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- Gold Seeker Weekly Wrap-Up: Gold Ends the Year at a New All-Time High and Silver Closes at a New 30-Year High
- In The News Today
- Jim?s Mailbox
- The Gold Price New All Time High at $1,421.10, Silver Price New High Since 1980
- Free Shares on Constantine Metal Resources
- Why does NY Fed need all these private meetings with investment bankers?
- Happy New Year!
- The Best of Times...
- The Best of TimesÂ….
- FRIDAY Market Excerpts
- Zero Hedge's Top 10 Most Popular Posts In 2010
- Bill Gross Telling Bloomberg To "Avoid Dollar Denominated Government Debt" Probably Means Bond Rout Is Over
- Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Final Charts for 2010
- Guest Post: Just Where Is The Equity In All Of This?
- ScotiaMocatta Sells Out Of Silver Bars
- Gold Trading Closes: Returning 29.7% For the Year, Doubles S&P 2010 Performance
- New Lows for Gold Silver Ratio
- Gold in 2011 Short & Long Term Analysis
- Silver Stocks 4
- 2010 goes out WITH A BANG. What to expect in 2011...
- Silver Mining Is for Suckers
- 2011 is the Year of the Precious Metals Junior Miners
- Jim's Mailbox
- LGMR: Gold Ends 2010 with 11th Annual Gain Running vs. World's Top 10 Currencies
- Read Ted Butler's Prophetic Letter Warning Of COMEX Silver Manipulation... In 1989
- Happy New Year from PSW!
- Goldman's 10 Questions (And Answers) For 2011
- Predictions for 2011
- Dollar Fail?
- The Last Angry Man’s Problem With IMF Gold Sales
- 2011 America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Coin Designs
- Featured Coin News and Articles for December 26, 2010 – January 1, 2011
- Gene Arensberg: New lows for gold-silver ratio
- Precious metals will accelerate in 2011, Turk tells King World News
- Venezuela devalues for second time this year
- 2011: Housing, Jobs, Stocks, Commodities, and Dollar
- Let’s pray the dollar crashes quick so these jackasses’ destructive opinions and wars are taken offline
- “The time to protect yourself from the oncoming hyperinflation is narrowing, and for many reasons I believe physical silver is the pre-eminent method of doing so.â€
- FX Wi(n)dow Dressing?
- Gold Ends the Year in a Bullish Fashion - What's Next?
- The Morning Gold Report
- How to bring down the System
- Will Silver Be Worth More Than Gold? Perspectives On A Coming Silver Shortage
- THe eND iS iN SiGHT (HaPPY 2011)
- Happy New Year Everyone (Felice Anno Nuovo A Tutti)
- Gold Ends the Year in a Bullish Fashion – What’s Next?
- Gold Ends 2010 in a Bullish Fashion – What’s Next?
- Silver Mining Stocks Are for Suckers
- New Year's Eve Poll: What Issue Will Dominate (Actionable) News Flow In 2011?
- Is Gold Or Fiat Currency In a Bubble
| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:00 PM PST Gold steadily rose throughout most of world trade and ended near its last minute high of $1420.90 with a gain of 1.1% at a new all-time closing high. Silver followed a similar pattern and ended near its last minute high of $30.933 with a gain of 1.35% at a new 30-year closing high.
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:51 PM PST View the original post at jsmineset.com... December 31, 2010 11:18 AM Dear CIGAs, Snow is no problem in Sharon, CT. In a town with less than 3000 residents, I am the guy in the suit. Jim Sinclair’s Commentary I received a great compliment from a former Forbes reporter who now works for the Times. He called to remind me that when he wrote an article about me on December 10th, 2001 I had told him gold would go to $1650 and that Bear Sterns would go broke on OTC derivatives. Jim Sinclair’s Commentary Have you subscribed? The meat is in the full reports and is much more than these one liners. Here is how John Williams sees things. - 2010: A Year of Depressed Economic Stagnation - 2011: A Year of Increasing Economic and Systemic Difficulties - Gold Outperforms Dow for Seventh Straight Year (2010) "No. 342: Economic, Market and Systemic Outlook for 2011" Web-page: [URL]http://www.shadowstats.com[/URL] Jim Sinclair’s Commentary In ...
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:51 PM PST View the original post at jsmineset.com... December 31, 2010 11:09 AM Jim Sinclair’s Commentary CIGA Lew wishes all his CIGAs a happy New Year in this very interesting video. Click here to watch the video… Jim, You called muni bonds a while back. Meredith Whitney thinks so in 2011. CIGA BIG Tatanka. Dear LT, People forget the 10-20+ percent bear raids on gold that were the rule of the day years ago, the hammering of RGLD, the synthetic dollar short BS, Central bank selling and so on. They would do almost anything to shake us out of our positions… You have again been the most charismatic leader in my opinion in the gold bull market! You have also shown us by example how to control emotions and to remain rational so as not to screw things up. I am wishing you the best in 2011 for health, happiness and prosperity to you and your family! Your friend, CIGA BT Jim Sinclair’s Commentary CIGA Giancarlo in Joberg observes "This ...
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| The Gold Price New All Time High at $1,421.10, Silver Price New High Since 1980 Posted: 31 Dec 2010 01:42 PM PST Gold Price Close Today : 1,421.10 Gold Price Close 23-Dec : 1,380.00 Change : 41.10 or 3.0% Silver Price Close Today : 3091 Silver Price Close 23-Dec : 2931 Change : 160.00 or 5.5% Gold Silver Ratio Today : 45.98 Gold Silver Ratio 23-Dec : 47.08 Change : -1.11 or -2.4% Silver Gold Ratio : 0.02175 Silver Gold Ratio 23-Dec : 0.02124 Change : 0.00051 or 2.4% Dow in Gold Dollars : $ 168.35 Dow in Gold Dollars 23-Dec : $ 173.37 Change : $ (5.01) or -2.9% Dow in Gold Ounces : 8.144 Dow in Gold Ounces 23-Dec : 8.387 Change : -0.24 or -2.9% Dow in Silver Ounces : 374.42 Dow in Silver Ounces 23-Dec : 394.86 Change : -20.44 or -5.2% Dow Industrial : 11,573.42 Dow Industrial 23-Dec : 11,573.49 Change : -0.07 or 0.0% S&P 500 : 1,257.52 S&P 500 23-Dec : 1,256.77 Change : 0.75 or 0.1% US Dollar Index : 79.173 US Dollar Index 23-Dec : 80.490 Change : -1.32 or -1.6% Platinum Price Close Today : 1,768.60 Platinum Price Close 23-Dec : 1,714.60 Change : 54.00 or 3.1% Palladium Price Close Today : 802.00 Palladium Price Close 23-Dec : 754.10 Change : 47.90 or 6.4% The GOLD PRICE burst through the last high at $1,415.90, gobbled up $15.50 and closed Comex at $1,421.10, a new all-time high close. Silver added 42.2c for another new high close since 1980 at 3091c. Minimum targets are $1,475 gold and 3400c silver. Maximum targets are $1,600 and 3700c SILVER PRICE (maybe 3900c). Laugh at me if you like, but you will see these prices, and with your own eyes. Today's prices are, obviously, the YEAR END PRICES. Please save these prices for your records if you need to make year end statements. Today's meditation ponders price versus value. Often people ask me to quote a price, and when I do, they reply tartly, "I can get it cheaper at so-and-so!" And very sweetly, I reply, "Then you ought to go buy it from them." Conversation ended. Why? Because some folks don't understand the difference between value and price. For example, you can buy pasteurized, homogenized, completely dead generic milk at Wal-Mart for $1.50 or $2.00 a gallon, or, you can buy nutritious, living and life-giving, wholesome raw milk from your local farmer for $8.00 a gallon. I know which is cheapest, but which is more valuable? Which do you want to drink? Which do you want your children to drink? After burying so many corpses from customers who have been cleaned out by Goldline, numismatic boiler rooms, etc., I know that the little commission I charge is worth every cent, because if I do nothing more than keep you out of the hands of the piranhas, I will save you ten times what you pay me. Or, I will take your mess and shift you to something that will rise more quickly and add to that swapping and recover what you've lost and move you ahead of the game. Merely by guiding you to the less expensive coins I can save you $20 - $40 per ounce of gold, or $3 per ounce of silver. After 30 years dealing in gold and silver, I've learned the value of trustworthiness, and I know that the little commission I charge doesn't cost, it pays. All sorts of Internet shops and newcomers aspire to be the Wal-Mart of gold and silver. I don't. When you buy from them, you get no information on market direction, no guidance about what is your best buy, no long term outlook, no strategy, only a price and (you hope) the goods. If price is all you want, go get it, with my blessing and no hurt feelings. We face the same challenge on our farm, where we raise and sell grass-fed beef and lamb and pasture-raised chickens and pork. Why do we charge $3.45 a pound for chickens when it costs $0.99 at Kroger? Taste and see, and you will pay. Real food tastes so much better, and nourishes your body so much more efficiently and deeply, that it's worth what you have to pay. Price and value aren't the same. This self-destructive cheapness doesn't stop at food. It has teamed up with corporate greed to ship our neighbors' jobs overseas. Everybody rushes to buy junk made in China by dollar an hour sweatshop labor, never stopping to recall that our