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Gold World News Flash

"Thin Holiday Trade" Sees Gold Flat as Euro Stocks Rally…
Study: Fukushima Radiation Has Already Killed 14,000 Americans
What is Money ? Really ? and Why Do We Need to Own Gold ? Really?
J.S. Kim: Did bankers crash MF Global to crash gold and silver?
China central bank researcher says gold is only safe haven now
Did Bankers Deliberately Crash MF Global to Crash Gold and Silver Prices?
James Turk - What to Expect from Gold & Silver in 2012
Feds Won't Prosecute Banks Despite Evidence Of Crimes
Metals' takedowns don't undo Western insolvency, Turk tells King World News
A Modest $1700-$2100 Gold Price In 2012
James Rickards Sees ‘Currency Wars' Destroying Dollar
Reader Favorites: The Top 10 Commentaries of 2011
Gold Bullion, Stocks or Bonds: Which Have More Long-term Investment Risk?
Jim Rickards sees 'Currency Wars' destroying dollar
Hold On Tight: European Bond Issuance In January Is About To Get Very Bumpy
Gold: How High Is Up? US$5,000? Confiscation?
World Banks Brace For Euro Collapse
On Europe, Inflation, And Gold.
Gold: How High Is Up? US$5,000? Confiscation?.. Global Depression – A Directed Phenomenon
Why Gold, Why Now!
In The News Today
Holiday Short Squeeze & Oil Trade Idea
China, Japan to back direct trade of currencies, sidestepping dollar
Alasdair Macleod: Gold price set for hyperbolic increase
Gold futures market vulnerable if people want real metal, Paul Brodsky tells KWN
US Mint Schedules 2012 Quarters Sets, Infantry Soldier and 5 Oz Silver Coins
More Indonesian anti-gold mining riots – 2 dead
Freeport Grasberg copper-gold mine striker return at risk
Gold, REE, lithium, base metals: mining booming in Quebec- Beauregard
Globalization, The Decade Ahead, And Asymmetric Returns

"Thin Holiday Trade" Sees Gold Flat as Euro Stocks Rally…

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 06:01 PM PST

Bullion Vault

Study: Fukushima Radiation Has Already Killed 14,000 Americans

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 05:53 PM PST

A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal International Journal of Health Services alleges that 14,000 people have already died in the United States due to Fukushima.

Specifically, the authors of the study claim:

An estimated 14,000 excess deaths in the United States are linked to the radioactive fallout from the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear reactors in Japan, according to a major new article in the December 2011 edition of the International Journal of Health Services. This is the first peer-reviewed study published in a medical journal documenting the health hazards of Fukushima.

[The authors] note that their estimate of 14,000 excess U.S. deaths in the 14 weeks after the Fukushima meltdowns is comparable to the 16,500 excess deaths in the 17 weeks after the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986. The rise in reported deaths after Fukushima was largest among U.S. infants under age one. The 2010-2011 increase for infant deaths in the spring was 1.8 percent, compared to a decrease of 8.37 percent in the preceding 14 weeks.

The authors seem - at first glance - to have pretty solid credentials. Janette Sherman, M.D. worked for the Atomic Energy Commission (forerunner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission) at the University of California in Berkeley, and for the U.S. Navy Radiation Defense Laboratory in San Francisco. She served on the EPA's advisory board for 6 years, and has been an advisor to the National Cancer Institute on breast cancer. Dr. Sherman specializes in internal medicine and toxicology with an emphasis on chemicals and nuclear radiation.

Joseph J. Mangano is a public health administrator and researcher who has studied the connection between low-dose radiation exposure and subsequent risk of diseases such as cancer and damage to newborns. He has published numerous articles and letters in medical and other journals in addition to books, including Low Level Radiation and Immune System Disorders: An Atomic Era Legacy.

Sherman also claims that a study in British Columbia of infants under 1 year of age allegedly corroborates the increased deaths due to Fukushima:

But a Scientific American blog post and Med Page Today slam the study as being voodoo science. However, Scientific American does admit:

Certainly radiation from Fukushima is dangerous, and could very well lead to negative health effects—even across the Pacific.

WHAT DO OTHER EXPERTS SAY?

Pediatrician Helen Caldicott said recently:

May I say that North America has received quite a large fallout itself.

***

We're going to see an incredible increase in cancer, leukemia, and — down the time track — genetic disease. Not just in Japan but in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly North America.

Caldicott also wrote in a New York Times Op-Ed:

Children are innately sensitive to the carcinogenic effects of radiation, fetuses even more so. Like Chernobyl, the accident at Fukushima is of global proportions. Unusual levels of radiation have been discovered in British Columbia, along the West Coast and East Coast of the United States and in Europe, and heavy contamination has been found in oceanic waters.

Nuclear engineer Gunderson says that the Japanese will suffer one million cancer deaths from Fukushima, and that we'll see a statistically meaningful increase in cancer on the West Coast of America and Canada from Fukushima. Gundersen says that - after Japan - the most radioactive areas are the Cascades and Portland.

There is certainly evidence that West Coast residents - especially in Seattle, Portland and other areas near the Cascades - have been hit with some radiation. And there is certainly evidence that radioactive contamination has spread in the United States, and will continue to spread for some time to come.

WHY IS THE SCIENCE SO HOTLY CONTESTED?

Why is there so much dispute about the number of deaths which Fukushima could cause on the West Coast?

Because radiation safety standards are set based on the assumption that everyone exposed is a healthy man in his 20s - and that radioactive particles ingested into the body cause no more damage than radiation hitting the outside of the body.

However - in the real world - radiation affects small children much more than full-grown adults. And small particles of radiation – called "internal emitters" – which get inside the body are much more dangerous than general exposures to radiation. See this and this.

In addition, American and Canadian authorities have virtually stopped monitoring airborn radiation, and are not testing fish for radiation. (Indeed, the EPA reacted to Fukushima by raising "acceptable" radiation levels.)

So - as in Japan - radiation is usually discovered by citizens and the handful of research scientists with funding to check, and not the government. See this, this, this, this, this and this.

The Japanese government's entire strategy from day one has been to cover up the severity of the Fukushima accident. This has likely led to unnecessary, additional deaths.

Indeed, the core problem is that all of the world's nuclear agencies are wholly captured by the nuclear industry ... as are virtually all of the supposedly independent health agencies.

So the failure of the American, Canadian and other governments to test for and share results is making it difficult to hold an open scientific debate about what is happening.

What is Money ? Really ? and Why Do We Need to Own Gold ? Really?

