By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

Macroeconomic analyst Rob Kirby thinks that everybody should take notice of what is happening with the Greek debt crisis drama.  Kirby contends, “What has occurred in Greece, make no mistake, it is a financial coup.  It is not a bailout.  It’s a takeover by force.  The leader of Greece has obviously been told, and effectively has a gun to his head, the way it’s going to be.  The Greek people voted for what they want, and we know what the Greek people’s wishes are, and they don’t want more austerity.  They want to divorce themselves from the IMF and the European Central Bank (ECB).  We know that clear as day, but that is not acceptable to the global elitists and the globalist bankers.  They have said we don’t really care what you think.  It’s going to be the way we say.  The rest of Europe should sit up and take note of this because there are other countries whose finances are also not in good shape, namely, Portugal, Spain, France and Italy. . . . If global bankers are allowed to get away with this, then this is what you can expect in your country real soon.”

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Early Sunday Release)

Financial writer and book author Charles Hugh Smith thinks the big unfolding trend is a global economy that is not being allowed to correct.  Smith contends, “Interest rates should rise, and what we are seeing is financial repression.  Instead of letting the market decide what the price of risk should be, central banks have pushed it to zero. . . . It doesn’t seem to be working.  It’s not fixing what is broken, and that is the unfolding trend.  All these things that central banks and authorities are doing are creating more problems.”  Smith goes on to say, “There are so many vested interests in sustaining the illusion of stability. . . . The trend we are really describing here is the extremes of policy that are being done to maintain the surface illusion of stability are guaranteeing it is going to blow. . . . Once you have extremes, the risk and volatility rise and explode.  That’s just the way systems work.  That’s just what history shows us.”

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (WNW 198 7.10.15) 

Have you ever noticed this many strange things going on at the same time?  The Iran nuke deal is going poorly.  Greece is looking like it will be plunged into an even bigger depression.  China stock market has turned from hero to zero in a huge market plunge in the last few weeks.  The US stock markets are gyrating up and down with big swings.  There is major hacking going on from stock exchanges to the US government, and Obama and Congress are busy setting up secret trade deals and secret directives.  What is going on?  I say the end of this debt based money system is a process, and this is an ugly process.

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  

Financial commentator and trader Karl Denninger says what is going on in the Greek debt crisis is really a global problem.  Denninger explains, “All of these countries have engaged in the same lie.  They have all engaged in the same fundamental fraud, which is you can spend more than you take in on a permanent basis.  It is the same fraud that is going on here in the United States.  We just haven’t gotten hammered with it –yet, but we will.  This is a fraud.  The people who did this need to go to prison.  There is no way to undo that Gordian knot, other than to say we can’t pay it.  We never could pay it.  You were lied to, and by the way, the people who participated in the lending were active participants in a crime.”

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Early Sunday Release)

Stock trader Gregory Mannarino says Greece is the tip of the debt iceberg.  Mannarino explains, “Never in history have we been so overwhelmed and buried underneath a mountain of debt.  I believe we are at a top in regard to the debt.  What does this mean?  We could see a domino effect where all this starts cascading down and correct to fair market value.  It will, whether it’s today, tomorrow or next week.  There is no way out of it, and that is what people need to keep in mind.”

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com   (WNW 197)

Whether it is Greece or Puerto Rico, the story is the same—the debt is unpayable.  Greece is going through a referendum and they are taking a que from the Clash song “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”  Meaning, should Greece stay or leave the European Union?  I say it is not going to make much difference.  The Greeks, as everybody else in the world, have been living beyond their means.  There are going to be big cuts to everything no matter what.  The Greeks want a debt cut.  The Greek Finance Minister says he’d rather “cut off his arm” than sign a bailout deal without a debt cut.  Now, folks in Spain and Italy are telling the IMF they, too, want a debt cut because the debt is unpayable.

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Economist John Williams correctly predicted the first quarter GDP in 2015 would turn negative.  What is his second quarter prediction for GDP?  Williams says, “I am looking for an outright contraction in the second quarter as well.  Two back to back negative quarters in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) would be counted as a recession.  GDP is very heavily bloated and inflated by all sorts of gimmicks. . . . In effect, we are seeing a weakening of the economy now that is dragging down these bloated numbers.  I contend we never recovered from the collapse in 2008 and 2009.  We have just been bottom bouncing. . . . It is beginning to turn down again. . . . Expectations for the second quarter will begin to sink.”

