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- GEAB N°63 ist angekommen! Umfassende weltweite Krise – Die fünf zerstörerischen Gewitter des Sommers 2012 als Beschleuniger der Zeitenwende in den internationalen Machtverhältnissen
- Gold Rollercoaster Likely to Go Up
- Mining Gold and Silver in Idaho, 1865-1885
- Jacques – Understanding China Video
- How Americans Lost Their Right To Own Gold And Became Criminals in the Process
- Jim Puplava: All-Star Special on Silver Manipulation
- Ted Butler: How the Silver Manipulation Scheme Works
- Indian government again raises tax on gold imports to swat people into line
- The science of gold and other precious metals
- Silver Institute predicts strengthening silver investment demand this year
- Intervention will be reduced to 'a blip on a chart,' von Greyerz says
- 5 Places Not To Be When Dollar Collapses
- LISTEN: How The Silver Manipulation Scheme Works
- LISTEN: Silver Manipulation Special
- The Fate of Paper Money
- Ian Fraser: Will We Finally See Some Bank Board Members Face the Music?
- Vision Victory: Collapse, Gold, Silver, & Real Estate
- LISTEN: One Hour With Marc Faber
- By the Numbers for the Week Ending March 16
- Recycling Electronic Devices Like Striking Gold For These Companies
- Silver Shield's Silver Update March 16th 2012
- Gold in Euros, Sterling Drops to 10-Week Low as India Raises Import Duties, US Inflation “Rears Its Head” as Gas Prices Surge
- Today’s Winners and Losers
- Debt-onomics and the Coming Debt-ocalypse
- The Crazy Things That One Whistleblower Says Are Happening At JP Morgan Will Blow Your Mind
- Gold and Silver Disaggregated COT Report (DCOT) for March 16
- An update on one of the most important charts in the world
- Gold's Bullish Would-Be Bears
- Trader alert: Energy prices could be set to make another big move higher
- Top SocGen analyst: This is when you should sell your gold
| Posted: 17 Mar 2012 05:19 AM PDT - Pressemitteilung des GEAB vom 17. März 2012 (GEAB N°63) -  In seiner Ausgabe vom Januar 2012 sagte LEAP/E2020 voraus, dass im Jahr 2012 eine globale Zeitenwende anstehe. Das erste Quartal 2012 hat bereits an einigen Beispielen gezeigt, dass in der Tat eine Epoche zu Ende geht und eine neue beginnt: . Russland und China beschließen, jegliche Interventionsversuche des Westens in Syrien vereiteln zu wollen (1); . China und Russland, diesmal mit der Unterstützung Indiens und weiterer Länder (2), lassen keinen Zweifel daran, das von den USA und der EU beschlossene Ölkaufembargo gegen den Iran zu ignorieren oder zu umgehen (3); . die Spannungen in den amerikanisch- israelischen Beziehungen nehmen zu (4); . China (5) wie auch die anderen Staaten der BRICS (aber auch Japan und Euroland (6)) verstärken ihre Anstrengungen, ihre Abhängigkeit vom Dollar zu lockern; . aus den Schwerpunktthemen des französischen Präsidentschaftswahlkamps lässt sich ein politischer Strategiewechsel im gesamten Euroland (7) ablesen; . an gewissen Ereignissen und offiziellen Verlautbarungen lässt sich ablesen, dass Handelskonflikte zwischen den Blöcken knapp vor dem Ausbruch stehen (8). Im März 2012 ist die Welt schon eine ganz andere als im März 2011, als die Vereinten Nationen sich vom Trio USA, Großbritannien und Frankreich eine Zustimmung zum Eingreifen in Libyen abpressen ließen. Im März 2011 gab es noch die Welt, die 1989 entstanden war, mit den USA als alleinige Supermacht und der Dominanz der westlichen Staaten in den internationalen Beziehungen. Im März 2012 befinden wir uns schon in der multipolaren Welt nach der Krise, in der sich noch entscheiden muss, ob die verschiedenen Pole in Kooperation miteinander oder Konfrontation gegeneinander stehen.  Wie LEAP/E2020 vorhergesagt hat, haben die "griechische Krise" (9) und die europäischen Gegenmaßnahmen sehr rasch die angebliche Eurokrise von den ersten Seiten der Medien und der Sorgenliste der Investoren und Märkte verbannt. Die kollektive Hysterie, die während des gesamten 2. Halbjahrs 2011 von den angelsächsischen Medien und den Euroskeptikern geschürt worden war, ist nun verpufft: Euroland hat sich als dauerhafte Struktur (10) erwiesen, der Euro steht wieder in der Gunst der Märkte und der Zentralbanken der Schwellenländer (11), das Tandem EZB und Eurogruppe hat gut zusammen gearbeitet und die privaten Investoren mussten einen Schnitt von bis zu 70% ihrer Forderungen gegen Griechenland akzeptieren, womit sich die Vorhersage von LEAP/E2020 von 2010 als richtig erwiesen hat, als wir einen Schnitt von mindestens 50% zu einem Zeitpunkt voraussagten, als niemand oder jedenfalls fast niemand sich so etwas vorstellen konnte, ohne sogleich eine „Katastrophe" zu beschwören, die „das Ende des Euro bedeuten würde" (12). Letztendlich gehorchen die Märkte immer dem Gesetz des Stärkeren, und lassen sich von ihrer Angst, noch mehr zu verlieren, leiten; da mögen die Hohen Priester des Ultraliberalismus auch noch so sehr das Gegenteil verkünden. Die Erfahrungen aus dieser Zeit werden die Regierungen mit großem Nutzen in Erinnerung bewahren; denn weitere Schuldenschnitte stehen an: In den USA, in Japan und in Europa. Wir werden darauf in dieser 63. Ausgabe des GEAB zurückkommen.  Gleichzeitig – und das trägt zu der zarten Euphorie bei, die die Märkte und viele Wirtschafts- und Finanzakteure in den letzten Monaten ergriffen hat – wiederholen die amerikanischen Finanzmedien wieder einmal – schließlich ist Wahljahr und man muss ja auch gegenüber einer Eurozone, die nicht auseinander bricht (13), das Gesicht wahren – die Kampagne von Anfang 2010 von den « grünen Pflänzchen » und von Anfang 2011 von dem „Aufschwung" (14), um wieder einmal die Illusion von einem Amerika „am Ende des Tunnels" zu wecken. Der wahre Zustand der USA zum Jahresanfang 2012 spiegelt sich jedoch in den depressiven Bilder Edward Hoppers (15) und nicht den farbenexzessiven Siebdrucken von Andy Warhol wieder. Wie schon in den Jahren 2010 und 2011 wird wieder einmal im Frühjahr die Wirklichkeit die Illusionen zum Platzen bringen. In diesem Kontext, der um so gefährlicher ist, da alle Akteure sich der gefährlichen Illusion von einer baldigen Rückkehr in die Normalität hingeben, insbesondere fest an das « Anspringen des amerikanischen Wirtschaftsmotors » glauben (16), hält es LEAP/E2020 für notwendig, seine Leser zu warnen: Im Sommer 2012 wird diese Hoffnung sich als Fata Morgana herausstellen. Wir gehen davon aus, dass im Sommer 2012 sich fünf verheerende Schocks ereignen werden, die die unmittelbare Folge der sich vollziehenden Zeitenwende in den internationalen Machtverhätltnissen sind. Zu den schwarzen Wolken, die sich seit Beginn der Krise über der Wirtschaft und dem Finanzsystem zusammen brauen, stoßen nun die Gewitterwolken der geopolitischen Konflikte. Damit werden nach unserer Auffassung fünf zerstörerische Gewitter im Sommer 2012 über uns hereinbrechen und damit auch den Prozess der globalen Zeitenwende beschleunigen: . Erneutes Abgleiten der USA in die Rezession vor dem Hintergrund der europäischen Wirtschaftsstagnation und eines schwächeren Wachstums in den BRICS; . die Zentralbanken am Ende ihrer Weisheit und