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 05:37 PM PST

Have you ever wondered what money really is [and why we need to own some gold as a result]? You’ll notice that everyone you read has a strong opinion , but who’s right? [Let look at the situation and see if we can come to an answer that we both can agree on.] Words: 3086 So says Danny B ([url]www.fofoa.blogspot.com[/url]) in edited excerpts from his original article*. [INDENT]Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com (A site for sore eyes and inquisitive minds) and www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!) has edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) the article below for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. The report’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Please note that this paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement. [/INDENT]*The...

J.S. Kim: Did bankers crash MF Global to crash gold and silver?

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 05:35 PM PST

1:30a ET Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

J.S. Kim of the SmartKnowledgeU investment system sees evidence that the collapse of the MF Global brokerage house may have been engineered to diminish investment in gold and silver and get their prices down. But Kim suspects that MF Global's collapse also may have discredited the futures markets for gold and silver, pushed investors into real metal rather than futures contracts, and hastened the undoing of the price suppression centered in the futures markets. Kim's commentary is headlined "Did Bankers Deliberately Crash MF Global to Crash Gold and Silver Prices?" and it's posted at the SmartKnowledgeU Internet site here:

http://www.theundergroundinvestor.com/2011/12/did-bankers-deliberately-c...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

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Sona Discovers Potential High-Grade Gold Mineralization
at Blackdome in British Columbia -- 13.6g over 1.5 Meters

From a Company Press Release
November 22, 2011

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- With its latest surface diamond drilling program at its 100-percent-owned, formerly producing Blackdome gold mine in southern British Columbia, Sona Resources Corp. has discovered a potentially high-grade gold-mineralized area, with one hole intersecting 13.6 grams of gold in 1.5 meters of core drilling.

"We intersected a promising new mineralized zone, and we feel optimistic about the assay results," says Sona's president and CEO, John P. Thompson. "We have undertaken an aggressive exploration program that has tested a number of target zones. Our discovery of this new gold-bearing structure is significant, and it represents a positive development for the company."

Sona aims to bring its permitted Blackdome mill back into production over the next year and a half, at a rate of 200 tonnes per day, with feed from the formerly producing Blackdome mine and the nearby Elizabeth gold deposit property. A positive preliminary economic assessment by Micon International Ltd., based on a gold price of $950 per ounce over eight years, has estimated a cash cost of $208 per tonne milled, or $686 per gold ounce recovered.

For the company's complete press release, please visit:

http://www.sonaresources.com/_resources/news/SONA_NR18_2011-opt.pdf

Join GATA here:

Vancouver Resource Investment Conference
Sunday-Monday, January 22-23, 2012
Vancouver Convention Centre West
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

http://cambridgehouse.com/conference-details/vancouver-resource-investme...

California Investment Conference
Saturday-Sunday, February 11-12, 2012
Hyatt Grand Champions Resort
Indian Wells, California, USA

http://cambridgehouse.com/conference-details/california-investment-confe...

Support GATA by purchasing gold and silver commemorative coins:

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Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt:

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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:

http://www.goldrush21.com/

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:

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Prophecy Drills 384.9 Meters Grading 0.623 g/t PGM+Au,
0.3% Ni, 0.15% Cu (0.45% NiEq) From Surface At Yukon Wellgreen Project

Company Press Release
Thursday, December 8, 2011

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Prophecy Platinum Corp. (TSX-V: NKL, OTC-QX: PNIKF, Frankfurt: P94P) has announced the final drill results from 2011 drilling at the company's fully owned Wellgreen platinum group metals, nickel, and copper project in the Yukon Territory.

Borehole WS11-192 intercepted 384.9 meters of 0.45 percent nickel equivalent starting from 9.45 meters depth. Included in this greater interval of continuous mineralization is a platinum group metals-rich zone with a combined platinum-palladium-gold grade of 1.358 grams per ton over 19.23 meters (nickel equivalent 0.74%).

The final drilling results for 2011 have shown the Wellgreen Central-East and Central-West deposits to be one contiguous body, whereby there is good potential to broaden significantly the Central-West resource base, which currently contributes only about a quarter of the current 43-101 compliant resource at Wellgreen. Overall the drilling program met with good success in expanding the resource to the east and south. The long drill intercepts suggest the deposit remains very much open in those directions.

For the complete drilling results and the full company statement, please visit:

http://prophecyplat.com/news_2011_dec08_prophecy_platinum_wellgreen_dril...

China central bank researcher says gold is only safe haven now

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 04:49 PM PST

Nation Urged to Increase Holdings of Gold

By Wang Xiaotian
China Daily, Beijing
Tuesday, December 27, 2011

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/business/2011-12/27/content_14332943.ht...

BEIJING -- China should further diversify its foreign-exchange portfolio and make more gold purchases when the metal's price dips but is still at a relatively high level, a senior central bank official said on Monday.

"The Chinese government should not only be cautious of the imported risk caused by rising global inflation, but also further optimize its foreign-exchange portfolio and purchase gold assets when the gold price shows a favorable fluctuation," said Zhang Jianhua, director of the research bureau affiliated with the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

He made the remarks in an article in the Beijing-based Financial News, a newspaper run by the PBOC.

The spot gold price declined 16 percent over the past three months to less than $1,600 an ounce last week. It touched a record of more than $1,900 in early September.

... Dispatch continues below ...

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Sonora Aims to Follow First Majestic's Success
With Silver Mining Exploration in Mexico

Sonora Resources (OTCBB: SURE) is a silver mining exploration company focused on the development of prospective opportunities in Mexico. The company president and CEO is Juan Miguel Rios Gutierrez, who helped build First Majestic Silver Corp., which began trading for pennies and today is at more than $16 per share. Gutierrez was the fourth person to join First Majestic Silver, originally as general manager, then manager for new business initiatives and strategic planning. He left First Majestic Silver to work with Sonora Resources and yet maintains strong contacts with First Majestic. In fact, First Majestic is a large shareholder in Sonora and has a joint venture with the company.

For more information about Sonora Resources, please visit:

http://www.SonoraResources.com

Zhang said bleak economic conditions, increasing international liquidity as countries turned to monetary easing, and the resulting high inflation had dampened investors' confidence. He said that gold had become the only "safe haven" for risk-averse investors. "No asset is safe now. The only choice to hedge risks is to hold hard currency -- gold."

Zhang didn't specify what proportion of China's $3.2 trillion foreign reserves should be held in gold.

China is the largest foreign holder of US Treasury securities, having invested about one-third of its foreign reserves in those bonds. About 20 percent has been invested in euro-denominated assets.

As of this month, China ranked sixth worldwide in gold holdings, with about 1,054 tons. The value accounted for about 1.8 percent of the country's total foreign reserves, according to a report released by the World Gold Council (WGC).

The US topped the list by holding more than 8,133 tons of the metal, 76.6 percent of its foreign reserves by value, while Germany ranked second by holding 3,396 tons, 73.7 percent of its reserves.

