Gold World News Flash |
- Greed Is Indeed Good at Goldman?
- James Turk: Gold & Silver Turmoil, What to Expect Going Forward
- For Greece, it's Deja Vu All Over Again
- This Could Spark a Massive Move in Gold
- Bob Chapman Talks About Gold, Greece, and the Military – 03-14-2012
- 11 Reasons Why America Would Be A Better Place Without Goldman Sachs
- Jordan Roy-Byrne – Better Indexes Needed for Gold and Silver Stocks – 03-14-2012
- Turk - Gold & Silver Turmoil, What to Expect Going Forward
- Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Fall With Bonds and Oil
- Gold Former Supports at 1625 and 1605 in Play
- The Relationship Between Gold and Interest Rates
- Are Treasuries FINALLY the Short of the Decade?
- Here Is Why The Fed Will Have To Do At Least Another $3.6 Trillion In Quantitative Easing
- Stock Dividends Are Getting Physical Paid in Gold and Silver
- Gold Stairway to Heaven
- Big-Picture Uptrend Still Intact for SLW, Silver
- Gold Investment Explosion
- Metals' plunge connected to plunge in bonds, Norcini tells King World News
- Elijah Cummings Is First Political Muppet To Issue Goldman Op-Ed Response
- The Gold Price Lost $51.20 How Far can it Fall?
- Bond Collapse Continues
- Buying a Hairway to Steven with Gold
- Risks Challenging Latin American Miners
- Jan. 2, 2013 and Obama's Secret Plan
- Norcini - Rough Day for Gold & Silver, But Here’s Good News
- Jan. 2, 2013 and Obama’s Secret Plan
- Why The Falling Gold & Silver Prices ?
- Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Bonus Army and Business Plot
- Gold's Hairway to Steven
- Gold's Hairway to Steven
| Greed Is Indeed Good at Goldman? Posted: 14 Mar 2012 05:21 PM PDT
By EconMatters
Scandal and headlines seem to perpetually follow Goldman Sachs (GS), a firm that's simply doing "God's Work". On Wed. March 14, Goldman's name once again burnt up the Internet, and social media. This time it was from a resignation letter by one of its top executives published as an op-ed at the New York Times.
The op-ed entitled "Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs" blasting GS culture of greed was written by Gregg Smith, a Goldman Sachs executive director and head of the firm's United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to the Times. The letter and its link has immediately gone insanely viral and trending worldwide. That was probably one factor that sank GS stock by 3.5% on the day while the broader market was essentially flat (see chart below).
You can hardly blame the enthusiasm of the 99% around the globe. After all, it's been over two years since Matt Tabbi at Rolling Stone turned "Vampire Squid" and "Goldman Sachs" into synonyms.
Here are some of the most revealing tidbit Smith wrote
According to Smith, the three quickest ways to climbing the corporate ladder at Goldman:
Of course, Goldman immediately came out with a three-sentence rebuttal:
There are some people questioning the motive and the exact position level of Smith. Goldman, reportedly, tries to downplay Smith as just one of 12,000 company vice-presidents, a more junior rank, implying frustration could be Smith's motive since he's been at the firm a decade and is still a low man on the totem pole.
Regardless, Goldman's own track record supports Smith's statement.
Just less than two weeks ago, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Leo Strine citing "the disturbing nature of some of the behavior" of Goldman leading to the terms of pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc.'s $21.1 billion purchase of El Paso Corp. Goldman Sachs's biggest takeover deal last year.
The bottom line? Total conflict of interest!
Bloomberg reports that Goldman stands to make $20 million in fee from El Paso, but GS also has a $4 billion stake in Kinder Morgan. Two of GS employees also sit on Kinder Morgan's board, although both recused themselves from negotiations.
Judge Strine wrote,
And who can forget the SEC fraud suit in April 2010 against Goldman for unloading risky subprime mortgage packages to clients while betting against them the whole time?
So this Goldman Letter by Smith is simply stating the obvious of what's been going on at Goldman as well as on Wall Street for years. Will this lead to some much needed moral and ethical reform at Goldman and on Wall Street? I certainly won't hold my breath.
© EconMatters All Rights Reserved | Facebook | Twitter | Post Alert | Kindle
|
| James Turk: Gold & Silver Turmoil, What to Expect Going Forward Posted: 14 Mar 2012 04:41 PM PDT from King World News:
James Turk continues: Read More @ KingWorldNews.com
|
| For Greece, it's Deja Vu All Over Again Posted: 14 Mar 2012 04:32 PM PDT
This union was to be a bimetallic monetary system. Although it had no common currency, the French Franc was the international store of value, and the Banc of France was the lender of last resort. All national silver & gold coins were allowed in settling domestic transactions. Incidentally, the fixed parity of silver to gold was 1:15.5. Great, a monetary system set up to promote stability and commonality, sounds like a good idea -- Enter Greece. In 1868 Greece joined the LMU, and from the very beginning it couldn't keep its act together. Fresh off a default in 1843, Greece thought it a good idea to join such a union and presumably rebuild its creditworthiness. Sure, they would honor the full convertability of all paper money into gold & silver, keep budget deficits in check, and overall comply with the rules of the union - right? Not so much. Greece immediately began to issue fiat money, and stopped converting their paper into gold and silver. Then they began to spend, spend, spend. By the mid 1870's, Greece was in political turmoil, and they were seeing deficits skyrocket as revenues declined (sound familiar to anyone?). Since they had defaulted aready, they were shut out of credit markets, so they decided the only way to continue to survive would be to print more paper money and issue it from their own bank. Here's a visual of what that looked like - as you can see, the gold & silver had left the country as the convertability began to stop, and being that they were shut out of the credit markets, they literally had no choice but to print.
