Gold World News Flash

Desperation sinks in as man robs bank for $1 in bid to receive health care in prison
Gold Uptrend Pausing
Art Cashin Warns Of Massive Gold Short Covering & Contagion
Gold and Gold Stocks – A Short Term Technical Overview
Got Gold Report: Substantial short covering in gold futures
Art Cashin Warns Of Massive Gold Short Covering & Contagion
Cashin, Sout, Fitzpatrick, and Roberts at KWN
The Shadowy Web of Collateral and War
By the Numbers for the Week Ending August 30
By the Numbers for the Week Ending August 30
Slavery!
Emergency Crisis - First Finance, Then Debt, What Next?
Syria Attack, Pipeline Politics, OPEC & the U.S. Dollar
Investor Opportunity Knocks via Financial Market Realities
COMEX Registered Gold Drops To 702,000 Ounces On the Day Before Delivery End
COMEX Registered Gold Drops To 702,000 Ounces On the Day Before Delivery End
Gerald Celente - Trends In The News - "A Racist Nation!?" - (8/28/13)
A Bombed Out Market is Bottoming
First Finance, Then Debt - What Crisis Next?
China Loves West's 99 Fine
Gold Production Decline Imminent
It’s Official – Goldman Sachs Was Buying GLD While Advicing To Sell
Silver and Gold Prices Completed the First Furious Leg of their Rally
Silver and Gold Prices Completed the First Furious Leg of their Rally
Gold and the Return of Global Turmoil
Galland - Mexico Invades Syria!
Galland - Mexico Invades Syria!
Despite the last two-days of corrective activity, gold posted a solid 5.2% gain in August. Silver was up an impressive 18.5%.
Former US Treasury Official - U.S. To Experience Total Collapse
Von Greyerz: Soaring gold and silver will be part of a really nasty world
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - End of Month and Delivery Period Antics
Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - End of Month and Delivery Period Antics
What Do Gold Mining Stocks Tell Us About Gold Priceâ€™s Future Moves?
Goldâ€™s Strongest Months Since 1975 Are September And November
Gold Erases Week's 2.5% Gain After UK Rejects Syrian Action
Gold and Silver Disaggregated COT Report (DCOT) for August 30
Gold and Silver Disaggregated COT Report (DCOT) for August 30
Pullbacks In Gold and Silver May Be Buying Opportunities as Trends Turn Bullish
Defiling the Memory of President Eisenhower
What Do (Mining) Stocks Tell Us About Gold's Future Moves?
Gold Production Decline Imminent
Fiscal madness, denial and the markets
India may be prepping gold for a bigger role
A Whiff of 2008
Syria, Gold & the Emergency Crisis in Money
Syria, Gold & the Emergency Crisis in Money
Syria, Gold & the Emergency Crisis in Money
A Terrifying Collapse Will Plunge The World Into Total Chaos
Gold erases week’s gain after UK rejects Syrian action
SA gold miners confirm strike to start from Tuesday

Desperation sinks in as man robs bank for $1 in bid to receive health care in prison

Posted: 31 Aug 2013 12:30 AM PDT

by J. D. Heyes, Natural News:

No matter how much “assistance” taxpayers provide, there is always going to be a segment of the population that is beyond help. A case in point recently occurred in Oregon.

According to Oregon Live, a 50-year-old homeless man recently walked into a bank, held it up for a single dollar, then sat down and waited for police to show up.

The suspect, Timothy Deal Alsip, was taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies without incident. The report said he was “booked into the Clackamas County Jail on suspicion of second-degree robbery with bail set at $250,000.”

Desperation takes its toll

Deputy Mark Nikolai, a sheriff’s office spokesman, said a man entered the Bank of America branch, 9171 S.E. 82nd Ave., shortly before 10:30 a.m. and approached a teller.

“He handed over a note saying ‘This is a hold up. Give me a dollar,’” Nikolai said. After receiving $1, he “had a seat in the lobby.”

Read More @ NaturalNews.com

Gold Uptrend Pausing

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 11:00 PM PDT

[url]http://www.traderdannorcini.blogspot.com/[/url] [url]http://www.fortwealth.com/[/url] Recent action in gold during the latter part of this week is suggesting a pause in the fledgling uptrend. The metal seems to have run into a heavy band of resistance near the $1440 level and is setting back. Gains during the early part of this week, tied to concerns over the situation in Syria, have been fading as the refusal of the British Parliament to go along with the Obama administration's plan to lob cruise missiles into Syria took some of the safe haven bid away from gold. Traders/investors have read this to mean that an imminent strike was less likely. Truth be told, the President has foolishly put himself into a box and has destroyed US credibility and prestige by his inept comments about a "red line" and his bellicose comments since then. This has introduced an element of uncertainty into both gold and crude oil prices which has recent buyers of both heading for the exits and booking...

Art Cashin Warns Of Massive Gold Short Covering & Contagion

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 10:30 PM PDT

from KingWorldNews:

It's hard to see exactly where it's headed, but that short squeeze and the backwardation are two key problems (for the shorts). Let's go back to those emerging markets that we talked about. With the (Indian) rupee and the Indonesian currency dropping sharply, if you are a major businessman in those areas you say, 'Wait a minute, my wealth and buying power is dissipating rapidly. I've got to protect myself.'

So one could readily see increased demand (for gold) in all of those areas where the nations are now dubbed, 'The fragile five,' and it (demand for gold) could expand (because of contagion). Now, in line with that, and take this with a grain of salt because I haven't been able to do all of the extensive homework that this takes, but there is some thought that the backwardation and some of the rates that we are seeing which don't seem to be consistent with what is going on, may be because some gold is not being sold and lent out in the normal fashion.

Art Cashin continues @ KingWorldNews.com

Gold and Gold Stocks – A Short Term Technical Overview

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 09:40 PM PDT

by Pater Tenebrarum, Acting-Man.com:

HUI Divergence from Gold Grows

In recent trading days, gold broke above resistance at $1,400 to test the upper rail of the resistance zone at approximately $1,425. We thought that such a move might be possible this week (see Monday’s update), but we didn’t know it would be egged on by news about Syria and the worsening situation in India and other other emerging markets. If people bought gold on account of the Syria news, they definitely made a mistake. Such rallies on geopolitical news are always given back. After all, gold is a monetary metal. Why should its price depend on whether a few missiles are lobbed at far-away Assad’s regime? There are reasons to buy gold, but this isn’t one of them (and neither is declining mine production, something we have once again seen promoted this week. Declines or increases in mine production are largely irrelevant to the gold price).

Read More @ Acting-Man.com

Got Gold Report: Substantial short covering in gold futures

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 09:07 PM PDT

12:03a ET Saturday, August 31, 2013

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Gene Arensberg's Got Gold Report says there has been substantial short covering in the gold futures market in recent days, reducing rally fuel, even as Arensberg expects gold futures contract demand to increase in September. Arensberg's commentary is posted at the GGR Internet site here:

http://www.gotgoldreport.com/2013/08/gold-and-silver-disaggregated-cot-r...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jim Sinclair plans Westchester County seminar Sept. 4

Mining entrepreneur and gold advocate Jim Sinclair plans a gold investing seminar from 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, in Tarrytown in Westchester County, New York. For information on attending, please visit his Internet site, JSMineSet.com, here:

http://www.jsmineset.com/qa-session-tickets/

Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006:

http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html

Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt:

http://gata.org/tshirts

Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009:

http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal

Help keep GATA going

GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

Art Cashin Warns Of Massive Gold Short Covering & Contagion

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 09:01 PM PDT

Today 50-year veteran Art Cashin warned King World News that the recent short squeeze in gold may continue and possibly even intensify. Cashin, Director of Floor Operations at UBS ($650 billion under management), also warned that about the potential of a dangerous contagion developing in the currency markets.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Cashin, Sout, Fitzpatrick, and Roberts at KWN

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 08:24 PM PDT

11:23p ET Friday, August 30, 2013

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

King World News tonight has four more interviews likely of interest to investors in the monetary metals.

Art Cashin of UBS and CNBC thinks the backwardation in gold is continuing because metal is steadily being shipped to Asia:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/8/31_Ar...

Raymond James' Jeffrey Sout senses that a good buying point for gold is near:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/8/29_Go...

CitiGroup analyst Tom Fitzpatrick provides charts for his bullish expectations:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/8/29_Th...

And former Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul Craig Roberts doesn't see how the United States can go on financially:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/8/30_Fo...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

ADVERTISEMENT

Don't Let Cyprus Happen to You

Depositors at the Bank of Cyprus lost 47.5 percent of their savings. So to preserve your wealth, get some of it outside the banking system into physical gold and silver.

Worldwide Precious Metals (Canada) Ltd., established in 2001, specializes in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. We offer delivery or secure and fully insured storage outside the banking system in Brinks vaults. We have access to gold and silver from trusted worldwide refineries and suppliers. And when you have an account with us you have immediate access to it for buying and selling your stored bullion.

For information on owning physical precious metals in your portfolio, visit us at: www.wwpmc.com.

Join GATA here:

Gold Investment Symposium 2013
Luna Park Conference Center, Sydney, Australia
Wednesday-Thursday, October 16-17, 2013

http://gold.symposium.net.au/

New Orleans Investment Conference
Sunday-Wednesday, November 10-13, 2013
Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel
New Orleans, Louisiana

https://jeffersoncompanies.com/landing/speakers?IDPromotion=613011610080...

* * *

Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006:

http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html

Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt:

http://gata.org/tshirts

Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009:

http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal

Help keep GATA going

GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

The Shadowy Web of Collateral and War

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 08:20 PM PDT

by Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, Silver-coin-investor:

It seems that few people have yet realized the possible scenario that a repo market failure will result in a liquidity freeze that can then spark off a full scale financial collapse.

The financial and economic system seems so vulnerable to just in time delivery on virtually everything that such a failure will cause social chaos in the short term and severe damage to confidence in the longer term.

