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• Gold junior doubles, halted, but no news on Colombia assets
• SA gold miners, unions fighting the wrong battle
• Turkey gold imports slump month-on-month in August
• Gold and silver: still in a bear market or in major recovery mode?
• The Most Bearish News For Gold Yet, But Silver Right On Track
• Recent Rally in Gold: Significant Improvement or Just a Bigger Pullback?
• The Upward Momentum in Gold Prices Looks set to Continue
• Kaye: Out of gold, Western central banks now will try to slow metals renewed rise
• The CURRENT Monetary System WILL CRASH — Got Gold?
• Is gold ready for a brief pause?
• Trouble Ahead for the U.S. Oil Boom
• What does war mean for the gold price?
• Gold touches $1,400 as high Syria risk meet price-sensitive Asian demand
• Gold rises toward $1,400 after Russia says missiles fired at Syria
• The Most Important Article I’ve Ever Written
• The New Gold Myth
• Guest Post: More Evidence That JPM Has Cornered Comex Gold
• Of Precious Metals and Unsuccessful Parasites
• Attack on Syria will be positive for Gold
• We Are Getting Closer To the End Game
• Deja Vu All Over Again
• Gold bulls increase positions to highest since January
• Gold Gained Back All Its Losses and Silver Rocketed Higher
• Gold Rises Towards $1,400 After Russia Says Missiles Fired At Syria
• Who Benefits From A War Between The United States And Syria?
• Gold price breaks back above $1400 – BUT $1424 holds the key
• Does the gold price care about Syria?
• Credibility
• Gold Explodes Through $1,400 After Russia Says Missiles Fired At Syria
• Gold Touches $1400 as "High Syria Risks" Meet "Price-Sensitive" Asian Demand
• Editorial: The Class-Backed Dollar
• Lawrence Williams: What Does Summer’s End Mean For Gold and Silver?
• Asian bonds tumble below par in capital flight
• Doug Pollitt: Of bullion, backwardation, and Buffett
• Thousands Rally in Romania Against Gold Mine
• Documentary program on Austrian TV addresses gold price suppression
• 'Give Our Gold Back' campaign launched in Poland
• South Africa's gold sector goes on strike today
• If Syria’s behind gold’s latest run, bigger trouble is afoot – Adrian Ash
• India's Holy Mary: Converting Sacred Temple Gold Into Dollars
• India to bring in more measures to curb gold imports
• Gold 'will hit $1,500’ as investors seek safe haven
• Lawrence Williams: What does summer’s end mean for gold and silver?
• Gold, Silver, miners look attractive on bullish signals
• Gold and Silver may perform better if US August employment data disappoints
• Gold Rises Towards $1,400 After Russia Says Missiles Fired At Syria
• Aim investors go for gold after Isa rule change
• Drums Of War Spark Rally In Gold, Silver and Energy
• Stoeferle - Superb Book of 50 Charts
• Monetary-Base Confusion

Gold junior doubles, halted, but no news on Colombia assets Posted: 03 Sep 2013 06:59 PM PDT Sunward Resources goes for an inexplicable tear mid-morning Tuesday. Has speculation ignited this fever?

SA gold miners, unions fighting the wrong battle Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:35 PM PDT The current wage impasse in South Africa could go on for a long time as negotiations seem to have failed, but perhaps they were negotiating the wrong things.

Turkey gold imports slump month-on-month in August Posted: 03 Sep 2013 04:15 PM PDT Bourse Istanbul data shows that this is down from 37 tonnes a month earlier, but slightly above the year-ago figure.

Gold and silver: still in a bear market or in major recovery mode? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:40 PM PDT A series of charts from Ronald Stoeferle at Incrementum AG, and technical analysis from Peter Ullrich both suggest that gold and silver have gone through a bullish correction and are poised for better things ahead.