And just so you're aware, central banking has been around for a long, long time. Here is a visual of how much Greece's national bank loaned to the government back then, just so they didn't have to control spending, work, or tax anyone (kind of like today).
Greece was able to settle their previous default by 1878, and Greek bonds were back on the London stock exchange. Lesson learned right? Eh. A short fifteen years later they were in the exact same deficit spending hole with no end in sight. So, they decided to again stop payments servicing external debt... and they again defaulted. The LMU eventually dissolved ~1925-1926, and Greece went on to peg the Drachma to the British Sterling. The point of the story is that history will repeat itself, and Greece will always be looking for the next free ride. A way to start again with a clean slate. Wiping away their insane deficits & ignoring the spending habits that got them there. The current situation within the European Union should not be a surprise to anyone. So the question is, what's after the Euro?
|
| This Could Spark a Massive Move in Gold Posted: 14 Mar 2012 04:28 PM PDT by Jeff Clark, GrowthStockWire.com:
Precious metals have been selling off lately. Gold is down 10% from its peak last August, including a violent $100 drop last Tuesday. Silver is down almost 30% since its peak last April. It dropped 6% in just one day last week. But if gold and silver sell off hard today – perhaps in response to the Federal Open Market Committee announcement this afternoon – get ready to buy. A big drop today will set up a bullish chart pattern, which could lead to sharply higher prices by the summer. Let me explain… Read More @ GrowthStockWire.com
|
| Bob Chapman Talks About Gold, Greece, and the Military – 03-14-2012 Posted: 14 Mar 2012 04:23 PM PDT from The Financial Survival Network:
Click Here to Listen to the Podcast
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 11 Reasons Why America Would Be A Better Place Without Goldman Sachs Posted: 14 Mar 2012 04:19 PM PDT from The Economic Collapse Blog:
Read More @ TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
|
| Jordan Roy-Byrne – Better Indexes Needed for Gold and Silver Stocks – 03-14-2012 Posted: 14 Mar 2012 04:03 PM PDT from The Financial Survival Network:
This is a reflection of the phase of the bull metals market. Consolidations can last for several years and valuations can vary. However, you should remember to look at technicals and sentiments. A lot of breakouts in the sector tend to be false. Gold has bottomed so many times in the last couple of years, on the day where it appeared to make a technical breakdown. We are undeniably seeing a very difficult market, and according to Jordan, we are within 2 weeks of a very important bottom. You have to wait for things to reach an over-sold point, these are the times when you want to buy and take advantage of the manipulations. Once the markets get extremely oversold, the manipulators buy to help themselves. You want to be on the correct side of this, so DON'T FREAK OUT and sell! Click Here to Listen to the Podcast
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Turk - Gold & Silver Turmoil, What to Expect Going Forward Posted: 14 Mar 2012 04:02 PM PDT  With many investors worried about the plunge in gold and silver, today King World News interviewed James Turk out of Spain. He told King World News this smash in the metals is very similar to what took place at the end of February. Turk firmly believes this is more proof of intervention and manipulation in these critical markets. Here is what Turk had to say about the turmoil in both metals: "What happened, after the FOMC meeting, in the last two days is a replay of what happened at the end of February. Gold got up to $1,800 (at the end of February), (then it was) smashed. (Two days ago) gold got up to $1,700 and it was smashed (again)."
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Fall With Bonds and Oil Posted: 14 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT Gold bumped up to $1682.29 in Asia, but it then fell back off for most of the rest of trade and ended near its late session low of $1634.10 with a loss of 1.66%. Silver slipped to as low as $31.625 and ended with a loss of 3.1%.
|
| Gold Former Supports at 1625 and 1605 in Play Posted: 14 Mar 2012 03:13 PM PDT courtesy of DailyFX.com March 14, 2012 01:21 PM Daily Bars Prepared by Jamie Saettele, CMT Gold is on track for its largest 1 week decline since mid December. Short term resistance is just north of 1650 and shorts are favored against 1685 (Wednesday high). Downside levels of interest for the rest of the week are former pivots at 1625 and 1605. Bottom Line (next 5 days) – lower?...
|
| The Relationship Between Gold and Interest Rates Posted: 14 Mar 2012 02:35 PM PDT This week's downside breakout in the T-Bond futures market and the associated rise in the T-Bond yield has prompted us to re-visit the relationship between gold and interest rates. Read More...
|
| Are Treasuries FINALLY the Short of the Decade? Posted: 14 Mar 2012 02:34 PM PDT For years now, US government bonds have looked like terrible investments, what with those trillion-dollar deficits and multiple wars and all. But Treasuries just kept rising, earning their owners nice returns and making their critics seem ... Read More...
