Peak Prosperity

How to Store Fuel Long Term

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:07:56 -0400

Some wonderful tips and advise on how to store fuel safely and effectively for times of need.

http://www.theprepperjournal.com/2013/05/23/avoid-the-lines-how-to-store-fuel-long-term/

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Reality-Check Time

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:28:19 -0400

Let's take a quick break from detailed analysis for a moment and zoom up to the birds-eye view.

What motivates us to spend time here at PeakProsperity.com?

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Daily Digest 5/24 - Scandals And Economic Disasters, Toxic Rice Causes Concern In China

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:47:07 -0400

Elizabeth Warren Grills Treasury Secretary on Too Big to Fail
Thanks To QE Bernanke Has Injected Foreign Banks With Over $1 Trillion In Cash For First Time Ever
Hyperinflation – 10 Worst Cases
1/3 of Canadians live paycheque to paycheque, survey suggests
Scandals & Economic Disasters
Greek Prostitution Soars By 150% As Youth Unempoyment Hits 75% In Some Areas
Venezuela aims to end toilet paper shortage
Will It Be Inflation Or Deflation? The Answer May Surprise You
Harvard Economist: 'The Crisis Isn't Over in the US or Europe'
Stockholm riots throw spotlight on Swedish inequality
Tax avoidance: Developing countries take on multinationals
Straw bale homes for LILAC co-housing residents
Toxic Rice Causes Concern In China
Siblings' Victoria company boosts shellfish sector with algae-producing reactor

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How to Prepare Your Woodburner for the Heating Season

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:11:49 -0400

In the Pioneer days, it was a tradition/ritual to take the stove out to the shop, disassemble it, clean everything to like new condition, replace any worn parts or hardware, reassemble everything, and apply a new coat of stove black prior to reinstalling the whole thing. Even in today's faster paced world, this is still the optimum approach. Below is a list of maintenance steps and considerations to get the most out of your wood-based heating system and keep it safe and operating properly when you go to use it next.

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7 Amazing Unknown Uses for Aspirin

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:06:31 -0400

From bug bites to helping your car battery get one last turn crank, it is wise to keep this inexpensive medication on hand for when you need it. Also a good time to review what medications you might be allergic to and record it for later reference.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/bizarre/news-7-amazing-secrets-about-aspirin | Order Aspirin on Amazon

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Off the Cuff: The Turning of the Tide?

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:17:54 -0400

In this week's Off the Cuff podcast, Chris and Charles discuss:

Bubbles Everywhere
- How worried should we be?
Shaky Sovereigns
- Will Japan or Europe stumble first? (looks like Japan)
Gold's Gilded Future
- Down for all the wrong reasons
Cui bono?
- Who is reaping the gains of the current market monkeying?

This is a must-listen Off the Cuff episode given the events of the past 24 hours.

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Daily Digest 5/23 - Big Wind’s Trail Of Wings, Living Buildings For Tomorrow's Cities

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:22:00 -0400

Gold ETFs Are Liquidating By The Ton
Schizophrenic investors expect slump: bet on boom
Clients Denied Gold At Major Banks As Shortage Intensifies
Thanks To QE Bernanke Has Injected Foreign Banks With Over $1 Trillion In Cash For First Time Ever
Gramm and McMillin: The Debt Problem Hasn't Vanished
Want to Save the Environment? Build More Cities
Republic of Ireland calls for international tax action
US Treasury secretary says he has begun tapping federal retiree pension fund to avoid default
Millions falling into poverty in recession-racked Italy: report
Seven Ways Today's Economy Is Like The NHL Playoffs
PBS Killed Wisconsin Uprising Documentary "Citizen Koch" To Appease Koch Brothers
Court upholds B.C. mining company’s use of temporary foreign workers from China
Big Wind’s trail of wings
Living buildings for tomorrow’s cities
Food swapping: The movement taking off in the UK

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DIY Fly Trap

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:17:48 -0400

An easy project to help reduce those pesky flies around the house, in the backyard, and around the chicken coop.

http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/06/got-flies-heres-idea-for-diy-fly.html

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Daily Digest 5/22 - Hard Times In Vallejo, Class Of 2013 Has Largest Debt Ever