own prosperity depends on our neighbour's. We are each other's customers, and our brothers' keepers. Besides, that's the only practical course. Every time you try to get something (or somebody's labor) for nothing, you end up getting nothing for something. John Ruskin summed it up in the 19th century, and he's still right: "There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey." I found a lesson years ago that delivers your mind from the fear and torture of greed, and I don't doubt that it will work for everyone. It's the only accounting system that really profits. As long as you're afraid you won't get yours, you'll end up cheating yourself. "Give, and it shall be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you measure with it shall be measured back to you." Luke 6:38. Now to today's markets: Behold! In markets nothing is written in stone, so even the most reliable indicators can send false signals. However, they are called "reliable" because generally, they are. Thus with today's higher than last high close on gold, followed by several new highs for the move for silver, the odds overwhelmingly favor much higher silver and gold prices and a rally. Might it abort? Sure, there's maybe a 5% chance of that, but a 95% chance they are moving higher. Every investor has to teach himself to go with the main chance, the primary trend, and never to draw to an inside strait, the least-likely outcome. The US DOLLAR INDEX broke that 79.40 support today and crashed to a low of 78.775 -- ouch! It spiked to a bottom today, and climbed back out, but this probably won't last. This leaves us looking for a new target, 78.80 to 78.30, and even including the 50 DMA at 79.06. RSI and MACD are also pointing down. What meaneth this portent? A declining dollar helps stocks and silver and gold. Many of the hopeful are counting on the presidential cycle to bail out stocks this year (they usually rise in the third year of a presidential term because the scumbag in office is trying to get prices up before his re-election bid). This time 'round they may be surprised. Yet let's hear the bottom line: declining dollar or not, stocks remain in a primary downtrend or bear market. Therefore however much a sick dollar may help them, silver and gold (in a primary bull market or upward trend) will strongly outpace them. Proof of stocks' inability to keep pace with a hyperinflation (let alone the inflation we are witnessing) can be found in Constantino Bresciani- Turroni's classic examination of the hyperinflation in Germany. In spite of huge nominal gains then, stocks actually lost value. Today stocks twisted in confusion. All indices but the Dow dropped, but the Dow managed to rise a magnificent 3.71 points to 11,573.42. S&P500 gave up -0.36 to land at 1,257.52. On this day in 1781 the first "modern" bank in the US was organized by Robert Morris, the Bank of North America, by the Confederation Congress, just to prove that wherever there is a government, however weak and tottering, some bankster parasite will emerge to wrest a charter and privilege from it. The folks behind the Bank of North America, including Hamilton, wanted to make it the de facto central bank of the US, like the Bank of England, but it wasn't quite adequately capitalized. So the banksters came up with a scheme to fool people into believing in its financial soundness. They only had a few bags of silver coin, but they hired three men to hoist the bags up from the cellar in a dumb waiter. Then they would noisily unload them from the dumbwaiter onto a dolly, and just as noisily push them across the lobby of the bank for all the customers to see. It was eventually succeeded by the First Bank of the United States, having been unable to plant the eggs of its tapeworm into the national gut. During the Twelve Days of Christmas (Christmas thru Epiphany, 6 Jan) our office will be working only four hours a day. Please be patient, leave a voice mail or send us an email at helpdesk@the-moneychanger.com. Thanks for your understanding. May God bless you all in 2011 and always! Y'all enjoy your weekend. Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought. - Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger The-MoneyChanger.com Phone: (888) 218-9226 or (931) 766-6066 © 2010, The Moneychanger. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission. To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary is up targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stocks' primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold; US$ or US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate in a bubble, primary trend way down. Whenever I write "Stay out of stocks" readers inevitably ask, "Do you mean precious metals mining stocks, too?" No, I don't. 
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| Free Shares on Constantine Metal Resources Posted: 31 Dec 2010 12:55 PM PST As we close out the year, our Vulture Bargain #6, Constantine Metal Resources (TSX:CEM.V or CNSNF) has traded to and through our stated target to go "Free Shares" or FS....
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| Why does NY Fed need all these private meetings with investment bankers? Posted: 31 Dec 2010 12:22 PM PST 8:21p ET Friday, December 31, 2010 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Zero Hedge's pseudonymous Tyler Durdan yesterday took a good crack at the many private meetings held with Wall Street investment bankers by the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, William Dudley. Of course the Fed's secrecy and favoritism are primary targets of GATA's work, even as most mainstream financial analysts and gold market analysts have no curiosity about what the Fed might be doing in secret. The Zero Hedge commentary is headlined "Why Does Brian Sack Interact With Goldman's 'FX Committee'?" and you can find it at Zero Hedge here: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/why-does-brian-sack-interact-goldmans-f... CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer ADVERTISEMENT Opportunity in the gold coin market Swiss America Trading Corp. alerts GATA supporters to an opportunistic area of the gold coin market. While the gold bullion market has been quite volatile lately and as of November 29 gold has risen only $7 per ounce over the last month, the MS64 $20 gold St. Gaudens coin has risen about 10 percent in the same time. The ratio between the price of these coins and the price of gold is rising. If you'd like to learn more about the ratio and $20 gold coins, Swiss America can e-mail you a three-year study of it as well as other information. Swiss America also can provide a limited number of free copies of "Crashing the Dollar," a book written by Swiss America's president, Craig Smith. For information about the ratio between the $20 gold pieces and the gold price and for a free copy of "Crashing The Dollar," please call Swiss America's Tim Murphy at 1-800-289-2646 X1041 or Fred Goldstein at X1033. Or e-mail them at trmurphy@swissamerica.com and figoldstein@swissamerica.com. Join GATA here: Yukon Mining Investment e-Conference http://theyukonroom.com/yukon-eblast-static.html Vancouver Resource Investment Conference http://cambridgehouse3.com/conference-details/vancouver-resource-investment-conference-2011/15 Cheviot Asset Management Sound Money Conference Phoenix Investment Conference and Silver Summit Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009: http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal Or a video disc of GATA's 2005 Gold Rush 21 conference in the Yukon: Help keep GATA going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: To contribute to GATA, please visit: ADVERTISEMENT Prophecy Drills 71.17 Metres of 0.52 percent NiEq Prophecy Resource Corp. (TSX-V: PCY) reports that it has received additional assays results from its 100-percent-owned Wellgreen PGM Ni-Cu property in the Yukon, Canada. Diamond drill holes WS10-179 to WS10-182 were drilled during the summer of 2010 by Northern Platinum (which merged with Prophecy on September 23, 2010). WS10-183 was drilled by Prophecy in October 2010. Highlights from the newly received assays include 71.17 metres from surface of 0.52 percent NiEq (0.310 percent nickel, 0.466 g/t PGMs + Au, and 0.233 percent copper) and ended in mineralization. For more drill highlights, please visit: http://prophecyresource.com/news_2010_nov29.php
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 11:15 AM PST 2011Year of the RPGThat's Rocket Propelled Gold, or as Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank suggests, Reference Point Gold. Same outcome either way.The Year in Musical ReviewAs some of you may have noticed, I often put a song at the end of my posts. Generally it is both a song that I like, and one that in some way relates to the post. And now I present a few memories from what I consider
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 10:43 AM PST Copper has now traded to at all-time highs in notional terms. On an inflation adjusted basis that puts red metal pricing at the level of a century ago in US Dollar terms. That helps support our take that 20th century pricing was more ... Read More...
