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- ‘Zero Inflation’ in U.S. = Hyperinflation Warning?
- Southern Copper: Value Buy Or Value Trap?
- Will Gold Go To $3,000 No Matter Who Wins In November?
- Tiho Brkan Sees Bear Market Coming, is Long Precious Metals
- Watch Out for a Silver Breakout Higher
- Buy Apple's Low Volatility Before iPhone 5 Launch
- The RED Spread: A Market-Breadth Barometer - Can It Predict Black Swans?
- Gold Price and Indian Demand Shifting Trends
- Gerald Celente on the Upcoming Seed Event and Why People Need to Think for Themselves to Avoid a Replay of the 1930s
- Booth - Weekly Gold Report (August 20th through August 24th)
- Are We About to See a Chinese Gold Rush?
- Gold and Silver Shine on Weaker U.S. Dollar
- Central bank gold buying and the importance of investment demand
- 9/11 & Gold, Money and Power
- Daily Pfennig: Bundesbank Balks At ECB Plan
- Silver to Breakout Amid Odd Forecast—Ben Davies
- Silver, Wine, Art and Gold (SWAG) To Protect From Inflation
- People’s Bank of China Faces Familiar Quandary
- Riverstone Announces Preliminary Economic Assessment Results on Flagship Karma Gold Project; After-Tax NPV of $192 Million and IRR of 37%
- US Investment Demand Gold’s Current Key Swing Factor – WGC
- How Change Happens
- Italian Cash-for-Gold Shops Quadruple as Financial Crisis Deepens
- ECB: gold and gold receivables remain unchanged
- $2,000 Gold Will Soon Kickstart Mining Shares: Michael Fowler
- Links 8/20/12
- Precious Metals Swag to Shield from Inflation
| ‘Zero Inflation’ in U.S. = Hyperinflation Warning? Posted: 20 Aug 2012 11:12 AM PDT It's impossible to cover developments in the global economy, and the reporting of those developments without feeling a lot like Alice in Wonderland – surrounded by legions of "Mad Hatters". This is especially true when covering the realm of anti-logic known as the U.S. economy. We're told that the U.S. economy has been experiencing an "economic recovery" for the past 3+ years – led by manufacturing growth – while its energy consumption has plummeted so fast that the world's great Energy Glutton is now a "net-energy exporter." We watch reports of U.S. home-builders starting construction on roughly twice as many homes as they sell, month after month, year after year – and then the media Mad Hatters tell us that the inventories of unsold new homes have been plummeting downward all this time.
We're told that U.S. Treasuries should be fetching (by far) their highest prices in history – even though the U.S. is hopelessly bankrupt when using the same accounting standards it requires of its own corporations. We're told by one of the more esteemed Mad Hatters that Treasuries prices and Treasuries supply should be simultaneously increasing exponentially. So it comes as little surprise to this "Alice in Wonderland" scribe to see Asian governments meeting to discuss a "food-price shock" while simultaneously the U.S. government reports "zero inflation" in its own economy. Here readers must understand that the U.S. propaganda machine does not deliberately produce utterly laughable propaganda, which no adult with a functioning brain could possibly swallow. The whole point of producing propaganda is to make it plausible, as the more absurd the lies, the sooner that a propaganda machine permanently destroys its own credibility. Thus the serial lies coming from the U.S. government's statisticians have not become rapidly more ridiculous simply because these Liars are bored – and looking to generate a few, cheap laughs. Rather, the propaganda becomes more and more absurd because it is rapidly becoming harder to stretch these statistical lies so that they report anything other than "U.S. economic collapse." | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Copper: Value Buy Or Value Trap? Posted: 20 Aug 2012 10:58 AM PDT By Income Hunter: Many investors are wondering if Southern Copper (SCCO) is the best value play in the mining sector. It is a bargain when compared with BHP Billiton (BHP) and Newmont Mining (NEM). At the close of business on August 16, 2012, BHP Billiton was trading at $69.21, and Newmont shares were selling for $47.51. Southern Copper closed at $32.81, which begins to place it in the bargain category. The interesting thing is that Southern Copper's share price was not that far below its closest rival, Freeport McMoRan (FCX). Freeport closed at $35.31, so it was a little under three dollars higher than Southern Copper. Is Southern Copper undervalued, or is it priced right? Some observers think Southern Copper is poised to grow because Chinese copper demand seems to be rising in the near future. Southern Copper's Financial Planning Manager, Raul Jacob, told Bloomberg that he thinks Chinese copper demand will grow Complete Story » | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Will Gold Go To $3,000 No Matter Who Wins In November? Posted: 20 Aug 2012 10:47 AM PDT By Michael Fitzsimmons: Bloomberg's BusinessWeek magazine for the week Aug 6-12 had a great article titled The Cliff We All Saw Coming by Brendan Greeley. You can read the full article here. According to Mr. Greeley, the fiscal crises the country faces today were predicted 10 years ago because they were built into the Bush tax cuts. Experts arguing against the tax cuts at the time predicted $1 trillion deficits in 10 years, and, that is exactly what happened. Greeley's proof was year-by-year deficit data, which I have summarized in this chart:
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| Tiho Brkan Sees Bear Market Coming, is Long Precious Metals Posted: 20 Aug 2012 10:40 AM PDT Tiho Brkan of the Short Side of Long discusses why a bear market is coming and what sectors he thinks are the most vulnerable. He also analyzes Bonds and concludes by saying he continues to like Precious Metals (Silver) and Agriculture best.
