saveyourassetsfirst3 |
- Leeb: “I’m Going All-In Gold If It Dips”
- Inflation & Hidden Gold Taxation
- ‘Get your gold out of Dodge' while helping GATA
- Thursday Options Recap
- Managing Expectations: Why Gold Should Thrive
- How States Can Protect Themselves From Financial Collapse
- Dollar Little Changed
- Silver Roundtable: BJF, SGT, SS, KL
- Philip Klapwijk: Silver
- Jim Rogers On When To Buy Gold, Chinese Bubbles And Fake Good News
- Buying Gold at Discount
- Silver Sets Investment Volume, Dollar Records
- Moolman: Gold Platinum Ratio and the Coming Depression
- BBC Report - Silver: The harsh realities behind diminshing supplies
- Gold/Platinum Ratio And The Coming Depression
- Bank Failures, Disorder, Massive Panic & Gold
- Utah: Gold & Silver Now Legal Tender
- Gold Still Less Volatile than Equities
- Morning Outlook from the Trade Desk 04/19/12
- Gold Still a Long Term Hedge – WGC
- Your Weekly Gold & Silver Manipulation
- Gold consolidation continues
- Charting Gold And Silver Progress
- Mongolia's “ninja miners” help sate China's lust for gold
- James W. Rawles: An age of deception and betrayal, by government.”
- Death to the Evil Cash Hoarders
- Mongolia's "Ninja" Miners Help Sate China's Lust For Gold
- Senate Banking Committee to Hold MF Global Hearing
- Mongolia's "ninja" miners help sate China lust for gold
- Silver: The harsh realities behind diminishing supplies
| Leeb: “I’m Going All-In Gold If It Dips” Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:58 AM PDT
from kingworldnews.com: With the release of the jobless claims number, the Dow at roughly 13,000 and gold near $1,650, today King World News interviewed acclaimed money manager Stephen Leeb, Chairman & Chief Investment Officer of Leeb Capital Management. Leeb surprised KWN when he mentioned if there is a break in the gold price, he is investing almost everything he has into gold and even some juniors. But first, when asked about the latest jobless claims number, Leeb responded, "388,000 is close to 400,000 and 400,000 is a number normally associated with a recession. We had about two or three months where all of the economic statistics were on the plus side, positive surprises." Stephen Leeb continues: Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com |
| Inflation & Hidden Gold Taxation Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:56 AM PDT
from financialsense.com: The number one reason investors buy gold is to protect against the government policies that create inflation. However, the government has "rigged the game" in such a way that the higher the rate of inflation, the more of a gold investor's net worth ends up with the government instead of the investor. An examination of three historical case studies of long-term gold investment during a time of substantial inflation shows how under existing law and tax rates, the US federal government used the 1-2 combination of inflation and taxes to not only take all gold investor profits, but to confiscate part of the investors' starting net worth as well. These three real world analyses explore gold acting as a perfect inflation hedge, gold experiencing asset inflation, and gold experiencing asset deflation. This isn't theory, nor is it speculation. This is actual history, and it is likely to be the future as well in the United States and other nations. The government's "game" is more sophisticated than most investors realize, and it is deeply ironic that many unsuspecting precious metals investors trying to protect themselves from government-created inflation are playing right into the government's hands when it comes to wealth confiscation under existing law. Keep on reading @ financialsense.com |
| ‘Get your gold out of Dodge' while helping GATA Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:55 AM PDT
from gata.org: With the price of gold seemingly under lockdown by Western central banks for the time being, foreshadowing even more repression of the monetary metal, and with the U.S. Treasury Department claiming the authority to seize or freeze any financial asset upon a presidential proclamation of an emergency – http://www.gata.org/node/5606 – our friends at The Dollar Vigilante newsletter have published an outstanding and comprehensive report on protecting your gold. The report is titled "Getting Your Gold Out of Dodge: A Complete Resource on Internationalizing Your Precious Metals." At 92 pages long, it's fully detailed and easy to understand. Its price is $44.95, it carries a 30-day money-back guarantee, and The Dollar Vigilante will make a generous donation to GATA for every purchase. You can learn about and order the report here: http://www.goldoutofdodge.com/gata/ Keep on reading @ gata.org |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:53 AM PDT By Frederic Ruffy: SentimentStocks are broadly lower on worries about the global economy. Domestic economic data was mostly bearish after Jobless Claims showed a decrease of only 2,000 to 386K last week. Economists were expecting a larger decline to 375K. A separate report released later showed Existing Homes Sales falling to a 4.48 million annual rate in March. Economists were expecting 4.62 million. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed Survey fell to only 8.5 in April. The rocket scientists had that wrong too. They were expecting a decline to 10.3 from 12.5. Volatility across the Eurozone added to the worries. Spain's IBEX lost another 2.4 percent and fell to levels not seen in three years on concerns about bank exposure to bad loans. Trading in the commodities markets has been relatively quiet today. Crude oil lost 30 cents to $102.93 and gold ticked $2 higher to $1641.5 an ounce. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Complete Story » |
| Managing Expectations: Why Gold Should Thrive Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:51 AM PDT