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:39:00 -0400

Bankia compensation qualms signal loss of faith in Spain's banks
IMF says Washington cutting budget deficits too quickly
Cleveland will double red-light cameras
China Starts Unit to Diversify Reserves From U.S. Debt, WSJ Says
In post-bankruptcy Vallejo, services few, times hard
Class of 2013 has largest debt ever
Officials tinker with lights, produce more ticket fines (Florida)
Chicago-area pension funding gap jumps to $32 billion: report
ICE Joins CME Warning of Splits in Global Derivatives Rules ($633 trillion)

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Protect Your Wealth in Advance of the Bubble's Bursting

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:10:16 -0400

Executive Summary

Corporate junk bonds: All-time highs
Equities: All-time highs in Germany and U.S.
Other equities: Spiking upwards (Japan, Greece, Australia)
Margin Debt: Second highest on record
Excuses: Consistent with bubble territory
Timing: When reality will likely express itself

If you have not yet read Part I: Four Signs That We're Back in Dangerous Bubble Territory, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.

In Part I, we discussed four signs that we are in bubble territory – in both stocks and bonds – plus all of the usual rationalizations that accompany bubbles. In truth, there are many more signs which we'll discuss further here, and I want to go deeper into the data exploring the warning signs in the equity and bond markets.

I want to spend time cataloging and explaining my reasoning because when bubbles burst, it's traumatic for everyone, but especially those that aren't prepared.

Further, these bubbles are so large that it's useful to employ historical analogues to weigh them against and parse for clues as to just how bad developments could get.

The Big Picture

What we do at Peak Prosperity is track the big picture. We look at the macro risks and trends, and try to figure out what's coming next. Over the long haul. we have very little doubt that several decades of debt accumulation partnered with structurally higher oil prices will result in anything other than reduced standards of living for most people.

And that’s if everything goes smoothly.

At the other end of the spectrum lies the potential for currency, political, and fiscal crises, the likes of which have never been seen before, given the global nature of the situation.

Leaving oil prices aside for the moment, in purely economic terms, living beyond one’s means now necessitates living below one’s means later on. Whether that period of negative adjustment is the same length and depth, shorter and deeper, or longer and shallower is open to question. But I'm leaning towards ‘shorter and deeper’ because history shows that bubbles tend to burst more rapidly than they form.

That is, we could view this as a bubble in financial assets, particularly credit (debt), but we could just as easily view it as a bubble in living standards. We overdid things and now it's just a question of figuring out who is going to eat the losses. Historically, that answer has always been 'the little people,' but today we have dropped such disparaging terms in favor of the more politically palatable 'taxpayers.'

To understand the current predicament, the most important chart to look at is the ratio of total national debt to GDP (debt-to-income)...

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Four Signs That We're Back in Dangerous Bubble Territory

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:09:54 -0400

As the global equity and bond markets grind ever higher, abundant signs exist that we are once again living through an asset bubble – or rather a whole series of bubbles in a variety of markets. This makes this period quite interesting, but also quite dangerous.

With equity and bond markets at or near all-time record highs, with all financial assets consistently shrugging off bad – or worse – news as the riskiest of assets continue to find consistent upward bids, we find ourselves in familiar and bubbly territory.

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DIY Solar Foundry

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:22:29 -0400

Learn how to build a solar foundry and take full advantage of the sun's power.

http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/diy-solar-foundry-reaches-temperatures-3800-degrees-farenheit.html

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Preparing for Economic Collapse

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:14:21 -0400

We bring back to the forefront an article from contributor Fernando "FerFAL" Aguirre. With the many new sources of turbulence in the financial system and many new unknowns of how our predicaments will play out, we can always look to the past for guidance. The following is an account from a long time Peak Prosperity member who has lived through economic collapse. FerFAL experienced the hyperinflationary destruction of Argentina's economy in 2001 and continues to blog about his experiences and observations of its lingering aftermath. His website and his book Surviving the Economic Collapse offer windows into the probable outcomes to expect during a collapsing economy. Note: Our site's What Should I Do? Guide offers specific guidance relevant to a number of the steps FerFAL recommends below. Review, Learn, and Get Prepared. Better a year early than a day late.

