Gold World News Flash |
- Kill or Cure: Quack, Quack!
- Charting Gold
- HUI Gold Bugs Index - Big Picture Monthly View
- Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Jump Higher in Late Trade
- Silver Update: 2/22/12 Volcker Rule
- Companies With Mineable Ounces Soundest Investment For Coming Volatility
- India silver imports may top 5,000 tons in 2012
- Fitzwilson - Watch Gold as Oil to Trade Between $170 - $250
- 55 Interesting Facts About The U.S. Economy In 2012
- Gold Breaks to Highest Level Since November
- GATA's Bill Murphy: High Gold Prices Bad for Business
- The Boiling Frog: Effects of QE2 On The Bottom 80% of the U.S. Population
- Jim Sinclair: Big events and volatility in gold are imminent
- Debt crisis: as it happened, February 22, 2012
- John Embry: Central banks' gold suppression will fail this year
- Harvey Organ's Daily Gold & Silver Report
- Commodity pool operator should have stuck to gold or silver
- TF Metals Report: $34.40 Hard Cap Still Holding in Silver
- Casey Research: Ben Graham’s Curse on Gold
- Japan uses commercial banks to disguise currency market rigging
- The Fear of Gold
- Gold Explodes As NYSE Volume Re-Implodes
- Guest Post: Ben Graham’s Curse On Gold
- Roubini Warns of Tough Times Ahead
- ?Will That Be Cash or Gold Bullion??
- Dow 13,000 is Meaningless When Priced in Gold! Here?s Why
- Why Renters Rule U.S. Housing Market: A. Gary Shilling
- Chuckles
- Cooperman Says Investing in U.S. Treasuries ‘Makes No Sense’
| Posted: 22 Feb 2012 06:15 PM PST Bullion Vault
|
| Posted: 22 Feb 2012 06:12 PM PST The Gold Speculator
|
| HUI Gold Bugs Index - Big Picture Monthly View Posted: 22 Feb 2012 06:01 PM PST Biwii
|
| Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Jump Higher in Late Trade Posted: 22 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST Gold edged up to $1759.62 in Asia before it fell back to $1749.27 in London, but it then shot to as high as $1781.60 in early afternoon New York trade and ended with a gain of 1.12%. Silver rose to $34.351 in Asia before it fell back to $33.918, but it then surged to as high as $34.49 in New York and ended with a gain of 0.12%.
|
| Silver Update: 2/22/12 Volcker Rule Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:58 PM PST |
| Companies With Mineable Ounces Soundest Investment For Coming Volatility Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:55 PM PST by Jim Sinclair, JSMineset.com:
Today was long and enlightening for me. I made multiple meetings in New York City with significant money managers. During these meeting the price of gold rose above the $1764 level which I have repeatedly told you is as important as $524.90 was when gold broke out of its arithmetic up trend and entered its first power up trend. I wish to remind you $1764 is the point where gold moves out of its power up trend and enters into its geometric uptrend. I have also assured you the central banks and especially the US Fed via the BIS and Exchange Stabilization Fund seek not to depress gold, but only to prevent it from running so hard on the upside as to expose the true condition of Western world finance. There has been significant interventions in the gold price at Angel $1764 with unexpected other central bank accumulation resulting in inexplicable strength in the $1710-$1720 area.
|
| India silver imports may top 5,000 tons in 2012 Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:54 PM PST By Debiprasad Nayak http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020335870457723674054718779... MUMBAI -- India's silver imports may top 5,000 metric tons in 2012 due to strong investment demand, Prithviraj Kothari, the president of the Bombay Bullion Association, said Tuesday. The country imported around 4,800 tons of silver last year, he said. "Silver demand is expected to rise on firm industrial and investment demand," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. Though demand for silver may not pick up in the next few weeks as returns from debt instruments are better than that from silver, investment interest in the white metal is expected to grow as and when the country's central bank starts lowering lending rates, Mr. Kothari said. ... Dispatch continues below ... ADVERTISEMENT A Rare Opportunity with Collectible Gold Coins Sovereign debt problems in the United States as well as Europe will worsen this year. The mainstream financial media may never report about the likely inflationary consequences of bailouts and "quantitative easing," nor are they likely ever to recommend tangible assets for financial protection. But at Swiss America Trading Corp. we believe that it is no longer a luxury to own gold and silver coins but rather a necessity. At the moment the public is showing little interest in Double Eagle U.S. $20 gold coins, so the price premiums above the intrinsic melt values (.9675 ounce of gold in each coin) are historically low. The ratio of price to bullion content for these coins has been 2:1 but today it is only about 1.25:1. This is a real opportunity. So give us a call or e-mail and we will be glad to discuss the potential of these coins and how to use a ratio strategy to increase your gold ounces without money out of pocket. In the January edition of his Early Warning Report, Richard Maybury writes: "As they are inherently in very limited supply, I believe that high-quality numismatics will become tulips, eventually rising a thousand percent or more in real terms, when money velocity goes into mid-second stage. In late stage, who knows -- 2,000 percent? 