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 10:26 AM PST From the December 2010 Hard Rock Analyst Dispatch David Coffin & Eric Coffin, HRA Advisories Copper has now traded to at all-time highs in notional terms. On an inflation adjusted basis that puts red metal pricing at the level of a century ago in US Dollar terms. That helps support our take that 20th century pricing was more of an anachronism than the past decade of gains. Some are now suggesting the big gap in copper supply could come sooner than we had assumed. That has helped recent gains, but we are still cautious about the near term as high prices bring more inventories to the system. Gold and silver are also being well supported at these higher levels. They will be more influenced by US$ moves than copper, and at this point it appears the US Dollar should hold its own against the Euro. Another area of support for metals has been coming from inflation concerns in the growth economies. That may increasingly become the best gauge for metal price direction i...
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 10:09 AM PST Gold ends year with record closing high The COMEX February gold futures contract closed up $15.50 Friday at $1421.40, trading between $1404.60 and $1422.00 December 31, p.m. excerpts: see full news, 24-hr newswire…
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| Zero Hedge's Top 10 Most Popular Posts In 2010 Posted: 31 Dec 2010 10:00 AM PST
As we wrap up 2010, the last thing left to do is to recall the stories that generated the most buzz on Zero Hedge. With stories touching on everything from the flash crash, to JPM's silver market manipulation, to the scramble for physical metals, to capital controls, to the manipulated (and successful) push to get Americans out of Money Market accounts, here are the top to stories of the past year (and stunningly all click-bait, slideshow free).
All in all, it was a very interesting year, with the oligarchy doing everything in its power to retain the perception it was in control even as the walls were crumbling all around it. We are confident this encroaching central planning process will continue in 2011, this time with far worse odds for that ultimate backstopper of the global bankster system: the US taxpayer.
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 08:57 AM PST
When Nassim Taleb and Marc Faber say that US government debt is a suicide investment, one can be allowed some skepticism. After all, they are likely just talking their book. On the other hand, when the manager of the world's biggest bond fund, whose flagship fund Treasury holdings amount to almost $80 billion goes on Bloomberg and says to "avoid dollar-denominated government debt" better known as US Treasuries, and instead recommends viewers invest in "stable" currencies like the Peso, the BRL or the CAD, then you know the bottom in bonds is in. So in addition to dumping fixed rate bonds (which means Pimco will again be able to buy on the cheap ahead of QE3, which as Larry Meyer has by now likely advised Pimco is a sure thing), Gross also told Bloomberg that his other two strategies are to buy floating rate debt (over fixed), and lastly recommend credit spreads over interest rate duration risk. For those who find something troubling with a $1 trillion fixed income manager talking down his investments, and are still wondering whether or not QE3 is coming, we suggest putting one and one together. And while at it, they should also consider that Pimco now holds over $100 billion in MBS: a notional amount last held just as QE1 was announced. full clip after the jump.
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| Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Final Charts for 2010 Posted: 31 Dec 2010 08:21 AM PST | ||||
| Guest Post: Just Where Is The Equity In All Of This? Posted: 31 Dec 2010 07:38 AM PST
From the Contrary Investor Just Where Is The Equity In All Of This? Little Dent In The Story?...Recently demographer Harry Dent and Dave Rosenberg have been discussing the fact that as we look ahead over the next 12 years or so, the 45-55 year old population segment in the US is set to decline. It's the population wave coming after the boomers and before the gen-xer's. Of course, and as the graph below so eloquently displays, following the boomers in terms of a population bubble is one hard act as you can see what the boomers did to the 45-55 year old population segment in terms of growth from the early 1980's until literally now.
No wonder Dent is so uber bearish, right? To make matters a bit more somber, you may remember back to our "You Dream Of Columbus" discussion in September. One of the key themes we were trying to get across in that commentary was that as long as the US Government is levering up, there will be a downward bias to US GDP growth, exactly as we have seen in Japan for a few decades now. So, it appears we have demographics and financial gravity telling us to expect economic volatility and fragility looking out over the next decade.
The point of this discussion is to veer off into a bit of a different compare and contrast exercise relating directly to US equities. At the very worst, we hope we are asking the right questions. Point blank, what does history have to say about how equities may react when the 45-55 year old population goes into decline over the next decade plus? If indeed real GDP growth slows meaningfully as has been the case so far into the current recovery cycle, perhaps compounded by the fact that Government leveraging by necessity will only put more downward pressure on economic growth, what influence will that have on equity valuations, etc.? And lastly, are there any important differences between the period of the mid-1970's through early 1980's relative to our present cycle circumstances, and if so how will these differences potentially impact US financial markets ahead?
Very quickly, did the equity market discount the temporary lull in population growth for this very economically important demographic segment? You better believe it did. As is clear, equities peaked in late 1972, a year before the 44-55 population segment peaked in what had been continuous growth up to that point. In like manner, the S&P bottomed for the final time in mid-1982 just prior to blasting off into one of the greatest US equity bull markets of all time. This was exactly one year before the 45-55 year old population segment bottomed. Like equities, growth in the 45-55 segment then blasted off into the greatest growth in the 45-55 year old age bracket in the history of the US . The boomer bulge bracket is all too familiar a story and central to Dent's prognostications. So, the wonderful efficient equity market that discounted this demographic shift a year in advance of both the peak and trough showed us equity prices that went absolutely nowhere for a decade (late 1972 through mid-1983) as this demographic segment lull in growth occurred. No wonder Dent is so somber about the next decade, right? Yep, this is pretty much the Dent story. So what can we expect ahead? Yet another range bound equity market that has really already been the case over the last 12 years? Another lost decade so we can join the Japan economic and financial market fan club?
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| ScotiaMocatta Sells Out Of Silver Bars Posted: 31 Dec 2010 07:22 AM PST
And an appropriate story to end 2010 with: ScotiaMocatta, one the world's biggest bullion banks, is now sold out of all silver bars.
Carry on h/t Omega3ala
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| Gold Trading Closes: Returning 29.7% For the Year, Doubles S&P 2010 Performance Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:48 AM PST
Some time in mid/late 2009, after becoming convinced that the stock market is a broken topological nightmare, with feedback loops that are so unpredictable to be virtually "skyNet" self-aware, and is in essence broken, we urged readers to pull all their capital from the stock market. This happened even as we grew increasingly concerned by the Fed's ongoing ruinous actions which anyone but the staunchest propaganda foot soldier realized were going to mean ongoing pain for all dilutable assets, including stocks and fiat currencies. As a result it became abundantly clear that hard assets such as gold, silver, non-nailed down park benches, bananas, hard liquor, stripper poles, and of course strippers, would outperform paper assets. Sure enough, with regard to the first, in May 2010, our skepticism about stocks was confirmed, and anyone who had limit sell orders likely ended up losing up to 40% of their capital with no recourse. Since nothing has changed in stocks, we repeat our warning that the market is at all times a few stray millisecond algos away from total meltdown. And as for gold: the 29.7% 2010 return is double that of the S&P. Which means those who did not play stocks and bought gold did ok. And even those who shorted stocks and bought gold, are still up about 15%. As above, little has changed to weaken our long-term conviction that gold (and silver, for those who can handle the added vol) is the natural antithesis to central banker lunacy. And that we will have a lot more of in 2011. Guaranteed.
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| New Lows for Gold Silver Ratio Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:43 AM PST Got Gold Report Important index challenging key former “support.” Breakout (breakdown of the ratio) possible if GSR trades below 44. Gold/Silver Ratio Breakdown Watch to begin 2011. HOUSTON -- The gold/silver ratio (GSR) tickled a 45 handle on Wednesday, at one point trading down to 45.69. The GSR closed Wednesday and Thursday at 46.18, the lowest daily close since December 11, 2006 when this important ratio closed at 45.26 after an intra-day dip to 44.73. The 20-year chart just below is in weekly terms so the intra-day lows do not show, but it does highlight that the GSR is flirting with historic, two-decade lows. Indeed we have reached the point in the 20-year charts that has proven to be overwhelming “support” since 1998. (If any of the images are too small click on them for a larger version.) If we weren’t so convinced that the GSR could actually break below the lows of the last two decades, if the news and the rumors we r...