In 2011, countries including Russia, Thailand, South Korea, Bolivia, Colombia, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela purchased the metal to increase gold holdings of their central banks' reserves.

China didn't sell or buy gold from 2010 to 2011, according to WGC statistics.

"The PBOC may have realized that its euro-denominated assets are in greater danger than it expected and started to eye gold," said Li Jie, director of the foreign reserves research center at the Central University of Finance and Economics.

"But it's impractical for China to put its foreign reserves into commodities, including gold, because all these markets are too small for such a big hoard. For example, China's purchasing gold would push up the price of the metal and increase its own cost," said Li.

Li added that there was no easy way for China to get as much gold as it wished because major economies such as the US hold the majority of gold and market supplies are very limited.

China produced 31.75 tons of gold in October, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Monday. Gold production gained 5 percent in the first 10 months of this year to 290.752 tons.

Driven by increasing demand from risk-averse investors, the international price of gold repeatedly reached new highs in 2011.

Central banks made their biggest gold purchases for a single year in 2011 since the Bretton Woods system dissolved in 1973 and major currencies began to float against each other without being pegged to gold. China has vowed to further diversify the nation's foreign-reserve portfolio amid growing global financial uncertainty. In October, it cut holdings of US Treasury securities by $14.2 billion to $1.13 trillion, the lowest level this year.

Media reports have said that the PBOC plans to create a fund worth $300 billion to invest the country's foreign reserves in the US and European markets. The fund will reportedly seek to invest in real assets and company shares, rather than government securities.

* * *

Join GATA here:

Vancouver Resource Investment Conference
Sunday-Monday, January 22-23, 2012
Vancouver Convention Centre West
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

http://cambridgehouse.com/conference-details/vancouver-resource-investme...

California Investment Conference
Saturday-Sunday, February 11-12, 2012
Hyatt Grand Champions Resort
Indian Wells, California, USA

http://cambridgehouse.com/conference-details/california-investment-confe...

Support GATA by purchasing gold and silver commemorative coins:

https://www.amsterdamgold.eu/gata/index.asp?BiD=12

Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt:

http://gata.org/tshirts

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:

http://www.goldrush21.com/

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:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

ADVERTISEMENT

Golden Phoenix Signs Definitive Agreement
to Acquire and Reopen Santa Rosa Gold Mine in Panama

Company Press Release
Monday, September 19, 2011

SPARKS, Nevada -- Golden Phoenix Minerals Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GPXM) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 60 percent interest, with an option to buy an additional 20 percent interest, in the Santa Rosa gold mine in Panama, now owned by Silver Global S.A., a Panamanian corporation.

Santa Rosa produced more than 100,000 ounces of gold from 1996 to 1998 before being closed in part to low gold prices, which are now more than five times higher.

Golden Phoenix intends to acquire its initial 60 percent interest in Santa Rosa by acquiring 60 percent of the share capital of a recently created company under the name Golden Phoenix Panama S.A., formed to hold and operate the mine.

Tom Klein, CEO of Golden Phoenix says: "The agreement establishes a solid framework from which we can advance Mina Santa Rosa to production-ready status."

For Golden Phoenix's complete statement, please visit:

http://goldenphoenix.us/press-release/golden-phoenix-signs-definitive-ac...

Did Bankers Deliberately Crash MF Global to Crash Gold and Silver Prices?

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 04:20 PM PST

Did bankers use the MF Global to suppress gold and silver prices and create the panicked appearance of collapsing precious metals to give themselves additional precious time to delay the crash of the Euro and the US Dollar? As crazy as this sounds, a closer investigation of some key data seems to imply this possibility. Though bankers claim that they created futures markets to provide a mechanism for commodity producers to hedge against volatile market prices, I have never bought the kool-aid the bankers were selling in this explanation for the rationale behind their creation of futures markets. Given that today, futures and spot prices for gold and silver in the short-term are entirely set by banker manipulation of the supply and demand for paper derivatives that often have no backing of any physical metal, I believe that bankers created futures markets for the explicit intent of allowing themselves to manipulate the prices of commodities and to enrich themselves, and themselves only, through the process of alternately and artificially inflating and deflating prices as would not be allowed in any type of free market. In other words, bankers invented futures markets to allow themselves to siphon off and steal money from other parties that wanted to invest in commodities with a mechanism, risk-free to them, that required deception and zero honest work and zero integrity.

The futures markets in commodities is such a deceptive market that it is hard to know even where to begin to unravel its many mechanisms of deceit in all their glory. Futures contracts traded on the world's largest commodity markets such as the COMEX in New York and the LBM in London allow bankers to commit reverse alchemy, turning real physical gold and real physical silver into nothing but false paper contracts and air. Secondly, through futures contracts traded in New York and London, bankers routinely defy the economic principles of supply and demand, and set short-term prices for gold and silver that literally have zero to do with the supply and demand dynamics of the physical gold and physical silver market. In the world of physics, such an illogical, comparable feat of deception would be the indefinite suspension of the law of gravity. Bankers invented paper derivative gold and silver markets to allow themselves to literally defy and suspend every single sound economic principle that exists.

This is important to understand because not only does understanding this concept make the bulk of what you learn in business school a lie and entirely useless, but also because bullion banks such as Deutsche Bank, Citibank, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs et al that serve as the puppet conduits for more powerful families that control Central Banks, routinely used to lease physical gold into the open market as their primary mechanism to suppress the price of gold and silver. However, as their mechanism of fractional reserve banking began to threaten the viability and utility of the most widely used fiat currencies in the world, the USD and the Euro, bankers understood that they needed to utilize and/or create another mechanism to suppress gold and silver prices that could replace selling physical PMs into the open market as they no longer wished to give up a solid asset with no third party counter-risk for what they knew they were turning into essentially worthless pieces of paper. Thus bankers increasingly turned to the paper futures markets to manipulate and control the price of gold and silver and also served up additional bogus derivative products to the public like the GLD and SLV ETFs. Bankers knew that there was no way they could possibly control the price of gold and silver if the supply and demand determinants of physical gold and physical silver had anything to do with the price, so they conspired to fool the world into believing that the fake paper price they set was set by the supply and demand of the physical markets.

Collapsing OI of Gold/Silver Futures Markets Directly Related to MF Global Collapse?

And here's where MF Global enters the banking cartel gold and silver price suppression scheme. Today, short-term futures and spot prices of gold and silver have almost nothing to do with the physical supply and demand dynamics of gold and silver, as odd as that may sound. Bankers created the futures markets and paper derivatives in gold and silver to kill free markets and for the express purpose of suppressing gold and silver prices. Today we literally have no idea what the free market price of gold and silver should be or could be, besides the fact that both would be multiples higher than their current price, because of the fake paper market in gold and silver that the bankers created.

