You just finished reading Homeowner Equity Points Down The Road To Serfdom on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!

President Obama pushes ratification of gun trafficking treaty, housing market continues to crash-new home starts down 11% and foreclosures jumping 17%, Senate to call panel to investigate illegal NSA domestic spying, Obama unveils plan to spend another $13 billion and build high speed trains (it’s a down payment), Democrats attack Texas Gov. Perry over secession comments at tea party, Freedom Watch sues dictator Hugo Chavez for acts of terrorism and human rights violations, and a bit of good news: mystery donors give $45 million to universities…

Obama Pushes Ratification Of Gun Trafficking Treaty. President Obama is pressing the Senate to ratify an arms treaty intended to curb the flow of guns and ammunition to drug cartels. The treaty seeks to establish a system for import, export, and transfer of firearms, as well as bolstering cooperation between law enforcement agencies investigating illegal trafficking.

Housing Market Continues to Crash. A drop in new home construction and an increase in the foreclosure rate both signal that housing has far to go before stabilizing. New home starts fell 10.8% and the number of foreclosure notices jumped 17% in just the last month.

Alternative Investment Idea: With real estate prices still falling, stocks whipping around like crazy, and even U.S. Treasury bonds becoming increasingly risky, it pays to investigate alternative forms of investing. One method I use regularly is selling market insurance.

Every investment involves risk and everyone has their own objectives. Some people want low risk and are OK with low returns. Iron Condor trading strategies turn these people into your clients.

Learn how to use options to start your own insurance business, having the market pay you to insure its risks. Get paid regular premiums every month! This Iron Condor trading system will teach you how to become your own insurance company, managing the market risks you assume. Don’t go into this blindly! Learn how the experts use options to generate steady income.

Sen. Feinstein Calls For Panel To Investigate Illegal NSA Wiretaps. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), who heads the Senate intelligence committee, said she will hold a hearing to examine the National Security Agency’s (NSAs) interception of domestic communications. This comes after new Justice Department reports that wiretapping went beyond what Congress had authorized. The NSA has been systemically collecting e-mail and telephone call records on Americans without having first obtained court warrants. Sen. Feinstein says the hearing will take place within a month.

Obama Unveils Plan To Build High-Speed Trains. President Obama unveiled an ambitious new plan for developing high-speed passenger rail lines in at least 10 regions. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-the $787 billion stimulus plan-allots $8 billion for this project. An additional $1 billion will be requested in the President’s budget over the next five years. President Obama states that these funds will “jump start” the projects, but it is not clear how much this will all cost when complete.

Obama’s at it again-spending tens of billions on investments he thinks will make America better off in the long run. Whether or not these government “investments” pay off, trillions of dollars of resource are being transferred throughout the economy. Read my book, Obamanomics: How To Invest Over the Next Administration to learn how to make government policy work for you!

Democrats Attack Gov. Perry Over Secession Comments. Democrats are furious over comments made by Texas governor Rick Perry following a Tea Party in Austin on Wednesday. Perry suggested that at some point Texans might get so fed up that they would want to leave the union. Rep. Jim Dunnam (D-TX) said that some people associate talk of secession with racial division and the Civil War. “Talk of secession is an attack on our country. It can be nothing else. It is the ultimate anti-American statement.” House Democrats are proposing a resolution expressing “complete and total disagreement with any fringe element advocating the secession of Texas or any other state from our one and indivisible Union.”

U.S. Group Sues Venezuelan Dicatator Hugo Chavez. Freedom Watch, a nonprofit group is suing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez over acts of terrorism and human rights violations. This includes conspiring with Columbian guerrillas, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban.

Mystery Donors Give $45 Million to Universities. During the past few weeks at least eight universities have received gifts totaling nearly $45 million. The schools had to promise not to try to find out the giver’s identity. It is not clear whether the gifts came from an individual or organization.

You just finished reading Freedom Under Fire, Apr. 17th, 2009 on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!

China and Argentina strike currency swap deal to reduce reliance on U.S. dollar, the tax man cometh…be prepared, Obama plans to ‘ease’ GM into bankruptcy, California able to raise more money than expected in debt market; $44 billion a year, trillions over decades, and tens of thousands killed to fight drugs…worth it? Mexican police convoy ambushed-4 dead, U.S. home prices crash over 19% in January…

Argentina Moves From U.S. Dollars To Chinese Currency. Argentina and China have agreed to swap about $10 billion in currency in order to enable South America’s second-largest economy to avoid using dollars in bilateral trade. This is thus far China’s highest profile move to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar.