Examples of delivery systems that will be impacted include the transport of key commodities for everyday life like fuel and food. Also, as trading systems become more automated, they are becoming more and more vulnerable to glitches that can even cause flash crashes and market closures.

By the Numbers for the Week Ending August 30

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 07:41 PM PDT

This week's closing table is just below. (Table) Vultures, (Got Gold Report Subscribers) please note that updates to our linked technical charts, including our comments about the COT reports and the week's technical changes, should be completed by the usual time on Sunday (by 18:00 ET), Monday at the latest.

By the Numbers for the Week Ending August 30

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 07:41 PM PDT

Slavery!

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 07:16 PM PDT

Follow ZeroHedge in Real-Time on FinancialJuice

Slavery was meant to have vanished from the face of the Earth, or at least from our modern societies years ago. But, it hasn't. We all know that. We are enslaved to the grind of daily work, the cog wheels that were set in motion centuries ago and that have only heightened the interconnectedness of the working populations to fulfill the desires and needs or the needless desires of the masses in consumer societies. If one cog stops, then the rest of them jam and stop working and it all grinds to a halt.

But, real slavery, like we used to have in the days of the past still exists too. It's big money too for some. It brings in the sum of $32 billion for those that exploit the guys at the bottomless pit every year in the world. That's profit we're looking at. According to the International Labor Organization it's not just going on in emerging countries where we can exploit the poverty-stricken masses. Half of that profit is generated in wealthy Western nations. There is a total profit of$15.5 billion that is poured into the bank accounts of the slaveholders in our own countries every year!

The American Constitution's 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude (although it was still possible to punish people and enslave them for crimes that they had committed) in 1865. Slavery apparently is inflicted upon 20.9 million people in the world according to recent studies. That's the official estimate of organizations and governments. But, there are some that say that the figure is as high as about 27 million people in the world. There are more slaves in the world today than there ever were before we actually got rid of forcing people to do the dirty stuff in life. Now people willingly do the dirty stuff, just as long as the get a fat pay-check at the end of the act, bonuses and a chauffeur-driven car thrown in for good measure.

Slavery contributes to the churning out of at least 122 different types of goods according to the US Department of Labor in the world. That could range from food such as shrimp in Asia or diamonds from Africa. Slavery has increased to such an extent in our modern times due to population increases. Industrialization and increased economic activity have also resulted in social changes, catapulting people into urban areas, with no social safety net to protect them in countries like China for example. Lastly, we could point the finger at corrupt administrators that allow it to continue complacently.

There are more slaves today working in the world than ever before. More means cheaper. If we were to compare the cost of a slave back in the mid-19th century in the USA, then it would have cost roughly $40, 000 to buy a slave in today's money. Today, however, you need only pay out under a $100 for one. Not bad for a reduction in price.

Bonded labor is commonplace, where the slave has contracted a loan and has to work to pay it back to the lender. Child forced labor affects over 5 million kids in the world today. Forced Labor is recognized by the US Department of State as being: "involuntary servitude, forced labor may result when unscrupulous employers exploit workers made more vulnerable by high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime, discrimination, corruption, political conflict, or even cultural acceptance of the practice."

Isn't that exactly the description that we could talk of for the 7.4% (or the 14-15% that are unemployed or underemployed today) in the USA?

US Bankrupt! | Septaper Will Open Floodgates | How Sinister is the State? | Food: Walking the Breadline | Obama NOT Worst President in reply to Obama: Worst President in US History?

New Revelations: NSA and XKeyscore Program | Obama's Corporate Grand Bargain Death of the Dollar | Joseph Stiglitz was Right: Suicide | China Injects Cash in Bid to Improve Liquidity

Technical Analysis: Bear Expanding Triangle | Bull Expanding Triangle | Bull Falling Wedge | Bear Rising Wedge | High & Tight Flag

Emergency Crisis - First Finance, Then Debt, What Next?

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 06:10 PM PDT

If Syria is to blame for this run, then the world's in very big trouble... SO JUST like that, there were no sellers in the gold or silver markets. It's been buyers only amongst BullionVault users this week. New account openings were strong this week too, the greatest number since the April price crash in fact. Cash deposits were also sharply higher, the heaviest since end-June – the week gold and silver hit their second big slump, and bargain hunters on BullionVault got just the crash they wanted.

Syria Attack, Pipeline Politics, OPEC & the U.S. Dollar

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 06:02 PM PDT

Investor Opportunity Knocks via Financial Market Realities

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 05:53 PM PDT

“ Gold/US$ has had a material seller stopping its advances each day, and yesterday that seller was strongly evident at the $1430-1435 level. “We suspect that after a day or two of correction following that selling, the bulls will again gather their forces and trump the seller at $1430-1435. It may have to wait until next week, however, when the gold dealing desks are back at fuller staff.” The Gartman Letter 08/29/2013

COMEX Registered Gold Drops To 702,000 Ounces On the Day Before Delivery End

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 05:06 PM PDT

COMEX Registered Gold Drops To 702,000 Ounces On the Day Before Delivery End

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 05:06 PM PDT

Gerald Celente - Trends In The News - "A Racist Nation!?" - (8/28/13)

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 04:48 PM PDT

What real "music" is like, why America's NOT a racist nation & keep an eye out this Labor Day weekend!" Economy inches closer to collapse as attack on Syria looms on the...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://FinanceArmageddon.blogspot.com or http://www.newsbooze.com or http://www.figanews.com for full links, other content, and more! ]]

A Bombed Out Market is Bottoming

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 03:42 PM PDT

The war drums are beating. This has driven gold higher and the June lows look like a classic bottom. Think about it. Gold had been dribbling down all year, but when the Fed began its tapering talk in mid-June, it pushed gold down to new lows. Read More...

First Finance, Then Debt - What Crisis Next?

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 03:29 PM PDT

If Syria is to blame for this run, then the world's in very big trouble. So just like that, there were no sellers in the gold or silver markets. It's been buyers only amongst BullionVault users this week. Read More...

China Loves West's 99 Fine

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 03:26 PM PDT

According to Bloomberg, whose calculations were based on Hong Kong customs data, net gold imports into China more than doubled in the first half of 2013 to 493 metric tons, up from roughly 239 tons over the same period in 2012. Read More...

Gold Production Decline Imminent

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 03:24 PM PDT

Gold's precipitous decline in the first half of 2013 sent shockwaves throughout the entire mining industry. Its scary panic-induced 28% plunge over just six months has forced the miners to revisit their development plans. And this will no doubt have an adverse impact on global mine production in the years to come.

It's actually quite fascinating to observe how quickly things have changed for the miners in response to 2013's decisive move countertrend to normalcy. And in gold's case, normalcy had been a fundamentally-backed consistent and healthy uptrend in its price (2012 was gold's 12th-straight calendar year with a price increase).

Interestingly 2013 wasn't expected to be any different as far as the miners were concerned. Gold's structural fundamentals were still spectacular. And though in 2012 its price was never able to revisit 2011's all-time high, it was a year in which gold sported its highest-ever average price ($1669). Given these conditions the miners were poised to do what they did best, produce gold, make money, and plow capital into developing their pipelines.

But alas, this year hasn't quite been as hunky-dory as hoped. And the earliest and most transparent effect of the sharply-falling gold price has been seen in the miners' financials. With gold's average price in the first half of 2013 $150 lower than 2012's ($250 lower in Q2), margins have obviously been squeezed. And this has resulted in a lot less money being made from existing operations.

Gold's much-lower prices are also forcing the miners to take huge write-downs and impairment charges (some projects are no longer economically viable, and others must be re-valued to the market). In the second quarter alone major miners Barrick Gold, Newmont Mining, AngloGold Ashanti, Goldcorp, Newcrest Mining, and Kinross Gold announced over $23 billion in combined write-downs and impairments.

Given gold's consistent rise, most miners had been valuing their assets using prices on the high side of an interim range. They just assumed that gold's price would continue to rise, and that the prices they used would eventually be conservative. Gold's recent action has vanquished this mindset though. And these same miners are now nervous about the values of their assets. Unfortunately I suspect we'll see a lot more write-downs and impairment charges in the quarters to come.

These accounting phenomena are non-cash, paper losses. And while they are tough to swallow in whatever quarter they show up on the income statement, they can be even more damaging from a sentiment perspective. And unfortunately sentiment takes an even bigger hit when there's a systemic issue across the entire sector.

Ultimately the barrage of financial reckonings in the recent quarter has left a bad taste in investors' mouths. And the miners' stocks have greatly suffered as a result. It's been one of the worst stretches for gold stocks in this entire secular bull market.

So with gold prices and stock prices way down, the miners have suddenly found themselves in a sentiment wasteland. And in this wasteland the future doesn't look as bright. The folks that run these companies aren't as confident in gold's future as they were six months ago. And with less cash flow and a much-more-challenging financing environment, their spending plans are not feasible anymore.

For these reasons and more, most miners have been forced to revisit their development plans. And in many cases this has resulted in the delaying or outright shelving of expansion/development projects, as well as a huge cutback on exploration. The miners are now in capital-conservation mode, and this will no doubt have a major adverse effect on future production volume.

This will of course be a shame considering all the work put into the gold-mining infrastructure over the last decade or so. Interestingly it was only just in 2009 that the miners finally got ahead of the depletion curve. Years of aggressive development led to the first material increase in global mine production in quite some time.

And this was the beginning of a healthy streak, with 2012 being the fourth year in a row of production growth. The miners delivered a record 2700 metric tons to the market. But this hard-won streak is now in jeopardy as a result of gold's fluky panic. If indeed the miners curtail development and shut down higher-cost operations, production volume has nowhere to go but down.

And this production decrease could play out sooner than we think. In the World Gold Council's latest Gold Demand Trends report, it states "While mine production historically has been slow to react to changes in the price, the extent of the fall in the second quarter has elicited a swift response from gold producers. Recent spending cuts and the closure of costly operations across the industry may start to have an impact on the supply pipeline by the end of this year."

