Dear Extended Family,

First I told you “This Is It!” and clearly this is, in fact, it.

I have demonstrated to you that there is no practical solution to this gathering of problems caused by unbridled greed and the lack of regulation to facilitate it.

Now I am telling you that it is “Slipping Out Of Control”

Attempts to use tools that have no practical power to cure the problem are pushing the problem over the hill.

In the Weimar Republic the great plan to depreciate the currency in order to depreciate war reparations written in it was to let it “get out of control.” The currency began a march to zero and gold therefore went to infinity in terms of that currency.

I do not expect such a situation percentage wise. I pray the situation that is now “Slipping Out Of Control” does not go to such ends. The Weimar case study however is a duplicate of today’s conditions.

All you need to do is replace the words “war reparations” from the Weimar case study with “over the counter derivative meltdown in credit and default derivatives” and you have a similar situation in economic history to which you can compare today.

Gold is going to a minimum of $1650.

Every category of gold shares will participate, with many substantially outperforming gold as shorts are forced to cover.

“This is it” and it is “Slipping Out Of Control.”

Eliminate as many intermediaries between you and your assets. Own the Swiss and Cando treasury instruments. Have at least 1/3 of your liquid net assets in gold and precious metals shares. For some it will be more.

Under no circumstances use margin.

Hard assets are about to make their entrance onto the stage of the establishment equity investors.

Before you go opt for a gold ETF read the original prospectus thoroughly.

Do not try and save the world. The world will think you are crazy and get annoyed. You can only protect yourselves. The saddest thing is Joe Six Pack is LOST, sacrificed on the sick altar of greed.

Regards,
Jim

Federal Reserve gives emergency help to Wall Street Banks
Larry Elliott, economics editor
Friday March 7 2008

Pure coincidence. That was the message from the Federal Reserve as it made the announcement that it was giving emergency help to Wall Street banks, just as dreadful employment numbers were announced.

If you believe that, as the saying goes, you will believe anything. The Fed knew about the fall in non-farm payrolls, knew what the reaction of the financial markets would be, and took pre-emptive action. The impact, though, was short-lived.
Wall Street has a touching faith in the omniscience and the omnipotence of the Fed, but it is not quite that gullible. So what is the explanation for the Fed's action?

There are three points to bear in mind. The first is that today's employment report is the clearest indication yet that the US economy is in recession, with the slump in the housing market spreading to other sectors.

The second is that the credit crunch has entered a new and potentially even more dangerous phase. Despite cuts in the Fed funds rates, interest rates paid by companies and individual borrowers have been rising as credit has become scarcer and, as a result, more expensive.

The Fed funds rate has been slashed from 5.25% last summer to 3% today — and will be cut again on March 19, but the fear is that the US central bank is, as Keynes once put it, pushing on a piece of string.

More…