saveyourassetsfirst3 |
- GEAB N°69 is available! Katrina-Sandy: From one hurricane to another, the end of America as we knew it
- Marc Faber, Gold & a Special Picture of Ben Bernanke
- What Marc Faber Said to the LBMA About Gold
- NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Can Become A Potential Gold Mine
- Institutions Are Selling These Rich Dividend Gold Stocks
- CME Margin Rates Decline for Gold, Silver
- Steve Baker: MP on sound money
- Don Coxe – Nassim Taleb, Black Swans & Financial Collapse
- Greyerz – There Is A Tide In The Affairs Of Men…
- Demanding Trends for World Gold Markets
- Bullion 'Being Liquidated for Cash' as Stocks Fall
- GFMS: Silver Up 38%, 'Possibly Over $50' in 2013
- US Fiscal Debate Hurt Equities & Support Gold
- Soros and Rogers adding to precious metal positions
- High Gold Prices Push Many Indians to Silver for Diwali
- Gold and Silver Market morning, November 16, 2012
- Dominican Republic: Protests of Nickel & Gold Plans
- Quelle Surprise! New York Fed Chair Dudley Confirms that TBTF Lives, Big Firms Still Can’t Be Resolved
- Rediscovering the Golden Beauty of Myanmar
- Links for 2012-11-15 [del.icio.us]
- Glorious November Gifts from the Trading Gods
- A billion-dollar treasure hunt in Hindu temple to be revealed
- The relevance and importance of Gold in the World Monetary System
- Gold market and prices 1800-2008
- How Gold Performs During Periods of Deflation, Disinflation, Runaway Stagflation and Hyperinflation…
| Posted: 16 Nov 2012 11:35 AM PST - Pubic announcement GEAB N°69 (November 16, 2012) -  As anticipated by LEAP/E2020 for several months, a major shock to the world economy and global stability has arrived in the Fall of 2012, in the form of a symbolic landmark in world history: Hurricane Sandy. In the method of political anticipation upon which LEAP bases its analyses (1), Sandy corresponds to two characteristics: the "last-straw" event in which accumulated failures become unbearable and break the system, and the symbolic event that strikes the imagination and permanently transforms an image of reality, knowing one must always distinguish between the reality of a systemic change (at work since at least 2008) and its collective acceptance (in this case, that America is not what it once was). The month of October 2012 will appear in history books as the date of the end of America as we knew it in the twentieth century. On October 29, the Hurricane Sandy hit New York 83 years to the day after the Black Tuesday crisis of 1929, revealing to the world the real state of American society and its symbol, New York City. The shift in perceptions in the media has been striking to behold, particularly in light of the aftermath of an election whose results the world should have applauded to: an America "changed," "divided," "third world," "at an impasse," "apocalyptic," etc. (see a list of links below). Sandy has definitively shattered the American mirror. Confirming all forecasts of the LEAP/E2020 team over the last six years regarding the deteriorating health of the U.S., particularly those since GEAB No. 65 (2), Hurricane Sandy is the event marking the last step in the collapse of the American system. Affecting the financial center of the country, highlighting the inability of the nation's most powerful city to resist a "small" hurricane known about several days in advance, it marks the end of America as it had been known. As anticipated in January of 2006, the "dollar wall" (3) has been cracking for six years, and Sandy struck it with full force, revealing a "naked king" (4). The devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 can be compared to Chernobyl in 1986 (surprising the world by the poor management of the crisis and the real state of the economy), and the "dollar wall" can be compared to the Berlin Wall. Destroyed by the crisis, the dollar is no longer a wall and 2013 will be the years of the collapse of twentieth century America.  From Katrina to Sandy we passed through the Lehman Brothers and a series of shocks shaking US power down to the bedrock. The confidence of the world is gone. One should take note of an incredible article in Der Spiegel: "Divided States of America: Notes on the Decline of a Great Nation" (5), a real condensation of six years of anticipations from LEAP, which in such a mainstream publication as Der Spiegel is not to be considered trivial. After Sandy and the presidential election, the media has clearly made a u-turn, including the European media usually so enamored with the U.S., now looking at this country with the critical eye of reality (6). The conclusion is unanimous – the great power that emerged from the Second World War is no more. In the wake of Sandy, the re-election of Obama left a very bitter taste in half of the U.S. and in the rest of the world, as seen in the press: what should have been good news, for Obama was the best-choice candidate for the rest of the world, actually enables to see no change at all ahead, the worst news of all in light of what is now known about the U.S.'s economic and social situation. Everything that went unresolved in the last four years remains on the table. The campaign