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| Watch Out for a Silver Breakout Higher Posted: 20 Aug 2012 10:24 AM PDT The silver battlefield is filled with bulls and bears fighting for dominance. Recently, the poor man's gold has dropped to the $26 area. The struggle continues between the opposing sides. The bulls and bears are keeping their eye on this critical support level at 2011 lows. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buy Apple's Low Volatility Before iPhone 5 Launch Posted: 20 Aug 2012 09:53 AM PDT By The implied volatility of options on everyone's favorite stock, Apple (AAPL), is trading at a near all time low. VXAPL, the so-called VIX of AAPL, is around 22% at the time of writing, the lowest level for 6 months. The last time it was this low, in January 2012, VXAPL didn't stay there for long (see below). Will history repeat? All charts courtesy of CBOE. The recent collapse in IV has been caused by AAPL's run up from its post earnings miss low of around $575 to its present (as of time of writing) $643 level: Will this continue? Or pull back in the short term as strong stock advances often do? Well, frankly, I (and everyone else - don't let them convince you otherwise) don't have a clue about where the stock will go. However, the power of options is that this isn't a barrier to success. Volatility is Complete Story » | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The RED Spread: A Market-Breadth Barometer - Can It Predict Black Swans? Posted: 20 Aug 2012 09:48 AM PDT By A chance of having another financial turmoil like the one in 2007-08 is perhaps lower than one out of six-digit chances, but is still remotely possible because it is a part of our financial system which needs to adjust to a stream of distortions over time. The EU crisis, the "London Whale" episode, the Libor scandal, and the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff clearly contribute to an increase in the probability of another financial meltdown, even though it's still extremely low. The Rotation/Equity Diffusion (RED) Spread, or REDS, is designed to monitor the probable event with data points rather than just hunches or speculation. In addition to mounting uncertainties, we are haunted by our deep-seated shocks, remembering our bad experiences during the 2007-2008 market failure. We don't want to see our capital shrink in half within a couple of weeks again. That is why we compile the REDS with two Diffusion Complete Story » | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gold Price and Indian Demand Shifting Trends Posted: 20 Aug 2012 09:07 AM PDT Chris Vermeulen – www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com One of the top stories in the financial markets in 2012 has to be the stagnation in the price of gold at around $1600 an ounce, which is down approximately 17% from its peak at $1920.30. Those bullish on the yellow metal have been disappointed in gold's performance while those bearish on the shiny metal have reveled in its stagnation, saying that gold's status as a safe haven is over. What is behind gold's sluggish performance in 2012? There are several reasons, but one of the key fundamental reasons has been the lack of demand from traditionally the largest buyer of gold on the planet – India (although China will surpass it this year). India bought only 181.3 tons in the second quarter of 2012, a 2-year low, according to the London-based World Gold Council. There are several factors at play as to why Indian demand for gold has fallen. One reason is the sharp drop in the value of its currency, the rupee, which is down by 25% versus the U.S. dollar this year. This decline has kept gold prices high in relative terms while the actual dollar value of gold was falling. Perhaps even more important has been the 'war' declared on gold by its central bank which has blamed all of the country's economic ills on Indian citizens' traditional buying of gold. In an attempt to slow down gold and silver imports, the Indian government has imposed new taxes on the purchase of these precious metals. But even though demand for the precious metal is way down in India, the situation still offers hope for gold bulls. Why? Because we've been here before – in 2009 to be exact. In early 2009, the Indian economy and rupee tanked. Gold demand almost completely dried up. According to precious metals consultancy GFMS, Indian demand for gold in the first quarter of 2009 collapsed by 77%. For the full year GFMS said Indian consumption dropped by 19%. Now with the Indian economy slowing to its weakest growth rate in nearly a decade and the rupee falling, we are seeing a replay of 2009. The monsoon season has been poor, hitting farmers – among the biggest buyers of gold – hard. Gold prices have hit a record high in rupee terms, and India is expected to purchase, as forecast by the World Gold Council, only 750 tons of gold, down 25% from 2011 levels. Meanwhile, the WGC forecasts that China will buy 850 tons of gold this year. Investors should pay heed to the clues that recent history is giving us. The drop in Indian demand is simply a cyclical phenomenon due to the lousy state of the Indian economy. It will recover eventually. And when it does, look out for the fireworks from renewed Indian demand for gold added to the Chinese demand. In 2010, as pent-up demand for gold was unleashed, Indian gold consumption soared 74% to a record high of 1,006 tons according to GFMS. Gold bulls surely hope we see something similar in 2013 and that is exactly what I talked about last week based around gold miner stocks and also what Dave Banister's recent gold forecast was about at TheMarketTrendForecast.com sees in 2013. Gold Chart Showing 2009 Collapse and Outcome and Current Gold Price Analysis:  Gold Forecast - India Gold demand Gold Trading & Investing Conclusion: In short, gold and gold stocks have a lot of work to do before they truly breakout into the next major leg higher. I feel we are nearing that point and they may have bottomed already. Starting a small long position to scale in I think is a safe play. But I would only add more once the trend actually turns up and shows strength in terms of price and volume action. If you would like to get my weekly analysis on precious metals and the board market be sure to join my free newsletter at www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com Chris Vermeulen | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:18 AM PDT
from thedailybell.com: The Daily Bell is pleased to publish this exclusive interview with Gerald Celente (left). Introduction: Forecasting trends since 1980, Mr. Gerald Celente is publisher of the Trends Journal®, Founder/Director of the Trends Research Institute® and author of the highly acclaimed and best selling books, Trend Tracking and Trends 2000 (Warner Books.) Using his unique perspectives on current events forming future trends, Gerald Celente developed the Globalnomic® methodology, which is used to identify, track, forecast and manage trends. His on-time trend forecasts, vibrant style, articulate delivery and vivid public presence makes him a favorite of major media. The Trends Research Institute has earned its reputation as "today's most trusted name in trends" for accurate and timely predictions. On the geopolitical and economic fronts, Celente and The Trends Research Institute are credited with predicting the collapse of the Soviet Union, the last two economic recessions, the dot-com meltdown, the 1997 Asian currency crisis, the 1987 world stock market crash, increased terrorism against America, "Crusades 2000," the quagmire in Iraq … before war began and much more. Daily Bell: Let's jump right in and ask you to comment on the Seed Event taking place on Saturday, October 13, 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Seedevent.org). Tell us about it. How are you directly involved? Gerald Celente: The Seed people contacted me after hearing my interviews from various other media. The Seed Event is very different from most of the presentations that I give. What is interesting is this is the kind of audience I relate to genuinely. The first book I ever worked on was called Natural Healing, back in 1986. I also have an honorary doctorate in complimentary medicine from the National University of Health Sciences. Keep on reading @ thedailybell.comGerald Celente on the Upcoming Seed Event and Why People Need to Think for Themselves to Avoid a Replay of the 1930s | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Booth - Weekly Gold Report (August 20th