Servias Ministries Blog

Japan is a disaster: astronomical debt and zero interest rates.  They may not survive  in the current system. 

Europe:  Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, France, the UK are all virtually bankrupt economies.

USA:  The biggest debtor in the world and can never repay its debt.  The Fed’s balance sheet has gone from $800 billion in 2008 when the crisis started, to $3.2 trillion now.  The Fed’s balance sheet is growing exponentially.  They are now buying 75% of all new Treasury issuances.  The purchases may go to 100%. 

Globally:  Liquidity injections (since 2008) are roughly $20 trillion with no effect whatsoever on the real economy.  These injections have only helped banks and created bubbles in stocks, bonds, and property markets.  Total world debt (excluding unfunded liabilities) is about $250 trillion with at least 1/3 is possibly bad debt, roughly equivalent to the world GDP ($70 Trillion).

Can the world repay $70 trillion of bad debt with real money? 

Global Derivatives: more than one quadrillion dollars, much is worthless. 

The month of May:  15 central banks lowered interest rates thus competing to debase their currencies.  James Rickards wrote on this in his book “Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis”.

Collapsing currencies worldwide will bring forth hyperinflation. 

Gold will ultimately respond and maintain its purchasing power.  Relative to paper money, the gold price is likely to have several zeros after it in coming years.

The Physical Gold Market.  The LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) reported record gold transactions in April, of +25%, the highest level since gold peaked in September of 2011. Physical trading is at the same level where it was when gold was at its peak at $1,900. 

And this is just a simple review.

As a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), I can tell you that corporate spending decisions are highly effected by the cost of money.  Decisions to build, expand, etc. are all about return on investment.  Why do you think Corporate America has moved all of its manufacturing offshore?  It’s all about the bottom line.  The average worker or the future of American infrastructure does not matter.  It is every man for himself and that is the crux of the problem of the current macroeconomic model.

The current system is based on greed and self-interest and is identified historically by its boom and bust cycles.  Fear and greed play their role in moving up and down the economic cycle.  The stock market reflects this reality.  Central planners play with the cycle, sometimes extending some aspect of it, but in the end the cycle continues its roller coaster ride.

Germany has thrown in the austerity towel and is now in the money printing business as well.  They see no other way but to join in with the other countries.  Their self-interest necessitates the change in policy.  Why make their citizens suffer when other countries won’t go down the road of austerity to correct the overall problem.

Ben Bernanke’s bet on low interest rates will ultimately backfire.  Do you really think that a handful of intellectuals can accurately assess the complexity of the global economic system?  Only Our Heavenly Father has the capacity to properly guide people through a righteous and equitable path to prosperity.  Time and time again, history proves this to be correct.

Zero interest rates do work in a righteous economy.  Scripture tells us to not charge usury to our brothers and sisters but the current motivation isn’t Biblical-based economics.  The unrighteousness in the current system only serves to further the problem.  Greed perpetuates the current direction and the central planners will throw anyone under the bus who gets in their way.  They use terms such as “greater good” and “you don’t understand” as they rationalize their new economic theories.

Gold and silver will ultimately migrate their way to new highs.  The dam of resistance will at some point give way to the true market price of these two precious metals.  You can’t use one Biblical principle (zero interest rate) and expect unrighteous acts to sustain themselves indefinitely.  Our Heavenly Father does not look the other way simply ignoring the bigger issue of greed.  The Heavenly Court will ultimately rule in favor of righteousness.  Those who are called to Spiritual Warfare will lead the way for a Heavenly ruling to come down in favor of the righteous.  Judgment will be assessed on the current system and the day of reckoning will come forth.  Until this day comes forth, we must remain vigilant and continue pressing in and aligning ourselves with the righteousness and character of Our Heavenly Father.  Yes, we will  have some setbacks but overall we will move toward full maturity.  We must not become complacent and accept the current system as being permanent.  The problems are there no matter how much the central planners try to cover them up with half truths, manipulated rates, or managed reports of false recovery.  Our Heavenly Father will give us plenty of time to reach maturity but when the day of reckoning arrives, judgment will come in full force on the current system and there will be no refuge for the lies anymore.

