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• The One Reason to Own Gold and Silver
• Gold & You Topping Out or Topping Up
• U.S. at risk of rare earths supply disruptions
• BAD BREADTH
• When That Happens, the Game Is Over
• Interview With Victor Sperandeo
• Interview With Jim Rickards
• SLV Takes in Another 2.34 Million Ounces of Silver
• U.S. Tax Policy Will Push Gold and Silver Much Higher
• Still More Hype Regarding Silver; Just the Math Maam
• JPM Getting Smaller in Silver
• The One Reason you Have to Own Gold & Silver
• Inflation In History
• Gold Sleeper Trend You Must Know About
• Gold Forecaster - Why Does Gold Fall When the Dollar Rises?
• Figuring the Best Day to Buy Silver
• How Can We Have A Healthy Economy If Virtually Everything We Eat And Drink Is Constantly Making Us All Sick?
• Gold & Silver “Not Crowded Trades” as J.P.Morgan “Materially Cuts” Short Silver Position…
• Geopolitical Shinboner of the Century
• Gold or Stocks: What to Hold During the Great Correction
• The Biggest Obstacle
• Bullion Trading Group Ripped off Clients
• Jim Roger blasting Bernanke and all the other.....
• Why Gold Investors are Still in the Minority
• Gold Prices Heading up for 2011?
• Gold & You: Topping Out or Topping Up
• Gold Inches Higher as Treasury Yields Rise
• Take Down Tuesdays – What's the Best Day to Buy Silver?
• Bonds tank (30 yr declining 2 full points/ 10 yr falling 1 full point)/gold and silver rebuff raid
• Dont Keep Silver with ANY Banks!
• Richard Russell - Gold = Biggest Bull Market of Our Lifetimes
• J.P. Morgan and the Great Silver Caper
• Private Sector Obliged to Work Off the Public Debt
• Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Gain While Fed Holds Steady
• Thar She Blows
• Q3 2010 Credit Card Debt Study
• Gold Over $1,400/oz Again, Supported by Inflation and Paper Currency Concerns

The One Reason to Own Gold and Silver Posted: 15 Dec 2010 01:45 AM PST Wall Street Cheat Sheet submits: By Jordan Roy-Byrne Analysts and pundits provide various reasons for the bull market in Gold. This includes emerging market demand, low interest rates, money printing, central bank accumulation, central bank policies and falling gold production. These are all good reason but there is one reason which stands apart and will drive precious metals to amazing heights. It is the impending sovereign debt default of the west, led by the great USA. Complete Story »

Gold & You Topping Out or Topping Up Posted: 14 Dec 2010 09:33 PM PST

U.S. at risk of rare earths supply disruptions Posted: 14 Dec 2010 09:16 PM PST U.S. at risk of rare earths supply disruptions Reuters By Tom Doggett Tom Doggett – Wed Dec 15, 3:15 am ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States risks major supply disruptions of rare earth metals used in clean energy products unless it diversifies its sources of the minerals, the Energy Department warns in a report due to be released later on Wednesday. The United States and other countries are worried that China, which controls 97 percent of the world trade in rare earth metals, will use those supplies as a political weapon and cut back their export when it is in a dispute with another country or to grow China's clean energy technology sector. "The availability of a number of these materials is at risk due to their location, vulnerability to supply disruptions and lack of suitable substitutes," U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a report, due to be unveiled on Wednesday at a rare earth metals conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The release of the report coincides with trade talks in Washington between the United States and China. U.S. officials are expected to push Chinese officials to loosen export restraints on rare earth elements. China, which said on Tuesday it planned to raise export taxes on some rare earth metals beginning next month, holds 37 percent of known rare metal reserves, the United States has 13 percent and the rest is in other countries. The 17 rare earth metals, with exotic names like lanthanum and europium, form unusually strong lightweight materials and are used in a wide range of applications including high-tech and defense products, car engines and clean energy. CHINESE STRANGLEHOLD China has vowed that it would not use its dominance of rare earth supplies as a bargaining tool with foreign economies but it has cut its exports of the materials on environmental grounds. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised U.S. concerns over Beijing's export policy with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during a visit to Asia at the end of October. The Energy Department said in its report that it looked at the use of rare earths in wind turbines, electric vehicles, solar cells and energy efficient lighting because these clean technologies are expected to be deployed substantially on a global basis over the next 15 years, increasing demand for rare earth metals. It said that in order to manage the risk of rare earth supply disruptions, the United States must increase its domestic extraction and processing of the materials. There is only one U.S. rare earths producer, Molycorp Inc. It is the largest non-Chinese rare earths firm and the only rare earth oxide producer in the Western Hemisphere. The report said the United States must work closely with its international partners, including Europe and Japan, to boost their production of the materials. "Diversified global supply chains are essential," the report said. However, mining rare earth metals can be very expensive and the lead times for new mining operations are long, ranging from two to 10 years. "Whether a deposit can be mined economically will depend on a number of factors, including rare earth prices, regulatory requirements and improvements in extraction and separation technologies," the report said. Recycling and reusing the rare earth metals could also significantly lower world demand for the materials. Traditional energy sectors are also at risk from rare earth supply problems, the report said. Rare earth ores are used in the fluid cracking catalysts that convert heavy oils in the refining process into more valuable gasoline, distillates and lighter products. Rare earth elements are used in catalysts to produce higher yields of more valuable products such as gasoline. A disruption in rare earth supplies could have a noticeable impact on refinery yields and require oil refinery owners to make investments so the fluid cracking process will work without the rare earth materials, the department said. The department said it will develop an updated strategy by the end of next year for increasing supplies of critical rare earth metals. (Reporting by Tom Doggett, Editing by Sandra Maler) http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101215/...eearths_energy

BAD BREADTH Posted: 14 Dec 2010 09:15 PM PST I've noted before that at intermediate turning points we will usually see breadth diverge from price. The McClellan oscillator is now showing a large negative divergence and has moved back below zero despite the market making new highs. On a slightly more serious note we are also starting to see a divergence in the advance/decline line for the first time since the cyclical bull began. The last time this happened the market was entering the final topping process of the last bull market. I think that is probably the case here also, as I think we are already in a very large topping pattern. As you can see on the chart the next four year cycle low is due sometime in 2012. Bernanke has massively increased the monetary response in an attempt to halt the secular bear, and we know how the last attempt to control the market turned out (we got the second worst recession since the Great Depression and the second worst bear market in history). I fully expect the next leg down in the secular bear to be even worse that the last one - not only in the stock market, but also in the economy. Greenspan already proved that you can't meddle in the markets without eventually causing bad things to happen. Unfortunately Bernanke doesn't seem capable of learning that lesson and has now made the same mistake again only on a much larger scale. I'm confident it will only lead to a much larger collapse in the end. We will almost certainly dip below the `09 lows at the next 4 year cycle low, probably in nominal terms and certainly in inflation adjusted terms. Once the impending intermediate degree correction runs its course we will get what I believe will be the last rally in this cyclical bull market. That rally may or may not make marginal new highs before rolling over into the next leg down in the ongoing secular bear market. I expect by this time Bernanke's insane monetary policy will have spiked inflation high enough to collapse the economy again and the global stock markets will begin the trip down into another devastating bear market. In 2012 they won't be calling it a Great Recession they will be labeling it by its true name; The next Great Depression! This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

When That Happens, the Game Is Over Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:37 PM PST Link:  When That Happens, the Game Is Over Image:  I have two gold-related blogs from over at King World News as my next offerings.  The first is one I ripped from a GATA release late last night.  Eric King has excerpts from an intriguing interview with an anonymous London bullion market source about the indirection used by Asian buyers to obtain precious metal without exploding the price and causing commodity exchange default. read more

Interview With Victor Sperandeo Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:37 PM PST Link:  Interview With Victor Sperandeo Image:  The next KWN offering is an audio Interview With Victor Sperandeo... a man who used to work with George Soros at the Quantum Fund.  Victor clears up where Soros really thinks gold is headed.  The link to the story is here.

Interview With Jim Rickards Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:37 PM PST Link:  Interview With Jim Rickards Image:  My last offering today is another Interview With Jim Rickards.  Here he is being interviewed by Dr. Dave Janda over at davejanda.com.  Jim discusses the economy, the financial system... and gold.  The link to this rather longish audio interview, is here.