tamped them down, and now they emerge stronger and more intractable. With the re-emergence of those problems evaded during the election campaign, and with the re-election of Obama difficult to swallow for Republicans, the U.S. will not be able to overcome the challenges coming in late 2012 and early 2013: on the economic side, the fiscal cliff, the debt ceiling, the bond bubble, the student loan bubble; on the social side, the explosive divide between the white, pro-Romney majority and the mostly pro-Obama minorities, with, as predicted in GEAB No. 68, the possibility of riots escalating into civil war and secession trends, given the amount of weapons in circulation, which in turn could lead to a military coup in order to maintain order. We develop this analysis of the collapse of the U.S. in GEAB No. 69.  We also discuss the problems of the U.S.'s big neighbour, Canada, with the explosion of its housing bubble and aftermath. Although the Canadian situation is far less serious than that of the U.S., North America is preparing to live through serious times. But our team reminds that the crisis is global and will not spare even emerging nations, China in the first place. We're back in this issue discussing challenges facing China, including social movements that will affect it in 2012 (as we have seen in Europe and the U.S. in the last two issues). We also, of course, provide our monthly suggestions (on currency exchanges, etc.) and the GlobalEurometre. Even if we focus on the U.S. this issue, we should not lose sight of the explosive state of the world and of geopolitics in particular, which must be tied to the loss of US influence. As seen in the secondary role it has played in Libya, Mali, and Syria, due to budgetary constraints, America's new strategy is to outsource its agenda to its partners: France and the U.K. in Libya, ECOWAS in Mali (7), Israel in Syria (8)…The lack of the geopolitical leader of the last 80 years makes the situation in the Middle East particularly parlous, with disparate interests mingling in a cacophony. It is on the European side or on the Russo-Chinese side that the solutions are to be found in fact. But Europeans are still not ready to dissociate themselves from their former US ally, a self-neutralization in effect. The Russians or Chinese do not have the prestige of "good powers," those whose interests are combined to true universal values. Therefore, neither Russia nor China, which need to build their image on such values in order to wield real power, can yet replace the lost leader, unless by force, which is the worst solution for them…and for everyone else. Another sign of the weakening of U.S. power, the Iranian sanctions appear to be powerless except in spreading Iranian hatred of the West. It is a thorn in the Europeans' foot, which they put there themselves instead of buying oil with Euros. Instead, oil now flows to China and Turkey (still a NATO member), with Turkey paying in gold via Dubai (9). The system exhibits the fragility of the Western alliance and the ease with which countries get over the dollar to pay for their oil, a principle which was the cornerstone of the hegemony of the U.S. Dollar and of the U.S. in the world. In a future issue of GEAB, we will focus on the global challenges surrounding the oil, a central element of today's geopolitics. Finally, according to LEAP/E2020, the influence of the U.S. on Europe too is less apparent. If the situation in Europe is not rosy, with high unemployment and increasing poverty in Spain and Greece in particular, the Anglo-Saxon media has become less eager to announce the explosion of the Euro, a less and less credible option, especially compared to the increasingly visible problems of the U.S. – and England. Changes made in Euroland, initiated in pain, are beginning to bear fruit (10). Decoupling from Wall Street and the City has been going on during the "Euro-crisis," and continues apace (11); in the case of the City, it is the U.K. itself that takes a distance (12). Thus, if Euroland will, like everyone, be shaken by the collapse of the U.S. system, it will not be taken down with it. Nevertheless, many challenges await Europeans, including the fact that the attitude of Angel Merkel does not facilitate discussions with her partners. We shall return in GEAB No. 70 to the political future of Germany in 2013 and beyond. --------- Notes: (1) See A Manual of Political Anticipation, Marie-Hélène Caillol, Editions Anticipolis (2) Crisis resumption precisely anticipated for the Fall. (3) See GEAB N°1 and N°52. (4) Drawn from Andersen's tale, The Emperor's New Clothes. Source : Wikipedia (5) Source: Der Spiegel, 05/11/2012 (6) Read, for example: "L'avenir sombre de l'Amérique, nouvel adversaire d'Obama" (Libération et Süddeutsche Zeitung, 07/11/2012), "Les États-Désunis d'Amérique" (La Tribune, 06/11/2012), "Rebuilding America" (Foreign Policy, 14/11/2012), "Waarom Amerika niet langer wereldmacht is" (Elsevier.nl, etc.) (7) Source: Le Monde, 11/11/2012. (8) Source: The New York Times, 12/11/2012. (9) Sources : Reuters, 23/10/2012 ; ZeroHedge, 23/10/2012 (10) The latest example being the better European management of certain hedge funds ("naked" CDS and short selling on state debt) has gone relatively unnoticed but strengthens European defenses against financial offenses. Source: Le Monde, 01/11/2012. (11) For example, in the banking sector, see Seeking Alpha (18/12/2011). Or the German demand to have a right to know more about their gold stored in the U.S. Source: Der Spiegel, 30/10/2012 (12) Sources: Financial Times, 04/11/2012; Le Monde, 31/10/2012; Der Spiegel, 02/11/2012); etc. |