3,000?" All inquiries will receive without charge (while supplies last) our latest book, "The Inflation Deception," as well as our newsletter "Real Money Perspectives." -- Tim Murphy, trmurphy@swissamerica.com -- Fred Goldstein, figoldstein@swissamerica.com Telephone: 1-800-289-2646 Swiss America Trading Corp., 15018 North Tatum Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85032 Such a move is expected to boost an economic recovery and, in turn, silver usage as the precious metal finds as much application in industrial goods as in jewelry, coins and artefacts. Consumer interest in the precious metal is lukewarm because the current price of around 56,000 rupees ($1,140.5)/kilogram is seen as high. "Demand from ordinary consumers will only improve if the price of the metal falls to 48,000 rupees-52,000 rupees/kg," Mr. Kothari said. Separately, he said local gold prices are likely to trade in a 26,000 rupees-35,000 rupees/10 gram range in 2012 because of the yellow metal's safe haven appeal. "The ongoing debt crisis in Europe and the Iran issue are likely to keep gold prices firm," he said. Traditionally, investors prefer to lock away more of their wealth in gold during times of uncertainty. Mr. Kothari also said that investment interest in Gold Exchange Traded Funds will continue to grow in the world's largest gold consumer, though the volumes will be dominated by physical gold sales for years. "Still, there is some shift from jewelry demand to the exchange traded funds due to better returns," he said at the launch of a new gold ETF by the Motilal Oswal Asset Management Co. As many as 13 gold ETFs have been launched over the past five years in India as suave urban investors are realising that it is a better investment instrument than jewelry. Gold has given higher returns than any other asset in a year, although the price rise has begun to taper off in the past few days. At the end of January, gold prices had jumped 40% from a year earlier while the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share Sensex had fallen 6% during the same period. Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006: http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt: Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009: http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal 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 Free Month Subscription to Market Force Analysis for GATA Supporters Market Force Analysis is a unique, patent-pending approach to commodity market analysis. An algorithm has been developed to extract supply and demand weightings from futures market data. The difference between supply and demand is the market imbalance that is called "market force," so named because it is what drives price. It brings clarity to past market action and predicts market trends. Because it is derived from accurate futures market data it is not subject to the errors inherent in macro-level estimates of supply and demand. Learn more here: https://marketforceanalysis.com/About_MFA.html Market Force Analysis focuses on short-term (15 days) and medium-term price predictions to help both short-term traders and long-term investors understand market moves and benefit from the generated prediction of prices. To read subscriber comments that show how much the service is appreciated, visit: https://marketforceanalysis.com/Testimonials.html The MFA service has been pioneered by market analyst and Gold Anti-Trust Action board member and researcher Adrian Douglas. The Market Force Analysis premium service provides: -- A bi-weekly report. -- Access to the MFA hot list of junior mining stocks derived from analysis of more than 800 mining stocks. The MFA hot list consistently outperforms well-known mining share indices like the HUI, GDX, and GDXJ. -- E-mail alerts about actionable trades. -- E-mail updates with important information. To obtain your 1-month free trial subscription to the Market Force Analysis letter, e-mail info@marketforceanalysis.com and put "MFA Free Trial" in the subject field.
|
| Fitzwilson - Watch Gold as Oil to Trade Between $170 - $250 Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:47 PM PST  With gold, silver and oil on the move, today King World News interviewed 40 year veteran, Robert Fitzwilson. Fitzwilson is founder of The Portola Group, one of the premier boutique firms in the Unites States. He told King World News that there are many areas where investors can make money. One of those places to make money is oil, which he believes is headed into the stratosphere. But first, here is what Fitzwilson had to say about the move in gold: "I think it's just a continuation away from paper assets into real assets. There are a lot of players in these markets. There are governments, hedge funds and individuals. So it is hard to know what will happen day to day, but there is no question that the direction in gold is higher."
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 55 Interesting Facts About The U.S. Economy In 2012 Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:39 PM PST from The Economic Collapse Blog:
Read More @ TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
|
| Gold Breaks to Highest Level Since November Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:33 PM PST courtesy of DailyFX.com February 21, 2012 04:04 PM Daily Bars Prepared by Jamie Saettele, CMT Gold rocketed higher Wednesday and is trading at its highest level since mid November. The break shifts focus to the November high at 1813.30, the 61.8% extension of the 1527.30-1764 rally at 1853.85 and ultimately the September and all time high at 1932.60. Bottom Line – Higher...
|
| GATA's Bill Murphy: High Gold Prices Bad for Business Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:24 PM PST from KitcoNews: GATA's Bill Murphy joins us from the California Resource Investment Conference for this special Kitco News/ Cambridge House joint-production. In the interview, conducted by Tommy Humphreys, Murphy explains why high gold prices are "bad for business".
|
| The Boiling Frog: Effects of QE2 On The Bottom 80% of the U.S. Population Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:22 PM PST  An old metaphor: If you take a frog and drop it into a roiling pot of boiling water, it'll jump right out, unscathed. But if you put that same frog in a pot of cold water, and then slowly raise the heat, that frog won't move. It'll stay in that pot of water, calm as can be, right up until it is boiled to death.I've been arguing that the unpayable Federal government debt, coupled with irresponsible Federal Reserve policies, will inevitably lead to a hyperinflationary event and currency collapse. In order to prepare for a web seminar on hyperinflation in America, I've been looking at the issue of how to safeguard assets before a currency collapse, and how to identify opportunities in the midst of a hyperinflationary crisis. But along the way—inevitably—it's led me to consider the issue of the effects of hyperinflation on the American people. Not even hyperinflation—just regular old rising consumer prices: How will they affect the average household. Read more..... 