SLV Takes in Another 2.34 Million Ounces of Silver Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:37 PM PST CFTC Should Resist Lobbying on Position Limits, Chilton Says. Muni bonds get crushed... again!  A bloodbath in U.S. Treasuries.  Another interview with Jim Rickards... and much more. ¤ Yesterday in Gold and Silver Gold got off to a good start in early Far East trading on Tuesday morning... up about ten bucks by 11:00 a.m. Hong Kong time.  From there, it traded pretty much sideways until the New York open, with the high of the day [around $1,408 spot] coming shortly before noon in London... which was shortly before 7:00 a.m in New York. The moment that New York opened for business at 8:20 a.m... the gold price got sold off to its low of the day [$1,391.10 spot] shortly before 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, which was probably the London p.m. gold fix.  From that low, the gold price worked its way back over $1,400 once more, before getting sold off below $1,400 by a not-for-profit seller in the thinly traded electronic market around 2:20 p.m. New York time.  Gold finished up from its Monday close, but not by a lot. The silver price chart is a virtually a carbon copy of the gold price chart.  Silver tried to make it above $30 on several occasions during Far East and early London trading... but just couldn't do it... or wasn't allowed to do it.  Silver's high [around $30 spot] was also at the same time as gold's high... shortly before noon in London.  Silver actually got sold off for a small loss on the day after the not-for-profit seller was through with it in electronic trading yesterday afternoon. The world's reserve currency didn't do much yesterday... as it fell and rose about 60 basis points intra-day.  It's low tick was minutes before 11:00 a.m. in London... and it closed up a hair from Monday.  The dollar rose almost all that 60 basis points in a mini-rally that occurred between 8:00 a.m. and 10:05 a.m.  That was, of course, when the big Comex sell-off in gold and silver occurred in New York.  There was no such dollar rally when both metals got sold off in electronic trading during the afternoon in New York. Not surprisingly, the gold stocks started the trading day slightly in the red... but were up more than 1% before the sell-off in electronic trading began around 2:40 p.m. Eastern time.  After the $10 drop in the gold price, the shares managed to recover to close in slightly positive territory... with the HUI up 0.23%.  Not surprisingly, most silver stocks finished in negative territory... but the losses were tiny. The dollar rally and the gold and silver price decline that occurred at the Comex open.... and that ended shortly after the London p.m. gold fix, was simply too much of a coincidence for me.  It's obvious that having gold close over $1,400 [and silver over $30] was not going to be allowed yesterday... and there was someone there to make sure that it didn't. The same thing happened on Monday when the dollar got clocked for 120 basis points.  Gold should have blasted through $1,400... and silver through $30... but, mysteriously, that didn't happen either... and I commented on that fact in yesterday's column. Yesterday's CME Delivery Report showed that 102 gold and 39 silver contracts were posted for delivery on Thursday.  JPMorgan is still trading in its proprietary [house] account. There was movement in both ETFs yesterday.  GLD showed a withdrawal of 97,628 ounces... and SLV took in an eye-opening 2,345,716 troy ounces... well over one day's worth of world silver production.  And don't forget that the Zürcher Kantonalbank in Switzerland took one day's worth of silver production into inventory last week as well.  So, in the last ten days, about 23% of world silver production disappeared in these two ETFs.  One has to wonder how Sprott is making out with the 15 million ounces of silver they ordered over two months ago. The U.S. Mint had a sales report yesterday.  They sold another 13,000 ounces of gold eagles, but reported no sales of silver eagles.  Month-to-date gold eagles sales total 35,500 ounces... and silver eagles sales sit at 1,422,000 ounces. Not much happened at the Comex-approved depositories on Monday.  Their report showed that only 35,374 ounces of silver were received.  Comex silver stocks are currently down to a level that hasn't been seen since 2006. Sponsor Advertisement How Much of $380 Billion Do You Want? The global shipping industry clocks in at $380 billion. A new shipping upstart rumored to be the next Onassis has a fleet of young cargo vessels she rents out to the tune of $200,000 a day! Average contracts are locked in for 5 years. But this savvy upcoming magnate has done one better than Onassis. Not only did she structure her shipping company to avoid onerous U.S. 40% corporate tax … but she also figured out how to pay out mouth-watering quarterly dividends to investors practically tax-free! Plus, if you invest NOW, you're looking at stock-doubling or -tripling profit potential. Roger Conrad gives you the details here. ¤ Critical Reads Subscribe US Treasury Bloodbath Is Back: 30 Year Passes 4.50%, As 10 Year Prepares To Take Out 3.40% Today's first story is courtesy of Australian reader Wesley Legrand.  It's a posting over at zerohedge.com that's headlined "US Treasury Bloodbath Is Back: 30 Year Passes 4.50%, As 10 Year Prepares To Take Out 3.40%".  It's a very short read... a couple of paragraphs, along with a couple of charts... and the link is here. View full GSD edition Munis Crushed... Again While on the subject of the bond market.  Here's an ugly picture of U.S. Munis.  I ran this chart a couple of weeks ago... and it looked ugly then.  It looks even worse, now.  Reader U.D. provided the graph that's posted over at businessinsider.com... and the brief headline to the 2-sentence article reads "Munis Crushed... Again"... and the link is here.  The graph is a stunner. View full GSD edition Moody's May Cut US Rating on Tax Package To add to the litany of woes in the U.S. is this story that's courtesy of reader Scott Pluschau.  It's a posting from over at cnbc.com that's headlined "Moody's May Cut US Rating on Tax Package".  This is a bit of a laugh because, in actual fact, all of the world's debt paper is junk already... it just hasn't been made 'official' yet.  The link to the story is here. View full GSD edition Vallejo's Bankruptcy 'Failure' Scares Cities Into Cutting Costs Two years ago, Vallejo, California was one of the first American cities to file for bankruptcy.  The city is back in the news again, this time as a nation-wide symbol for distressed municipal finances.  Washington state reader S.A. provides this fairly lengthy Bloomberg piece that's headlined "Vallejo's Bankruptcy 'Failure' Scares Cities Into Cutting Costs".  The link is here. View full GSD edition Reformer from NY Fed gets reformed himself ... by Goldman Sachs Today's next item is a GATA release that Chris Powell has headlined "Reformer from NY Fed gets reformed himself ... by Goldman Sachs".  Theo Lubke, who served for 15 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and headed its efforts to reform the private derivatives market, joined Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.  It's not an overly long piece... and the link is here. View full GSD edition CFTC Should Resist Lobbying on Speculation Limits, Chilton Says The next story is also a Bloomberg item from Tuesday.  This one was sent to me by Dr. Dave Janda.  The headline reads "CFTC Should Resist Lobbying on Speculation Limits, Chilton Says".  As I mentioned about a story in Monday'sWSJ in this column yesterday... the CFTC was feeling pressure about positions limits from "inside and outside the agency"... and those were precisely the words that Bart used in his prepared speech.  He also said that "Regulators should resist lobbying pressure aimed at getting them to set rules while putting off the date when they take effect."  The big CFTC meeting is tomorrow... and I suggest that you put this article on your must readlist... and the link is here. View full GSD edition Capitalizing on the Euro Crisis: China Expands Its Influence in Europe Roy Stephens provides our next story.  This is a posting from the German website spiegel.de... and is headlined "Capitalizing on the Euro Crisis: China Expands Its Influence in Europe".  China is seizing on Europe's debt problems to expand its influence on the continent with large-scale investments and purchases of government bonds issued by highly-indebted states. The strategy could push Europe into the same financial dependency on China that is posing a dilemma for the US.  The link to this one-page essay is here. View full GSD edition When That Happens, the Game Is Over I have two gold-related blogs from over at King World News as my next offerings.  The first is one I ripped from a GATA release late last night.  Eric King has excerpts from an intriguing interview with an anonymous London bullion market source about the indirection used by Asian buyers to obtain precious metal without exploding the price and causing commodity exchange default. The interview is headlined "When That Happens, the Game Is Over".  How true all this is, we may [or may not] find out in the fullness of time.  The link is here. View full GSD edition Interview With Victor Sperandeo The next KWN offering is an audio Interview With Victor Sperandeo... a man who used to work with George Soros at the Quantum Fund.  Victor clears up where Soros really thinks gold is headed.  The link to the story is here. View full GSD edition Interview With Jim Rickards U.S. Tax Policy Will Push Gold and Silver Much Higher Posted: 14 Dec 2010 06:00 PM PST

Still More Hype Regarding Silver; Just the Math Maam Posted: 14 Dec 2010 06:00 PM PST