through August 24th) Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:13 AM PDT Brian Booth of Long Leaf Trading in Chicago writes: "After completing what seemed like a fairly strong week in global markets, I now look back at the daily charts for most futures and realize that overall, things were not really all that exciting. While the Treasuries quietly slipped lower day after day, and the Crude Oil and Stock Indexes maintained their upward bias, the US Dollar, the Euro Currency, and the Precious Metals were overall fairly boring. There were no real breaks above or below the ranges that we continue to be stuck in. I suppose the reason there may have been some excitement in the overall trade last week is that despite the low volume (which hit record low in some markets) there were opportunities to hold positions without fear of the intraday or overnight "stop-hunt" that we all have become so accustomed to. If traders sold Treasury or Yen Futures, or bought Crude Oil, Grains or Stock Index Futures to start the week, they had the first chance in a long time to hold out for the directional move. If traders were involved in the Dollar, Euro, Gold or Silver Futures, the same rules applied but there was much less direction to speak of. So what are the markets paying attention to overall? I believe the Precious Metals and the two powerhouse currencies (Dollar and Euro) have removed themselves from the global rumor mills and patiently wait for real economic policy to be voted on. In the United States, we have had several consecutive weeks of low volume trading that while normal this time of year, has put a strain on the confidence of those involved. In all fairness, there hasn't really been any big reason for the sidelined money to get involved in the markets. Even when an important report hits the market in the U.S., traders have to decide whether a decent number is a reason to buy, or whether it is a reason to sell. In normal markets, a good number should invite buying. These days, a good number might give the FED less reason to "accommodate" the markets after their next meeting. But these markets are far from normal. In Europe over the last several weeks, their markets have been equally as schizophrenic. Each overnight brings another rumor or promise that is later squashed in the United States day session. There are however a few standouts to keep an eye on. Mario Monti made a bold statement suggesting he would do anything and everything in his power to keep the Euro from a total disaster. Last week, his statement was surprisingly backed by Germany's Angela Merkel. The only issue with these statements is they have since failed to suggest a plan of action. There is a rumor of a "Quantitative Easing" like program being tossed around by the ECB. There is also a rumor that there may be a plan put in place that will not allow any one country's debt yield rates to rise above a premium over German Bonds. Lastly, it is also rumored that Spain may finally request assistance and receive the bailout funds that are ready to ease their financial pain. The only problem with all of these rumors, is that none of them have been backed with action. When you mix rumors, promises and light volume into the trading equation, you can expect a boring market. There is a FED announcement mid-week, and since the US Stock Indexes and Treasuries have hit their respective resistance and support, I believe that we will experience a bit of profit taking in quite a few markets that were directional last week. If the FED reports nothing this week, the profit taking may continue for more than just a few days. I still believe that the global markets will set their sights on the Jackson Hole Symposium in September before delivering a long term, directional trade. As far as Gold is concerned, I still believe the long term trend will continue to be up based on the underlying fundamentals and technicals. This week, look for another choppy trade with support levels at the 100 day moving (red line on chart) average at $1609, then the 50 day moving average (green line) at the ever important price of $1600 even. If these levels are violated, the market may target the cross of trendlines closer to a price of $1580. As far as resistance levels are concerned, the chart shows today's high as the first resistance, based on the two week trendline above. If this level is broken, look for $1630 next, then the 200 day moving average (blue line) in the low $1650's. Until Gold trades out these levels, traders should continue to take what the market gives them, which are fairly reliable technicals on the daily chart. Good luck this week. And as always, feel free to contact my office by phone (888) 272-6926 or by email at bbooth@longleaftrading.com with comments or questions. If you are interested in opening a futures trading account with Long Leaf Trading, please call or email me and I will be happy to discuss all of the trading tools and services that are available at Long Leaf Trading.
_________________________________________ Brian Booth Senior Market Strategist P: (888) 272-6926 L: (312) 274-1470 F: (773) 751-2103 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Are We About to See a Chinese Gold Rush? Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:08 AM PDT
from telegraph.co.uk: Currently, gold is at the top of this $1,550 (£987) to $1,620 an ounce range, but market watchers are split on what will happen next, with the gold price bulls and bears both having plenty of fodder to support their case. A Bloomberg poll of gold analysts released on Friday showed that they are the most bullish on pricing prospects for six weeks. With gold at the top of its trading range, does this signal a breakout? Out of 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, 14 expected prices to rise this week, with six expecting a fall and six seeing neutral price action. So, this is far from a resounding bullish cheer. There was also news last week in an SEC filing that both George Soros and John Paulson had increased their investment in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest publicly traded physical gold exchange traded fund (ETF). Keep on reading @ telegraph.co.uk | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gold and Silver Shine on Weaker U.S. Dollar Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:08 AM PDT | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central bank gold buying and the importance of investment demand Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:07 AM PDT Central bank gold buying and the importance of investment demand - Grubb "I think the big question is whether the US investor joins the party in the second half of the year" Interviewer: Geoff Candy Posted: Monday , 20 Aug 2012 Download this interview GEOFF CANDY: Welcome to this Mineweb.com Newsmaker podcast and joining me on the line is World Gold Council managing director for investments, Marcus Grubb. Marcus you've just released as the World Gold Council the Gold Demand Trends Report for the second quarter - gold demand overall down 7% to 990 tons, but it was the official sector buying that caught the attention, up 138% year-on-year. But clearly not all levels of demand were shooting the lights out, jewellery in particular not having a great time of things. MARCUS GRUBB: Yes demand overall for the second quarter was down about 7% in tonnage to 990 tons but unchanged compared to Q2 last year at $51bn largely because of a stronger gold price in the second quarter, about 7% higher than last year. I think it's worth remembering Q1 also saw a small fall in global demand for gold too of about 5%, so we are looking at a weaker first half so far this year compared to 2011. You're absolutely right - the weakness is largely in the consumer end of the market in jewellery and investments and it's affected very much by the two largest markets, India in particular but also to a lesser degree China. And those two markets are now 45% to 50% of quarterly and annual demand roughly - it moves around between quarters - but that's where we are today. India had a very poor quarter again following the disruption to the market in the first quarter from import tax rises, the jewellery tax, the strikes in different parts of India. Overall Indian demand was down 38% in Q2 and jewellery was down 30%. I think the problem you have in India now is although the disruption to the market is over, we've seen a very weak rupee and that has meant that gold prices in rupee terms are extremely high. They've been around