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah clinically dead: Report says

See:  http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/26/305584/saudi-arabias-king-clinically-dead/

The Federal Reserve has added yet another bubble to the current list of bubbles:  the Current Assumption Bubble.  This one is based on several other bubbles staying inflated.  Let me explain.  Historically, a corporate financial officer needed about a 15% return on investment (ROI) to agree to a capital expenditure.  This ROI had underlying assumptions of revenue flows, cost of money (interest rates), future cost of materials, etc.  Now enters the Fed who manipulates the cost of money, props up the revenue flows, and inflates the cost of materials.  The CFO is now basing his decision on assumptions that have been manipulated by the Fed.  Once the Fed quits stimulating the economy, the current decision is no longer valid.  If the assumptions change rapidly then the CFO not only scraps the project but then moves into a full defensive posture and shrinks all cash outflow to cover the costs of the bad decision.  By extending the Quantitative Easing (in its fifth year), the business cycle has been totally distorted.

This is true for individuals as well.  As we are lulled into believing all is okay, there awaits a day of reckoning.  My goal is not to induce fear but to warn of potential harm that may come to the brethren if we do not remain vigilant.  The financial institutions managed to virtually eliminate the jubilee of bankruptcy of individuals in the U.S.  Why did they do this?  The saw what was coming and wanted to protect their interests by changing the laws to hurt the average borrower.  This change in the law resulted in further enslavement of the masses to the financial institutions.  Could this be one of the reasons for an overall increase in the suicide rate versus the Great Depression?

People continue to feel the pinch of the current economic environment while being told that the nation is in a recovery.  The numbers don’t confirm the recovery.  Live simpler, be careful of additional debt, and ask Our Heavenly Father for guidance in your expenditures.

The physical parallels the Spiritual and the current gold market is no different.  The current gold market is made up of the paper market which is a manipulated, exploitive, worldly system and a physical market where the actual metal changes hands and is based on “equal weights and measures”, an ounce of gold for a specific price.  In Scripture, gold represents Divine Nature and just as there are counterfeits who would have us believe they are Divinely inspired, the paper market wants to manipulate us into believing it represents the physical market.

The current price in the paper market would have us believe there is no longer high demand for gold.  In the physical market it is just the opposite.  When I went to a local coin dealer Friday to purchase a silver coin for a person who was unable to get a Census coin locally, the dealer indicated that there are no local sellers of gold.  Everyone that walks through his door is a buyer.  There is a substantial lead time for him to acquire more gold through his suppliers.  It is no different around the globe.  Governments and individuals are all buying the physical precious metals at these low prices, thanks to the Western central planners who are trying to manipulate the public by suppressing the price of gold.  Why?  Gold is the best barometer to reflect fiat currency depreciation which is happening at an epic pace.

There has been over $17 Trillion in fiat currency printed since the crisis of 2008 and it has not produced a global recovery.  I have kept you abreast of what I believe to be the most honest representation of the U.S. economy reported by shadowstats.com.  This unprecedented printing of fiat currency will ultimate have to be reconciled.  Historically, it has never ended well and this time it will only end worse be some magnitude.  Mankind has always believed that the current generation was smarter than the previous who failed.  The Great Depression of the 1930’s was the primary focus of study by Ben Bernanke.  His actions are based on what he believes should have been the corrective actions to prevent the Great Depression from happening.  The problem is that the state of all of man’s systems have changed and the remedies of the 1930’s do not necessarily correlate to the remedies needed today.  The systems today are much more complex than the 1930’s.  Computer-based banking, stock trading, communications, etc. is a 1930’s economy on steroids.  Interest rates are at records lows and the global economy is not responding.

Gold prices should be at record highs.  If they were at record highs, nobody would put any of their wealth in the fiat currencies that are backed by nothing but perception.  As a bank depositor, you are an unsecured creditor to that bank.  If the bank goes under and the FDIC or similar insuring agency is overwhelmed with claims, kiss you deposit goodbye.  Plans are being put in place to reclassify your deposits and issuing bank stock if a bank goes under.  That converts a liability to equity and “voila” the bank is back in business.  These are tumultuous times in the financial arena and the average man will be the loser in the end.  The ultra-rich have been stockpiling gold, silver, and other tangible assets as a guard against collapse, insurance of sorts.