JPM Getting Smaller in Silver Posted: 14 Dec 2010 06:00 PM PST Got Gold Report

The One Reason you Have to Own Gold & Silver Posted: 14 Dec 2010 05:04 PM PST Analysts and pundits provide various reasons for the bull market in Gold. This includes emerging market demand, low interest rates, money printing, central bank accumulation, central bank policies and falling gold production. These are all good reason but there is one reason which stands apart and will drive precious metals to amazing heights. It is the impending sovereign debt default of the west, led by the great USA. Government finances have reached a point where default and/or bankruptcy is unavoidable. After all, we've already started to monetize the debt. The inflection point is when total debt reaches a point where the interest on the debt accumulates in an exponential fashion, engulfing the government's budget. When this occurs at a time when the economy is already weak and running deficits, there essentially is no way out. Significant runaway inflation and currency depreciation result from a government that essentially can no longer fund itself. It starts when the market sees the problem and moves rates higher. The government then has to monetize its debts to prevent interest rates from rising. Let me explain where we are and why severe inflation is unavoidable and likely coming in the next two to three years. In FY2010, the government paid $414 Billion in interest expenses which equates to 17% of revenue. When you account for the $14 Trillion in total debt, that works out to be 2.96% in interest. In FY2007, total debt was $8.95 Trillion, but the interest expense was $430 Billion and 17% of revenue. That accounts for an interest rate of 4.80%. Luckily, rates have stayed low for the past two years. However, in the next 24 months the situation could grow dire. At least $2 Trillion will be added to the national debt. At an interest rate of only 4.0%, the interest expense would be $600 Billion. Even if we assume 7% growth in tax revenue, the interest expense would total 22% of the budget. An interest rate of 4.5% would equate to 26% of the budget. As far as what level of interest expense is the threshold for pain, Russ Winter writes: Once interest payments take 30% of tax revenues, a country has an out of control debt trap issue. When you think clearly about it, this just makes sense, as the ability to dodge, weave and defer is pretty much removed, as is the logic that it will be repaid in a low-risk manner. The world is going to be a different place when the US is perceived to be in a debt trap. Is there anyway out of this? Either the economy needs to start growing very fast or interest rates need to stay below 3% until the economy can recover. Clearly, neither is likely. As you can tell from the calculations, interest rates are now the most important variable. If rates stay above 4% or 4.5% for an extended period of time, then there is no turning back. Judging from the chart below, the secular decline in interest rates is likely over. It is hard to argue with a double bottom, one of the most reliable reversal patterns. In 2011 and 2012, the Fed will have two new problems on its hands. First, the Federal Reserve will be fighting a new bear market in bonds. They will be fighting the trend. They didn't have that problem in 2008-2010. Furthermore, the interest on the debt will exceed 20% of revenue, so the Fed will have to monetize more as it is. Ironically, the greater monetization will only put more upward pressure on interest rates, the very thing Captain Ben and company will be fighting against. As you can see, there is really no way out of this mess, which also includes the stats, Europe and Japan. This is why Gold and Silver are acting stronger than at any other point in this bull market. They've performed great when rates were low but are likely to perform even better when rates start to rise. This is why we implore you to at least consider Gold and Silver. We've created a service that offers professional guidance so that traders and investors can protect themselves and profit from this amazing bull market. Consider a free 14-day trial to our service. Good Luck! Jordan Roy-Byrne, CMT Jordan@TheDailyGold.com

Inflation In History Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:55 PM PST Dollar Daze

Gold Sleeper Trend You Must Know About Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:51 PM PST

Gold Forecaster - Why Does Gold Fall When the Dollar Rises? Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:48 PM PST

Figuring the Best Day to Buy Silver Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:19 PM PST

How Can We Have A Healthy Economy If Virtually Everything We Eat And Drink Is Constantly Making Us All Sick? Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:16 PM PST In the United States today, we are all being constantly bombarded by chemicals, poisons and toxins.  Virtually everything that we eat or drink makes us less healthy.  The vast majority of Americans gladly consume aspartame, fluoride, BPA, genetically-modified food, pesticides, high fructose corn syrup, pharmaceutical drugs and toxic vaccines without any concern that those substances may ruin their health.  But the truth is that we are getting sicker and sicker and sicker as a nation.  According to one recent report, the United States has dropped to 49th place in the world in overall life expectancy.  Diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes are absolutely exploding.  So how in the world are we supposed to have a healthy and vibrant economy when virtually everything that we eat and drink is constantly making us sick? Recently, my wife (who has always been extremely healthy) developed some alarming breathing problems.  She did not appear to suffer from any known medical condition, so we were completely puzzled. Finally, we started examining what we were eating and drinking.  It turns out that she was putting some cream in her coffee that contained something known as "Polysorbate 80".  Polysorbate 80 is found in a vast array of dairy products and is even used in many vaccines.  According to Drugs.com, "difficulty breathing" is indeed one of the known side effects of Polysorbate 80.  Once my wife cut the Polysorbate 80 out of her diet, the breathing difficulties subsided.  The following is how she describes what she went through.... Prior to my recent problems, I had never been in a situation were I felt as though there was very limited air available.  When the breathing problems would flare up, I would take in deep breath after deep breath but I just couldn't get any oxygen.  My body tried to cope by constantly yawning which forced air into my lungs.  Some days it wouldn't be so bad, but on other days it was really frightening.  My breathing was extremely labored at times.  I constantly had to yawn throughout the day in order to catch a satisfying breath.  One day my breathing was really labored - I was constantly gasping for deep breaths, but I wasn't getting enough oxygen.  I was about to cry.  I felt as though I had dived to the bottom of  a deep pool and I was almost out of air.  My body was in a constant state of panic.  I felt so tired and I was worried that I may collapse at any time.  We got into the car, and I was almost ready to pass out.  We had the windows rolled down to give me the feeling of lots of oxygen, but I felt like I couldn't take any in.  Fortunately that episode eventually subsided, but there were many days when I was in agony.  You cannot imagine how horrible it is to gasp for breath and never seem to get enough.  Several incidents really scared me.  What was even more frightening was that I had no idea at the time what was causing all this. Thankfully my wife is doing much better now, but there are thousands and thousands of others across the United States that are experiencing similar breathing problems and nobody has any answers for them. So what are some of the other side effects of Polysorbate 80? Well, Drugs.com says that the following are "common" side effects.... Constipation; cough; diarrhea; dizziness; headache; muscle, joint, back, or stomach pain; nausea or vomiting; pain, swelling, irritation, redness, or bruising at the injection site; unusual tiredness or weakness. In addition, Drugs.com says that the following are severe side effects of Polysorbate 80 that an individual should seek immediate medical attention for.... Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); blurred vision or vision changes; chest pain; confusion; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, sore throat); one-sided weakness; pale skin color; redness, tenderness, or swelling of the calf; seizures; severe diarrhea, dizziness, headache, stomach pain, or vomiting; severe or persistent tiredness or weakness; slurred speech; sudden pain or numbness of an arm or leg; sudden shortness of breath; sudden trouble walking or loss of balance; swelling of the arms or legs; vision or speech problems; weight gain. Remember, this is in countless dairy products all across the United States. Most Americans are absolutely clueless that they are pouring Polysorbate 80 into their coffee or that it is in the ice cream that they are eating. Another major threat to our health is something called bisphenol-A (BPA).  BPA is one of the most widely used  chemicals in the entire world.  If you eat canned food or you drink bottled water you most likely have BPA in your home and you don't even know it. According to Natural News, BPA is not only in virtually every American home, but it has also been linked to some very serious health problems.... It is used to harden plastic in everything from infant and water bottles to mobile phone and computer casings, and also to make linings for cans of food, beverages and infant formula. Yet a growing body of research has implicated the chemical as an endocrine (hormone) disruptor that can lead to cancer, birth defects, behavioral problems and other diseases. Shouldn't someone be doing something about this? Of course. But the truth is that the big corporations that are pushing these chemicals are much more powerful than those who are trying to watch out for our health. In fact, authorities all over the United States are putting one very toxic chemical into our water on purpose. It is called fluoride, and it is being put into our water supposedly because it is good for our teeth.  What Americans are not being told is that fluoride is actually a highly toxic sedative and is causing a whole host of very serious health problems. So exactly how dangerous is fluoride?  Well, the Fluoride Dangers blog puts it this way.... Even small amounts of fluoride consumed from tap water can damage your bones, teeth, brain, disrupt your thyroid function, lower IQ and/or cause cancer, according to evidence revealed in a groundbreaking 2006 National Research Council (NRC) fluoride report produced by a panel of experts who reviewed hundreds of published fluoride studies. The Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center has published a list of ten of the most significant health dangers that the scientific research has shown that fluoride causes..... 1. Fluoride exposure disrupts the synthesis of collagen and leads to the breakdown of collagen in bone, tendon, muscle, skin, cartilage, lungs, kidney and trachea. 2. Fluoride stimulates granule formation and oxygen consumption in white blood cells, but inhibits these processes when the white blood cell is challenged by a foreign agent in the blood. 3. Fluoride depletes the energy reserves and the ability of white blood cells to properly destroy foreign agents by the process of phagocytosis. As little as 0.2 ppm fluoride stimulates superoxide production in resting white blood cells, virtually abolishing phagocytosis. Even micro-molar amounts of fluoride, below 1 ppm, may seriously depress the ability of white blood cells to destroy pathogenic agents. 4. Fluoride confuses the immune system and causes it to attack the body's own tissues, and increases the tumor growth rate in cancer prone individuals. 5. Fluoride inhibits antibody formation in the blood. 6. Fluoride depresses thyroid activity. 7. Fluorides have a disruptive effect on various tissues in the body. 8. Fluoride promotes development of bone cancer. 9. Fluorides cause premature aging of the human body. 10. Fluoride ingestion from mouth rinses and dentifrices in children is extremely hazardous to biological development, life span and general health. But perhaps even more dangerous is the sweetener known as aspartame.  Today, aspartame is an ingredient in literally thousands of different food and drink products.  In fact, it is often marketed in "health products" such as diet sodas. According to an article on Mercola.com, aspartame is one of the most toxic substances being added to our foods.... Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death.  A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain. According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:  Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes. According to Dr. Janet Hull, the following are known side effects of ingesting aspartame.... Eye blindness in one or both eyes decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision pain in one or both eyes decreased tears trouble with contact lenses bulging eyes Ear tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound severe intolerance of noise marked hearing impairment Neurologic epileptic seizures headaches, migraines and (some severe) dizziness, unsteadiness, both confusion, memory loss, both severe drowsiness and sleepiness paresthesia or numbness of the limbs severe slurring of speech severe hyperactivity and restless legs atypical facial pain severe tremors Psychological/Psychiatric severe depression irritability aggression anxiety personality changes insomnia phobias Chest palpitations, tachycardia shortness of breath recent high blood pressure Gastrointestinal nausea diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools abdominal pain pain when swallowing Skin and Allergies itching without a rash lip and mouth reactions hives aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma Endocrine and Metabolic loss of control of diabetes menstrual changes marked thinning or loss of hair marked weight loss gradual weight gain aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) severe PMS Other frequency of voiding and burning during urination excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating increased susceptibility to infection Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all death irreversible brain damage birth defects, including mental retardation peptic ulcers aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets hyperactivity in children severe depression aggressive behavior suicidal tendencies Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epstein-Barr Post-Polio Syndrome Lyme Disease Grave's Disease Meniere's Disease Alzheimer's Disease ALS Epilepsy Multiple Sclerosis (MS) EMS Hypothyroidism Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings Fibromyalgia Lupus non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) Sadly, there are thousands more toxins and chemicals that are being put into what we eat and what we drink.  The next time you go to the supermarket, just pick up a few products and start reading the labels.  You may find yourself incredibly shocked by what you find. Does it seem like people all around you are constantly getting sick?  Well, the truth is that we have created an incredibly toxic environment for ourselves.  Diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes have skyrocketed in recent years.  We like to think of ourselves as being so "advanced", but the truth is that we are constantly becoming less healthy as a nation. It is hard to imagine any prosperous economy that is full of sick and dying people.  But if we don't stop constantly poisoning ourselves by what we eat and by what we drink our national health is going to continue to fall apart. Just like in almost every other category, America is in a deep state of decline.  We like to think that we should be telling everyone else in the world how they should be doing things, but the truth is that our own nation is a complete and total mess. If your own health is not what it should be, you might want to take another look at what you are eating and what you are drinking.  A small change can make a big difference.