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Jim Sinclair: Big events and volatility in gold are imminent Posted: 22 Feb 2012 03:10 PM PST 11p ET Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Jim Sinclair tonight provides a detailed summary of his view of the world financial situation and writes that big events in gold are imminent, with a lot of volatility. Sinclair's commentary is headlined "Companies with Mineable Ounces Soundest Investment for Coming Volatility" and it's posted at JSMineSet here: http://www.jsmineset.com/2012/02/22/companies-with-mineable-ounces-sound... CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer ADVERTISEMENT Free Month Subscription to Market Force Analysis for GATA Supporters Market Force Analysis is a unique, patent-pending approach to commodity market analysis. An algorithm has been developed to extract supply and demand weightings from futures market data. The difference between supply and demand is the market imbalance that is called "market force," so named because it is what drives price. It brings clarity to past market action and predicts market trends. Because it is derived from accurate futures market data it is not subject to the errors inherent in macro-level estimates of supply and demand. Learn more here: https://marketforceanalysis.com/About_MFA.html Market Force Analysis focuses on short-term (15 days) and medium-term price predictions to help both short-term traders and long-term investors understand market moves and benefit from the generated prediction of prices. To read subscriber comments that show how much the service is appreciated, visit: https://marketforceanalysis.com/Testimonials.html The MFA service has been pioneered by market analyst and Gold Anti-Trust Action board member and researcher Adrian Douglas. The Market Force Analysis premium service provides: -- A bi-weekly report. -- Access to the MFA hot list of junior mining stocks derived from analysis of more than 800 mining stocks. The MFA hot list consistently outperforms well-known mining share indices like the HUI, GDX, and GDXJ. -- E-mail alerts about actionable trades. -- E-mail updates with important information. To obtain your 1-month free trial subscription to the Market Force Analysis letter, e-mail info@marketforceanalysis.com and put "MFA Free Trial" in the subject field. Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006: http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt: Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009: http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal 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 A Rare Opportunity with Collectible Gold Coins Sovereign debt problems in the United States as well as Europe will worsen this year. The mainstream financial media may never report about the likely inflationary consequences of bailouts and "quantitative easing," nor are they likely ever to recommend tangible assets for financial protection. But at Swiss America Trading Corp. we believe that it is no longer a luxury to own gold and silver coins but rather a necessity. At the moment the public is showing little interest in Double Eagle U.S. $20 gold coins, so the price premiums above the intrinsic melt values (.9675 ounce of gold in each coin) are historically low. The ratio of price to bullion content for these coins has been 2:1 but today it is only about 1.25:1. This is a real opportunity. So give us a call or e-mail and we will be glad to discuss the potential of these coins and how to use a ratio strategy to increase your gold ounces without money out of pocket. In the January edition of his Early Warning Report, Richard Maybury writes: "As they are inherently in very limited supply, I believe that high-quality numismatics will become tulips, eventually rising a thousand percent or more in real terms, when money velocity goes into mid-second stage. In late stage, who knows -- 2,000 percent? 3,000?" All inquiries will receive without charge (while supplies last) our latest book, "The Inflation Deception," as well as our newsletter "Real Money Perspectives." -- Tim Murphy, trmurphy@swissamerica.com -- Fred Goldstein, figoldstein@swissamerica.com Telephone: 1-800-289-2646 Swiss America Trading Corp., 15018 North Tatum Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85032
|
| Debt crisis: as it happened, February 22, 2012 Posted: 22 Feb 2012 02:32 PM PST The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 helped trigger an economic and financial crisis that swept across the globe.
|
| John Embry: Central banks' gold suppression will fail this year Posted: 22 Feb 2012 02:02 PM PST 10p ET Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: In his latest commentary for Investor's Digest of Canada, John Embry of Sprott Asset Management writes that central bank machinations on both sides of the Atlantic pushed gold down at the end of 2011 but central banks will fail in gold price suppression this year. Embry's commentary is posted at the Sprott Internet site here: http://www.sprott.com/media/104644/ID-Feb-3-2012.pdf CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer ADVERTISEMENT Golden Phoenix Discusses Royalty Mining Growth Strategy Golden Phoenix Minerals Inc. has discussed its royalty mining growth strategy on the Fox Business Network program "21st Century Business" with host Jackie Bales. Golden Phoenix's director of corporate communications, Robert Ian, told how the company narrows its focus to project generation and future royalty streams. He explained why Golden Phoenix believes it's better to own joint-venture interests in several producing mines instead of full exposure to just one project. "21st Century Business" has been airing for 15 years. Previous hosts have included Gen. Alexander Haig, Gen.l Norman Schwarzkopf, and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Golden Phoenix appeared as paid programming on this broadcast. To view the program with Golden Phoenix, please visit Golden Phoenix's Internet site here: http://goldenphoenix.us/fox-business-network/ Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006: http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt: Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009: http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal 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 Be Part of a Chance to Discover 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 : -- A large (13,000 hectare) property, covering more than 15 square kilometers of a regional mineralized trend just 3km from a recently announced 1.2-million-ounce gold and 15-million-ounce silver deposit. -- The property hosts historic high-grade silver workings and many mineral showings as well as former mines at the property's northern and southern boundaries. -- A deep-penetrating airborne geophysics survey has just been completed on the entire property and neighboring deposits and its results are eagerly awaited. To learn more about the Allco property or Northaven's other gold and silver projects, please visit: http://www.northavenresources.com Or call Northaven CEO Allen Leschert at 604-696-3600.