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| Gold in 2011 Short & Long Term Analysis Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:23 AM PST Super Force Signals A Leading Market Timing Service We Take Every Trade Ourselves! Email: [EMAIL="trading@superforcesignals.com"]trading@superforcesignals.com[/EMAIL] [EMAIL="trading@superforce60.com"]trading@superforce60.com[/EMAIL] Weekly Market Update Excerpt Dec. 31, 2010 Gold and Precious Metals US Dollar Chart US Dollar Analysis: [LIST] [*]The Dollar rally has continued to fail over the last couple of weeks. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]The Fed will print until the dollar is worthless, because that is their business. My richest contacts believe the dollar is going to ZERO within 20 years. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]The Federal Reserve, with the absence of a Gold Standard, is the worst financial system devised by mankind, or should I say, monster-kind. There has never been an audit of the monster, and there is no safety mechanism to limit how much your Fed can print. [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Still, the weak volume on the price decline in the USD over the last few days indicates...
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:20 AM PST Scott Wright December 31, 2010 1952 Words Commodities have been on a tear in the second half of 2010. Measured by the venerable CCI, the commodities patch has posted record highs in just this last week. In this impressive run the usual suspects have all performed well. From wheat, to oil, to copper, to gold, the gains have been stellar. But one commodity in particular has outshined the rest, silver. From its July low of $17.51, silver has blasted through its 2008 bull high of $20.77 to recently breach the $30 level for the first time in 30 years. This 73% gain in just five months has been simply amazing. And it sure has captured the markets' attention. Even though silver has a tiny capital market relative to other commodities, its staggering gains have warranted face time in the mainstream financial media and have captivated investors. Gun-slinging futures traders, i...
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| 2010 goes out WITH A BANG. What to expect in 2011... Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:18 AM PST Clive Maund Look at the following charts of stocks we have invested in in recent months to see how they have performed before we address the crucial question of whether the time has come to take profits or whether we should stay long for further gains that might be spectacular if gold and silver arc away to the upside. The stocks featured are our best performers and we are still long these stocks - there are others which made gains but did not do so well, some where we took profits too early, like Avino Silver & Gold, and some that we were obliged to dump for mostly slight to moderate losses, and a few low priced issues where we had no stop and the price eroded gradually resulting in sizeable losses, such as Harmony Gold, but overall we have made very substantial gains over the past 6 months, as the following charts attest... Clicking on the name of the stock takes you back to the article in which it was recommended. Note that the percentages shown on the charts are rat...
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:10 AM PST By Matt Badiali, editor, S&A Resource Report Friday, December 31, 2010 Mining is for suckers. I've told you this before… and you may think that as the editor of a resource and mining advisory, I've lost my mind saying so. After all, I've recommended plenty of mining companies, and most of my readers love the idea of owning them. But strictly from a business standpoint, mining sucks… First, just the equipment and expertise it takes to look for gold, silver, or copper is expensive. Then if you actually find a big deposit, it can cost more than $1 billion to build a mine. And it can take years to build a mine. That means years before you have anything to sell. Finally, for your efforts, you're selling a commodity just like everyone else's. There's no special brand of gold or uranium. You have no "pricing power" like Apple has with its iPods. You're also subject to crazy swings in the price of your product, which you have no control over. When you get it right, th...
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| 2011 is the Year of the Precious Metals Junior Miners Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:09 AM PST By James West MidasLetter.com December 31, 2010 With gold and silver both boiling ferociously into record territory repeatedly throughout the last half of 2010, the outlook for 2010 looks even more bullish for the monetary metals. Forget the perennially fallacious predictions of the financial mainstream. There's nothing but higher prices for both these metals on the horizon. The reason is elementary. With the United States firmly entrenched in its own death spiral financing, whereby it has no choice but to continuously prop up its crumbling economy with monthly injections of increasingly abundant and therefore declining in value paper dollars as the only means to generate big numbers in the stock market, gold and silver will rise. Even if all of the gold ounces purchased, hoarded and fabricated into jewelry each year were replaced by new discoveries, both gold and silver would keep rising, simply in relative value to the U.S. greenback. Gold is finishing up 2010 with its...
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:09 AM PST Jim Sinclair's Commentary CIGA Lew wishes all his CIGAs a happy New Year in this very interesting video. Click here to watch the video…
Jim, You called muni bonds a while back. Meredith Whitney thinks so in 2011. CIGA BIG Tatanka.
Dear LT, People forget the 10-20+ percent bear raids on gold that were the rule of the day years ago, the hammering of RGLD, the synthetic dollar short BS, Central bank selling and so on. They would do almost anything to shake us out of our positions… You have again been the most charismatic leader in my opinion in the gold bull market! You have also shown us by example how to control emotions and to remain rational so as not to screw things up. I am wishing you the best in 2011 for health, happiness and prosperity to you and your family! Your friend,
Jim Sinclair's Commentary CIGA Giancarlo in Joberg observes "This is like a frog in hot water!" Bolivians protest fuel price hike Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets across Bolivia to protest the recent jump in fuel prices in the country. Protesters marched through the streets in capital La Paz and other cities across Bolivia on Thursday, demanding from the government of President Evo Morales to repeal the hike. The demonstration in La Paz started peacefully but turned violent after police prevented protesters from entering the main plaza where the presidential palace is located, AP reported. Petrol price could rise in January The price of petrol could increase by 25 cents a litre next week on Wednesday due to the rise in the international price of oil since November 26, the latest calculations issued by the state-owned Central Energy Fund released on Wednesday showed. From December 1, the price of petrol at the coast was set at R8.21 a litre and the inland price was established at R8.45 a litre. The next change to the local petrol prices will be made on Wednesday, January 5, and will be based on the average over or under recovery in the petrol price from November 26 to December 30. Fuel price rise adds to inflationary pressure MUMBAI: Moves by state-run oil retailers to raise petrol prices and the possibility that diesel will increase too make the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) fight against inflation more difficult and piles more pressure onto a beleaguered government. Indian Oil Corp , Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum will raise petrol prices by about 5.6 per cent this week due to surging global crude prices. Shares in the companies rose early on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India meets this week to review its monetary policy in the light of still high inflation.
Here Comes The Drama BT, Silver is clearly within a long-term secular up trend. This overrides any short-term technical targets. The silver 'newbies' entering the fray after an undisputed breakout will accelerate the trend. Acceleration implies y=x2 rather than y=mx+b. The addition of the crooked number next to the X will add drama for both sides of the trade. The observation today, as it was months ago, is growing trend energy. This is illustrated by a dramatic surge in REV(E). A surge in REV(E) suggests accumulation. Markets that are under accumulation are difficult to control. This one is all about control. Silver ETF (SLV): Regards,
Don't Interpret Trend Noise While experts interpret trend noise, they ignore the fact that cycles (TIME) anticipate price. The surge in trend energy, REV(E), suggests that yields on the long bond will continue rising when TIME is right. 30 Year Treasury Index Bear 3x ETF: Headline: Treasurys slip after unemployment, housing data Treasury prices slipped a little further Thursday, pushing yields up, after reports showed fewer Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits than economists had forecast and pending home sales higher than predicted. Analysts noted that most bond investors would treat the session as the last of the year, even though the market is open for a half-day Friday. That will mean a lot of position adjustments and so-called window dressing of portfolios for the end of the month and year, especially after wild swings this week, more than any meaningful indication of the how the data fit into investors' longer-term outlook. Source: marketwatch.com
Growing Signs of Hyperinflation "Who is more foolish: the fool or the fool that follows him?" Elimination of lower denomination coins and changing metal composition of coins are clear sign of hyperinflation across the globe. Yet, there is no shortage of experts warning the masses about the threat of deflation. The threat of deflation is an illusion as the signs of hyperinflation are growing in size and frequency. The pain of monetary reality, however, prevents many from straying too from the comfort of the illusion. Headline: Soaring metal prices ring death knell for 25p coins The ubiquitous 25 paise coin will be history in six months' time. Worried by the soaring metal prices, the government has decided to scrap all coins up to the denomination of 25 paise from June 30, 2011, making 50 paise the minimum denomination accepted in markets. "From this date, these coins shall cease to be a legal tender for payment as well as on account. The minimum denomination coin acceptable for transaction will be 50 paise from that date," said a finance ministry release on Thursday adding that the Reserve Bank of India will separately notify the procedure for calling in the coins. Source: indianexpress.com
Public to Private Transition: Identify & Adapt Identify and adapt or the markets will kick your ass in 2011. Yet another transition from public to private sector (cycle) will catch many playing by the old rules. Long-Term U.S. Corporate Bonds Total Return Index (LTCBTRI) to Long-Term U.S. Government Bonds Total Return Index (LTGBTRI):
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| LGMR: Gold Ends 2010 with 11th Annual Gain Running vs. World's Top 10 Currencies Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:08 AM PST London Gold Market Report from Adrian Ash BullionVault Fri 31 Dec., 07:45 EST Gold Ends 2010 with 11th Annual Gain Running vs. World's Top 10 Currencies THE PRICE OF GOLD ended 2010 with an AM London Gold Fix of $1410.25 per ounce on Friday, racking up its 11th consecutive annual gain vs. the world's major currencies. Bullion Vault's Global Gold Index – which measures the gold price in terms of the world's top 10 currencies, each weighted by the issuing economy's GDP – showed a rise of 29.9% for the year. Gold scored both a quarterly and annual gain vs. all GGI constituent currencies on New Year's Eve, rising 29.7% against the US Dollar and adding 39.2% vs. the Euro from the last day of 2009. In the Dollar price alone, the 26 bullion-market experts and traders surveyed a year ago by the London Bullion Market Association missed both the peak and average gold price of 2010 by 2.3% on average. The LBMA survey's forecast low in the gold price was more than 6% beneath this year'...