der erneute Zinsanstieg; . Chaos auf den Devisen – und Staatsanleihenmärkten . Iran als der eine Krieg zuviel; . erneuter Crash der Finanzmärkte und des Bankensektors. In dieser 63. Ausgabe des GEAB analysieren wir im Detail die fünf Schocks des Sommers 2012. Zusätzlich und in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Anticipolis Verlag, veröffentlichen wir einen weiteren Auszug des Buchs von Sylvain Périfel und Philippe Schneider « 2015 – Der Zusammenbruch des Immobilienmarkts in den westlichen Staaten » aus Anlass seines Erscheinens in französischer Sprachfassung. Darin analysiert Sylvain Périfel die Aussichten des Wohnimmobilienmarkts in den USA. Schließlich stellen wir unsere monatlichen Empfehlungen vor, die sich in dieser Ausgabe auf Gold, Devisen, Finanzwerte, Aktien und Rohstoffe konzentrieren. --------- Noten: (1) Ein Artikel der CameroonVoice vom 06/03/2012 bietet eine interessante Gesamtschau dieser Blockadesituation, von der wir glauben, dass es hilfreich ist, sie genauso unter einem geopolitischen Blickwinkel wie unter einem humanitären zu analysieren, bei dem häufig viele Faktoren gerne unter den Teppich der „Selbstverständlichkeiten der gerechten Sache" gekehrt werden. Wir müssen uns daran erinnern, dass der Angriff auf Libyen viele Menschen und die ganze Region in die Katastrophe geführt hat. Die neueste schreckliche Folge dieser Politik der westlichen Staaten ist die Destabilisierung eines Teils der Sahelzone, wie zum Beispiel Mali. Hierzu empfiehlt sich die sehr interessante Analyse von Bernard Lugan in Le Monde vom 12/03/2012. (2) Und auch Japans, das versucht, es nicht zu sehr an die große Glocke zu hängen, aber auch gar nicht daran denkt, seine iranischen Ölimporte einzustellen. China und Indien hingegen erhöhen sogar ihre Importe und nutzen das Vakuum, das die westlichen Staaten hinterlassen haben. Die Inder nutzen nunmehr sogar den Iran als ihren Zugangsweg zu den Ölvorkommen Zentralasiens. Quellen: Asahi Shimbun, 29/02/2012; Times of India, 13/03/2012; IndianPunchline, 18/02/2012 (3) Warten wir doch einmal ab, ob die EU im zweiten Halbjahr 2012 noch zu ihre Entscheidung stehen wird. Wenn erst einmal Frankreich nach Präsidentschaftswahlen nicht mehr am amerikanischen Gängelband gehen wird, wird sich die europäische Außenpolitik in vielen Bereichen ändern. (4) Viele Verantwortliche in Israel und den USA fragen sich, wie die Beziehungen zwischen den beiden Ländern noch sein werden, wenn die Auseinandersetzung zwischen den beiden Ländern über die Frage, ob ein Angriff auf den Iran notwendig ist, die konfrontativ wie noch nie in ihren bilateralen Beziehungen geführt wird, beigelegt sein wird. Einige gehen davon aus, dass die USA allmählich von Israel die „Schnauze voll" haben werden, wie Gideon Levy in der Haaretz vom 04/03/2012 schreibt. (5) Neueste Beispiele: Das Übereinkommen zwischen den BRICS über interne Devisenswaps und insbesondere die Verwendung des Yuan als Erfolg der chinesischen Bestrebungen, den Yuan zu einer internationalen Währung zu machen; und die Entscheidung Japans, in Absprache mit China chinesische Staatsanleihen zu kaufen. Peking verhält sich also ganz anders als Japan in den achtziger Jahren, als es trotz seiner Stellung als wirtschaftliche Großmacht nie gewagt hatte, aus dem Yen eine internationale Währung machen zu wollen. Allein daran sieht man, dass ein Vergleich zwischen dem China von heute und dem Japan von damals einfach nicht passt. Tokio stand unter amerikanischer Kontrolle, China ist es nicht. Quellen: FT, 07/03/2012; JapanToday, 13/03/2012 (6) Die Banken Eurolands stellen ihre Kreditvergabe in US-Dollar ein. Quelle: JournalduNet, 23/02/2012 (7) Also das Ende des Sozial- Liberalismus, der während der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte an die Stelle der Sozial- Demokratie getreten war; und die Wiederbelebung der „Sozialen Marktwirtschaft" als kontinentaleuropäisches Sozialmodell im Zentrum des Modells des rheinischen Kapitalismus. Von der Slowakei des neuen Premierministers Fico zum Frankreich des zukünftigen Präsidenten Hollande (dies ist nicht ein Ausdruck einer politischen Präferenz von LEAP, sondern das Ergebnis unserer in der 49. Ausgabe des GEAB vom November 2010 vorgestellten Vorhersagen), über das Italien von Mario Monti und einem Deutschland, in dem zukünftig Christdemokraten und Sozialdemokraten den europäischen Weg gemeinsam beschreiten müssen, da sie nur so die notwendigen Mehrheiten für die Ratifizierung der neuen europäischen Verträge zusammen bekommen, treten allmählich die Umrisse der zukünftigen wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Strategie Eurolands hervor: Höhere Steuerprogression, solidarische Sozialsysteme, Wirtschaftseffizienz, Kontrolle über die Finanzindustrie, Zollschranken usw.; zusammenfassend also eine rasche Abkehr vom angelsächsischen Modell, das seit 20 Jahren die große Mode in den europäischen Eliten war. (8) Letzte Scharmützel: Die Klage der USA mit Unterstützung der EU und Japans vor der Welthandelsorganisation bezüglich der chinesischen Handelspolitik zu Seltenen Erden; die neuesten gegenseitigen Anschuldigungen der USA und der EU, wieder vor der WHO, wegen staatlicher Subventionen für Boeing und Airbus; der „Währungskrieg", den Brasilien gegen die USA und die EU begonnen hat. Quellen: CNNMoney, 12/03/2012; Bloomberg, 13/03/2012; Mish's GETA, 03/03/2012 (9) Übrigens – vollkommen undenkbar vor gerade einmal drei Monaten – hat die Ratingagentur die Bonitätsnote Griechenslands angehoben. Quelle: Le Monde, 13/03/2012 (10) Es stellt sich damit die Frage nach der Demokratisierung Eurolands, wie wir bereits hervorgehoben haben. Eurolands Strukturen (EMS, EZB usw.) existieren schon. Es obliegt nun den politischen Akteuren und Kräften, innerhalb der nächsten zwei Jahre sicherzustellen, dass diese Strukturen der Kontrolle der Menschen in Europa unterworfen werden. Sie sollten nicht die Zeit verschwenden, den schönen Zeiten hinterher zu trauern, als die Bürger noch nicht einmal den Hauch einer Ahnung hatten, wie ihr Land seine Schulden verwaltete. Und die Politiker werden die notwendige demokratische Legitimation der Eurolandinstitutionen nicht erreichen, indem sie die Schuld auf die Technokraten schieben, die inmitten des Sturms die „Drecksarbeit" gemacht haben, sondern indem sie neue Verfahren der Bürgerbeteiligung an den europäischen Entscheidungen entwickeln. Da ist es auch hilfreich zu wissen, dass im Europäischen Parlament die EVP- Fraktion, zu der die Parteien von Nicolas Sarkozy und Angela Merkel gehören, schon im Frühstadium einem parteienübergreifenden Vorschlag den Gar ausmachen wollen, 25 Europaabgeordnete aus gesamteuropäischen Listen, also mit der EU als einem großen Wahlkreis, wählen zu lassen. Nach unserer Auffassung ist dieser Vorschlag ein kleiner Schritt auf dem einzig möglich Weg zu einer Kontrolle der europäischen Entscheidungen durch die Menschen in Europa. Es ist äußerst bedauerlich, dass die, die immer die Notwendigkeit, die Menschen und Europa aneinander anzunähern, als Bekenntnis auf den Lippen tragen, in Wirklichkeit Spießgesellen derjenigen