As well, bankers ensured that they armed a legion of worker bees in commercial investment firms all over the world that would represent these paper derivatives backed by very little physical gold and silver to their clients as the equivalent of investing in 99.999% pure physical gold and silver. In doing so, the worker bees thereby lured people all over the world into what will turn out to be the fatal mistake of not buying millions of troy ounces of physical gold and silver and instead buying their offering of fool's gold and fool's silver. When we receive a massive default of gold and silver futures contracts that stand for delivery on the COMEX or LBM, or if the SLV and GLD default, then, and only then, will the public start to see true price discovery of physical gold and physical silver in action. However, for clients of MF Global, unfortunately, they have already experienced the mistake of buying fool's gold and fool's silver from the bankers and have received air in exchange for gold and silver futures contracts they purchased that stood for delivery.

Bankers invented fake paper gold and silver contracts, because they knew that if they could not fulfill contractual obligations to deliver physical gold and physical silver because the contracts were a binding lie to begin with), that they could always renege on these contractual obligations and give the people the nothingness they truly owned in return. And thus, we have the story of MF Global.

Ratings agencies downgraded MF Global on Oct 25 and MF Global declared bankruptcy on Oct 31. If one scours the data that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) releases via its aggregated Commitment of Trader (COT) reports during this time period, one may not notice any data that immediately stands. However, investigation of the disaggregated reports reveals far more interesting patterns that almost undoubtedly can be traced back to the collapse of MF Global. In a period just preceding the MF Global collapse, from late August to mid October, the open interest (OI) in longs in gold and silver futures within the Managed Money category collapsed by 33.75% in gold (202,430 to 136,103) and 44.74% in silver (29,849 to 16,494). During this exact same time period, shorts in the gold and silver futures in the Managed Money category increased by 19.3% and 83.82% respectively (see the chart below). Within the Managed Money category, between Sept 13th and 27th, in just a two-week period, the drop in OI in the longs in gold and silver futures was even more pronounced, with a 25.41% plunge and 34.3% plunge in silver. I imagine if someone could trace the connection of this plunge in OI in the Managed Money category in the gold and silver futures markets, one would discover that a good deal of the plunge was somehow directly tied to the impending MF Global bankruptcy and its freezing and/or liquidation of gold and silver futures accounts in its possession.

Collapsing OI in Gold/Silver Directly Related to MF Global Collapse?

After Phase I of the collapse in OI in the gold and silver futures markets, Phase II followed. When the story about MF Global's legalized client theft hit the presses, an enormous public distrust of the entire futures markets started to build. If clients lost millions of dollars in gold and silver futures accounts due to forced liquidation or freezing of contracts that they were holding for delivery, anyone that had considered using the futures markets to take delivery of real gold and real silver following the MF Global debacle obviously reconsidered their options. Thus, due to the massive fraud of the futures markets that was revealed by the MF Global collapse, another huge drop in the OI of gold and silver longs in the Managed Money category occurred during Phase II (as labeled in the above chart) that respectively amounted to an additional respective 11.79% and 7.48% plunge. In essence, it appears that the MF Global collapse served up the exact same price suppression effect as a CME issued initial or maintenance margin hike in gold and silver futures, which forces a tidal wave of unwanted and involuntary liquidation of gold and silver longs that consequently violate technical support lines and trigger technical sells.

Of course, we also have to factor in the temporary OI-increasing effect of the risk-on CME event when they lowered initial margins to a 1:1 ratio with maintenance margins at the onset of November. Still, given the figures presented in the chart above, it seems that bankers used the MF Global collapse to force liquidation of gold and silver longs in the futures market quite rapidly and drastically. Why is this important? This is important because typically strong hands ride out any temporary banker manipulations of gold and silver prices downward. In this case, strong hands, if they existed at MF Global, were not given this opportunity and were forced to liquidate or had their accounts frozen whether or not they desired such an outcome. Furthermore, if primarily strong hands were forced out of the futures market, this would leave the majority of volume in the gold and silver futures markets primarily in the hands of the criminal banking cartel. We've seen repeatedly, this past year in the US S&P 500 index, when low trading volume primarily controlled by the banking cartel has translated into curious and inexplicable market bounces of 2% in a single day. In other words, low trading volume allows bankers excessive and easy manipulation over markets. If this was indeed the scenario bankers deliberately created with the MF Global collapse, then the MF Global collapse and simultaneous collapse of open interest in gold and silvers futures certainly would have paved the way for the banking cartel to easily manipulate gold and silver prices.

There was also further circumstantial evidence that bankers used the MF Global collapse to collapse gold and silver futures markets at the end of 2011. For example, in an article posted on the SilverDoctors blog by Jim Willie in which he gathered data regarding the amount of physical gold and silver ounces represented by the longs at MF Global that were standing for delivery in the futures markets before these contracts imploded, he stated: "JP Morgan increased the amount of registered silver and gold by precisely the amount that was suppose to be delivered [by MF Global]…JP Morgan effectively averted both a Comex default and a European Sovereign Debt implosion."

Silver Lining in the MF Global Debacle?

Can there be a silver lining in the MF Global debacle? I believe that in the long-term, this extremely unethical, negative event could transform into a positive game-changer in the way people buy large amounts of gold and silver. Obviously, the futures market is not a safe market for anyone seeking to take delivery of millions of dollars of physical gold and silver as many MF Global clients learned. The GLD and SLV ETFs, of course, are no safer than any gold or silver futures contract for the same reasons. So in the future, and I mean the immediate future starting now, I believe that large buyers of physical gold and silver will now opt to bypass the bullion bank's middle men in the futures market and go directly to the gold and silver mining companies to buy large quantities of bullion. This should eventually help usher in the death of futures markets as a mechanism for buying physical gold and physical silver and be a step towards establishing a free market for gold and silver prices for the first time in our lives. Mark Cutifani, CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, recently echoed the same: "Major [asset management fund] buyers are finding it is hard to get physical gold. People are coming directly to us [for large gold purchases,] people who want tonnes of physical gold, people with serious financial muscle, because they are finding it is very difficult to secure the volume of gold they want. That is something we have noticed over the last 18 months, and it has been increasing in the last six months. People are finding it's hard to get physical gold."

People that want to own physical gold and physical silver never should have been buying the GLD, SLV, or gold and silver futures. Now, in light of the MF Global debacle, scores of people will stay away from these fraudulent vehicles for good.

About the author: JS Kim is the Chief Investment Strategist and founder of SmartKnowledgeU, a fiercely independent investment research and consulting firm with a mission to help re-establish the monetary freedom that bankers have stolen from us. Despite believing that gold and silver will remain highly volatile in 2012, JS believes that long-term holders of physical gold and silver will be richly rewarded as bogus paper gold and silver derivatives start collapsing and reach their intrinsic value in coming years. Follow JS on Twitter and Facebook.

