Links 11/29/2012

- China is getting ready for A world without America at the helm - You have to check out the graphs on this article, they are GREAT (although the article itself is way too China-biased, as it was published in the Asia Times): Post-US world born in Phnom Penh

- Yawn: More money-printing coming from the FED (Well, how else are they gonna save the banks from bankruptcy, and at the same time reduce the workers wages, if not by money-printing from here to eternity?).
A useful note would be to always check out Jon Hilsenrath's articles on the Wall Street Journal, as he is the 'journalist' the FED has selected to talk to when they want to convey something to the public.

- And since America is gonna to hyperinflate the dollar, what else is there for those who have savings and want to preserve them but gold?
How Do the Chinese View the Gold Market?
Indians hoard 20k tonnes gold worth record $1.16 trn

- Poverty, bankruptcies, unemployment are rising in America, the "housing bubble" is still going strong, and since the educational system is not really producing workers that are "competitive enough" in the global market, America now has an "education bubble", as students cannot repay the investment they made when they borrowed money to go to college:
Growth In College Tuition Vs. Growth In Earnings For College Graduates
Pennsylvania's Capital Is Drowning In Debt And Likely To Threaten Bankruptcy Again
Surprise: Right After The Election, New Home Sales Tumble From Downward Revised Two Year High
MCDONALD'S STRIKER: 'They're Not Paying Us Enough To Survive'

About those unemployed/underemployed workers: In Spain, they are even having lotteries where the winner gets a job, and the others starve to death. I guess that gambling will never die, in fact it will grow in times such as these, because it gives you [false] HOPE. A few workers will get a job through this lottery system, the others will remain unemployed, but everyone accepts this system, because everyone hopes that "maybe I will be the one that wins the lottery".

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ALL the major banks will be saved (via austerity AND money printing). Of course, all this money-printing inflates the currency and erodes the people's belief in this currency's credibility->The people start moving away from that currency-> hyperinflation. This is something that is happening everywhere across the West. However, Germany has other plans, as it is in relatively better shape than all the others. So Germany will accept printing money to save the banks (including the German banks) from bankruptcy, but it will require the PIIGS nations to become little more than protectorates. Furthermore, Germany is NOT going to print "unlimited" amounts of euros, like America is doing, so the euro will be a better choice for those who want to protect their savings. So, more and more "big-time" investors will start opting for the euro instead of the dollar, and this has the Americans worried, because they know that in the long run, they are screwed: Germany displaces China as US Treasury's currency villain.

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The Arctic ice cap is melting - Excellent news for energy exploration/drilling/transportation. MELT IT ALL, who cares about the enviroment and all that 'unimportant' stuff (?!): Gas tanker Ob River attempts first winter Arctic crossing.

- TECH: Intel 'preparing' to put an end to user-replaceable CPUs - From now on, the CPU will be permanently attached to the motherboard, and the user will NOT be able to upgrade it or replace it if it breaks down. And since Intel is now pretty much a monopolist (AMD is on the verge of bankruptcy), they will have their way...In reality however, most people prefer laptops and smartphones nowadays - most people don't change their CPUs, they don't even know how. So, most people won't even know the difference. The only 'player' in the CPU market that could hurt Intel, especially in the 'low-budget CPU'market, is ARM, the company that designs CPUs that are not very strong (but are strong enough for simple tasks) and are already used in smartphones, tablets, etc.