sind, die den ersten ernsthaften Versuch einer zaghaften Demokratisierung Europas sabotieren. Quelle: European Voice, 11/03/2012 (11) Sogar die Financial Times, die doch eine Schlüsselrolle in der Hysteriekampagne gegen den Euro einnahm, muss inzwischen einräumen, dass die Schwellenländer und ihre Volkswirtschaften die europäische Gemeinschaftswährung wieder zu schätzen gelernt haben. Quelle: Financial Times, 26/02/2012 (12) Wir wollen all dies unbedingt noch einmal in Erinnerung rufen, denn niemand sollte zu schnell vergessen, wie die herrschende veröffentlichte Meinung 2010/2011 die Investoren dazu verleitet hat, griechische Schulden zu kaufen, da damit sehr viel Geld zu verdienen wäre! Häufig haben die selben Meinungsführer eine Parität zwischen Dollar und Euro vorhergesagt, was viele Marktteilnehmer entsprechend der selben Logik dazu gebracht hat, für ihre Euro Dollar zu kaufen. Diese „Experten", denen auf den ersten Seiten der Zeitungen und in den Finanzsendungen der Sender immer Platz eingeräumt wird, sind Schuld daran, dass die, die ihrem „Sachverstand" vertrauten, viel Geld verloren haben. Wer die Zukunft vorhersehen möchte, muss auch sein Gedächtnis frisch halten! (13) Wir dürfen nicht vergessen, dass ohne diese kollektive Hysterie ob der Eurokrise ab Jahresende 2011 die USA nicht länger ihre enormen Defizite hätten finanzieren können. Wall Street und die Londoner City mussten das Bild eines Europas am Abgrund zeichnen, um sicherzustellen, dass ihre eigenen Anleihen noch weiter Abnehmer fanden. Heute, wo diese Propaganda nicht mehr greift, ist es lebenswichtig geworden, die Lage in den USA schön zu zeichnen, da ansonsten die ausländischen Quellen zur Finanzierung der US- Wirtschaft versiegen würden. Vgl. die 58. bis 61. Ausgabe des GEAB. (14) Zur Erinnerung: Zur Jahresmitte 2010 galt die besondere Aufmerksamkeit des IWF der Vermeidung der „Gefährdung des Aufschwungs». Und im Januar 2011 stellten sich die Experten die Frage, wie man den am Besten vom „Aufschwung" profitieren könne, der sich aus den berühmten „Schlüsselindikatoren" ablesen ließe. Quellen: FMI, 07/07/2010; CreditInfocenter, 27/01/2011 (15) Wir möchten anmerken, dass wir bei LEAP überwiegend große Bewunderer der Fähigkeiten von Hopper sind und ihn hier zitieren, weil er der herausragende Maler einer Zeit war die als « Goldenes Zeitalter » der Mittelklasse gilt, die er dennoch grundsätzlich in einer sehr depressiven Stimmung dargestellt hat. Wir können uns lediglich versuchen vorzustellen, wie heute wohl die Stimmung in seinen Bildern wäre, angesichts einer untergehenden Mittelklasse in einem „Eisernen Zeitalter", das über die USA hereingebrochen ist. (16) Wir erinnern auch daran, dass dies das Grunddogma ist, auf das das gesamte weltweite Wirtschafts- und Finanzsystem aufbaut. Und in der nunmehr drei Jahre dauernden Krise arbeitet dieser Motor zum ersten Mal seit 1945 nicht mehr so, wie die Welt es gewohnt ist. Also muss der Eindruck, koste es, was wolle, so lange wie möglich aufrecht erhalten werden – es könnte ja immer noch ein Wunder geschehen. Im Sommer 2012 wird sich wirklich das düstere Umfeld aufhellen, aber nur durch die Gewitterblitze – auf ein Wunder wird man vergeblich warten. Es wird vielmehr noch schlimmer kommen. |
| Gold Rollercoaster Likely to Go Up Posted: 17 Mar 2012 02:00 AM PDT SunshineProfits |
| Mining Gold and Silver in Idaho, 1865-1885 Posted: 17 Mar 2012 01:53 AM PDT Access Genealogy |
| Jacques – Understanding China Video Posted: 17 Mar 2012 01:31 AM PDT We found the video below thought provoking and worthy of sharing. The introduction, courtesy of TED.com reads: "Speaking at a TED Salon in London, economist Martin Jacques asks: How do we in the West make sense of China and its phenomenal rise? The author of "When China Rules the World," he examines why the West often puzzles over the growing power of the Chinese economy, and offers three building blocks for understanding what China is and will become."
"Martin Jacques is the author of "When China Rules the World," and a columnist for the Guardian and New Statesman. He was a co-founder of the think tank Demos." Source: TED.com http://www.ted.com/talks/martin_jacques_understanding_the_rise_of_china.html
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| How Americans Lost Their Right To Own Gold And Became Criminals in the Process Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:30 AM PDT . |
| Jim Puplava: All-Star Special on Silver Manipulation Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:23 AM PDT |
| Ted Butler: How the Silver Manipulation Scheme Works Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:18 AM PDT ¤ Yesterday in Gold and SilverThe gold price ticked up slightly to its Far East high at the London open at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning, but the not-for-profit sellers were lying in wait...and by the Comex open at 8:20 a.m. in New York, the low [$1,639.10 spot] was in for the day. The subsequent rally from there managed to make it back to about the London opening high...around $1,664 spot price level...by 11:10 a.m. Eastern time, before getting quietly sold off about ten bucks going into the New York lunch hour. From there, the price crept slowly higher right into the close of electronic trading at 5:15 p.m. Gold ended the New York trading session at $1,660.10 spot...up $2.80 on the day. And, like Thursday, it's obvious that the gold price wanted to move higher during the New York trading session, but was allowed that luxury. Net volume was a bit quieter...around 125,000 contracts.
The price pattern in silver was pretty much the same as it was for gold...and it wasn't allowed to close much over its Thursday highs, either. Silver finished Friday trading at $32.05 spot...up the magnificent sum of 2 cents on the day. Net volume also cooled off, as 'only' 34,000 contracts were traded.
The dollar index rallied about 20 basis points during early trading in the Far East on Friday morning...and reached its zenith just minutes after 11:00 a.m. in London, which was 6:00 a.m. in New York. Then shortly after 8:00 a.m. in New York, the dollar had a waterfall decline...and within two hours was pretty much at its low of the day, falling almost 70 basis points from it's earlier high. From there it traded flat into the 5:15 p.m. close. The early morning rally in New York coincided perfectly with this fall in the dollar, but gold's attempt to break to new highs after that...despite a flat-lined dollar...is what got it sold off.
The gold stocks opened down about a percent, but immediately moved higher...only to run into a wall of selling every time it made any attempt to break above unchanged. No for-profit seller sells into a market like that...ever! The high tick in the gold stocks came at the high tick in the gold price...right to the minute. And, for the second day in a row, the gold price finished higher and the stocks finished lower. The HUI finished down 0.53% on the day...and 6.56% on the week.
The silver stocks finished mixed as well...and Nick Laird's Silver Sentiment Index closed down 0.73%.