| Marc Faber, Gold & a Special Picture of Ben Bernanke Posted: 16 Nov 2012 11:19 AM PST In short, the easy money and bail-outs which got us here – from the Fed's rescue of Goldman Sachs during the early '80s Tequila Crisis in Mexican debt, through LTCM in the late '90s and then the Tech Stock boom and bust – have had serious consequences. |
| What Marc Faber Said to the LBMA About Gold Posted: 16 Nov 2012 10:58 AM PST Why the legendary Swiss investor has a special picture of Ben Bernanke... |
| NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Can Become A Potential Gold Mine Posted: 16 Nov 2012 07:57 AM PST By Biotechnology stocks continue to be some of the strongest performers in the markets as favorable legislation, such as the FAST and TREAT acts, have helped boost investor optimism. One of the most promising approaches in biotechnology is immunotherapy. Over hundreds of millions of years, the immune system evolved to defend humans from the non-stop attack of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeast which see the human body as a luxuriant feeding ground. Deeper understanding of the functioning of the human immune system results in the development of novel therapeutic advances and NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NBY) is a leading participant. NovaBay technology base stems from an understanding of the action of neutrophils in the body. The first line of defense against pathogens is the barrier formed by skin and mucous tissue. When a pathogen breaches this barrier and causes an infection, the immune system springs into play and the first Complete Story » |
| Institutions Are Selling These Rich Dividend Gold Stocks Posted: 16 Nov 2012 07:45 AM PST By Kapitall: Will gold return to a new high, above the $1,900 from August 23, 2011? Are you an income-oriented investor looking for dividend paying stocks? While you look for those gold gems to add to your portfolio, we wanted to direct your attention to those dividend paying gold stocks perhaps unfairly avoided by institutions. We screened for gold stocks with a dividend yield of at least 2% and bearish sentiment from institutional investors, with significant net institutional sales over the quarter representing at least 5% of share float. This indicates that institutional investors such as hedge fund managers and mutual fund managers expect these names to underperform. Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings and market cap over the last two years for the 3 stocks mentioned below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research. We were left with a list of 3 stocks detailed Complete Story » |
| CME Margin Rates Decline for Gold, Silver Posted: 16 Nov 2012 07:16 AM PST A notice sent out by the CME Group November 15 announced new, lower margin rates for gold and silver futures effective at the close of business Tuesday, November 20. For Spec traders in the 100-ounce gold contract (GC) the initial performance bond requirement drops from $9,113 to $7,425 per contract. Maintenance (margin) requirements remain the same at $6,750 per contract. There was no change for Hedge Members, with both the initial and margin requirements at $6,750. For Spec traders in the 5,000-ounce silver contract (SI) the initial performance bond requirement falls sharply from $16,875 to $12,100 per contract, a drop of 28%. Maintenance (margin) requirements fall from $12,500 to $11,000 contract (-12%). For Hedge Members in the big silver contract, both the initial bond and margin rates fell from $12,500 to $11,000 per contract. Other margin changes were reported in the notice, linked below. Source: CME Group http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/lookups/advisories/clearing/files/Chadv12-498.pdf |
| Steve Baker: MP on sound money Posted: 16 Nov 2012 06:24 AM PST Episode 68: GoldMoney's Andy Duncan speaks to Steve Baker MP, a Conservative backbencher who represents the constituency of Wycombe in the United Kingdom's House of Commons. A supporter of the Austrian School of economics, Mr Baker has launched several private member's bills in parliament — with the support of his colleague Douglas Carswell MP — aimed at advancing dialogue on the subject of sound money. In this podcast Steve Baker discusses these bills, along with his views on quantitative easing, the post-Bretton Woods monetary order, and the chances of a future monetary reset. Mr Baker also touches upon the future of the euro, Britain's membership of the European Union, and his co-founding of The Cobden Centre. He also discusses a possible future political initiative to launch a British gold pound project. This podcast was recorded on 15 November 2012. from goldmoneynews: ~TVR |