By the end of this year?!? Wow! This is a crazy-fast reaction by an industry where reaction is typically slow and methodical. Gold's 2013 panic sure did scare the miners, which is readily apparent by the tone of their recent press releases. They are now positioning themselves so they don't get caught with their pants down again. And I believe the result will be prolonged lower production levels driven by three distinct phases, closure, delay, and backfill.

Closure is the first and most immediate phase that will negatively impact production. Within this phase are two methods of closure. The first is full closure, the outright cessation of all mining operations. If a mine can't make money at lower prices, it will be shut down. This shutdown is usually temporary at first, with the hope that higher prices would again make it economically feasible. Regardless of downtime, this is production that comes right off the market.

The next kind of closure is a partial closure, or source closure. Some mines run multiple mining methods, multiple ore types, and/or multiple processing circuits. If one is not economically feasible at current prices, it'll be shut down. And this would obviously reduce output.

Some mines also blend material, meaning lower-grade ore is mixed in with the higher-grade stuff. At lower prices many mines won't be afforded this luxury. So rather than just increase the higher-grade material (which would drastically reduce the mining life), most miners will simply stop running the lower-grade material to reduce operating costs. This would get them back in the money, but again volume would be down.

Closure is something we are already seeing today. And we'll likely see more at operations that just can't turn a profit at lower prices. Interestingly analysts have recently been estimating that all-in sustaining costs for the industry average around $1200. If this is the average, then the topside outliers are in big trouble.

In the onset of 2013 most of us expected another record production year. But with closures mounting, this may not come to fruition. Reductions in output from this first phase may just be enough to offset new volume from some big operations that came online earlier this year. And when you compound closures with development delays, we're almost certain to see less mine production in 2014 and beyond.

Development delays have been the talk of the town. As publically-traded companies, the miners must keep investors in the know regarding any material decisions. And there's been a throng of announcements over the last couple quarters that have outlined radical alterations to numerous miners' tactical and strategic plans.

From a tactical perspective we're seeing a lot of mining companies rein in spending for the remainder of the year. And while it may not seem like a big deal, it actually is. Whether pulling drill rigs from the field, holding off on equipment ordering, or anything else that would slow the advancement of a project, this type of activity delays future production.

From a strategic perspective, we're seeing some miners outright suspend development plans they had in the works. This includes both expansions at existing mines, as well as brand-new mine development. As you can imagine, this development is crucial for sustaining current production levels. Mines are constantly being shut down due to depletion and/or economic viability, and there naturally needs to be a steady flow of new development to replace the production that's being lost.

Unfortunately a degree of paralysis has gripped many miners as a result of the shock from seeing the economics of their development projects radically change over such a short period of time. Some projects are flat-out uneconomic at lower prices (these are the ones being written off), and the rest have IRRs and NPVs that are well lower than anticipated.

Sadly this paralysis is preventing many miners from pulling the trigger on development, even if their projects still have positive economics. And these delays are mostly financially driven. The miners are either conserving capital out of fear that gold prices may go lower, or they are concerned over their ability to fund these developments.

Over the last four years, new development has stayed ahead of depletion. But it won't take many development delays to fall behind the curve. And if the delays already announced hold true, then there will no doubt be a negative impact on future production levels.

The final phase of future production pressure will be a product of insufficient backfill. As mentioned depleting/closing mines need to be replaced by a constant flow of new development. And it is a strong pipeline of development-stage projects that allow for this to happen.

In order to maintain a strong pipeline of development-stage projects though, there needs to be a steady flow of discovery and advancement at earlier-stage projects. These projects are the ones that backfill the development projects when they are removed from the pipeline. And if there's a shortage of them, it will eventually be felt on the production side of things.

I truly believe it will be the lack of backfill that will smack the gold-mining industry the hardest. Not only are the large producers cutting way back on their exploration spending, the junior sector has all but ceased exploring and advancing projects. I discussed the huge crisis of confidence currently strangling the junior sector in a previous essay. And it's not hard to conclude that a lack of activity in this realm will adversely impact global mine production in the years ahead.

Overall gold's 2013 panic makes a global mine-production decline imminent. And I suspect this will be the case even if June's low holds and there's a quick reversion to the mean. The damage has already been done. And regardless of gold's price, the miners will be gun-shy on the capex front for some time to come.

Declining production obviously has huge implications for investors, especially if demand remains high. Since mine production is by far the largest source of supply, a decline would create a supply-side economic imbalance. More money would be chasing after less gold. And this is actually quite bullish for the price of gold, as it must rise until a balance is met.

As gold climbs higher, the miners should also attract investor interest. Those that have survived and thrived in 2013 will take a leading role in the next leg of this metal's secular bull. The producers will be well positioned to leverage their profits, and the junior explorers with quality projects to feed the pipeline will sell for a hefty premium.

At Zeal we believe we're in the early stages of a major gold upleg. We've thus been loading up on gold stocks amidst the panic and its aftermath. And we've already seen some excellent unrealized gains on many that we've recommended in our acclaimed weekly and monthly newsletters. Subscribe today to get unmatched contrarian market analysis and to find out which stocks we're trading.

The bottom line is 2013's infamous gold panic will prove to be a game-changer on the supply front. It really freaked the miners out! So much so that we're already seeing huge spending cuts and mine closures.

We're also seeing an onslaught of suspensions and delays in the development projects that are supposed to replace depleting operations in the near and long term. And to top things off, exploration is at a near standstill as the miners seek to conserve capital. This will lead to an imminent production decline, which will ultimately be bullish for the price of gold in the years to come.

Scott Wright

August 30, 2013

So how can you profit from this information? We publish an acclaimed monthly newsletter, Zeal Intelligence, that details exactly what we are doing in terms of actual stock and options trading based on all the lessons we have learned in our market research as well as provides in-depth market analysis and commentary. Please consider joining us each month at … www.zealllc.com/subscribe.htm

It’s Official – Goldman Sachs Was Buying GLD While Advicing To Sell

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:50 PM PDT

We have expressed earlier this year our suspicion about the aggressive price drop of the metals. Our main point was that the ferocity of the drop was out of proportion.

Moreover, in “Gold In 2013 – Too Many Mysteries Remain Inexplicable” we showed several evolutions in the gold market that defy any normal measure. We did so based on facts and figures only as we remain strongly unbiased in our writings. One of the points we made in the article was the following:

The point is not the sale of the gold as we know it is caused by investor liquidation. The key question is who has been buying these gigantic amounts of physical gold? The gold is not being consumed, so it is in some hands right now. Which ones? We asked the question a couple of weeks ago in this piece, but it seems no clear answer exists at this point.

We remain convinced that the most important question was who has been purchasing the gold in both the physical and paper market. As far as the physical market is concerned, we know meantime that a large part has been bought by central banks in non-G8 countries as well as Asian citizens. But here is the surprise of the day (or maybe no surprise at all), as reported by Zerohedge:

“In Q2, Goldman Sachs added a stunning (and record) 3.7 million ‘shares’ of GLD. As Paulson dumped his GLD, Goldman lapped it up to become the ETF’s 7th largest holder.”

In addition, Zerohedge provided evidence of their finding. The following screenshot shows the GLD purchases in Q2 of this year.

GLD buyers Q2 2013 trading

Any other questions about the price smash? Any wonder JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are breaking every imaginable trading record with almost 100% of profits when measured on a day basis?

The “golden” lesson? Don’t trade gold and keep possession of the metal in physical form outside the banking system.

Silver and Gold Prices Completed the First Furious Leg of their Rally

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:37 PM PDT

Gold Price Close Today : 1,396.10
Gold Price Close 23-Aug-13 : 1,395.70
Change : 0.40 or 0.0%

Silver Price Close Today : 23.463
Silver Price Close 23-Aug-13 : 23.73
Change : -0.267 or -1.1%

Gold Silver Ratio Today : 59.502
Gold Silver Ratio 23-Aug-13 : 58.816
Change : 0.69 or 1.2%

Silver Gold Ratio : 0.01681
Silver Gold Ratio 23-Aug-13 : 0.01700
Change : -0.00020 or -1.2%

Dow in Gold Dollars : $ 219.29
Dow in Gold Dollars 23-Aug-13 : $ 222.32
Change : -$3.03 or -1.4%

Dow in Gold Ounces : 10.608
Dow in Gold Ounces 23-Aug-13 : 10.755
Change : -0.15 or -1.4%

Dow in Silver Ounces : 631.22
Dow in Silver Ounces 23-Aug-13 : 632.55
Change : -1.33 or -0.2%

Dow Industrial : 14,810.31
Dow Industrial 23-Aug-13 : 15,010.51
Change : -200.20 or -1.3%

S&P 500 : 1,632.97
S&P 500 23-Aug-13 : 1,663.50
Change : -30.53 or -1.8%

US Dollar Index : 82.065
US Dollar Index 23-Aug-13 : 81.361
Change : 0.704 or 0.9%

Platinum Price Close Today : 1,526.20
Platinum Price Close 23-Aug-13 : 1,540.70
Change : -14.50 or -0.9%

Palladium Price Close Today : 722.10
Palladium Price Close 23-Aug-13 : 750.35
Change : -28.25 or -3.8%

Silver and GOLD PRICES completed the first furious leg of their rally this week and began a little correction. Today gold dropped $16.80 to $1,396.10, yes, below $1,400. Silver lost 62.7 cents to end Comex at 2346.3 cents.

As long as the GOLD PRICE remain above $1,350 (most likely target for this correction) and the SILVER PRICE above 2200c, metals remain in rally mode, and that is what I expect. Very small chance exists that they might make one final leg down as low as the June lows, but I don't expect that. All the same, humility requires that I mention it.

'Twasn't much of a week for stocks, down 1.3% and 1.8%. Dollar index probably turned up this week. Dow in Gold and Dow in Silver probably are bouncing because they are striking their long term downtrend lines (strong resistance usually needs more than one attack to break). Platinum lost 0.9% while palladium took a beating, giving up 3.8%.