How can I prepare for an economic collapse? is one of the most common questions I get. It usually takes me a second to start to explain how complex such a question is. It’s like asking an auto mechanic, Say, how do you build a car? or asking a computer engineer, What’s all that stuff inside my laptop?

I do have some first-hand experience in this matter, though. The economy in my country, Argentina, has gone through various crises, but none as large as when the economy collapsed in 2001 after a decade of apparent prosperity. The currency devaluated, and Argentina defaulted on its USD$132 billion debt, the largest default ever. The middle class took to the streets after bank accounts were frozen, and the president was forced to resign, escaping the presidential building in a helicopter.

What I’ll do is provide five quick foundational steps, based on what I know, for you to follow so as to be better prepared if something like what happened in my country ever happens in yours.

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Daily Digest 5/21 - Tornado Strikes OK Suburbs, How Reliable is the IEA’s Forecast?

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:57:52 -0400

Glimpsing The Hereafter 2
Gold & Silver Price Subject To Greediness Of Traders
Welcome To The Real Space Age
Japan’s New Optimism Has Name: Abenomics
Energy and Economic Growth: Interview with Mark Thoma
How Reliable is the IEA’s Oil Market Forecast?
Indication of anomalous heat energy production in a reactor device containing hydrogen loaded nickel powder
Tornado Strikes Oklahoma City Suburbs

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Are the Predominant Macro Trends About to Reverse?

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:29:24 -0400

I felt a great disturbance in the Force

-- Obi-Wan Kenobi

If you've been watching the precious metals closely – what a day! Both gold and silver plummeted in overnight trading. And by "plummet," I mean the gut-wrenching vertically-straight-down kind of free-fall (silver was down nearly 10% over a matter of minutes). Then, after a few hours of partial recovery and stabilizing, the precious metals went parabolic in the up direction.

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A Glimpse Into Food Rights

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:54:45 -0400

Daily Digest 5/20 - Market Boom Or Bubble, Fertile Plains Turn to Dust In TX

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:02:13 -0400

Canada Jobs Grant: Harper Government Buying Ads To Promote Program That Doesn't Yet Exist
Motive, Means, & Opportunity in the Gold Market
The Spreading Consequences Of Syria's Civil War
Boom Or Bubble?
Natural Gas – The “Slow Process that's Gathering Speed”
Lines In The Sand
Tornadoes Level Homes in Okla., Killing One Person
Wells Dry, Fertile Plains Turn to Dust

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Daily Digest 5/19 - The Health Toll Of Immigration, Rebuilding The Coastline At What Cost?

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:12:43 -0400

Lew asks Congress for debt increase, says it’s 'not open to debate'
Cities: How crowded life is changing us
Gold In 2013 – Too Many Mysteries Remain Inexplicable
So Far, the Battery Charger Is Working in Japan
The Health Toll Of Immigration
Wells Fargo Rises to Record Close as Home Market Rebounds
Rebuilding The Coastline, But At What Cost?

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Rep. Ken Ivory & Dan Griffiths: Creating a Financial Emergency Plan for States

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:06:08 -0400

In a country where insolvent states increasingly compete for Federal funds, Utah is bucking the trend. And in the process, it's showing the type of leadership this nation will need more of to deal with its national economic plight.

A recent slew of new legislation has been passed – collectively known as the Financial Ready Utah (FRU) initiative – to assess the state's greatest financial vulnerabilities and to identify the most promising programs for addressing them at the state, community, and household levels. As a result of its earthquake-prone geology, Utah has developed a robust statewide disaster-response system. The FRU initiative prudently asks: Shouldn't we also have a financial-earthquake preparedness program in case of another 2008-style (or worse) economic shock, which the math indicates is more than likely?

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Daily Digest 5/18 - U.S. Seizes Bitcoin Accounts, Mountain Of Waste Grows In Detroit

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:01:32 -0400

Jim Rogers on Gold: Continues to Have a Long Overdue Correction
U.S. authorities seize accounts of major Bitcoin operator
US seizes Bitcoin operator accounts
Paper Gold, Metal Gold - When Worlds Diverge
How Student Loans Became a $120 Billion Government Bonanza
Gold & Silver Price – The True Story Is All About Time
A Black Mound of Canadian Oil Waste Is Rising Over Detroit

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