|
| Here Is Why The Fed Will Have To Do At Least Another $3.6 Trillion In Quantitative Easing Posted: 14 Mar 2012 01:09 PM PDT As we have repeatedly said in the past, the quarterly Flow of Funds (or Z.1) statement is most interesting not for the already public household net worth and leverage data which serves to make pretty charts and largely irrelevant articles, but due to its insight into the stock and flow of both the traditional financial system but far more importantly - into shadow banking. And this is where things get hairy. Because while equities may have returned to 2008 valuations, the credit shortfall across combined US liabilities - traditional and shadow - still has a $3.6 trillion hole to plug to get to the level from March 2008 (see first chart). It is this hole that is giving equities, which have already surpassed 2008 levels, nightmares. Because while the Fed is pumping traditional commercial banks balance sheets via reserve expansion (read: fungible money that manifests itself most directly in $5 gas at the pump) resulting in a $2.3 trillion rise in traditional liabilities from Q3 2008 through Q4 2011, what it is not accounting for is the now 15 consecutive quarters of shadow banking system contraction, which peaked at $21 trillion in Q1 2008, and in Q4 2011 declined to $15.1 trillion... and dropping. It is this differential that will be the source of the needed "Outside" money, discussed yesterday, and that is only to get equity valuations to a fair level! But considering the Fed's propensity to print at any downtick, this is very much a given, much to the horror of Dick Fisher. Any additional increase in stock prices will require not only the already priced in $3.6 trillion, but far more direct Outside money injections. While we have explained the methodology of approaching consolidated credit money in modern finance before (much more here), here is a quick rerun. In the chart below, conventional wisdom only focuses on the red line, which represents traditional commercial bank liabilities (L.110, L.111, L.112 and L.113 from the Z.1), where Fed reserves and other monetary expansion mechanisms manifest themselves. As can be seen this line is rising rapidly, as is to be expected - in tune with the US deficit spending and Fed reserve growth. That both the US debt chart and the consolidated global balance sheet have now entered an exponential phase is a topic for another discussion. What, however, is always forgotten is the blue line, which represents the liabilities in the shadow banking system - all the credit money that has been used by various unregulated institutions to perform the traditional transformations of maturity, credit and liquidity that define a "bank." And this line is for lack of a better word, collapsing. It is this collapse that the Fed has yet to tackle, and it is the offset of this collapse which the equity market has somehow already priced in!
Focusing exclusively on shadow banks, here are the 6 distinct components that make up this universe.
Why does the Fed never discuss the shadow banking "conundrum" in public? Simple. The chart below should explain it.
Finally the chart that puts it all into perspective: here is a close up of the consolidated Shadow + Traditional liability total. The delta from the prior peak is an all too real hole of $3.6 trillion (and possibly more when accounting for the factor contraction at the Prime Broker level, a topic discussed previously when we spoke in length on the issue of rehypothecation). Yet it is this hole that the market is 100% certain that the Fed will plug. Because if it doesn't, watch out below.
And not only that, but since it is suddenly fashionable to sell US Treasurys, just who will step in to buy (not China) considering there is about $6 trillion in net new issuance over the next 4 years? Because if US GDP was at least rising faster than US debt one just may have made the case that there will be retained cash by various entities who can buy up US paper domestically. Alas, that is no longer feasible, and the only option is, you guessed it, for the buyer of last resort to step in - the @FederalReserve
In conclusion we wish to say - thank you Chairman for the firesale in physical precious metals. We, and certainly China, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
|
| Stock Dividends Are Getting Physical Paid in Gold and Silver Posted: 14 Mar 2012 12:59 PM PDT Gold often receives criticism from investors such as Warren Buffett for not producing a yield. This claim often falls on deaf ears because proven gold miners such as Newmont Mining Corp. and AngloGold Ashanti both pay a dividend north of 2 percent. However, the downside to these dividends is that they are paid in a fiat currency, somewhat defeating the intentions of gold investors. A new dividend program seeks to change this process by giving investors the choice to receive dividends in the form of physical bullion, instead of paper or electronic dollars.
|
| Posted: 14 Mar 2012 12:56 PM PDT It's now 6 months since gold hit its current all-time high. How long 'til the next...? Thanks to hindsight, the bull market in gold which followed Richard Nixon unpegging the US Dollar, and therefore the rest of the world, from its last pretence of a Gold Standard sounds as inevitable today as Jimmy Page's solo in Stairway to Heaven, also a 1971 classic.
|
| Big-Picture Uptrend Still Intact for SLW, Silver Posted: 14 Mar 2012 12:50 PM PDT Although Silver Wheaton (SLW) remains under bleeding pressure as we speak, my big picture work argues that a new bull phase for the stock has been in progress since the October 4 low, and that recent weakness from the Feb 29 high at 40.39 to today's low at 33.55 (so far) is the tail end of a pullback within the still-dominant uptrend pattern. As long as SLW weakness is contained above 32.00, my work argues in favor of being long.
|
| Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:57 AM PDT by Andy Hoffman, MilesFranklin.com:
Many erroneously view gains in absolute terms, forgetting one's financial standing is more relevant in relative terms to "competing" investors. For example, even when gold fell 30% in late 2008 (entirely due to the Cartel, I might add), it dramatically outperformed stocks, real estate, and ALL commodities. Not that investors strive for "less losses" – as opposed to "more gains" – but markets cannot be controlled, particularly when government intervention is a key systemic factor. PM investors have been put through sheer agony over the past decade, with many destroyed by the Cartel and others – like myself –scarred but better for the experience. However, gold and silver prices have risen more than any asset class over this period, doing so while others – residential real estate, for example – actually declined. Thus, PM holders were rewarded for their mettle with the double jackpot of superior absolute and relative returns.
|
| Metals' plunge connected to plunge in bonds, Norcini tells King World News Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:56 AM PDT 7:55p ET Wednesday, March 13, 2012 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Futures market analyst Dan Norcini tells King World News tonight that the plunges in gold and silver are related to the plunge in bonds this week. An excerpt from the interview is posted at the King World News blog here: http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2012/3/14_No... 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.
|
| Elijah Cummings Is First Political Muppet To Issue Goldman Op-Ed Response Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:26 AM PDT It was literally a matter of hours following the release of the now historic Greg Smith "Muppets" Op-Ed, before the true criminals enabling the slow motion trainwreck of the Keynesian klepto-fascist experiment became heard. Sure enough, here is Elijah Cumming indicating he has the most to gain by scapegoating a firm that between Vampire Squids and Muppets is slowly being mocked into the same relevancy as an HR Giger petting zoo.