(Click on image to enlarge) The CME's Daily Delivery Report showed that 88 gold contracts were posted for delivery on Tuesday...and that was all. There were no changes in either GLD nor SLV for the third day running so, once again, it's obvious that this week's smack-down in gold and silver was entirely a Comex paper affair...just like the Leap Day drive-by shooting that began on February 29th. As a matter of fact, since the 29th, the amount of gold and silver in both ETFs has actually increased a bit. That's quite amazing considering the fact that from the highs to the lows over those fourteen days...gold 'fell' $155...and silver 'fell' about six bucks. The U.S. Mint had a sales report yesterday. They sold 3,000 ounces of gold eagles...and 150,000 silver eagles. Month-to-date the mint has sold 31,500 ounces of gold eagles...18,500 one-ounce 24K gold buffaloes...and 1,647,000 silver eagles. There wasn't much activity over at the Comex-approved depositories on Thursday. They reported receiving only 62,765 troy ounces of silver...and shipped 45,554 ounces of the stuff out the door. Yesterday's Commitment of Traders Report was pretty much a yawner in silver. The Commercial net short position in silver declined by only 165 contracts, which translates into 825,000 ounces of silver...a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. Nothing to see here, folks. It was a much happier situation in gold, as the Commercial net short position declined by 8,520 contracts...or 852,000 ounces worth. The Commercial net short position in gold is now down to 19.17 million ounces. Neither Ted Butler nor myself were sure if Tuesday's post-Comex close trading data was in this report or not. Providing that we don't blast higher in price on Monday or Tuesday, all will be revealed in next Friday's COT report. But one thing is for sure, with the price and volume activity over the 25-hour price period from 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, until 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday...there's been another gigantic decrease in the Commercial net short position in both gold and silver. It won't be back to it's late-December lows but, under the circumstances, it will be as close to a total clean out as we'll probably get...fingers crossed! Here are a couple of charts that are courtesy of reader Phil Barlett that require no embellishment from me, as a few second of study will reveal all. The first is titled "20 Years - Food, Fuel, Metals Price Indexes"...and the second is the "Real Home Price Index"
(Click on image to enlarge)
(Click on image to enlarge) Reader Scott Pluschau had a few things to say about copper once again. In his first e-mail early yesterday morning he said that..."Copper is knocking on the door again... the strength here may be what has kept silver from plunging off the head and shoulders. I definitely do not want to see copper get rejected off resistance or have a failed breakout, and then fall through support. That would probably crush silver temporarily." Then later in the day he sent this..."Copper reversed right at that upper trend line in the coiled spring today. Probabilities will increase that it blasts through on the next visit... Let's hope it visits the upper trend line before the lower one..." The link to Scott's blog on copper is here...and the charts are definitely worth looking at. Being the weekend and all, I have a lot of stories for your reading 'pleasure' over the weekend...and I hope you find some of them of interest. If prices rise from here, the always looming question is...who are the sellers going to be that take the short side of the technical funds' long position? Silver Institute predicts strengthening silver investment demand this year. Indian government again raises tax on gold imports to swat people into line. This Is All That Greece Needs!!! ¤ Critical ReadsSubscribeMF Global Workers Expected to Be Called to Testify Before CongressMF Global employees at the center of a federal investigation are expected to appear before a Congressional panel this month to shed light on the brokerage firm's misuse of roughly $1 billion in customer money, according to people briefed on the matter. One notable employee, Edith O'Brien, is expected to invoke her constitutional right against compelled self-incrimination, one of the people said. Ms. O'Brien has also declined to cooperate with federal prosecutors without first receiving immunity from criminal charges. Ms. O'Brien would be the first MF Global employee to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights before Congress, potentially setting up a standoff with lawmakers. I still can't figure out why Jon Corzine hasn't done the perp walk for this whole debacle. Phil Barlett sent me this story from the Thursday edition of The New York Times...and the link is here.  CFTC notices market rigging by high-frequency trading but action doubtfulA top U.S. regulator said his agency plans to widen day-to-day monitoring of the commodities and futures markets, targeting the high-speed trading firms that are a growing force. Instead of just policing completed futures trades, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will seek to watch the fleeting buy and sell orders that increasingly influence the market, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said in an interview. The move follows a Securities and Exchange Commission plan to sharpen oversight of stock trades following the 2010 "flash crash." Regulators are seeking to catch up with high-frequency trading firms that are responsible for roughly half of orders, the vast majority of which are never executed. The SEC is probing the close relationship between high-speed firms and the computerized exchanges they do business with. The key word is "monitor"...but they'll do nothing to stop it. If it wasn't for all this HFT, the markets would have collapsed ten years ago. I found this Wall Street Journal story posted in the clear in this GATA release yesterday...and the link is here.  More Seniors Using Reverse Mortgages to Raise CashFinding themselves financially strapped, more seniors at an earlier age are trying to get reverse mortgages on their homes in order to survive, according to a new report. The study says the percentage of people aged 62 to 64 applying for reverse mortgages has increased 15 percent since 1999. The reason for the dramatic upswing among 'younger' seniors is simple, the report concludes: They need the money. This story, posted over at the CNBC website yesterday, was sent to my by West Virginia reader Elliot Simon...and the link is here.  Meredith Whitney: 'Tidal Wave' of Muni-Bond Defaults Still ComingA "tidal wave" of defaults in the municipal bond market is still building and will eventually hit the United States, says Wall Street analyst Meredith Whitney. There's been every effort made on the part of the states to prevent this tidal wave of defaults, which is going to happen sooner or later. It's happening at an accelerating pace."  Watch Bernanke's 'Little' Inflation Capsize U.S. - ShlaesA little is all right. That's the message Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has been giving out recently when asked about the evidence of inflation in the U.S. recovery. Sometimes Bernanke doesn't even go that far. He simply says he doesn't see inflation. The Fed chairman recently described the prospects for price increases across the board as "subdued." "Sudden" is more like it. The thing about inflation is that it comes out of nowhere and hits you. Monetary policy is like sailing. You're gliding along, passing the peninsula, and you come about. Nothing. Then the wind fills the sail so fast it knocks you into the sea. Right now, the U.S. is a sailboat that has just made open water, and has already come about. That wind is coming. The sailor just doesn't know it. Another warning that massive inflation will wash over the U.S. in the not-to-distant future. This op-ed piece showed up posted over at Bloomberg on Thursday...and I thank Bob Fitzwilson for sharing it with us. The link is here.  John Williams: Inflation Effect : Tough to Ignore or ContainThis short blog was posted over at the King World News website yesterday...and is worth reading. The link is here.  Hinde Capital's Ben Davies on financial and political repressionThe German Internet site Metallwoche this week interviewed Hinde Capital CEO Ben Davies, who spoke at GATA's Gold Rush 2011 conference in London last August, and the discussion heavily involved "financial repression" -- government market rigging -- and its associated political repression. I borrowed the headline and the introduction from a GATA release yesterday...and the full text and audio of the interview are posted at the Metallwoche.de website. The link is here.  Italy Said to Pay Morgan Stanley $3.4 BillionWhen Morgan Stanley said in January it had cut its "net exposure" to Italy by $3.4 billion, it didn't tell investors that the nation paid that entire amount to the bank to exit a bet on interest rates. Italy, the second-most indebted nation in the European Union, paid the money to unwind derivative contracts from the 1990s that had backfired, said a person with direct knowledge of the Treasury's payment. It was cheaper for Italy to cancel the transactions rather than to renew, said the person, who declined to be identified because the terms were private. The cost, equal to half the amount to be raised by Italy's sales tax increase this year, underscores the risk of derivatives countries use to reduce borrowing costs and guard against swings in interest rates and currencies can sour and generate losses for taxpayers. Italy, with record debt of $2.5 trillion, has lost more than $31 billion on its derivatives at current market values, according to data compiled by the Bloomberg Brief Risk newsletter from regulatory filings. First it was Goldman Sachs sticking it to Italy...now it's Morgan Stanley. This Bloomberg story was posted on their website early on Friday morning...and I thank Washington state reader S.A. for sending it along. The link is here. Indian government again raises tax on gold imports to swat people into line Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:18 AM PDT  India, the world's biggest bullion buyer, increased the tax on gold imports for the second time this year after record purchases widened the current-account deficit. Gold for immediately delivery fell. The government will tax gold bars and coins and platinum at 4 percent, Pranab Mukherjee, finance minister, said in his budget speech for the year starting April 1. That's up from 2 percent set in January. There was no change on the silver tax. |