|
| Harvey Organ's Daily Gold & Silver Report Posted: 22 Feb 2012 01:16 PM PST Iran and War Drums Beating /Gold blasts off/More on Greece/Expect a raid in gold/silver tomorrow
|
| Commodity pool operator should have stuck to gold or silver Posted: 22 Feb 2012 01:10 PM PST CFTC Orders New York Firm D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P. U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission http://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/pr6186-12 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing and simultaneous settlement of charges against commodity pool operator D.E. Shaw & Co. L.P. of New York for exceeding speculative position limits in soybean and corn futures contracts in trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The order requires D.E. Shaw to pay a $140,000 civil monetary penalty and cease and desist from further violations of section 4a(b) of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulation 150.2. The CFTC order finds that on April 1, 2010, D.E. Shaw held a short position of 9,894 May 2010 soybean futures contracts -- a position that exceeded by 3,394 contracts the single month speculative limit of 6,500 for soybean futures. On June 18, 2010, D.E. Shaw held a short position of 13,657 December 2010 corn futures contracts -- a position that exceeded by 157 contracts the 13,500 contract single month speculative position limit for corn futures, according to the order. CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this case are Linda Y. Peng, David W. MacGregor, Lenel Hickson, Jr., Stephen J. Obie, and Vincent A. McGonagle. ADVERTISEMENT Be Part of a Chance to Discover 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 : -- A large (13,000 hectare) property, covering more than 15 square kilometers of a regional mineralized trend just 3km from a recently announced 1.2-million-ounce gold and 15-million-ounce silver deposit. -- The property hosts historic high-grade silver workings and many mineral showings as well as former mines at the property's northern and southern boundaries. -- A deep-penetrating airborne geophysics survey has just been completed on the entire property and neighboring deposits and its results are eagerly awaited. To learn more about the Allco property or Northaven's other gold and silver projects, please visit: http://www.northavenresources.com Or call Northaven CEO Allen Leschert at 604-696-3600. Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006: http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt: Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009: http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal 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 Golden Phoenix Discusses Royalty Mining Growth Strategy Golden Phoenix Minerals Inc. has discussed its royalty mining growth strategy on the Fox Business Network program "21st Century Business" with host Jackie Bales. Golden Phoenix's director of corporate communications, Robert Ian, told how the company narrows its focus to project generation and future royalty streams. He explained why Golden Phoenix believes it's better to own joint-venture interests in several producing mines instead of full exposure to just one project. "21st Century Business" has been airing for 15 years. Previous hosts have included Gen. Alexander Haig, Gen.l Norman Schwarzkopf, and Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Golden Phoenix appeared as paid programming on this broadcast. To view the program with Golden Phoenix, please visit Golden Phoenix's Internet site here: http://goldenphoenix.us/fox-business-network/
|
| TF Metals Report: $34.40 Hard Cap Still Holding in Silver Posted: 22 Feb 2012 01:10 PM PST Wow, what an afternoon for gold! After toiling all day between 1750-1760, someone or something finally got sick of Cartel's cap & blew it right off.