Gold & Silver “Not Crowded Trades” as J.P.Morgan “Materially Cuts” Short Silver Position… Posted: 14 Dec 2010 04:12 PM PST Bullion Vault

Geopolitical Shinboner of the Century Posted: 14 Dec 2010 01:16 PM PST --What a weird old world it is when U.S. economic strength leads to a weaker U.S. dollar and investors taking on more risk. It's a crazy, mixed up world where financial markets aren't signalling accurate prices anymore. That's the kind of world we invest in. -- But in Orwellian fashion, weakness becomes strength in the era of competitive currency devaluations. The greenback is down against the Aussie on a strong U.S. retail sales report. And this is supposed to be the underlying good news in the U.S. The festive season (some dare call it Christmas) is the chance for Americans to engage in nostalgia-driven binge purchases of cheap consumer electronics and textiles made in China. --For a day or two, it can be just like in the good old days, before the nation went bankrupt and the fractional reserve banking system was exposed as Ponzi scheme built on the belief in the full faith and credit of a private cartel of bankers. The fact that the Dow has reached a two-year high tells you how decoupled from fiscal and economic reality financial markets are. --But what about here in Australia? The Super profits tax debate has shifted to the banks. A bland-sounding Institute has told the Senate to steal from the rich and give to the poor. The rich, in this case, are the banks. Why steal from the banks? Because that's where the money is! -- This shows you that the real motive behind the Mineral Resource Rent Tax wasn't to distribute the proceeds of the resource boom more "fairly" (whatever that means), but to plug a whole in the budget of a government that's taken Australia down the road to a long-term fiscal deficit. --The problem with the banks isn't that they make too much money. It's that they take so much risk with other's people money to do it. When they take those risks with other people's money, the government then steps into to bail out the banks with your money. That's the broken system we have now. --What's worse is that the banks' risk-taking is subsidised with low interest rates. And lately, it's subsidised with loans made by the Federal Reserve collateralised by nothing more than a portfolio of stocks. Before the GFC, if you wanted a loan from the Fed you had to post some real collateral in exchange. --But with the invention of the Primary Dealers Credit Facility, Wall Street and other money-centre banks could pawn their junk assets at the Fed in exchange for some hot new cash to invest...back in the equity market! This is how you get the Dow at a two-year high and copper making all time highs. --What did you have to do to get a loan from the Fed in 2008? Just ask. It's the central banking equivalent  of a sub-prime loan. --By the way, while we're on the subject of JP Morgan, a Reuter's story reports that, " data from the London Metal Exchange showed that a single entity had increased its control over warehouse copper stocks and cash contracts to more than 90 percent, up from a 50-80 percent holding reported for the past several weeks." --Come again? --A single entity controlling that large a position in copper warrants? That seems pretty large. For all we know, that could be normal in the commodity futures business. It does seem pretty abnormal though, doesn't it? --As we related last week, there's speculation that JP Morgan is on the end of a massive naked position in silver. So maybe it's a kind of pair trade. Long the entire copper market. Short the entire sliver market (or more than three times the silver market, to be exact). --We even read one reader comment that JP Morgan is being used as a weapon in the total-economic-warfare low-grade currency death match between China and America. The thinking goes that using Fed money, a trader could corner a commodity, drive its price up, and inflict a mortal wound on a major consumer of that industrial metal (China and copper, respectively). --There could also be a perfectly normal explanation for all of it. But since we've been following copper's relentless ascent to new highs, it made sense this morning to look at which of the two Australian miners most closely tracks the red metal. If copper prices fall, which of the big two might fall with it the most? --The chart below shows continuous copper futures prices over the last three years. That's the black line. The orange line below is Rio Tinto's US-listed American Depository Receipt (ADR) over the same time. And the red-line above is BHP Billiton's US-listed ADR. You can see that since the great reflation of 2009, BHP has left Rio in the red dust and tracked copper. Dr. Copper and the Big Two Miners --This is a bit surprising. Why? BHP is not just an iron ore play. And of course, iron ore is not copper. We are equating them both as industrial metals and proxies for China's growth (high fixed asset investment, which is metals intensive). BHP also has uranium, and oil, and diversified portfolio of global resource assets. --Yet it's been tracking copper. At the very least, this tells you investors in the US view BHP as a China proxy. And Rio? --Rio's thwarted merger with Chinalco and its thwarted iron ore partnership with BHP, not to mention the billion in debt it took on from the Alcan acquisition just before the top of the market—all of these explain its laggard status relative to copper and BHP. --In case you were wondering if the time-scale might have been conjured to suit the conclusion we wanted to make (we didn't have a conclusion in mind, by the way), take a look at the chart below. It goes back to when the commodity boom really first got under way in late 1999 and early 2000. It shows more or less the same thing—since 20009 BHP has tracked copper and Rio has lagged them both. A decade of metals bullishness --Does this tell you that BHP is better run than Rio? Or does it tell you something even more useful? Namely that copper and the miners have ridden the reflation rally to new highs. But where to from here? --The yield on the ten-year U.S. note moved up to 3.46% yesterday. It was the highest level since May. Thirty-year yields moved up too. Why does this matter if you're an Australian investor? --If the US bond bubble is popping (and it's been inflating for 30-years) it could mean a big asset allocation migration is on. It would take investors out of fixed income and dollar denominated assets and into equities and especially tangible asset equities. The exodus out of dollar-denominated assets would be bearish for the dollar and thus bullish for the Aussie and commodities. --All of this sounds like a compelling argument for higher highs on Aussie mining stocks. In fact the only thing that could disrupt that conclusion is a massive China crash...or some other kind of huge, unanticipated crisis that makes the U.S. dollar attractive as a "risk off" asset. --And speaking of Julian Assange, we were pleased to learn this week that he's reportedly a paid up North Melbourne member. If you're not in Victoria or in to Australian Rules Football, that means he's a ticket-holder for the North Melbourne Kangaroos of the AFL (as your editor is). --That makes him a stand-up man in our book. The 'Roo boys all have the "Shinboner Spirit." The phrase derives, we think, from back when all the abattoirs were in North Melbourne. The Shinboner spirit is a kind of an honest, dedicated, worth ethic and a sense of camaraderie in the face of a challenge and the general gristle of life. --What is life if not a constant series of incidents where you metaphorically bang your shins against something but fight on anyway? North Melbourne members, we think, understand philosophically (or in some natural and intuitive way) that life is basically unfair, but that's okay. Get on with it. --John Adams, America's second President, was a Shinboner. He once said to his wife, "We can't insure success, but we can deserve it." We like to think he was talking about more than America's Revolution against the British. He was talking about life, where the only thing you really control on any given day is the quality of your effort, not its ultimate outcome. --Work hard. Don't take what's not yours. Do what you say you'll do. Never give up. This, we like to think, is basic Shinboner Orthodoxy (also, go hard at the ball). --What does that have to do with Wikileaks front man Julian Assange? Well, he can't hide behind the 1st amendment and the freedom of the press or freedom of speech. He's an Australian, not an American. Australia doesn't even formally (constitutionally) protect the right to free speech. And even in America, it has its legal limits. --But the real issue with Assange and his attack on the State is whether there are some secrets that really should be secret and kept from the public during the legitimate conducting of the People's business (whatever that is). --What's surprising about most of the diplomatic cables leaked so far by Wikileaks is how mundane they are. They've actually restored some of the credibility to American diplomats, who are quoted saying obvious and fairly accurate things about public officials in other countries. The real embarrassment is that America can't seem to keep its own secrets (unless it wanted these things made public and Assange is a CIA agent). --But more seriously, does the government have a legitimate reason for keeping some secrets? Probably so, when it's doing what it's supposed to do (defend the borders etc). But when a group like the Fed hides behind the "secrets" argument for not disclosing how it loaned $3.3 trillion dollars to various international organisations, you can see what  the "secrets" argument really is: an attempt conceal official incompetence and fraud from the public and cover up big mistakes. --A less ambitious Federal government would have fewer chances to screw up and would thus have less to hide from the public. No one really minds if the dog catcher can't do his job. But if the Army can't do its job invading another country, it's a whole other story. --So we're all for Assange. He's a geopolitical Shinboner with a modem and he's not afraid to use it. And we note he didn't cop any real flack from the authorities until a Forbes article was published in which he threatened to lift the lid on how major banks operate. We can't have that, can we? Keep on trying Julian. All you can do is deserve to succeed. Similar Posts: The Century of the Emerging Markets A New 'Trade of the Decade' Red Bear Rising: Russia's Resource Based Geopolitical Strategy Profiting From the Copper Indecision Commodity Appreciation and/or Dollar Devaluation