In other news not a single Congressional or Senatorial muppet (a term Zero Hedge used long before the reverend Mr. Smith) announced today they will henceforth not accept any bribes, pardon, donations from Wall Street and/or corporate America. Or in this case, the same Transportation unions that received a far greater than $10 billion bailout as part of the GM "reorganization" (make that $16 billion) that made a mockery of contract law even more than the Greek bankruptcy.
Source: OpenSecrets
|
| The Gold Price Lost $51.20 How Far can it Fall? Posted: 14 Mar 2012 11:07 AM PDT Gold Price Close Today : 1642.50 Change : -51.20 or -3.02% Silver Price Close Today : 3214.70 Change : -139.7 cents or -4.16% Gold Silver Ratio Today : 51.093 Change : 0.602 or 1.19% Silver Gold Ratio Today : 0.01957 Change : -0.000233 or -1.18% Platinum Price Close Today : 1664.30 Change : -18.70 or -1.11% Palladium Price Close Today : 693.95 Change : -7.95 or -1.13% S&P 500 : 1,394.28 Change : -1.67 or -0.12% Dow In GOLD$ : $166.06 Change : $ 5.24 or 3.26% Dow in GOLD oz : 8.033 Change : 0.253 or 3.26% Dow in SILVER oz : 410.43 Change : 17.58 or 4.48% Dow Industrial : 13,194.10 Change : 16.42 or 0.12% US Dollar Index : 80.53 Change : 0.341 or 0.43% The GOLD PRICE lost $51.20 and fell clean to the level I yesterday bruited, closing Comex at $1,642.50. Silver did worse, puking up 139.7c to close at 3214.7c. GOLD PRICE broke $1,680 in European trading, and suddenly looked like a leper in a Turkish bath: no friends at all. Nobody wanted to know gold. It traded down to $1,640 support, and closed Comex at $1,642.50, but in the aftermarket stretched down to $1,634.72. That brought gold's friends out of the shadows and set them to buying -- or at least, covering their short positions. Tomorrow the battle will take place at $1,635. If GOLD can turn back its attackers there, it can hold on. Otherwise, the break through the 200 DMA today ($1,679) after gold is already below its 50 DMA (1,701) and 150 Dma (1,715.50) argues for a trip to $1,605. I bought a little SILVER today, because of gold's price. I will buy gold at $1,605, and will be tempted at $1,625. Why tempted? Because I see an upside down head and shoulders forming since November, with a target about $2,030. If that's so, the bottom of this last and right shoulder should occur about there. A like formation stares out of SILVER PRICE chart, but the shoulder could stop anywhere from 3100c to 2850c. Hurtful day for silver. Fell through its 50 DMA today (32.85). Already below the 200 (3484c) and 300 DMA (3492c). Silver made its low at 3146c and could still drop as low at 3000c, maybe lower. Patient, patient. Lift up your eyes to the horizon. I don't want to give y'all a headache, but listening to what bits of news broadcasts I can't avoid, it occurs to me that none of the Three Stooges running for the Republican presidential nomination can beat Bernard O'Bama. There's Mitt MakesUSnore Romney, Rick Now-I'm-A-Conservative-But-Still-Had-My- Charisma-Surgically-Removed Santorum, and Newt (like the slick Lizard) Gingrich. There's not enough charm amongst the three of them to make a good Chatty Kathy doll, nor enough integrity to fill up a mustard seed. Y'all thought it was hard to make O'Bama look good, but the Republicans have done it. STOCKS looked confused today, but after yesterday's big blow-out, a hangover is expected. Dow gained 16.42 (0.12%) but the S&P500 fell 1.67 (0.12%). Mercy! I keep looking at that chart, wondering how it could have been so mean to lie to me, and I trace out all the same thing again. It's like dating a trashy girl. You know she's trashy, but you just can't believe she keeps lying to you. Anyway, I still see that mountainous rising wedge on that chart, the predictable (but false) downside breakout, then the Bernanke reversal upwards. Folks, it just don't make sense. Something's going on we can't see. Or maybe, and I still stubbornly believe, more likely, after this little spurt stocks run dry and fall. If they don't, then a large upside down head and shoulders looks for the Dow at nearly 14,900. I'm watching, but I still wouldn't buy stocks even with your money. Currencies are enough to give the Headless Horseman a headache. Apropos of nothing the dollar rose 34.1 basis points today to 80.534 and carried all currencies before it. Euro sank 0.42% to 1.3032, looking more like it might blow right past 1.2900 and drop lower. And just when y'all thought the yen could not get any weaker, it did. Again. Dropped 0.92% today (gigantic for a currency) to fall through 120c/Y100. Settled at 119.51c/Y100 (Y83.86/US$1). Maybe investors are tired of holding yen at low or negative interest rates. Maybe Japan -- with its Quasimodo balance sheet and Gargantuan debt -- will be the next focus of questions about creditworthiness of sovereign debt. Today's the day in 1900 -- 14 March 1900 -- that the US Congress crucified the nation on a cross of gold, declaring superfluously that the country was on a gold standard. This of course is impossible, since the constitution implies the "dollar of silver" is the standard, and then the first congress fixed that standard in 1792 with the Coinage Act. In other words, the Gold Standard Act was just a sop to the bankers, and a knife in the back of farmers and laborers and of course, silver. SPECIAL OFFER SILVER CLEARANCE When US 90% silver coin comes through we try to clean all the unmerchantable coin out of the bags, coins that have holes, are bent, or badly worn. Many were minted in the early 1900s, some in the 1800s. After a while this stacks up and ties up capital. I have 9,580 grams of this slick coin, broken into two each 3,000 gram sacks plus one 3,580 gram sack. That's 32.15 troy ounces gross weight each, but at 