|
| Casey Research: Ben Graham’s Curse on Gold Posted: 22 Feb 2012 12:59 PM PST It seems that the mainstream investment community only takes a break from ignoring gold to berate it: one of gold's most outspoken critics, W. Buffett
|
| Japan uses commercial banks to disguise currency market rigging Posted: 22 Feb 2012 12:57 PM PST Where the hell could they have gotten such an idea? * * * Japan's Secret Yen Interventions Could Be Template For Future By Javier E. David http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120207-719675.html NEW YORK -- The Bank of Japan's disclosure Tuesday that it secretly sold yen for several days in November has been followed by relative stability in the yen's exchange rate. That has prompted analysts to suggest an invisible-hand approach might be a better alternative to massive interventions that ultimately fall short. On Oct. 31 the BoJ -- acting at the behest of the Ministry of Finance, which sets currency policy -- entered markets to sell yen after it surged to a record high against the dollar. But analysts were caught off guard by MoF's admission that between Nov. 1 and Nov. 4, it conducted an additional $13.3 billion worth of "stealth intervention" by using a limited number of commercial banks sworn to secrecy. Japan's clandestine dollar buying may have helped stabilize the yen. While the greenback has listed within a tight range of about four yen since October, it has yet to breach its record low at Y75.31. The narrow trading band has some market observers speculating the BOJ might still be actively managing its currency without the market's knowledge. ... Dispatch continues below ... ADVERTISEMENT Sona Discovers Potential High-Grade Gold Mineralization From a Company Press Release 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 Although it won't show up in BoJ data for at least another few months, the compressed trading band "suggests the BoJ and MoF are still manipulating the market," says Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at BNY Mellon in New York. Of all major economies, Japan is the most aggressive about using intervention to cheapen its muscular currency. The country's forays into FX markets are nearly as frequent as those of the central banks of Brazil, Chile, and Peru, which sell their currencies to prevent them from undercutting exports. And in terms of its the absolute amounts bought, Japan dwarfs those smaller countries, and its $1.3 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves are second only to China's $3.2 trillion. The yen is being propelled by a flight to safety stemming from Europe's debt crisis, and Japanese exporters' constant need to recycle dollars and euros made overseas back into yen. That means Japanese authorities are constantly fighting a strengthening yen. Within the 71 trading days following Japan's October intervention, dollar/yen has ventured above the Y78 level on fewer than a third of those days, and has traded above Y79 on only one occasion. Market observers say using clandestine yen selling is likely to be more successful for the BoJ than public intervention when the market is so determined to buy yen. Because the public efforts have been met with failure, analysts say, Japan can save itself both money and credibility by conducting forays into markets that don't draw public attention. Analysts also point out that large-scale, public purchases of dollars merely deliver the yen at cheap levels to those who would buy it anyway. "Central banks know they cannot change the fundamentals. They can only slow ... appreciation of the currency when they step in, and generally that will only work in a short time frame," said Andrew Busch, global foreign exchange strategist at BMO Capital Markets in Chicago. Given that current trends augur more yen strength, "Intervening quietly is the best way to do it," he added. In 2010 the Swiss National Bank bought billions of euros to rein in the franc, which left them saddled them with a massive loss on their reserves as the franc continued to shoot to record highs. That forced it to take a different approach in 2011, when the SNB set a publicly stated target of CHF1.20 rate as floor for the euro. Since then, it has kept the euro floating above that level with only minimal purchases. The record suggests the BoJ has been almost as ineffective in depressing the yen as the SNB was in softening the franc in 2010. After the world's third largest economy was brought to its knees by the earthquake and tsunami last March, Japanese policymakers secured Group of Seven backing for a dramatic yen-selling effort that sent the currency soaring. But in the months that followed, dollar/yen set new record lows on two occasions -- on Aug. 19 and Oct. 31 -- underscoring how hard it is for a central bank to fight the market. Whether or not that failure prompted a change in strategy, observers now know that the MoF shifted to a disguised intervention approach immediately after that big intervention. At the time it was harder to spot than the large-scale efforts that preceded it. The question now is whether they have continued with this tack and will do so in the future. Japan's massive FX war chest means authorities have deep pockets they can use to introduce two-way risk to recalcitrant traders. Yet Woolfolk argues that the yen's overall strong trend means the BoJ would be "fighting a losing battle" by intervening openly. "Intervention is most effective when it's unexpected," he says. "Stealth would be the preferred route." Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006: http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt: Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009: http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal 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 Coal (TSX: PCY) Wins Positive Feasibility Study Company Press Release VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Prophecy Coal Corp. (TSX: PCY, OTCQX: PRPCF, Frankfurt: 1P2) has received a positive feasibility study for the company's 600-megawatt Chandgana Mine-Mouth Power Project in central Mongolia. The report was independently prepared by Ralf Thomsen, project manager at Steag, a German firm specializing in the planning, financing, construction, and operation of highly efficient thermal power plants for fossil fuels. The study covers technical specifications, deployment, and financial analysis of a 4x150-mw thermal power plant to be built adjacent to Prophecy's Chandgana Tal coal deposit, which contains 140 million tonnes of measured coal. Last year the power plant received a construction license and the coal deposit received a mining license. Engineering, procurement, and construction management selection and project financing discussion have begun and are expected to be concluded this year. Construction is planned to start in April 2013, with the first 150-mw unit being commissioned in October 2015 and subsequent units to start in April 2016, October 2016, and April 2017. With proper maintenance the project will have 30 years of commercial operation. For the complete statement from the company, including maps and charts, please visit: http://www.prophecycoal.com/news_2011_jan17_prophecy_receives_power_plan...
|
| Posted: 22 Feb 2012 12:38 PM PST What would you rather hold "for eternity"? US dollars? A paper debt obligation of a bankrupt nation state?