Gold or Stocks: What to Hold During the Great Correction Posted: 14 Dec 2010 01:15 PM PST Gold or stocks? Gold will go up another $300 next year, says Goldman Sachs. Bloomberg reports: Gold rose 27 percent this year, heading for a 10th consecutive annual advance. Investors are seeking hard assets as governments and central banks led by the Federal Reserve pump more than $2 trillion into the world financial system. Gold will reach $1,690 an ounce in 12 months, from $1,390 now, and probably peak the following year, Goldman estimates. Gold in exchange- traded products backed by the metal reached a record 2,105 metric tons on Oct. 14 and holdings were last at 2,093 tons, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That's equal to about nine years of US mine output. Hey, making money is easy. Gold goes up every year. If you believe Goldman it will go up another 20% next year. But if you believe Goldman, you'll make money in stocks too. Here's another Bloomberg report: The benchmark gauge for American equities will rise 11 percent to 1,379 in 2011, bringing the increase since 2008 to 53 percent, the best return since 1997 to 2000, according to the average of 11 strategists in a Bloomberg News survey. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s David Kostin, the most accurate US strategist this year, said sales growth will spur a 17 percent rally in the S&P 500 through the end of 2011. Market analysts say earnings will hit record highs, keeping valuations below historical averages at the same time government spending aids the economy. Reaching their average forecast for 2011 would give the index annualized gains of 15 percent over three years, twice the rate anticipated by Pacific Investment Management Co.'s new normal theory that anticipates deficits and increased regulation will limit returns. Kostin, Goldman Sachs' New York-based strategist who said last year the S&P 500 would end 2010 at 1,250, wrote in a note Dec. 6 that below- average bond yields help create a "superb backdrop" for equities. He expects the S&P 500 to finish 2011 at 1,450, the second most-bullish call among 11 firms surveyed. So, Dear Reader, you have a choice. Gold or stocks? Goldman says you'll make money no matter which one you choose. We're not so sure. The way we look at it, we're still in a Great Correction. Trouble is, if you read the newspapers you'd barely realize it. The financial press says the economy is "recovering." The analysts are calling for higher asset prices. Advisors are overwhelmingly bullish. And shoppers are said to be going back to the malls that once knew them. And what's this? Outstanding consumer credit - the key measure of leverage in a society - went up in September and October. The economy isn't de-leveraging. It's adding debt, not subtracting it! But hold on. If you look at the composition of the "consumer" credit figures, you discover that: 1) The total credit numbers are actually going down; it's the adjustments that make them appear higher 2) The positive (increasing credit) numbers come from government- supported credit (such as student loans) 3) Take out the government-backed debt and you will see an impressive collapse of credit The Great Correction is real. It's a fact of life. And it won't go away anytime soon. And more thoughts... So, what will it be? Gold or stocks? We'll take gold. Stocks are a bet on an improving economy - on growth...on profits...on prosperity. If we're really in a Great Correction, it could be many years before the economy begins to grow again. But isn't the economy recovering? What, are you kidding? There are 15 million people without jobs. If the economy continues to "grow" at these rates, they'll never find work again. Every month, the workforce grows with the population. The number of new jobs barely keeps up. In order to get a real recovery, the economy will have to grow much more strongly. And that isn't very likely, not as long as so many people are reducing their debt levels and saving for their retirements. Sooner or later, investors are probably going to realize that the economy isn't really recovering. They've gone for a dozen years with no net gains from stocks. They're bound to give up, sooner or later. Once they see that this economy will not make their stocks more valuable they'll begin to shift their focus from capital gains to income. They'll look for dividends. But at current stock prices, investors are lucky to get a dividend yield of 2%. Not enough to compensate them for giving up their money. They'll want 3% to 5%. And in order to get that level of dividends stock prices will have to go much lower - down by as much as 60% or so. Could gold go down too? Yes. And it probably would - if the feds would permit the economy to de-leverage in an orderly way. Instead, they're fighting it...digging in their heels...and holding onto the furniture to try to avoid getting dragged along. They've tried monetary policy. They've tried traditional fiscal policy. Nothing worked. So, now they're trying QE2. Will that do the trick? No. If you could really make people more prosperous by printing money, QE would be a lot more popular than it is now. Of course, it won't "work." But the feds have already shown that they have no intention of giving up. Obama appointed a bi-partisan panel to figure out how to reduce the deficit. The panel made some modest proposals. And both Congress and Obama himself rejected them. If there is to be de-leveraging of the public sector, it will be over their dead bodies. Which is the way we'd like to have it. But it won't happen soon. Instead, they'll continue on this route until they can't go any further. The Fed has already printed up $1.3 trillion trying to avoid the correction. And they're now working on another $600 billion. And when that doesn't work, they'll probably print up some more... ..and they'll keep printing (why would they stop?)... ..until the whole system blows up. THAT'S when you'll be glad you bought gold rather than stocks. Regards, Bill Bonner. for The Daily Reckoning Australia Similar Posts: Still Worried About the Great Correction? Even Central Banks Buy Gold Printing Money Causes the Wrong Kind of Inflation Should You Buy Stocks Now to Take Advantage of Bull Market? Zombies Always Vote

