By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

I watched the Republican debate last night and thought Ron Paul did pretty good.  Romney did surprising well and Perry also did OK.  So who won?  If you watched the coverage afterward, you would have thought Dr. Paul was out having dinner with Sarah Palin (platonically of course.)  Very little was mentioned about his performance.  So the mainstream media (MSM) did it again. (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

Last Friday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency filed lawsuits against 17 of the largest banks and financial institutions in the world.  FHFA is seeking a total of $196 billion in restitution from these institutions for not disclosing risky mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that went sour. (more…)

Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

There is big trouble in Europe with their sovereign debt crisis and insolvent banks.  Deutsche Bank CEOJosef Ackermann gave a stunning speech recently where he said, “It is an open secret that numerous European banks would not survive having to revalue sovereign debt held on the banking book at market levels.” (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

This is not going to be a long post today.  Everybody is going to be out cooking on the grill and having fun.  I just want to clear up one little number the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put out on Friday.  The BLS reported “zero” net jobs were created last month.  According to John Williams of Shadowstats.com, the jobs picture was more dire than reported. (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Irene was the big story this week.  It was bit over hyped by the MSM for some areas and under-hyped for others.  It did cause several billion dollars in damages.  Isn’t it funny how the mainstream media is all hands on deck for a storm that caused several billion bucks but it will hardly report the recent disclosure of $16 trillion in Fed bailouts during the financial crisis?  Gaddafi has a week to surrender.  (more…)

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.   (more…)

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 are not. (more…)

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. (more…)

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?  (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Gaddafi’s reign is over.  I am happy for the people of Libya, but I am not as jubilant as the crowds I see partying in the streets.   I wonder if the country will go from a dictatorship to a theocracy steeped in radical Islam.  I say this because in the early days of the rebellion, there were many reports that connected the rebels with al-Qaeda. (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

Yesterday, the Dow was up more than 300 points, and gold hit another all-time high before dropping nearly $100 an ounce.  You would think the stock market was back and the gold trade was over.  Wall Street is excited about recent bad economic news that just may force Fed Chief Ben Bernanke to start a third round of quantitative easing (QE3).  I hate to break it to Wall Street, but QE3 is already underway in the form of 2 years of guaranteed near 0% interest rates.  (more…)

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. (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

It looks like the end of power for tyrant Muammar Gaddafi.  He’s been in power 40 years, but what will take his place?  Remember when stories broke out a few months ago about Libyan rebel al-Qaeda links?  It is a fact that was reported in one of many publications such as The Telegraph back in March.  The story headline read “Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links.” (more…)

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. (more…)

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

It was another 400 point loss on the Dow today.  Manufacturing is contracting according to the latest reports, and Europe is in very big trouble with sovereign debt (especially with Spain and Italy).  If the Euro falls apart, then the dollar will be the big near term beneficiary.  So, the buck could actually strengthen for a short while because it would be the prettiest ugly girl in the currency room.   If stocks (especially the banks) keep getting pounded and the economy keeps sinking, then the fed will be forced to act or let the economy and the market fall off a cliff. (more…)