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The era of finance capitalism is marked by a curious shift in the desire of the business world: to get out of the business of making things people use, and into the business of getting money for owning, extracting and/or liquidating things.

The thing is, this isn't a good strategy. Not only did the drive to build up financial institutions themselves precipitate the financial crisis (tanking Lehman Brothers in the process, and bringing the rest to the brink of extinction, forced to beg for government handouts), but all the real-economy businesses that tried to become financial institutions also collapsed in the crisis: GM converted its making-cars business to a issuing loans business and nearly croaked as a result; ditto GE.

Since then, the extractive model has shown itself to be a loser for businesses do things that people value: Toys R Us was looted into bankruptcy; so was Sears.

But the dream of extractive rentierism still haunts the managerial classes.

Take Ford CEO Jim Hackett, whose recent Freakonomics Radio appearance celebrated his company's shift from a car business to a debt-issuance business, with Ford Credit now accounting for a third of the company's profits. Hackett vowed to increase that share by using the leverage he could exert over his debtors to force them to let him spy on them (for example, by doubling down on GM's car radio surveillance), and then cross-referencing this data on the data borrowers are forced to supply in order to buy their cars, and with data-sets from corporate acquisitions like the scooter company Spin.

It's funny how these real-economy naifs keep getting taken for rides by finance svengalis, who convince them to convert their making-things-people-need businesses to extracting-value-at-loan-point businesses. Every single time, they end up like the bottom tier of a pyramid scheme, emptying their pockets to benefit the con-artists who kicked the whole business off.

For the CEO of Ford to announce that he will goose his company's debt business with a surveillance business at the exact moment that the world's biggest debt issuers and surveillance businesses are coming under tight scrutiny and fretting about massive regulation as they head into another 2008-grade crisis is pretty perfect rustbelt timing. Welcome to the bottom of the pyramid, Ford. Your financial betters will be along shortly to get rich off of your touching enthusiasm and trust.

“We have 100 million people in vehicles today that are sitting in Ford blue-oval vehicles. That’s the case for monetizing opportunity versus an upstart who maybe has, I don’t know, what, they got 120, or 200,000 vehicles in place now. And so just compare the two stacks: Which one would you like to have the data from?” Hackett said, according to the podcast transcript.

“The issue in the vehicle, see, is: We already know and have data on our customers. By the way, we protect this securely; they trust us,” Hackett said. “We know what people make. How do we know that? It’s because they borrow money from us. And when you ask somebody what they make, we know where they work, you know. We know if they’re married. We know how long they’ve lived in their house because these are all on the credit applications. We’ve never ever been challenged on how we use that. And that’s the leverage we got here with the data.”

Data could be what Ford sells next as it looks for new revenue [Phoebe Wall Howard/Detroit Free Press]

The Federal Reserve, or the Fed as it is lovingly called, may be one of the most mysterious entities in modern American government.  Created during Wilson's presidency to protect the economy in times of financial turmoil, its real business remains to be discovered. During the Wilson presidency, the U.S. government sanctions the creation of the Federal Reserve. Thought by many to be a government organization maintained to provide financial accountability in the event of a domestic depression, the actual business of the Fed is shrouded in secrecy.

Many Americans will be shocked to discover that the principle business of the Fed is to print money from nothing, lend it to the U.S. government and charge interest on these loans. Who keeps the interest? Good question. Find out as the connective tissue between this and other top-secret international organizations is explored and exposed.

This 41 minute film is a great introduction into how the banking system really works.  This information should be taught to every single American in the public schools, yet is not, simply because if everyone knew the criminal nature or what bankers are getting away with, nobody would put up with it.  After watching this film, I highly recommend you take the time to watch the 3.5 hour Money Masters, for a complete history that will blow your mind! 

This is a fairly old presentation that details exactly who the people are in control of all the most powerful institutions on this planet and who control virtually all major world events because of it.   It also reveals the simple steps we can all take to put an end to their reign, all of which this project endorses whole-heartedly.  We have to eliminate their power base, control of government and control of our currency and credit.   Once we doe that, they fall.