James Turk - What to Expect from Gold & Silver in 2012

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 04:02 PM PST

With 2011 coming to a close and investors concerned about the recent plunge in both gold and silver, King World News interviewed James Turk out of Spain to get his take on what to look for in 2012. When asked what investors in gold and silver should expect in 2012, Turk stated, "Yeah, I think the big theme in 2012, Eric, is going to be the continuing problems here in Europe. Not only with the sovereign debts, but I think you are going to see increasing focus on the insolvency in the banks themselves. That's going to be the big story in 2012."

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Feds Won't Prosecute Banks Despite Evidence Of Crimes

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 03:47 PM PST

A devastating report by Reuters shows that the federal government is focusing on small scale swindlers while ignoring crimes by big banks despite a wealth of evidence against them. The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down. Non-prosecution of corrupt banks has nothing to do with socialism. Does anyone even know what socialism is anymore? Its just a meaningless buzz word these days.

Every bank that committed fraud and would have gone under without a bailout needs to be disassembled by force and their wealth redistributed among the people. The banks should have been allowed to go under, but they were given free taxpayer money as a reward for committing a crime. All I'm saying is that this needs to be rectified. Read more.......

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Metals' takedowns don't undo Western insolvency, Turk tells King World News

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 03:18 PM PST

11:10p ET Monday, December 22, 2011

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

GoldMoney founder and GATA consultant James Turk today gives King World News his forecast for the precious metals for 2012. Turk says the contrived takedowns of the precious metals haven't changed anything about the insolvency of both Western Europe and the United States, and he still thinks the metals could rise strongly in the early part of the new year. An excerpt of Turk's interview is posted at the King World News blog here:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/12/27_J...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

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Golden Phoenix Completes Operating Agreement
for Santa Rosa Gold Mine in Panama

Golden Phoenix Minerals Inc. (GPXM) has entered a joint venture operating agreement with Silver Global S.A., a Panamanian corporation, governing the operational and management aspects of their new joint venture company, Golden Phoenix Panama S.A., a Panamanian corporation formed to hold and operate the Santa Rosa gold mine in Canazas, Panama, and explore the mine's adjacent property.

Golden Phoenix will be manager of the joint venture company. Silver Global will handle all social programs, political and community relations, and human resource matters for the joint venture company in Panama. Golden Phoenix and Silver Global also have agreed to work together on all future acquisitions within Panama and to bring such new opportunities to the joint venture company.

Golden Phoenix will be earning in to a 60 percent interest (and potentially an 80 percent interest) in the Santa Rosa mine. Upon signing the joint venture agreement and completing the corresponding acquisition payment, Golden Phoenix will earn an initial 15 percent interest in the joint venture company.

Tom Klein, CEO of Golden Phoenix, says the agreement "creates a solid foundation for the development and planned re-opening of Mina Santa Rosa."

For Golden Phoenix's full statement on the joint venture operating agreement, please visit:

http://goldenphoenix.us/press-release/golden-phoenix-completes-joint-ven...

Join GATA here:

Vancouver Resource Investment Conference
Sunday-Monday, January 22-23, 2012
Vancouver Convention Centre West
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

http://cambridgehouse.com/conference-details/vancouver-resource-investme...

California Investment Conference
Saturday-Sunday, February 11-12, 2012
Hyatt Grand Champions Resort
Indian Wells, California, USA

http://cambridgehouse.com/conference-details/california-investment-confe...

Support GATA by purchasing gold and silver commemorative coins:

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Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt:

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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:

http://www.goldrush21.com/

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:

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To contribute to GATA, please visit:

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Sonora Aims to Follow First Majestic's Success
With Silver Mining Exploration in Mexico

Sonora Resources (OTCBB: SURE) is a silver mining exploration company focused on the development of prospective opportunities in Mexico. The company president and CEO is Juan Miguel Rios Gutierrez, who helped build First Majestic Silver Corp., which began trading for pennies and today is at more than $16 per share. Gutierrez was the fourth person to join First Majestic Silver, originally as general manager, then manager for new business initiatives and strategic planning. He left First Majestic Silver to work with Sonora Resources and yet maintains strong contacts with First Majestic. In fact, First Majestic is a large shareholder in Sonora and has a joint venture with the company.

For more information about Sonora Resources, please visit:

http://www.SonoraResources.com

A Modest $1700-$2100 Gold Price In 2012

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 02:51 PM PST

Dear CIGAs,

The following interview is courtesy of Ellis Martin at

Continue reading A Modest $1700-$2100 Gold Price In 2012

James Rickards Sees ‘Currency Wars' Destroying Dollar

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 02:06 PM PST

by Jon Rosen, USAToday.com:

To most Americans, the term "quantitative easing" is arcane economic jargon, introduced following the global financial crisis and, like most U.S. policies intended to spur recovery, yet to make much progress in reducing unemployment.

Yet to author James Rickards, QE, as it is known, is the United States' secret weapon in an unfolding global war — one fought not with soldiers, tanks or drones but with currencies.

In driving down long-term interest rates by flooding the market with freshly printed currency, the policy, Rickards says, is a combative attempt to boost U.S. exports by weakening the dollar while undermining the competitiveness of China and other U.S. trading partners.

As he argues in his new book, Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis, QE is an "exercise in deception" that offers little chance of promoting long-term economic recovery. Worse, it has left the dollar highly vulnerable to speculation and, ultimately, a cataclysmic crash.

Read More @ USAToday.com

Reader Favorites: The Top 10 Commentaries of 2011

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 01:29 PM PST

By Frank Holmes CEO and Chief Investment Officer U.S. Global Investors As we head into the holiday season after a challenging year, I am reminded that the most important gifts are love, friendship and goodwill. Alexander Green from InvestmentU shared that sentiment in his newsletter last week highlighting the wonderful story of how Charles Dickens overcame adversity to reshape the way many look at Christmas. Read Alex’s piece here. This week I thought we’d take a moment to reflect on the eventful year it’s been for gold, natural resources and emerging markets by highlighting this year’s most popular commentaries and entries from my Frank Talk blog. So here’s a list of what mattered most to readers in 2011. 1) BRIC Self Sufficiency Index – February 10 ...

Gold Bullion, Stocks or Bonds: Which Have More Long-term Investment Risk?

