By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  
I keep hearing the so-called experts say how much better shape the banks are in now than in the last financial meltdown of 2008.  To that, I say horse hooey!  Any expert worth his salt knows that nothing has been fixed in the financial system.  The problems were papered over with fiat currency and the proverbial can kicked down the road—ting ting ting. 

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 
The “you know what” hit the fan today with sharp selloffs of just about everything.  The Dow was off nearly 400 points–ouch!  So much for the so-called “recovery.”  Gold made a significant comeback after being down nearly $80 at one point, but it still took one on the chin.  Yesterday, Fed Chief Ben Bernanke admitted that the world economy was in the tank and headed lower when he said there were “. . . significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets.” 

A few weeks ago, the Telegraph UK did a story about the sharp drop in foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries.  One of the big buyers of American debt is, of course, China.  There are those that think China is forced to buy our debt otherwise its economy will collapse.  Until the Treasury releases what is called “TIC” data  (Treasury International Capital) in November, we really will not know what is going on.

Last week, the Federal Reserve announced that it was not starting a third round of money printing (QE3).  (Don’t worry, it is only a matter of time before the money printing will begin again in earnest.)  Fed Chief Ben Bernanke put that thought out after the much awaited Fed meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, wrapped up.  I say QE3 already started when the Fed locked in 0% interest rates for the next two years.  The economy is in the tank, and the Fed admitted it is guaranteed to stay there.  

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  
If there is one central theme to the ongoing financial crisis we face, it is an insolvent banking system.  It is so bad that the accounting rules were changed (after the financial meltdown in 2008) to allow banks to value assets on their books at whatever they think they will fetch far into the future.  So, the billions of dollars of underwater mortgage-backed securities and real estate sitting on the balance sheet is held at imaginary values to make many banks look solvent when, in fact, they …

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 
In the internet world, it is said the two year mark is one of the most important milestones.  My internet consultant tells me, “nobody takes you seriously until after your second anniversary.”  I put USAWatchdog.com on line August 24, 2009.  I remember working for hours on an article (which I still do today) and only getting 10 readers, and sometimes less.  It has been one long slog, but a very rewarding one.

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Revised)
Earthquakes have hit the U.S.   Thank goodness the quakes only caused minimal damage, although the Washington Monument is now cracked and leaning to the side.  Is it symbolic of the listing American economy?  Now, a hurricane is  strafing the eastern seaboard.  Will there be damage?  I hope not, but is there going to be a random event that will push the teetering U.S. economy over the edge? 

The debt downgrade of the U.S. debt has caused much calamity and confusion.  The stock market has sold off several hundred points since S&P took the action earlier this month.  Is it a big deal?  You bet, but it is not the immediate end of the line when talking about the U.S. Treasury market.  Brilliant economist Martin Armstrong recently said, “When you deal in REAL money, there is a problem. How do you store it? You can’t just put a billion on deposit at a bank.

Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
Another 400 point drop in the Dow yesterday and all I can say is here we go again!  Many are asking what’s going on?  It is two big things.  Nothing has been fixed since the financial meltdown of 2008, and there is way too much debt on both sides of the Atlantic.  There is little wonder why gold is hitting all-time highs.  The economy is tanking and inflation is picking up.  All this and a lot more on the “Weekly News Wrap-Up” for Friday August 19, 2011.

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 
The decision by the Fed, last week, to keep a key interest rate at near zero percent for 2 years is historic because the Fed has never done this before.  This action will have profound negative effect on the U.S. dollar and its buying power.  It also signals that even the Fed thinks the economy is not going to get better for at least 2 years.  This action will affect every American and telegraphs a policy of inflation by the government.