| Don Coxe – Nassim Taleb, Black Swans & Financial Collapse Posted: 16 Nov 2012 06:19 AM PST
from kingworldnews.com: Today 40-year veteran Don Coxe told King World News, "Historians 1,000 years from now will write about this time period." Coxe, who is Global Strategy Advisor to BMO ($538 billion in assets), spoke with King World News about a fascinating encounter with Nassim Taleb, and the incredible danger investors face today. Here is what Coxe had to say: "I'd like to tell you a story about the summer of 2007. I was speaking at a conference for the BMO Financial Group out in California, and the other speaker was Nassim Taleb. His book had only come out a few months before (titled), 'The Black Swan,' which of course I read." Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com |
| Greyerz – There Is A Tide In The Affairs Of Men… Posted: 16 Nov 2012 06:17 AM PST
from kingworldnews.com: With continued volatility in global markets, today Egon von Greyerz spoke with King World News about the precarious state of the financial world and key markets, including gold and silver. Here is what Greyerz had this to say: "I was talking to you last week about how Japan was a disaster waiting to happen. I was pleased to see John Embry agreeing with me on Japan because John is one of the wisest men I know. So Japan is in a mess, but you don't have to go far to look at another problem which is China." Egon von Greyerz continues: "China has been dealing with over-investment and easy credit for years, and it's a bubble. There is a bubble in the economy in China, there's a credit bubble, there's a property bubble. China is the only economy in the world that is totally built on credit. Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com |
| Demanding Trends for World Gold Markets Posted: 16 Nov 2012 06:11 AM PST The final trading session of the week opened with losses across the board in precious metals values. Gold market players continued to show concern about the latest reported dip in global demand for the yellow metal. |
| Bullion 'Being Liquidated for Cash' as Stocks Fall Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:06 AM PST Wholesale gold bullion prices fell below $1,710 an ounce Friday morning in London, dropping below that level for the second day in a row, as stocks, commodities and the euro all fell and US Treasuries gained. |
| GFMS: Silver Up 38%, 'Possibly Over $50' in 2013 Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:43 AM PST Gold and silver have traded a bit lower on Friday and are both heading for a loss of 1% on the week in dollar terms. This is to be expected after the 3% and 5% returns of last week and the trading action this week has all the hallmarks of... |
| US Fiscal Debate Hurt Equities & Support Gold Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:21 AM PST The debate on the fiscal cliff has clearly weakened sentiment in the US markets where the S&P 500 index dropped about 5% after the Presidential election. Physical gold demand weakened in Q3 with investment demand. |
| Soros and Rogers adding to precious metal positions Posted: 16 Nov 2012 03:30 AM PST Gold came under pressure again yesterday, as new figures from the World Gold Council showed demand for gold fell 11% in Q3 in comparison with the same period in 2011. Comex November gold fell 0.9% to ... |
| High Gold Prices Push Many Indians to Silver for Diwali Posted: 16 Nov 2012 03:17 AM PST ¤ Yesterday in Gold and SilverThe gold price didn't do a lot in Far East or early London trading, but then got sold down a bit over ten bucks by around 1:00 p.m. local time in London...8:00 a.m. Eastern in New York. Gold rallied a bit from there, but around 9:40 a.m. either a not-for-profit seller or a high-frequency trader showed up...and in just a couple of minutes had peeled about a percent off the price. The low price tick at that point was $1,703.90 spot...and the subsequent rally lasted about ninety minutes before gold traded sideways for the rest of the New York session. The gold price closed at $1,716.10 spot...down $11.50 on the day. The gross volume was very chunky at 214,805 contracts, but once the roll-overs were subtracted from that amount, the net [real] trading volume was only around 149,000 contracts, which is still a pretty decent number.
Silver' price path was about the same. Like Wednesday, silver's London low came about 12:30 p.m. GMT. It rallied very decently from there to its high of the day [$32.90 spot] at 9:15 a.m. Eastern, before running into the same not-for-profit seller/high-frequency trader about twenty-five minutes later. After the low [$32.10 spot] was in, the silver price made more than one attempt to rally during the rest of the New York trading session, but ran into a willing seller before it could get back above Wednesday's closing price. Silver closed at $32.60 spot...down 14 cents. Silver's gross volume was 69,800 contracts...but with the roll-overs subtracted, the volume netted out at around 40,500 contracts.
The dollar index traded in a tight range just above the 81.00 mark for the third day in a row...and closed on Thursday at 81.04...virtually unchanged from Wednesday...and Tuesday.