|
| Gold Explodes As NYSE Volume Re-Implodes Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:50 AM PST from ZeroHedge:
|
| Guest Post: Ben Graham’s Curse On Gold Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:35 AM PST Submitted by David Galland of Casey Research Ben Graham's Curse On Gold It seems that the mainstream investment community only takes a break from ignoring gold to berate it: one of gold's most outspoken critics, uber-investor Warren Buffett, did so recently in his latest shareholder letter. The indictments were familiar; gold is an inanimate object "incapable of producing anything," so any investor holding it instead of stocks is acting out of irrational fear. How can it be that Buffett, perhaps the most successful (and definitely the most well-known) investor of our time, believes that gold has no place in an intelligently allocated investment portfolio? Perhaps it has something to do with his mentor, Benjamin Graham. Graham, author of Security Analysis (1934) and The Intelligent Investor (1949), is correctly respected as one of history's most knowledgeable investors. Over a career spanning 1915 to 1956, he refined his investment theories, in time becoming known as the father of value investing. Much of modern portfolio theory is based upon Graham's work. According to Graham, while no one can tell the future, there are periods when the valuations of stocks and bonds would deviate from fair value by becoming excessively over- or undervalued. To enhance returns and reduce risk, investors should alter their portfolio allocations accordingly. A quick look at a long-term chart supports Graham's theory clearly shows periods when one asset class offered a better value than the other:
(Click on image to enlarge) But what of the periods when both stocks and bonds stagnated or fell together? For much of the 1970s and again from 2001 through today, any portfolio allocated solely between stocks and bonds would have at best treaded water and at worst drowned in a sea of stagflation. To earn any real return, an investor would have needed to seek alternatives. It's clear from this next chart that gold was exactly that alternative, a powerful counter-trend investment for periods when both stocks and bonds were overvalued. Yet gold is conspicuously absent from Graham's allocation model.
(Click on image to enlarge) But this missing asset class is entirely understandable: for most of Graham's adult life and the most important years of his career, ownership of more than a small amount of gold was outlawed. Banned for private ownership by FDR in 1933, it wasn't re-legalized until late 1974. Graham passed away in 1976; he thus never lived through a period in which gold was unmistakably a better investment than either stocks or bonds. All of which makes us wonder: if Graham had lived to witness the two great bull markets in precious metals during the last 40 years, would he have updated his allocation models to include gold? We can never know. We can know, however, that given Graham's outsized influence on investment theory, there is little question that his lack of experience with gold, and therefore its absence from his observations, has had a profound effect on how most investment professionals view the yellow metal. This, in our opinion, goes a long way toward explaining the persistently low esteem in which gold is held by the mainstream investment community. And, as a consequence, its widespread failure to even be considered as an asset class. A couple of takeaways: first, perhaps now you can stop wondering why your broker, the talking heads in the financial media, and Warren Buffett continue to misunderstand gold as a portfolio holding. More importantly, however, is that in order to have sustained, long-term investment success, one must accept that an intelligent portfolio allocation needs to include not two but three broad categories of investment – stocks, bonds and gold, with the amounts allocated to each guided by relative valuation. Investors who understand this tenet have an almost unfair advantage over other investors as it allows them to get positioned in gold ahead of the crowd and enjoy the bulk of the ride, while others sit on their hands. So when you hear commentators ridiculing gold as a barbarous relic, lamenting that they cannot eat it or smugly asserting that it produces nothing, rest contently in knowing that they're operating with a severe handicap in their own portfolio. Meanwhile, we'll prosper, armed with the understanding that gold fulfills a very important and specific purpose in a portfolio, namely as real money that protects net worth during periods marked by excessive government debt and currency debasement such as we are currently experiencing. Given the powerful influence of Ben Graham and his disciples, his curse on gold will not go quietly into the night. But it should.
|
| Roubini Warns of Tough Times Ahead Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:31 AM PST Economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed "Dr. Doom" for his gloomy predictions in the run-up to the financial meltdown four years ago, says the fallout from that crisis could last the rest of this decade. Roubini, widely acknowledged to have predicted the crash of 2008, sees tough times ahead for the global economy and is warning that without major policy changes things can still get much worse. Until Europe radically reforms itself and the U.S. gets serious about its own debt mountain, he said, the world economy will continue to stumble along to the detriment of large chunks of the world's population who will continue to see their living standards under pressure, even if they have a job. Roubini, a professor of economics and international business at New York University, spoke in an interview this week with The Associated Press at a dinner on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, where he is one of the hotly pursued stars. Looking at economic prospects this year, he agreed with the International Monetary Fund's latest forecast that the global economy is weakening and said he might be "even slightly more bearish" on its prediction of 3.3 percent growth in 2012. He painted a grim picture of the eurozone in recession and key emerging markets in China, India, Brazil and South Africa slowing down, partly related to weakness in the eurozone. He predicted that the U.S. economy, the world's largest, will grow by just 1.7-1.8 percent this year, with unemployment remaining high. The government, he added, was "kicking the can down the road" and not taking measures to increase productivity and competitiveness. "We live in a world where there is still a huge amount of economic and financial fragility," he said. "There is a huge amount of uncertainty — macro, financial, fiscal, sovereign, banking, regulatory, taxation — and there is also geopolitical and political and policy uncertainty." "There are lots of sources of uncertainty from the eurozone, from the Middle East, from the fact that the U.S. is not tackling its own fiscal problem, from the fact that Chinese growth is unbalanced and unsustainable, relying