Stocks have probably about finished their correction and are turning up for one last rally before crashing. Closes below 14,600 or 1,590 would contradict that outlook and argue that the end of this rally from last November has ended.

Today the Dow lost 30.64 (0.21%) to end at 14,810.31. S&P500 shaved off 5.2 (0.32%) to 1,632.97.

Dow in Gold and Dow in Silver both hit and pierced their long term downtrend lines this week. It was predictable that they would bounce off it before continuing lower. Dow in gold rose 1% today to G$219.29 gold dollars (10.608 oz). Dow in Silver rose 15.16 oz or 2.5% to 631.22 oz. Don't mistake what I mean: both have turned down AND confirmed the downturn. This upward motion is only correcting the long fall we've recently seen, but they don't contradict my interpretation that the Dow measured in metals have both reversed gravityward.

US dollar index at last broke through 82 to end at 82.065, up 0.08%, above the 20 DMA and 200 DMA and touching the 50 DMA. Momentum now points up.

Mercy! Y'all ought to rejoice and dance that y'all don't own any of those nasty euros. They sank another 0.18% today to $1.3215. 200 DMA stands below at $1.3132, and when the euro breaches it, its downward speed will increase with the square of the ECB's stupidity

Yen hangeth on by its fingernails. Rose 0.17% today to 101.84 cents/Y100, but it's a lost cause, about to drop out of its intermediate upward trading channel. Has a future as bright as Constantinople in 1452.

Y'all enjoy your weekend!

Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought.

- Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger
The-MoneyChanger.com
1-888-218-9226
10:00am-5:00pm CST, Monday-Friday

© 2013, The Moneychanger. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission.

To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary is up targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stocks' primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold; US$ or US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate bubble has burst, primary trend down.

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER. Be advised and warned:

Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures.

NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day one or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps.

NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced.

NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt.

What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands.

One final warning: NEVER insert a 747 Jumbo Jet up your nose. No, I don't.

Silver and Gold Prices Completed the First Furious Leg of their Rally

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:37 PM PDT

Gold and the Return of Global Turmoil

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:30 PM PDT

The last several weeks have seen a return of all the ingredients for a gold rally, from an "oversold" technical condition which sparked a short-covering rally to a spike in Treasury yields which caused investors to look ... Read More...

Galland - Mexico Invades Syria!

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:24 PM PDT

David Galland, Managing Director at Casey Research writes a provocative, timely piece on Syria. David begins: As I write, the Mexican president and his senior military staff are finalizing plans to respond with force to the Syrian government's purported use of chemical weapons on the United States' Islamist allies. "Eeets an outrage!" said President Enrique Peña Nieto in his best English. He then went on to detail how his secretary of defense, working with allies in Bangladesh and Mozambique as a "Coalition of the Absurd," was moving troops into place to "respond decisively" to the Syrian government's decision to commit collective suicide by engaging in the one act sure to bring international forces into the conflict on the side of the revolutionaries determined to overthrow it. When asked if it wouldn't be more prudent to wait until the UN inspectors in Syria issued their findings—you know, to avoid a repeat of the mistake the US made when it ignored the UN inspectors' report that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq—Maria Harfarta, Secretario adjunto del Departamento de Estado, snapped, "We are making our own decisions on our own timeline, and we believe that the UN inspection has passed the point where it can be credible." At which point El Presidente Nieto raised a carbine over his head and, in a particularly deep and masculine tone, yelled, "¡A las armas! Vamos a ir a la GUERRA!!!!" Of course, dear reader, I have purposely misled you—all in the hopes of making a point. Namely that it makes no more sense for the United States, the United Kingdom, and France (among others) to attack Syria than it does for Mexico, Bangladesh, and Mozambique. In an attempt to support that contention, it may prove helpful to engage in the Socratic exercise of asking questions, in the hope of finding answers. For example… What national interests are the Western powers defending? Given that creating a power vacuum in Syria will likely result in yet more chaos in the Middle East, which translates to higher oil prices, it certainly doesn't seem to be in the interest of the cash-starved flailing "democracies." (I put that word in quotes because according to the latest Gallup polls, 90% of Americans are opposed to siccing the US military onto the Syrians.) In addition, the action will deepen the strain between the US, Russia, and China, with Russia being a long-term staunch ally of Syria's and China being the largest holder of US Treasury instruments in the world. It also sets the "West" against the Arab League, which opposes yet another in an almost unbroken string of Western assaults on their region over the last 1,000 years. For the record, the Arab League includes Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen. While the leaders of certain Arab League countries, for example the Saudi royal stooges, are against the Assad regime, among the 300 million people on the Arab Street there's a strident level of opposition to yet more Western bombs landing in their backyard. Thus the imminent military action could be like throwing a lit match into a puddle of gasoline, igniting the simmering resentment of the downtrodden in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (among others) and leading to something approaching an energy apocalypse. After all, over 50% of the world's oil reserves reside under the sand of the Middle East. And much of the rest is located in Russia, the world's largest oil producer. Furthermore, any serious attack on the Syrian military's ability to defend itself will almost certainly tip the balance of power and allow the rebels to gain control. At which point the US will have delivered yet another large piece of territory unto the Islamists. For a quick lesson in how that has worked out so far, take a glance over at Libya, Iraq, and Egypt. I don't know, but the last time I checked, it seemed to me that the West was at war with the Islamic extremists. If eating the lungs of their opponents, as one of the commanders of a US ally in Syria did, isn't considered extreme, I'm not sure what is. So, if an attack doesn't serve the interests of the Western countries now revving up for war in Syria, then whose interests does it serve? There are two clear winners from the attack. Based strictly on the hard evidence, one would have to mention Israel (immediately triggering a rainfall of reflexive charges of anti-Semitism on the head of anyone daring to mention it—which is why it's never mentioned in the mainstream press). Though the end of Assad in Syria means delivering the country into the hands of more overtly anti-Israel extremists, simple observation tells us that once an Arab state fails, it tends to stay failed for many years. That's because it invariably sets off internecine fighting—often supercharged by religious passions—which acts like a cancer, quickly spreading throughout the inner workings of a previously reasonably cohesive state. Put another way, whereas a well-armed and well-organized Syria under Assad may represent a threat to Israel, a Syria descended into chaos represents no threat at all. Of course, over time some new strongman is likely to emerge, but I suspect that whoever ultimately prevails over the competition will only do so with help from powerful and deep-pocketed friends… in the West. History tells us that is how puppet governments are created. The other clear winners are, of course, the rebels. While unfortunate in the extreme for those caught out by the chemicals, a decision by Assad's military to cross the red line on using chemical weapons would be the single best way to bring powerful allies to the side of the rebels. Not to put too fine a point on it, knowing full well the consequences, the only possible explanation for Assad green-lighting a chemical attack would be a psychotic breakdown. Especially considering that he allowed UN chemical weapons inspectors into the country the very day before the chemicals were unleashed. Which begs the knock-on question, "Would the rebels really use chemical weapons on their own fighters and innocents?" In addition to a certain callousness (not to mention poor taste) attributable to the eating of human body parts, one could certainly see the rebel leaders doing the math and deciding it was acceptable for a few hundred people to die from a false-flag operation in order to bring the world's most powerful military into the conflict on their side. After all, far more would die should the rebellion stretch out for months or even years. Of course, at this point all we have is conjecture, though something a little harder than that is starting to bubble to the surface… this just in from the Live Trading news website… Testimony from victims now strongly suggests it was the rebels, not the Syrian government, that used Sarin nerve gas during a recent incident in the revolution-wracked nation, a senior UN diplomat said Monday. Carla del Ponte, a member of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told Swiss TV there were "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof," that rebels seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had used the nerve agent. But she said her panel had not yet seen any evidence of Syrian government forces using chemical weapons (CW), according to the BBC, she added that more investigation was needed. (Full story here.) So, given all the rhetoric about punishing the perpetrators of the chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus, one has to wonder whom Obama et al. will smite should the attack be found to have emanated from the rebels? Hmm… At this point, given the scale of the rhetoric, I suspect any evidence pointing in the direction of the rebels will be discarded or denounced in favor of alternative evidence conveniently uncovered by military spying apparatuses. They are good at that sort of thing. Of course, the US isn't the only Western power with an itchy trigger finger. Socialist French patsy François Hollande has also signed on for a tour of duty, as has UK prime minister David Cameron who said in Parliament yesterday, "This is not like Iraq. What we are seeing in Syria is fundamentally different." Yes, one country is spelled I-R-A-Q and the other S-Y-R-I-A. How much more different could things be than that? Just because it's kind of interesting, the map here shows—in white—the countries that Britain has NOT invaded over the centuries. Must be something in the Anglo-Saxon DNA that periodically requires us to take the show on the road. How else to explain the illogic of attacking Syria? And I have little doubt that the attack is coming, if not now, then on some other pretense in the weeks just ahead. Evidence that the attack will happen sooner than later are comments made by one of the participants in a meeting in Istanbul earlier this week, where Western diplomats from the 11 countries that make up the "Coalition of the Willing" "Friends of Syria" met with rebel leaders… "The opposition was told in clear terms that action to deter further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime could come as early as in the next few days." —Reuters If it makes no obvious sense for the US and its allies to once again start firing heavy metal into the Middle East, why would they do it? Several possible explanations… Wag the dog. As I don't need to tell you, the degrading Western democracies are broke as broke can be. In the case of the United States, the next debt ceiling will be reached in mid-October, after which the government will have to effectively stop answering the phones. Having run out of money for bread, putting on a circus might seem just the thing. The military-industrial complex is alive and well. I assume every one of you dear readers has already seen Dwight Eisenhower's incredible farewell speech to the nation in which he warned against allowing the rise of a military-industrial complex. Unfortunately, not enough of the right people paid attention to 'Ike," and the military-industrial complex has grown huge… and politically very powerful. War is the health of the state, opined Randolph Bourne. And right now, the state could use a booster shot. US foreign policy has been hijacked by the Neocons. This notion is something I have written about before. Evidence for it arrived earlier this week in a short video forwarded by a dear subscriber. The video, which appeared on ZeroHedge, is from 2007 and features Gen. Wesley Clark calmly describing how in the days immediately following 9/11, a general working with the US Joint Chiefs of Staff showed him a memo outlining a US plan to take out seven countries in the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, and Libya, before ultimately finishing up with Iran. It certainly seems a plausible scenario to me.Here's the video… it's pretty eye-opening. As I go to press, it seems as though the rush to war that was so evident as recently as Wednesday is running into a wall of public opposition. So much so that David Cameron has started back-pedaling and Obama begun waffling. Unfortunately, for strictly political reasons, the odds are high that President Obama won't back down completely. If he did, the loud-mouthed opposition would pillory him as being weak and indecisive, and we couldn't have that. So, he'll take action, if only to fire off a few billion dollars' worth of missiles at random Syrian military targets. (Speaking of loud-mouthed opposition, I feel compelled to mention John McCain, whom I now firmly believe to be insane. No, really. He has become a dangerous character á la Dr. Strangelove, advocating the invasion of Iraq and, to this day, defending it as a good idea. As bad as Obama is—and in my view he's about as bad as the younger Bush—I think we'd all be scraping for food through radioactive rubble if McCain had won the presidency. Since we're chatting about radioactivity, a song of the dramatic genre I so enjoy recently caught my ear—though I suspect it will appeal only to the headbangers among you. The song is a live version of Radioactive, by Imagine Dragons.) Finally, what consequences might there be to a Western attack on Syria? There are many words and phrases used in describing war, including "fog," "hell," and "wow, never saw that coming." At its very core, war is unpredictable: any conceivable outcome can occur once the bombs start flying. But we can make some general assumptions as to how things might work out. For example, we know that military leaders tend to fight the last successful war. Having been burned by the long-term consequences of putting boots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is probable that in Syria the US military will look to follow the script from Kosovo where the war was fought almost entirely from a distance using long-range cruise missiles and fighter planes. It was, as far as the West was concerned, a wonderful little war in that there were no NATO casualties as a direct result of the conflict. If the Syrian war goes according to that script, the Syrian military response will be limited to hiding in bunkers and muttering angry prayers to an angry god as missiles rain down upon their heads. Back at the US fleet, the sailors would spend their free time sunning on the decks and painting snappy slogans on the side of missiles yet to be deployed ("Special Delivery DAMASCUS" and "Next Stop Syria!"—that sort of thing). While there is little chance that Syria could prevail against the West under pretty much any circumstance, it might be premature to think they have no means of retaliation. For instance, in the world of today—as opposed to at the time of the Kosovo conflict—there is such a thing as computer hackers. And (surprise, surprise) there is actually a group called the Syrian Electronic Army that, this week, took down the New York Times website. Could this group—or someone who uses the group as cover to pursue a separate agenda—tip the switches on the fragile North American power grid? Or cause the US air traffic control system to take a nap at a busy time of day? It's not out of the question. Then there are the Russian shore-to-ship missiles deployed along the Syrian coast. One assumes the US Navy is smart enough to have calculated their effective range and is parking its billion-dollar ships well outside of that range, but what if there has been a miscalculation? Or the Russians have secretly upgraded the Syrian missiles? Could happen. Or what if Iran, seeing the cards on the table for what they are—i.e., that they are next—decided to take an active role in the conflict? Maybe by closing the Persian Gulf? Unlikely, I know, but what if? Could the attack trigger a quick and violent sympathetic public uprising in Saudi Arabia, sending the Saud family on the run and oil prices to $200 or more? In terms of consequences of a less violent nature, what if the Russians and the Chinese, the latter being Syria's largest trading partner, decided to protest by dumping some of the massive amount of US dollars they hold? I could go on, but won't. Instead, I'll leave off by saying that, given the risks vs. the rewards of yet another Western attack on the Middle East, I personally couldn't be more opposed to it. Hopefully there are enough people in what's left of the degraded Western democracies who feel the same way (and who are willing to express themselves): that the politicians should follow Mexico's example and mind their own business, rather than blundering forward into Syria with blunt force. Hopeful thinking, I know. But one does like to try and walk on the sunny side of the street whenever possible. *** Source: Casey Research http://www.caseyresearch.com/cdd/mexico-invades-syria *** Please note: Comments by guest authors are provided as-is, without editing and do not necessarily represent the views of this blog or GGR staff.

