Daily Digest - July 2

Jim Rogers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyqAKCsJIQ0

Peter Schiff answering your Reddit questions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDO98msKz-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQXkL31mam0

Peter Schiff Vlog Report july 1st 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49dsTDANgJM

 Chuck Butler, President of EverBank World Markets had this to say on his blog today 7/2/09:

"And one more thing on the job losses for June that will print this morning... If the "forecast" number of lost jobs prints... it would mean that the number of people working today, in 2009, would be about the same number of people that were working in May of 2000! Talk about a Lost Decade!  I wonder if the major media will pick up this fact? Now wouldn't that be a big surprise to all those folks that were surveyed last week for Consumer Confidence? 

The strangest of today though will be the fact that the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims will print, and probably show that over 600,000 jobs were lost last week, as unemployment claims were filed.

So... How does the BLS come up with "only" 365,000 jobs lost for the month, when just one week was 600,000?  The games people play now... Every night and every day now... Never meaning what they say now... Never saying what they mean."

Not sure if this has been posted here already?

I've been watching this project and the HVDC supergrid for a while now, but this is one of the most positive stories I've read for a long time. Anyway what's $560 million these days?

World’s Most Daring Solar Energy Project Coming to Fruition

The world’s most ambitious renewable energy project ever conceived, the Desertec Project, may soon be underway in North Africa.

Once a pipe dream of European scientists and engineers, the Desertec Project aims to establish 6,500 square miles of renewable thermal solar power plants in the Sahara Desert of North Africa, along with a super-grid of high voltage transmission lines to supply countries in Europe and Africa with electricity.

The project has finally gained the financial support of a consortium of major companies and organizations such as Deutsche Bank AG, Siemens AG, Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation, The Club of Rome, and many others. Its goal is to supply continental Europe with up to 15 percent of its total energy needs.

The cost associated with building the Desertec solar power plants and transmission lines through 2050 is estimated at around 400 billion euros ($560 billion).

A project of such gigantic scope and expense has drummed up both excitement and criticism from experts.

The Desertec Project will bring renewable energy to the mainstream by creating clean, CO2-free and stable energy generated from the sun alone. Leaving fossil fuel behind, Desertec is a great leap in technology, creativity, and engineering.

“The time now is perfect to start this initiative, as climate protection has become an urgent issue and our economies need new impulses,” said Alexander Mohanty, a spokesman from Munich Re, a large German insurance company spearheading this project.
Critics Voice Complaints

But critics say that a project this costly—and using current solar technology that may not have reached maximum efficiency—should be approached with caution.

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall AB, which has extensive operations in Germany, is not supporting this undertaking.

“It costs too much money,” said Vattenfall CEO Lars Josefsson, in a Financial Times interview. “Besides that, the transmission costs are too high. I don’t think it’s realistic.”

“Europe should create its electricity in Europe,” he concluded.

As an alternative, Josefsson believes in building more coal-powered generating plants that have newer CCS technology aimed at lowering CO2 emissions.

Some experts also fear that if such a large portion of European electricity production is outsourced to Africa, it would create a political dependency on North African countries, some of which have unstable political environments.

The creation of centralized solar energy plants in Africa also raises its vulnerability for terrorist attacks. If someone attacks the transmission lines, much of Europe could be without electricity.
Concentrating Solar Power

Solar thermal power plants use the method of harvesting solar energy called concentrating solar power (CSP). It works in a way very similar to burning a paper with the sun’s rays through a magnifying glass. A thermal solar power plant works with the same principle by arranging a set of magnifying glasses and mirrors that produce a very powerful sunbeam. This sunbeam heats up water, turning it into steam that rotates turbines to produce electricity. The electricity is then carried via high-voltage transmission lines to users.

At nighttime, the power generated during the day is stored in special salt-like batteries, which enables the turbines to be running through the night, creating a 24-hour generation system.

The CSP method should not be confused with photovoltaic energy, which doesn’t heat up water, but directly produces electricity and stores it in batteries.

CSP plants are generally cleaner, cheaper, and have lower maintenance costs compared to photovoltaic energy generation. Photovoltaic energy, on the other hand, is not centrally dependent, meaning that panels could be purchased by any individual and placed on a rooftop, allowing greater flexibility.