| The science of gold and other precious metals Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:18 AM PDT  GoldMoney distributed a wonderful study by Walt Sosnowski of SRC Capital Management in Rockwall, Texas, that attempts a "scientific" approach to gold and other precious metals, including their functionality as money. There's plenty of documentation here for concluding that gold's performance is far superior to that of the major government currencies, at least for the holders of money. Of course governments issuing currency may consider superiority a matter of currency's ease of debasement, so maybe it's just a matter of which end of the transaction you're on. |
| Silver Institute predicts strengthening silver investment demand this year Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:18 AM PDT  The Silver Institute says, "Sturdy investment demand has pushed the silver price up 20% in the first ten weeks of 2012, outperforming platinum, palladium and gold during the period." In a news release issued Thursday, the institute said silver-based ETFs now account for 586 million ounces of silver, up from 576 million ounces at the end of 2011. "Also contributing to a strong silver price over the course of this year will be strengthening global silver industrial demand after a record 2011," the institute noted. A silver report commissioned by the Silver Institute published a year ago forecasted that silver industrial demand will grow by 36% to 666 million ounces from 2010 to 2015. |
| Intervention will be reduced to 'a blip on a chart,' von Greyerz says Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:18 AM PDT  Gold fund manager Egon von Greyerz told King World News that long-term fundamentals -- particularly the diminishing utility of debt -- will be carrying the gold price upward just as a growing number of investors will be pushed into gold for wealth preservation. Recent government intervention against the monetary metals, von Greyerz says, will come to be no more than "a blip on a chart." I borrowed the headline and preamble from another GATA release. An excerpt from the interview is posted at the KWN blog...and the link is here. |
| 5 Places Not To Be When Dollar Collapses Posted: 17 Mar 2012 12:09 AM PDT In effect, there is nothing inherently wrong with fiat money, provided we get perfect authority and god-like intelligence for kings. Aristotle Sadly, perfect authority and god-like intelligence are not possible. This well-done video has lots packed into it and explains what happens when Aristotle's requisites do not prevail. It provides thoughts regarding the outcomes of a |
| LISTEN: How The Silver Manipulation Scheme Works Posted: 16 Mar 2012 11:25 PM PDT
from Jim Puplava and Financial Sense: Much More @ FinancialSense.com
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| LISTEN: Silver Manipulation Special Posted: 16 Mar 2012 11:07 PM PDT
Eric Sprott and David Morgan respond to CFTC commissioner Bart Chilton on silver manipulation and take on the silver manipulation controversy. In a "virtual" roundtable with Jim Puplava, Eric Sprott of Sprott Asset Management and David Morgan of Silver-Investor.com each respond to excerpts from Jim's earlier interview with CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton on silver price manipulation. Much More @ FinancialSense.com
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| Posted: 16 Mar 2012 05:30 PM PDT Dollar Daze |
| Ian Fraser: Will We Finally See Some Bank Board Members Face the Music? Posted: 16 Mar 2012 03:01 PM PDT Yves here. As much as the odds still favor clueless or complicit board members bearing no consequences of their misdeeds, the authorities in England are moving forward on the HBOS failure far more seriously than anything we've seen in the US. That is no small measure due to the fact that leadership of both the Bank of England and the FSA recognize that banks need to be curbed and have proposed and pushed hard for some serious remedies, such as a version of Glass Steagall (their more aggressive version was beaten back thanks to concerted lobbying by the banks and the Treasury). By Ian Fraser, a financial journalist who blogs at his web site and at qfinance. His Twitter is @ian_fraser.
Last Friday was an extraordinary day in the world of banking. First we had confirmation from Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland that they are doling out obscene sums in bonuses to executives, even as performance flags and share prices plunge. Then we had the ridiculous saga of the ISDA determinations committee confirming what everybody already knew; that Greece was defaulting on much of its €177 billion of debt pile (the world's biggest sovereign default had been priced in to the extent it barely ruffled the markets). And then, at 1.40pm came the FSA's HBOS bombshell. In a 37-page report the FSA censured HBOS for "serious misconduct" which, in 'FSA speak', is about as strong as it gets. The regulator said that the Bank of Scotland, the brand that HBOS used for its corporate lending businesses, had broken Principal 3 of the FSA's 11 principals of business. The Principal reads as follows:-
The regulator said the Bank of Scotland "was guilty of very serious misconduct, which contributed to the circumstances that led to the UK government having to inject taxpayer funding into HBOS". If the bank was not now largely taxpayer-owned, the FSA would have imposed its largest ever fine – probably in the region of £50m-£100m – but given that taxpayers have already bailed out the morally bankrupt institution once, the regulator decided it would be unfair for them to have to do so twice. (Reading through the regulator's 11 principles, it is astonishing that it's taken the FSA so long. I was aware of most of its findings by May 2009 after researching a 'File on 4' for BBC Radio 4, and could provide copper-bottomed evidence that HBOS has broken all eleven of the regulator's principals). The Telegraph's Philip Aldrick explained the background:-
The FSA's Final Notice document clarified what the 'HBOS whistle-blower' Paul Moore and others including myself have been banging on about for years. The HBOS risk management function had atrophied to the extent it had become a charade and as good as useless from about 2004 onwards. Interestingly that is also the date at which HBOS chief executive joined the board of the FSA (whilst retaining his day job). Intriguingly he was an appointee of the chancellor Gordon Brown, who is known to have been a close friend of his. The report stated: "risk management was regarded as a constraint on the business rather than integral to it." Aldrick added:-
The FSA report, signed off by Will Amos, the FSA's head of enforcement and financial crime, detailed how Cummings created a "culture of optimism" (some would translate this as "a culture of self-delusion, insane hubris and rampant criminality"), how staff were incentivised to build revenue rather than to monitor risk, and how Cummings and colleagues were answerable to no-one. However, the fact the idiotic Lord Stevenson and morally bankrupt Sir James Crosby gave Cummings his head, and turned a blind eye while he ran amok, doesn't excuse them of blame/responsibility. The report spells out that inadequate management information was a major issue at Bank of Scotland Corporate (by which the regulator probably means it was easy for the likes of former managing director of corporate banking Ian Robertson — who stepped down in June 2007 and died in August 2010 — to bend the rules and enter transactions without their risk-managers and superiors even knowing!). On page 13 the FSA report states:-
Where Cummings and some of his colleagues were concerned, as I have said in earlier articles/blogs, the HBOS board, led by Lord Stevenson and Sir James Crosby made the fatal mistake of confusing genius with a bull market. In about 2001, seemingly impressed by one or two successful By 2007, the bank had became so dependent on the short-term profits his corporate lending department seemed capable of generating, they urged him to ratchet up the lending to a tight-knit group of property, retail and leisure entrepreneurs (most of whom would have struggled to secure funding elsewhere. I have explored those who benefited from Cummings' largesse in greater detail in The hornet and the sting), even as cannier lenders were running for the hills. The FSA report said:-
Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, criticised the regulator for failing to publish the size of the fine it would have levied on Bank of Scotland parent Lloyds Banking Group. He confirmed to the Telegraph that the report raises serious questions about the role of the bank's board, particularly the non-executives.