Galland - Mexico Invades Syria!

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:24 PM PDT

Despite the last two-days of corrective activity, gold posted a solid 5.2% gain in August. Silver was up an impressive 18.5%.

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:10 PM PDT

Former US Treasury Official - U.S. To Experience Total Collapse

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 02:00 PM PDT

Today a former US Treasury Official shocked King World News when he warned that the U.S. would experience a total collapse. He also warned that the entire Western financial system will be brought to its knees because, unlike 1980 when he and others saved the United States from collapse, the collapse cannot be stopped this time. This is without question one of the most powerful interviews Dr. Paul Craig Roberts' has ever done.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Von Greyerz: Soaring gold and silver will be part of a really nasty world

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 01:43 PM PDT

4:40p ET Friday, August 30, 2013

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Swiss gold fund manager Egon von Greyerz today tells King World News that gold and silver investors should be careful about what they wish for, since the stratospheric prices he expects for the monetary metals will signify hyperinflation and social disintegration. But von Greyerz adds that gold at $2,500 and silver at $70 in the near term will still lag inflation on account of price suppression by central banks. An excerpt from the interview is posted at the King World News blog here:

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/8/30_A_...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

ADVERTISEMENT

Is your gold safe, secure, and guaranteed?
Why storing it in Canada may be right for you

Canada is one of the safest places to store bullion because of its prosperity and economic and political stability. By vaulting your bullion with Sprott Money's Canadian storage program, you guarantee that your metals are stored securely and privately with little risk.

-- We store with Brink's, a private and non-bank storage facility renowned for its integrity, security, and efficiency.

-- Your precious metals will be safe under the protection of Brink's world-class technology and infrastructure.

-- Your precious metals will be fully insured by Brink's and Sprott Money. In the unlikely event of loss, theft, or physical damage to your metal, you will be fully compensated.

Sprott Money is a recognized and trusted name in the precious metals industry. For more information, please visit:

http://www.sprottmoney.com/store-with-us

Join GATA here:

Gold Investment Symposium 2013
Luna Park Conference Center, Sydney, Australia
Wednesday-Thursday, October 16-17, 2013

http://gold.symposium.net.au/

New Orleans Investment Conference
Sunday-Wednesday, November 10-13, 2013
Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel
New Orleans, Louisiana

https://jeffersoncompanies.com/landing/speakers?IDPromotion=613011610080...

* * *

Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006:

http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html

Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt:

http://gata.org/tshirts

Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009:

http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal

Help keep GATA going

GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

http://www.gata.org/node/16

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - End of Month and Delivery Period Antics

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 01:16 PM PDT

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - End of Month and Delivery Period Antics

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 01:16 PM PDT

What Do Gold Mining Stocks Tell Us About Gold Priceâ€™s Future Moves?

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 01:03 PM PDT

Yesterday, gold stopped a five-day rally that had pushed it to its highest since mid-May, and lost some of its safe-haven appeal as the chance of imminent U.S. military strikes against Syria seemed to diminish, and investors booked profits. We let our subscribers know our thoughts on that topic and we wrote that we didn't expect any military intervention in the next few days and it seemed to us that markets had overestimated the probability of such intervention taking place in the near term.

Goldâ€™s Strongest Months Since 1975 Are September And November

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 12:53 PM PDT

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,392.75, EUR 1,051.85 and GBP 899.19 per ounce. Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,406.25, EUR 1,059.96 and GBP 906.79 per ounce. Gold fell $8.60 or 0.61% yesterday, closing at $1,407.10/oz. Silver fell $0.44 or 1.81%, closing at $23.85. Platinum fell $11.61 or 0.8% to $1,518.99/oz, while palladium was down $8.78 or 1.2% to $734.22/oz.

Gold Erases Week's 2.5% Gain After UK Rejects Syrian Action

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 12:45 PM PDT

The PRICE of gold fell $15 in London trade Friday morning, reversing the last of the week's 2.5% gain to sit flat at $1395 per ounce. Silver had already slipped, and then also fell hard as London opened for business, dipping below $23.50 per ounce.

Gold and Silver Disaggregated COT Report (DCOT) for August 30

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 12:42 PM PDT

HOUSTON -- This week's Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) disaggregated commitments of traders (DCOT) report was released at 15:30 ET Friday. Our recap of the changes in weekly positioning by the disaggregated trader classes, as compiled by the CFTC, is just below. As we have done for some time now, this week we are also adding in the net positioning of traders the CFTC classes as "Commercial" in the Legacy COT report. (DCOT Table for August 30 and Legacy COT commercial positioning for data as of the close on Tuesday, August 27. Source CFTC for COT data, Cash Market for gold and silver.) Please note: Data auto retrieved and unverified until this note removed. In the DCOT table above a net short position shows as a negative figure in red. A net long position shows in black. In the Change column, a negative number indicates either an increase to an existing net short position or a reduction of a net long position. A black figure in the Change column indicates an increase to an existing long position or a reduction of an existing net short position. The way to think of it is that black figures in the Change column are traders getting "longer" and red figures are traders getting less long or shorter. All of the trader's positions are calculated net of spreading contracts as of the Tuesday disaggregated COT report. We also focus on the Legacy COT positioning of traders deemed "Commercial" by the CFTC, which includes Producers, Merchants, Processors and Users, plus Swap Dealers in a single category. The Legacy COT report preceded the Disaggregated COT report and we have tracked and charted it for many years, focusing on the movement and positioning of commercial traders – The "Big Hedgers."

