Easiest and most efficient ways to invest in silver on the stock market

I will list below the pros and cons of investing in silver via the stock market according to each symbol.

SLV : ishares Silver Trust

• PROS: Most liquid silver investment on the stock market. Tracks the spot price of silver per USD.
  
• CONS: The banks that regulate this fund are no other than Barclays and JP Morgan. JP Morgan is known is be a major manipulator in the price of silver and this ETF is one of their main vehicles on how they can do it. There is a risk that they may not have enough silver in the trust in case of a default. (You may not even own any silver at all!)

AGQ: Ultra Silver ProShares

• PROS: Fund seeks to track the performance of the silver spot market but doubled.
• CONS: Less liquid than SLV and the fund is subject to many risks. Custodian is Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., a large private bank with limited information. Also subject to volatility in the options/futures market. (See Understanding Leveraged 2X ETFs) This ETF has little volume compared to other instruments that follow the price of silver and the BID/ASK spreads may vary away from the price of the underlying asset it's supposed to follow.

PAAS: Pan American Silver (My preferred choice)

• PROS: A Silver mining company with many mines operating throughout Latin America and Mexico. Founded in 1994.
• CONS: Subject to many things including political climate, mine status, etc. For more imformation be sure to visit their SEC Form 10-K.

There are many other silver companies such as SLW (Silver Wheaton) and SSRI (Silver Standard Resources), but they are riskier and are more speculative in nature. SLW has alot of debt and may not be able to sustain their growth. SSRI on the other hand has many silver properties are royalties but does not have a good cash flow. It is currently developing a mine for the first time but it is questionable whether or not it will be satisfactory. Transitioning to a silver mining company will be challenging.

Physical Silver is Money - End the Paper Ponzi by clearasvodka

george4title: People beginning to live out of cars and 19% unemployment

The government is also lying to us about the unemployment rate. The real unemployment rate as reported by shadowstats.com is closer to 19%.

NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate would be 19.1 percent, close to the level during the Great Depression, using the methodology that prevailed 80 years ago, according to Shadowstats.com.

According to the official Labor Department figures, the jobless rate jumped to a 25-year high of 8.1 percent in February.

However, John Williams, from ShadowStats, argues that measurement changes implemented over the years make it impossible to compare the current unemployment rate with that seen during the Great Depression, when unemployment peaked at 25 percent.

"Such would be my best estimate of a rate that would be comparable to the Great Depression readings," said Williams of the 19.1 percent reading.

Still, he noted that the Depression peak itself may have been underestimated because it was restricted to "non-farm" payrolls at a time when agricultural labor still represented more than a quarter of the economy. (Reporting by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by Tom Hals)

Lack of Moral Responsibility: The Native Americans' Reasoning

JP Morgan is in BIG Trouble!

Another Failed Bank: 17 Banks YTD

On March 6, 2009, Freedom Bank of Georgia, Commerce, GA was closed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed.

http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/freedomga.html

The pace of bank failures is accelerating!

Looking for Work? Try Debt Collection

It may not be fun but it's a job. If you're looking for work, seriously consider going into this field.

From LiveCareer News: http://www.livecareer.com/news/Business-Finance-Accounting/Recession-Fuels-Jump-In-Debt-Collection-Industry_$$00536.aspx

Recession Fuels Jump In Debt Collection Industry
03 December 2008
The collection industry is one of few that are making big gains in the current economy.
One by-product of the recession and credit crunch has been a jump in jobs involving debt collection.

A recent report by CNNMoney.com noted that nationwide consumer debt now stands at $2.59 trillion, with many consumers relying more on credit cards to finance their daily cost of living. The website added that there are about 5,500 debt collection agencies in the U.S.

"The fact that debt doesn't go away as fast as it used to is contributing to the increase in debt collectors," Mark Neeb of the Affiliated Group told CNN.

Need added that collectors are now using more efficient methods than ever to track down debtors and receive payments, including for long-past due accounts. This will further fuel demand for these jobs in the coming years.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also sees high growth in the debt collection industry in the coming years - a "much faster than average" 23 percent jump between now and 2016, to be exact.

The BLS website notes that demand is expected to be particularly strong among hospitals and doctor's offices, as well as government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) questions Ben Bernanke 3/3/09

Dow Jones Comparison Between 1929 and 2007

Courtesy of Alphatrends.net

george4title's predictions for the next 6 months

If you haven't already... sell everything you have in stocks and bonds (this includes IRA's and other retirement accounts) and hedge yourself against the coming hyperinflation. Now is the best time to buy commodities such as oil, agriculture, and silver at affordable prices.