too much on exports and fixed investments and high savings, and not enough on consumption. So it's a very delicate global economy," Roubini said. He said the biggest uncertainty is the possibility of a conflict with Iran over its nuclear program that involves Israel, the United States, or both. That could lead oil prices now hovering around $100 a barrel to spike to $150 per barrel, he said, and lead to a global recession. Unemployment and economic insecurity have become big issues from the Mideast to the Occupy Wall Street movement in the U.S., and protests from Israel and India to Chile and Russia — and at the same time there is rising inequality between rich and poor. "All these things lead to political and social instability," he said. "So we have to reduce inequality. We have to give growth to jobs, skills, education, and increase human capital so workers can compete." Roubini called for a major change in policy priorities. "We have to shift our investment from things that are less productive like the financial sector and housing and real estate to things that are more productive like our people, our human capital, our structure, our technology, our innovation," he said. Roubini said slow growth in advanced economies will likely lead to "a U-shaped recovery rather than a typical V," and it may last for another three to five years because of high debt. "Once you have too much debt in the public and private sector, the painful process could last up to a decade, where economic growth remains weak and anemic and sub-par until we have cleaned up the balance sheet and invested in the things that make us more productive for the future," he said. Source: AP
|
| ?Will That Be Cash or Gold Bullion?? Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:30 AM PST ‘Gold Bullion Or Cash’ is a well produced, high quality, educational short video that uses music, images, facts and quotations to show how gold*has been*a proven store of value throughout history and an important diversification today. [Length: 4:39] So says*Mark O’Byrne ([url]www.GoldCore.com[/url]) in edited excerpts from his original article* which Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!), has further edited below for length and clarity – see Editor’s Note at the bottom of the page. (This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.)* The video is an updated, revised and refined follow-up to the award winning 'Goldnomics – Cash or Gold Bullion?' video which was the most watched video about gold bullion in 2011. The video looks at: [LIST] [*]The 'gold bubble' and the many gold myths and misconceptions [*]The importance of gold in context of the European, US and global debt crises [...
|
| Dow 13,000 is Meaningless When Priced in Gold! Here?s Why Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:30 AM PST Dow 13,000 is a meaningless number! [True] the DJIA index*has touched that number for the first time since 2008 but, when priced in gold, it has actually declined. Let me explain. Words: 245 So says*Mark Motive*(www.planbeconomics.com) in edited excerpts from*his original article* as posted on Seeking Alpha*which Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!),has further edited below for length and clarity – see Editor’s Note at the bottom of the page. (This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.) Motive*goes on to say, in part: Quite simply, some of the biggest stock market booms in history were coupled with the some of the biggest currency devaluations in history. The Weimar Republic and Zimbabwe are two examples that come to mind. I’m not saying that the U.S. is anywhere close to the Weimar Republic or other hyperinflationary environments (at least, not yet), but the same principles apply. Wi...
|
| Why Renters Rule U.S. Housing Market: A. Gary Shilling Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:27 AM PST The collapse in housing and the 33 percent plunge in house prices since 2006 are favoring renting over homeownership. This trend will dominate the housing market for the next four or five years, and put additional pressure on a weak economy. Policy makers in Washington continue to have a soft spot for homeownership. Many recent government actions can be viewed as attempts to keep people in their homes, even owners who clearly can't afford them. In addition to specific plans such as the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, and the Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, the Obama administration is trying to revive the moribund housing sector by encouraging mortgage lenders and servicers to refinance loans at lower rates. This reduces interest income for banks, which are now compelled by the Dodd-Frank law to retain 5 percent of the credit risk on lower-quality residential mortgages that are securitized and sold to others. Furthermore, banks are reluctant to refinance loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (NMCMFUS) then guarantee and put back to the lenders if they find any defects. The White House plan is a tough sell. Refinancing WoesAs banks deleverage and mortgage activities increasingly involve unwanted loans, the ability to deal with refinancing has diminished. Four banks now control more than 60 percent of the mortgage market, and many mortgage servicers have reduced staff or been slow to gear up to handle delinquent mortgages and refinancings. Except for those who qualify for HARP, refinancing is highly unlikely for 8 million owners who are underwater — owing more than the value of their homes — because new terms are treated as new loans. Those who have positive home equity face dramatically tightened lending standards, a clogged refinancing system and new fees that can wipe out the savings from refinancing. Almost 90 percent of mortgages today are only originated because of guarantees from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Authority, and all three have raised their fees substantially. As a result, many of the 20 million borrowers who could cut their mortgage rates by more than one percentage point through refinancing are unable to benefit. – Second Mortgages: Refinancing underwater borrowers is tough when they have second mortgages that also have to be renegotiated, or if mortgage insurers have to agree to the new loans. Many borrowers can't qualify for refinancing because of tightened lending standards. Fannie, Freddie and the FHA have strengthened their requirements because of pressure from the administration to avoid more losses on bad mortgages. High credit scores are needed to refinance outside HARP, along with two years of tax returns, proof of income and recent evidence of assets such as retirement and brokerage accounts. During the housing boom, appraisals for house purchases were generous. (And why not? Everyone was certain that house prices would rise indefinitely.) Cooperating appraisers were often recommended by real-estate brokers and mortgage lenders who wanted the deals to go through. After the house-price collapse, however, appraisals became very conservative, as lenders pressured appraisers to make low estimates.