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| Read Ted Butler's Prophetic Letter Warning Of COMEX Silver Manipulation... In 1989 Posted: 31 Dec 2010 06:05 AM PST
After precious metals market manipulation finally came out of the tinfoil hat closet and was officially recognized in 2010, subsequently becoming mainstream, following various whistleblowing disclosures which led to a long overdue investigation by the DOJ, and CFTC commissioners such as Bart Chilton admitting that there is in fact open market manipulation in the silver futures market by large short position holders, nobody is more relieved than Ted Butler. As the attached letter written by Butler shows, the PM expert wrote with excruciating detail everything that would subsequently be proven true. A key excerpt from the letter: "the true sorrow in this whole affair is that, in addition to the unnecessary financial punishment, the producers and owners of Silver (including the U.S. government) have experienced over the last six years, there are tens of thousands of contracts held short by innocent and unsuspecting speculators who are in for a ruinous shock. Do not be surprised, when this manipulation is attacked, to see the price of Silver open $20 per ounce higher at that time. Since that would represent a $100,000 loss on each contract held short, the current $2,000 COMEX margin will provide scant protection against the inevitable massive bankruptcies for those shorts not holding real Silver." The kicker: the letter was written on April 25, 1989.
h/t Mike Krieger and Ed Steer
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 05:56 AM PST
Happy New Year from PSW!Courtesy of Phil of Phil's Stock World
It’s going to be a slow trading day most likely. Europe has been trending down all morning (7am) with no one wanting to be bullish into early closes and it looks like we’re down about 1% over there for the day. Over in Asia, the Nikkei was closed and had also finished the week with a 1% drop while the Hang Seng finished their half-day flat at 23,035, up 5% for the year while the Shanghai rallied 1.8% on no volume but it wasn’t enough to save them from closing the year out down almost 14% – kind of odd since the "China growth story" is the main driver for the US equity premise. The Shanghai gauge’s advance for a third day narrowed its decline for the year to 14 percent, the worst performer among the 14 biggest world benchmark indexes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s the biggest drop since 2008, when the global financial crisis crimped the nation’s exports. The index jumped 80 percent in 2009 as a 4 trillion-yuan stimulus package and record new lending helped the Asian economy recover. Whether another 4Tn Yuan is waiting in the wings in 2011 remains to be seen. “The previous declines were excessive and the market is performing a technical rebound,” said Wu Kan, a fund manager at Dazhong Insurance Co. which oversees $285 million. “It’s a short-term correction amid weak market sentiment.”
Joel Kotkin makes a good point in Forbes today about what he calls "The Poverty of Ambition" in which he also suggests the need for Westerners to cheer up and try to recapture a little of that positive pride and spirit that once made our countries great. He mentions how non-Western nations are building cities with startling new architecture and bold infrastructure – something I had pointed out a few months ago when I was talking about Singapore’s exciting new skyline but the general reaction from my mainly American audience was "those buildings look stupid." As Kotkin points out:
We used to travel the World and bring back photos and knick-nacks that we found interesting in other cultures and we would emulate them and incorporate them into our own designs, advancing our own culture. America became a great nation as a "melting pot" of talent from many nations where a can-do attitude was blended with a willingness to try new things. Even as recently as the 1980s, American business schools studied Japanese methods to find out how they were being so successful and that led to major innovations in US manufacturing, like our "just in time" systems that drive efficiency. How many people are now studying Chinese business practices or do you, like 99.99% of all Americans, just dismiss whatever China does as some sort of bad Commie thing that we could never learn from? What made us great was our willingness to embrace other cultures and to learn from them and exchange ideas and to adapt the things we learned into our own culture. Now we simply go to other countries looking for which local store we can tear down to make room for a new KFC or Starbucks – kind of sad… What happened to this world? I will reflect more on this subject over the weekend as we look ahead to 2011. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post we remained short on oil and short on the markets but the DIA weekly $116.75 puts were taken off the table at 10:28 in Chat when I said to Members: "DIA $116.75 puts hit $1.40 – DO NOT BE GREEDY!" $1.40 was up .47 (50%) from Wednesday’s entry so a good catch there and we flipped the risk to a .25 stop on the TZA Jan $14 calls at $1.50 in the Morning Alert and those finished the day at $1.63 but we should, as with the DIA puts, do much better today as hopefully the US markets match the rest of the World and drop 1% to close out 2010.
Hey, just because we’re trying to be more optimistic doesn’t mean we need to be idiots about it, right? Actually, here’s something funny – I just Googled "portfolio protection" to look for an image to put on the above paragraph and there is almost nothing under images and and very little in the web links either. No wonder the VIX is down to 17.50 – we are a totally complacent society aren’t we? I guess the problem is most people don’t want you to protect your portfolio – they want you to CHURN your portfolio to generate fees. The only thing "THEY" want to protect is WEALTH – if you have WEALTH, then there are hundreds of links from people who are willing to take care of you – just don’t try to actually build it because one of the things that wealthy people are being protected from is YOU – trying to hone in on their action! So we are well-protected and we can enjoy our weekend and bid a fond farewell to 2010 and the greatest holiday shopping season EVER (thanks Barry):
Will it be enough to make Q4 earnings pop in January? Will we have inflation, deflation or both and, more importantly – will anyone care or will we all just keep partying like it’s 1999?
Imagine from PlayingForChangeFoundation on Vimeo. Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011, - Phil For a 20% discount to try Phil's Stock World, click here.
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| Goldman's 10 Questions (And Answers) For 2011 Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:59 AM PST
It is only fitting that just minutes after we disclosed our skepticism about those who forecast future events in a centrally planned regime, either directly or rhetorically, we ran into Goldman's 10 questions for 2011: the firm to whom none other than Brian Sack is supposed to report. While everything else is mostly Koolaid, the only important thing according to Jan Hatzius, who minutes ago appeared on Tom Keene, is that he may still advise his underlying at the FRBNY Bill Dudley to press go on QE3. Full list below. From Goldman's 10 Questions for 2011 (pdf)
In the last US Economics Analyst of the year, we tackle what we view as the 10 most important questions on the economic outlook for 2011: Yes. For the first time in at least five years, our one-year-ahead GDP growth forecast is well above the published consensus, as shown in Exhibit 1. It is also well above our estimate of the economy’s potential growth pace of 2¾%. 2. Will the housing market recover meaningfully? No. The housing market is the only major sector of the economy where the news over the past few months has failed to improve materially. Indeed, it has gotten a bit worse, and we now expect house prices to fall another 5% during 2011. The reason is the still-large excess supply, as we have only unwound about one-third of the pre-bubble increase in the homeowner vacancy rate so far (see Exhibit 3). No. In the next few months, the deficit is likely to narrow a bit further as inventory accumulation slows and the apparent seasonal adjustment distortions in the petroleum import data abate. But over the year as a whole, a meaningful improvement is unlikely. Exhibit 4 shows that strong domestic demand growth almost always widens the trade deficit. The only exception in recent memory was the late 1980s, when the Fed’s real broad trade-weighted dollar index fell by nearly 30%. While our foreign exchange strategists expect the dollar to depreciate against most major currencies, their forecast implies a trade-weighted drop of only about 5%, probably not enough to make a significant dent in the deficit when demand is strengthening. Yes. We expect a decline to 9% by the end of 2011 and a further drop to 8¼% by the end of 2012. As shown in Exhibit 5, the relationship between changes in real GDP and changes in the unemployment rate—known by economists as “Okun’s law”—remains as close as it ever was. The chart suggests that growth in line with our forecast would almost certainly bring down the unemployment rate meaningfully, although the level will remain high for years. No. In contrast to both the Federal Reserve and the consensus of forecasters, we expect core inflation to stay well below 1%, and indeed see a small further drop to ½%. The main reason is the still-large amount of slack in the economy. For at least five decades, core inflation has never risen when the unemployment rate was above 8%, as shown in Exhibit 6. That is obviously not a law of nature but nevertheless a neat illustration of the basic idea that the demand/supply balance matters for prices. And it illustrates that the risks remain tilted toward deflation rather than higher inflation, although neither is our baseline forecast. Yes. To be sure, margins are already quite high by historical standards. Exhibit 7 shows that the ratio of after-tax economic profits to nominal GDP currently stands at 5.6%, somewhat above the historical average. Eventually, a combination of higher labor costs, higher taxes, and slower top-line growth may well push margins back toward the historical norm. Yes. Although Fed officials have promised to review the “QE2” purchase program regularly, an early end is unlikely barring a huge upside surprise in growth or inflation. But what will happen after June?