It's amazing how relevant and accurate this presentation is today.  Everything is accurate except the fact that "communism" is no longer our biggest, baddest enemy.

The average American family today carries 10 credit cards. Credit card debt and personal bankruptcies are now at an all time high. With no  legal limit on the amount of interest or fees that can be charged, credit cards have become the most profitable sector of the American banking industry: more than $30 billion in profits last year alone. FRONTLINE examines how the credit card industry became so pervasive, so lucrative, and so powerful.

The following audio is from a recent interview with Dr. Jerome Corsi and a second interview with William Murphy concerning the revelation that the central banks have been manipulating the gold market to keep the price of gold artificially low in order to keep the value of the dollar up as they've been simultaneously inflating the currency.  The result is finally hitting the fan as the dollar value is rapidly plunging and the price of gold can no longer be held artificially low.  This has all been done on purpose, to destroy the currency and consolidate real assets into the hands of the robber barons.  There is no end to the lying, deceit and treachery of the world bankers.

This story exposes the primary reason why we have to put an end to corporate control of our Congress.  The legal fiction of "corporate personhood" is primary reason the bankers were allowed to take over Congress, set up the Federal Reserve and through their control of our currency and extension of credit through the outright fraud of the "fractional reserve banking scheme" we have allowed them to amass most of the wealth and assets of the world for themselves.

U.S. central banks may have less than half the gold they claim to possess in their vaults, charges a watchdog group in an ad scheduled for publication in the Wall Street Journal this week.

As WND reported, the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, or GATA, claims the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury are surreptitiously manipulating the country's gold reserves by participating in undisclosed leases, according to an advance copy WND obtained of the ad running in Thursday's edition of the Journal.

GATA believes much of the borrowed gold out on lease will never be returned to the central banks.

"With the demand for gold so strong worldwide, it has become impossible to return much of the leased gold without driving the price to the moon," said GATA's chairman, William J. Murphy III.

"Most observers calculate central bank reserves are supposed to have about 30,000 tons of gold worldwide in their vaults, but we believe the amount of gold actually there may be more like 15,000 tons," Murphy said. "The rest of the gold is gone."

The U.S. Treasury denies the claim, insisting the stock is accounted for regularly."We want to expose and stop the manipulation of the gold market by the United States Treasury and Federal Reserve right now," Murphy said.

 "The purpose of this ad is to wake people up in the investment world as to what is going on behind the scenes in the U.S. gold and financial markets," Murphy told WND.

He explained GATA has decided to pay the Wall Street Journal $264,000 for a one-time placement of the full page ad in the national edition because the financial press has not covered the story.

"We have had two major international conferences since 2001; the mainstream financial press has blackballed our message," Murphy explained.

"Anybody Seen Our Gold?" the ad is titled, charging U.S. gold reserves held at depositories such as Fort Knox or West Point may have been seriously depleted as they are shipped overseas to settle complex transactions utilized by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury to suppress prices.

GATA further charges the U.S. government strategy to manipulate the price of gold has begun to fail.

"The objective of this manipulation is to conceal the mismanagement of the U.S. dollar so that it might retain its function as the world's reserve currency," the ad copy reads.

"Gold's recent rise toward $900 per ounce shows that the price suppression scheme is faltering," GATA says. "When it is widely understood how central banks have been suppressing gold, its price may rise to $3,000 or $5,000 an ounce or more."

As evidence of gold price manipulation by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve, GATA cites Treasury's weekly report of the government's international reserve position that since May has listed gold loans and swaps as a line item in accounting for U.S. gold reserves.

The ad also cites a July 24, 1998, statement by then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who told Congress "central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise."

The most recent U.S. Treasury statement of the U.S. international reserve position, released Jan. 24, lists the total U.S. foreign currency reserves as $71.515 billion, of which $11.041 billion is listed as gold (including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped).

The Bank of International Settlements reports the gold derivatives market hit a peak of $640 billion dollars in December 2006.

Murphy emphasizes that tracing the derivatives back to central bank gold transactions and determining precisely the degree to which the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury are involved is not possible now, given the lack of public accountability and transparency built into the gold derivatives financial system worldwide.