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 11:35 AM PST

[B][B]*[/B]In proclaiming buy-and-hold investing to be dead, the pseudo-experts masquerading as financial advisors have abandoned the fundamental principle of investing: buying undervalued assets – and then giving those assets the time necessary to mature. Instead, these charlatans have forced their clients to become short-term gamblers. Worse still, they are now consistently steering their clients toward the worst possible asset-classes, stocks and bonds, *rather than the best ones [simply because they do not][/B] understand the fundamental conceptual difference between risk and volatility. In a market populated by panicked lemmings, we cannot avoid volatility. However, we can and must reduce risk – which begins by building an allocation of history’s true safe haven asset, precious metals.*[Let me explain more about what risk and volatility are and are not.] Words: 1080 So says Jeff Nielson ([url]www.bullionbullscanada.com[/url]) in edited excerpts from his origin...

Jim Rickards sees 'Currency Wars' destroying dollar

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:48 AM PST

James G. Rickards spoke at GATA's Gold Rush 2011 conference in London in August.

* * *

By Jon Rosen
USA Today
Monday, December 26, 2011

http://www.usatoday.com/money/books/reviews/story/2011-12-23/book-curren...

Yet to author James Rickards, QE, as it is known, is the United States' secret weapon in an unfolding global war -- one fought not with soldiers, tanks, or drones but with currencies.

... Dispatch continues below ...

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The United States Once Again Can Establish
a Stable Dollar Worth Its Weight in Gold

Lewis E. Lehrman, chairman of the Lehrman Institute, sponsor of The Gold Standard Now project, has released a plan to restore economic growth through a stable dollar.

The plan, titled "The True Gold Standard: A Monetary Reform Plan Without Official Reserve Currencies," responds to the recurrent economic crises of the last century and outlines a detailed proposal for America's leadership on "how we get from here to there." That is, how we get from the present unstable paper dollar to a stable dollar as good as gold.

James Grant, author and editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, says of the Lehrman plan: "If you have ever wondered how the world can get from here to there -- from the chaos of depreciating paper to a convertible currency worthy of our children and our grandchildren -- wonder no more. The answer, brilliantly expounded, is between these covers. America has long needed a modern Alexander Hamilton. In Lewis E. Lehrman the country has finally found him."

To learn more and to sign up for The Gold Standard Now's free, noncommercial, weekly report, "Prosperity through Gold," please visit:

http://www.thegoldstandardnow.org/gata

As he argues in his new book, "Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis," QE is an "exercise in deception" that offers little chance of promoting long-term economic recovery. Worse, it has left the dollar highly vulnerable to speculation and, ultimately, a cataclysmic crash.

According to Rickards, a Wall Street insider with more than 30 years' experience as a financial adviser and investment banker, the championing of QE by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is the "greatest gamble in the history of finance," one that is setting the stage for a global financial meltdown far greater than the last.

While readers may view Rickard's argument as scaremongering, the author adds heft to his analysis by exploring the disastrous history of attempts to promote economic growth through currency devaluation. According to Rickards, the currency war that began when QE was launched, creating growing exchange rate antagonism between the U.S. and China, is the world's third in the past 100 years.

The first, which began after World War I when Germany sought to devalue its currency in an effort to boost postwar recovery, contributed to two of the 20th century's most concentrated episodes of human suffering: the Great Depression and World War II.

Currency War II, which ramped up in the early 1970s when the Nixon administration orchestrated a stark devaluation of the dollar, did not result in global cataclysm but did produce the worst economic crisis since the Depression, with massive unemployment, runaway inflation and a huge surge in the price of oil.

As in the days of Nixon, Rickards argues, current U.S. government efforts to weaken the dollar have placed the U.S. economy on an unsustainable path, one made more treacherous by rising mountains of debt, increased global interconnectedness and a financial system more concentrated than before the 2008 crisis.

Rickards, never an optimist, maintains that the most plausible scenario moving forward is a chaotic debasement of the dollar, characterized by a gradual loss in investor confidence and created "like an avalanche brought about by the layering of one last financial snowflake on an unstable mountainside of debt."

This hypothetical scenario, he admits, is not inevitable. A gradual move away from the dollar as the dominant global reserve currency has the potential to bring about a softer landing, as does the growth in use of the Special Drawing Rights, an existing medium of exchange between nations issued by the International Monetary Fund. Still, the best way to ensure financial stability, he argues, would be the adoption of a "flexible gold standard," in which major currencies are linked to the price of gold, as they were in past periods of global economic calm: prior to World War I and in the two decades following World War II.

Like his radical dollar pessimism, Rickards' nostalgia for gold places him well outside the mainstream of contemporary economics. On the whole, his provocative ideas are sure to find critics on both sides of the political aisle.

While generally in support of low taxation and government spending, he is as critical of theories of free-market ideologue Milton Friedman as he is of the traditional spending-centered Keynesian response to recessions, generally embraced by liberals, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Even "Currency Wars" skeptics, however, stand to benefit from exposure to Rickards' outside-the-box thinking. As the world learned the hard way from 2008's near-global financial meltdown, calls of alarm that stray from the pack should be taken seriously. While many will reject his dim prognosis, Rickards' views form an important contribution to the nation's economic dialogue. This makes "Currency Wars" an invaluable resource, even -- or perhaps especially -- for those who maintain a crash of the dollar is impossible.

* * *

Join GATA here:

Vancouver Resource Investment Conference
Sunday-Monday, January 22-23, 2012
Vancouver Convention Centre West
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

http://cambridgehouse.com/conference-details/vancouver-resource-investme...

California Investment Conference
Saturday-Sunday, February 11-12, 2012
Hyatt Grand Champions Resort
Indian Wells, California, USA

http://cambridgehouse.com/conference-details/california-investment-confe...

Support GATA by purchasing a silver commemorative coin:

https://www.amsterdamgold.eu/gata/index.asp?BiD=12

Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt:

http://gata.org/tshirts

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:

http://www.goldrush21.com/

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:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

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Be Part of a Chance to Discover
Multi-Million-Ounce Gold and Silver Deposits in Canada

Northaven Resources Corp. (TSX-V:NTV) is advancing five gold and silver projects in highly prospective and politically stable British Columbia, Canada.

Check out the exploration program on our Allco gold/silver project :

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To learn more about the Allco property or Northaven's other gold and silver projects, please visit:

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Or call Northaven CEO Allen Leschert at 604-696-3600.

Hold On Tight: European Bond Issuance In January Is About To Get Very Bumpy

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:28 AM PST

from ZeroHedge:

While someone continues to guietly push the EUR offer ever higher in the quiet holiday session, the reality is that with only 5 days to go in 2011, the holiday for Europe is ending, and "the pain"^TM it about to be unleashed. All 740 billion worth of it. Because while Japan is monetizing its deficit (and having to issue more debt than it collects in taxes), and America is hot on its heels (as a reminder the US also issues roughly one dollar of debt for each dollar in taxes collected), Europe is still unsure whether it will monetize explicitly (that said, we did clear up that little bit of confusion over implicit monetization, with the ECB's balance sheet having exploded by €500 billion since June, or more than all of QE2). Unfortunately, as the following analysis from UBS indicates, it won't have much of a choice. Here are Europe's numbers: €82 billion in gross debt issuance in January, €234 billion in gross debt issuance in Q1, €740 billion in gross debt issuance in 2012. And then it really picks up because what is largley ignored in such "roll" analyses are the hundreds of billions in debt that financials (i.e., banks) will also have to roll in 2012. In other words, the biggest risk for 2012, in our humble opinion, is that the global repo perpetual ponzi engine (where every primary dealer buys sovereign debt than promptly repos it back to its respective central bank, and courtesy of Prime Broker conduits is allowed to do so without ever encumbering its balance sheet – explained in detail here) is about to choke.