4. Admittedly, this is too extreme as a prediction because it does not take into account the impact of unconventional monetary policy measures and/or the unusually loose stance of fiscal policy. If we include these two factors (crudely) via our measure of the “overall macroeconomic policy stance,” the first rate hike is indicated in early 2013. We readily admit that these types of calculations are far from precise, but the conclusion that it is difficult to justify hikes by early 2012 is fairly robust. Yes. We expect a moderate increase to 3¾% by the end of 2011 and 4¼% by the end of 2012. The “Sudoku” model constructed by our rates strategy team suggests that the turn to above-trend growth in the United States coupled with continued strong momentum in the emerging world will outweigh the slight further decline in core inflation and translate into a gradual updrift in bond yields. Partly based on the message from Sudoku, our strategists argued back in October that 10-year yields were bottoming. No. To be sure, the situation is unlikely to get better quickly. State governments still need to cut spending and raise taxes to offset the loss of federal stimulus funds, and cities are likely to see their property tax base shrink in lagged response to the house price collapse—with property tax rates and other local fees likely to move up in many jurisdictions. All told, state and local cutbacks are likely to shave around ½ percentage point from growth in the next year, a similar amount as in calendar 2010.
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:41 AM PST It's once again time for the obligatory "predictions" for the upcoming year. With the world being a crazier and more chaotic place than ever, such an exercise is inherently masochistic. However, being a good sport, I'll peek into my own crystal ball and attempt to decipher my vision for the future. In keeping with tradition, I must first review my predictions for 2010 (here's where the masochism comes into play). As I attempt to "explain" how and why the world did not unfold as I predicted one year ago, two themes come into play: in one respect, I simply overestimated the speed at which events would progress in 2010; while in the other, I grossly underestimated the human capacity for stupidity. I expected civil unrest in the U.S. in 2010 (as did the U.S. government when it illegally deployed a unit of the U.S. Army on American soil) due to the widespread recognition that the "U.S. economic recovery" was nothing but a propaganda hoax. Instead, placid American sheep went through all of this year still acquiescing to the delusion that the U.S. economy is "growing". Part of the reason I expected the non-existent U.S. "recovery" to be acknowledged is that I considered this the only way that the U.S. government would be able to justify throwing "more than $1 trillion" at the U.S. economy, in attempting to reanimate this corpse. I was wrong here. While the Obama regime threw $800 billion at the U.S. economy (in extending tax-cuts for fat cats), and Bernanke threw another $600 billion at the economy (via more "QE"), these two colossal frauds did so while managing to avoid admitting that all of their rhetoric about a "U.S. economic recovery" was nothing but shameless lies. I also expected clear acknowledgment of a "decoupling" between the U.S. economy (and a few other, weak Western economies) and the rest of the world. Here I was wrong as well. With the American people not even willing to acknowledge their economic fantasy, it was obviously less likely that people across an ocean would see through the fa̤ade. I was correct that Western governments would have to make their "choice" between the expediency of more debt and money-printing or attempting to restore fiscal and monetary sanity to their economies. And I was correct that most would choose "expediency" (and future bankruptcy) ahead of attempted restraint. Indeed, the only Western economies which made any attempts at "austerity" were those who had it forced on them through the artificial Euro "debt crisis". Turning to the precious metals market, I was ahead of myself in predicting gold prices: looking for $1500/oz by the spring of this year, and somewhere around $1800 by year end. With respect to silver however, my crystal ball was functioning much more effectively Рwhere I stated that I "would not be surprised to see silver break $30/oz next year Рif only briefly". On that high note, let me turn now to 2011. I'll begin with a vow that is sure to disappoint many precious metals enthusiasts who read my work: I will not engage in any general predictions for gold and silver prices going forward Рand likely never again. The reason? As is obvious, these markets are now so close to imploding/exploding that any attempt at "predicting" prices in the future is nothing more than facile guess-work. Before disgruntled readers brand me a "cop out", let me attempt to justify that stand. I see a minimum of three dynamics, each of which is highly probable to occur next year, and each of which would cause an eruption in precious metals markets on a scale where "predictions" are impossible and/or useless. | ||||
| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:19 AM PST If the dollar stays below this line, it indicates to me a fail and my trade is to get longer hard assets. Share this:
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| The Last Angry Man’s Problem With IMF Gold Sales Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:14 AM PST Adrian Ash of BullionVault.com writes that "the International Monetary Fund said it has completed the gold bullion sales program begun in October 2009," and now 403 tonnes of gold have been sold. I bring this up all the time because the whole thing pisses me off because we gave those IMF bastards the gold to provide gold-standard legitimacy for their stupid fiat currency, the Special Drawing Right (SDR). And yet here they are selling the gold we loaned them! Gaaahhh! Mr. Ash is apparently not particularly interested in how I have such a low opinion of the IMF and its little empires of crooks and liars, probably because, at the root, they are just more corrupt bankers, and it is always bankers who are the source of all economic problems, as they are the ones who can create money out of thin air just by making an accounting notation. Oddly enough, early in my career, I tried this "accounting notation" approach with my boss as a way to "fix" the problem of my poor work performance and dismal results, instead of firing me on the spot, which was her original plan. The way I explained it was that my Brilliant Mogambo Plan (BMP) was inspired by the fact that We're Freaking Doomed (WFD) because the foul Federal Reserve is creating so much money. Thus inspired, I suggested that we likewise bring sales forward by creating them out of that selfsame thin air, we book the sales as a profit, thus showing that I am highly profitable, and not incompetent as implied in those lying Quarterly Employee Performance Evaluations. When she asked, with this stupid look of confusion on her face, "Huh? What? How did you get into my office?" I allayed her natural suspicions by telling her that I figured that this would be offset by subsequent cancellations of those sales, along with our "paying" penalties for breaking the contracts, meaning that, in effect, we would deduct these additional phantom expenses from income to shelter real income from taxation, turning a loss into a profit, everybody's happy, and we would both get all kinds of terrific bonuses and awards and promotions, and make a lot more money, too! I remember leaning in towards her and whispering, "All it would take is for the accounting department to 'play ball' with us to somehow create money out of thin air, and it is your job to get their compliance and complicity, like Wall Street lobbyists extort compliance from Congress!" The rest of the story is too ugly to talk about, and suffice it to say that it did not turn out well for me, the moral of which seems to be that creating things out of thin air, like money or sales, is a Very Bad Idea (VBI). I could tell by the look of puzzlement on Mr. Ash's face that he probably wonders what in the hell some stupid story, by some stupid guy, about some stupid tax fraud proposed a long time ago, and that probably never happened at all, has to do with gold, or the IMF, or anything that anyone cares about. Suddenly, I realized he was right! So I sat down and shut up, and was pretty embarrassed until he said, "Some 57% of the 403-tonne total was bought directly by central banks, led by India." Inquisitive and suspicious, I wondered, "How much gold is that in terms of ounces?" Quickly, my Agile Mogambo Mind (AMM) set to the task of multiplying 32,150 ounces per tonne times 403 tonnes, only to realize I have no idea what I am doing, and sure to be wrong, as I have been so, so wrong so, so many times about so, so many things, including, and especially, math, ranking, as it does, second on the list of Things That Confuse The Mogambo (TTCTM), losing the top spot to, "What women want and why they just don't shut up when I tell them to shut up about my not knowing what they want like I am some kind of stupid mind-reader or something." That is why I am happy to report that, thanks to some help, we know that 32,150 ounces times 403 tonnes is just under 13 million ounces, which actually ain't much at $1,400 an ounce, amounting to a lousy $18 billion, which is so little money in an age when the word "trillion" and "trillions" appears so many times in the literature, including that magazine reader who wrote in to say that he liked the beautiful Miss February so much that he could stare at her for a trillion years and never get tired of it. The point is not that I am rambling and apparently have forgotten to take my pills this morning, but that central banks, Junior Mogambo Rangers (JMRs) and everybody else is buying gold, gold, gold, which should indicate to you that you should, too. And if you don't, you will learn that life can be hard, instead of easy, and which is so easy to achieve because merely buying gold and silver is enough, making it so, so easy that you giggle as you say, "Whee! This investing stuff is easy!" The Mogambo Guru The Last Angry Man's Problem With IMF Gold Sales 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."