Gold and Silver Disaggregated COT Report (DCOT) for August 30

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 12:42 PM PDT

Pullbacks In Gold and Silver May Be Buying Opportunities as Trends Turn Bullish

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 12:41 PM PDT

In late June, only 8 weeks ago I alerted all of my readers to a major buy signal in precious metals and energy. I was absolutely amazed at the investor euphoria in equities at the time and the pessimism in precious metals and commodities and predicted correctly that the concern about War in The Middle East will spark a rally in oil, gold, silver and the miners.

When no one was buying and in fact shorting precious metals and energy, I was one of the only writers who said at the time, “This instability in the Middle East and around the world means investors should look for assets that maintain value during chaotic times. Precious metals and energy could be one of the safest areas to hedge against rising Middle East turmoil.” Now 8 weeks later gold has rallied $200, silver has gone up more than $6 and oil is about to break through multi-year highs and could move to $150 a barrel. All over the headlines investors are scrambling for safe havens as the U.S. prepares to invade Syria.

The interest in safe havens particularly gold, silver and the miners are reaching overbought levels. In the middle of the summer I wrote, “Do not be surprised to see gold and silver which are down over the past two years make a "V" shaped reversal shaking out all those who sold during this correction. Although I don't want chaos to happen, many savvy investors believe this possibility is growing, especially with oil now breaking $100. I believe now may be the best time to protect oneself with precious metals, energy and really cheap junior mining stocks.”

Now 8 weeks later, all the talking heads who were saying to short gold eight weeks ago are scrambling back in. The U.S. may launch an attack as Syria’s Assad is now using chemical weapons. An attack on Syria could accelerate the move in gold, silver and energy, which may continue to rally just based on inflationary concerns alone.

Short covering combined with new value investors looking to hedge with this sector has caused an explosive move. Some of the technical indicators are short term overbought so be prepared to use consolidations as buying opportunities. Housing numbers and economic indicators look weak and I expect the precious metals to surprise the market which may incorrectly predicting tapering from QE by the Fed in September. We may see a consolidation for a couple of weeks in precious metals and energy after rallying impressively before Labor Day as investors wait for the Fed in the middle of September. Look for a consolidation in precious metals as a potential buying opportunity. Precious metals and the miners may rally after this meeting as the market realizes the Fed may not be so motivated to start tapering in September and as the Middle East continues to flare up.

Technically, gold is short term overbought and reaching resistance at $1425. A short term pullback to the 20 day ($1353) or 50 day (1310) which are now both rising and making a bullish crossover for the first time in many months, may be healthy and provide a secondary buy-point.

The Gold and Silver Index (XAU) has rallied close to 30 points since June and is entitled to a breather. Don’t panic if the XAU pulls back to the 50 day around 97. The 20 day has made a bullish golden crossover with the 50 day which is also beginning to slope higher. This is very bullish and could mean a rally to the 200 day at $126 after breaking resistance at $115. The XAU is forming a bullish ascending triangle pattern which could predict a potential breakout and long term bullish reversal.

Silver is experiencing an explosive move of over $6 since the low in late June and is overbought so long term investors should look to add on healthy pullbacks to the 20 day ($22.16) or 50 day (20.63). I believe the major two year downtrend was broken this past month in early August and possibly after a healthy pullback silver could rally past the 200 day at ($26.26).

I have used this slow week in the markets to travel and visit the mines of the top junior gold and silver miners in Nevada, where I believe the top potential growth opportunities exist. I personally believe these assets could be ten-baggers and make exponential gains from these bargain levels. I am focussing on gold and silver in Nevada as it is low cost, high margin, safe and the best mining jurisdiction in the world to operate for so many reasons. I will keep you updated in my premium newsletter which miners may be ignored today but may be worth billions down the road if one has patience and fortitude.

Check out a video I sent to subscribers in late June.

___________________________________________________________________________

Please see my disclaimer and full list of sponsor companies by clicking here…

Accredited investors looking for relevant news click here…

Please forward this article to a friend. To send feedback or to contact me click here…

Listen to other interviews with movers and shakers in the mining industry below or by clicking here…

Listen to internet radio with goldstocktrades on BlogTalkRadio

Defiling the Memory of President Eisenhower

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 12:21 PM PDT

On a Tuesday night, 52 years ago. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared on TV sets across America. Three days later, he would leave the Oval Office to John F. Kennedy.

It all happened very fast. No one was prepared for the grim prophecy Eisenhower would tell that night in his farewell address.

"My fellow Americans…" he began.

EISENHOWER

"Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well.

"But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense," he continued. "We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations…"

"In the councils of government," he warned, "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Bull's-eye.

In 1961, the words "military-industrial complex" probably sounded nuts. But writing in 2013, I can say with confidence that an alert and knowledgeable citizenry is far more absurd. Back when Ike made his address, defense spending was about $350 billion in today's dollars. Today, it's over half a trillion dollars.

In order to keep the money flowing, the Pentagon has pursued a policy of “brass creep.” Case in point: During World War II, there were 30 ships for every admiral. Today there are 973 generals and admirals. There are more admirals than there are ships.

Huh?

Many top brass have cohorts of chauffeurs, chefs and secretaries. Some have runway-ready private jets. Still others get motorcade escorts and mansion homes. The cost of the benefits to each top officer works out to roughly $1 million. One general, Kip Ward, used his staff and military equipment to take his wife shopping and send her on taxpayer-funded vacations.

What do these generals do?

One retired U.S. army colonel, Jack Jacobs, says many are “spending time writing and defending plans with Congress, and trying to get the money.” They’re essentially lobbyists, but on the Pentagon’s payroll.

Ah… America's pastime: petitioning government.

The U.S. spends over $235 billion per year on armaments. Our country specializes in weapons making. Of the top 100 grossing armament firms, the U.S. is home to the top 47. Go figure, war is profitable.

Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor, followed by Boeing and Northrop Grumman. Take a gander at each over the past year… Business is a-boomin'!

Think these guys want a say in Congress? You bet.

I haven't looked, but I bet Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, doesn't have to worry about filling his campaign coffers.

Relatively speaking, the defense industry doesn't spend as much lobbying and campaign money as, say, Big Pharma and the insurance industry do. But the contributions the defense industry makes are extremely targeted on specific members of government.

But that's just the beginning of the incest. Many defense contractors contribute to the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee. Say the Pentagon holds a panel on the future of military aviation to have an informed perspective. Boeing sends in a few "experts" to weigh in. What do you think they say?

"Um… We think aviation should be the primary focus for the Pentagon in the years ahead."

No kidding…

And when the legions of generals and admirals retire from military service? Guess where they land jobs?

What would Eisenhower say today? Probably, "I told you so you, idiots!" (No, Eisenhower had more decorum than that.)

He forecast his dour prediction in 1953. Again, Eisenhower, this time speaking to the American Society of News Editors:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone.

"It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children… This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."

As a freshman in college, I remember scratching my head at the military trade-off they taught us. "Guns or butter," they said.

I understood it… but I thought it was a poor choice. To really drive it home, it should be "Guns or feeding the homeless." Or "Guns or a college education." Or "Guns or cancer research." Doesn't that pull your heartstrings a little more?

The bottom line: If you're making a bomb, you're not making something else. I don't know what that something should be… But I'm confident you could think of few things better than a bomb. And that means that for every dollar spent on a bomb, you're made poorer, in the final sense.

Is there a policy fix to all this? No. The whole friggin' thing is screwed. And sooner rather than later, too.

But who cares about a fix? Policy wonking is messy, ineffective and not something we're concerned with. We're concerned with showing you how to preserve your wealth. Then helping you make your wallets fatter. Or simply sharing ways you can fortify your retirement savings to last you through the rest of your life.

And the military-industrial complex is the place to accomplish all three of those goals.

Maybe you loathe the defense industry, conniving lobbyists and the politicians, staffers and servicemen that keep the revolving door spinning. But the system offers you a way to build your own wealth better than most other industries.

Why?

Because defense spending is all telegraphed ahead of time! Take cybersecurity, for example. That's the new big thing. We've started to call the digital ether the "fifth domain of war" after land, sea, air and space.

"The CIA and NSA have launched aggressive new efforts to hack into foreign computer networks to steal information or sabotage enemy systems," reports The Washington Post, "embracing what the budget refers to as 'offensive cyberoperations.'" The details came from the latest Edward Snowden leak.

Apparently, NSA and CIA spending on intelligence has surpassed adjusted Cold War intelligence spending. The amount spent was $52.6 billion. That was part of what's called the "black budget," so you couldn't have known ahead of time or made an investment.

But for other types of cybersecurity contracts you can. And looking back at the big three's stock charts above, you can image how profitable piggybacking on them could be. It's as simple as following the money.

Regards,

Peter Coyne
for The Daily Reckoning

P.S. In two days, the Pentagon will be kicking off a tidal wave of spending on cyber security. $16.1 billion in defense contracts will be awarded to firms who will retrofit the Department of Defense with the world's finest cybersecurity capabilities.

Readers of The Daily Reckoning email edition were given the chance to get a sneak peek at a shortlist of the companies involved… and an incredible way to profit from them. Don't miss your shot at this and other incredible investment opportunities. Sign up for The Daily Reckoning email edition for free, right here.

What Do (Mining) Stocks Tell Us About Gold's Future Moves?

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 12:06 PM PDT

Gold Production Decline Imminent

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 11:40 AM PDT

Fiscal madness, denial and the markets

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 11:24 AM PDT

A September, 2011 rewind?

This morning the Wall Street Journal ran a piece explaining that the Obama administration are so far apart on the debt ceiling that Congressional Republicans see meeting with the White House on the matter an exercise in futility. So nothing is happening to move the sticks on the debt ceiling. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department has stopped the clock on the accumulation of federal debt through some machination no one understands. As a result, for the past thirty or more days the national debt has remained in neutral even as multi-billions have been borrowed by the Federal government. This is what the whole charade looks like at the Treasury Department’s website. (A must see) In all the years I have monitored the U.S. government’s finances, I cannot recall anything like this has ever occurring before.