Now that the FSA has come out with this damning report, and given the widening Operation Hornet police investigation into alleged massive fraud, money-laundering, corruption and other criminality linked to HBOS, all the bank's former directors including chairman Lord Stevenson are looking more exposed. The FSA confirmed that it continues to pursue various other "enforcement actions" into HBOS including into individuals. It is noteworthy that the regulator redacted some sections of the "final notice" document, seemingly ones relating to the bank's "group internal audit" function, which the FSA did say "failed to provide effective assurance in relation to Corporate throughout the relevant period." This may well mean that individuals from HBOS group internal audit are suspects in the "Operation Hornet" inquiry. I suspect that much more will come out of the woodwork about the activities of HBOS and the Bank of Scotland in the coming weeks. Legal contacts tell me that the chances of former HBOS directors and executives being sued for every penny they own or serving long jail terms have risen dramatically as a result of yesterday's findings. The FSA's document also puts pressure on the UK government to finally release the contents of the Treasury's "secret dossier" (which the Treasury has kept hidden and whose existence first emerged during Lloyds TSB's 2008 acquisition of HBOS).
Moore added:-
Further reading:-
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| Vision Victory: Collapse, Gold, Silver, & Real Estate Posted: 16 Mar 2012 02:44 PM PDT Vision Victory addresses living your life and knowing the truth. from VisionVictory: More @ futuremoneytrends.com |
| LISTEN: One Hour With Marc Faber Posted: 16 Mar 2012 02:32 PM PDT Marc Faber talks with Chris Martenson and does not mince words. He believes the money printing policies of the Federal Reserve and its sister central banks around the globe have put the world's currencies on an inexorable, accelerating inflationary down slope. from ChrisMartensondotcom: The dangers of money printing are many in his eyes. But in particular, he worries about the unintended consequences it subjects the populace to. Beyond currency devaluation, it creates malinvestment that leads to asset bubbles that wreak havoc when they burst. And even more nefarious, money printing disproportionately punishes the lower classes, resulting in volatile social and political tensions. It's no surprise then that he's feeling particularly defensive these days. While he generally advises those looking to protect their purchasing power to invest capital in precious metals and the equity markets (the rationale being inflation should hurt equity prices less than bond prices), he warns that equities appear overbought at this time. ~TVR |
| By the Numbers for the Week Ending March 16 Posted: 16 Mar 2012 01:58 PM PDT HOUSTON -- Just below is this week's closing table.
That is all for now, but there is more to come. |
| Recycling Electronic Devices Like Striking Gold For These Companies Posted: 16 Mar 2012 01:58 PM PDT By Marc Courtenay:
No wonder Apple (AAPL) stock holders are smiling brightly as their shares soar beyond $600 last Thursday. Although some profit-taking was seen on Friday, there's an "Apple Revolution" going on and growing. The tech giant sells millions of its signature iPhones, iPads,and iPods every month, and is now going to be selling iPads at Wal-Mart (WMT). Other "denizens of the deep" when it comes to selling electronic devices like laptop computers, tablets, smart phones and alike are Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Motorola Mobility (MMI) and Sony Corp. (SNE). Together their sales each year generates many millions of new products that replace the old models. The gigantic challenge this creates is the need to recycle all the already-existing outdated electronic devices. One Person's Trash is Another Complete Story » |
| Silver Shield's Silver Update March 16th 2012 Posted: 16 Mar 2012 01:43 PM PDT |
| Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:34 PM PDT London Gold Market Report Gold in Euros, Sterling Drops to 10-Week Low as India Raises Import Duties, US Inflation "Rears Its Head" as Gas Prices Surge THE SPOT MARKET gold price dropped to $1641 an ounce shortly after US market open – a 4.4% fall on the week – as stocks and commodities were broadly flat, with stock markets looking set for a weekly gain by Friday lunchtime in London. On the currency markets, the Pound and Euro both rallied against the Dollar following the release of the latest US inflation data, while over in India the government announced it is to double its duty on gold imports as a percentage of the gold price. Silver prices fell to $32.14 per ounce – a 6.3% loss for the week as we headed towards the weekend. "Gold still appears to be taking a hit," says a report from German refiner Heraeus. "If it is to escape the downward trend in the short term, it will have to overcome the price resistance at $1726 per ounce…only then will it begin moving up again." "Near-term resistance ," add technical analysts at bullion bank Scotia Mocatta, "is at the 200 day moving average, currently at $1682…key resistance is at $1716, last week's high." The gold price in Euros fell to a 10-Week Low at €40,266 per kilo (€1252 per ounce) on Friday. Sterling gold prices also hit their lowest levels in 10 weeks, dropping to £1041 per ounce. Both currencies jumped against the Dollar immediately following the release of US consumer price index inflation data. The seasonally-adjusted CPI rose 0.4% in February, its biggest rise for 10 months, while the unadjusted annual rate held at 2.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Inflation is rearing its head," says Bill Gross, head of the world's largest bond fund Pimco. "We're seeing that in oil prices and other commodities, and we're seeing it in the numbers." The BLS says 80% of the monthly rise is accounted for by higher gasoline prices. Gas prices rose 6% last month, compared to 0.9% in January and the biggest jump since December 2010, following recent gains on the oil futures market. Britain and the US meantime look set to co-operate on releasing strategic oil reserves, Reuters reports. "This has to be discussed broadly," Britain's prime minister David Cameron, who has been on an official visit to the US this week, said on Thursday. "It's something worth looking at." The Brussels-headquartered Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the world's major international messaging service for financial transactions, is to cut services to Iran's financial institutions effective from tomorrow. "Disconnecting banks is an extraordinary and unprecedented step for SWIFT," said chief executive Lazaro Campos yesterday. "It is a direct result of international and multilateral action to intensify financial sanctions against Iran." Over in India, the world's largest gold consumer last year, the government announced Friday that it is doubling the import duty on gold from 2% to 4%. This follows a similar increase in India's gold import duty back in January. The duty hike "will reduce demand for gold significantly" reckons Bombay Bullion Association president Prithviraj Kothari. Kothari forecasts that gold demand in India could drop by 30% this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Today's duty increase will dampen Indian demand," agrees UBS precious metals strategist Edel Tully. "The Indian market will wait for lower prices and there is also the risk that this duty hike will lead to increased smuggling." India set a record last year when it imported 969 tonnes of gold bullion. "One of the primary drivers of the current account deficit has been the growth of almost 50% in imports of gold and other precious metals in the first three quarters of this year," said Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was announcing next year's budget. There are also potential signs that gold imports to China, the world's second largest gold market, are starting to concern authorities. China's National Bureau of Statistics meantime has revealed that officials in the northern city of Hejin reported "seriously untrue" economic data last year, newswire Bloomberg reports. Here in the UK, chancellor George Osborne is considering cutting the top rate of income tax from 50p to 45p in next week's Budget, according to press reports. Ben Traynor Gold value calculator | Buy gold online at live prices Editor of Gold News, the analysis and investment research site from world-leading gold ownership service BullionVault, Ben Traynor was formerly editor of the Fleet Street Letter, the UK's longest-running investment letter. A Cambridge economics graduate, he is a professional writer and editor with a specialist interest in monetary economics. (c) BullionVault 2011 Please Note: This article is to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it.