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| 2011 America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Coin Designs Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:14 AM PST Since the 2010 America the Beautiful 5 ounce Silver Bullion Coins are now officially in the distribution channels for sale to the public, now is a good time to start thinking about the 5 ounce 2011-dated strikes of the series which include the investment-grade 2011 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins and the numismatic or [...]
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| Featured Coin News and Articles for December 26, 2010 – January 1, 2011 Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:14 AM PST What's New This Week……… Greg Reynolds gives the ten leading topics of 2010. "This is my last column of the year 2010. It seems appropriate to list the ten leading topics of the year, starting with number ten."
PMG will begin use of a new generation holder on January 3, 2011. All notes encapsulated after that date by PMG will automatically be placed in the new holder. Additionally, the new holder will be used for on-site grading during the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention in January. Laura Sperber gives her opinions and predictions on the 2011 year for coins. "Consolidation in reverse! I expected a few firms to fold and smaller dealers to shut. Out of the blue comes the mega merger of Stacks and Bowers and Merena." Vic Bozarth gives advice on how to build a meaningful set of U.S. coins. "During the holiday season I often reflect on the many blessings I have in my life. One of those blessings is the joy I receive from handling and looking at rare coins. In fact, I love my job. I get to look at coins virtually every day as a coin dealer."
Heritage Auctions has announced that we will be auctioning The Dr. Norman Jacobs Collection of Korean and Japanese Coins, the most important collection of its kind, from one of the most famous Asian numismatic experts to have lived. This collection will be featured in our September 2011 Long Beach Signature Auction. NEW & UPDATED – Our coverage of rare coin and currency news has expanded with Austin Purvis taking over as Editor of Coin News Daily. This is a special section of CoinLink where we scour the web for items of interest related to numismatics and post a short excerpt and link to these "off site" resources. We have also made changes to The Bullion Report with daily news and article updates, and a monthly analysis of the "Premiums Over Spot" for Gold and Silver Bullion products. View all the latest rare coin news here
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| Gene Arensberg: New lows for gold-silver ratio Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:14 AM PST 11:30a ET Friday, December 31, 2010 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver): The Got Gold Report's Gene Arensberg today notes that the gold-silver ratio has reached an extremely low level amid circumstances suggesting that it could go even lower as silver outperforms gold. Arensberg's commentary is headlined "New Lows for Gold-Silver Ratio" and you can find it at the Got Gold Report here: http://www.gotgoldreport.com/2010/12/new-lows-for-gold-silver-ratio.html CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Help keep GATA going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: To contribute to GATA, please visit: http://www.gata.org/node/16
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| Precious metals will accelerate in 2011, Turk tells King World News Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:14 AM PST 11:20a ET Friday, December 31, 2010 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver): Interviewed by King World News, GoldMoney founder and gold and silver market analyst James Turk offers his predictions for the precious metals in 2011. Turk expects an acceleration of their rise. The interview is 17 minutes long and you can find it at King World News here: http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2010/12/30_… Or try this abbreviated link: CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Help keep GATA going: GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: To contribute to GATA, please visit: http://www.gata.org/node/16
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| Venezuela devalues for second time this year Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:13 AM PST By Jose Orozco and Corina Rodriguez Pons http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-30/venezuela-devalues-bolivar-by-s… CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela devalued its currency for the second time since January, enabling the government to increase revenue at the risk of pushing up the world's highest inflation rate. The government will weaken the exchange rate on so-called essential goods such as food and medicine by 40 percent to 4.3 bolivars per dollar on Jan. 1, unifying its two fixed foreign exchange rates in bid to pull the economy out of recession, Finance Minister Jorge Giordani said today on state television. Imports of essential goods were previously bought at a rate of 2.6 bolivars per dollar. The devaluation will help narrow the government's budget deficit by bolstering the bolivar-based value of the state oil company's exports, said Orlando Ochoa, an economics professor at Andres Bello Catholic University in Caracas. Inflation, which is already the highest among 78 countries tracked by Bloomberg at 27 percent, may quicken further as food prices climb, he said. "Devaluing has fiscal benefits but also hurts the country's economic activity," Ochoa said. "Clearly, this adjustment in the preferential exchange rate directly affects inflation for 2011." The central government posted a deficit of 58.2 billion bolivars, or $13.5 billion at the new exchange rate, between January and November, according to a National treasury report. Giordani, who has also served as planning minister under President Hugo Chavez, said the devaluation will help spur economic growth after two years of recession. Ochoa said that a pickup in inflation will "deepen the recession." Chavez devalued the bolivar in January for the first time since 2005 and created a multi-tiered exchange system in an attempt to spur non-oil exports and curb the consumption of luxury imports at subsidized exchange rates. Venezuela is the largest oil producer in South America. The devaluation will boost the tax revenue that state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA turns over to the government because the company had been selling some of its dollar revenue at the 2.6 exchange rate, said Milton Guzman, an economist at Caracas-based consulting company Fortuny, Guzman & Asociados. Oil accounts for about 95 percent of Venezuela's exports, according to the central bank. About $18 billion of this year's $30 billion of imports were also purchased at the 2.6 per dollar rate, said Juan Socias, director of Caracas-based Grupo Soluciones, a research company that studies Venezuela's foreign exchange commission. "With so many exchange rates in play there has been a lot of distortions" in the economy, said Guzman. "Now by selling everything at 4.3, PDVSA and the government's fiscal contributions will improve. That will translate into a greater flow of bolivars for the government." Venezuela's oil-dependent economy contracted in 2010 for a second consecutive year as foreign currency shortages grew and crude production dropped, the central bank said in a report published on its website today. Venezuela's is the only major Latin American economy in recession. The economy has suffered as a Chavez-led nationalization drive scared away private investment, Guzman said. Gross domestic product shrank 1.9 percent this year, with the oil industry shrinking 2.2 percent and the non-oil sector contracting 1.8 percent, according to today's report, which cited preliminary figures. The economy contracted 3.3 percent in 2009. Chavez ordered a crackdown on brokerages this year and the dismantling of an unregulated currency market they administered, which was used by Venezuelans to obtain dollars when they couldn't get permission from the government to buy at the official exchange rates. Sitme, the exchange that replaced the unregulated or so-called parallel market, has traded $5.04 billion to date, an average of $36 million per day. The parallel market traded between $80 million and $100 million a day, Alberto Ramos, a Latin America economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York said in June. The devaluation, which investors had anticipated, will provide only temporary help for the budget, said Jaime Valdivia, head of emerging market research at Bluecrest Capital Management in New York. "This will be a temporary measure that will alleviate some of the fiscal pressures but I don't think this changes the fundamental story of Venezuela, which is one of very high inflation, high deficits, and increasing debt problems," Valdivia said. "This doesn't really change that much." Help keep GATA going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: To contribute to GATA, please visit:
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| 2011: Housing, Jobs, Stocks, Commodities, and Dollar Posted: 31 Dec 2010 04:06 AM PST As the global economy shows continued signs of a sustainable economic recovery, there are two notable areas lagging behind; employment and housing in the United States. Continued trends in these areas could lead to renewed weakness in ... Read More...
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:40 AM PST Only 21 Percent Of U.S. Voters Support Net Neutrality HERE’S A GOOD EXAMPLE; AN ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE, A COMPLETE DOUCHE BAG, HAS NO IDEA WHAT’S IN THE CONSTITUTION. WHAT’S THE POINT OF PRETENDING THAT U.S. GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES ARE NOT ALL JUST COMPLETE ASSHOLES. WE HAVE BEEN ABANDONED. THE REST OF THE WORLD IS MOVING AHEAD WITHOUT [...]