There is an interesting section in Dan Brown’s new book, Inferno, about denial — how much of it is simply a human default response to situations the mind cannot process. It cites a study at an Ivy League university which revealed that even highly intelligent internet users would quickly click off a depressing subject and go to something trivial rather than face something highly disagreeable. It sounds like the federal government — top to bottom — is in denial on the growing national debt and the debt ceiling confrontation coming up in October. Everyone wishes the problem would just go away; but it isn’t going to just go away.

That brings us back to the ever-present market preoccupation with tapering. Can the Fed really consider the shock of an actual start to the tapering process when the rest of Washington can’t get off the dime on how the national debt is going to be controlled? Picture for a moment the sheer madness of the Fed cutting back its purchases of U.S. government debt at a time when Congress is demonstrating its inability to deal with its spending addiction — all at a time when it appears to be ramping up for another costly Mid-East war. Any guesses as to how the bond market might react? Any guesses where private investors might decide to seek refuge. The last time the pols came to this impasse the United States lost its AAA bond rating; the stock market dropped about 15%; and gold went from roughly $1500 per ounce to an all-time at $1900 per ounce in two short months. Here’s what gold’s rise at the time looks like on a chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . MK

India may be prepping gold for a bigger role

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 11:23 AM PDT

50-Aug (MarketWatch) — India may be considering a bigger role for gold.

The country is thinking about a plan to allow banks to buy gold GCZ3 -1.18% from the public and the nation's Trade Minister Anand Sharma has said that India's central bank should consider monetizing gold holdings, according to recent reports from Reuters.

The plan would allow banks to buy gold directly from the public, "cutting out the premiums that jewelers and pawn shops charge sellers," said Julian Phillips, founder of and contributor to GoldForecaster.com.

"We see this plan as a thinly-disguised plan to give the banking sector and government access to gold for the nation's benefit," he said.

…"While the word monetizing gold can be seen as another word for confiscating, it may not be initially seen as an outright confiscation of gold," said Phillips. "But once in the government's (through the banks) hands, it is a small move to hold it for as long as they want. 'A rose by any other name smells as sweet'! I see it as confiscation but not one that makes owning gold illegal."

[source]

A Whiff of 2008

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 11:22 AM PDT

August 30, 2013

Oil near multiyear highs as war with Syria looms: The 5 revisits an eerie Byron King forecast from 2008
The one military realm in which Syria can easily match U.S. power… and the investment thesis that logically follows
If the Fed tapers, it will be wonderful for one asset class, revealed today
Obamacare’s latest nasty surprise… an eye-catching advertisement (but will anyone pay attention to the message?)… alert reader spots a 5 typo… and more!

“Obama Willing to ‘Go It Alone’ in Syria,” the headlines say.

The British Parliament has nixed the U.K.’s involvement in any war. Even the French, who still fancy themselves as Syria’s colonial overlords, are having second thoughts. But here at home, we’re told by CBS News that “The Obama administration faced new pressure Thursday to take action on Syria.”

“New pressure from whom?” asks Conor Friedersdorf at The Atlantic, inconveniently. “The story proceeds as if it doesn’t matter.

“What I’d like,” Friedersdorf goes on, “is if news accounts on pressure to intervene in Syria made it clear that the ‘growing calls… for forceful action’ aren’t coming from the people, or congressional majorities or an expert consensus. The pressure is being applied by a tiny, insular elite that mostly lives in Washington, D.C., and isn’t bothered by the idea of committing America to military action that most Americans oppose.”

Keeping our eye on the investment ball, crude hovers at $108.29 going into a long and uncertain holiday weekend.

Bank of America forecasts a “short-lived spike” to $120-130, assuming the “tailored, limited” military strikes against Syria the president is promising — a promise that makes little sense to our Byron King.

“According to Obama administration officials,” he says, “the impending war on Syria isn’t scheduled to start for another day or two. And it’ll last three days or so, just like clockwork. And we’ll hit only a few targets, which we have conveniently pre-identified for the Syrians.

“Even if the U.S./NATO is going to wage war, is this how you do it? Do you telegraph your moves days ahead of time? I must have missed that class when I studied at the Naval War College.”

And if the war is so urgent, why hasn’t it started already?

100 “We should shut the Suez Canal before destroyers, machinery or oil vessels pass to strike Syria,” says a statement attributed to Egypt’s Tamarod movement.

Well, that’s one possibility for the delay — the ships aren’t all in place yet because they can’t take the Suez shortcut.

Tamarod — or “Rebellion” — is the leading faction in Egypt that supported the military when it wrested power from the Muslim Brotherhood last month.

Internet rumormongers have gone a step further and attributed a similar shut-Suez remark to Egypt’s defense minister. “So far, it’s rumor mill stuff,” says Byron, keeping in regular touch with his government and defense industry contacts. “But I could see the Egyptians not wanting to be party to Western Christians firing Tomahawk missiles at fellow Muslims.”

And as we mentioned on Monday, standing up to the U.S. is very good politics in Egypt these days.

“Think this through investmentwise,” Byron goes on. “Let’s just look at the economic hit from oil. There’s a war scare out there, driving oil prices up by, say, $20 per barrel.

“Apply that to the 100 million or so barrels of oil that the world uses every day. That’s $2 billion ‘extra’ that the global economy is paying every day out of consumers’ pockets to oil producers — including U.S. oil pumpers, I should add. That’s about $14 billion ‘extra’ per week. It’s about $60 billion per month tacked onto the world economy in the form of higher energy costs.”

Add to that a forecast from Societe Generale that if a conflict in Syria metastasizes across the Middle East, oil supply would be cut and the price could jump to $150 a barrel — as it did in July 2008.

We recall Byron’s eerie words back then: “A lot of things in the world economy don’t work very well with $150 oil.” Indeed, $150 oil was one of several combustibles that set off the bonfire of the financial crisis only weeks later.

Then there’s the looming cyberwar angle we’ve been pursuing this week.

“Iran and Syria can target coalition cyber-based infrastructure and other potential targets,” says Hayat Alvi, a lecturer in Middle East studies at the U.S. Naval War College. “They prove to be quite capable in that domain.”

Ah, the “fifth domain” of war Byron speaks of — beyond land, sea, air and space.

“Point is,” Byron tells us by email, “cyberwar is much more closely matched than a traditional ‘kinetic’ conflict. The other side just needs a handful of smart guys with access to equipment, and they can work out how to stage attacks.

“With cyber, you can plan dozens of events over many months and launch them all within a microsecond or two.”

As irony would have it, airstrikes on Syria this weekend would coincide with the Pentagon awarding $110 million in new cybersecurity contracts — with nearly $16 billion more on their heels. After a thorough review of recently declassified documents, Byron has identified seven companies he believes are set to collect the lion’s share.

The schedule is locked in. The contracts are set to be awarded Sept. 1 — holiday weekend notwithstanding. So only two days remain in which you can capitalize on this information. Check out the fruits of Byron’s research… while there’s still time.

Stocks this morning are remaining true to their form this month — a low-volume slow-motion sell-off. At last check, the Dow was down 34 points, approaching 14,800.

American consumers’ income and spending was essentially flat in July, according to a Commerce Department report out this morning. Both numbers ticked up 0.1%… but it was mostly small-business owners and landlords whose income grew; wages and salaries actually fell.

The key number in this report, though, is “core PCE” — the Federal Reserve’s favorite measure of inflation. At a 1.2% year-over-year increase, it’s nowhere near the Fed’s 2% target. If you’re caught up in “tapering” predictions, take note. Then again…

“Don’t fear the taper,” our own Thompson Clark begins.

As you may know by now, Thompson is our newest addition to our editorial staff. He’s a former Wall Street analyst, and before that he worked as a broker at Euro Pacific Capital. Today he’s making his debut in our digital leaves with one “taper-immune” sector.

“Whether the taper is announced or not,” Thompson writes of the Fed’s Sept. 17-18 meeting, “is of no concern to this sector of the stock market. These stocks, historically, appear to be taper-immune. When rates have risen, they continue charging on. The gain months after a rate hike, believe it or not, continue to stay in the double digits.

“What sector am I referring to?

“The small- and microcap sector.”

Small caps have a total market cap below $5 billion. Microcaps? Under $250 million. And according to Thompson, they’re top performers when the interest rates rise.

Higher interest rates, as you know, mean higher borrowing costs. This has a negative effect on government spending, private industries, manufacturers of capital goods and lower blue chip stock valuations, among other things.

“In the small-cap sector, however,” Thompson writes as he unravels the chart below, “we see a different result.

“The results are shocking.

“Twelve months after a rise in rates? The average performance is 15%.

“Eighteen months? 10%.”

Thompson lays out three reasons why this could be:

1. Smaller companies are not correlated to larger caps.

2. Immunity to macroeconomic forces. Investors always see value in the cutting-edge and disruptive.

3. Smaller companies are nimble and are able to adapt to changing markets much quicker.

“Incorporating the smaller stocks in your investment portfolio might be something to consider if your fear the taper — or not.

“Bigger,” Thompson concludes, “is not always better.”

[Ed. Note: As mentioned yesterday, we have reopened access to Agora Financial's Microcap Millionaires -- Thompson's unique high-end advisory targeting these tiny players.

Because it takes very little buying to move some of the stocks he recommends, we're imposing a strict limit on the number of subscribers. We have only 435 slots remaining. That's literally one out of every 402 people receiving this email today... so take a look.]

Here comes the next Obamacare surprise: “For the vast majority of Americans, premium prices will be higher in the individual exchange than what they’re currently paying for employer-sponsored benefits.”

So concludes National Journal after analyzing the coverage and cost data.