The Most Bearish News For Gold Yet, But Silver Right On Track Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:16 PM PDT Gold prices fell, paring a second straight monthly gain, on bets that an improving U.S. economy will support the case for the Federal Reserve to curb its stimulus. Gold prices also fell after U.K. lawmakers rejected a motion for military action against Syria, reducing demand for precious metals as a haven asset. Gold bullion climbed 6.3% in August, the second straight gain, and the longest rally since September. This rally in gold prices has been triggered by a number of supportive events. Gold prices saw a second straight month of gains, "which is bullish from a momentum and technical perspective, especially as equities came under pressure this month," said Mark O'Byrne, executive director at GoldCore in Dublin. "We are now entering the seasonal sweet spot for gold prices as September and November are two of gold's strongest months as seen in the data going back to 1975," according to

Recent Rally in Gold: Significant Improvement or Just a Bigger Pullback? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:09 PM PDT SunshineProfits

The Upward Momentum in Gold Prices Looks set to Continue Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:09 PM PDT Gold prices climbed back above the $1,400 an ounce on Tuesday after Interfax reported that Russia detected a missile launch. A Russian Defence Ministry spokesman quoted by the Interfax news agency said the launch was picked up by an early warning radar station at Armavir, near the Black Sea, which is designed to detect missiles from Europe and Iran. RIA, another Russian news agency, later quoted a source in Syria’s “state structures” as saying the objects had fallen harmlessly into the sea. The Russian Defence Ministry declined comment to Reuters. However, later in the day Israel’s Defence Ministry said that it, along with a Pentagon team, had carried out a test-launch of a Sparrow missile. The Sparrow, which simulates the long-range missiles of Syria and Iran, is used for target practice by Israel’s U.S.-backed ballistic shield Arrow. “Israel routinely fires missiles or drones off its shores to test its own ballistic defence capabilities,” a U.S. official said in Washington. Western naval forces have been gathering in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea since President Bashar al-Assad was accused of carrying out an August 21 gas attack in his more than two-year-old conflict with rebels trying to topple him. Moscow is Assad’s big-power ally and has mobilised its own navy in the face of U.S. military preparations to punish the Syrian government for its alleged killing of more than 1,400 people in the chemical strike in an embattled Damascus suburb. Russia opposes any outside military intervention in Syria’s civil war and says it suspects the gassings were staged by rebels seeking foreign involvement in the conflict. The news caused a spike in gold prices which later dropped back below $1400 an ounce only to rise again during the second London gold fix. In South Africa, more than 120,000 unionized gold miners In South Africa, represented by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), are set to go on strike as of today. Yesterday, Reuters reported that South African union leaders warned that mine owners’ handling of pay talks could provoke violence, and bosses said wage hikes would force mine closures and cost thousands of jobs. Mining companies have already explained that they cannot afford to agree to the demands made by the unions due to soaring costs and depressed prices. The president of South Africa’s Chamber of Mines warned unions against stoking workers’ hopes. Mark Cutifani, who is also chief executive of mining giant Anglo American said, “Promoting expectations above the capacity of the industry to pay is a dangerous road that may have tragic consequences for employees who do not understand how close we are to economic devastation in certain sectors.” “If we lose each other in the present discussions, we will count the costs in mines closed and tens of thousands of jobs lost,” he wrote in a commentary in the Business Day newspaper. According to the Chamber of Mines, the strike could cost South Africa more than $35 million a day in lost output as the sector would stop producing about 760 kg a day. South Africa’s gold industry, which once accounted for almost 80% of global bullion output, now produces just 6% of the world total. Companies which will be hit by Tuesday’s strike include main gold producers AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony Gold and Sibanye Gold. Last week the price of gold pushed above the $1400 an ounce level for the first time in three and a half months due to increasing geopolitical tensions involving the recent chemical attack that took place in certain suburbs of Damascus, Syria. Last week UK prime minister, David Cameron, was forced to back down and agreed to delay a military attack on Syria when British politicians rejected a motion urging an international response to the recent chemical weapons strike in Syria. The Prime Minister has now said he will wait for a report by United Nations weapons inspectors before seeking the approval of MPs for "direct British involvement" in the Syrian intervention. Downing Street said the decision to wait for the UN was based on the "deep concerns" the country still harbours over the Iraq War. In a statement the UK government said that it only wanted to proceed on a "consensual basis" and was now wary about becoming embroiled in another divisive conflict in the Middle East in the wake of Iraq. The parliamentary defeat for David Cameron is a blow to US President Obama. Like nearly all presidents