By Susan Duclos
An old question comes to mind.... if a tree falls in the forest but no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?
Of course it does.
The same goes with the economic crash that is occurring now, if no one is willing to report it, if the government denies it, if the MSM covers it up, does it mean it isn't really happening?
While the US government's official position is that we are still in "recovery," the signs all point to our upcoming financial demise, from food prices spiking which will ultimately lead to food shortages and riots, retailers closing stores by the hundreds because they are losing revenue, China and Russia among other countries dumping the use of the dollar and the recent news that the US economy has shrunk for the first time (officially) since 2011, we are looking economic death right in the face and most people don't even know the extent of the devastation about to occur.
Starting with the retail apocalypse, we go to ZeroHedge, who provides the raw data:
• Wal-Mart Profit Plunges By $220 Million as US Store Traffic Declines by 1.4%
• Target Profit Plunges by $80 Million, 16% Lower Than 2013, as Store Traffic Declines by 2.3%
• Sears Loses $358 Million in First Quarter as Comparable Store Sales at Sears Plunge by 7.8% and Sales at Kmart Plunge by 5.1%
• JC Penney Thrilled With Loss of Only $358 Million For the Quarter
• Kohl’s Operating Income Plunges by 17% as Comparable Sales Decline by 3.4%
• Costco Profit Declines by $84 Million as Comp Store Sales Only Increase by 2%
• Staples Profit Plunges by 44% as Sales Collapse and Closing Hundreds of Stores
• Gap Income Drops 22% as Same Store Sales Fall
• American Eagle Profits Tumble 86%, Will Close 150 Stores
• Aeropostale Losses $77 Million as Sales Collapse by 12%
• Best Buy Sales Decline by $300 Million as Margins Decline and Comparable Store Sales Decline by 1.3%
• Macy’s Profit Flat as Comparable Store Sales decline by 1.4%
• Dollar General Profit Plummets by 40% as Comp Store Sales Decline by 3.8%
• Urban Outfitters Earnings Collapse by 20% as Sales Stagnate
• McDonalds Earnings Fall by $66 Million as US Comp Sales Fall by 1.7%
• Darden Profit Collapses by 30% as Same Restaurant Sales Plunge by 5.6% and Company Selling Red Lobster
• TJX Misses Earnings Expectations as Sales & Earnings Flat
• Dick’s Misses Earnings Expectations as Golf Store Sales Plummet
• Home Depot Misses Earnings Expectations as Customer Traffic Only Rises by 2.2%• Lowes Misses Earnings Expectations as Customer Traffic was Flat
Food Prices Spike, via USA Today:
• Beef - Thus far, retailers have absorbed the bulk of a 22% beef price increase the past year, but Nalivka expects retailers to pass more costs to consumers this year.
• Pork: Retail pork prices rose 6.8% in the past year
• Poultry: Poultry prices increased 4.7% last year, the Agriculture Department says
• Milk: Retailers have been hit by a 36% wholesale price increase since December, and Jones says per-gallon retail prices could rise another 25 cents to 50 cents this year.
• Fruits and Vegetables: Orange prices increased 3.4% last month, and strawberry prices are up 12% vs. a year ago. Analyst Michael Swanson says prices for other fruits and vegetables could spike this year
In the videos below we the question of whether China can kill the US Dollar, a discussion on economic death and the news of the US economy shrinking for the first time since 2011, which is being called "temporary."
The numbers don't lie... people do.
Video above details:
Not only this, but China holds around 1.3 trillion dollars of US debt. A debt accumulated by China's stockpile of dollars from international trade which they lend back to the US at ridiculously low interest rates.
But what happens if they stop playing the game? Well, in some respects they already have.
For the last few years, increasing numbers of commentators, including Max Keiser, have been predicting the collapse of the US dollar, a collapse that could be closer than you think. America currently faces a very real, impending threat -- China. China accounts for more global trade than anyone else on the planet, and most of that trade happens in US dollars keeping demand for the dollar high and overseas trade at low costs.
But what happens if they stop playing the game? Well, in some respects they already have.
Cross posted at Before It's News