And for the fifth day in a row, the gold stocks were under selling pressure again. This time the HUI finished down 2.43%. In the last five trading days, the HUI is down 10.6%...which is a huge drop considering the fact that the bullion price is only down about a percent over that time period.
John Embry, amongst others, has always been of the opinion that "da boyz" are managing the share prices as well...and it's at times like this that I heartily agree with him. It was the same story in the silver stocks...and Nick Laird's Silver Sentiment Index closed down another 2.97%. Nick's SSI is down 7.6 percent over the last five trading days...and over that time period, the silver price has actually risen 8 cents! So what gives???
(Click on image to enlarge) Nick Laird says that..."if we get a meltdown like 2008, then for the hedge funds, it's an obvious short gold stocks/long gold play." I guess that would apply to silver as well...and maybe that is what we're seeing at the moment. The CME's Daily Delivery Report showed that 9 silver contracts were posted for delivery on Monday from within the Comex-approved depositories. Surprisingly, the GLD ETF showed an increase on Thursday, as an authorized participant added 106,577 troy ounces of gold. But it was a different story over at SLV, as an authorized participant withdrew 1,452,135 troy ounces...and shipped it off to parts unknown. Over at Switzerland's Zürcher Kantonalbank for the Nov 5th to 14th reporting period, their gold ETF showed an addition of 34,537 troy ounces of gold. But in their silver ETF, it was an entirely different story. After a withdrawal of 2.47 million ounces between October 30th and November 5th...the latest ZKB reporting period up to and including Wednesday showed them receiving an eye-watering 3.40 million ounces! And there's more! Over at the Comex-approved depositories on Wednesday, they reported receiving 54,149 troy ounces of silver, but shipped 2,433,344 ounces of the stuff out the door! The big shipments were out of HSBC USA...and Brink's, Inc. The link to all this activity is here...and it's worth a peek. I'm sure some of this activity has to do with the purchases by the Royal Canadian Mint and Sprott's Silver Bullion Trust [PSLV]...but it's still amazing to watch. We're talking monstrous quantities of silver on the move everywhere. Without doubt, Ted Butler will have a lot to say about this in his weekend commentary. While Ted's name is ringing in your ears, here are a couple of free paragraphs from his comments to his paying subscribers on Wednesday...and they are a must read for sure. "My reaction to the Russia Today interview with Bart Chilton is two-fold. First, I am elated that the subject of the silver manipulation has come to be so widely understood. As I need not remind you, this has been my main professional focus for more than 25 years. The main reason it obsesses me is that it is such a serious matter, as no market crime is more important than price manipulation. Since discovering that JPMorgan was the big silver short 4 years ago due to CFTC correspondence to lawmakers, I have tried my level best to convince others of JPM's involvement. Considering how widespread has become the awareness that it is JPMorgan at the heart of the silver manipulation, I can also state that I am elated about that as well. While I am most grateful for the financial support from subscribers and from Investment Rarities that has enabled me to delve into and make known the manipulation, my chief motivation was always to end a market crime that I found most offensive. How could I not be ecstatic that so much has been accomplished?" "My second reaction is different. I'm appalled that the CFTC and the CME Group have not dealt with this matter in a forthright and aboveboard manner. Concentration is an incredibly specific issue and JPMorgan holds a manipulative share of the COMEX silver market, currently over 32% on the short side. The Hunt Brothers were judged guilty of manipulating the silver market for holding a 20% share in 1980. Had there ever been a single participant that held 32% of the long side of COMEX silver since 1980, it is a certainty that the CFTC and the CME would not have rested until that position was eliminated. Yet for more than 4 years, the CFTC has only pretended to investigate while JPMorgan manipulated the silver market continuously." - Silver analyst Ted Butler...14 November 2012 Here's a photo that Washington state reader S.A. sent my way...and shows a couple of reason why you shouldn't have your money in the bank.