The Biggest Obstacle Posted: 14 Dec 2010 01:15 PM PST Keynesianism has reached its natural extreme. The floating-currency status quo, in place since 1971, is becoming more and more intolerable. Before too long, the soft money fanatics will give way in disgrace, and the hard money traditionalists will begin to get the respect they deserve. We are already on the path to a new gold standard. At this point, I ask myself: what is the biggest barrier between us today and that happy conclusion? What is the limiting factor? Is it the criminal instincts of today's politicians? The cow-like acquiescence of the masses? The immense gains still being enjoyed by the bankster class? The endless prevarication of academia's high priests of Keynesianism? The sycophantic parroting of the establishment spin by the mainstream media? All of these are important factors. But they are not the most important factor. The biggest barrier today is - us! The gold standard advocates themselves. Their motives are pure and their ideals are high. But can they deliver the goods? Do they have the practical, technical knowledge that would allow them to build a world monetary system that could last for a thousand years, and could be implemented with no disruption? Unfortunately, the answer is "no." This condition can be remedied. However, it had better be remedied quick, because we don't have that much time left. If you had twenty minutes with Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, or Hu Jintao - we will assume they know little about monetary economics - and were asked to explain the basic tenets of a gold standard system, what would you say? Here is what I would say. Tenet #1: Stable Money is superior to Unstable Money. "Stable Money" is money that is stable in value. Capitalist economies work best with conditions of stable money. "Discretionary" monetary policy doesn't really solve any problems, and actually causes new ones. Tenet #2: Gold is stable in value. Unlike other commodities, gold does not go up and down in value. For this reason, it is the premier monetary commodity, and has been for literally thousands of years. Although it is a bit of a stretch to assume that gold is perfectly unchanging in value, nevertheless, after centuries of experience, we have established that it is sufficiently stable in value to serve its purpose as a monetary benchmark. Also, gold is a better measure of stable value than any other available reference or statistical concoction. Tenet #3: Therefore, if your currency's value is pegged to gold, that currency will be as stable as gold. A gold-value peg is the best means to accomplish our goal of stable currency value. For the last 500 years, every government that has wished to implement a stable-currency policy has used some variant of a gold standard. It is proven, it works, and there is no need to invent another, inferior solution. Tenet #4: A token currency, whether coins or notes, can be pegged to gold via the adjustment of supply. "Supply" is technically known as "base money," which consists of notes, coins, and bank reserves. If the currency's value sags below its gold peg, then supply is reduced. If the currency's value is higher than its gold peg, supply is increased. No gold bullion is needed to maintain this peg - only a mechanism to increase and decrease the supply of base money. Central banks accomplish this today by buying and selling government bonds in "unsterilized" transactions. This is effectively the same as currency board systems in use today. Tenet #5: A "lender of last resort" can be provided within the context of a gold standard. The original "lender of last resort," or what we today call a central bank, was the Bank of England during the 19th century. The Bank of England was also the world's premier champion of the gold standard. The Federal Reserve was originally constituted in 1913 to serve as a "lender of last resort" within the context of a gold standard system, and did so for 58 years until 1971. Central banks' original purpose was perverted during the 20th century due to the rise of Keynesian soft-money ideology, causing them to come into conflict with the proper operation of a gold standard system. These tenets probably seem familiar, and, except perhaps for the last one, not very controversial. However, in my view, today's gold standard advocates have not properly internalized and mastered these core concepts. I suggest that they do so as quickly as possible. When people who are unfamiliar with monetary economics listen to the speech and arguments of today's gold standard advocates, I think they get the impression that the gold standard advocates have a tendency towards ideology, and a rather poor grasp of practical issues. They might not be able to explain why, but for some reason, it seems like the gold-standard advocates don't have all their ducks in a row. There's a simple reason for this: it's true! However, once the gold standard advocates expand their understanding and master the core concepts, this quality would also become apparent in their speech. The lay observer would have a different impression - that the gold standard advocates have a viable alternative, and are able to deliver on their promises with complete expertise and understanding. We need a small group - perhaps twenty people, in the English-speaking world - who have achieved this level of mastery. We fall somewhat short of that today, but this problem is easy to remedy. It's hard to change the world. But, it is not too hard to change yourself. Start with this, and the rest will follow. Regards, Nathan Lewis, for The Daily Reckoning Australia Editor's Notes: Nathan Lewis was formerly the chief international economist of a leading economic forecasting firm. He now works for an asset management company based in New York. Lewis has written for the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal Asia, the Japan Times, Pravda, and authored Gold: The Once and Future Money. Similar Posts: A Gold Standard, Without Gold The Biggest Financial Deception of the Decade Citizens Easily Coerced into Using Government Currency A New Bretton Woods Vs. The Old Bretton Woods The Fourth Biggest Iron Player in Australia

Bullion Trading Group Ripped off Clients Posted: 14 Dec 2010 01:05 PM PST "Four men at a now-defunct South Florida precious metal company have been charged with stealing up to $1.3 million from investors who wanted to capitalize on the rising prices of gold and silver. The president of The Bullion Trading Group and three company brokers face mail fraud charges, accused by federal prosecutors of diverting clients' funds for their personal use. The business had offices in West Palm Beach and Stuart, soliciting customers across the country from March 2008 to March 2009, court records show." http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/pal...,2252469.story

Jim Roger blasting Bernanke and all the other..... Posted: 14 Dec 2010 12:48 PM PST Jim Roger laying it out as usual. !

Why Gold Investors are Still in the Minority Posted: 14 Dec 2010 11:07 AM PST By Joel Bowman 12/14/10 Buenos Aires, Argentina – Why do smart people do dumb things? Or, more germane to our Daily Reckoning beat, why do smart investors make stupid decisions? More on that in a second… We returned to the "Paris of the South" over the weekend after a quick trip to Baltimore for an editorial meeting and, of course, the annual office Christmas party. Rarely do we find ourselves surrounded with so many outcasts and oddballs as when we attend Agora-sponsored events. We doubt The Maryland Club – the jacket-and-tie venue where the shindig went down – had ever seen such a motley crew. Not since last year's celebration, anyway. Agorans, if you haven't yet met one, are a quirky bunch; a little adrift of center on almost any topic; a tad eccentric; not quite "all there" in any generic sense of the definition. Needless to say, it is a pleasure to work with such a group…and to be in the service of an "outsider" readership. A very Happy Holidays to you all! Chatting with a few old friends at the party – and some new – we started thinking about the contrarian mindset. How does such a state arise in one's own brain? Is it inherent? A genetic predisposition? Why is it that some folk tend to stray from the herd, while others follow in perfect step and with nary a question as to their position in the line…much less to where it is headed? Why, in other words, are some people so delightfully independent while others are forever setting the cut of their jib to whatever the prevailing theory of the day happens to be? Forgive our post-flight ramblings, Fellow Reckoner. There is a point to all this. There is little doubt that, in the world of investing, it pays to be in the minority. Some commentators divide the crowd into unequal portions: the minority constitutes the "smart" money; the majority represents the "dumb" money…on which the minority happily feeds. We are reminded here of Rick Rule's famous line: When it comes to investing, you are either a contrarian or a victim. Necessarily, the smart money must be a minority. The moniker is afforded, at various times, to bond traders, short sellers and industry insiders. Whatever their position, this renegade outfit must be ahead of the curve, ready to sell at the point of maximum demand and to buy at the moment of minimum interest, when there is "blood on the streets," as the old adage goes. Though not entirely dependent on the status quo, a contrarian's position is almost always in opposition to it. It is helpful, therefore, to ask what the accepted norm of this day is. Bill Bonner helpfully identified the accepted wisdom of our time in yesterday's column. "Lies!" said he. The financial system is built on lies. Economic and political systems likewise. There is the lie that people can grow rich by spending more than they earn…that companies can achieve success by producing stuff that people don't buy…that real estate prices always trend higher…and that, when the entire economy is in a debt-induced funk, it can dig its way out by piling on still more debt, by debasing its currency and by fibbing to the masses about what it is doing all the while. "Lies, lies, lies," commented Bill. Where then is the truth? Gold, for one, is notoriously, incorruptibly honest. You can tell this because fiat-money pimps won't go near the stuff. It is indisposed to the creepy advances of central bankers who would seek to compromise its virtue. It is, as one friend likes to say, nobody else's liability. It is honest to a fault, Fellow Reckoner. Has been for thousands of years. That is why to the majority of it remains a barbarous relic. But for the rest of us, like honesty, it's still the best policy. Joel Bowman for The Daily Reckoning Read more: Why Gold Investors are Still in the Minority http://dailyreckoning.com/why-gold-investors-are-still-in-the-minority/#ixzz188cuAFBp

Gold Prices Heading up for 2011? Posted: 14 Dec 2010 10:58 AM PST By George Leong, B.Comm. Gold has edged higher in each of the past nine years, and it is set to close off its decade-long bull market. Buying has been driven by a combination of speculative trading in physical gold, gold ETFs, and buying as a safe-haven investment. Lombardi Financial first turned bullish in 2002-2003 and has remained so ever since. Although at times the bullion has had a rough ride, metal prices have turned around significantly after first breaking above $400.00. I believe the spot price of gold can easily creep up to $1,500 in the near term; as early as in the first quarter of 2011. There are some bullish pundits who are even suggesting a $2,000 longer-term target for gold based on rising demand out of China and India. For starters, world governments have committed trillions of dollars to various bailout packages. Those bailouts will have also left a debt trail of gigantic proportions. In the U.S. only, about $2.0 trillion of the bailout money has been procured through auctioning government debt instruments. In turn, the budget deficit is going to be enormous and, as a result, the U.S. dollar is continuing to be weak in 2010. This could continue into 2011, as the government's financial situation moves deeper into the red. Note that, the lower the dollar goes, the better it is for gold prices. In addition, the Federal Reserve has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the U.S. financial sector in an effort to create liquidity, encourage lending, and entice consumers to start spending again. It sure is taking time, but all this money is bound to reverse the effects of deflation and result in inflation, which has always been the best thing there is for gold prices. The February 2011 Gold on the COMEX recently broke to a record high of $1,432.50, well above both its 50-day moving average (MA) of $1,3650 and 200-day MA of $1,243. We are seeing a bullish golden cross on the chart, with the 50-day MA above the 200-day MA. The near-term technical view is moderately bullish, but the Relative Strength has been weakening, which has resulted in the failure to hold above $1,400. The simple truth is that gold is a trustworthy and realistic investment instrument that should be in every investor's portfolio. Gold's traditional role as a safe haven has made it the underdog in the world markets. It is an investment that people turn to only when stock or bond markets aren't performing well, or when monetary policies are running amok. Yet there is a sense that gold may be increasingly seen as a credible and realistic investment vehicle and not just as a safe-haven instrument for parking capital. Source: Gold Prices Heading up for 2011?