from financialsense.com: It was a challenging week for gold investors. Although the yellow metal has been on a spectacular 11-year bull run, recent strength in the economy has some thinking gold's heyday is over. As I often say, investing, like life, is about managing expectations—even throughout gold's decade-long rise, price action over the short term can go both ways. It helps to look at what happens after short-term drops. For example, looking at the past decade of one-day 5 percent declines in gold, you can see that this event is pretty rare. In 2006, gold dropped more than 5 percent in a day only two times. In 2008, there were three such events. Another one occurred at the end of this February. Keep on reading @ financialsense.com |
| How States Can Protect Themselves From Financial Collapse Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:50 AM PDT
from alt-market.com: The states of America are, truly, children of the Constitution. The legal framework that is the foundation of state sovereignty and internal administration is unique for perhaps any country in history up to the moment the U.S. won its independence. States were designed to decentralize and keep in check the power of a subservient Federal Government. They were meant to be the guardians at the gate, the barrier to the formation of oligarchy or outright dictatorship. This, of course, has changed drastically. The battle over centralized verses decentralized authority and economy has been going on for quite some time, and is undeniably critical in our climate of crisis now, under a government which is bankrupt in every sense and a currency which is on the verge of calamity. Keep on reading @ alt-market.com |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:45 AM PDT By Marc Chandler: The U.S. dollar is mostly little changed against the European currencies as the North American session is about to begin. Sterling has retained a firm bias after the risk of a new round of official gilt purchases (QE) was reduced. It is holding above the $1.60 level and initially extended this week's rally off the successful test on $1.58 and reached its best level since mid-Nov '11 near $1.6080. However, it is looking a bit stretched and a test of that $1.60 level in NY looks likely. The yen is the weakest of the majors. The dollar held the JPY80 level earlier this week and extended its recovery gains. The JPY81.80 area corresponds to a retracement objective of the dollar's slide from late March peak above JPY84 and to the 20-day moving average, which the dollar has not traded above since April 4. Japan reported a smaller than expected trade Complete Story » |
| Silver Roundtable: BJF, SGT, SS, KL Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:38 AM PDT Time is running out on the existing financial paradigm. Everyone needs to understand what this means to you, and how it will affect your lives.
Chris Duane, BrotherJohnF, and Sean of SGTReport joined me again today, Thursday, 4/19, for another round table. We talked about the global financial crisis and what's coming next. We also covered current metal prices, and the reasons why they're stuck in the mud. Finally, we discussed what life will be like once the final collapse happens. These are very important issues that everyone needs to consider. Time is running out on the existing financial paradigm. Everyone needs to understand what this means to you, and how it will affect your lives. Much more @ KerryLutz.com or @ 347.460.LUTZ |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:29 AM PDT |
| Jim Rogers On When To Buy Gold, Chinese Bubbles And Fake Good News Posted: 19 Apr 2012 06:16 AM PDT By Hard Assets Investor: When Jim Rogers talks, investors listen, although they might be surprised to hear what the contrarian has to say. Rogers, who may be the world's best-known commodity investor with his Rogers International Commodity Index and best-selling books, including "Hot Commodities," is also known for swimming against investment currents and traditional thinking. HAI Managing Editor Drew Voros spoke with Rogers from his home in Singapore about gold and how he ignores the metal's traditional fundamentals; his concerns about "fracking"; the myth of the Chinese real estate bubble; as well as what he calls "fake" good news emanating from dozens of countries facing major elections that he says are masking economic realities. HardAssetsInvestor: As a resident of Singapore, I wanted to know if you had any insight into the country scrapping its 7 percent goods and service tax on gold. What are some of the intentions behind that? Jim Rogers: Well, they Complete Story » |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2012 05:26 AM PDT Gold investors should watch China's continuing reach for foreign gold mining assets with great interest. If her currency and gold plans are really long term, this trend would appear one only set to strengthen. |
| Silver Sets Investment Volume, Dollar Records Posted: 19 Apr 2012 02:59 AM PDT World investment in silver bars, coins, medals and implied net investment reached a historic high in 2011 of 282.2 million ounces or the equivalent of approximately $10 billion on a net basis, which was also a record, the Silver Institute said in releasing its World Silver Survey 2012. |
| Moolman: Gold Platinum Ratio and the Coming Depression Posted: 19 Apr 2012 02:57 AM PDT During the gold bull market of the 1970s, the Gold/Platinum ratio was in a significant uptrend. It went from about 0.2 to 1.4 over a 12-year period. That is a seven-fold increase. from fractalsigns: At the start of the current gold bull market (2001), the Gold/Platinum ratio was just a bit higher than 0.4. If the ratio was to emulate its performance during the last gold bull market, it could reach 2.8 (that is gold being 2.8 times the value of platinum). What this is telling me, is that we are going to have conditions that are more like the Great Depression, for the remaining part of this gold bull market. The economic decline, which will mainly come as a result of the debt bubble bursting, will negatively affect a commodity like platinum, when compared with gold. ~TVR |
| BBC Report - Silver: The harsh realities behind diminshing supplies Posted: 19 Apr 2012 02:34 AM PDT Silver: The harsh realities behind diminshing supplies At over 4,000 metres above sea level, Potosí in Bolivia is the world's highest city. But it is overshadowed by the rainbow-coloured Cerro Rico, or Rich Hill, which looms above the citizens – an imposing reminder of the cause of the city's splendour and horror. The city was founded in 1545 following the discovery of silver in the Cerro Rico, the veins of which proved to be the world's most lucrative, bankrolling the Spanish Empire for more than two centuries. Many roads lead to hell, and I follow a miner to the Candelaria Bajo mine, one of the oldest of the 700 mines in Cerro Rico, which dates back at least 350 years. Like the millions who have gone before me, I take a last look at the sun and then enter the underworld through a low, dark entrance, stained black with llama blood, the remnants of a sacrifice to the devil. Miners are extremely superstitious. It is no wonder. Cerro Rico held extraordinary quantities of the precious metal – it is said that at one time you could have built a silver bridge from Potosí to Spain and still have enough silver to carry across it – but this came at a terrible cost. Eight million workers died during the 350 years of Spanish occupation. And by the 1800s, the silver was depleted and its global price diminished, sending the city into a decline that it is only recently recovering from, thanks to the demand for tin, lead and zinc. Short supply Cerro Rico is emblematic of a wider malaise. Global reserves of silver are diminishing rapidly, and supplies could run out as soon as 2029. That is, if we consume silver at the rate we are today and no new deposits are found, according to Mansoor Barati, a metals production and refinery expert at the University of Toronto. The reality is that rising silver prices will make exploration become more cost-effective and new deposits are likely to be found, but even then Barati's prognosis is grim. "Silver will last longer," he says, "but not beyond this century." As it becomes scarcer, the price of silver has rocketed up, from less than $5 an ounce in 2000 to $48 in April 2011 (currently, it is fetching around $32 an ounce). So Cerro Rico still draws silver miners into its black heart, killing them on average before the age of 35 – from silicosis, mesothelioma, accidents, and poisonings from the various noxious chemicals they are exposed to, including cyanide, mercury and carbon monoxide. The air I breathe when I enter the dark and dusty mine is infused with a peculiar smell – a caustic combination of the many chemicals here. I stumble along, crouching under the low rocks, trying to forget that 10 years ago geologists predicted that the mountain, riddled with tunnels and crevices, would collapse within 8-10 years. I bash my head frequently, alternatively grateful for my hard hat and cursing it for falling down over my eyes and obscuring my view of obstacles. I struggle to mount a rock just in time as a series of steel trollies come speeding down the tracks towards us, pushed and pulled by ghostly men, wide-eyed from coca. The air becomes impossible to breathe through my scarf as I continue deeper and further into the mine, and it becomes harder to see with every step. Soon I am reduced to crawling on hands and knees through tunnels tight enough to panic in, and still we descend. Sliding down a hole we reach a lower level, where workers with mad staring eyes push and pull trolleys laden with tonnes of rock past us, seemingly not noticing our presence. I am a couple of kilometres inside the mountain now and it is stiflingly hot, lung-searingly difficult to breathe and incredibly exhausting – and I am not even working. Precious metal For their efforts, those toiling in these sought-after cooperatives can earn an average of 1,500 Bolivianos a week (£150/$225); those working alone usually earn a great deal less. It all depends on the quantity and quality of the minerals they produce. Where precious silver was used mainly in coins and jewellery (and later in photography), its industrial uses now outstrip the decorative market. Silver has the highest electrical (and thermal) conductivity of any metal, so it is used in a range of electronics – including sensitive radio frequency antennae, particularly at VHF (very high frequency), such as found in televisions and mobile phones, and in radio frequency identification (RFID) devices. Silver is also found in many printed circuit boards, in hearing aids and in batteries. The medicinal properties of silver bullets have been known since at least the times of Hippocrates, the Ancient Greek "father of medicine", and rely on its toxic effects on pathogens, including bacteria and fungi. Silver ions kill pathogens by binding to proteins in their cells, making silver compounds ideal for use in antiseptics and wound dressings. Nanoparticles of silver are even woven into socks and other clothing to reduce bacterial and fungal growth – and the odours that arise. Silver is also used in heart valves and catheters, and researchers are now investigating silver's potential in killing cancer cells. Seeking alternatives One solution to dwindling reserves is to recycle the silver already in circulation. A tonne of ore usually contains less than 3 grams (0.1 ounces) of silver; whereas a tonne of discarded mobile phones (6,000 handsets) can contain 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of silver, according to United Nations University experts. Clearly, replacement materials are also needed. "As a surface coating, silver could be replaced by aluminium or rhodium, which is itself expensive, or by complex metal oxides, which are good conductors," suggests Peter Edwards, professor of inorganic chemistry at Oxford University. Other applications could use copper or silver-plated copper, or palladium alloys. Finding replacements for medical applications might be more tricky. For instance copper also has an antiseptic quality – it is being used in hospital door handles to replace aluminium and reduce the spread of germs, and in water filters to prevent Legionnaires' disease. But copper can be neurotoxic, so it is not used in implants or wound dressings, says Alan Lansdown, an expert in medicinal uses for silver at Imperial College London. "There aren't really any effective and safe replacements for silver, except synthetic antibiotics," he says. So, with potential alternatives in short supply, and while the price is high and there is still some silver left in the ground, desperate people like those at Cerro Rico will continue to burrow for it. After what feels like an entire day, but is in fact just an hour and a half, I emerge from Cerro Rico, blinking into the sunlight. Gasping the cold fresh air, I am grateful to be alive, but the dusty mine has taken my voice, I have to shower for 20 minutes to clean off the grime and my clothes stink of the underworld. For me, it was a brief foray. I simply cannot imagine having to work in those conditions for 12-14 hours, sometimes doing a double night-shift, and for years. Children work in these mines from the age of 9 or 10. There are no middle-aged men, only widows shovelling rocks outside. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2012...ilver-bullet/2 |
| Gold/Platinum Ratio And The Coming Depression Posted: 19 Apr 2012 02:23 AM PDT During the gold bull market of the 1970s, the Gold/Platinum ratio was in a significant uptrend. It went from about 0.2 to 1.4 over a 12-year period. That is a seven-fold increase. At the start of the current gold bull market (2001), the Gold/Platinum ratio was just a bit higher than 0.4. If the ratio [...]  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Bank Failures, Disorder, Massive Panic & Gold Posted: 19 Apr 2012 01:49 AM PDT "The banking world is on the way to bankruptcy here." |
| Utah: Gold & Silver Now Legal Tender Posted: 19 Apr 2012 12:34 AM PDT
from beaconequity.com: After months of public outcry over Washington's out-of-control fiscal and monetary policies, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed into law Utah House Bill 157 Currency Amendment allowing gold and silver bullion as legal tender within the state to settle retail transactions and debts. Sign-up for my 100% FREE Alerts Though several other states have proposed similar legislation, Utah becomes the first state of the Union to actually pass a law providing ammunition to fight back the ill effects of the Federal Reserve's malicious debauching of the U.S. dollar. The symptoms of rapidly rising costs of life's necessities can be directly attributed to 10 years of money supply growth, not seen since the disastrous 1970s. As of April '02, M1 money supply has skyrocketed 77 percent to $2.22 trillion for April of this year. And it's going to get increasingly worse. After compounding at a 5.9 percent rate throughout that 10-year period, the Fed has forecast another 17.4 percent increase in M1 through April 2013, a near trebling. The signs of run-of-the-mill inflation metastasizing into hyperinflation now appears, giving rise to the notion that the reason for the politically unsavory executive order of the NDAA signed by Obama on New Years Day—which effectively suspends the U.S. Constitution—is to provide the legal authority to a sitting president to initiate martial law, including a civil uprising in the event of a collapse of the U.S. dollar. Keep on reading @ beaconequity.com |
| Gold Still Less Volatile than Equities Posted: 19 Apr 2012 12:26 AM PDT
from goldcore.com: Gold's London AM fix this morning was USD 1,642.00, EUR 1,249.91, and GBP 1,022.73 per ounce. Friday's AM fix was USD 1,646.50, EUR 1,258.41and GBP 1,030.80 per ounce. Silver is trading at $31.57/oz, €24.06/oz and £19.69/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,582.50/oz, palladium at $657.20/oz and rhodium at $1,350/oz. (see charts in link below) Gold dipped $10.90 or 0.66% in New York and closed at $1,639.30/oz yesterday. Gold initially traded sideways to lower in Asia then started gaining in early European trading. Gold prices remained steady today after recovering from four sessions of mild losses. Worries that Spain's debt problems would hurt the euro saw investors move into US Treasuries and German bunds and saw gold supported. While the Spanish auction was a success this morning leading to increased risk appetite, the risk of contagion remains and this should support gold. Competitive currency devaluations continue and the BRIC's are becoming more aggressive in this regard. Brazil joined India in aggressively cutting interest rates. Brazil cut by 75 basis points to 9%, its sixth straight reduction since August. Official figures show that annual inflation remains quite high at 5.24 percent in March. Keep on reading @ goldcore.com |
| Morning Outlook from the Trade Desk 04/19/12 Posted: 19 Apr 2012 12:17 AM PDT Everyday "they" have been trying to break the metals down. Gold seems softer, but silver very resilient. Need to watch the Spain auction today and the effect on the dollar. There 'may" be too many shorts in this market, and any bounce may create much stronger move on short covering. Us dinosaurs mourn the loss of Dick Clark. Most of our dancing prowess, which is significant, can be attributed to American Bandstand. I found myself singing in the shower "itsy bitsy teeney weeney yellow polka dot bikini", but that's a longer story. |
| Gold Still a Long Term Hedge – WGC Posted: 19 Apr 2012 12:09 AM PDT Gold initially traded sideways to lower in Asia then started gaining in early European trading. Gold prices remained steady today after recovering from four sessions of mild losses. |
| Your Weekly Gold & Silver Manipulation Posted: 18 Apr 2012 11:47 PM PDT
from zerohedge.com: This strange event happened this past Tuesday in the COMEX New York markets but I didn't have time to post it until now. Not much to add here in the commentary that the pictures don't say themselves, except that market prices of two different assets do not plunge in tandem by 1.2% within a matter of half-an-hour or so at precisely the same time and then gain everything back in the next two hours if their prices are set by free and fair markets. In regard to the buzz on the blogosphere this week regarding rebuttals to gold and silver market manipulator deniers, I believe that a lot of gold/silver analysts that deny gold/silver market manipulation actually believe, and firmly believe, that the gold/silver markets are manipulated. How can you not believe, given the numerous instances of tens, and sometimes, hundreds of millions of paper silver (and paper gold) ounces dumped in the futures markets immediately before intra-day crashes in price that occur on a nearly weekly basis now? In the face of all the evidence, including documented minutes of the US Federal Reserve that actually admit to gold/silver market rigging (just refer to any of a number of GATA publications), the gold/silver analysts that continue to deny market rigging would: Keep on reading @ zerohedge.com |
| Posted: 18 Apr 2012 11:44 PM PDT
from goldmoney.com: Another quiet day for precious metals yesterday. Gold continues to face resistance at and around $1,650, while silver remains holed below $32. The most actively traded Comex gold contract, June, settled 0.7% lower at $1,639.60. US Mint sales figures for gold coins during Q1 show 210,500 ounces were sold – down 30% from 299,500 in the same period last year. Together with increases in the Comex silver stock and the drop off in gold and silver futures open interest, it's reasonable to conclude that the froth seen in these markets during last spring and summer has well and truly evaporated. This is no bad thing for the long-term vitality of either market. The fundamentals supporting the precious metals bull market haven't changed over the last few months. Is it too late to buy gold? No it most certainly isn't, and such price corrections and consolidation represent great buying opportunities. Keep on reading @ goldmoney.com |
| Charting Gold And Silver Progress Posted: 18 Apr 2012 11:41 PM PDT
from gold-eagle.com: Featured is the 5 year gold chart (CLICK THE LINK BELOW) courtesy Stockcharts.com. The blue channel has defined the uptrend since 2008. Except for the credit crunch in 2008, the 300DMA (used here) has not been violated. The chances of a 2008 type of correction are slim, due to the amount of liquidity that has been added to the system. A bounce off the $1600 level and a breakout at line 'B' will lead to the expectation that price is likely to repeat a performance last seen when line 'A' was overcome. According to FinanceAsia.com/news in an article by Lillian Liu, the gold supply shortfall in China has widened ten times since 2007. China digs up thousands of tonnes of rock and ore each year, but it still cannot produce enough gold to keep up with the country's soaring demand. Despite being the world's biggest gold producer since 2007, China's supply shortfall has deepened by nearly 10 times during the past four years. Chinese investors remain attracted to all that glitters, even as the price of gold has soared. "The shortage in supply has been deepening very fast; from 48 tonnes in 2007 to 400 tonnes in 2011," said Song Xin, chief executive of China Gold International, the listing unit of China National Gold, one of the country's biggest gold producers. Keep on reading @ gold-eagle.com |
| Mongolia's “ninja miners” help sate China's lust for gold Posted: 18 Apr 2012 11:37 PM PDT
from mineweb.com: In a hot, concrete hut filled with acetylene fumes, an elderly Mongolian miner struggles to contain her excitement as she plucks a sizzling inch-long nugget of gold from a grubby cooling pot and raises it to the light. Keep on reading @ mineweb.com |
| James W. Rawles: An age of deception and betrayal, by government.” Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:24 PM PDT
from sgtreport.com: n the April 16th edition of the Alex Jones radio show, New York Times best-selling author and SurvivalBlog.com editor James Wesley Rawles made the chilling case for the end of America as we know it. Rawles, the author of How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It is certainly making an impact and spurring many Americans to take action while there is still time to prepare. Recently I had the good fortune of meeting and interviewing a newly awakened patriot on a plane trip out east. The passenger sitting next to me just happened to be reading James Wesley Rawles' book Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse which directly led to us starting up a conversation about the inevitable calamities we are facing. You can listen to that interview here. What you are about to read is an urgent warning and a call-to-action that every thinking person should heed and share with loved ones. Keep on reading @ sgtreport.com |
| Death to the Evil Cash Hoarders Posted: 18 Apr 2012 10:10 PM PDT Compulsive hoarding is an affliction, an illness. It disables the sufferer and those around them, presenting a health hazard as stuff piles up and the home turns into a trash can. But just because you hoard money or gold bullion, doesn't mean you're sick or wrong. |
| Mongolia's "Ninja" Miners Help Sate China's Lust For Gold Posted: 18 Apr 2012 09:13 PM PDT Yesterday in Gold and SilverThe high for gold during the Wednesday trading session [around $1,654 spot] came in mid afternoon trading Hong Kong time...and about an hour before London opened. Then it was all down hill from there, with the rally attempt during the Comex trading session getting sold off before it could get back to Tuesday's closing price. The low price tick of the day [$1,636.40] occurred a few minutes after 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. The gold price closed in New York at $1,642.00 spot...down an even $8.00 on the day. Net volume was very light...in the 102,000 contract area.
Silver's price path was very similar to gold's, except for the fact that the high of the day came shortly before the lunch hour in Hong Kong...and the low came at 12:50 p.m. Eastern. The Far East high was somewhere north of $31.90 spot...and the New York low printed $31.28 spot. Net volume was about the same as Tuesday's...a smallish 27,000 contracts.
The dollar index opened around 79.56...and by shortly before 9:00 a.m. in New York, it was up 30 basis points. Then, during the next two hours, the dollar index fell about 35 basis points to its low of the day. The index gained a bit after that...and basically closed unchanged from Tuesday...and Monday. Gold had it biggest New York gains during this 35 basis point decline in the dollar index...but why gold got sold off after the 11:00 a.m. low in the dollar index is a mystery to me...and even the 'rally' in the gold price between 9 and 11 a.m. looked like it ran into some headwinds, as it was far from smooth, while the dollar index had a virtual waterfall decline.
Here's the New York Spot Gold [Bid] graph so you can compare the dollar decline and gold's rally side by each.
The gold stocks spiked into positive territory about ten minutes after the equity markets opened, there was a willing seller in the wings...and even though the gold price worked its way higher right up until 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, the sell-off in the shares continued. The low of the day came shortly after 1:30 p.m. in New York...and they rallied a bit into the close. The HUI finished down 0.93% yesterday.
The silver stocks finished mixed yesterday...but virtually all the stocks that make up Nick Laird's Silver Sentiment Index finished in the red...and it closed down 1.25%
(Click on image to enlarge) The CME's Daily Delivery Report showed that 142 gold and 1 lonely silver contract were posted for delivery on Friday. The only short/issuer was the Bank of Nova Scotia, with all 142 contracts...and the big long/stopper was JPMorgan, with 118 contracts for its client accounts...and 18 contracts for its in-house account. The link to the Issuers and Stoppers Report is here. There were no reported changes in either GLD and SLV. There was a smallish sale reported by the U.S. Mint. They sold 3,000 ounces of gold eagles...and that was it. But over at the Comex-approved depositories it was anything but quiet. On Tuesday they reported receiving 1,022,932 troy ounces of silver...and shipped an incredible 3,107,201 ounces out the door! Once again the bulk of the activity was over at Brink's, Inc...and I also note that JPMorgan's silver inventory numbers are starting to sneak up there, as they just passed the 13 million ounce mark. The link to the action is here...and it's worth a peek. Here are a couple of paragraphs about "excessive speculation" in the energy markets brought to you by silver analyst Ted Butler. He had something to say about that in his mid-week commentary to his paying subscribers yesterday...and they're worth reading. "Primarily because of high gasoline prices at the pump, increased attention is being placed on what role commodity speculators may be playing in creating those high prices." "But is that what has been occurring in energy markets? Perhaps to a certain level, but the clear telltale signs of excessive speculation and manipulation don't appear to be present. The telltale signs, of course, would include a large concentrated position on the long side. This concentration information is compiled and published weekly by the CFTC in their Commitments of Traders Report (COT). For example, in crude oil futures, the big NYMEX contract doesn't appear to be overly concentrated, with the four largest longs holding a 13.2% net position of total open interest." "Undoubtedly, when important technical price signals are flashed, crude oil futures, like all commodities, can jump or fall suddenly as many technical traders enter or exit the markets simultaneously. In the past, I have suggested a separate speculative position limit be created if too many independent traders are utilizing the same price signals and disrupting price patterns. But overall, it does not appear as if an excessively concentrated long position is behind the rise in crude oil and gasoline prices. As an energy consumer, if I saw clear signs of manipulation in energy prices, I would say so." A reader sent me this little tidbit about China's gold imports that he stole from the S&A Digest the other day... "China's gold imports continue soaring...Mainland China's imports from Hong Kong rose 20% in February to 39.7 tonnes, according to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. That's below the record 102.5 tonnes imported last November. But combined imports for the first two months of this year increased more than six-fold from last year to 72.6 tonnes." "China is poised to overtake India as the world's largest gold market this year... Consumer demand in the country rose 20% in 2011, compared to 7% for the rest of the world. Hong Kong shipped 427.9 tonnes of gold to China last year, up more than three times from a year earlier." One last thing before the 'Critical Read' section...and that's this Scott Pluschau blog about open interest on the Comex Futures Market. Just about everything you need to know about o.i. is included. The link is here. I have the usual number of stories for your reading 'pleasure' today and, once again the final edit is up to you. With yesterday's volume in both gold and silver at very low levels, I'm not prepared to read much of anything into yesterday's price action in either metal. As sanctions bite, Syria said to be selling gold reserves at a 15% discount. Dividends best defense against gold ETF, Kirkland Lake Gold CEO says. Critical ReadsSenate Banking Committee to Hold MF Global HearingA former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who has come under fire as the bankruptcy trustee for MF Global will appear next week before a Congressional panel examining the collapse of the brokerage firm. Louis Freeh, who has the responsibility of returning assets to creditors of the commodities brokerage firm, is expected to testify alongside regulators as well as another trustee responsible for the return of missing customer money. The two trustees, whose missions in some ways are at odds, have been facing off over the privacy of documents and the distribution of assets. The hearing, slated for April 24 before the Senate Banking Committee, will be the sixth Congressional inquiry stemming from MF Global's bankruptcy and the disappearance of customer money. Nearly six months later, farmers, hedge funds and other customers of MF Global are still owed an estimated $1.6 billion. This story appeared in The New York Times on Monday evening...and Phil Barlett didn't get it to me in time to make Tuesday's column, so here it now. The link is here. More U.S. cities set to enter default danger zoneAmerica's swelling ranks of fallen municipal borrowers have been blamed in the past year on 'what-were-they-thinking' causes, be it a Taj Mahal sewer system in Alabama or an overpriced trash incinerator in Pennsylvania's capital city of Harrisburg. But the next series of major cities and counties in danger of defaulting on their debt can hardly point to one single decision for their malaise. Whether it be Detroit, Miami or Providence, Rhode Island, their problems have a lot more to do with financial policies that put them on course to live well beyond their means. Municipal defaults have shot up since 2007 and are on pace for another high year in 2012, according to Richard Lehmann, publisher of the Distressed Securities Newsletter. This Reuters story was posted on their website on Tuesday...and I thank West Virginia reader Elliot Simon for sending it my way. The link is here. Showdown in Washington: Emerging Nations Vie for Power at IMFThe European Union would like to see the International Monetary Fund provide billions in additional funds to help relieve the debt crisis. However, a number of emerging economies are resisting the plans, accusing the West of abusing its power within the organization and creating a "North Atlantic Monetary Fund". The prospect of additional financial aid is anything but a given. Many of the IMF's 187 member states are becoming increasingly resentful of the still-affluent old continent's sense of entitlement. And many politicians in poorer parts of the world resent the well-off Europeans for being so adept at helping themselves. For the group of emerging economies known as the BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- the IMF's largesse is further proof that the old industrial powers of Europe and North America see the Washington-based organization as a self-service shop. A tough wrestling match with these countries is to be expected over any additional aid for Europe. For all readers not familiar with the IMF, this is a must read in my opinion. It's a Roy Stephens offering that he dug up over at the German website spiegel.de yesterday...and the link is here. IMF Says European Banks May Have to Sell $3.8 Trillion in AssetsEuropean banks could be forced to sell as much as $3.8 trillion in assets through 2013 and curb lending if governments fall short of their pledges to stem the sovereign debt crisis or face a shock their firewall can't contain, the International Monetary Fund said. In a study of 58 banks including BNP Paribas SA (BNP) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), the IMF forecast that under such circumstances, gross domestic product in the 17-country euro region would be 1.4 percent lower than now expected after two years. Even under its baseline scenario, the IMF sees banks' combined balance sheets possibly shrinking by as much as $2.6 trillion. "So far, deleveraging has occurred predominantly through buttressing capital positions and reducing non-core activities, leaving the impact on the rest of the world manageable," the IMF said in its Global Financial Stability Report released today. "It is essential to continue to avoid a synchronized, large-scale, and aggressive trimming of balance sheets that could do serious damage to asset prices, credit supply, and economic activity in Europe and beyond." This Bloomberg story was sent to me by Casey Research's own David Galland...and the link is here. A New Dispute over Euro Rescue Fund: Spain Wants Billions For its BanksWith an eye on the growing banking crisis in southern Europe, particularly in Spain, an increasing number of governments as well as senior representatives of the European Central Bank are pleading for the European Union's temporary euro backstop fund to be used to provide financial institutions with direct assistance. Sources familiar with the discussions told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the parties would like to see the criteria used by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to allocate aid be relaxed to include financial institutions in the event they represent a greater problem than a country's government finances. So far, this aid has been paid to governments, which in turn provided some forms of assistance to beleaguered banks. Such a move would enable the temporary euro-zone rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), to directly transfer money to these banks, bypassing national governments. This very short story was posted over at the spiegel.de website yesterday...and is another Roy Stephens offering. The link is here. Why Everyone Is Freaking Out Over Spain's Bond Auction TodayThe Bank of Spain plans to auction between €1.5 and €2.5 million ($1.9 and $3.3 million) in bonds of 2.5 and 10 year securities today. But financial media and investors are going nuts over this auction—as opposed to a sale of short-term bond auction on Tuesday—because of the maturity of debt Spain is selling. Thus, Spain's ability to sell 2.5-year securities that mature before the LTRO expires will be vital to how well Spain can weather the storm around its banks. Poor results on the 2.5-year auction would signal that investors are already ignoring the positive impact of the LTRO, and that Spain's sovereign debt situation is about to get a whole lot worse. This very short story was posted over at the businessinsider.com website...and I thank Roy Stephens once again for sending it. The link is here. The rest of the Monetary Policy Committee should be as brave as Adam Posen and resign over their hopeless predictionsEven by the standards of the Monetary Policy Committee, Adam Posen is the gentlest of doves. The Harvard-educated academic has voted consistently for low interest rates and for Quantitative Easing on grounds that prices were about to start dropping dangerously. In an interview with The Guardian in March 2011, he predicted that inflation would stand at 1.5 per cent by the middle of this year. 'If I have made the wrong call, not only will I switch my vote, I would not pursue a second term,' he declared. 'They should have somebody who gets it right and not me. I am accountable for my performance.' Last month, despite the Bank of England's mulish insistence that price rises would slow, inflation rose from 3.4 to 3.5 per cent. Barring a miracle, it looks like so long, Dr Posen. Not that I want to pick on the one MPC member who has had the courage of his convictions. Most of his colleagues have been every bit as wrong as he has. The core function of the Bank of England, as it happily states on its website, is to maintain price stability, defined as inflation at two per cent. That figure is now becoming a kind of symbolic, notional target, like Portugal's territorial claim to Olivenza. It's hard to remember when the price rises were last within the permitted range. Four years ago? Five? This story was posted in The Telegraph yesterday...and is another offering from Roy Stephens. The link is here. Global Trade set for Downturn as Traffic through Suez Canal NosedivesThe World Trade Organization dealt a blow to the hopes of anyone hoping that the global economy might be showing signs of improvement in the coming months by announcing last week that it expects the rate of growth in global trade to fall again to only 3.7% from 5% — significantly below the 20-year average growth rate of 5.4%. That might not be the end of the story: "severe" downside risks could put a further dent in growth rates. As this week's Chart of the Week indicates, traffic through the Suez Canal in Egypt – a key cargo transportation route – has nosedived in recent weeks and months. Currently, Suez traffic is only slightly better than flat compared to year earlier levels. This story, along with an excellent graph, was posted on the thomsonreuters.com website on Monday...and I thank Nitin Agrawal for bringing it to our attention. The link is here. Senate Banking Committee to Hold MF Global Hearing Posted: 18 Apr 2012 09:13 PM PDT  A former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who has come under fire as the bankruptcy trustee for MF Global will appear next week before a Congressional panel examining the collapse of the brokerage firm. Louis Freeh, who has the responsibility of returning assets to creditors of the commodities brokerage firm, is expected to testify alongside regulators as well as another trustee responsible for the return of missing customer money. The two trustees, whose missions in some ways are at odds, have been facing off over the privacy of documents and the distribution of assets. |
| Mongolia's "ninja" miners help sate China lust for gold Posted: 18 Apr 2012 09:13 PM PDT  Khorloo, 65, and her sons spent the day scrutinizing half a dozen CCTV screens as workers at the Bornuur gold processing plant whittled 1.2 metric tonnes of ore down to 123 grams of pure gold that could earn the family as much as $6,000. Khorloo is a member of a new horde of at least 60,000 herders, farmers and urban unemployed trying to extract the riches buried in the vast steppe with metal detectors, shovels and home-made smelters. |
| Silver: The harsh realities behind diminishing supplies Posted: 18 Apr 2012 09:13 PM PDT  At over 4,000 metres above sea level, Potosí in Bolivia is the world's highest city. But it is overshadowed by the rainbow-coloured Cerro Rico, or Rich Hill, which looms above the citizens – an imposing reminder of the cause of the city's splendour and horror. The city was founded in 1545 following the discovery of silver in the Cerro Rico, the veins of which proved to be the world's most lucrative, bankrolling the Spanish Empire for more than two centuries. |
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