all-time highs of INR28,000 to INR30,000 per 10 grams even whilst the price has been range trading around $1500 to $1550 for nine to 12 months now. So that has definitely damped consumer demand in India. China too has seen some fall-back - a fall of 7% in this quarter albeit though if you look at China to the first half - end of first half - because Q1 was strong, China is roughly the same level as it was last year which is of course a very strong performance, because last year was a great year for Chinese gold demand. I think though that what you're seeing is the consumer in both countries is pulling pack somewhat partly because of the price issue in India, and partly because in both economies, you're now seeing downgrades to near-term economic growth forecasts. So whilst the long-term view is still bullish we believe for a billion new consumers, urbanisation and investment in both countries, at the moment you have seen a near-term peak in terms of GDP growth and this is feeding through into demand in general. I think the other contrast you have is Indian policymakers are unable to reduce interest rates to help the economy as it slows because of a persistent inflation problem in India whilst China clearly is seeking to ease policy in line with western governments as well to moderate the fall in Chinese growth, and China has more latitude to do that because they have less of an inflation problem. So it adds up to us thinking that China will be the stronger market for the rest of the year as well and will probably become the largest market by year end. Looking at the quarter overall, investment fell 23% - that was largely again driven by bar and coin figures in Asia, India and China. Europe actually saw a rise of 15% in bar and coin investment and I think that was reflective of renewed eurozone problems during the second quarter. Lastly, central banks came in at 157,50 tons which was an excellent performance. Technology fell 5% roughly static though, a lot of competition in the technology end and we expect that segment to remain strong but under pressure from other competing products. And finally, the supply side fell about 6% largely due to recycling, matching the 7% fall in demand. So that's pretty much a summary of what happened in the second quarter. GEOFF CANDY: It's interesting, and I want to get into the central bank buying in just a second, but before we do that in terms of the Indian demand in particular, there was a lot of talk a while ago when prices in rupee terms first spiked about the fact that in many respects it's not necessarily so much the higher price but either the uncertainty or the volatility of the price that affects the buying in India. Is that a case up until a certain point and then the price is just too high, or is this lack of buying in India reflective more of a concern of what might happen in the future as opposed to the actual height of prices? MARCUS GRUBB: Yes I think you're right, it's both actually. The heightened gold price is absolutely a key factor and I would argue that's probably the major factor at this point in the evolution of gold demand in India. And my reasoning for that really is that since Q4 last year, we've seen the Indian economy enter something of a different phase of its growth than we've seen in recent years. There are issues now with the Indian economy in terms of the amount of direct investment coming into the country. Interest rates are having to remain relatively high because inflation is persistent from food and other sources, so the RBI cannot cut interest rates to stimulate growth and growth is at this point, declining somewhat from the highs that we've seen, down towards 5,5%, sub-6% level in India, but there is no policy response. And so all of this has led to the currency being very weak against the dollar and I think it's one of the weakest currencies in the world against the US dollar so far this year. But you're absolutely right, that's not the only factor at play here and historically what we've seen in India is that if the price of gold is very volatile, and/or the future price trend is uncertain and there is either a consolidation or a hiatus in terms of the direction and the sentiment around the gold price, you also see Indian consumers pull back from the market and I think that illustrates that in India as well as a relatively small investment sector in bars and coins, the much larger portion of demand is jewellery, but in India it also represents investment. And it's not the other way around - it's rarely that investment will also represent jewellery but in India part of jewellery is actually investment and this is for a number of reasons. It's high carat gold, it's sold often with a per gram price available on the screen within the jewellery store when consumers are buying the jewellery and there's a very active second-hand market and resale market at very close to the bullion price. This is true in China as well, so it's true that Indian consumers, even with jewellery tend to trade around a long position. They bring pieces in, they part exchange and/or they sell them back to the jeweller on a regular basis. This is a regular facet of the market in India. So I do think there's been some pullback on the basis of a lack of a clear direction for the gold price. GEOFF CANDY: In terms of these two markets, and clearly they are the two biggest markets for gold in the world, given the lax demand from them, had central banks not been buying as much as they had over the last quarter, the situation would have looked a lot worse and perhaps prices would have come off perhaps a little bit as well. How important going forward is this demise in demand, at least over the short-term from India and China and what is this likely to do to prices? MARCUS GRUBB: I think that's absolutely right - the central bank contribution has been very significant in the first half of this year and if they continue to buy at the same rate - we're at 254 tons at the half year which is significantly ahead of last year - if they bought another 250 tons in the second half, so we have 500 tons for the year, that would be a record since the early 1960s and it would really confirm this change in behaviour by emerging country central banks seeking to raise their gold weightings. I do think that's been vital in terms of the health of the market in the first part of the year and has offset the weakness largely that we've seen in India because Q1 in China was a very good quarter, so it really is India that has been the issue so far this year. Looking forward into the second half, I think we're likely to have a better combination of factors, both China and India see higher levels of demand usually in the second half around the wedding festival, Diwali, the stocking before Diwali, the end of the monsoon season which is coming, and the increase in rural income. And then that leads on into festivals in China, Christmas and into Chinese New Year in early 2013. So seasonally, we're now entering a better period for gold demand from a purely fundamental point of view. And I also think that we do think that central banks will continue to buy at a very similar rate as the first half. So we should see these two factors actually help the gold market in the second half. GEOFF CANDY: That being said though, in terms of the monsoon, India hasn't had a great monsoon so far this year and also in terms of the higher prices will we likely see as big a jump from a traditional buying point of view if prices are as high as they are? MARCUS GRUBB: A very good question because I think at the moment, at the half year if you look at it across all the categories it is something of a footrace here now between India and China on the one hand, central bank buying and investment on the other, and I think that is the key really to how the second half will evolve. Because India as you rightly point out, is clearly going to be weak in the second half as well as the first half, even though it will be seasonally a better pattern of demand than the first part of the year, and that is because the monsoons are less strong than in previous years, probably down 20% maybe a bit less. The latest news is a bit better, but still, it does imply that private farm incomes will be some 10% or more below the last year's levels which will feed into gold demand. Secondly I think you're right. The rupee although it may well stabilise at the current level, its unlikely to rally very strongly in the second half of the year, so gold prices are still going to remain at high