since the Vietnam War, Britain has been the closest ally to the US. And, Obama's efforts to marshal a unified international front for a short, punitive strike raised concerns about the evidence, reawakening British resentment over false assurances from the American and British governments that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. In a televised speech the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, claimed that there was clear and compelling evidence that proves the Syrian government was behind the recent chemical-weapons strike in Damascus. After citing the protracted military presence of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan Kerry presented his case for intervention. “Fatigue does not absolve us of our responsibility,” Kerry said referring to Iraq and Afghanistan. “Just longing for peace does not necessarily bring it about. And history would judge us all extraordinarily harshly if we turned a blind eye to a dictator's wanton use of weapons of mass destruction against all warnings [and] against all common understanding of decency.” President Obama spoke to the nation on Saturday from the White House on the worsening situation in Syria. In a rather defiant note, he insisted the U.S. was prepared to take action against the Syrian government. "Ten days ago, the world watched in horror as men, women and children were massacred in Syria in the worst chemical weapons attack of the 21st century," the President said. "In a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted.' "Now after careful deliberation, I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets," Mr. Obama added. "Our military has positioned assets in the region. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose," the President said. Mr. Obama also said he would seek authorization from Congress before launching a military strike. "Over the last several days, we have heard from members of Congress who want their voices to be heard. I absolutely agree. "This morning, I spoke with all four congressional leaders, and they've agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as soon as Congress comes back into session," the President said. If one considers all the previous disasters that have followed any US lead military intervention, it is more than likely that such action will have a similar fate and will only escalate tensions in the Middle East. As this will prompt investors to seek safe haven assets such as gold and as we enter the period where prices have tended to increase on a historical basis, I expect to see higher prices in the coming months. Meanwhile as much of the focus of the global financial markets will be Syria, another unfolding scenario will also continue to have an enormous impact on gold prices. This is the on-going currency war caused in part by the major central banks policy of quantitative easing as well as the expansion of global debt. The easy money policies of the major central banks in particular the US Federal Reserve, the European Central bank, and the Bank of Japan has caused a devaluation of not only the major global currencies but those of the emerging world including China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, South Africa, Russia and Mexico – just to name a few. During the last few months the Indian Rupee has lost more than 25% of its value versus the US dollar causing demand for gold to soar.  And as individuals in India have been buying gold as a way to protect their wealth, the Reserve Bank of India  have reacted to the situation by imposing import controls on the metal in an attempt to keep the populace from fleeing the rupee for gold. It is very conceivable that the recent strength in global gold markets might be attributable more to events such as these than events in Syria — where the mainstream financial media has focused its attention of late. In its latest move to try and take gold from its citizens, the Indian government is considering a radical plan to direct commercial banks to buy gold from ordinary citizens and divert it to precious metal refiners in an attempt to curb imports and take some pressure off the plunging currency. A pilot project will be launched soon, a source familiar with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told Reuters. India has the world’s third-largest current account deficit, which is approaching nearly $90 billion, driven in a large part by appetite for gold imports in the world’s biggest consumer of the metal. With 31,000 tons of commercially available gold in the country – worth $1.4 trillion at current prices – diverting even a fraction of that to refiners would satisfy domestic demand for the metal. “We will start a pilot project among some banks where we will allow them to buy back gold from individual households,” the source, an official familiar with the central bank’s gold policymaking, said. “This will start soon, we have discussed (it) with banks.” The RBI will ask the banks to buy back jewellery, bars and coins for rupees. Lenders will have to offer better rates than pawn shops and jewellers to lure sellers. Only last Thursday, India’s Trade Minister Anand Sharma said the central bank should look into the possibility of monetizing gold holdings. However, it was not clear whether Sharma was referring to the 557.7 tons of gold the RBI holds in its own reserves, or gold in private hands. He did not give more details of how the proposal would work. Earlier this week in comments reported in the national media, Sharma said “even if 500 tons is monetized at today’s value it takes care of your CAD”, or current account deficit. Technical picture The momentum in gold prices continues to trade with an upward bias and look set to soon re-test $1450 an ounce.

