As Tyler Durden writes, the NIA are notorious for their dire predictions, but most of what the organization forecast over the last few years has come to pass. "Love them or hate them, only the most self-deluded can claim that the NIA, and its predictions, have been incorrect so far in this monetary 'printing' cycle," writes Durden.
In a November 2010 press release, the NIA warned that the Federal Reserve's new quantitative easing program would cause "societal collapse" as soon as this year, and gave a price list for a number of items as an example of how hyperinflation would cripple the country. According to the NIA, within the next few years;
- A standard 24 oz loaf of bread will cost over $23 dollars.
- A 32oz package of granulated sugar will cost over $62 dollars.
- A 11.30 oz container of roast coffee will set you back over $77 dollars
- A 64 fl oz container of Minute Maid Orange Juice will cost more than $45 dollars.
- A Hershey's Milk Chocolate 1.55 oz candy bar will cost over 15 dollars.
- A plain white men's cotton t-shirt will cost $55.57.
Our prediction three years ago, based on UN documents, which was made six months before the collapse of Lehman brothers, that the world would be hit by massive food riots and anti-government unrest in the aftermath of an economic collapse, is now unfolding at an astonishing pace.
Global food prices have skyrocketed to new records in recent weeks, with many blaming Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for enacting policies that have helped trigger political unrest in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and other countries.
Food prices are already above 2008 levels, when the dollar was even weaker than it is now and when oil prices hovered at around the $150 level, with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization insisting that they are only set to rise higher.
"The (UN FAO) index averaged 230.7 points in January, up from 223.1 points in December and 206 in November. The index highlights how food prices, which throughout most of the last two decades have been stable, have taken off in alarming fashion in the last three years. In 2000 the index stood at 90 and did not break through 100 until 2004," reports the Telegraph.
Global hedge funds are now moving to corner the food and commodities market, with hedge fund manager Anthony Ward investing a purported £650m ($1 billion dollars) in the cocoa market by buying 240,000 tonnes of beans, enough to make 5 billion chocolate bars. Financial speculation on food prices has amplified volatile prices.
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http://stevenjohnhibbs.wordpress.com/2011/02/04/inflation-group-predicts-us-cities-will-erupt-like-egypt-in-4-years/