levels, near all-time high levels from a rupee perspective. So all of that means that the gold market is still going to need China, central banks and ultimately I think what is really the wild card, investment to kick in in the second half in order to make up the slack from the largest market falling probably 25% to 30% and our expectation by year end is probably India will come in around 750 tons which would be about 25% fall from last year. So that tonnage has to be made up from somewhere - some of it slightly to be made up in China because we think China will hit probably 850 tons - that's higher than last year and of course the central banks look like they're on target to add perhaps as much as 100 tons to the last year's total. I think the real wild card is investment and whether or not we'll see a strong showing from investment in the second half, both in America as well as in Europe because in Europe we've already seen quite a lot of strength this year and it's continuing in the latest ETF figures even in July and August. I think the big question is whether the US investor joins the party in the second half of the year and whether or not these huge macro questions about the financial system, the US election, the fiscal cliff and the eurozone crisis - what happens with those issues and whether or not it leads to increased gold demand. GEOFF CANDY: In many respects though in terms of US bar and coin demand it is a fairly big if, because it's the fifth consecutive quarter of year-on-year declines and looking at the report - American Buffalo and Eagle coins sales fell by around 40% year-on-year in this quarter, so clearly at the moment, US investors don't seem to be liking gold as much as perhaps they once did. MARCUS GRUBB: I think that's true and they haven't been selling their gold back, but they have not been adding to their positions. Absolutely right, the mint statistics are very clear and indeed if you look at the pick-up in ETF tonnages that has occurred, and so far this year is a pretty good year for ETFs despite this quarter. At the half year net new assets under management in ETFs is up 52 tons compared to the first half of last year which was down about seven tons. So these quarterly statistics actually do tell a little bit of an incorrect story in the sense that to the half year, ETFs are doing very well. And more recently, we've seen more buying in the eurozone because of the continued problems here. So yes, I think the big question is whether or not as there is more clarity in North America about the election, whether or not the parties can solve the economic problems in the US and also what the solution is to the fiscal cliff which has to be agreed before the end of December, I suspect you may see US investment demand for gold reignite again. But that is a big question mark... GEOFF CANDY: It's interesting because theoretically as far as I understand it the uncertainty around all of things and what could happen or what might happen in the US would be the reason people would be wanting to buy gold bars and coins rather than waiting until the clarity comes before investing. MARCUS GRUBB: Well yes true in an ideal world that is what investors would do and consumers should do, is effectively insure themselves against the risk of asset price falls, against the risk of FIAT currency depreciation, against possible future inflation risk, but I think with financial markets as we know, often these forces develop beneath the surface and only later do they actually become more apparent to consumers and investors and our view is we suspect that's what's happening here and that certainly in more recent discussions we're having with investors - there is a renewed interest in gold right now as the summer is coming to an end. And I think on that score the recent 13F filings are very interesting because we saw that two funds that a lot of investors look at Soros and Paulson have recently re-increased their gold weightings and quite a lot of investors are asking themselves why they're doing that in the United States when as you rightly say, gold demand has been quite placid so far this year, from the US. GEOFF CANDY: Very quickly just to close off with, UBS pointed out in a note today, talking about the dramatic increase in central bank buying, the more interesting feature they said is that there's a 124 ton discrepancy between your estimate as the World Gold Council and the 33,2 tons currently available in the public domain based on IMF data and various news reports. Could you speak a little bit to that and is there any way to gauge who may be behind this discrepancy, or the people buying this gold. MARCUS GRUBB: Yes, it's a very interesting facet of the central bank statistics and we've had this happen once before in the second half of last year, although not to the same extent in terms of tonnage. It basically stems from the fact that central banks are not obligated to report changes in reserves. Now different central banks around the world operate different policies as to when they will inform the market or make public statements about changes in their strategic reserves and I think we will get some further clarity in the next two months or so as those central banks who do have a policy of releasing data within a month or two of purchases or sales do that. But you're right absolutely to point out that there is a significant discrepancy in this quarter between our figures and those from the BIS (Bank for International Settlements) and the IMF who also track central bank purchases. And I think also some observers have also pointed to the discrepancy in terms of imports of gold into China as well as a facet of this statistical anomaly. I think it's fair to say we are aware of who some of the purchasers are but can't disclose them, but it would be true to say that there's still a discrepancy in the statistics and I wouldn't comment on that except to say that I think emerging country central banks are clearly seeking to diversify from the US dollar, diversify from the euro and sovereign debt and they are hedging currency and financial system and economic risk at this point and investors would be well versed to look at what the central banks are currently doing because it's very interesting this huge change in the trend of buying by central banks. And it now looks like it is a longer term facet of the gold market, not simply a year when we've got net buying after 15 years of net selling. GEOFF CANDY: As you say, definitely a sector to watch and a very interesting development hopefully as well... | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9/11 & Gold, Money and Power Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:03 AM PDT | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily Pfennig: Bundesbank Balks At ECB Plan Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:02 AM PDT
from caseyresearch.com: Good day. And a Marvelous Monday to you! Front and Center. Happy Birthday to my darling daughter, Dawn. More at the end. Cards lose in the 19th inning, they sure didn't play very good baseball this weekend! The weather was fabulosio this weekend in the St. Louis area, so we had that going for us. Chris heads to San Francisco later this week for the San Francisco Money Show. I sure wish I were going too. I sure do love that city! Friday, we saw a lot of dollar buying to end the week. The currencies held the baton, orchestrating a gain for the week, until the dollar snuck up behind and snatched it away to end the week. The U. of Michigan Confidence report for the first two weeks of August, showed an increase and so did Leading Indicators for July. But I think it would be a stretch to think that those reports were the main reason the dollar rallied on Friday. Instead, I would think the reason could be placed squarely on the shoulders of book squaring. But, the data didn't hurt! Keep on reading @ caseyresearch.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Silver to Breakout Amid Odd Forecast—Ben Davies Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:01 AM PDT
