you can too, if you follow what he's written in the book. It's a collection of quotes, ideas, song lyrics, poems, stories, tips, suggestions, and knowledge from personal experience, which he has accumulated over the past 50 years. The goal of 88 Keys to a Better Life is to humor, inform, educate, motivate and inspire you to Live a Better Life by identifying the areas of your life where you need to improve, and take the necessary action to Design your Dream Life.

Mark Skousen says that 2015's Freedomfest promises to be the greatest of them all. Economics Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman will be debating Wall Street Journal Columnist Stephen Moore. Mark should be selling tickets to this one, but it's included in the price of admission. Krugman is the one who says that the Fed hasn't printed enough money and we shouldn't be bothering with things like tax cuts and reducing government waste and employment. I promise to be there and to report back. Heck, maybe I'll even sit down with Krugman and find out if he thinks that savings is evil and gold is a barbaric relic. 

Former Congressman John LeBoutillier discusses the prospects for the November elections. Looks like the Republicans have a good shot at taking over the Senate, in spite of themselves. A couple of surprises though, they stand to lose seats in Kansas and South Dakota, but you never know. But what will they do if they take control of both houses of congress? 

Steven John was living in the US and decided he wanted a change. He picked up and moved to Mexico and has been living there happily for the last couple of years. He's been trading during that time, partly as a hobby and to make extra income. He tells us what happens when the markets get slammed like they have in the past week. There's virtually no way to avoid substantial losses, unless you work for a Too Big To Fail Bank. But at least his health insurance is cheap, taxes are low and the weather is great. 

Jason and I cover the latest economic and real estate trends. There's a lot going on and no one knows exactly where things are headed. Will interest rates go higher? Will gold and silver start rising again? And is real estate a good bet under these circumstances? There's also a contest for three tickets to attend Jason's Meet the Masters of Income Property Investing a $1497 value!

Bob Hoye, master market historian, was with us today to discuss what's going on with the share markets and with the commodity markets, as well as gold and silver. Of course no such discussion could be complete without talking about the US Dollar. While reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated, Bob was looking for it to hit 85 and it did a little bit better. Now it's pulling back a bit and we'll have to see if this is temporary or long term. But it's doing nothing out of the ordinary as this has happened in prior credit busts many times before, where the reserve currency always does well for a time anyway. 

John writes. A rising stock market, like a rising tide, can cover a multitude of interesting and/or scary things. The thinking seems to be that if the finance guys who really know what’s going on are buying, then the disturbing stories that lead each evening’s news must be manageable. So, in general, we’re okay.

But let the market fall a bit and those headlines suddenly begin to seem both oppressive and really, really numerous. And maybe we’re not okay after all. To take just a few of the issues that, in the wake of the recent equity correction, now loom large:

Islamic State, the tiny band of religious crazies that the US armed to do its bidding in the Syrian civil war is now threatening to take Baghdad, capital of Iraq and home to a US embassy that will live forever in the annals of hubristic excess. Actually a small, self-contained city, the embassy contains all kinds of sensitive equipment, documents and personnel, and will be defended with (thousands of) boots on the ground if an Islamic State victory appears imminent — which it now seems to be. In other words, we’re getting ready to dump another trillion or so dollars into the hole where we previously dumped two trillion with nothing to show for it but chaos.

Manipulation Mondays with Andrew Hoffman:

 - Last week, Andy wrote "2008, with one temporary exception" - which was PPT support of the U.S. stock market

 -now, breaking down horribly, which is why I think the title of my audioblog last Wednesday, "Has 'it' Begun?" is apropos.

 -European stock markets collapsing, small cap U.S. stocks, and ALL Western sovereign yields, with 10-year Treasury at 2.25% this morning and 30-year below 3.0%. i.e., the "most damning proof yet of QE failure."

Head of Shanghai Futures Exchange admitted this weekend that Chinese gold demand was above 2,000 tonnes in 2013, compared to global production of 2,770 tonnes.

 -validates record gold demand, and likely silver demand estimates as well.  Both are likely at or near 2013 levels this year, and early October U.S. Mint Silver Eagle sales at fastest pace of year.

France outlook downgraded by S&P- PIIGS (or PIFIGS, with France) on verge of 2011-12 collapse, even with Draghi doing "whatever it takes."  Worse yet, Draghi fighting the Germans tooth and nail on the extent of QE - and without it, Europe implodes NOW.

Commodities collapsing, will have dire economic ramifications on mining/energy industry - and production; particularly in mining, where care of Cartel suppression, Capex is already down 50% in past two years, enroute to much lower levels in 2014.  PM mining industry on verge of collapse, IMO.

Geopolitical risks exploding, particularly in Iraq, where Kirkuk oil field within reach of ISIS, as well as Baghdad and key areas in Syria.  Iraqi government begging for 10,000 U.S. ground troops.

- plunging oil prices will only cause signficantly expanded tensions with Russians and Arabs.

Martin Armstrong's commentary about the coming divergence point was on ZeroHedge today. He says that society can go either way, Mad Max or not. I guess it's all in the cycles, but what can you say about the master forecaster? One thing for certain, he has called the current markets better than anyone else around. Just look at the dollar. And he says that if interest rates go up in the US, then there's going to be serious capital flight out of Asia. But getting back to the Mad Max scenario, what happens when government stops sending out the checks? What happens when the EBT cards no longer work at Walmart or your local supermarket? And not just here in the US, but in the rest of the civilized western "democracies?" Will it be Annie get your gun? Or will something greater and unimaginable occur, an expansion of human consciouness? Only Martin knows for sure. 

Lowell Ponte and Craig Smith have released a new book in their epic series, Don't Bank On It:  The Unsafe World of 21st Century Banking. They show you why it has become illogical, and hazardous to your wealth, to trust your money to today's increasingly vulnerable and unsafe banks.

Banks (as we know them) and the U.S. Dollar are dying as we are pulled into the rising "cashless society" where everything, from your digital "money" to your household appliances, will be Internet-controllable and hackable, as well as trackable and taxable by bloated governments desperate for ever-more revenue.

Smith and Ponte propose a surprising alternative future you can bank on, based in part on what a Harvard economics professor did with his own near-million-dollar bank account. This book shows ways to save your savings.

Call now to get your free copy 1-800-630-1494.

Rick E. Norris is a CPA and a JD. He's worked with people who couldn't make ends meet who were making $20,000 and $20 million per year. Their situation was the same, it wasn't an income problem, it was a spending problem. Creating a budget is the first step to fiscal sanity. The second is learning to live with it. After that things get remarkably easier and better. Rick's a numbers guy with a personality. He understands that people want to indulge, but helps keep them on the path. 

We talked with Jerry Robinson of FTMDaily.com fame. He's getting very concerned about the safety of the banking system after the JP Morgan data breach, where information was stolen on over 83 million people. The bank spends $250 million per year on computer security and yet they were powerless to stop it. Perhaps it's time to put your money in several banks. Jerry also believes that we're close to a buy signal in precious metals. Of course we've all heard this many times over the past three years, but this time really could be different, what with wars breaking out across the globe, pandemics and a lousy economy to boot.