90% purity that's only 28.936 pure ounces. These are dimes, quarters, and halves, some worn paper thin, but all you will be paying for the weight of silver, at spot silver value less 10 cents or 32.05 per ounce. If you were pressed to use silver when paper money fails, these ought to circulate, worn as they are. I am selling these as is, so please don't buy them and call me back in surprise that they are so worn or have holes in them. That's how I'm selling them. I have three of the following: No. 1, Two each 3,000 gram sacks of scrap US 90% silver coin containing 86.807 oz of silver each at $32.05/oz = $2,782.17 + $25 shipping or a total of $2,807.17 No. 2, One each 3,580 gram lot of scrap US 90% silver coin containing 103.590 oz at $32.05/oz for a total of $3,320.06 + $25 shipping = $3,345.06 total. I also have some US 90% silver halves that went through a house fire and are blackened, a few charred. These I will also sell for spot silver less 10 cents or 32.05/oz, which equals $22.916 per dollar face value. So I am selling No. 3, Five lots of $100.00 face value each of burned US 90% silver halves at $100 x $22.916 = $2,291.60 + $25 equals $2,316.60. No. 4, One lot of $120.00 face value each of burned US 90% silver halves at $120 x $22.916 = $2,749.92 + $25 equals $2,774.92 Yes, you may order as many lots as you please, but I'm sorry, no re-orders or back-orders at these prices. Offer ends when my supply runs out. Please remember, these are silver survival coins only, and will be worn or fire-blackened. Survival only. Special Conditions: First come, first served, and no re-orders at these prices. I will enter orders based on the time I receive your e-mail at We will not take orders for less than the minimums shown above. All sales on a strict "no-nag" basis. We will ship as soon as your check clears, but we allow Two weeks (14 days) for your check to clear. Calls looking for your order two days after we receive your check will be politely and patiently rebuffed. If you want faster shipping, please send a wire. Spot silver basis for all prices above is $32.15 ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS: 1. You may order by e-mail only to franklin@the-moneychanger.com. No phone orders, please. Your email must include your complete name, address, and phone number. We cannot ship to you without your address. Sorry, we cannot ship outside the United States or to Tennessee. Repeat, your email must include your complete name, address, and phone number. Our clairvoyant quit without warning last week and I stumbled and dropped my crystal ball, smashing it to pieces, so we can no longer read your mind. 2. Orders are on a first-come, first-served basis until supply is exhausted. 3. "First come, first-served" means that we will enter the orders in the order that we receive them by e-mail. 4. If your order is filled, we will e-mail you a confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation, your order was not filled. 5. You will need to send payment by personal check or bank wire (either one is fine) within 48 hours. It just needs to be in the mail, not in our hands, in 48 hours. 6. We allow fourteen (14) days for personal checks to clear before we ship. If your hurry is greater than that, you can send a bank wire. Once we ship, the post office takes four to fourteen days to get the registered mail package to you. All in all, you'll see your order in about one month if you send a check. Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought. - Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger The-MoneyChanger.com © 2012, The Moneychanger. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission. To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary is up targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stocks' primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold; US$ or US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate bubble has burst, primary trend down. WARNING AND DISCLAIMER. Be advised and warned: Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures. NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day one or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps. NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced. NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt. What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands. One final warning: NEVER insert a 747 Jumbo Jet up your nose. 
|
| Posted: 14 Mar 2012 10:15 AM PDT [url]http://www.traderdannorcini.blogspot.com/[/url] [url]http://www.fortwealth.com/[/url] Much to the chagrin of the Federal Reserve, bond traders are taking that FOMC statement from yesterday and taking no prisoners as they literally hammer the long bond into submission. I find it a bit ironic (to be honest I am gleeful about it) that the Fed, which continues its attempts to manipulate hedge fund behavior by herding them into the equity markets, has opened an enormous can of worms and awakened the heretofore comatose bond vigilantes as an undesirable chain reaction to their "peachy" statement about the state of the US economy. Bond traders are already moving the Fed Funds Futures to indicate interest rate hikes in early 2014, and not the latter part of 2014 as those minutes revealed yesterday. Worse, the yield on the Ten Year has spiked. It started off the week at 2.04% and ended today at 2.27%. As for the long bond, forgettaboutit; it was absolutely pummelled today now having drop...
|
| Buying a Hairway to Steven with Gold Posted: 14 Mar 2012 09:56 AM PDT It's now 6 months since gold hit its current all-time high. How long 'til the next? Thanks to hindsight, the bull market in gold which followed Richard Nixon unpegging the US Dollar, and therefore the rest of the world ... Read More...