I have the usual number of stories for a weekday...and I hope you have the time to go through them all. This situation is still unresolved...and still the 800 lb. gorilla in the living room that refuses to go away. CFTC approves position limit appeal. Miller's Money Forever..."We Buy Gold". India still the world's biggest gold market. Soros raises gold ETF holdings by half, nearly triples Freeport stake. Monstrous silver movements. ¤ Critical ReadsSubscribeBP settles criminal charges for $4 billion in spill; supervisors indicted on manslaughterBP has agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal counts, including manslaughter, and will pay $4 billion over five years in a settlement with the Justice Department over the April 20, 2010, drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people and unleashed the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, officials announced Thursday. The fine is the largest criminal payment in U.S. history, Justice Department officials said, but BP still faces even bigger penalties from federal civil charges, including those under the Clean Water Act. The Justice Department also sought to attach faces to the disaster, filing manslaughter charges against two BP rig supervisors and obstruction charges against a BP executive who allegedly lied to Congress. The three are not covered by the BP settlement. This story was everywhere yesterday...and this particular 3-page version showed up on The Washington Post website. I thank Donald Sinclair for being the first through the door with this story...and the link is here.  FHA close to running out of reserves: reportThe Federal Housing Administration is expected to report later this week that it could exhaust its reserves because of rising mortgage delinquencies, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. That could result in the agency needing to draw on taxpayer funding for the first time in its 78-year history, the report said. The decision won't be made until February, and Congress would not need to authorize any funding because it has "permanent and indefinite" budget authority, the report added. That's all there was to this 1-paragraph martketwatch.com story from Wednesday that reader 'David in California' sent me yesterday. This should pretty much lay to rest any of the b.s. out there about a recovery in the U.S. residential real estate market. The link to the hard copy is here.  U.S. Postal Service on a 'Tightrope' Lost $15.9 BillionThe U.S. Postal Service said its net loss last year widened to $15.9 billion, more than the $15 billion it had projected, as mail volume continued to drop, falling 5 percent. Without action by Congress, the service will run out of cash on Oct. 15, 2013, after it makes a required workers compensation payment to the U.S. Labor Department and before revenue typically jumps with holiday-season mailing, Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett said today. The service, whose fiscal year ends Sept. 30, lost $5.1 billion a year earlier. It announced the 2012 net loss at a meeting at its Washington headquarters. West Virginia reader Elliot Simon sent me this Bloomberg story from yesterday morning...and the link is here.  Stock, Bond Certificates Held by DTCC Damaged by Sandy FloodStock and bond certificates held in an underground Manhattan vault owned by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. were damaged by flooding in Hurricane Sandy, according to the DTCC. The New York-based company that processes transactions in U.S. equities and government, municipal and corporate bonds said it's too early to determine how many of the 1.3 million physical certificates can be restored, according to a statement. The 40- year-old vault was submerged when the Atlantic Ocean's largest tropical storm on record slammed New York City. DTCC has hired "disaster recovery and expert restoration firms" to work on the project, the firm said yesterday. "Our analysis of the condition of the vault, once we were able to open it, was that significant flooding and water damage occurred throughout the facility," DTCC said of the 10,000- square-foot storage chamber at 55 Water Street in lower Manhattan. "While it is premature to determine the full extent of the damage, it is essential to begin the restoration process to avoid further deterioration." This is another Bloomberg story courtesy of Elliot Simon. It was posted on their website early yesterday afternoon...and the link is here.  Federal energy commission suspends Morgan unit's trading authorityThe U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday suspended a JPMorgan Chase & Co. unit's electrical-trading authority, saying it had filed false information with regulators. The action, part of a more aggressive effort by the commission to monitor U.S. power markets, prohibits J.P. Morgan Ventures Energy Corp. from selling electricity at market-based rates for six months starting April 1, 2013. The FERC said the company made "factual misrepresentations" and omitted material information in communications with the California Independent System Operator, or CAISO, and in filings to the commission. CAISO operates the state's power grid. One can only hope that the CFTC will develop some gonads and do the same thing to JPMorgan in the precious metal markets as well. But I'm sure that all appointees to the CFTC have to have their testicles surgically removed as one of the conditions to getting that job. I found this Bloomberg story embedded in a GATA release yesterday...and it's a must read. The link is here.  Department Of Homeland Security to Scan Payment Cards at Borders and AirportsUnited States have long had to declare aggregated cash and other monetary instruments exceeding $10,000. Now, under a proposed amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) will also require travelers to declare the value of prepaid cards that they are carrying, known now as "tangible prepaid access devices." Expected to be finalized by the end of this year, the cross-border reporting modifications stem from a broader October 2011 definition of payment methods and form factors that replaced the term "stored value" with the term "prepaid access" in an effort to more accurately describe the process of accessing funds held by a payment provider. This story showed up in Forbes last week...and I thank Bill Busser for sending it along. The link is here.  