Murphy said his group filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve "to find out what this line item is all about."

"What is the true status of the U.S. gold that is supposed to belong to the American people?" he asked. "Has U.S. gold been put into play without the Treasury or Fed letting the American people know?"

A statement on Treasury's website claims the agency's Exchange Stabilization Fund has not been used to manipulate gold prices. But no statement could be found on the Treasury website that categorically denies the agency engages in gold swaps, leases or futures contracts for reasons other than to manipulate the price of gold.

The London Bullion Market Association lists on its website more than 80 members working as "bullion bank market makers" engaged in the worldwide gold commodities market place as principals originating and participating in various gold derivative products, including gold leases and swaps.

The U.S. members of the London Bullion Market Association listed include Bear Stearns Forex Inc., Goldman Sachs International, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

A legal memorandum filed Feb. 28, 2003, on behalf of Barrick Gold Corporation, a major gold company affiliated with bullion bank J. P. Morgan, admitted Barrick engages with central banks in gold leases and other gold derivative transactions, without specifically admitting whether any such transactions were conducted on behalf of the Federal Reserve and Treasury.

In September 1999, European central banks meeting in Washington signed what has become known as the "Washington Accord," an agreement in which the banks agreed to limit the amount of their gold sales to 400 tons per year and not to expand their leasing operations during the five years of the agreement.

Under a gold lease, a central bank loans gold to a bullion bank at a nominal rate of interest, typically 1 percent.

The bullion banks then takes the gold lease to a commodities market such as the London Bullion Market, where the physical gold is sold, thereby adding to the supply of gold available on the market.

Problems develop when the price of gold rises dramatically, such as it has in recently months, with gold currently running over $900 an ounce.

Now, when the leased gold needs to be returned to the central banks at the end of the lease period, the bullion banks may have to go into the market and buy gold at a much higher price than the price when the gold initially was leased.

To hedge against the risk, bullion banks typically buy futures contracts or gold call options to secure gold delivery at a specified future date for a specified future price.

In the world of gold derivatives, a wide variety of contracts exist, including transactions in which central banks swap gold reserves, so they can carry out leasing or other gold derivative transactions using the gold of the other central bank rather than their own.

Gold swaps make central bank gold transactions even less transparent and more difficult to track.

Under current International Monetary Fund rules, central banks do not have to disclose on their financial statements how much of the gold in their stated reserves is encumbered by derivative contracts, including gold leases and swaps.

Nor are bullion banks required to disclose to the public the contracts under which they lease gold from central banks.

Gold yesterday hit a new all-time high, with futures contracts for February delivery surging to $929.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange in mid-day trading.

This is a followup presentation from the makers of the original Zeitgeist movie.  It's specifically focused on the banking system and is a must see for everyone.  Money is critical and central to all of our lives and yet very few of us understands anything about how our monetary and banking system really works.   YOU MUST WATCH THIS FILM if you really want to understand what is going on in our economy.  The ruthless, predatory bankers have been the scourge of the planet since the very first money lender appeared.   They are engineering the current financial crisis just as they created the great depression in order to consolidate even more wealth and power into their own selfish greedy hands.  The film also provides a vision for what the world could look like if these lunatics were removed from power and the corrupt system were replaced with one that supported weapons of mass creation rather than weapons of mass destruction.  This film presents a true picture of the world we currently find ourselves in and makes it very clear  that WE are responsible for supporting it thus far.  It's up to us to stop supporting it.  And it's up to us to create the kind of world we want.

This amazing 3.5 hour documentary covers the entire history of money and who has control of it.  I guarantee you if you devote the time to watch this entire film, you will truly understand the way the world works and who really controls it.  You'll discover who actually orchestrated all major wars, all inflation, all boom and bust cycles and even caused the great stock market crashes and depression.  Learn how a handful of privileged few have conned everyone into letting them legally counterfeit money and through that power, they have stolen the bulk of the wealth on this planet for themselves.

This is a look at the film 'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. The film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China.