The Tax Man Cometh: Cities And States Plan New Taxes On…Everything. With state and local governments across the country unable to function on the mere trillions they already confiscate, they are turning to controversial and creative new taxes to delay bankruptcy. This article shows the ins and outs of the coming tax orgy coming our way…goodbye land of the free!

U.S. Plan to Split General Motors, Ease Into Bankruptcy. The government is seeking to ease GM into ‘controlled’ bankruptcy by persuading some creditors to agree to a plan that would cleave the company into two pieces. To date, automakers have received $17.4 billion in taxpayer aid.

California Able to Raise $6.5 billion In Debt. The State of California was able to raise $6.5 billion in general obligation bonds, $2.5 billion more than planned. Increasing yields (6.1% vs. 5.3% previous) on 30-year bonds were able to draw higher interest. This comes at a critical time in California’s budget process, in which the State narrowly averted bankruptcy.

Cafferty: The War On Drugs Is Insane. The U.S. drug market is the largest in the world, with Mexican drug cartels operating out of 230 of the nation’s cities. Despite spending an estimated $44 billion a year on law enforcement nearly anyone who wants drugs can get them, and for cheap. Despite decades of escalating violence, an increasing police state, and spending trillions, the war on drugs continues unabated. “Someone described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time. That’s a perfect description of the war on drugs.”

Mexican Police Convoy Ambushed In Drug War, 4 Killed. Four policemen have been killed after attackers ambushed their vehicles in Mexico’s western Michoacan state. Another four officers were injured while attempting to rescue a kidnap victim from a drug cartel ranch. This attack, alone, exceeds the total number of deaths from marijuana ever.

U.S. Home Prices Post Record Decline. House prices in the 20 largest cities fell 19% in January from a year ago, according to both a private survey and the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller survey. The three worst hit cities were Pheonix (-35%), Las Vegas (-32.5%), and San Francisco (-32.4%).

You just finished reading Freedom Under Fire, Apr. 1st, 2009 on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!

Will Washington D.C. have new legislative rep? Top technical trader says now is the time to buy stocks, Fed Chief vows to flood economy with dollars, U.S. plans to give away $900 million to Gaza, home price index declines sharply, lobbyists want more bailouts, combat troops exiting Iraq in 2010, scientists often confuse fact with opinion, and this is not your father’s country anymore…just the latest in your Freedom Under Fire Report!

Everyday our liberties and freedom come under fire. The American Republic once protected its citizens from arbitrary abuse, extortion, and deliberate social engineering. Now the very same public servants who were meant to work for us connive daily on how to control our lives. The Republic is gone and we are left to fend for ourselves, to put up resistance to every encroachment on individual self-determination. The Freedom Under Fire Report provides daily coverage of the most important issues, so that you remain informed and ready to defend yourself. Read on and pass this around to everyone you think could benefit:

Senate Advances Bill to create Seat in House for Washington. The Senate advanced a proposal to give residents of Washington, D.C., a voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives. This motion went forward with a 62-34 vote, which would also give Utah a fourth representative. President Obama was co-sponsor of this measure while acting as Illinois Senator. Critics cite the heavy leaning Democrat base in Washington as reason for Democrats pushing for the measure. Another seat in the House would further tip the voting balance in their favor.

Top Technical Trader Predicts Near Term Rally for Stocks. Elliot Wave International Inc.’s Robert Prechter, who advised shorting U.S. stocks three months before the bear market began, is recommending investors end that bet and buy stocks. He warned of a “sharp and scary” rebound for anyone still wagering on a retreat. “This is an environment of escalating financial chaos. Our main job is to keep the money we have. If we exit [close short positions] now, we will do that.”

Bernanke Vows to Use Every Tool to Stem Financial Crisis. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee today that he is “committed to using all available tools” to stem the financial crisis and unfreeze credit markets. You can expect a good deal of money printing to accompany this statement. Buy gold.

U.S. Plans to Give Away $900 million to Rebuild Gaza. The U.S. plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel’s invasion. The funds are supposed to be diverted to the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority, circumvented from Hamas, which currently controls Gaza. Senator Clinton intends to announce this give-away at a conference in Egypt next week, but the measure still needs to pass Congressional vote.

Home Price Index Shows Sharp Declines at end of Year. The Case-Shiller home price index measured an 18.5% year-over-year decline in December of last year for 20 major metropolitan areas. Housing prices dropped 2.5% from November to December. The real estate crisis is not behind us just yet.