The Spiritual warfare has been on the rise lately.  It would indicate a change is at hand.  The Divine always trumps the worldly as will be the case this time as well.  There will be a separating of the sheep and the goats.  At some point the paper market will be separated from the physical market.  When that happens gold will reflect its true value at much higher levels.  Silver will do the same.  I expect silver to move back to its historic ratio to gold:  sixteen to one, a Love ratio.

Interest rates have been at near 0% for four years.  Our elderly who have saved for retirement all their lives have paid dearly for the greed of a few.  The central planners have tried to compensate by inflating the stock market and reward people for taking risks with their retirement funds.  People who invest in the stock market are subject to the large hedge fund managers who have enough cash to move a stock down for a quick derivative profit.  Right now, dividend stocks are the preferred stocks in that their return on investment exceeds the savings rate by multiples but the risks are also multiples versus a standard savings account… until Cyprus came along.  There is no safety in the current system.  The current system is set up to fail.

What is the solution?  Focus on your calling.  Our Heavenly Father supports your calling and will ultimately provide you the resources to meet that calling.  HE expects you to grow in faith, to listen to HIM, and to walk in Love.  If you are weak in those areas, then pursue a greater understanding by meditating on the Word day and night.  By practicing the revelation you receive.  Become Love.  Sacrifice your “self” on the altar.  Be a blessing to those around you.  There are needs all over your country that can be met by those who listen to Our Heavenly Father.  These are times of great change and we should expect that Our Heavenly Father will bring forth deliverance from Mystery Babylon as it falls.  HE will not leave a vacuum but will fill it with HIS Glory.  The time of judgment of greed and avarice must run its course.  The flesh must consume itself as the lusts become fully exposed just as Sodom and Gomorrah.  The Sons of GOD have been in an extended training program that is surely bringing them into full maturity.

The elderly will continue to suffer and this will be offset by those who are called to assist them.  The greed of Wall Street will continue until its judgment has fully come.  We must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Those with financial callings will be empowered to attract funds and resources to support the Kingdom.  The waters can be treacherous but we have HIS Spirit to guide us to the fullness of our calling.

Socialism is not in the least what it pretends to be. It is not the pioneer of a better and finer world, but the spoiler of what thousands of years of civilization have created. It does not build, it destroys. For destruction is the essence of it. It produces nothing, it only consumes what the social order based on private ownership in the means of production has created.
– Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) Economist and social philosopher

Selah!

The gold & silver stocks have been bouncing near the bottom of their price range for several weeks now.  Fridays tend to be the takedown day as has been the case for quite some time.  The price of silver acts like the price of gold but on steroids.  Silver is not for the feint of heart although I expect silver to outperform gold percentage-wise over the next 24 months.  Because of silver’s depressed price, more so than gold, its percentage gains should be much higher.  If you invest in silver, make sure your heart is in good condition for the price will take you on a ride similar to a giant roller coaster.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said late Monday he will begin tapping into two government employee retirement funds to buy more time before the U.S. Treasury is faced with the prospect of defaulting on the national debt.  Yes, he will repay the pension funds with interest (lol) when the U.S. lawmakers approve additional deficit spending.  You can be assured that this will not be the last look at pension funds being a source of cash for government bailouts, or bail-ins as the case may be.  After all, you haven’t paid tax on that money so it really isn’t yours yet.  Can’t you see the rationalization that will come out of politicians’ mouths when they look for cash to fund their projects?  Come on now, it is for the greater good.

The bullish sentiment for junior gold miners is at virtually zero, prices for their product are depressed, relatively speaking.  Long-term savvy investors tend to look at these indicators as strong buying opportunities.  Remember when gold was $275 an ounce and silver was $5.50?  How did these guys stay in business then?