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Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

Money manager Michael Pento thinks the Greek debt crisis is small when you consider the enormously leveraged global economy.  Pento contends, “That’s why I consider Greece as more of a distraction.  It’s a small piece to the puzzle.  You look at debt that extends all across the planet, every asset on the planet is in a bubble.  China is in a bubble.  Japan is in a bubble.  Europe is in a bubble.  The United States is in bubble.  That’s not just stocks.  It’s bonds.  It’s real estate.  It’s diamonds.  It’s art.  Look, China fell 7 ½ % overnight because every housewife and widow in China opened up a margin account, and now, they are wiped out.  The market in China is down 18% in the last week alone, and it’s got a lot more to fall.  Who is there to support that?  This is where the rubber meets the road.  Don’t worry because central banks have our backs.  When has that been the case?  A central bank can monetize unlimited amounts of debt and destroy the currency.  It creates money out of thin air at infinitum without any consequences.  When has that ever been the case?  (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (6.26.15) 

The huge concocted lie that is Obama Care was upheld by the Supreme Court.  The majority opinion simply reworded the law because it did not want to stop subsidies to more than 8 million people.  They are involving themselves in policy instead of interpreting the law.  Now, there is talk of a bill in the House that will force the Supreme Court onto Obama Care by taking away their exemption.  Obama Care is the biggest policy lie in U.S. history, and we know that to be fact because of MIT professor Jonathan Gruber who bragged on several videos about how the Obama Care lies were crafted with top Democrats including the White House.  The Obama Administration said Gruber was not a key player in Obama Care, but that too is a big lie as new emails were released this week showing he was, according to published reports, “frequently consulted by staffers and advisers for both the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) about the Affordable Care Act.”  Obama says it’s “here to stay,” and the Republicans say Obama Care will be a campaign issue once again in 2016.

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Attorney and public banking expert Ellen Brown says the recent Obama trade deal is bad news.  Brown contends, “We don’t even know how bad it is.  All we know we got out of WikiLeaks.  It’s all secret.  They are negotiating what would be called a treaty which should require a two-thirds vote under the Constitution.  They are negotiating it for “fast-track” and it is completely secret. . . .    These documents are supposed to be kept classified for four years after this thing passes.  How is that even possible?  There are two other agreements that are coming down the pipe that are also covered by “fast-track,” which means they go directly to an up or down vote.  Only get a brief time to look at it.  They don’t get to use filibusters.  They don’t get to debate.  Besides the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) which is bad enough because what we know of it is horrible, there is the Trans-Atlantic Agreement which is similar to the TPP with Pacific Rim countries.  There’s another one that we only just heard about which is the TiSA, which is the Trade in Services Agreement.  This covers 80% of the American economy and all sorts of services, including financial services, which means banking.  So, we can’t regulate banking anymore, and that is basically what it means.”

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Early Sunday Release)

Edward Griffin, author of “The Creature from Jekyll Island,” says the global monetary system is out of control. Griffin contends, “There is nothing that can be done about it. This thing is a runaway machine.  I would feel much better if these political figures would say hey, this is out of our control right now.  We need a substantial change in the system. . . . We need more honesty.  People have to stand up and say we are in for a tough time.  There is no easy way out of this.  We are in for a tough time.  Hang on to your seatbelts.  We are coming into the rapids now.  We need that kind of honesty, but we are not getting it because most of these guys and gals in Washington are thinking well, it’s going to be bad, but at least I’m in a good spot.  They are more worried about themselves and their families than they are worried about the nation.”

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (6.19.15 

A picture is worth a thousand words, and here is a picture of an unfolding calamity in California.  Check out the latest drought map of the state.  Almost 100% of the state is in severe drought conditions.  Many parts of the West are also experiencing drought, but California is ground-zero.  This is a huge food growing region, and the state has just started restricting water to agriculture.  This is a vast problem not only for the U.S., but the entire world, and there is no end in sight. California is a state with a population of nearly 40 million people.  Some towns have been cut off, and some people are starting to store drinking water in their homes.  This could spark a humanitarian crisis and a financial crisis.  You cannot live or do business without ample supplies of water.  California has a GDP of $2.2 trillion.  Agriculture alone is $46 billion a year.  (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

John Embry, Senior Investment Strategist at Sprott Asset Management, says there is no doubt another financial calamity is coming.  In fact, Embry says, “It’s unavoidable.  It’s inevitable is the word I would use.  There is no getting out of it.  If you thought 2008 was bad, and I thought it was terrible, this time, there is no ammunition left.  You can’t take interest rates any lower.  All you can do is print even more money.  That really didn’t work the last time.  The safety nets are largely gone if we do run into something untoward, and it could be fairly soon.  I don’t think there is really anything left to stave it off.  I don’t think they will refuel the period from 2015 to 2020 like they did after 2008.  I think it will be much uglier than that.”

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (Early Sunday Release)

Macroeconomist Gordon Long says elite bankers want and need negative interest rates.  How do they get them?  Long says, “We need a cashless society in order to get negative interest rates.  We have had negative real interest rates for some time.  That’s the whole premise of paying down the government debt by effectively debasing it.  But we have run up against a wall, and we have run up against that wall.  Clearly, quantitative easing isn’t working.”

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By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  (6.12.15) 

The Republicans are pushing trade agreements, but they are secret.  Congressman Paul Ryan says “We the People” do not get to know the secret details until Congress votes them through.  On the trade packages in Asia and Europe, Ryan said, “It’s declassified and made public once it’s agreed to.”  Is this his Republican version of the Nancy Pelosi “We have to vote for it to see what’s in it”?  You know it’s a bad deal for everyday Americans when this sort of trade deal is opposed by Democrats, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Congressmen Duncan Hunter.  (more…)