Smaller CSP projects have already achieved some success. In the Mojave Desert of California, there are a total of 9 solar thermal plants that have been built and used since the 1980s. Spain, India, Mexico, and South Africa are also set to build such plants in the near future.

If the Desertec Project is successful, it would not only benefit Europe, but also North African countries. It would supply them with very cheap energy, create jobs, and provide an opportunity to export goods via trade.
“The project is sending a strong signal that investments in renewable energies don’t just make ecological sense, they make economic sense as well,” said a Financial Times report.

How do you get hyperinflartion without growth in wages. All that will happen is demand will collapse as people can  no longer afford the same standard of living. If your $ collapses, yes you may get inflation but I dont see Hyper inflation.

Disclaimer

I ve been wrong before

Hello Andrew:

Your exactly correct the dollar could collapse. Who really knows? But this is my hunch of what will happen. China I think is secretly dumping their dollars with each and every purchase of raw commodities, if I'm not misstaken this is all done with the dollar.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47386

TECHNOLOGY:  Rare Metals Could Trigger Next Trade War By Emilio Godoy*

MEXICO CITY, Jun 26 (IPS/IFEJ) - Used in electric  car motors and wind turbines, neodymium, a "rare earth metal," is at the epicentre of the race between wealthy and emerging nations to create green technologies, while poorer countries appear to be relegated to spectator status.

Neodymium is a lanthanoid, at position 60 on the periodic table of elements for the number of atoms in a single molecule. Its production and wide range of uses reflect the quiet competition over raw materials in the area of green technologies.

José Luis Giordano, associate professor of engineering at the University of Talca in Chile, noted in an interview that there is a battle between the United States, China and Japan over neodymium, samarium and praseodymium, over ceramic superconductors, and for alternatives to these materials, still in the experimental stages.

The history of business development around neodymium shows how China has imposed its conditions. In 1982, the U.S.-based General Motors, Sumitomo Special Metals and the Chinese Academy of Sciences invented a magnet made from neodymium, boron and iron. In 1986 they put it on the market through a new division of GM known as Magnequench.

. . .
IN AUSTRALIA

In May, two Chinese companies invested in two Australian mining companies, Lynas and Arafura (acquiring half plus one of the shares of the former and 25 percent of the latter) that are beginning operations to extract and, in the case of Lynas refine, large volumes of rare metals.

Lifton believes that China will not allow western nations to purchase neodymium for future delivery outside of their territories and not even for sales inside China if intended for export.

This means the Asian nation could harden its strategy to acquire companies abroad and that the industrial powers and developing countries would have to seek other suppliers of green technologies.

Smith predicted that if the United States does not renew its capacities, in the best case it will become a source of raw materials for China's production, and not a manufacturer itself of advanced clean technologies.

So far there are no viable alternatives to the rare metals. . . .

I would haave thought the last thing China wants is to become the worlds reserve currency. This would imply a strong currency, look at the lenghts China goes to to keep its Currency under valued. All the world wants a new reserve currency but they want theirs to remain weak against it, this will stop any short term solution to the problems facing the US dollar.

How do you get hyperinflartion without growth in wages.

Inflation is not caused by rising wages, rising wages are merely a ymptom of inflation.

Should the dollar collapse, then as its worth goes down the tubes, the value of other things goes up, especially if it's imported.. If the $'s worth really plunges, then hyperinflation is a fait accompli.

Mike

Yes, its bad in the states but you are much better off than many. I dont think you should expect a collapse in your dollar.  You are such huge consumers and the rest of the world hangs its hat on that consumption. If your real wages fall then consumption will fall. Most of what you consume is made somewhere else. You are exporting your recession very sucessfully. I think this time we are all going down together.

 If it´s interesting to anyone, here´s some news in the mainstream press in Germany. The Financial Times Germany has the following article today about the financial crisis, here an amateurs translation: 

-A Failed Buisiness Model

Despite the fact that the US-Governement pumps trillions into the system, employmentrate and wage-incomes fall like a stone. Instead of fantasiesing about the end of the recession, investors should come to terms with the fact, that the american buisiness model has failed.-

The article goes on to ridicule those economic experts who proclaim a soon end of the recession backing up that claim using bogus or distorted data. 

It then concludes that basically the US need an entirely new buisiness model and the idea of- consum like crazy, no matter what- is finished.

In found this article rather interesting.

kindly mono