|
| Risks Challenging Latin American Miners Posted: 14 Mar 2012 09:11 AM PDT "I'm not concerned about nationalization in Mexico," Mike Callahan says, "but nationalization and increasing royalties are certainly concerns in other countries. There's continued talk of putting royalties in Chile and nationalization in other places. And, that's 3–4% right off the top. In Jorge Ganoza's opinion, "Argentina is not a mining country; it's not a mining jurisdiction. At federal, state and local levels and municipalities, the governments have little understanding of the industry, so there are bigger risks. If you take bigger risks, you need bigger rewards." Noting that "the cost structure in Argentina is much higher than in Peru," Ganoza says that Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (FSM:NYSE; FVI:TSX; FVI:BVL; F4S:FSE) would "really need a compelling reason to go to Argentina." Argentina, which has hamstrung Pan American Silver Corp. (PAA:TSX; PAAS:NASDAQ) in its efforts to capitalize on the Navidad property it acquired from Aquiline Resources in 2010, isn't alone among Latin Amer...
|
| Jan. 2, 2013 and Obama's Secret Plan Posted: 14 Mar 2012 08:58 AM PDT March 14, 2012 [LIST] [*]The White House's secret plan to deal with a fiscal crisis... which appears to be unfolding this morning [*]What might be in the secret plan... and why it might be put in place on Jan. 2, 2013 [*]Banks barely break a sweat on phony "stress tests": Dan Amoss on how the doctors rigged the EKG [*]Metal thefts are so last year... The "liquid gold" thieves are after in 2012 [*]"October surprise" speculation... an inquiry about real estate insurance... fears of "fragging" the SecDef... and more! [/LIST] We have good news and bad news this morning: The White House has a secret plan to deal with a fiscal crisis. The plan's existence is revealed in a book called The Escape Artists: How Obama's Team Fumbled the Recovery. "In May 2009," writes journalist Noam Scheiber, "the president asked [White House budget director Peter Orszag] to draft a secret memo laying out the government's options in the event of a fiscal crisis, in which a runaway defi...
|
| Norcini - Rough Day for Gold & Silver, But Here’s Good News Posted: 14 Mar 2012 08:26 AM PDT  With gold and silver plunging, today King World News interviewed legendary Jim Sinclair's chartist Dan Norcini. Norcini told KWN that sell-stops and fresh speculative shorting are putting short-term pressure on both gold and silver. Here is what Norcini had to say: "Eric, the reason gold is getting hit so hard and by consequence silver as well, has to do specifically with the action in the bond market. To start the year, I told KWN readers and listeners the most important market in 2012 was going to be the bond market. The bonds have had a massive breakdown."
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Jan. 2, 2013 and Obama’s Secret Plan Posted: 14 Mar 2012 08:13 AM PDT Addison Wiggin – March 14, 2012
"In May 2009," writes journalist Noam Scheiber, "the president asked [White House budget director Peter Orszag] to draft a secret memo laying out the government's options in the event of a fiscal crisis, in which a runaway deficit sent interest rates spiraling upward." "No other member of the Obama economic team was even aware of the assignment." 
 Of course, these rates are still ridiculously low by historical standards. But Mr. Scheiber's crisis is creeping up from behind.
So "instead of developing a long-term plan to avoid the worst-case scenario," writes James Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute, "it has chosen to plan for the worst-case scenario…" "Maybe the crisis plan is the long-term plan," Mr. Pethokoukis speculates, "Maybe it's something like this: a) do nothing; b) keep implementing the Obama health care and environmental agenda; c) wait for markets to finally freak out over rising U.S. debt; d) break the glass and grab the 2009 Orszag plan."
Under the law passed last minute in August 2011 raising the debt ceiling, something called "sequestration" is supposed to kick in shortly after the new year. "Sequestration" is wonk-speak for automatic spending cuts totaling $1.2 trillion over 10 years. The cuts will come entirely out of "discretionary" spending. Meaning Social Security and Medicare would be left alone. Congress and the White House can avoid sequestration if they reach agreement sometime this year on spending cuts and/or tax increases totaling that same $1.2 trillion. The odds of an agreement happening this year? Well, we'll leave that conjecture up to you.
Two weeks ago, Panetta told the House Budget Committee that he hoped Congress would "put on the table, not just discretionary alone, but mandatory spending and, yes, revenues. That is the responsible way to reduce deficits and the responsible way to avoid the sequester." "In today's political atmosphere of 'party first,'" suggests The Washington Post's Walter Pincus, "I doubt that Panetta's hopes will be fufilled, especially in a post-election, down-to-the-wire December showdown played against threats of a government shutdown and debt default."
Here's what else is set to take place on Jan. 2, 2013, assuming Congress does nothing between now and then…
And of course, the Alternative Minimum Tax will snare millions more taxpayers in its maw. Typically, Congress plays a game of chicken with these matters. An AMT "patch" is passed every December. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts were extended at the last minute in 2010. The payroll tax cut was extended at year-end 2011. But this year, a lame-duck Congress split between the two parties might not agree to… well, anything. Frankly, even while writing this morning, it's hard for us to feign any more apathy than we're already feeling.
Mr. Scheiber could not secure the document itself for his book. But elsewhere in his volume, we're told Orszag "believed the only practical way to balance the budget was to repeal all the Bush tax cuts, not just the upper-income variety." That's $4.5 trillion in theoretical revenue over 10 years, right there. But there's more: After leaving the White House's employ for a cushy gig at Citigroup, Orszag went on record supporting a VAT, the vampiric value-added tax tacked onto every stage of production. In a 2010 New York Times Op-Ed, he suggested 5-6% would be a "modest" level. "It's reasonable to assume," concludes James Pethokoukis, "that the secret Obama-Orszag memo contains some options on massively raising taxes to send markets a signal that the United States is getting its fiscal house in order, ASAP."