Read More @ ZeroHedge.com

Gold: How High Is Up? US$5,000? Confiscation?

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:23 AM PST

from The Daily Bell:

Will gold deliver another glittering year in 2012? … This year saw dizzying gains and two big crashes. So does gold still deserve its 'safe haven' image, or is it just another volatile and risky asset? Is it a wise decision to buy gold at present? The asset – famously given as one of the gifts of the magi – is seen as the ultimate "safe haven" investment in times of political instability, economic turmoil or rising inflation. Given world events this year – the Arab Spring, financial crisis in the eurozone, economic stagnation in the West, and the inflationary effects of central banks printing money to keep credit markets liquid – it is not surprising that the price of gold has risen again, after a decade of strong gains. – UK Telegraph

Dominant Social Theme: Gold is in a bubble. Beware.

Free-Market Analysis: Every once in a while, and with increasing frequency, major media presents a commentary wondering "how high gold can go" and whether the yellow metal is now in an official bubble. Every once in a while, we point out that gold is being driven by market manipulations, not by the free-market.

Read More @ TheDailyBell.com

World Banks Brace For Euro Collapse

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:18 AM PST

Banks around the world are preparing for the possible collapse of the euro as fears of the European debt crisis increase.

from PressTV.ir:

Several banks are even installing systems capable of coping with trading in old European currencies.

Meanwhile finance firms, corporations, and different governments have also turned to plans that aim at preparing them for harsh times.

Regulators have asked banks in the US and UK to provide updates on readiness levels in case of a possible euro collapse.

Some corporate firms have also started transferring their cash on a daily basis out of European countries, including debt-ridden Greece instead of once every two weeks.

Europe has for months grappled with an economic and financial crisis. Insolvency now threatens in-debt countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain.

Since its formation, the European Union had been a haven for those seeking refuge from war, persecution and poverty in other parts of the world.

Read More @ PressTV.ir

On Europe, Inflation, And Gold.

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:52 AM PST

Via GoldMoney.com,

In this video Philipp Bagus, Assistant professor of Economics at Madrid's Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and author of The Tragedy of the Euro, and Alasdair Macleod of the GoldMoney Foundation talk about the eurozone facing the problem that is characterised in the "tragedy of the commons" analogy. Bagus explains this phenomenon by way of an example of overfished and over-exploited oceans due to a lack of property rights on oceans. In Europe, governments run larger deficits than their "competitors" in order to externalise the costs to all users of the currency. Knowing these incentives, the Stability and Growth Pact was put in place as per the early 1990s Maastricht Treaty, capping budget deficits at 3% of GDP and the debt to GDP level at 60%. However there was no enforcement of these rules which is why there have already been more than 80 infringements to this stability pact without any repercussions.

They talk about possible solutions to the euro crisis. Bagus points out that there are basically three different ways to go about it. Firstly, governments could make drastic cuts in public spending and privatise public assets in order to balance their budgets. However, there will be – and is – strong political resistance to such proposals. Secondly, the eurozone could disintegrate, driven by a reluctance of German citizens to pay for other countries' expenditures. And lastly, central banks and governments could decide to print their way out of the crisis, leading to high inflation.

Bagus says that as long as the incentive for running deficits exists there won't be an increase in countries' savings rates. Macleod points out that there is great institutional resistance to breaking up the euro. Bagus explains that the official opinion towards the euro is positive in Germany; however the sentiment on the streets looks quite different. But as long as there is no political party devoted to this issue this mood is not likely to gain traction at least as long as inflation remains moderate.

Amid the ongoing expansion of the money supply and persistent deficits, Bagus can't see the dollar gaining in value over the medium to long term. He also says that ECB policies are a lot more pragmatic than the ones undertaken by the US Federal Reserve. Talking about sound money, Bagus explains different ways to go about its introduction. One way would be to back all the money in existence by gold, adjusting the price of gold accordingly. Another would be to take away legal tender laws and have competing currencies. However this would require the governments to impose dramatic reforms, which is partly why they will oppose such measures.

This interview was recorded on November 15 2011 in Madrid.

Gold: How High Is Up? US$5,000? Confiscation?.. Global Depression – A Directed Phenomenon

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:24 AM PST

Gold: How High Is Up? US$5,000? Confiscation? Monday, December 26, 2011 – by Staff Report Will gold deliver another glittering year in 2012? ... This year saw dizzying gains and two big crashes. So does gold still deserve its 'safe haven' image, or is it just another volatile and risky asset? Is it a wise decision to buy gold at present? The asset – famously given as one of the gifts of the magi – is seen as the ultimate "safe haven" investment in times of political instability, economic turmoil or rising inflation. Given world events this year – the Arab Spring, financial crisis in the eurozone, economic stagnation in the West, and the inflationary effects of central banks printing money to keep credit markets liquid – it is not surprising that the price of gold has risen again, ...

Why Gold, Why Now!

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:11 AM PST

STOCK MARKET REPORT December 23, 2011 I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have. - Abraham Lincoln On the economic front we see that for the month of October personal income had gained 0.4% while spending had increased 0.1%. For November, economists polled by MarketWatch had expected personal income to gain 0.2%, and for spending to also rise 0.2%. Meanwhile, there was no growth in November for the price index for personal consumption expenditures, though this inflation gauge is up 2.5% from the prior year. The core inflation reading, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.1% in November, matching economists' expectations. Compared with the prior year, core inflation is up 1.7%. The personal-saving rate declined to 3.5% in November from 3.6% in October, and down considerably from the 7.1% rates we saw during the summer. Finally we see that credit card debt increased co...

In The News Today

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 06:57 AM PST

Jim Sinclair's Commentary

Not dollar positive.

China, Japan to Back Direct Trade of Currencies By Toru Fujioka – Dec 26, 2011 1:55 AM PT

Japan and China will promote direct trading of the yen and yuan without using dollars and will encourage the development of a market for companies involved in the exchanges, the

Continue reading In The News Today

Holiday Short Squeeze & Oil Trade Idea

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 04:52 AM PST

By Chris Vermeulen, TheGoldAndOilGuy

Typically, the week before Christmas, stocks and commodities drift higher due to the lack of participants. Light volume favours higher prices, which is why stocks want to rise going into the holiday season.