Lobbyists Press for Billions more Added to Bailouts. The government faced mounting pressure on Monday to put billions more in some of the nation’s biggest banks, two of the biggest automakers, and the biggest insurance company, despite the billions is has already committed to rescuing them. Upwards of $200 billion have already been committed to AIG, Citigroup, General Motors, and Chrysler, but combined these companies, alone, are requesting tens of billions more.

U.S. Combat Troops Evacuating Iraq mid-2010. President Obama intends to remove all combat troops from Iraq by August, 2010. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers will remain in the country to advise and train Iraqi security forces and to protect U.S. interests.

Scientists Confuse Opinion with Fact in Politics. Dr. Pielke, a professor in the University of Colorado’s environmental studies program, discusses his book “The Honest Broker.” The premise is that most scientists are fundamentally mistaken about their role in political debates. Dr. Pielke says they jeopardize their credibility while impeding solutions to problems like global warming. “Too often,” Dr. Pielke says, “they [scientists] pose as impartial experts pointing politicians to the only option that makes scientific sense. To boster their case, they’re prone to exaggerate their expertise (like enumerating the catastrophes that would occur if tehir policies aren’t adopted), while denigrating their political opponents as ‘unqualified’ or ‘unscientific’.” The policy areas cited as examples in his book are global warming, and issues related to population growth.

This is Not Your Father’s Country Anymore: Buckle Up for “Shared Sacrifice”. CNN correspondent Jack Cafferty laments on the changes he has seen in America throughout his life. He cites that the national debt is fast approaching $12 trillion, with just the interst payment reaching $500 billion a year. On top of this Cafferty adds the “tens of trillions in unfunded liabilities” for Medicare and Social Security, with trillions more debt coming down the line with the myriad bailout measures. With such a long history of bad policy, bad government management, the only eventuality is to prepare for a “shared sacrifice” in dealing with lower lifestyle expectations. Why would productive, intelligent young folks accept a “sacrifice” forced upon them by the bad decisions of previous generations? The reality is that those you most want to stay in this country will likely find cause to leave.

You just finished reading Freedom Under Fire Report, Feb. 24th, 2009 on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!

2008 was one of the best years on record for U.S. Treasury bonds. The ishares Lehman 20+ Year ETF-a good proxy for 30-Year Treasuries-gained 23% over the year. However, Treasuries seem to be winding down an unprecedented bull rally, with rates retracting from historical lows. The big question on traders’ minds is when the Treasury “bubble” will burst? It is still too early to tell, but TLT has taken a big dip over the last two trading sessions, down 4.55%. It should be noted that this occured over low volume holiday trading, but with general equity market volatility, as measured by the VIX, subsiding, this could be the start of a broader bond bust.

With the federal government balance sheet worsening by the day, Treasury fundamentals stand on shaky ground. General macroeconomic conditions stand at odds with bond market action over the last few months. With global asset values crumbling, institutional investors engaging in forced mass liquidations, and foreign governments picking up USD and short-term Treasuries to offset reserve losses, our currency reversed a six year slide and government bond yields dropped to shockingly low levels.

These rates may not mean much to the casual observor, but consider that the 5-Year, 10-Year, and 30-Year Treasuries yielded as high as 3.796%, 4.32%, and 4.813%, respectively, at their highs this year.

Starting with the October equity market crash, there was a global “flight to quality”. During the panic government bonds were bid to ridiculous levels; for instance, 3-Month bills were yielding just 0.01% last month, after briefly dipping into negative territory. This means people were giving the government their money without expecting anything in return!

Looking at the yield curve over the last month it appears as though Treasuries have been retreating from their peaks. The panic seems to be subsiding, and with it the quality premium investors were willing to pay to hold government bonds. TLT’s 4.55% drop may spell the beginning of a snap back to normalcy, or much worse: there is always the risk that America’s fiscal irresponsibility will brand our debt “junk.”

Next week will be more telling than the previous, as traders return to work from the holidays and regular volume resumes. Holding onto Treasuries at these levels is only justifiable if you anticipate pervasive, long-term deflation. If not, now is as good a time as ever to rebalance your portfolio and unload some Treasuries. Speculators should start to look at shorting government debt, starting with longer term maturities.

You just finished reading When will the Great Treasury Unwinding begin? on The Freedom Factory. Please consider leaving a comment!