If that doubled to 5% — and where it stood in the middle of the last decade — that interest cost also doubles. If that rate jumps to 7% — as it did last year in Italy — annual interest expense jumps to $1.1 trillion… almost as much as last year's total shortfall. We put the latest issue of Apogee Advisory to bed this morning. In it, we vigorously defend our recommendation to hold onto your Treasuries, as they — irrational as the act may be — serve the global financial markets as a "risk-off" trade. But we also suggest that the air is starting to come out of what we're calling the Mother of All Financial Bubbles. If you haven't drawn up your own contingency memo, we advise you do so quickly. If you'd like assistance, seek it here.
Yesterday's rally was fueled in part by a Federal Reserve statement that was remarkable only in the sense that it expressed a bit more guarded optimism about economic growth than the last statement six weeks ago. QE3, for the moment, remains a prospect over the horizon.
"This test was designed for the banks to 'pass' under rough economic conditions, so this wasn't really a test," says our short strategist Dan Amoss. "Until we see accurate accounting for the market value of the big banks' loans, the capital figures spit out by the stress test are as meaningless as the capital figures from 2006 and 2007." Blame it on the "mark-to-make believe" accounting that's been de rigueur since March 2009 — when Congress strong-armed the Financial Accounting Standards Board into letting banks value their assets however the hell they want. "For instance," Dan explains, "despite evidence that a mortgage is headed toward default, bank executives could mark it close to par by arguing that the housing market will turn around in a few years and mortgage modifications could keep the borrower current until that recovery!"
"Here's what the situation at the big banks ultimately means for investors," says Dan. "In order to prop up the fantasy that the banks are healthy and overcapitalized, Fed policy will have to be much easier than it otherwise would be. Savers have been punished with low rates so that the banks can earn wide interest rate spreads on their loans." "This policy will, unfortunately, continue. Investors are already allocating more capital to stores of value outside the banking system. This trend will continue, and accelerate, resulting in many unpleasant inflationary consequences for the economy."
The Midas metal is down $50 in the last 24 hours, to two-month lows at $1,645. Silver's down to $32.24. So far, no evidence has emerged of a mystery seller dumping a huge quantity of contracts, as happened when the price plunged $100 on Feb. 29. But we have our ear to the ground…
The "hot" new item? Tide. "Theft of Tide detergent has become so rampant," according to The Daily, "that authorities from New York to Oregon are keeping tabs on the soap spree, and some cities are setting up special task forces to stop it." Indeed, it's become a new form of currency: Retailing for $10-20 a bottle, it fetches $5-10 in the black market. A recent drug bust in Prince Georges County, Md., turned up more Tide than drugs. "We think [users] are trading it for drugs," says Det. Harrison Sprague. "We don't have any insight as to why the phenomenon is happening," says a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble, performing her duties circumspectly, "but it is certainly unfortunate."
"In your thinking, the U.S. is taking a (stealth) military approach for resources while the Chinese are taking a commercial approach to secure resources. So who is the evil aggressor here?"
"Well, that is not how things turned out, as 10 years later, the American war dog is leaving with its tail between its legs and no oil. Some private interests (related to Satan Cheney) may have made out like banditsm, but the good citizens of the U.S. did not take the oil; they just got stiffed with the bill for the excursion." "I do not think that America will steal the oil from the Africans, either. The motives for American imperialism are not related to any benefit for the average citizen, but rather the maintenance and enrichment of the military conglomerate."
"I have been following Invisible Children for several years. They started about five years ago when a small group of idealistic college students spotted an ongoing atrocity and decided to make it public in order that pressure might be brought to bear and, if possible, eliminate the problem." "The recent success of Kony 2012 is mostly a combination of good marketing and good fortune. They have at least two other documentaries out that I have seen that have not had the same success. I have talked with some of them, and they are definitely sincere and highly motivated." "Are they being used by various powers-that-be? I can't know that; it is certainly possible, and if so, it would probably make them very uneasy. They have no other agenda. The timing might raise suspicions, but I, for one, am glad that a genuinely horrible situation is getting widespread attention. If the situation there gets resolved, that is even better."
"My only concern with your assessment has to do with insurance, or rather the availability of insurance in the future. I've noticed that the insurance companies are getting really nitpicky. My carrier recently canceled the coverage on my residence because of peeling paint on the exterior." "I was able to find another carrier, but insurance companies have become much more conservative over the last few years. Lately, it has been much more difficult to find insurance for my rental properties compared with, say, 10 years ago. It seems to me that it will harder to find insurance as time goes on." "I would like to invest in more properties, but am worried that at some point insurance may become unavailable in the event inflation skyrockets and the economy tanks. If insurance disappears, will the banks foreclose and seize everyone's property?" The 5: "I will speculate for a moment, if the reader will grant the indulgence," replies Chris Mayer. "This is another consequence of the Fed's keeping interest rates artificially low." "Insurers, who normally have substantial bond portfolios, aren't making any money on these portfolios, since rates are so low. There is a lot of capital sloshing around too, and a lot of competition. Therefore, insurance rates are low and have been for several years. (As people in the business say, it's been a soft market.) So insurers aren't making much money in their investment portfolios and they aren't making much with rates, so what to do? Cut coverages." "Beyond that, I've talked to a number of people in the business of renting homes and I haven't heard the insurance issue come up yet. Perhaps it is a regional issue or local issues. Real estate, as I like to remind people, is intensely local. It is hard to make sweeping judgments about it."