'Saudi Dakota' sets more records for oil production in September as U.S. moves towards world's top oil producerWhat's behind the surging domestic oil production that has the United States on track to become "Saudi America," as the Wall Street described it today? Advanced drilling technologies that are tapping into unconventional shale oil deposits get the credit. From the IEA report: "The recent rebound in US oil and gas production, driven by upstream technologies that are unlocking light tight oil and shale gas resources, is spurring economic activity – with less expensive gas and electricity prices giving industry a competitive edge – and steadily changing the role of North America in global energy trade." When the U.S. does overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's No. 1 oil producer in the next eight years, a lot of the credit for the increased domestic oil production will have to go to the "Economic Miracle State" of North Dakota. New oil production data released today by the state's Department of Mineral Resources show that the Peace Garden State set more new monthly records for oil production in September. For the second month in a row, the state produced more than 700,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), and the 728,494 barrels of daily North Dakota oil in September was another all-time record high. This most excellent article, with even more excellent charts, was posted on the aei-ideas.org Internet site on Tuesday...and it's well worth your time. I thank reader Tom Germain for bringing it to our attention...and the link is here. |
| Dominican Republic: Protests of Nickel & Gold Plans Posted: 16 Nov 2012 02:52 AM PST The strengthening of environmental groups, backed by foreign NGOs, means that mining firms are increasingly likely to be targeted with civil unrest and court action. This increases the risk of project delays, but also of license cancellation. |
| Posted: 16 Nov 2012 02:36 AM PST This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 561 donors have already invested in our efforts to shed light on the dark and seamy corners of finance. Join us and participate via our Tip Jar or another credit card portal, WePay in the right column, or read about why we're doing this fundraiser and other ways to donate, such as by check, on our kickoff post or one discussing our current target. The New York Fed's William Dudley gave a surprisingly candid, meaning not positive, assessment of the state of the Too Big to Fail problem in a speech yesterday at the Clearing House's Second Annual Business Meeting and Conference. From the text of his speech (hat tip Richard Smith):
Dudley then tells the audience that there are some constraints in Dodd Frank on the ability of systemically important firms to get bigger (but he's clearly hoping, rather than certain, that these measures will be effective). He also says the Fed is in the process of mapping interconnectedness. This is a really important measure. I had asked why this wasn't made a top priority as soon as Bear was rescued, because the reason for preventing a collapse was no one had the foggiest idea of how bad the collateral damage would be (pun intended). I suppose four years late is better than never. Back to the speech (emphasis ours):
The fact that the US firms can't be put into bankruptcy gracefully (and that the living will process is at this point an exercise for regulators to look at the legal plumbing) isn't exactly surprising. And it should come as no surprise that Dodd Frank's orderly resolution authority runs into serious shortcomings with firms with big foreign operations. Administration defenders pooh poohed our reservations which we stated over a year ago and tracked Dudley's. Bankruptcy is always national, and foreign regulators could put foreign subs into bankruptcy (the odds of that are if anything higher than before; foreign creditors were treated shabbily by Judge Peck in the Lehman bankruptcy, so a foreign regulator might want to get out in front of US regulators if at all possible. And this wasn't just our view. From a May 2011 post:
But not to worry. Spencer Bacchus pointed out in a paper his office published last month, that despite the claims of Dodd Frank fans that it barred bailouts, he showed how there is still plenty of room for rescues:
So while at least stockholders would get wiped out, we seem to have institutionalized the Geithner put: "no bank bondholder will take any losses." Dudley account of all the things that need to happen to solve the TBTF problem in the close of his speech make clear we aren't close domestically and even less close on the international front. So expect more stealth and probably overt big bank salvage operations in your future.
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| Rediscovering the Golden Beauty of Myanmar Posted: 16 Nov 2012 12:39 AM PST The Shwedagon Pagoda is believed to be the world's oldest pagoda and the holiest Buddhist shrine in Myanmar. Coated with gold and decorated with more than 4,500 diamonds, the temple is believed to be 2,500 years old, but has been rebuilt many times due to earthquakes. |
| Links for 2012-11-15 [del.icio.us] Posted: 16 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PST
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| Glorious November Gifts from the Trading Gods Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:04 PM PST HOUSTON -- "Everyone is all scared again," said the caller on Thursday (November 15) as the AMEX Gold Bugs Index (HUI) was beet red for fifth straight day. The HUI had broken down below the 200-day moving average Wednesday and, as expected, it followed through much lower along with the U.S. Big Markets (our name for the DOW and the S&P 500).