from beaconequity.com: "We're trend ready, Eric. I think it's a prescient time to come on the show," Hinde Capital CEO Ben Davies begins his interview with King World News (KWN), referring to a resumption of the upward trend in the gold market. But, where gold goes, silver follows at a 'double-time' pace—at least. Davies proprietary model for pricing silver suggests to him a move higher of 25 percent, citing reasons of a slight upturn in the U.S. economy, the return of easy-credit European politicians from vacation, and, possibly, truth in the rumor that Spain will ask the ECB for a bailout during the weekend, ending Aug. 19. On the news of a Spanish capitulation, alone, silver prices could move higher this week, according to Davies. Keep on reading @ beaconequity.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Silver, Wine, Art and Gold (SWAG) To Protect From Inflation Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:59 AM PDT
from goldcore.com: Today's AM fix was USD 1,615.25, EUR 1,306.84, and GBP 1,028.04 per ounce. Friday's AM fix was USD 1,616.50, EUR 1,306.05 and GBP 1,028.57 per ounce. Silver is trading at $28.13/oz, €22.96/oz and £18.00/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,476.75/oz, palladium at $599.20/oz and rhodium at $1,025/oz. Gold edged up $1.90 or 0.12% in New York on Friday and closed at $1,615.90/oz. Silver surged to $28.34 in early trading then fell off and closed with a loss 0.43%. For the week, gold was 0.3% lower and silver was 0.14% lower. Keep on reading @ goldcore.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| People’s Bank of China Faces Familiar Quandary Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:57 AM PDT
from goldmoney.com: Things have calmed somewhat this morning on the eurozone-front, with yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds falling to a six-week low – welcome relief for Mariano Rajoy's embattled government in Madrid. However, the continent's politicians and bankers are still engaging in the same-old arguments about the virtues (or otherwise) of a massive new money-printing scheme from the European Central Bank. The Bundesbank is still arguing strongly against this, while a German Finance Ministry spokesman this morning denied weekend reports that the ECB was preparing to cap yields on bonds of eurozone states. However, the Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean Claude-Juncker has stated that Greece will not be forced to leave the eurozone, though Joerg Asmussen – a member of the ECB's executive board – has said that a Greek euro-exit would be manageable. In other words, confusion still reigns. We'll probably have to wait until the region's politicians return from their August holidays before clearer signs emerge. Keep on reading @ goldmoney.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:57 AM PDT Riverstone Resources Inc. (TSX-V; RVS) ("Riverstone" or the "Company") is pleased to report the results of a NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA") carried out on the Company's flagship Karma Gold Project in Burkina Faso, West Africa (the "Karma Project"). All currency figures are in $US and based on a $1,350/oz gold price (May 2012 three year trailing average). •Pre-tax NPV $271 M, IRR 47%. •After-tax NPV $192 M; IRR 37%; payback is 2 years; including the Burkina Faso Government 10% carried interest. •Open pit heap leach operation processing 3 Mtpa (million tonnes per annum) of oxide and transition mineralization to produce 70,000 to 90,000 oz of gold annually over a 10 year mine life and cash costs of $525/oz gold. •Initial start-up capital is $125 M, with a potential to reduce to $96 M utilizing contract mining. •The PEA is based on the January 1, 2012 NI 43-101 Global Mineral Inventory and optimized In-Pit resources. •In excess of 85,000 metres of drilling has been completed subsequent to the data cut-off date for the January 2012 resource estimation, which, have not been included in this PEA. "We are very pleased with the robust results of this PEA which illustrate the potential economic viability of a mining operation for our flagship project. The strong economics demonstrated by the PEA support the company's strategic plan to develop a stand-alone heap leach operation and subsequently exploit the sulphide resource potential using the cash flow from the heap leach operations", commented Dwayne L. Melrose, President and CEO of Riverstone. "This is a significant milestone for the Company that will further guide the future development of the Karma Project to the feasibility stage. The additional 85,000 metres of drilling that have been completed since the last resource estimation have produced favourable results and is expected to further enhance the economics of the Karma Project. An important aspect of the Karma Project is the encouraging potential for further resource expansion as the mineralization is still open in at least one or more directions. Additionally, there is still excellent upside exploration potential throughout all the other properties owned and directed by the Company within Burkina Faso to discover new deposits." -- Riverstone Resources press continues at the link below. Source: Riverstone Resources Disclosure: Riverstone Resources is a Vulture Bargain Candidate of Interest (VBCI) and is our fully fledged Vulture Bargain #3. Members of the GGR team are actively accumulating shares of RVS.V or RVREF and continue to hold a speculative long position in the company.
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| US Investment Demand Gold’s Current Key Swing Factor – WGC Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:53 AM PDT
from mineweb.com: GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – For the second half of 2012, European and US investment demand for gold will be the swing factor in deciding whether or not the year is a good one for the yellow metal. Speaking to Mineweb.com's Gold Weekly Podcast, Marcus Grubb, MD for Investment at the World Gold Council, said, "At the half year if you look at it across all the categories it is something of a footrace here now between India and China on the one hand, central bank buying and investment on the other, and I think that is the key really to how the second half will evolve." As Grubb points out, India is likely to have a fairly weak second half to the year, despite the forthcoming festival and wedding season which is traditionally a strong time for the metal. While it will be a seasonally better performance than the first half, persistently high rupee prices and a fairly poor monsoon, don't bode well for the second half of the year. Keep on reading @ mineweb.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:51 AM PDT
from news.goldseek.com: "To trace something unknown back to something known is alleviating, soothing, gratifying and gives moreover a feeling of power. Danger, disquiet, anxiety attend the unknown – the first instinct is to eliminate these distressing states. First principle: any explanation is better than none… The cause-creating drive is thus conditioned and excited by the feeling of fear …" — Friedrich Nietzsche "Any explanation is better than none." And the simpler, it seems, in the investment game, the better. "The markets went up because oil went down," we are told. Then the next day the opposite relationship occurs, and there is another reason for the movement of the markets. But we all intuitively know that things are far more complicated than that. As Nietzsche noted, dealing with the unknown can be disturbing, so we look for the simple explanation. Keep on reading @ news.goldseek.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Italian Cash-for-Gold Shops Quadruple as Financial Crisis Deepens Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:47 AM PDT