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:21 AM PST Andrew Hoffman All, As we close 2010, silver is trading at a new 30-year high of $30.75/oz, with the REAL (non-paper) price closer to $36.00/oz from coin and bullion dealers. Given all the issues I have written about all these years, many of which I expect to reach the consciousness of the masses in 2011, [...]
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 03:18 AM PST
On a day that was supposed to be as quiet as they get, the now traditional spike in FX vol that we have been observing for the past two months (even as the VIX has plunged to year lows) is back like clockwork. As the chart below shows, the EURUSD is now well over 100 pips higher on the day, and is back to early December levels. The reason, according to some, is that the various global banks, mostly French and US, who have been buying the billions in EURs sold by assorted central banking cartels in the past few months, starting with the BIS and going down, are engaged in some good old fashioned window dressing. There was a time when window dressing applied to stocks. With that now completely priced in, it is time to move on to FX, and shortly thereafter, gold. And speaking of the latter, with the yellow metal at $1,417, and just dollars away from the all time high, it would not be too surprising to see the best performing asset class tracked by Reuters to close the year at an all time high.
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| Gold Ends the Year in a Bullish Fashion - What's Next? Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:51 AM PST It's instructive to look at the end of the year financial magazines and see their analysis of the past year and their projections for the future. For example, the special issue of Fortune Magazine Investor's Guide 2011 had a glimmering stack ... Read More...
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:48 AM PST Gold Posts Tenth Consecutive Annual Gain The final London gold fix for 2010 came in at $1410.25, confirming the tenth consecutive y/y gain for the yellow metal. Gold appreciated in value by 27.74% in 2010. Since the 29-Dec-2000 fix at 272.65, gold is up 417.24%. Today's silver fix was $30.63, a staggering 80.28% annual gain. With the DJIA poised to notch about a 10% gain for the year, I find myself once again unconcerned that gold and silver pay no dividends and have no yield. The euro firmed today on year-end flows in thin market conditions, which weighed on the dollar. The dollar index tumbled back to the 79.00 area, threatening the 50-day moving average and suggesting that the mid-Dec low at 78.82 is in jeopardy. Just below the latter, the halfway back point of the entire rally from 75.63 to 81.44 comes into play at 78.53. If this level gives way as well, considerable credence will be returned to the long-term downtrend in the dollar. That would bode well for gold. Egon von Greyerz of Matterhorn Asset Management made a pretty bold assertion in his last commentary for 2010: Hyperinflation will drive gold to unthinkable heights. EvG is particularly concerned about the US and UK in 2011, going on to explain, "We now live in a world where governments print worthless pieces of paper to buy other worthless pieces of paper that combined with worthless derivatives, finance assets whose values are totally dependent on all these worthless debt instruments. Thus most of these assets are also worth-less." That's essentially the same assessment that I made in Monday's report. Mr. von Greyerz's commentary is supported by a number of rather disturbing charts and you can find it here. Props to Tyler Durden of ZeroHedge for calling the Matterhorn analysis to my attention. As a metals broker, I find myself reveling once again in the annual performance of the assets I sell for a living. However, I simultaneously remain very troubled over the reasons for that performance. If you take the time to read the von Greyerz commentary, try not to let it dampen this evening's festivities. Know, that as a gold and/or silver owner, you are taking necessary and prudent steps to protect yourself and your family from the calamity unfolding around us. On behalf of everyone here at USAGOLD – Centennial Precious Metals, I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year.
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| Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:47 AM PST
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| Will Silver Be Worth More Than Gold? Perspectives On A Coming Silver Shortage Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:35 AM PST
While hardly news to regular readers, most of whom have ridden the 80%+ wave in silver in 2010, the following video from Future Money Trends explains some of the key basics about why silver, which is unique in the precious metals basket in that it is also an industrial metal (and has thus sparked much debate over whether or not it, like gold, is "money"), and provides some perspectives on why silver just may one day be more valuable than gold. Some facts: while there are 10 ounces of silver, for every ounce of gold mined, the most of it is not "free flowing" and is locked up in industrial uses; for every $1 in SLV investors still pile $7 in GLD; above ground silver has declined from 10 billion ounces in 1950 to 5-700 million ounces in 2010 (compared to an increase in above ground gold from 1 billion to 7 billion ounces); the gold to silver ratio is at 50x while the average long-term is 15x, industrial demand for silver is up 18% in 2010; and much more. Of course, there is no reason why one has to pick one or the other. Historically both have been tiered stores of value, with the Roman empire going so far as to succumb its silver currency when the going got tough. The simple fact is since global deleveraging will likely continue and since the US government will need to print trillions, most of it monetized by the Fed, the ongoing currency dilution will continue to result in increasing P prices: pretty simple. The only downside case to gold and silver holdings would involve massive asset liquidations a la September 2008, which also would mean that the Fed has lost control, that the US dollar is no longer the reserve currency, and that after the smoke settles, non-fiat currencies will rise again. And that includes both gold and silver.
h/t Daniel
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| THe eND iS iN SiGHT (HaPPY 2011) Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:22 AM PST
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| Happy New Year Everyone (Felice Anno Nuovo A Tutti) Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:20 AM PST And here's to an even better year in 2011 for gold and silver - ENJOY: 
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| Gold Ends the Year in a Bullish Fashion – What’s Next? Posted: 31 Dec 2010 02:06 AM PST Summing up, the situation for gold has moved from a slightly bearish sentiment to a bullish outlook for the near and medium term. Silver appears likely to take out previous highs and further increases are likely based on current signals. At this time, it seems best for investors to stay with current holdings and - again - perhaps open small speculative long positions.
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| Gold Ends 2010 in a Bullish Fashion – What’s Next? Posted: 31 Dec 2010 01:51 AM PST It's instructive to look at the end of the year financial magazines and see their analysis of the past year and their projections for the future. For example, the special issue of Fortune Magazine Investor's Guide 2011 had a glimmering stack of gold coins on the cover with a headline “Gold Gone Wild.”
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| Silver Mining Stocks Are for Suckers Posted: 31 Dec 2010 01:41 AM PST Matt Badiali writes: Mining is for suckers. I've told you this before... and you may think that as the editor of a resource and mining advisory, I've lost my mind saying so. After all, I've recommended plenty of mining companies, and most of my readers love the idea of owning them.
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| New Year's Eve Poll: What Issue Will Dominate (Actionable) News Flow In 2011? Posted: 31 Dec 2010 01:40 AM PST
Ongoing Fed Market Interventions / Monetary Policy 9% (83 votes) Washington Gridlock / Fiscal Policy 5% (49 votes) European Insolvency 17% (158 votes) China Hard Landing 5% (45 votes) State/Municipal Insolvency 25% (235 votes) Broken Stock Markets 2% (16 votes) Surging FX/Rates Volatility 2% (17 votes) (Hyper)inflation 4% (39 votes) (Hyper)deflation 1% (9 votes) (Hyper)stagflation 2% (15 votes) Geopolitical Tensions 4% (42 votes) Fat Tails Insurance 0% (3 votes) Commodity Price Surge (Gold, Silver, Oil, Palladium, etc) 14% (132 votes) Currency/Trade Warfare 3% (32 votes) New Bubbles - Rubber, Rice, Rare Earths, etc. 3% (24 votes) Other 5% (49 votes) Total votes: 948
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| Is Gold Or Fiat Currency In a Bubble Posted: 31 Dec 2010 01:36 AM PST It is easy to argue that gold is in a bubble. But as I pointed out last month: Deutsche Bank's head commodities researcher [Michael Lewis] wrote in September:
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Gold futures rallied, closing a blockbuster year in characteristic fashion as the dollar continued to struggle versus other major currencies. Concerns about inflation and mounting fiscal pressures in the US and Euro area made gold a red-hot investment in 2010. Gold soared roughly 30%, or $325 in the past year, and many analysts predict it will extend record highs if the Federal Reserve follows through with its $600 billion quantitative easing plan…
Happy New Year!
We won’t get into that because I don’t want to be negative today. I’m not even going to say anything negative about Pimpco’s BS $92M fine for using their $1.2 Trillion Dollar fund to manipulate the Treasury markets because, like GE selling key US technology to China, 
We also grabbed a 
Steve Roach asks, 
Doug Winter writes on 
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