|
| Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST I got a laugh out of this headline:
Delta Airlines and the Pilots Association are suing the Exim bank for financing Air India. I think they have a great case. I hope they win. Exim gives cheap money to India so it can buy Boeing planes. This story "sounds" good as exports mean jobs and business is booming at Boeing. You can count on Obama showing up in Seattle sometime, and crowing about all the jobs he has created thanks to the cheap money deals. I wonder what he will be saying to the folks who work for the airlines. They don't get cheap money, so they can't buy the new aircraft they need to compete with the likes of Air India on the profitable transatlantic routes. (The basis for the suit.) The only winners in this story will be the lawyers. The losers will be "us". We will pay for it in the form of higher airfares, more debt and deficits. Is this an example of an unintended consequences, or just stupidity? .  ********************************* . . A Greek, a Portuguese and a Spaniard are talking to god: The Spaniard and the Portuguese ask, "When will our countries be free of debt?" God answers, "In 100 years for Portugal and 150 years for Spain." The Iberians respond in dismay, "But, our children's children will be dead by then." When the Greek asks God the same question for his country, God answers, "I don't know — I'll be dead by then." .  . ********************************* . . Paper Money Lee Adler at Wall Street Examiner has some interesting data on the amount of printed money outstanding:
Two things caught my eye. The recent percentage rate of increase has not been seen since the crisis days of 2008. The second thing is just the sheer amount of paper money "out there". I have only questions regarding the rate of increase. Are these 100-dollar bills ending up in the USA? Or are they going out of the country? Are they being used to transact business? Or are they being used as a store of wealth? I believe it is all of the above. The $1.05 Trillion of outstanding currency comes to 7% of GDP. That is up from 5% in 2007. The increase of $300 Billion represents a 40% increase while the economy was basically flat. If this was all in 100-dollar bills it would stack up 700 miles high. Didn't Bernanke say the Fed wasn't printing money? He's increased that pile by 250 miles. He's printed enough to carpet all of D.C. Gold has had a nice goose of late. There are many reasons for it to repricing higher. Deep in the corner of the demand is all this paper sloshing around. Sooner or later, it will seek to hide somewhere safer than in paper under a mattress. I suspect some of it did today. . 
|
| Cooperman Says Investing in U.S. Treasuries ‘Makes No Sense’ Posted: 22 Feb 2012 11:24 AM PST Leon Cooperman, founder of equity hedge fund Omega Advisors Inc., said buying U.S. Treasuries is the least attractive investment in a world of "financial repression." Bonds will be the worst place for investors to put their money for the next three years, Cooperman, 68, said in an interview today on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack" with Erik Schatzker. "With a 2 percent government bond, if we're talking about marginal tax rates, you're keeping 60 percent of your 2 percent — you're keeping 1.2 percent," he said. "The rate of inflation is somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 percent, so your capital is being confiscated. It makes no sense." Gold and Standard & Poor's 500 shares will be attractive investments, Cooperman said. His target at the start of the year for the equity benchmark was 1,400 to 1,450. Cooperman's New York-based fund invests in technology stocks including Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), financial companies including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. and health care stocks including WellPoint Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) Omega invested in Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM), the Waterloo, Ontario-based manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones, late last year and has since sold that position because it triggered stop- loss orders, Cooperman said. He has been a long-term investor in Apple and said he believes it is worth over $600 a share with "a couple more years of very good runway" growth ahead. Cupertino, California-based Apple gained 2.5 percent to close yesterday at $514.85 in New York trading. Cooperman spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs & Co., including as CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, before founding Omega in 1991. Source: Bloomberg
|
My Dear Friends,
How is the U.S. economy doing in 2012? Unfortunately, it is not doing nearly as well as the mainstream media would have you believe. Yes, things have stabilized for the moment but this bubble of false hope will not last for long. The long-term trends that are ripping our economy and our financial system to shreds continue unabated. When you step back and look at the broader picture, it is hard to deny that we are in really bad shape and that things are rapidly getting worse. Later on in this article you will find a list of interesting facts that show the true state of the U.S. economy. Hopefully many of you will find this list to be a useful tool that you can share with your family and friends. Each day the foundations of our economy crumble a little bit more, and we need to wake up as many Americans as we can to what is really going on while there is still time. We have accumulated way too much debt, we consume far more wealth than we produce, millions of our jobs are being shipped overseas, our big cities are decaying, family budgets are being squeezed more than ever, poverty is rampant and we have raised several generations of Americans that expect the government to fix all of their problems. The U.S. economy is at a crossroads, and the decisions that the American people make in 2012 are going to be incredibly important.
NYSE volume was the 3rd lowest of the year so far (while ES was just below average) as stocks leaked lower all day to small net losses by the close. Financials led the drop in stocks as they start to catch up the credit market weakness we have been pointing to for over a week but while HY (the high yield credit spread index) continues to underperform (and stocks following at a lower beta), IG (investment grade credit spread index) modestly outperforms (the up-in-quality rotation) but HYG (the high-yield bond ETF) surged today into a world of its own once again. We suspect this is driven by 'arbitrage' flows between HY's recent richness and HYG's cheapness (as well as potential HY new issue impacts). Gold (and to a lesser extent Silver) was the story of the day as it exploded (perhaps on the 
| You are subscribed to email updates from Save Your ASSets First To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment