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- Oracle's Push Into Cloud Through Taleo Will Reward Investors Greatly
- Goldcorp Likely To Swell Higher On Cero Negro Project This Year
- Gold Stocks: Where Is The Bottom?
- What Britain's Recession Means for UK Gold Investors
- Gold in Pounds Sterling Briefly Hits Four-Month Low, America’s “Fiscal Cliff” Means Federal Reserve “May Need to Ease Again”
- May Silver’s Precise Bounce Is Encouraging
- Equities Will Catch Up to Higher Gold Price: Matt Badiali
- Gold’s Long-Term Correlation to Equities – i.e. ZERO
- India Splurges On Gold
- Chris Martenson's Harvey Organ interview
- Will Silver and Platinum Outperform Gold in the Near Future?
- Californians are turning to gold prospecting for fun (and maybe some money)
- The EWLS Indicator
- Gold Standard Called Inevitable, Possibly Within Year
- Morning Outlook from the Trade Desk 04/26/12
- US ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Could Make Fed ‘Cushion Economy’
- Gold market riggers dont care about being caught anymore, Embry says
- So Long, US Dollar
- Equities Will Catch Up to Higher Gold Price
- Ben Bernanke’s Paper Dollar Embodies Systemic Risk
- Countries prefer gold to paper
- Big Boy Banker Bets Set-Up Global Credit System For 2008-Like Smash
- Gold Market Riggers Don't Care About Being Caught Anymore: John Embry
- Europe faces Japan syndrome as credit demand implodes: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
- So Long, US Dollar: Marin Katusa, Casey Research
- Two King World News Blogs on the Fed Statement and Bernanke press conference
- Gold market riggers don't care about being caught anymore, Embry says
- Gold & Silver Market Morning, April 26 2012
- RT: Occupy Student Debt Day of Action
- Silver paste from DuPont offers lower processing temperatures for thin film solar cells
| Oracle's Push Into Cloud Through Taleo Will Reward Investors Greatly Posted: 26 Apr 2012 05:50 AM PDT By Stock Croc: Oracle (ORCL) is one of the leading computer tech corporations in the United States. It is also one of the key players in the multibillion dollar computer systems industry in the globe. Although Oracle comes third after both Microsoft (MSFT) and IBM (IBM) in terms of revenue generated from software sales, it has been slowly trying to close this gap over the years. It still ranks ahead of industry heavyweights such as Adobe (ADBE) and business software developers Intuit (INTU), and as such, deserves to be taken seriously on its own terms. Oracle has been involved in the production of a number of computer-based products that have seen it grow exponentially since its inception in the late 1970s. It has since then evolved into a giant corporation that has customers on a global scale and approximately 112,000 employees as of last year. As an investor, I have been keen on Complete Story » |
| Goldcorp Likely To Swell Higher On Cero Negro Project This Year Posted: 26 Apr 2012 05:19 AM PDT By Stock Croc: The gold rush was undoubtedly one of the most hyped discoveries in the United States. This can be attributed to the fact that anyone who proved to be lucky enough to strike gold would instantly turn into an extremely wealthy individual if not a millionaire of sorts. Today however, the hype has already passed its peak and only a handful of corporations involved in gold mining are doing well as each of try to compete for mining rights to different sites around the globe. Goldcorp (GG) is among the major mining corporations that have been able to hold their own against major rivals such as Harmony Gold Mining (HMY), Barrick Gold (ABX), Kinross Gold (KGC) and Newmont Mining (NEM). Founded in the early 1950s Goldcorp has been able to grow into one of the largest gold mining and exploration firms in the United States, accumulating assets in the excess of Complete Story » |
| Gold Stocks: Where Is The Bottom? Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:31 AM PDT What is important about the pervasive negative sentiment is that it is a key indicator of a market bottom. At the top of the market, there are a hundred reasons to buy and, at the bottom of the market, there are a hundred reasons to sell. If psychology... |
| What Britain's Recession Means for UK Gold Investors Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:21 AM PDT As Britain falls back into recession, here's a look at what might lie ahead, and the implications for anyone making a Gold Investment... |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2012 04:20 AM PDT
Gold in Pounds Sterling Briefly Hits Four-Month Low, America's "Fiscal Cliff" Means Federal Reserve "May Need to Ease Again" SPOT MARKET prices for gold bullion traded steady Thursday morning, around $1650 an ounce during London's morning session – slightly higher than where they started the week. "[Gold] trend line support is seen at $1627 on the weekly chart," says the latest technical analysis from Scotia Mocatta. "A close below this level on Friday will bring in liquidation selling of stale long gold positions." Gold prices briefly touched $1627 per ounce on Wednesday following the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision, before rallying to touch a one-week high at $1653 this morning. The gold price in Sterling meantime briefly hit a four-month low at £1008 per ounce following Wednesday's Fed decision, before it too bounced back higher. Silver bullion meantime failed to break above $31 per ounce – remaining around 3% down on the week so far – while stocks and commodities were also broadly flat as markets digested the latest statements from US policymakers. In its official statement yesterday, the Federal Open Market Committee reiterated its view that economic conditions "are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014″. The Fed however published projections showing that only four FOMC participants expect that the appropriate rate at the end of that year will still be 0.25% or below, compared to six when projections were last published back in January. By contrast, ten of the seventeen participants expect the appropriate rate at the end of 2014 will be 1% or above – up from eight in January. "The Fed's interest rate forecasts," writes Robin Harding at the Financial Times, "are getting the bank into a real bind." Harding points out that Bernanke defined "exceptionally low" rates as "close to where we are now", meaning the FOMC statement is at odds with participants' projections. "The result is a complete mess," writes Harding. "This confusion undermines the cause of greater transparency that Mr. Bernanke has worked so hard to advance." "Strains in global financial markets," adds yesterday's FOMC statement, "continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook." This was identical to the phrase used in March's statement, with the exception that this time the FOMC did not say these strains have eased. The US economy meantime needs to add between 150,000 and 200,000 jobs each month to meet fed forecasts, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke told a press conference following the interest rate announcement. America's economy is facing a "fiscal cliff" at the end of this year, US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner warned Wednesday. "The simultaneous expiration of tax cuts and large across-the-board cuts in spending… presents a risk," Geithner said. "If you try to restore fiscal balance without a penny of additional revenue, then you have to cut deeply – too deeply – into critical functions of government." "If Congress can't respond to the prospect of much tighter fiscal policy," says Steve Barrow, currency analyst at Standard bank in London, "then it may be up to the Fed again to cushion the economy through easy monetary policy." Here in Europe, "the soundness of banks' balance sheets will be a key factor in facilitating both an appropriate provision of credit to the economy and the normalization of their funding channels," European Central Bank president Mario Draghi told the European Parliament Wednesday. "I consider it of crucial importance that banks strengthen their resilience further, including by retaining earnings and by retaining bonus payments." European banks borrowed over €1 trillion at the ECB's two longer term refinancing operations in December and February, with Draghi saying it is "encouraging" that much of this money was borrowed by small banks as these "are best placed to refinance the real economy". In the UK, British bank Barclays on Thursday reported a 22% rise in first quarter pretax profits compared to Q1 2011. Over in India meantime, early reports suggest there was a significant drop in gold buying for this year's Akshaya Tritiya festival, which fell on Tuesday this week, compared to last year. Gold bullion sales are estimated to have dropped by around 50% to 10 tonnes, newswire Reuters 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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| May Silver’s Precise Bounce Is Encouraging Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:46 AM PDT |
| Equities Will Catch Up to Higher Gold Price: Matt Badiali Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:33 AM PDT |
| Gold’s Long-Term Correlation to Equities – i.e. ZERO Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:31 AM PDT Andy Hoffman |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:19 AM PDT Perth Mint Blog |
| Chris Martenson's Harvey Organ interview Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:04 AM PDT Strongly suggest reading the comments to this interview (forget the interview itself) for those interested in what might be going on behind the curtain. Ignore the brutal personal comments and focus on some good educational stuff and first hand observations from Jeffery Christian, Victor and Erik Townsend (I put my 2 cents in as well). Been AWOL I know, very busy at work with some pressing tasks. FYI, I will be in New York city May 31st, details to follow once itinerary finalised.  |
| Will Silver and Platinum Outperform Gold in the Near Future? Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:00 AM PDT SunshineProfits |
| Californians are turning to gold prospecting for fun (and maybe some money) Posted: 26 Apr 2012 01:00 AM PDT |
| Posted: 26 Apr 2012 12:20 AM PDT HOUSTON -- One of the signs we are on the lookout for is a daily pattern of early weakness followed by late strength (EWLS). Ideally the late strength is stronger than the early weakness so that the issue ends up closing green despite a momentum-driven move lower in the early going. Just below is a 15-day, 1-hour volume candle chart of SLV (the silver ETF). On Wednesday, April 25 we witnessed a close facsimile of what we look for, so we thought we would mention it. That it was on higher than usual volume lends credibility to it. SLV 15-day volume candles. No sign or signal by itself is ever enough to overwhelm all the other signals we watch, but it is interesting that silver attempted to "run the stop table," so to speak, on Wednesday, and instead of tripping a giant wad of sell stops, breaking the precious metal much lower, silver fetched up in a "V" pattern on 1-minute and 5-minute tick charts. At least for now silver is not yet willing to break to the area we have been targeting for reentry on subscriber charts. That is all for now, but there is more to come. Gene Arensberg for Got Gold Report |
| Gold Standard Called Inevitable, Possibly Within Year Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:51 PM PDT Gold gradually eked out gains in Asian and early European trading prior to seeing some weakness. Support for gold is at $1,612/oz. and resistance is at $1,663/oz. and $1,684/oz. |
| Morning Outlook from the Trade Desk 04/26/12 Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:42 PM PDT Access to desk top was not available this morning. IT still giving me the worst personal service. Might have to let them beat me at golf. Bernanke happy to do nothing. Initially killed the metals before the shorts covered. This morning continues with an upward bias. Although no QE3 zero rates are pretty accomodative. England in recession and Europe not likely to raise rates, makes me skeptical on the rally. Dollar should benefit. But there are a lot of shorts in the market. Prefer to stay away here. Missed the buy yesterday. Had intentions to enter a silver trade but ran into my contrarian indicator IT Director and had a brief meeting. By the time I sat at my desk the opportunity was gone. Maybe I won't let him win at golf afterall. |
| US ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Could Make Fed ‘Cushion Economy’ Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:31 PM PDT Gold bullion prices hovered around $1,650 per ounce during Thursday morning's London session – slightly higher than where they started the week – while stocks and commodities were also broadly flat as markets digested the latest statements from US policymakers. |
| Gold market riggers dont care about being caught anymore, Embry says Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:34 PM PDT |
| Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:20 PM PDT
from caseyresearch.com: There's a major shift under way, one the US mainstream media has left largely untouched even though it will send the United States into an economic maelstrom and dramatically reduce the country's importance in the world: the demise of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. For decades the US dollar has been absolutely dominant in international trade, especially in the oil markets. This role has created immense demand for US dollars, and that international demand constitutes a huge part of the dollar's valuation. Not only did the global-currency role add massive value to the dollar, it also created an almost endless pool of demand for US Treasuries as countries around the world sought to maintain stores of petrodollars. The availability of all this credit, denominated in a dollar supported by nothing less than the entirety of global trade, enabled the American federal government to borrow without limit and spend with abandon. The dominance of the dollar gave the United States incredible power and influence around the world… but the times they are a-changing. As the world's emerging economies gain ever more prominence, the US is losing hold of its position as the world's superpower. Many on the long list of nations that dislike America are pondering ways to reduce American influence in their affairs. Ditching the dollar is a very good start. Keep on reading @ caseyresearch.com |
| Equities Will Catch Up to Higher Gold Price Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:08 PM PDT
from theaureport.com: ngoing inflation pressures and China's investments in the African gold supply chain point to a higher gold price, according to Matt Badiali of Stansberry & Associates. Bullion in all its forms belongs in every portfolio and when it comes to equities, investors have their choice of business models—dividend payers, prospect generators and royalty companies. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, Badiali outlines companies whose equities should catch up to the higher gold price. Matt Badiali: In general, I agree with Porter's thesis. Bullion—gold, silver coins or bars—should be part of everyone's portfolio. It is one of the best anchors against inflation. Gold and gold stocks also are important holdings because as the value of paper money falls, the value of gold rises. TGR: Stock prices have not gone up as much as the gold price. Will that trend continue? MB: We have been in an odd scenario. If gold miners were T-shirt makers and the price of T-shirts went up, the market would buy the company to match the earnings. That has not happened for gold stocks. Last year, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX:NYSE.A) was down 25% while the price of gold was up 15%. Looking at just the last three years, stocks were up 40% while the gold price rose 90%. So, in the short term, the Gold Miners ETF has underperformed gold. Keep on reading @ theaureport.com |
| Ben Bernanke’s Paper Dollar Embodies Systemic Risk Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:06 PM PDT
from dailyreckoning.com: The paper dollar is now the single most important source of systemic risk to the financial system, the world economy, and the security of the American people. That is the lesson of the past 100 years that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not teach during his four lectures at George Washington University's Graduate School of Business. Instead, he celebrated the importance of the extraordinary powers he and his fellow governors have to manipulate interest rates and the value of the dollar in the name of economic growth and stability. In so doing, he ignored completely that the ever growing need for heroic interventions by the Fed is itself being created by the paper dollar system he celebrates. This failure is all the more telling because Mr. Bernanke states up front that central banks perform two critical functions: The first is to "achieve macroeconomic stability." By that, he generally means "stable growth in the economy, avoiding big swings, recessions and the like, and keeping inflation low and stable." The second is to provide "financial stability" by either trying to prevent or mitigate financial panics or financial crises. Keep on reading @ dailyreckoning.com |
| Countries prefer gold to paper Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:04 PM PDT
from businessday.co.za: ARGENTINA added to its gold reserves for the first time in nearly six years in September last year as the price hit record highs, mirroring the trend among emerging-country central banks to diversify further from paper currencies such as the dollar. Data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday showed Latin America's third-largest economy added seven tons of gold to its holdings, bringing its reserves to 61,74 tons in September last year, when the spot gold price hit record peaks of $1920,30/oz. This was the first addition by Buenos Aires to its gold reserves since February 2005, according to the IMF's monthly international finance statistics report. "To me, the most interesting central banks headline this morning is that of Argentina. It's a new entry into the mix after a seven-year hiatus, its inflation is running at nearly 10%," precious metals strategist at UBS Edel Tully said. "Also, much uncertainty exists surrounding its nationalisation plans, and restrictions on international trade have implications for growth," she said. The fact that Argentina bought when gold was trading at record highs suggested that the central bank was more concerned about accumulating enough gold, rather than the price level, she said. The gold price is up 4,7% this year, trading about $1630/oz, but has fallen by nearly 15% since early September. Keep on reading @ businessday.co.za |
| Big Boy Banker Bets Set-Up Global Credit System For 2008-Like Smash Posted: 25 Apr 2012 09:37 PM PDT Black Swans Are Beautiful Birds. Black Swan Events Are Scary. "JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) trader Bruno Iksil's outsized bets in credit derivatives are drawing attention to a little-known division that invests the company's reserves and fueling a debate over whether banks are taking excessive risks with federally insured and subsidized money." "Iksil's influence in the market has spurred some counterparts to dub him Voldemort, after the Harry Potter villain. He works in London in the bank's chief investment office, which has assembled traders from across Wall Street to its staff of 400 who help oversee $350 billion in investments. While the firm describes the unit's main task as hedging risks and investing excess cash, four hedge-fund managers and dealers say the trades are big enough to move indexes resembling proprietary bets-wagers made with the bank's own money." "The trades, first reported by Bloomberg News April 5, stirred debate among U.S. policy makers over the Easter-holiday weekend as they wrangle over this year's implementation of the so-called Volcker rule, the portion of the Dodd-Frank Act that sets limits on risk-taking by banks with government backing. The law passed after the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression." "I wouldn't be surprised if the pro-Volcker folks used this as a test case," said Douglas Landy, a partner at law firm Allen & Overy LLP who is representing Canadian banks in opposing a current draft of the rule. Senator Jeff Merkley criticized the transactions in a statement that called for the rule's prompt implementation, while Representative Brad Miller said they show why related U.S. laws should apply internationally." "Iksil drew attention from market professionals in recent months as trading accelerated in a group of credit-default-swap indexes created before and during the 2008 financial crisis. Until then, transactions had been dwindling as Wall Street banks stopped creating structured debt that the indexes were used to hedge against. Investors use credit-default swaps to shield themselves from losses on corporate debt or to speculate on a firm's creditworthiness." "This year, Iksil has been betting on an index of 121 companies that all had investment-grade ratings when the benchmark was created in September 2007, the market participants said. Trading in that index surged 61% the past three months, according to data from Depository Trust & Clearing Corp." "The net amount of wagers on the index, which is tied to the creditworthiness of companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and now-junk-rated bond insurer MBIA Insurance Corp., soared to almost $145 billion at the end of March from $90 billion three months earlier, according to DTCC, which runs a central registry for credit-default swaps and reports weekly aggregate volumes." (Ed: Biggest trade in history; $55B?) "Iksil's trades have been so large that they're widening gaps between the relative value of the indexes and the average price of contracts tied to companies in those indexes, according to the market participants. That has frustrated some hedge funds that had bet the gaps would close, the people said." "Iksil has been selling default-protection on the index using swaps that expire in December, 2017, meaning he would cover the counterparty's losses if a company in the index fails, the market participants said. The price of the index falls as more insurance is sold against it. The index declined 38 basis points in the first three months of 2012, the biggest quarterly drop since 2009. A basis point is 0.01% point. The positions, by the bank's calculations, amount to tens of billions of dollars and were built with the knowledge of Iksil's superiors, a person familiar with the firm's view said." "Iksil may have built a position totaling as much as $100 billion in contracts in one index, according to the market participants, who said they based their estimates on the trades and price movements they witnessed as well as their understanding of the size and structure of the markets. The trade on the index, known as the Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Series 9 (IBOXUG09), probably isn't a one-way bet, people said." "Iksil may be offsetting the trade by buying protection on the same index with contracts that expire about eight months from now, the people said. That strategy would pay JPMorgan the difference between the long-dated contracts and the short-dated ones, about 47 basis points as of April 6, and the trade would gain when the gap narrows. The hedge would end in December unless another trade is made to replace it. Iksil's "big bets illuminate the risk inherent in hedge fund-style trading," said Senator Merkley of Oregon, who added the Volcker rule to Dodd-Frank along with Senator Carl Levin, a fellow Democrat from Michigan. If the trades collapse, Merkley said, "you want the resulting meltdown to happen outside of the banks we depend on for loans to families and businesses." "The JPMorgan trades are an example of why such exceptions are misguided, said Representative Miller, a North Carolina Democrat who sits on the Financial Services Committee. 'Even if these trades are done in London and even if they are done by a foreign affiliate, there's no doubt that JPMorgan would be liable and that any solvency issue would be visited upon the U.S. and the U.S. economy and the U.S. taxpayer," said Miller, who voted against the bill at a preliminary stage in the committee." "Even without regulatory scrutiny, reports that Iksil's trades were so large that they moved market prices are likely to concern JPMorgan, Stanford University's Duffie said. "If the trades were part of a risk management strategy, then the intent wouldn't be to move markets," Duffie said. The obvious remedy is to reduce the extent to which they put on such large trading positions in the future." -Shannon D. Harrington, Bradley Keoun and Christine Harper 4-9-12 Bloomberg.net Consider what would happen if the Iksil trades work beautifully and other banks were exposed and lose heavily on the trade. What if they cannot pay? Would this then, be 2008 all over again in a massive Black Swan event? We are all for trading and even big trading, but stocks, bonds, futures and other trades similar to this one should be separate and distinct from a bank and its depositors. In that instance, if a big trade goes bad, the fund crashes and not the bank(s) or bankers involved. "The term Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933 is most often used to refer to four provisions of the Banking Act of 1933 that limited commercial bank securities activities and affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms." The Act was repealed in 1999 enabling the 2008 Crash. Big banks are permitted to engage in this very risky trading with the entire bank's assets being at risk, to allow the bank to take risky bets to make big earnings. Look what happened at MF Global.
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| Gold Market Riggers Don't Care About Being Caught Anymore: John Embry Posted: 25 Apr 2012 09:07 PM PDT ¤ Yesterday in Gold and SilverThe gold market was on Valium right up until the London open on Wednesday morning, as absolutely nothing was happening either in price or in volume. From there, the price didn't do much, either...but the volume picked up substantially. By 12:30 p.m. in New York yesterday, gold was only down a dollar or so from Tuesday's close...and then in the space of just a few minutes, the gold price cratered fifteen bucks...and then recovered all of that and a bit more by ten minutes after the close of Comex trading at 1:30 p.m. in New York. Despite a slight dip in price after that, gold pretty much gained all that back by the close of electronic trading at 5:15 p.m. Eastern...and the gold price closed at $1,644.30 spot...up $2.80 from Tuesday. Considering the price action, the net volume was way up there at 155,000 contracts. That's amazing considering the fact that in the first nine hours of trading on Wednesday, only 7,000 contracts had traded...and the rest traded in the following fifteen hours on a net price move of only $2.80.
Like gold, silver did nothing in Far East trading...and volume was non-existent. Once London opened, the silver price began to slowly creep up toward the $31 mark...and once it broke through that price [$31.10 spot] about 9:20 a.m. in New York, the engineered price decline began in earnest. There was a secondary low at precisely 11:30 a.m...and the low price tick of the day [$29.87 spot] came at 12:40 p.m. Eastern. After the low was in, the silver price came roaring back...and then followed the same price path as gold, trading basically sideways from about ten minutes after the close of Comex trading. Silver closed at $30.71 spot, down twelve cents when all was said and done. Gross volume was north of 107,000 contracts, but once all the roll-over and spreads were removed, net volume dropped all the way down to 26,000 contracts.
Here's the New York Spot Silver [Bid] chart on its own, which shows in minute detail all the pertinent price action from yesterday.
The dollar index chopped quietly lower and bounced off the 79.00 level once at 3:00 p.m. in New York yesterday afternoon. From there it gained a hair...finishing the Wednesday trading session barely above the 79.00 mark...down about 15 basis points from Tuesday. Needless to say, the action in the dollar index had nothing to do with what was going on in the precious metals on Wednesday.
The gold stocks opened in positive territory...but didn't do much until after the fifteen dollar take down at 12:30 p.m. in New York. After that, the stocks really gained some momentum...and the HUI finished up a very respectable 2.76%.
With the odd exception, the silver stocks were on a tear yesterday...and Nick Laird's Silver Sentiment Index close up 3.03%.
(Click on image to enlarge) The CME's Daily Delivery Report showed that 26 gold and 12 silver contracts were posted for delivery on Friday. As I said, it's going to be quiet for the rest of the April delivery month. The link to what action there was, is here. For the second day in a row, there were no changes reported in either GLD or SLV...and no report from the U.S. Mint once again, either. The Comex-approved depositories reported receiving 600,284 troy ounces of silver on Tuesday...and shipped 621,471 ounce on the door. All the action was over at Brink's, Inc...and the link to that is here. Silver analyst Ted Butler posted his mid-week commentary to his paying subscribers on Wednesday...and here are two free paragraphs... "Silver got hammered right out of the gate on Monday morning (actually Sunday evening), along with other relevant markets like gold and copper. The silver smash followed the usual script of the price first falling sharply on very low volume (HFT-driven) and once the price was put down, more volume came in on the lower price levels. Undoubtedly, the trading was characterized by speculative selling and commercial buying, same as it ever was. There should also be little doubt that the price take down was another deliberate attempt to set off as much speculative selling as possible. There was nothing coincidental about what took place. "My guess is that the commercials were successful (once again) in inducing a fair amount of speculative selling in silver on Monday and this should be reflected in this week's COT report. One thing I will be looking for in Friday's report is if there was an increase in new short selling in the managed money category in the disaggregated version of the COT report. This is the category of the technical funds that follow price patterns, buying on rising prices and selling on falling prices. Going into Monday's sell-off, the technical funds had liquidated enough long contracts to be close to where they were at the extreme COT readings of this past December, but had not yet added enough new short positions to approach where they stood back then. Monday's silver takedown, continued through today [Wednesday - Ed], took out the lows back to January and it would be hard for a technical fund to resist going short on this type of price pattern. After the sell-off, I suspect both further long liquidation and new shorting in this category, perhaps enough to mark a bottom. The good news is that we won't have to wait long to see if this activity occurred, at least for Monday's activity." Washington state reader S.A. provided a couple of charts for today's column. The first shows the amount [in billions of euros] that European banks are exposed to Commercial Real Estate.
His second chart came out of a Wall Street Journal story on Monday...and here are the first two paragraphs from this 'Subscriber Protected' story... "Hundreds of small banks can't afford to repay federal bailout loans, a top watchdog will warn Wednesday in a report that challenges the government's upbeat assessment of its financial-system rescue." "Christy Romero, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said 351 small banks with some $15 billion in outstanding TARP loans face a "significant challenge" in raising new funds to repay the government."
Reader Scott Pluschau had a few things to say about the current condition of the U.S. dollar index in his blog yesterday...and if you're interested, the link is here. I have the usual number of stories for you today...and I hope you can find the time to read the ones you find of interest. Ted's comment that "it would be hard for a technical fund to resist going short on this type of silver price pattern"...is right on the money. Gold Stocks: Where Is The Bottom? Alasdair Macleod: A plea for sanity. Fed Idiots Wrong, Big Problems in Europe & US: Bill Fleckenstein. So Long, US Dollar: Marin Katusa ¤ Critical ReadsSubscribeBernanke Too Upbeat? Hedge Funds WorriedLooking at growth – "Bernanke gave the market what it wanted to hear," says trader Tim Seymour. And he painted a better jobs picture too. And he said the Fed wouldn't hesitate to take further action, should the economy require additional support. All told that sounds like a recipe for a rally, right? This story showed up over at the cnbc.com website yesterday...and I thank West Virginia reader Elliot Simon for sending it along. The link is here.  Two King World News Blogs on the Fed Statement and Bernanke press conferenceThe first is with Richard Yamarone, senior economist at Bloomberg Brief. It's headlined "We Are Literally Witnessing a Collapse"...and the second is with Bill Fleckenstein. The headline to that reads "Fed Idiots Wrong, Big Problems in Europe & US".  So Long, US Dollar: Marin Katusa, Casey ResearchThere's a major shift under way, one the US mainstream media has left largely untouched even though it will send the United States into an economic maelstrom and dramatically reduce the country's importance in the world: the demise of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. For decades the US dollar has been absolutely dominant in international trade, especially in the oil markets. This role has created immense demand for US dollars, and that international demand constitutes a huge part of the dollar's valuation. Not only did the global-currency role add massive value to the dollar, it also created an almost endless pool of demand for US Treasuries as countries around the world sought to maintain stores of petrodollars. The availability of all this credit, denominated in a dollar supported by nothing less than the entirety of global trade, enabled the American federal government to borrow without limit and spend with abandon. The dominance of the dollar gave the United States incredible power and influence around the world… but the times they are a-changing. As the world's emerging economies gain ever more prominence, the US is losing hold of its position as the world's superpower. Many on the long list of nations that dislike America are pondering ways to reduce American influence in their affairs. Ditching the dollar is a very good start. This rather long read was posted on the Casey Research website yesterday...and is well worth your time if you have it. I thank Roy Stephens for letting me know about it. The link is here.  UK economy in double-dip recessionThe UK economy has returned to recession, after shrinking by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. The economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011. A sharp fall in construction output was behind the surprise contraction, the Office for National Statistics said. BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders says it "adds to the picture that the economy is bumping along the bottom". This story was posted over at the bbc.co.uk website yesterday...and is Roy Stephens first story of the day. The link is here.  Europe faces Japan syndrome as credit demand implodes: Ambrose Evans-PritchardEurope (minus Germany) looks more like post-bubble Japan each month. The long-feared credit crunch has mutated instead into a collapse in demand for loans. Households and firms are comatose, or scared stiff, in a string of countries. Demand for housing loans fell 70pc in Portugal, 44pc in Italy, and 42pc in the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2012. Enterprise loans fell 38pc in Italy. The survey took place in late March and early April, and therefore includes the second of Mario Draghi's €1 trillion liquidity infusion (LTRO). The ECB said net demand for loans had fallen "to a significantly lower level than had been expected in the fourth quarter of 2011, with the decline driven in particular by a further sharp drop in financing needs for fixed investment." Demand fell 43pc for household loans, and 30pc for non-bank firms. This longish AE-P blog was posted in The Telegraph yesterday...and I consider it a must read. It's Roy Stephens second offering of the day...and the link is here.  That's Not Rain - That's a LieThere is a famous scene in the 1976 film, The Outlaw Josey Wales, starring Clint Eastwood as the eponymous hero. During a particularly brilliant exchange, the bounty hunter Fletcher, hot on the heels of Wales, comes out with an inspired put-down to the cowardly senator who is trying to pull the wool over his eyes. Squinting into the sun, saloon door at his back, chewing tobacco, Fletcher disdainfully hisses: "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining." The expression, which is originally from South Carolina, beautifully captures the moment when someone who is being lied to turns the tables on the person who is lying to him. When it comes to the fiscal compact, the EU is pissing down our backs and telling us that it is raining. And the fact that the government is also going with this line implies that it is party to this falsehood. This in-your-face story was written by economist, broadcaster and author, David McWilliams and is posted over at his website davidmcwilliams.ie in Ireland. Not too many shades of grey in this piece...and it's also worth reading if you have the time. It's Roy's third contribution to today's column...and the link is here.  Brussels to relax 3pc fiscal targets as revolt spreadsOfficials believe they have enough legal leeway to relax budget deficit targets for eurozone states without violating the Stability and Growth Pact, though the plans risk a serious showdown with Germany. "The Stability Pact is not stupid. There are elements of flexibility when growth is lower than expected," said a senior Commission strategist. Current EU rules stipulate that every state must cut its deficit to 3pc of GDP by next year but this is not written in stone. "So long as a country is doing its homework and taking 'effective action', we can show some flexibility," the strategist said. The shift in thinking predates the surge of votes for Marine Le Pen's National Front in France's elections and the collapse of the Dutch government over austerity cuts, but the political upheaval has added fresh urgency. This is another piece from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard...and it was posted on The Telegraph's website yesterday evening. I thank Roy once again for bringing this story to our attention...and the link is here. |
| Europe faces Japan syndrome as credit demand implodes: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Posted: 25 Apr 2012 09:07 PM PDT  Europe (minus Germany) looks more like post-bubble Japan each month. The long-feared credit crunch has mutated instead into a collapse in demand for loans. Households and firms are comatose, or scared stiff, in a string of countries. Demand for housing loans fell 70pc in Portugal, 44pc in Italy, and 42pc in the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2012. Enterprise loans fell 38pc in Italy. The survey took place in late March and early April, and therefore includes the second of Mario Draghi's €1 trillion liquidity infusion (LTRO). |
| So Long, US Dollar: Marin Katusa, Casey Research Posted: 25 Apr 2012 09:07 PM PDT  There's a major shift under way, one the US mainstream media has left largely untouched even though it will send the United States into an economic maelstrom and dramatically reduce the country's importance in the world: the demise of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. |
| Two King World News Blogs on the Fed Statement and Bernanke press conference Posted: 25 Apr 2012 09:07 PM PDT  The first is with Richard Yamarone, senior economist at Bloomberg Brief. It's headlined "We Are Literally Witnessing a Collapse"...and the second is with Bill Fleckenstein. The headline to that reads "Fed Idiots Wrong, Big Problems in Europe & US". |
| Gold market riggers don't care about being caught anymore, Embry says Posted: 25 Apr 2012 09:07 PM PDT  Sprott Asset Management's John Embry today told King World News yesterday that the Western gold price suppression scheme's agents are now so obvious that they don't care anymore about being caught, but the East is on to them and obtaining metal at bargain prices. I borrowed the headline and the introductory paragraph from a GATA release yesterday...and the link to this must read KWN blog that Eric has headlined "Market Manipulation: More Blatant and There's More of It" is here. |
| Gold & Silver Market Morning, April 26 2012 Posted: 25 Apr 2012 09:00 PM PDT |
| RT: Occupy Student Debt Day of Action Posted: 25 Apr 2012 08:56 PM PDT RT's Anastasia Churkina reports from the New York protests against 1 trillion dollar student debt in the U.S. from rtamerica: ~TVR |
| Silver paste from DuPont offers lower processing temperatures for thin film solar cells Posted: 25 Apr 2012 08:29 PM PDT |
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