Kaye: Out of gold, Western central banks now will try to slow metals renewed rise Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:01 PM PDT GATA

The CURRENT Monetary System WILL CRASH — Got Gold? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 11:30 AM PDT Claudio Grass the managing director of GlobalGold.ch joins the SGTReport to discuss the fact that our current monetary system WILL collapse, it's just a matter of time. The question Claudio asks is when it happens "will the crash lead us to more Totalitarian structures, or will the people start thinking about their individual liberty?" 2013 [...] The post The CURRENT Monetary System WILL CRASH — Got Gold? appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: History Tells Us That A Gold Crash + An Oil Crash = Guaranteed Recession Gold Trader: "Stock Market May Crash 10-20% In Next 5-10 Days, Will Create Setup For Bubble Phase In Gold" Gold Heading Back Towards Monetary System? Long Awaited Gold $100 Note to Be Released Oct 8th

Is gold ready for a brief pause? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:55 AM PDT Now that gold has broken its daily cycle trend line, I think we can assume that the daily cycle decline has probably begun. My best guess is that we will see gold drop into next week's employment report and test the support zone and intermediate trend line around $1,340-$1,350.

Trouble Ahead for the U.S. Oil Boom Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:30 AM PDT The much touted Oil Boom in the U.S. may be heading for serious trouble. Even though the EIA – U.S. Energy Information Agency and the MSM have been putting out very optimistic forecasts for a growing domestic oil supply, present data and analysis shows that domestic production may indeed be hitting an "Inflection Point." 2013 [...] The post Trouble Ahead for the U.S. Oil Boom appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: N. Dakota Bakken Oil Boom Will End in a Bust, Just like ’49 Gold Rush GOLD & SILVER UPDATES: U.S. GOLD EXPORTS, SILVER EAGLE SALES, ETC With Peak Oil Comes PEAK GOLD & SILVER

What does war mean for the gold price? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:24 AM PDT In the last week or so there has been a changing sentiment toward what is driving gold, a large part of the focus is now directed toward Syria and less so on the FOMC's tapering. But how much of an impact will a war with Syria really have on the...

Gold touches $1,400 as high Syria risk meet price-sensitive Asian demand Posted: 03 Sep 2013 10:06 AM PDT Wholesale London prices for physical gold jumped $15 from a drop to $1,384 per ounce Tuesday morning, gaining after the Interfax news agency in Russia reported two "objects" being fired in the Mediterranean, towards the sea's eastern coast.

Gold rises toward $1,400 after Russia says missiles fired at Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:47 AM PDT Gold, silver and Brent oil rose and European stocks declined after reports of missile launches in the Mediterranean. Russian radar detected two ballistic "objects" that were fired toward the Syrian coastline from the central part of the sea.