The big money players, like hedge fund managers, are finished for the year. They're sitting on the sidelines enjoying the holiday season while waiting for their year-end bonus checks.

Let's take a quick look at how the week finished…

Friday was an interesting session as stocks and oil reached some key resistance levels. Below are my thoughts, charts, and a possible trade idea for next week.

Gold & Silver Thoughts:

Looking at the long term charts of gold and silver, I feel they could head much lower in the first quarter of 2012. The inverse relationship between the dollar index and gold makes me think this is a high probability scenario.

The weekly dollar index chart remains strong at this point and could start another very strong rally any day. Once the dollar starts heading higher, expect precious metals to move down along with equities.

SP500, Dollar and Volatility Index

Below are three charts stacked on top of each other. They are marked with my analysis and thoughts for next week. Personally, I don't feel shorting stocks is a safe play. The last week of the year, we can see the volatility index (VIX), and the dollar, rise without putting pressure on stocks. So be aware of that.

TRADE IDEA – View Chart:

Crude oil looks like a great low risk opportunity (a real "Christmas" present!) from Mr. Market. SCO would be the ETF for US based traders. HOD, which is listed on the TSX, is good for Canadians. I favour this setup because I don't feel that oil will be as affected from the holiday bulge as will American equities.

Pre-Holiday Trading Conclusion:

I was planning on avoiding the market Friday, but the charts were calling my name… The session ended with what looked to be a short squeeze. The remaining short positions didn't get their expected drop in price. Consequently, when the traders all started to cover their shorts (buy) just before the close, it caused a strong surge higher.

I do not recommend shorting stocks next week because of the light volume. However, oil looks good to me.

Just thought I would share my end of the week thoughts, and wish you a Merry Christmas!

Cheers!

Chris Vermeulen

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China, Japan to back direct trade of currencies, sidestepping dollar

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 04:51 AM PST

GATA

By Toru Fujioka
Bloomberg News
Sunday, December 25, 2011

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-25/china-japan-to-promote-direct-t…

TOYKO — Japan and China will promote direct trading of yen and yuan without using dollars and will encourage the development of a market for the exchange, to cut costs for companies, the Japanese government said.

Japan will also apply to buy Chinese bonds next year, the Japanese government said in a statement after a meeting between Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing yesterday.

The deals between the world's second and third-largest economies come as the 2-year-old European debt crisis keeps global financial markets volatile. Japan will start to buy "a small amount" of China's bonds, a Japanese government official said on condition of anonymity because of the ministry's policy, without elaborating on when and how much of the debt the nation plans to purchase.

"Given the huge size of the trade volume between the Asia's two biggest economies, this agreement is much more significant than any other pacts China has signed with other nations," said Ren Xianfang, a Beijing-based economist with IHS Global Insight Ltd.

Finance Minister Jun Azumi said Dec. 20 buying of Chinese bonds would be beneficial for Japan because it would help reveal more information about financial markets in China, the world's largest holder of foreign currency reserves.

Encouraging direct yen-yuan trades will aim to reduce currency risks and trading costs, Japan's government said. Currently, about 60 percent of trade transactions between the two nations are settled in dollars, according to Japan's Finance Ministry. China is Japan's biggest trading partner.

Then-finance minister Noda said in September 2010 that Japan should be able to invest in China's market given that China buys Japanese debt. Japan holds $1.3 trillion of foreign-currency reserves, the world's second largest.

Austria has already been granted the eligibility to buy Chinese bonds, according to the Japanese government official. Central banks from Thailand to Nigeria plan to start buying yuan assets as slowing global growth has capped interest rates in the U.S. and Europe.

Investing in Chinese debt has become easier for central banks as issuance of yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong more than tripled to 112 billion yuan ($18 billion) this year and institutions were granted quotas to invest onshore.

China sold the second-biggest net amount of Japanese debt on record in October as the yen headed for a postwar high against the dollar and benchmark yields approached their lowest levels in a year. It cut Japanese debt by 853 billion yen ($11 billion), Japan's Ministry of Finance said on Dec. 8.

Separately, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, JGC Corp., Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., the Export-Import Bank of China, and other Chinese companies will establish a $154 million fund to invest in environment-related businesses such as recycling and energy, the Japanese government said.

* * *

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:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

Alasdair Macleod: Gold price set for hyperbolic increase

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 04:51 AM PST

GATA

11:41p ET Saturday, December 24, 2011

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Economist and former banker Alasdair Macleod, who spoke at GATA's Gold Rush 2011 conference in London in August, writes today that five factors will push the United States into hyperinflating the dollar. Macleod writes:

"Essentially, money will be printed at an accelerating rate to buy time rather than face the three realities of government default, an over-indebted private sector, and a bankrupt banking system. The Keynesians are belatedly aware of the dangers and see no alternative to printing as much money as is required to defer these problems. The monetarists in the central banks are hesitant, torn between Keynesian fears of outright deflation and worries about the rate of monetary expansion so far."

Macleod's commentary is headlined "Gold Price Set for Hyperbolic Increase" and it's posted at GoldMoney here:

http://www.goldmoney.com/gold-research/alasdair-macleod/gold-price-set-f…

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

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:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

Gold futures market vulnerable if people want real metal, Paul Brodsky tells KWN

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 04:51 AM PST

GATA

8:13p ET Saturday, December 24, 2011

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Fund manager Paul Brodsky tells King World News that the gold futures market is enormously vulnerable to a trend toward taking actual delivery of the metal, as metal is available to cover only 5 percent of the contracts sold. A summary of Brodsky's interview is posted at the King World News blog here:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2011/12/23_P…

Meanwhile, in the weekly precious metals review at King World News, Bill Haynes of CMI Gold and Silver says precious metals investors need to know very well why they're investing in the sector lest they get shaken out by volatility. And futures market analyst Dan Norcini sees the precious metals and commodities markets trading in a range until next year. Audio of their commentary is posted at the King World News Internet site here:

http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2011/12/24_…

Full audio of mining entrepreneur Jim Sinclair's most recent interview with King World News is available here:

http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2011/12/23_…

And full audio of mining entrepreneur Pierre Lassonde's most recent interview with King World News is available here:

http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2011/12/24_…

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

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:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

US Mint Schedules 2012 Quarters Sets, Infantry Soldier and 5 Oz Silver Coins

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 04:51 AM PST

The United States Mint has offered coin collectors a peek into its upcoming line-up via a partial 2012 Product Schedule published at the bureau's online store. The schedule, along with several clad releases, lists four different products that are sure to gain the interest of silver coin enthusiasts. Shown as the first numismatic product release [...]
Related posts: