Daily Digest 12/22 - Debt-To-GDP Passes 100%, Iran Will Not Be Allowed Nukes, Two Important Views Of The Solar Industry

• It's Official: US Debt-To-GDP Passes 100%
• Panetta: Iran Will Not Be Allowed Nukes
• The Great Economic Divide Makes Everyone Poorer
• Unplugging Our Economic Ponzi Scheme
• The Corruption Of America
• Guess Where a Big Chunk of MF Global Customer Money Just Turned Up? At JPM London
• London Trader - There are Tremendous Silver Shortages
• Dear Jamie Dimon
• Marc Faber Interview
• Solar Investing: Two Important Views Of The Solar Industry
• Commodity Trading Trends: Is Crude Oil Cheap?
• Power Supplier Allowed To Keep Trading With $565m Debt
• A Severe Decrease in Oil Supply Could Devastate the World Population
• 14,000 U.S. Deaths Tied to Fukushima Reactor Disaster Fallout, Says Peer-Reviewed Medical Journal Article

Follow our steps to prepare for a world after peak oil, such as how to store & filter water

Economy

It's Official: US Debt-To-GDP Passes 100% (pinecarr)

With precisely one year left for the world and all of its inhabitants, at least according to the Mayans, not to mention on the day of the Winter Solstice, it is only fitting that US debt, net of all settlements for all already completed bond auctions, is now at precisely $15,182,756,264,288.80. Why is this relevant? Because the latest annualized US GDP, according to the BEA, was $15,180,900,000.00. Which means that, as of today, total US debt to GDP is 100.012%. Congratulations America: you are now in the triple digit "debt to GDP" club!

(naturally, this is using purely "on the books" data. If one adds the NPV of all US liabilities, and adjusts GDP for such things as today's housing contraction, then the magical triple digit threshold was breached long, long ago).

Panetta: Iran Will Not Be Allowed Nukes (bob980)

CBS News anchor Scott Pelley caught up with Secretary Panetta on his tour last week of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. On the way home, he boarded the jet nicknamed "The Doomsday Plane." This is the command post where he and the president would direct a nuclear war. In an interview for "60 Minutes," we sat down in the compartment where he would execute the commander-in-chief's orders. Panetta told CBS News that Iran needs only one year to build a nuclear weapon.

The Great Economic Divide Makes Everyone Poorer (jdargis)

If everyone is asked to contribute equally to the swing set, $300 each, it won’t get purchased since that is more than the poorer households are willing to pay. But there are arrangements that will work. Suppose, for example, that the wealthy family offers to put up half, $600, leaving the other three families to share the remaining $600, or $200 each. The wealthy family gets a swing set for $600 even though it would have been willing to pay up to $800 for it – economists say this family enjoys $200 in consumer surplus. The less wealthy families also receive $50 in consumer surplus since each household gets the playground equipment for only $200 even though it would have paid $250.

Unplugging Our Economic Ponzi Scheme (BrockH)

My predecessors wrote: “Western man’s clever technology, self-motivation, work ethic, economic system, and regard for the individual all came after and are all solidly rooted in the windfall resources and profits of The Great Frontier ... And now that most of the cream has been skimmed from this windfall, capitalism (the economic sys­tem so ideally suited for the exploitation of a seemingly endless storehouse of natu­ral riches) will decline, prosperity will slip through (our) fingers ...

The Corruption Of America (June C.)

Most important, our data "proves" something I know many of you have felt or perceived for many years. You've seen the decline of your neighborhoods. You've gone years without being able to earn more money in your job. Or you've seen your purchasing power decrease to the point where you're now substituting lower-quality products on your grocery list for the brand-name products you used to buy.

Guess Where a Big Chunk of MF Global Customer Money Just Turned Up? At JPM London (June C.)

