Economic Collapse Blog | Last week the mainstream media hailed QE3 as the "quick fix" that the U.S. economy desperately needs, but the truth is that the policies that the Federal Reserve is pursuing are going to be absolutely devastating for our senior citizens.  By keeping interest rates at exceptionally low levels, the Federal Reserve is absolutely crushing savers and is systematically destroying Social Security.

Bloomberg | Harvard University’s graduates are earning less than those from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology after a decade-long commodity bull market created shortages of workers as well as minerals. Those leaving the college of 2,300 students this year got paid a median salary of $56,700, according to PayScale Inc., which tracks employee compensation data from surveys. At Harvard, where tuition fees are almost four times higher, they got $54,100. Those scheduled to leave the campus in Rapid City, South Dakota, in May are already getting offers, at a time when about one in 10 recent U.S. college graduates is out of work.

Beacon Equity | It’s finally here—the long-awaited run on silver supplies. Speaking with Alternative Investors Hangout (AIH), GATA’s Bill Murphy tells investors, “Just pay attention, right now,” because the buying is so heavy in an unprecedentedly tight silver market, we “don’t know what will happen here; it’s historic.” And investors should, indeed, pay attention to Murphy’s latest assessment of the silver market.  In July, he said an unidentified European billionaire told him to expect the bull market in silver to resume in late August.

Zero Hedge | It is one thing for tungsten-filled gold bars to appear in the UK, or in Germany: after all out of sight, and across the Atlantic, certainly must mean out of mind, and out of the safe. However, when a 10 ounce 999.9 gold bar bearing the stamp of the reputable Swiss Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux (PAMP, with owner MTP) and a serial number (serial #038892, likely rehypothecated in at least 10 gold ETFs across the world but that's a different story), mysteriously emerges in the heart of the world's jewerly district located on 47th street in Manhattan, things get real quick. Moments ago, Myfoxny reported that a 10-ounce gold bar costing nearly $18,000 turned out to be a counterfeit.

Alternet.org | By mid morning on Monday, September 17, as Occupy Wall Street protesters marched around the perimeter of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, all signs that an FRPD (Federal Reserve Police Department) existed had disappeared.  The FRPD patrol cars and law enforcement officers had been replaced by NYPD patrol cars and officers.   That decision may have been made to keep from drawing attention to a mushrooming new domestic police force that most Americans do not know exists.

Wallstcheatsheet.com | Peter Schiff, chief executive officer of Euro Pacific Capital, recently gave an interview discussing the prospects of gold. When asked how high the price of gold may reach, he responded that there is no ceiling for the precious metal, because there is no limit on how much money will be printed. The Federal Reserve’s latest announcement confirms this theory, and paves the way for much higher gold and silver prices.

EndOfTheAmericanDream.com | Ready or not, QE3 is here, and the long-term effects of this reckless money printing by the Federal Reserve are going to be absolutely nightmarish.  The Federal Reserve is hoping that buying $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities per month will spur more lending and more economic activity.  But that didn't happen with either QE1 or QE2.

Reuters | Ratings firm Egan-Jones cut its credit rating on the U.S. government to "AA-" from "AA," citing its opinion that quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve would hurt the U.S. economy and the country's credit quality. The Fed on Thursday said it would pump $40 billion into the U.S. economy each month until it saw a sustained upturn in the weak jobs market. (Read more: Fed's 'QE Infinity' — Four Things That Could Go Wrong)

Market Watch | The Federal Reserve, worried that improvement in the unemployment rate has stalled, announced a third round of bond purchases on Thursday in an effort to bring down long-term interest rates and spur economic growth. The Fed said it would buy mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month.

Infowars.com | While Ben Bernanke’s announcement that the Federal Reserve will embark on an open ended scheme to purchase $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month has been touted by the establishment media as the beginning of “QE3″ it is in fact nothing less than another banker bailout in disguise. While many have rightly attacked the Fed’s policy of printing money as a band aid that does little to solve the economy in the long term, this new move isn’t even about that. The policy announced yesterday will merely see the Fed use taxpayer money to purchase more bad debt in the form of junk mortgage-backed derivative based securities that have been sold over and over again.

Market Watch | I can’t imagine it means anything cheerful that Vladimir Putin, the Russian czar, is stockpiling gold as fast as he can get his hands on it. According to the World Gold Council, Russia has more than doubled its gold reserves in the past five years. Putin has taken advantage of the financial crisis to build the world’s fifth-biggest gold pile in a handful of years, and is buying about half a billion dollars’ worth every month.

Market Watch | Silver has been a top performer among major metals this year, and it looks set to continue to steal the spotlight from gold, with investment and industrial demand for the white metal expected to rise. “We could see a spectacular performance in silver” during the rest of the year, said Julian Phillips, a South Africa-based editor at SilverForecaster.com. “Silver, in addition to its demand [and] supply disjoint, will attract huge investment demand.”

CNBC | Wall Street hears the helicopter coming. Stocks initially dipped after August’s painfully weak employment report showed job growth of just 96,000, but the market was flat as traders bet the number could help push the hand of the Federal Reserve towards a new round of quantitative easing. Market pundits, within minutes of the 8:30 am ET report, unleashed a flurry of notes raising the odds of QE3.

Telegraph | Veteran US investor Jim Rogers believ, 2012es the Federal Reserve has already launched a third round of quantitative easing, despite chairman Ben Bernanke failing to mention stimulus measures in his Jackson Hole speech last week. Mr Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros, believes that America's central bank is secretly printing money to avoid "getting egg on their face again" after previous attempts to kickstart the faltering economy with $2 trillion of QE failed.

321gold.com | The Chinese ideograph for crisis is represented by the sign for danger joined together with the symbol for opportunity. Admittedly, for over a year and a half precious metals investors have been going through a time for testing of our essential position in wealth in the earth equities and bullion. Investors were experiencing pain and panic at a time that it was easier to throw in the towel as the technical charts appeared to be broken as gold (GLD) and silver (SLV) went below the 200 day moving average.