“Health law proponents,” the article says, “have excused the rate hikes by saying the prices in the exchange won’t apply to the millions receiving coverage from their employers. But that’s only if employers continue to offer that coverage — something that’s looking increasingly uncertain.”

Case in point: Our item earlier this week about UPS dropping coverage for 15,000 employee spouses.

What’s more, a single wage-earner would have to earn less than $20,000 a year if his or her current premiums were to drop in the exchanges. For a family of four, the figure is $62,300.

Have you followed our “preventive measures” against the Affordable Care Act yet?

Gold dipped below $1,400 overnight and has barely recovered as of this writing, to $1,402.

Dollar strength is a factor here; the dollar index has poked its nose above 82 for the first time in nearly a month.

“Don Draper would be proud,” says the business newsreel Quartz, channeling the protagonist of AMC’s hit series Mad Men.

Of what would he be proud, exactly? A PR firm in Tokyo called Wit Inc. is trying to get a leg up on competitors (excuse the pun, it’s Friday) by paying women to plaster stickers of brands on their thighs.

Though the thighs are uncharted territory, “skinvertising” is nothing new. In 2005, for example, Andrew Fischer rented a month of ad space on his forehead for $37,375. Actress Shaune Bagwell, that same year, for $15,000 sold space on her cleavage to an online casino.

“Advertising on women’s skin,” Quartz goes on, “appears to be much more cost-effective than forking out exorbitant sums for public billboard space.”

What does thigh-branding rake in? According to Wit, they pay $121 per day, per thigh.

But of course, not just any thigh will do. There are stipulations:

They must be 18 years or older
They must have at least 20 friends on social networking sites (setting the bar pretty high, eh?)
They must take pictures of themselves wearing the sticker in two different locations and upload them to the Internet.
Also, it’s recommended they wear miniskirts and long socks.

“It’s an absolutely perfect place to put an advertisement,” Hidenori Atsumi, CEO of Wit, told ITN, “as this is what guys are eager to look at and girls are eager to expose.”

Knowing how these things tend to escalate, we’re afraid to ask what’s next.

“Dave,” begins today’s mailbag, “please ask the reader who said the Fed policy or Obamacare has very little to do with what is going on in the economy to go start a company with 60 employees.

“It’s easy, and anyone with a brain should be able to do it!”

“Was there a typo in your story about Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano’s exit?” a reader inquires.

“Is it ‘run’ or ‘ruin’ the University of California system?”

The 5: [rimshot]

Have a good weekend,

Dave Gonigam
The 5 Min. Forecast

P.S. Your Saturday 5 Things You Need to Know will arrive as usual tomorrow. U.S. markets are closed Monday for Labor Day, and Canadian markets are closed for Labour Day, so the weekday 5 returns on Tuesday.

Syria, Gold & the Emergency Crisis in Money

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 10:41 AM PDT

Yes, geopolitical turmoil can push gold prices higher. But if Syria is to blame for this run, then the world's in very big trouble...

AND JUST like that, there were no sellers in the gold or silver markets. It's been buyers only amongst BullionVault users this week, writes Adrian Ash at the world's largest bullion service for private investors online.

New account openings were strong this week too, the greatest number since the April price crash in fact. Cash deposits were also sharply higher, the heaviest since end-June – the week gold and silver hit their second big slump, and bargain hunters on BullionVault got just the crash they wanted.

Since then, silver added a staggering 38% to this week's high. It hadn't moved so fast month-on-month since September last year! Gold is a relative laggard, but it's still put on 20% from the end-June low of $1182.

Yet two whole months into this rally, the newswires and pundits today offer one reason for this jump and 1 reason only: Syria. Which if true, would be a very bad sign indeed.

Not that news-writers and pundits need to get this stuff right. Helping you manage your money is mere info-tainment remember, with "gold = blood" offering a peep at more financial porn. No, it's not quite Hannah Montana on crack. But for anyone trying to glimpse the big picture outside their own roomful of black mirrors, it sure beats 10 things your spouse won't tell you.

September for instance will mark the fifth anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse. Hard-bitten hacks spotted that early this summer, with a BBC radio trailer claiming it was "five years after the financial crisis began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers." Even the Evening Standard's Anthony Hilton said the same in print. This false memory has long infected otherwise useful analysis, but get ready for plenty more as the fateful echo of 15 September 2008 draws near.

What this hack-handed "fifth anniversary" misses is that, sure – today's permanent emergency began 60 months back, when politicians and central-bank wonks finally awoke to the mess they'd ignored (even as they'd helped to create it), and then set about destroying money in the hope of saving the system. But Northern Rock hit its banking run in the UK a year before. The US home-loan implosion was well underway by Christmas 2006. And the "crisis" – meaning that turning point at which the future path to instability and chaos was decided – started long before that.

Lehmans was an outcome, not a beginning. Cheap money's mischief ran wild for five years and more before your newspaper caught on. It simply took the biggest bank failures in history for them to notice. Those numbskulls buying gold and silver as the trouble built up were just smart alecs. They've never tired of saying it since.

But back to today's political turmoil over the unholy horror in Syria. Yes, saber-rattling can add to gold and silver prices in times of extreme stress. But in times of extreme stress only, such as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979. Otherwise, Western investors making the running tend to ignore trouble and strife overseas, and precious metals tend to focus instead on monetary matters instead.

Witness the Russian invasion of South Ossetia in summer 2008. It did nothing to buoy gold, which kept falling from a then record-high of $1000 per ounce as the snowballing credit collapse sucked air out of the gold futures markets before destroying Lehman's surrealist balancesheet.

Syria is a different mess altogether, however. Its tangled web of friends, alliances and enemy's enemies is almost as ominous as its borders with Turkey and Israel. The West's push for action also comes as today's statesmen and other boneheads return from the beach, dragging suitcases full of must-read books trying to explain the First World War in time for next year's centenary.

Politically, nothing was inevitable about the disaster of WWI. Financially, it made precious metals too valuable to use as money any more. But plenty of other monetary trends were already in play before Archduke Franz Ferdinand's chauffeur missed his diversion and indicated right onto Sarajevo's Franzjosefstrasse. Cradle-to-grave welfare and the state-run central banking it demanded would make hard money impossible, first in the way that a toddler is, and then as an idea which only history can ever revive.

Roll on almost 100 years, and September 2013 also marks the second anniversary of gold's all-time peak. Was $1920 per ounce really both so long ago and so near? Recording two London Fixes of $1895 and one at $1896 per ounce, gold hit that intraday high on Tues 6 Sept. 2011.

Today we're more than 25% below that peak. Which is better than the near-40% drop at end-June this year. But it still puts this summer's sharp recovery into context.

Why the peak, and why are we so far off it today? In a word, crisis. Or rather the lack of it. Summer 2011 took the Greek debt collapse, and smeared it across Europe, sending Eurozone leaders into panic. Then it added the US debt downgrade, sparked by broken politics and the debt ceiling row. That deleted the words "risk free" from the world's reserve currency, and sent world stock markets into tailspin. To cap it all, summer 2011 then set fire to England's towns and cities in four days of mass lawlessness. Almost unchallenged by the police, its blazing High Streets made the evening news every night everywhere, right next to the financial crisis.

Such social stress is, thankfully, rare. Such a singular point of investment stress is rarer still. But insurance is what you buy before the mob sets fire to your shop. And between the end of June and the start of Sept. 2011, the gold price rose 29%, jumping from $1480 to that brief top at $1920. Oddly, gold has made a near look-a-like move so far this summer too.

Jumping from end-June's low of $1182, the gold price has now added 20% – pretty much what history said it would for UK investors (if not Dollar and Euro buyers) after a drop as severe as spring 2013's gold crash.

Whether there's another 9% to come in the next week, we daren't guess. But after the "financial crisis" of 2007-2009 came the "sovereign debt crisis" of 2010-2012. And trouble comes in threes, of course.

Gold's recent surge gives notice, perhaps, that today's geopolitical crisis may yet catch fire too. Certainly, something awful is afoot in Syria.

Syria, Gold & the Emergency Crisis in Money

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 10:41 AM PDT

Yes, geopolitical turmoil can push gold prices higher. But if Syria is to blame for this run, then the world's in very big trouble...

Yet two whole months into this rally, the newswires and pundits today offer one reason for this jump and 1 reason only: Syria. Which if true, would be a very bad sign indeed.

Today we're more than 25% below that peak. Which is better than the near-40% drop at end-June this year. But it still puts this summer's sharp recovery into context.

Gold's recent surge gives notice, perhaps, that today's geopolitical crisis may yet catch fire too. Certainly, something awful is afoot in Syria.

Syria, Gold & the Emergency Crisis in Money

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 10:41 AM PDT

Yes, geopolitical turmoil can push gold prices higher. But if Syria is to blame for this run, then the world's in very big trouble...

Yet two whole months into this rally, the newswires and pundits today offer one reason for this jump and 1 reason only: Syria. Which if true, would be a very bad sign indeed.

Today we're more than 25% below that peak. Which is better than the near-40% drop at end-June this year. But it still puts this summer's sharp recovery into context.

Gold's recent surge gives notice, perhaps, that today's geopolitical crisis may yet catch fire too. Certainly, something awful is afoot in Syria.

A Terrifying Collapse Will Plunge The World Into Total Chaos

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 09:33 AM PDT

With fears escalating around the world about the state of the global economy, today a 42-year market veteran issued a frightening warning. He told King World News that a terrifying collapse will plunge the world into total chaos. The 42-year market veteran also spoke about how this will impact key markets such as gold, silver, stocks, and bonds, and what people must do to prepare themselves ahead of the coming collapse. Below is what Egon von Greyerz, founder of Matterhorn Asset Management out of Switzerland, had to say in this chilling interview.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Gold erases week’s gain after UK rejects Syrian action

Posted: 30 Aug 2013 09:28 AM PDT

The gold price fell $15 in London trade Friday morning, reversing the last of the week’s 2.5% gain.