“A federal judge recently ruled that if someone has their cell phone turned on, their location data does not deserve protection under the Fourth Amendment, meaning law enforcement can track individuals without a search warrant.”   See: http://rt.com/usa/no-cell-privacy-expectation-399/

Isn’t that fabulous that we are all carrying tracking devices around?  Yes, we even paid for them ourselves.  Now that is efficient.  As for me, I don’t care who knows where I’m at and what I am saying over the phone.  Our Heavenly Father has been tracking my movements for years and listens to every word I speak.  And for that, HE has taken me to the woodshed more than just a few times.  As we pursue the close relationship with Our Heavenly Father we become less concerned about the infringement of our constitutional rights.

The current system will continue to deteriorate for all of man’s systems lead towards death.  History shows us this cycle of imperfection.  Our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom will replace the economic, political, and religious systems currently in place.  They must continue their decline into their fully perverted states.  Men will cling to those systems even though all the clues will point to a more excellent way.  They relate only with the familiar.  The remnant continues its preparation, shedding the worldly weights.  The Census continues until September 14th.

The term “one hour” in Scripture also represents 15 days or 15 years:  1 hour is to 24 hours in a day as 15 days is to 360, or 360 days divided by 24  = 15.  We celebrated the 2,000 birthday of Our Lord Jesus Christ on 9/11/1999 at Port Austin, Michigan.  It has been reckoned to be His 2000th birthday from the Feast of Trumpets in 2 B.C. (He was born on Sept. 29, 2 B.C.) or two millennium, The Church Age.  This September marks the 15th year since the celebration, or one hour in prophetic time.  Two Scriptures come to mind:

To those who are called:

Matthew 26:40   And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch (arise, rise up) with me one hour?

To the world:

Revelations 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Are we roughly 16 months from desolation?

Gold continues to be a tale of two cities.  The paper market shows gold to be in a bear market whereas the physical market continues strong physical demand and indicates the strong bull market is still intact.  Central banks continue to increase their physical inventory of gold reserves.  If gold was out of favor as the mainstream financial media would have us believe, why are central banks dramatically increasing their positions?  They are not optimistic about the future of the U.S. Dollar as a reserve currency.  The Kings of the East continue to gain power in the global marketplace.  They are distancing themselves from the Western control that has exploited them for the last several decades.  China increased its reserves by 20% in the first quarter.

There has been much written about economic changes ahead.  Only Our Heavenly Father knows how all of this complexity will play out.  It is critical to pursue the wisdom from Above.  Our Heavenly Father has given us principles to live by.  The world system would have us throw away all the wisdom contained in Scripture and pursue man’s idea of wealth and safety.  The past financial bubbles are a testimony to man’s inability to preserve wealth.  There is no level playing field in the current financial infrastructure.  The financial markets favor the wealthy and well-connected as does the political environment.  Insiders exploit their positions with impunity.  Meanwhile the masses attempt to make ends meet with inflation eating up the weekly paycheck.

Proverbs 22:7  The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. (NASB)

When you are focused on serving the lender, it surely is more challenging to be quiet and hear that still, small voice.

:9  He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor.

When you are not highly leveraged, you are able to meet others’ needs instead of serving your leveraged position.

When you possess physical gold and physical silver, you have voted against the current system of fractional banking.  When you pay off your debts, you have freed up your cash flow to respond to unexpected events.  When you remove the complexities, weights, and hindrances from your midst, you allow yourself to become more flexible and agile in responding to the Word of THE LORD.  Let not the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in prevent you from being fruitful for the Kingdom.

Gold and silver are “bridge” items between now and the fulfillment of the Kingdom.  These precious metals are useful for storing value until we no longer have use for them, the point at which the Kingdom has replaced the world system.  Our Heavenly Father established their characteristics and value among men.  There is no evidence that Adam had need of these metals prior to the fall.  Jesus was able to rally the required assets as the need arose.  He saw no need for precious metals other than to meet the obligations at hand.  When the Kingdom Economy comes forth, Our Heavenly Father will fully reveal the details of how exchange of value will work in a fully righteous system.  Until then, reduce your exposure to the current system’s snares.