from telegraph.co.uk: City centres are being transformed as traditional shops go out of business, their signs replaced by ones that announce "Compro Oro", or "I Buy Gold". The Eurispes thinktank estimates that the number of the shops has quadrupled in the last two years. The growth of the industry is "a very good indicator of the level of hardship in the country," said president Gian Maria Fara. Valerio Novelli, a ticket inspector in Rome, is planning to sell his old gold teeth. "I can't get to the end of the month without running up debts," 56-year-old Mr Novelli told Reuters. "I know I won't get much, but I need the money." Keep on reading @ telegraph.co.uk | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ECB: gold and gold receivables remain unchanged Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:46 AM PDT | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| $2,000 Gold Will Soon Kickstart Mining Shares: Michael Fowler Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:36 AM PDT | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 20 Aug 2012 06:28 AM PDT New Family of Spiders Found in Oregon Cave Associated Press (Carol B) We Shouldn't Give Up on SETI ieee Spectrum What's Lost (And Found) In Machine Translation Big Think Black Lung Disease: Life-Saving Rules, Technology Stymied By Politics, Experts Say Huffington Post (Carol B) US Army grants $3 million for anti-suicide nasal spray research RT (Chuck L) Cartel Pushes Up Rubber Price Wall Street Journal BIS says Australian banks are too big MacroBusiness Belize to Skip Payment If Lenders Don't Relent Wall Street Journal (Joe Costello) Der Spiegel Says Hydra Residents Besieged Tax Inspectors Greek Reporter ECB May Set Yield Limits on Euro Sovereign Bonds, Spiegel Says Bloomberg (Ilja). This would be HUGE if this is real (and if they were to set the rates low enough to provide real, lasting relief), but this is also a huge departure from what the surplus countries have said they are willing to back. Waiting for my readers of the German tea leaves to report in, but my guess is that this is a trial balloon and/or a way to keep Mr. Market on board till Sept 12. A warning from the past: N. Kaldor on the Eurozone Yanis Varoufakis Web snares Vietnam as bloggers spread protests over land Reuters (Lambert) Bo Xilai's Wife Gets Suspended Death Sentence Bloomberg George Will Makes Fool Of Self While Beating Dead Apocalypse Horse EconoSpeak An Unserious Man Paul Krugman, New York Times Poverty in America: Why Can't We End It? New York Times (Carol B) Wall Street Sets the Rules for Regulators American Banker Investors baffled by subdued Vix level Financial Times Sad But True: Corporate Crime Does Pay Alternet (furzy mouse) The three Ds of finance and the race to the bottom Nicholas Shaxson Low-interest locusts: David Cay Johnston Reuters (Carol B). From earlier this month, but still important. Further thoughts: Whippings for Workers and Locusts for Savers masaccio, Firedoglake * * * lambert here: D – 21 and counting* "If I were to begin borrowing money I would end by devising means of persuading the Secretary of the Treasury to lend me the gold reserve." –Nero Wolfe in Rex Stout's Fer de Lance. Meet the Press as told to The Bobblespeak Translations: "MCDONNELL: America is awesome! We're broke! USA! USA! GREGORY: rock on" Occupy. Occupy Tampa: "Occupy Tampa has formed a Regional General Assembly to coordinate Occupy groups throughout the bay area, including: Occupy Lakeland, Occupy St. Petersburg, Occupy Bradenton, Occupy USF, Occupy New Port Richey, and Occupy Sarasota. We have tried to plan as much as possible ahead of time, but we want to leave space open to spontaneously produce additional actions by harnessing the number of people that arrive." … Occupy Tampa: "If this type of illegal behavior from the police continues, the police department and the city of Tampa can expect internal affairs complaints, criminal charges, and civil lawsuits." … Occupy Tampa, Tea Party vs. Occupy "debate": "This is not true. Framing the debate in this way perpetuates the misconception of Occupy as a leftist version of the Tea Party. Quite the contrary, we consist of a diverse array of people, ideas, and grievances. Some occupiers do not identify themselves through political affiliations. We are, after all, the 99%." … CMWSS (Coalition to March on Wall Street South, Charlotte): "CMWSS, this week, was successful in obtaining a 'convergence space'. Thanks to the donations of supporters the convergence space will be available to all. This large hall will be an essential point for the many protest groups, and individual activists, to rendezvous and converge together." CA. Ballot wars: "Robert 'Bob' Baker('Bob Baker 1′) is seeking reelection to the San Clemente City Council this November.A second Robert 'Bob' Baker (' Bob Baker 0') has appeared out of thin air to challenge his namesake." FL. Corruption: "And just Friday, we heard from a longtime GOP donor who said he was denied a seat on Orlando's airport board — simply because he wouldn't cough up $10,000." … Medicare: "Residents ages 45 to 54 account for nearly 15 percent of FL's population, about 2.7 million people, and would be the first wave of retirees affected by a plan crafted by Paul Ryan, to transform Medicare from a fee-for-service system to a voucher program." GA. Charters: "Frankly, this newspaper having been a supporter of the really, truly charter-school concept long, long before it was distorted into a mindless political weapon of deception, hasn't even known where to begin in warning readers about it. This Trojan horse is, pure and simple, designed to destroy — not improve — local-level public education." … Water: "Yet, man-made lakes — reservoirs by another name — have become great sources of private profit-making. Land previously valued at less than $10,000 an acre may be worth 10 or 20 times that much once a body of water is made available nearby. Those who have influence over decisions about when and where to build reservoirs are in a position to gain huge financial payouts." … Corruption: "While The Red and Black [student newspaper] board meetings are closed even to the staff, the students dug up the company's tax forms and posted them on their website, Redanddead.com. Among the revelations: [Red and Black Publisher Harry] Montevideo was paid just shy of $190,000 last year. Since the nonprofit company spent just over $1 million that same year, Montevideo took home nearly 20 percent of its budget." If you remember the UVa board putsch, you know how important the independence of the student newspaper, the Cavalier Daily, was; an independence Montevideo seems to have set out to destroy, and failed. Also, what's with using frats as "focus groups," and then censoring coverage of them? (A fine wrap-up at CJR.) IL. Corruption: "The last time the [IL] House ousted a lawmaker over a perceived misdeed was in 1905, when they expelled another rookie Chicago D, Frank D. Comerford. He suggested that lawmakers had taken bribes and likened the General Assembly to a 'public auction.'" Quelle horreur! LA. Petro-state: "50 additional feet of land has collapsed into the southwest side of the sink hole caused by Texas Brine Company's Oxy Geismar Well #3 near Bayou Corne. Shortly after being rescued the boat that they were working from was pulled down into the sink hole with the tree it was tied to." … Corruption: "The state Board of Ethics on Friday overruled its own staff's recommendation that Kira Orange Jones be forced to choose between serving on Louisiana's top education board and keeping her day job as head of the New Orleans branch of Teach For America." …. Abstinence: "[Mark Alain] Déry and two Tulane researchers released the results of a study linking abstinence-only instruction in public schools to the epidemic HIV rates among young African-Americans in Louisiana." MO. Knuckle-draggers: "Rep. Todd Akin, a leading candidate for the U.S. Senate, said 'legitimate rape' victims seldom get pregnant. 'From what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it is a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down' ( Macaca moment?). … Non-apology apology: "[AKIN: ] In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, i t's clear that I misspoke in this interview and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year." … From the Department of How Soon We Forget: "There's a reason why Ds spent over $1.5 million trying to help Akin win his three-way primary" (VastLeft). KY. Drought: "[Rancher Joseph Watson's] 1,400 cattle are no longer feeding off corn. The prices, Watson says, are too high to keep corn in stock. So earlier this year, he began to buy second-hand candy. Watson mixes the candy with an ethanol by-product and a mineral nutrient." Makes perfect sense; candy is High Fructose Corn Syrup. MN. Corruption: "[A]s can be seen from our video there was a steady stream of people coming and going in and out State Capitol Rm 208. They had been called to the room from a[n email] message from Maureen Watson, to get lunch. [A] number of the people invited do not currently work in the building. They are working for the Senate Victory Fund." It's illegal to use state facilities to campaign. MT. Landfills: "Six to eight employees of the Billings Regional Landfill could be suspended or fired for taking home truckloads of electronics equipment, high-end sporting goods, rifles and other property that was supposed to be disposed of." Aw, come on. Dump picking?! NC. Banksters: "The plaintiffs claim BofA helped push the lots, but failed to tell buyers that the developer was insolvent and could not complete the promised "amenities," such as roads and utilities." NY. Petro-state: "On Aug. 17, more than 200 people marched through the Village of