Gold & You: Topping Out or Topping Up Posted: 14 Dec 2010 10:52 AM PST 1.   Gold war update from the front lines:  The Gold Community retook $1400 last night.  Silver is close to retaking $30.  I won the battle as to whether gold would take out $1424 on the upside or $1315 on the downside.  Most thought $1315 would fall.   It didn`t.  Gold soared to $1430 basis dec futures and many gold stocks continue to exhibit violent upsurges. 2.   I don`t like losing.  So I don`t.  Don`t you throw your gold away either because of all the correction talk going around.  Click here now to view this morning`s Gold Chart with the new range highlighted:  Gold`s New Range Chart. 3.   Gold is now trading between 1370 and 1430, and doing so after breaking out, upside, from the 1315-1424 range.  The fact is…. gold is marching higher.  An army of gold top callers are about to meet their maker.  The Gold Punisher is in the technical analysis house, and he`s not taking prisoners. 4.   There is no head and shoulders now, any more than there was one in the last 1315-1424 range. 5.   There is no double top either.  What there is, fellow gold fiends, is an upside superblast going on right now, climbing a classic wall of worry.   I`ve bought US dollars into weakness in some size, from other paper currencies, not from gold sales, and if there is a significant gold correction, later, I`ll use those dollars to increase my gold stock position total size. 6.   I have absolutely zero interest in liquidating core gold bullion positions now to "get them cheaper later."  With gold stock, the biggest risk to you now is selling out to avoid the correction.  What will happen instead is you miss out on the biggest upside move since 2008. 7.   Because Gold Stock is higher priced now than at the lows of the start of the bull market and the lows of 2008, it requires more price movement to produce the types of returns you saw from those earlier bull low points. 8.   Regardless, the risk now is immeasurably greater of being out of gold, than it is of being in, and you can take that to the bank.  Your bullion bank.  This is a not a timer`s competition.  It`s a crisis.  It`s not a game to see who can flip the most gold hamburgers with the most leverage in the unsafest online account, in a war zone.  You see, the banksters don`t think it`s a game or a timer`s competition.  They think it`s a war.  They think they win by putting you on the breadline.   They are correct. 9.   Their strategy is to take you out of gold right here, right now, right before they blow up the bond market, thereby blowing up all you financially have, all you financially are.  An epic transfer of wealth.  The coming action caused by the bond implosion could make the day of the lows at Dow 6500 look like a remake of the television show Happy Days.   Sorry, but "Happy Days meets Godzilla" is a vastly more accurate description of what is coming here on the next episode of… The Big Show. 10.          Most analysts are giving very little, or zero, coverage to  the bond market as a house of cards.  I think it is all-critical.  A sea change is at hand.  Click here now for a look at the T-Bond to Dow Diamonds Ratio Chart. Look at the trading range we are in between 1.05 and 1.35.  The 1.05 marker is in danger of failing, and technically has a 66% chance of doing so, as all sideways moves have a 66% chance of consolidating the existing trend. 11.          That existing trend is:  Down.  Here's a look at the monthly chart. Bond to Dow Monthly Ratio Chart. You are looking at ten years of price action.  Price is rolling over.  I don`t believe that a real estate price collapse from here would collapse commodities like gold and food.  Quite the opposite.  I think we are starting to see food, and the Dow itself, starting to behave as currencies, joining gold on the currency stage.  The Dow is rallying despite a growing institutional sensing that the US Central Bank and Govt are nearing an "out of control" situation with the bond. 12.          When institutional money buys the Dow while believing rates could soar, the door is open to what HSBC`s currency chief describes as an Armageddon type of situation.  The institutional money managers want to believe the Dow is rising and rates are rising based on growth, but the view that a horror show is instead the correct reality, is growing like a wildfire. 13.          We are likely transitioning into a stage of the crisis where items that are encumbered by debt could start to fall as a group (something the gold community only waited 30 years for), even seemingly unrelated items, while debt-free items rally strongly, also as a group.  Real estate and bonds are debt items. 14.          The bottom line in the next phase of the crisis is: Creditors get devalued, and debtors that have financing charges fixed at low or zero rates for extended time get to experience almost what could be termed a debtors party, as what they owe becomes much easier to pay. 15.          What is critical to understand is that the Govt does not view itself as verging on default, but on the verge of burning all their creditors, burning all their own citizens.  The govt is not worried; they are ecstatic! 16.          The public wrongly believes that if the dollar falls, real estate will rally.  Again, they are ignoring the bond market, which could probably not be in a more dangerous position for real estate than where it sits right here, right now. 17.          A major bear mkt in bonds would turn real estate into a chart that looks like the Nasdaq after 2000.  The public`s move into real estate after the initial fall now, is exactly the same as their stupid move into more Nortel and Enron stock after the initial fall.  I had very substantial business owners tell me it was free money when they bought Nortel after it fell to $90.   On the road to $1 share price and followed at that point by massive dilution.   Free money was correct.  Free monopoly money. 18.          The real estate bear is not over.  Nor is it ending.  It`s barely started in my view.  News highs are likely not years away, but decades away. 19.          Most investors think way, way, way too big in the short term, and way, way, way too small in the long term.  In a bull market, you never sell core positions, regardless of the size of any supposed correction you are predicting for yourself.  Here`s a look at the current zones of play for the GDXJ Chart. 20.           The gold juniors were trading between approx. $36 and $43, and now they are trading between $40 and $45.  That`s the only reality there is.  Short term traders are buyers in a pyramid formation on all price weakness under $45 to $40 and sellers not just to $45, but to $200!  For a solid portion of your risk capital, your gold stock sell targets need to be vastly beyond what is rational, for the first time in the history of the gold market. 21.          The bigger picture is the new trading range that came into play when GDXJ took out highs at $43.31 in early November.  You decide the upside of that range, not me. I would suggest $60 as a bare minimum for the hamburger flipper, and $100 for the moderate investor is not out of line.  Numbers like $50 are a joke.  For the new range GDXJ play, you need to be a buyer on all weakness into the $43 or lower price point from any point between there and GDXJ $100 in my view.  I want you to understand that while juniors are high risk assets, the price of bullion above $1400 is a game changer for them and for you.   Billionaires like paid subscriber T-Rex, who is rumoured to eat banksters for breakfast, understands the situation and is taking action, whereas the smaller traders are wasting time trying to top call themselves to the breadline. 22.         When it comes to the gold juniors, whether you use GDXJ, ZJG, SIL, or the individuals, my urging is you work to get your mind not into top call mode, but instead into top up mode.  Do whatever it takes to achieve that state of mind, because Jim Sinclair, one of the only real insiders in the gold community, is warning you right now that the banksters are setting up to repeat their performance of the 1970s, when they made all the money on the long side, while the speculators top called themselves to the spectator stands.  This time is different from the 1970s.  In the 1970s there was almost zero risk of the dollar going off the board.  The top callers missed reward, but didn`t eat risk.  This is not the 1970s.  It`s a marked to lies 1930s situation.  Those who laughed at my standing prediction that the only solution the banksters have ever had in mind for the crisis is to put the public on the breadline, should look at the statements beginning to be made, finally, by some of the world`s largest money managers.  They are using the "A" word:  Armageddon.  Let`s see how hard the laughers laugh while standing in the breadline.  I`m going to go out on a limb and suggest it won`t be very loud.  Don`t top call yourself out of gold and into the paper money blast furnace just as the banksters turn it on, or you are likely to join them! 23.          Most investors in the gold community blew themselves out of a lot of bullion as it tanked into the lows of 2008.  Most mainstream investors did the same thing to themselves with the general equity markets in 2000 and again in 2008. They bought no Dow in 1980 as it broke out upside, never mind into the previous lows, but  then tried to hamburger flip it for 20 years. 24.          Like bullion, the juniors are trending higher.  The difference is that bullion is on the verge of a possible upside pop, while juniors are on the verge of an upside parabolic move!  If gold gets taken down hard today, the question is, are you going top out, or top up?  Let's do it! 25. Special Offer For Website Readers:  Send me an Email to  freereports4@gracelandupdates.com and I`ll rush you my new Gold Explorers Live From Curacao Report!  I`m in Curacao in the Caribbean on business, and I want you involved in the new GLDX Gold Explorers ETF.  I`ll give you my hardcore strategies, to make this a bottom line performer for you!  Thanks! Stewart Thomson Graceland Updates Written between 4am-7am.  5-6 issues per week.  Emailed at aprox 9am daily. www.gracelandupdates.com Email: stewart@gracelandupdates.com Risks, Disclaimers, Legal Stewart Thomson is no longer an investment advisor. The information provided by Stewart and Graceland Updates is for general information purposes only. Before taking any action on any investment, it is imperative that you consult with multiple properly licensed, experienced and qualifed investment advisors and get numerous opinions before taking any action. Your minimum risk on any investment in the world is: 100% loss of all your money. You may be taking or preparing to take leveraged positions in investments and not know it, exposing yourself to unlimited risks. This is highly concerning if you are an investor in any derivatives products. There is an approx $700 trillion OTC Derivatives Iceberg with a tiny portion written off officially. The bottom line:    Are You Prepared?

Gold Inches Higher as Treasury Yields Rise Posted: 14 Dec 2010 10:00 AM PST Gold managed to eke out at $2.07, or 0.15%, gain to settle at $1,396.25 despite the fact that US Treasury yields continued to spike higher.

Take Down Tuesdays – What's the Best Day to Buy Silver? Posted: 14 Dec 2010 10:00 AM PST Traders in the silver market expect increased volatility and large market declines on Tuesdays and Wednesdays - and the data supports this notion.

