One of my job’s most interesting “perks” is the exposure I get to “artistic impressions” of what I discuss clinically. From Pasha Roberts’ Silver Circle Movie – which, one day, may be a cult classic on a par with Atlas Shrugged; to Damian Bouch’s No Delight in Fools, an extremely entertaining fictional account of a post dollar crash world; to Fed Up by Robert Power – which I just read this week – I am continually awed by the vast array of skill sets Miles Franklin Blog readers possess. In Fed Up, Power tells a fictional story of blackmail involving high powered Federal Reserve traitors traders – involving gold, the PPT, and the insanity of government attempts to manipulate markets. I highly recommend all of the above, as well as numerous non-fictional books written by pro-Precious Metals, anti-establishment authors from our “shadow world” – like Dmitri Speck’s Gold Cartel; Carl Jarvis’ The United States of Dysfunction; and Gary Christenson’s Gold Value and Gold Prices. And above all, PLEASE read Atlas Shrugged when you can – in my view, one of the greatest books ever written!

OK, back to “business” – which sadly, involves the daily description of a global economy dying of fiat cancer; per last weekend’s Audioblog, has fostered an unprecedented environment of lies, propaganda, and stupidity. Frankly, I considered writing an entire article devoted to the universally moronic “analyses” of Sunday night’s “paper gold massacre“; as incredibly, after 15 years of relentless, blatantly obvious gold manipulation, nearly the entire “financial community” – from “experts” to “gurus” to pure charlatans, appear to actually be getting dumber. Sure, a handful of us understand what’s going on; but ominously, not only are the “99%” clueless, but much of the “Precious Metals community” as well. Just perusing Kitco’s “market nuggets” last night, it couldn’t be clearer how little people understand of the manipulation of not just gold, but all financial markets – particularly, so-called “experts” relied upon to manage money. Nor, for that matter, relationships as simple as (manipulated) Precious Metals relative to (manipulated) currencies, commodities, stocks, and bonds. Which is why identifying the handful of “good, smart people” – i.e., those who not only know what they speak of, but have your best interests at heart – is the most valuable “financial decision” you can make. Unquestionably, the Miles Franklin Blog is one of the few information oases in the desert – and if you ever want to know our views of others “expertise” on such matters, just ask!

Anyhow, before I get to the horrific economic implosion that is the subject of today’s article, I want to highlight an aspect of said Precious Metals manipulation; which, for anyone with common sense, proves what we have been saying all along. Which is, a graphic depiction of how blatant the Cartel has become. Recall, in yesterday’s “biggest supply reaction in commodity history,” I clinically described May 2011’s “Sunday Night Paper Silver Massacre“; which clearly, was the manipulative “blueprint” for this Sunday’s paper gold attack. In it, I described how on May 2nd, 2011, the “other” metal – in that case, gold – recouped all its post “bin Laden killed” losses by the 12:00 PM “cap of last resort” time on Monday; prompting a violent attack in the trading day’s final four hours, despite not a shred of incremental news or material outside market movements.

Well, the exact same thing occurred with this Monday’s “other metal” – silver – prompting the exact same “cap of last resort” attack in Monday’s final four hours of trading. To wit, I present “Exhibit A” – of how the exact same suppressive algorithms were used yesterday as on Monday (like the prototypical “Cartel Herald“); clearly, because “way too much” press was given to silver’s “surprisingly strong” performance in the face of the horrific gold raid plunge. Not that the utterly ridiculous 74:1 silver/gold ratio is even considered by said “analysts”; or, for that matter, that the U.S. Mint is still sold out of Silver Eagles, prompting exploding demand, surging premiums, and expanding delivery times. No, according to the Cartel, for whatever insane reason, their goal this month – amidst the Greek, Chinese, and Puerto Rican crises; global commodities and currencies plunging toward all-time lows; and the steadily increasing recognition that the “worldwide collapse is accelerating – at a frightening pace”; is to utterly demolish Precious Metal prices – and sentiment – to avoid the inevitable demand explosion that will ultimately destroy history’s largest, most destructive Ponzi scheme. And by the way, for “good measure” I included what they just did in the hour since I awoke this morning – again, with not a single other market materially moving. Oh well, the further they push prices down, the more rapidly the current supply shortage (and physical premiums) will expand; not to mention, in the long run, as the global mining industry collapses. For that matter, “junk silver” – which everyone “must own” in case the “worst-case scenario” breaks out – is currently being offered at spot plus $6.00-$7.00/oz, compared to spot plus $2.00-$2.50/oz before the Mint ran out of silver Eagles two weeks ago. This, my friends, is why we own physical metal instead of “paper PM investments”; which not only can’t be destroyed like mining shares, but typically increase in value amidst times of crisis, no matter what the Cartel does to paper prices.

• Greek banks face full nationalization
• Tsipras asked Putin for $10 billion to ‘print Drachmas,’ Greek media reports
• Citigroup predicts Greek hyperinflation will break out within two years
• Greeks laugh, as bankers beg depositors to return money (to banks)
• The Definition of Irony – Greek banks refuse to buy the very ESM bonds issued to fund Greek bailout
• The Greek economy is finished – one quarter of Greek firms shifting abroad
• Tsipras Fights To Keep Greek Bailout Alive Amid Party Rebellion, ahead of today’s key Parliamentary vote

• MNI’s China Business Indicator fell a staggering 8.8 points to 48.8 in July (below 50 signifying pessimism), its lowest level since January 2009
• Chinese future expectations plunged from 60.5 in June to 54.1 in July
• The historic plunge in Chinese coal prices – which typically go hand in hand with economic activity – hit “freefall velocity“
• And oh yeah, the great and mighty Apple (which just yesterday, I mocked the idiocy of investor excitement about its second quarter earnings report, which it entered into with a nearly $800 billion market capitalization) reported “worse than expected” earnings due to a horrific plunge in Chinese sales, which collapsed 21% from a year ago
• As I write, the CRB Commodity Index has plunged to within 1% of its 2009 low; led by an utter decimation of base metal prices, with only the criminally blatant “oil PPT” – desperately “holding the line” on $50/bbl WTI despite the huge, unexpected API inventory build announced last night – preventing the CRB from making a run at the 40-year support level just4% lower

Moreover, U.S. earnings are so abysmal, they are actually down from a year ago, accounting chicanery and all – and this, amidst historically high equity valuations. Plus, Gallup’s latest U.S. economic confidence index plunged to ten-month lows; America’s historic auto loan bubble is bursting; the “long forgotten” debt ceiling issue will be back with a vengeance this Fall; $500 billion of junk bonds and leveraged loans financing the collapsing shale oil industry are plunging; and even Goldman Sachs admits China is dumping U.S. Treasuries at an historic pace – demonstrating that not only did the Fed NOT end QE, but executed it at far higher levels than purported throughout the entirety of QE3. And thus, especially now that commodities, currencies, and – my god, technology stocks – are declining, you can bet Whirlybird Janet will ratchet up the dovish commentary to epic levels at next Wednesday’s FOMC meeting. And yet, we’re still told the Fed is about to raise rates! Under such circumstances of “worldwide economic collapse” – and oh yeah, silver shortage – how much longer can “TPTB” prevent the inevitable? And how long are you willing to wait to protect yourself?