Watkins Glen, NY, to protest the proposed LNG storage and transport facility in the Finger Lakes. People within the region are growing increasingly frustrated after attending decision-making meetings, meeting with representatives, writing letters, holding forums, attending hearings and making phone calls in an effort to stop this project–seemingly to no avail." OH. Voting: ""I guess I really actually feel we shouldn't contort the voting process to accommodate the urban — read African-American — voter-turnout machine,' said Doug Preisse, chairman of the county R Party and elections board member who voted against weekend hours." … Corruption: "Records show [Ohio Superintendent Stan] Heffner dined with Educational Testing Service vice president John Oswald and his wife at a San Antonio restaurant in May of 2011. They ordered $10 cocktails, oysters and escargot. Heffner resigned Aug. 4 after Inspector General Randall Meyer found he engaged in potentially wrongful conduct. Prosecutors are reviewing the case." …. Fracking: "Ohio University students have developed a database to link shale gas drillers with Ohio companies that can provide supplies and services. Students used a $100,000 rural business enterprise grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop the project." PA. Corruption: "[T]he case against former athletic director Tim Curley and former senior vice president Gary Schultz [for lying to the grand jury investigating Jerry Sandusky]is scheduled for January 2013, with jury selection starting Jan. 7 and the trial to follow immediately." TN. More guns, please: "[NRA lobbyist Chris] Cox suggested that the solution was for the NRA to appoint its own officials to state government. 'It's less expensive, and we'd no longer have to go to the regrettable lengths of making examples of more of you.'" Parody! TX. Tinpot tyrants: "[Y]ou're better off having a badge and a rape conviction [ here] than a vagina and consent [ here]. In summary: America." … Landfills: "[T]he landfill fight in rural [Hempstead, TX] two hours east of Austin has a standard shape: An out-of-state corporation is accused of siting an unsightly dump near a largely poor, largely minority community. The landfill company says the accusations are unfair and that the dump will contribute jobs to a stricken area." Yes, the playbook. But read for surprise. WI. Fracking: "But the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, using job-site estimates developed by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation [ Walker's "public-private" agency], found that when existing mines and those being built are fully operating, the [frack sand mining and processing] industry will employ about 2,780 people — a sizeable number given the state's overall luckluster job picture." Good round-up. Outside baseball. Assange: "[Assange's] long game is simple. He will run, in absentia, in the next Australian elections.He is more than popular enough to be elected.Once he is an MP, he can't be touched." What an awesome idea. … Racism: "In sum, I don't think [Marginal Revolution's Alex] Tabarrok is technically correct to say that 'racists are split evenly between the two parties.'At least by these measures, the split is not exactly even.But he is absolutely correct to say that neither party has a monopoly on racists" (tables). … Cultural markers: " [T]he ingesting of arugula in no way interferes with one's ability to have Osama bin Laden shot." Yeah, and neither did drinking PBR. Shocking, I know. … TPP: "The fourteenth major round of TPP negotiations — and perhaps one of the last — is taking place in Leesburg, VA from September 6 to 15." … Medicare: "When it comes to Medicare, specifically, South Florida is the fraud capital of the nation. The feds say that fraud sucks up to $90 billion out of the system, and that Miami accounts for about $3 billion of that estimated amount." … Court nominations: "[Sheldon Goldman UMass Amherst] :"[W]ithout significant changes to Senate rules, a greater push might make little difference. The great expectations when [Obama] was elected have not come to fruition." Senate rules means "filibuster." … Filibuster: "The bipartisan duo [of Richard Arenberg and Robert Dove] push the case against an effort led by relative Senate newcomers Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to change the chamber's rules by a simple majority vote at the beginning of a new Congress." That's the nuclear option. Could have been done in 2009 if Obama and the Ds were serious about passing legislation. Grand Bargain™-brand cat food watch: Na ga happen: " 'We're not going to have grand bargain [next month]. You can tell from this debate just how highly politicized everything has become,' Neil Barofsky, the Treasury official who oversaw the Wall Street bailout, said Sunday, during a roundtable appearance on CNN's State of the Union." The trail. Corruption: "The FBI probed a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee that involved drinking, numerous GOP freshmen lawmakers, top leadership staff — and one nude member of Congress, according to more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses." In a "Biblically significant area"! Ouch! Robama vs. Obomney watch. Sabbath-day gasbags: "For a presidential contest that was supposed to revolve around jobs, surrogates for the Romney and Obama campaigns spent [Sunday] talking about everything but the economy." Sabbath-day gasbags: "GILLESPIE: Governor Romney supports increasing over time bringing Medicare eligibility in line with the Social Security retirement age …" which, of course, Obama also supports. RNCon. Police state: "A Web developer here has mapped 59 security cameras posted downtown for the Republican National Convention" ( here). DNCon. Camping: "At least nine area counties and municipalities have restricted camping on public property so far this year, citing concerns about the Occupy Charlotte movement and potential protests tied to the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Charlotte." Romney. Corruption: "[Romney] appears to have profited from a marketing company that was contracted by the state of MA after receiving $5 million from Bain, Romney's investment firm. " OK, but twice now. Since when was the Telegraph an outlet for D oppo? …. Tax returns: "Both Romney and his newly anointed running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, have advanced policies that would further reduce Romney's tax liabilities." Ouch! … Ryan pick, Nate Silver: "So it looks increasingly as though [Romney] made a different sort of gamble — more of a true all-in move. His bet is that the era of triangulation is over: that Republicans can win elections without having to compromise. Or, perhaps, in an era when so few voters are truly undecided, he thinks a robust turnout from the Republican base could be enough to get him the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Will it work? Political theory argues against it, but Republicans have been moving to the right for a couple of decades now, and it is not clear that they have paid much of a price for it."… Asian vote: "Asian-Americans comprise 4 per cent of the electorate in VA and 8 per cent in NV. The Romney campaign is making aggressive efforts to try to limit Obama's share of the Asian-American vote this year. It is organising voter registration drives and is handing out campaign bumper stickers in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese." Obama. "Hope": "Torture was Bush's legacy at Guantanamo. I hope that Obama's legacy will not be that he legitimized indefinite detention without charge." … Crowds: "Obama campaign operatives, both at the Chicago headquarters and in swing states where Mr. Obama recently has stumped, say the campaign intentionally limits crowds by restricting tickets. The reason is to allow the president to better connect with supporters." * 21 days until the Democratic National Convention ends with candy for everyone on the floor of the * * * Antidote du jour. Richard Smith notes that the rescuers carry on as if this is a familiar task:
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| Precious Metals Swag to Shield from Inflation Posted: 20 Aug 2012 05:41 AM PDT Platinum hit its highest price is six weeks Monday on worries that supply will shrink after the mining massacre in South Africa. Some gold investors are still waiting on clear signals from central banks before re-entering the market. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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