Bonds tank (30 yr declining 2 full points/ 10 yr falling 1 full point)/gold and silver rebuff raid Posted: 14 Dec 2010 09:49 AM PST

Dont Keep Silver with ANY Banks! Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:54 AM PST

Richard Russell - Gold = Biggest Bull Market of Our Lifetimes Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:35 AM PST King World News

J.P. Morgan and the Great Silver Caper Posted: 14 Dec 2010 08:32 AM PST Lew Rockwell

Private Sector Obliged to Work Off the Public Debt Posted: 14 Dec 2010 07:44 AM PST I was idly reading The Economist magazine instead of working, or instead of taking a nap, when I saw their headline "The Mortgage Parallel," which was kind of intriguing to me, and I was curious to see what they thought was, you know, a good parallel to a mortgage. The subhead was not much of a clue, as it started off "Nerves jangle," which sounds more like an eerie parallel to parenthood, if you ask me! Hahaha! Parenthood as a parallel to the hell of mortgages, month after month of someone gobbling up your income! Hahaha! They're right! I can see the parallel! Alas, I see that my little joke is not appreciated, and so, chastised, I will dryly note that the article starts out, "Habitually seen as safe, America's $2.8 trillion municipal-bond market was rocked in the crisis of 2008," which is, of course, old news, being from 2 years ago. At this point I was yawning to indicate my disinterest, until idly dividing $2.8 trillion by the 100 billion non-taxpayer-paid, private-sector, for-profit workers in America, only to discover that municipal debt alone comes to $28,000 for each of the disappearing paying-taxes-out-of-profits workers! Yikes! And this does not count the $14 trillion in national debt, which is another $140,000 for each of the 100 million non-taxpayer, private-sector, for-profit workers, which does not include all the trillions in mortgage debt, or that nagging, yet seemingly piddly in comparison, $2.4 trillion in consumer debt, which by itself is another $24,000 for each worker, or cars, or boats, or any of that crap, and which went up a couple of billion dollars last month! Suddenly, and I gag in awe, we are talking more than $200,000 in obligations for every private-sector worker! You can understand my terrified confusion and fear when I wonder aloud, "How in the hell can these 100 million non-taxpayer, private-sector, for-profit workers, making an average of $45,000 a year, pay enough in taxes to pay such a colossal debt, which doesn't even count the accrued federal government entitlement liabilities of another $100 trillion or so?" Being a naturally irresponsible and lazy kind of guy, the thought of my being responsible for paying the interest on, and somehow paying off over the long-term, such unfathomable debt makes me feverish with fear at the sheer impossibility of it, until overcoming me with a feeling of dread from the certain knowledge that things are only going to get worse and worse until that last, fateful day when angry mobs of starving, desperate people are banging at the door of the Mogambo Bunker Of Last Retreat (MBOLR), all weapons, their barrels red-hot, finally depleted of ammunition, the floor littered ankle-deep with spent shell casings still warm, the acrid smell of cordite hanging in the air, mingling with the sound of my attackers shouting, "Let us wounded survivors in! We want your gold and silver because we did not listen to you when you told us to buy them because the evil Federal Reserve was creating so much money which will create inflation in prices, and now you are rich and we are poor because of it!" And I will answer, "No, you don't! You want to kill me and eat my brain!" They will naturally reply, "No, we don't! In fact, we are tired of killing each other and eating each other's brains just because we can't afford to buy real food! We only want your gold and silver because they are the only things of value left for miles around, now that all your valuable ammo is gone, which is because the Federal Reserve created too much money for too long that all our dollars are worthless in terms of buying power against inflation in prices that is eating us alive, which explains why we are eating each other's brains to stay alive, you moron!" To this I will cleverly reply, "Nobody home! At the beep, leave a message! Beep!" If you have read this far, you must admit that it takes a lot of anger and fear about the inflation caused by the Federal Reserve creating so much new money, to induce me to write such far-fetched and utter stupidity as positing that people could subsist on human brains without benefit of a daily intake of vegetables, fruits and grains. But the nutritional errors aside, and disregarding how you should be buying gold, silver and oil because the foul Federal Reserve is creating so much money, the part that froze my brain was when The Economist article went on, "A sudden jump in yields has renewed fears that the main source of finance for America's 50 states and thousands of towns and cities is ripe for a crisis all its own." My brain is staggered at how issuing debt could be the "main source of finance for America's 50 states and thousands of towns," and yet be so big! Doesn't anything ever get paid off? And now, to even think for a moment that this enormous load of un-payable, unfathomable, unbelievable debt, all thanks to the evil Federal Reserve, could NOT end Very, Very Badly (VVB) is to embarrass oneself, like the embarrassment many will feel one day soon when their starving kids ask them, "How come you, as responsible parents, didn't buy gold, silver and oil when the Federal Reserve was creating so much money? What are you, stupid?" To this I will cheerfully say, "No, kids, they WERE stupid, but they are a lot smarter now!" The Mogambo Guru for The Daily Reckoning Private Sector Obliged to Work Off the Public Debt originally appeared in the Daily Reckoning. The Daily Reckoning, offers a uniquely refreshing, perspective on the global economy, investing, gold, stocks and today's markets. Its been called "the most entertaining read of the day."

Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Gain While Fed Holds Steady Posted: 14 Dec 2010 07:19 AM PST Gold climbed as much as $11.05 to as high as $1408.05 in London before it fell in early New York trade and saw a loss of $5.35 at as low as $1391.65 by a little before 10AM EST, but it then rallied back higher in the last few hours of trade and ended near its earlier high with a gain of 0.48%. Silver rose to as high as $29.948 and dropped to as low as $29.17 before it also rallied back higher and ended with a gain of 0.44%.

Thar She Blows Posted: 14 Dec 2010 06:52 AM PST Mercenary Links Roundup for Tuesday, Dec 14th (below the jump). 12-14 Tuesday If China Blows Up, So Will Every Other Market Global boom in commodities capex Rio, Xstrata Dig for More Mining Deals as M&A Shifts to Emerging Markets Petrobras buys refinery stake, sets stage for expansion | beyondbrics JPMorgan denies it holds 90 pct of LME copper stocks | Reuters JP Morgan Admits To, Reduces Massive Silver Short Position | zero hedge Fed keeps policy on hold, says recovery too slow | Reuters Fed Leaves Policy Unchanged – WSJ.com Fed Retains $600 Billion Bond-Buying Plan to Boost Economy – Bloomberg Obama Said to Meet Gates, Buffett on Boosting Economy – Bloomberg U.S. CEOs in Survey Are Most Optimistic Since 2006 – Bloomberg Deutsche Bank's Binky Chadha Sees S&P At 1,550 By End Of 2011 Retail sales boost growth prospects | Reuters Retail Sales, Producer Prices Increase – WSJ.com Best Buy's Profit, Sales Retreat – WSJ.com Best Buy Plunges Most in 8 Years After Cutting Profit Forecast Foreigners flock to Florida real estate bargains Governments lose revenue when banks get repossessed homes' tax breaks Washington Suburbs Are Richest, Most Educated in U.S. – Bloomberg Paulson-Led Group Weighs Alternate Lehman Bankruptcy Plan – WSJ.com Offshore Yuan Trading Takes Off – WSJ.com Deficit worries put dollar in spotlight ECB urges bigger rescue fund as bond investors punish Spain – Telegraph Portugal Prepares New Economic Measures – NYTimes.com Euro-Zone Economy to End Year Strongly – WSJ.com Pixie Dust Loses Magic as Foreclosures Slam Disney's Utopian Florida Town Dublin Blocks Payment of Bank Bonuses – NYTimes.com Ireland to Force Loss-Sharing on Junior Debt Holders – Bloomberg Estonia, Long-Time Ireland Follower, Keeps Betting on Adoption of the Euro IATA: Airline Industry Margins 'Pathetic' – WSJ.com World's 5 biggest airlines now from Asia, LatAm India's Telecom Scandal Shakes Parties and Top Officials – NYTimes.com U.K. Mobile Phone Operator to Offer Unlimited Internet Access – NYT China in Push to Dominate in Wind Power – NYTimes.com Rising PC Prices Buck the Trend – WSJ.com Comcast Tests New Service That Combines Internet, TV – WSJ.com France Finds Google Might Have Abused Its Strength – NYTimes.com Yahoo Is Said to Be Planning to Cut About 650 Jobs, 5% of Staff – Bloomberg Police: Las Vegas casino chip heist may total $2M – Yahoo! News Richard Holbrooke dies: Veteran U.S. diplomat brokered Dayton accords The Atlantic Turns a Profit, With an Eye on the Web – NYTimes.com ~

Q3 2010 Credit Card Debt Study Posted: 14 Dec 2010 06:28 AM PST Consumers accumulated almost $6.5 billion more credit card debt in Q3 than Q2 2010, given that the drop in outstandings is smaller than the dollar amount that was charged-off. This is 39 percent less debt accumulation than was accumulated in this quarter last year... Read

Gold Over $1,400/oz Again, Supported by Inflation and Paper Currency Concerns Posted: 14 Dec 2010 01:26 AM PST gold.ie

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