Gary North: Why Bernanke Is in Panic Mode

08-01-2009 • LewRockwell.com

 The big bankers know that their banks would be insolvent without Federal Reserve bailouts, Treasury Department bailouts, and smoke-and-mirrors accounting.

FDIC Bank Failure Update

08-01-2009 • CalculatedRiskblog.com

 The FDIC closed five more banks on Friday, and that brings the total FDIC bank failures to 69 in 2009. The following graph shows bank failures by week in 2009.

Bank Failure Friday: Four and Counting

07-31-2009 • CalculatedRiskblog.com

 The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $15 million. ... First BankAmericano is the 68th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the second in New Jersey.

Ron Paul Strikes Gold

07/31/2009 • Slate

Which is why Paul's most recent legislative accomplishment is so impressive. He has rallied the majority of the House to support his new cause: an audit of the Federal Reserve. Legislators are sick of not knowing what's going on inside Bernanke's fortress, especially as the Fed becomes further enmeshed in the nation's fiscal policy. Paul's little bill has become emblematic of a larger movement, one that could spell trouble for Obama's troubled regulatory plan. Ron Paul—always an enemy of regulation—is now an enemy of Obama. And a mighty powerful one at that.

Exploring The Secrets Of The Federal Reserve

07-31-2009 • ZeroHedge.com

 And speaking of the Fed's balance sheet (and not the public side but the $9 trillion in off-balance sheet voodoo), here is some good reading, especially with certain politicians hell bent to prevent HR1207 from occurring...

Uh Oh.... (GDP Interpretation)

07-31-2009 • Market-ticker.denninger.net

 It appears to be that traders in the FX market (who by the way tend to be smarter than the average equity or bond trader) have deduced that the entire "improvement" in 2Q GDP came from government spending.

The Bond Bubble’s Back

07/31/2009 • Daily Reckoning

Just when you thought the bond bubble was being saved for another day… The government managed to auction $39 billion worth of 5-year debt yesterday… barely. Wednesday’s debt sale drew a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.92, the lowest investor demand since September 2008. Low demand forced Uncle Sam to jack up interest rates at the last minute in two separate bond auctions this week — yesterday’s sale and Tuesday’s $42 billion auction of 2-year notes. So what’s an indebted government to do? Manipulate the market, of course.

The Biggest Holders of US Government Debt

07-31-2009 • CNBC.com

 That’s right, the biggest holder of US government debt is the United States itself. The Federal Reserve system of banks and other US intragovernmental holdings account for a stunning $4.806 trillion in US Treasury debt.

Foreign Cenbank Holdings of US Obligations Weekly Update to 29 July 2009

07-31-2009 • HousingDoom.com

 Treasuries rose $4.289 billion, not much better than last week. With massive supply of T-bills coming down the pipe, this doesn’t provide much support.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Fears Economic Collapse If the Fed is Audited

06-27-2009 • prisonplanet

My analysis of Bernanke's statement: “My concern about the legislation is that if the GAO (Government Accountability Office) is auditing not only the operational aspects of the programs and the details of the programs but is making judgments about our policy decisions, that it would effectively be a takeover of monetary policy by the Congress and a repudiation of the independence of the Federal Reserve which would be highly destructive to the stability of the financial system, the Dollar and our national economic situation.”

Severely Bearish Treasury Development

06-26-2009 • Market-ticker.denninger.net

 Dresdner Kleinwort Securities has withdrawn from the Federal Reserve's primary U.S. government security dealers, the U.S. central bank said Friday.

Bernanke: Fed audit a ‘takeover’ by Congress, trigger econ. collapse

06-26-2009 • InfoWars.com

 "but making judgments about our policy decisions would effectively be a takeover of policy by the Congress and a repudiation of the Federal Reserve would be highly destructive to the stability of the financial system, the Dollar and our national economic situation."

China Throws Weight Against Dollar as Reserve Currency

06-26-2009 • NakedCapitalism.com

 China’s central bank renewed its call for a new global currency and said the International Monetary Fund should manage more of members’ foreign-exchange reserves, triggering a decline in the U.S. dollar.