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Despite the facts the corporate media and government would have us believe that the economy is recovering
20 Early Warning Signs That We Are Approaching A Global Economic Meltdown
By
Michael Snyder
23
January, 2014
Have
you been paying attention to what has been happening in Argentina,
Venezuela, Brazil, Ukraine, Turkey and China? If you are like
most Americans, you have not been. Most Americans don't seem to
really care too much about what is happening in the rest of the
world, but they should. In major cities all over the globe
right now, there is looting, violence, shortages of basic supplies,
and runs on the banks. We are not at a "global crisis"
stage yet, but things are getting worse with each passing day.
For a while, I have felt that 2014 would turn out to be a major
"turning point" for the global economy, and so far that is
exactly what it is turning out to be. The following are 20
early warning signs that we are rapidly approaching a global economic
meltdown...
#1 The
looting, violence and economic chaos that is happening in Argentina
right now is a perfect example of what can happen when
you print too much money...
For Dominga Kanaza, it wasn’t just the soaring inflation or the weeklong blackouts or even the looting that frayed her nerves.
It was all of them combined.
At one point last month, the 37-year-old shop owner refused to open the metal shutters protecting her corner grocery in downtown Buenos Aires more than a few inches -- just enough to sell soda to passersby on a sweltering summer day.
#3 Widespread
shortages, looting and accelerating inflation are also causing huge
problems in
Venezuela...
Economic mismanagement in Venezuela has reached such a level that it risks inciting a violent popular reaction. Venezuela is experiencing declining export revenues, accelerating inflation and widespread shortages of basic consumer goods. At the same time, the Maduro administration has foreclosed peaceful options for Venezuelans to bring about a change in its current policies.
President Maduro, who came to power in a highly-contested election last April, has reacted to the economic crisis with interventionist and increasingly authoritarian measures. His recent orders to slash prices of goods sold in private businesses resulted in episodes of looting, which suggests a latent potential for violence. He has put the armed forces on the street to enforce his economic decrees, exposing them to popular discontent.
#4 In
a stunning decision, the Venezuelan government has just announced
that it has devalued the Bolivar by
more than 40 percent.
#5 Brazilian
stocks declined
sharply on
Thursday. There is a tremendous amount of concern that the
economic meltdown that is happening in Argentina is going to spill
over into Brazil.
A tense ceasefire was announced in Kiev on the fifth day of violence, with radical protesters and riot police holding their position. Opposition leaders are negotiating with the government, but doubts remain that they will be able to stop the rioters.
As China's CNR reports, depositors in some of Yancheng City's largest farmers' co-operative mutual fund societies ("banks") have been unable to withdraw "hundreds of millions" in deposits in the last few weeks. "Everyone wants to borrow and no one wants to save," warned one 'salesperson', "and loan repayments are difficult to recover." There is "no money" and the doors are locked.
#8 Art
Cashin of UBS is warning that credit markets in China "may
be broken".
For much more on this, please see my recent article entitled "The
$23 Trillion Credit Bubble In China Is Starting To Collapse –
Global Financial Crisis Next?"
Wall Street was rattled by a key reading on China's manufacturing which dropped below the key 50 level in January, according to HSBC. A reading below 50 on the HSBC flash manufacturing PMI suggests economic contraction.
#12 The
unemployment rate in France has risen for 9 quarters in a row and
recently soared to a
new 16 year high.
#15 This
year, the Baltic Dry Index experienced the
largest two week post-holiday decline that
we have ever seen.
#18 A
recent CNBC article stated that U.S. consumers should expect a
"tsunami"
of store closings in the retail industry...
Get ready for the next era in retail—one that will be characterized by far fewer shops and smaller stores.
On Tuesday, Sears said that it will shutter its flagship store in downtown Chicago in April. It's the latest of about 300 store closures in the U.S. that Sears has made since 2010. The news follows announcements earlier this month of multiple store closings from major department stores J.C. Penney and Macy's.
Further signs of cuts in the industry came Wednesday, when Target said that it will eliminate 475 jobs worldwide, including some at its Minnesota headquarters, and not fill 700 empty positions.
#20 The
Dow fell by more than 170 points on Thursday. It is becoming
increasingly likely that "the peak of the market" is now in
the rear view mirror.
And
I have not even mentioned the extreme drought that has caused the
U.S. cattle herd to drop to a
61 year low or
the nuclear radiation from Fukushima that
is washing up on the west coast.
In
light of everything above, is there anyone out
there that still wants to claim that "everything is going to be
okay" for the global economy?
Sadly,
most Americans are not even aware of most of these things.
All
over the country today, the number one news headline is about Justin
Bieber.
The mainstream media is absolutely obsessed with celebrity scandals,
and so is a very large percentage of the U.S. population.
A
great economic storm is rapidly approaching, and most people don't
even seem to notice the storm clouds that are gathering on the
horizon.
In
the end, perhaps we will get what we deserve as a nation.
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