The 5: The reader cited our remark Monday, "we recommend you eschew politics altogether!" Nice job of taking us out of context. Cheers, Addison Wiggin P.S. Wasn't this how the Roman Empire lurched to its demise? When the leaders couldn't trust their own legions? The aforementioned Defense Secretary Panetta is visiting Afghanistan — where Marines gathered in a tent to hear him speak were asked to leave their weapons outside. "All I know is I was told to get the weapons out," said the unit's commander. Why? "Somebody got itchy, that's all I've got to say. Somebody got itchy; we just adjust." P.P.S. "This breakdown in bonds (up in yields)," says a note from Options Hotline editor Steve Sarnoff, "could be the sign of Bernanke and crew losing their grip on keeping long-term rates low." Heh… he wasn't aware we were tackling the subject for today's issue, so consider this independent corroboration of our thesis. Mr. Sarnoff's been doing very well by his readers lately. A play on falling Treasuries is up 25% in less than two months. Another play on a Big Pharma company is up 48% in a little over two weeks. And still another play on a gold miner is up 99% in less than three months. For more where those came from, look here.
|
| Why The Falling Gold & Silver Prices ? Posted: 14 Mar 2012 08:13 AM PDT Korelin Economics Report: Falling Gold &... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website http://goldbasics.blogspot.com for full Content ]] 
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Bonus Army and Business Plot Posted: 14 Mar 2012 08:13 AM PDT |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2012 07:25 AM PDT |
| Posted: 14 Mar 2012 07:25 AM PDT |
With many investors worried about the plunge in gold and silver, today King World News interviewed James Turk out of Spain. He told King World News this smash in the metals is very similar to what took place at the end of February. Turk firmly believes this is more proof of intervention and manipulation in these critical markets. Here is what Turk had to say about the turmoil in both metals: "What happened, after the FOMC meeting, in the last two days is a replay of what happened at the end of February. Gold got up to $1,800 (at the end of February), (then it was) smashed. (Two days ago) gold got up to $1,700 and it was smashed (again)."
In 1865, four European countries decided to form a monetary union. France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland formed what is known as the Latin Monetary Union. 
.gif)
Get ready for a golden summer.
Bob Chapman joins us today for our biweekly precious metals check-in. Gold is down to around $1650, and there is mountainous trouble in Europe. Bob says what we're seeing is just a diversion to distract you from what's happening over in Europe. The US is blatantly in the market, and according to Bob manipulating it. The central banks of many countries like India and China are buying gold at anything under $1700. Bob has traded for 25 years as a professional, and he says BUY!
Would America be a better place without Goldman Sachs? Of course it would. The "vampire squid" of Wall Street does not care about the future of America. Sadly, Goldman Sachs apparently does not even care much about their own clients. What Goldman Sachs is all about is making as much money as humanly possible. In the end, there is nothing wrong with making money, but there are constructive ways to make money and there are destructive ways to make money. Unfortunately, Goldman Sachs seems to find the destructive path almost irresistible. Greg Smith, the head of the U.S. equity derivatives business for Goldman Sachs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa made headlines all over the world on Wednesday when he resigned publicly from Goldman Sachs in a scorching editorial 
We have good news and bad news this morning: The White House has a secret plan to deal with a fiscal crisis.
The plan's existence is revealed in a book called 
We pause here to tease out Mr. Scheiber's narrative in which "a runaway deficit sent interest rates spiraling upward":
What's in the Orszag memo? We don't know. We'll explain why in a moment. But we do know neither the White House nor Congress has a plan to wrestle with the rising national debt.
The glass covering the Orszag memo might well get cracked, mostly by accident, on Jan. 2, 2013.
Among the cabinet posts, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is pacing the halls most fervently: $500 billion of the automatic cuts would come out of the Pentagon's hammer and toilet seat budget.
Indeed, that's where the pinheads are headed… again. Just like those fun days last summer. But sequestration isn't the only thing that will be in play this time around.
Which brings us back to the Orszag memo.
Treasury rates are already climbing, which in turn automatically raises the government's cost of borrowing. Last year, the government paid roughly $370 billion in interest on the national debt. The national debt currently carries an average interest rate of about 2.5%.
After a dramatic run-up yesterday, stocks have resumed the aimless drift that's been characteristic of late. The Dow is up fractionally, the S&P down fractionally.
The Fed also completed its latest exercise in the charade known as "stress tests" for major banks and other institutions. The banks were evaluated on their ability to survive the following scenario…
Of course, to really look credible, someone had to fail. So of the 19 institutions tested, Citi, MetLife, SunTrust, and Ally didn't make the cut. As penance, they won't be able to up dividends or buy back shares. Yeah, that'll learn 'em.
But for the moment, they're not retreating to gold. Gold sold off in after-hours trading yesterday, and that selling accelerated overnight.
So much for metal thefts. Swiping copper wiring, manhole covers and 2.7-ton church bells is passe.
"Interesting view on the U.S. expedition to Africa to 'take care of' Kony, its motive and the Chinese," writes the first of several readers after our take on Invisible Children's Kony 2012 video yesterday.
"Want to bet," inquires another, "that U.S. Special Forces kill this 'monster' in a 'covert' operation under the direction of President Obama just before November's election?"
"Not clear to me," says a third, "that American imperialism has much to do with resources. When GWB attacked Iraq, the only rational reason ever offered was that America was going to take control of Iraq's oil riches. Most of us at least understood that motive."
"Your evenhanded treatment of the Invisible Children movement was better than what I have seen from others," says a fourth.
"I've noticed," as we pivot to another recent topic, "you have been promoting real estate lately. I have purchased three rental houses over the last two years and own an apartment building and small country inn. I'm lucky enough to be able to live off my rental income even though I'm only 39 years old."
"My father used to say," writes our final reader, "if you do not have a political view, you are no better than a slave."| 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