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| Posted: 16 Mar 2012 12:23 PM PDT GDX fell by -0.42% while GDXJ fell by -0.82% and SIL fell by -1.04% Here are today's best performing Silver and Gold stocks:
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| Debt-onomics and the Coming Debt-ocalypse Posted: 16 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT Steve Keen's surprise appearance yesterday turned out to be quite a harrowing experience for any homeowners in the audience. After laying out the importance of debt in the economy, Steve analysed the Australian housing market. The best chart was this one:  It shows that, adjusted for the time at which house prices peaked, the Australian housing bubble is in lockstep with house price declines in Japan... And not far behind the US. We're on track for trouble, even if you don't think we'll get there. So why is Australia suffering now and not last year and the year before? Part of the answer, according to Keen, is that we managed to buy time with what he calls the 'first-home vendors grant' (because it benefitted home sellers rather than first-home buyers). But buying time just makes the pain worse when the crash does come, especially for the first-home buyers tricked into the market by their government. The question is whether they will deserve a bailout when things turn sour. So how much does debt really matter to an economy as a whole? Keen seems to think it's the unseen elephant in the room. At least the conventional economists can't spot it. And he's very persuasive. You might think the world of debt-based economics is difficult or complicated. But if you're on the side of the person consuming the information, it's actually very intuitive. Keen has done the hard yards for you. Think of it in terms of your own household. If you borrow money to buy a house, has your income increased in that year? If you asked your accountant, they would say no. But an economist measuring the GDP of your household would say yes - you've got money and spent it - that's economic activity. So borrowing adds to GDP. And if you separate the change in GDP out from the rest of GDP, you discover that a lot of our world's growth has been debt funded. The last time that happened it ended badly. Here's another chart featured in Keen's presentation that he kindly allowed your editor to use. It shows that aggregate private debt has a habit of raging out of control and then plummeting back to earth at precisely the moments when booms and busts are particularly severe. The Great Depression and the current economic debacle feature prominently.  Australia's worm (the blue) has turned but not yet plunged like America's (in red). Keeping Up Appearances Satyajit Das spoke about much the same topic, but used sovereign debt as his measure for debt doom and gloom. The obvious link between Keen - who focused on private debt - and Das is, of course, bailouts. Each time the private sector trips, stumbles and face plants, the nanny state is there. And the nanny state has a larger balance sheet. Which means bigger solutions, but also bigger problems. Together with their friends at the central banks, the politicians are practicing an art Das calls 'Botox Economics'. It's all about keeping up appearances by injecting cash into anything that shows signs of sagging. Das's most powerful point was about China. Using what resembled Keen's method of separating change in debt from GDP figures, Das showed that China is in fact only growing because it is willing to incur debts that will most likely go bad. If you adjust GDP figures for a reasonable expectation of debts that will go bad, you end up with a barely growing - or even shrinking - China. Let's make that clearer. China's growth is around 8%, but most of that 8% consists of spending borrowed money that will be defaulted on eventually. Sounds like America's housing bubble based growth, right? 'Think of yourselves as lab rats in an experiment by Ben Benrnanke, Mervin King and Mario Draghi', Das told listeners. The Chinese communist party is lining up right behind them to have their go... if you survive that long. Nickolai Hubble |
| The Crazy Things That One Whistleblower Says Are Happening At JP Morgan Will Blow Your Mind Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:18 AM PDT 
This anonymous letter was addressed to the CFTC, but unfortunately it looks like the CFTC has already chosen to ignore it. The original letter from this anonymous whistleblower has already been taken down from the CFTC website. When you go there now, all you get is this message....
Fortunately, there are many in the alternative media that copied this entire letter from the CFTC website. The following is a copy of the original letter that the anonymous whistleblower from JP Morgan submitted to the CFTC.... ---------- Dear CFTC Staff, Hello, I am a current JPMorgan Chase employee. This is an open letter to all commissioners and regulators. I am emailing you today b/c I know of insider information that will be damning at best for JPMorgan Chase. I have decided to play the role of whistleblower b/c I no longer have faith and belief that what we are doing for society is bringing value to people. I am now under the opinion that we are actually putting hard working Americans unaware of what lays ahead at extreme market risk. This risk is unnecessary and will lead to wide-scale market collapse if not handled properly. With the release of Mr. Smith's open letter to Goldman, I too would like to set the record straight for JPM as well. I have seen the disruptive behavior of superiors and no longer can say that I look up to employees at the ED/MD level here at JPM. Their smug exuberance and arrogance permeates the air just as pungently as rotting vegetables. They all know too well of the backdoor crony connections they share intimately with elected officials and with other institutions. It is apparent in everything they do, from the meager attempts to manipulate LIBOR, therefore controlling how almost all derivatives are priced to the inherit and fraudulent commodities manipulation. They too may have one day stood for something in the past in the client-employee relationship. Does anyone in today's market really care about the protection of their client? From the ruthless and scandalous treatment of MF Global client asset funds to the excessive bonuses paid by companies with burgeoning liabilities. Yes, we at JPMorgan that are in the know are fearful of a cascading credit event being triggered in Greece as they have hidden derivatives in excess of $1 Trillion USD. We at JPMorgan own enough of these through counterparty risk and outright prop trading that our entire IB EDG space could be annihilated within a few short days. The last ten years has been market by inflexion point after inflexion point with the most notable coming in 2008 after the acquisition of Bear. I wish to remain anonymous as of now as fear of termination mounts from what I am about to reveal. Robert Gottlieb is not my real name; however he is a trader that is involved in a lawsuit for manipulative trading while working with JPMorgan Chase. He was acquired during our Bear Stearns acquisition and is known to be the notorious person shorting in the silver future market from his trading space, along with Blythe Masters, his IB Global boss. However, with that said, we are manipulating the silver futures market and playing a smaller (but still massively manipulative) role in manipulating the gold futures market. We have a little over a 25% (give or take a percentage) position in the short market for silver futures and by your definition this denotes a larger position than for speculative purposes or for hedging and is beyond the line of manipulation. On a side note, I do not work directly with accounts that would have been directly impacted by the MF Global fiasco but I have heard through other colleagues that we have involvement in the hiding of client assets from MF Global. This is another fraudulent effort on our part and constitutes theft. I urge you to forward that part of the investigation on to the respective authorities. There is something else that you may find strange. During month-end December, we were all told by our managers that this was going to be a dismal year in terms of earnings and that we should not expect any bonuses or pay raises. Then come mid-late January it is made known that everyone received a pay raise and/or bonus, which is interesting b/c just a few weeks ago we were told that this was not likely and expected to be paid nothing in addition to base salary. January is right around the time we started increasing our short positions quite significantly again and this most recent crash in gold and silver during Bernanke's speech on February 29th is of notable importance, as we along with 4 other major institutions, orchestrated the violent $100 drop in Gold and subsequent drops in silver. As regulators of the free people of this country, I ask you to uphold the most important job in the world right now. That job is judge and overseer of all that is justice in the most sensitive of commodity markets. There are many middle-income people that invest in the physical assets of silver, gold, as well as mining stocks that are being financially impacted in a negative way b/c of our unscrupulous shorts in the precious metals commodity sector. If you read the COT with intent you will find that commercials (even though we have no business being in the commercial sector, which should be reserved for companies that truly produce the metal) are net short by a long shot in not only silver, but gold. It is rather surprising that what should be well known liabilities on our balance sheet have not erupted into wider scale scrutinization. I call all honest and courageous JPMorgan employees to step up and fight the cronyism and wide-scale manipulation by reporting the truth. We are only helping reality come to light therefore allowing a real valuation of our banking industry which will give investors a chance to properly adjust without being totally wiped out. I will be contacting a lawyer shortly about this matter, as I believe no other whistleblower at JPMorgan has come forward yet. Our deepest secrets lie within the hands of honest employees and can be revealed through honest regulators that are willing to take a look inside one of America's best kept secrets. Please do not allow this to turn into another Enron. Kind Regards, ---------- Another Enron? If what this letter says is true, then the problems facing our financial