I enjoyed the 'report' saying that George Soros had received the funds and assets. As if he was engaged in margin calls with MF Global prior to bankruptcy. He might have bought something in the aftermarket peddled to him by the original recipient who held MF Global testicular-wise before they went under. That was the most likely reason the firm would take the risk and dip into customer funds in desperation to maintain their 'winning positions.'

It is also credible that MFG was 'set up' by a company with an inside knowledge of their financial condition and cash flows.

London Trader - There are Tremendous Silver Shortages (June C.)

King World News is receiving reports of significant waits for delivery of silver. Today King World News interviewed the “London Trader” to get his take on the situation. The source stated, “It is so tight, the silver market is so tight that we’ve been waiting three weeks plus, before this takedown, for deliveries of size to arrive. I’m talking about tonnage orders. This is also key, most of the silver being delivered was refined after the orders had been placed, and again, that was before the takedown. You can just imagine how long the wait times will be going forward.”

Dear Jamie Dimon (June C.)

Here in New York, we hated watching real estate and financial services elitists drive up the prices of everything from affordable apartments to martinis in midtown with the reckless speculation that would eventually lead to mass layoffs, rampant joblessness and the wreckage of so many retirement dreams. No one ever asked the rest of us if we minded, it just happened. I'm sure people across the country can tell similar stories.

Marc Faber Interview (Phil H.)

Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom and Doom Report, says there will be a global market collapse and the entire derivatives market will one day cease to exist , for daily reports and videos on gold and silver.

Energy

Solar Investing: Two Important Views Of The Solar Industry (David B.)

While the solar industry (NYSEARCA:TAN) has had a series of bad things happen to it this year, it all got summed up in solar energy device manufacturer First Solar’s (NASDAQ:FSLR) recent guidance. The company further revised downward its earnings outlook for the full year in 2011, to $5.75 to $6.00 per share on revenue of $2.8 billion to $2.9 billion, from a previous outlook of $6.50 to $7.50 per share on revenue of $3billion to $3.3 billion. Next year’s numbers were projected as EPS $3.75 to $4.25 on revenue of $3.7 to $4 billion.

Commodity Trading Trends: Is Crude Oil Cheap? (David B.)

This year saw prices jump as high as $114/barrel amid uncertainty in the Middle East among other factors. The stage is set for 2012 to experience similar problems, only this time it seems that the issues will stem from Iran, a much more significant force in the crude industry. Aside from the political issues in one of the world’s largest producers, emerging market demand and tight supplies are also major factors that will come into play for 2012. With oil taking a hit the past week, now might be a great time to buy in before the energy source makes another surge. Note that no matter where crude is headed, it will certainly be a bumpy road getting there. The commodity is heavily correlated to major equities and is known for its volatile daily movements.

Power Supplier Allowed To Keep Trading With $565m Debt (Thoth)

Loy Yang Power's chief executive, Ian Nethercote, told the Herald the company had received a ''no action'' letter from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission - allowing it to continue to trade after debt totalling $565 million due in November became a current liability on its books.

A Severe Decrease in Oil Supply Could Devastate the World Population (James S.)

An analogy can be drawn with the growth of bacteria, which, so long as there is sufficient food available, follows a "sigmoid curve". There is an initial growth in population which multiplies rapidly (the rising upper of the sigmoid), and then levels off abruptly when the food supply becomes restricted relative to the new, far larger population. Then they begin to eat each other instead, and the number of bacteria remaining alive plummets

Environment

14,000 U.S. Deaths Tied to Fukushima Reactor Disaster Fallout, Says Peer-Reviewed Medical Journal Article (guardia)

An estimated 14,000 excess deaths in the United States are linked to the radioactive fallout from the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear reactors in Japan, according to a major new article in the December 2011 edition of the International Journal of Health Services.

Article suggestions for the Daily Digest can be sent to dd@PeakProsperity.com. All suggestions are filtered by the Daily Digest team and preference is given to those that are in alignment with the message of the Crash Course and the "3 Es."