(The S&P 500, breaking down in an ominous fashion as our political "leaders" play word games and fiscal brinksmanship instead of doing the job the American people elected them to do.) We can't tell if the Obama team is being thuggish instead of statesmanlike out of (poor) habit, or to divert the fawning mind-numbed press corps' attention away from the really, really screwed up Benghazi-blame-no-help-for-our-ambassador-and-four-State-Dept.-murders-on-a-stupid-video-fiasco-with-CIA-head-general-in-an-embarrassing-sex-scandal-Charlie-Foxtrot … but if we had to venture a guess, we go with both – habit and a diversion. We mean, if you are BHO where would you want the spotlight?
The markets didn't like it much when the Prez said that the American people "knew what they were voting for when they voted for me." Translation: "I won, the Repubs lost, bend over!" *** "Maybe I ought to just go to cash," the caller said in the form of a question, for a second time, because frankly we hadn't exactly heard the first one. Our attention was on the Level II screen and today (Thursday), we were focused on the Vulture Bargain Hunt.
Just then the same sellers (trading through PI Financial) that have been unloading a large, stale position (for them) in Channel Resources (CHU.V) hit all but one of a stack of bids at $0.065, (six and a half Canadian cents) meaning we might actually get a shot for our bid at $0.06 to fill. Okay, now we're talking... So we started filling in a backup ticket – ready to fire if the PI Seller Guys panicked enough to hit our 6-Canuck cent bid (and all the others there). Slide that ticket over to the screen with the Kaminak bids. … At the ready. And, wouldn't you know it about then both ATAC Resources (ATC.V) and Comstock Metals (CSL.V) both saw panicky trades into the bid, driving them sharply lower, low enough for us to get ready to jump on them too. More tickets to fill and put on the "ready rack." The screen with the unfired buy tickets was getting crowded! (We don't like to show our hand with limit orders on days like this one.) The panicky Level II screen has a heat map filled with the issues we are tracking - all of the Canadian ones. We've never seen it so red. Well, not since May, or was it June, anyway. Oh yes, there is someone on the phone… There was too much happening on the three screens going then – stuff we have been waiting for patiently for too long to bother with a phone distraction, so it was time to politely turn this non-paying, non-subscriber loose. *** Before we knew it the trading day was over and while we didn't get all that many of our just-in-case-they-get-really-really-clocked-in-a-panic-spike-lower-than-low-stink-bids filled today, it was a good exercise in Panic-Style Vulture Bargain Shopping. We'll call it a warm up. We did end up adding a little Kaminak (KAM.V), a taste of Comstock Metals (CSL.V), a starter sized bid fill for GoldQuest (GQC.V) and we put in lower-than-low bids for at least a half dozen others, all of which we would be delighted to see filled before this politically inspired cluster... uh, we mean Charlie Foxtrot (a military term meaning really bad) political circular firing squad panic event has run its course.
The metals could sell off to answer the miners any time, of course. They just haven't yet as we write late on Thursday evening as shown in the hourly charts above. So with the U.S. Big Markets Fiscal Cliff Diving, breaking down, taking the Miners, big and small with them; with people doing the panic polka, worried sick and chunking their once promising, but now beet red Little Guy issues overboard like so much chum, we finally get a chance to start building positions in some of the issuers we have been following, watching, tracking and hoping for just this kind of panic-spike buying op for a very, very long time.
Really? Yes, really.
And you should see the tracking charts for the other panic spike "possibles." Things won't always be so good on the buying side of town, you know.
Channel Resources is just one of the issues we are targeting. Vultures (Got Gold Report Subscribers) will note other additions and set ups on the various Vulture Bargain (VB) and Vulture Bargain Candidates of Interest (VBCI) charts on the subscriber welcome page. With all the action today, and likely again tomorrow and maybe next week, it's as though Christmas has come early for Vulture Speculators. Just before Thanksgiving. For all we know, we may have actually gotten fills on a few other issues at or near the end of the day, but we shot out of the HQ without checking and on down to the lake to celebrate the good gaming action with a late afternoon attempt to catch supper. When the gods are smiling on you, it's apparently on more than one thing at a time. Not only was the Vulture Bargain Shopping pretty good today (actually yesterday now), the fishing was good too! Black bass for supper... And pardon us if we seem a little distracted on the phone while the bargain shopping and bass fishing is good... Better yet, use text or email... Gene Arensberg for Got Gold Report - |
| A billion-dollar treasure hunt in Hindu temple to be revealed Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:00 PM PST |
| The relevance and importance of Gold in the World Monetary System Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:00 PM PST Gata |
| Gold market and prices 1800-2008 Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:30 PM PST Finfacts |
| How Gold Performs During Periods of Deflation, Disinflation, Runaway Stagflation and Hyperinflation… Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:00 PM PST |
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