system are more serious than most of us thought. And the allegations of corruption at JP Morgan are absolutely shocking. But this is not the first whistleblower to come forward to the CFTC with charges of rampant market manipulation by JP Morgan. Back in 2010 I wrote about the stunning allegations that a former silver trader named Andrew Maguire presented to the CFTC. The following is an extended excerpt from that article.... ---------- Back in November 2009, Andrew Maguire, a former Goldman Sachs silver trader in Goldman's London office, contacted the CFTC's Enforcement Division and reported the illegal manipulation of the silver market by traders at JPMorgan Chase. Maguire told the CFTC how silver traders at JPMorgan Chase openly bragged about their exploits - including how they sent a signal to the market in advance so that other traders could make a profit during price suppression episodes. Traders would recognize these signals and would make money shorting precious metals alongside JPMorgan Chase. Maguire explained to the CFTC how there would routinely be market manipulations at the time of option expiries, during non-farm payroll data releases, during commodities exchange contract rollovers, as well as at other times if it was deemed necessary. On February 3rd, Maguire gave the CFTC a two day warning of a market manipulation event by email to Eliud Ramirez, who is a senior investigator for the CFTC's Enforcement Division. Maguire warned Ramirez that the price of precious metals would be suppressed upon the release of non-farm payroll data on February 5th. As the manipulation of the precious metals markets was unfolding on February 5th, Maguire sent additional emails to Ramirez explaining exactly what was going on. And it wasn't just that Maguire predicted that the price would be forced down. It was the level of precision that he was able to communicate to the CFTC that was the most stunning. He warned the CFTC that the price of silver was to be taken down regardless of what happened to the employment numbers and that the price of silver would end up below $15 per ounce. Over the next couple of days, the price of silver was indeed taken down from $16.17 per ounce down to a low of $14.62 per ounce. Because of Maguire's warning, the CFTC was able to watch a crime unfold, right in front of their eyes, in real time. So what did the CFTC do about it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. ---------- You can read the rest of that article right here. So will the CFTC do anything about all of this? Based on past history, probably not. Basically, the CFTC is a government agency that appears to do next to nothing. Another scandal involving JP Morgan has come out in recent days as well. This one involves their credit card division. If you have a moments, you should really read the recent American Banker expose of credit card debt collection practices at JPMorgan Chase. It exposes some things that will absolutely blow your mind. Linda Almonte, a former executive at JPMorgan Chase's Credit Card Litigation Support Group, has revealed some incredible stuff regarding the debt collection practices at the company. Almonte says that she was shocked at what she saw when she began examining the details of a $200 million package of debt collection judgments to an outside debt collection agency....
Almonte says that she warned that this sale of debt collection judgments must be stopped, but that a company executive told her that "she had better go along with the plan to sell the misrepresented asset". Almonte refused to go along, and she was fired on November 30th, 2009. You are probably thinking that this sounds very much like the "robo-signing" foreclosure scandal and you would be right. The more we dig into these giant financial companies the more corruption we find. It really is shocking. And remember, JPMorgan Chase is also the company that makes more money whenever the number of Americans on food stamps goes up. JPMorgan Chase issues food stamp debit cards in 26 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and they actually want more Americans to go on food stamps so that they can make bigger profits from the division that issues them. So now are you starting to understand why so many Americans are upset about the corruption on Wall Street? This isn't a "conservative issue" or a "liberal issue" - it is an American issue and the outrageous behavior of these firms has brought our financial system once again to the edge of disaster. Over the past six months, more than 350 prominent executives have resigned from major banks and financial institutions all over the globe. Is this a sign that the rats are fleeing a sinking ship? Do they know something that we don't? What we do know is that the financial crisis in Greece is far from over and the European financial system is getting closer to a complete meltdown with each passing day. Very few of the things that caused the financial crisis of 2008 were ever corrected and our financial system is even more vulnerable today than it was back then. In the end, this entire pyramid of debt, leverage and corruption is going to come crashing down really hard, and the consequences are going to be absolutely catastrophic.
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| Gold and Silver Disaggregated COT Report (DCOT) for March 16 Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:17 AM PDT HOUSTON -- This week's Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) disaggregated commitments of traders (DCOT) report is, to coin a phrase, a "yawner." Although gold was little changed Tuesday to Tuesday we continued to see modest short covering by the usual hedgers and liquidation by the usual specs. (More below.)
Continued... In the DCOT table above a net short position shows as a negative figure in red. A net long position shows in black. In the Change column, a negative number indicates either an increase to an existing net short position or a reduction of a net long position. A black figure in the Change column indicates an increase to an existing long position or a reduction of an existing net short position. The way to think of it is that black figures in the Change column are traders getting "longer" and red figures are traders getting less long or shorter. All of the trader's positions are calculated net of spreading contracts as of the Tuesday disaggregated COT report. With silver close to flat we see a small amount of further long liquidation with just a tiny amount of hedger short covering. Compared to last week's report, this one seems tame. Have a good weekend everyone – the fish are biting, as they say in these parts, como uno perro grande. (We believe that translates into, "Like one big dog.") Vultures, (Got Gold Report Subscribers) please note that updates to our linked technical charts, including our comments about the COT reports and the week's technical changes, should be completed by the usual time on Sunday evening (around 18:00 ET). As a reminder, the linked charts for gold, silver, mining shares indexes and important ratios are located in the subscriber pages. In addition Vultures have access anytime to all 30-something Vulture Bargain (VB) and Vulture Bargain Candidates of Interest (VBCI) tracking charts – the small resource-related companies that we attempt to game here at Got Gold Report. Continue to look for new commentary directly in the charts often. |
| An update on one of the most important charts in the world Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:06 AM PDT From Kimble Charting Solutions: Jack Nicholson made the line "You Can't Handle The Truth" famous in the movie a Few Good Men. The truth about the U.S. Dollar... Three different times in the past 15 months the Dollar has hit line (2) and declined in price. The rally in the Dollar of late has taken it near this key resistance, line for the 4th time... Read full article (with chart)... More on the dollar: Top analyst Gary Shilling's six favorite investments today This development could signal the end of the "RISK ON" rally What has to happen before there's any real correction in stocks |
| Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:06 AM PDT Even the bulls are turning bearish on gold prices. Or rather, they'd like to. But gold prices are horribly correlated with the stock market right now. Not that it matters... |
| Trader alert: Energy prices could be set to make another big move higher Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:05 AM PDT From Peter L. Brandt: Charts indicate that the pause in energy price increases is about over — prices could thrust soon. The strong advances in Gas that began in late December, in Crude in early February, in Brent in mid-January, and in Heating Oil in mid- December all stalled out in late February. Energy prices have drifted sideways the past three to four weeks. The pause may be just about over. The energy charts can all be labeled as half–mast flags or pennants. A move into new highs is required to confirm this labeling. [This analysis is null and void unless prices begin to advance strongly and soon.] Half-mast patterns are significant... Read full article... More trading ideas: One big reason to expect another short-term decline in gold Top trader Clark: The market just gave a powerful sell signal Breakout alert: Two large-cap stocks to put on your radar immediately |
| Top SocGen analyst: This is when you should sell your gold Posted: 16 Mar 2012 09:01 AM PDT From Pragmatic Capitalism: The latest from Dylan Grice at Societe Generale discusses gold and the most important question that any investor involved in a big bull market seeks the answer to: when is the time to sell? Grice says the time to sell gold will be during the NEXT big government crisis. Not just any event. He says the problems in Dubai and Greece were just appetizers for what is an inevitable tornado in the global credit crisis: "What causes the political winds to change? A government crisis. In 2008, Ireland came very close to going the way of Iceland. They had their crisis. And historians today still refer to the 'inflation fatigue' in Britain by the end of the 1970s. This was our crisis. So what we learn from these experiences and others like them is that... Read full article... More on gold: These charts show the sell-off in gold could be very bullish Casey Research: It's still a great time to accumulate gold and silver Unique new service could allow you to receive your stock dividends in physical gold |
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