The Most Important Article I’ve Ever Written Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:45 AM PDT Tweet The reason the Miles Franklin Newsletter is the best in the Precious Metals universe is because we give you what no else does – for free, EVERY SINGLE DAY.  David Schectman, Bill Holter, and myself have more than 80 years of financial market experience – including 55 in Precious Metals; and our diverse backgrounds, in marketing, financial brokerage, mining, and securities analysis are UNPARALLELED in our "shadow world" – hands down.  Why do I bring this up today, of all days?  Because I believe our recent work – particularly under our new, "all-in-one" newsletter format – is among the best we've ever produced; and because today, I am publishing "THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLE I'VE EVER WRITTEN." My initial premise was the ramifications of the collapse of "emerging market" currencies against the "king dollar" over the past six months; not un-coincidentally, since the Fed commenced its lethal "QE4" program.  As I concluded in "INFLATION AND ARAB SPRING," the root cause of global inflation – and ultimately, HYPERINFLATION, is unfettered MONEY PRINTING by the holder of the world's "reserve currency" – i.e, the United States.  That is, the Fed's printing presses are injecting TRILLIONS into the global "bloodstream" each year; and given that it remains the world's largest trading and currency reserve platform, the "trickle-down effect" causes MASSIVE inflation across the four corners of the globe.  However, until I did the research summarized below, I could not have imagined how universally destructive the Fed has become; nor how close we are to the END GAME of global currency collapse. When you see what I am about to present, you'll know EXACTLY why this week's G-20 meeting could be historic.  There is NO DOUBT the Fed's worldwide currency destruction will be the TOP point of discussion (if we haven't started World War III by bombing Syria beforehand); and don't forget that, for the first time EVER, the U.S. will NOT be attending – under the pathetic guise of outrage about Russia granting Edward Snowden asylum. In other words, the U.S. dollar-based, global fiat PONZI SCHEME has reached its terminal phase – causing ALL global currencies to collapse against the dollar, whilst the dollar itself plunges against ITEMS OF REAL VALUE like the commodities necessary to sustain life.  And thus, you can see why this year's efforts to suppress the historical inflation "barometers" – i.e., GOLD and SILVER – have been so maniacal; not to mention, why such PAPER efforts are causing a worldwide run on the scarce, dwindling supply of PHYSICAL metal. So without further ado, I present my "currency analysis masterpiece" – depicting how ALL the world's currencies have fallen against the dollar in both the past six months and two years; but for marginal gains in the two-year time frame by, LOL, the Ugandan and Kenyan Shillings.  On a population-weighted basis, the average currency has declined by 10% versus the dollar over the past six months, and a whopping 20% over the past two years.  And this, whilst the Fed was holding interest rates at ZERO and printing $85 TRILLION per month to monetize the ever-exploding U.S. debt… As you can see, the nations included comprise 62% of the global population.  If I included the U.S. itself and China that figure would rise to 86%; and you KNOW the bottom 14% of "fourth-tier" nations" currencies fared no better than the rest.  Moreover, as China has pegged the Yuan to the dollar for the past decade – albeit more loosely in recent years – it, too, has exposed itself to Fed-exported inflation; which is why even heavily understated Chinese data depicts a nearly quintupling of its CPI since 1985.  FYI, such currency plunges are not just felt by "speculators" in the commodity markets, but BILLIONS of citizens via the INFLATION such events engender.  A handful of bankers may benefit; but for the rest of us, we experience weaker economic activity and rising prices of life's necessities.  Moreover, while GOLD and SILVER prices may be higher in these nations, so is EVERYTHING else; and for those that haven't PROTECTED their assets with PMs, overall purchasing power dramatically declines. Based on this damning table, one might conclude the dollar has been "strengthening"; when in fact, NOTHING could be more untrue.  It is well known that the dollar's purchasing power has lost more than 98% of its value since the Fed came to being in 1913; but sadly, this progression has accelerated dramatically since abandonment of the gold standard in 1971.  Since then, the national debt has surged from $200 billion to $17 trillion – excluding $5 trillion of "off-balance sheet" debt held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; whilst CPI inflation has exploded.  Of course, we all know the U.S., too, heavily understates its CPI – and thus, one can simply view the CRB Commodity Index, up 75% since the turn of the century, to see such inflation in action; let alone, the "dollar index" itself, which since peaking in 2001, has remained near historic lows despite the inevitable collapse of its largest components – the Euro and Yen… Make no mistake; the reason GLOBAL, PHYSICAL gold and silver demand is at ALL-TIME highs – getting stronger each year – is depicted as clear as day in the "currency analysis masterpiece" table above.  Worldwide purchasing power is FREEFALLING as the Fed's maniacal "QE4" program finishes off what's left of the fraudulent fiat currency regime that has left the world on the precipice of World War III.  Trust me, it's no "coincidence" people are rioting in Egypt, Turkey, and Brazil; or that similar fates await India, Indonesia, and many of the world's other heavy population centers in the coming months – not to mention, basket cases like the European PIIGS when they inevitably secede from the ill-fated European Union. Eventually, the fiat cancer will work its way to the patient's "brain"; i.e., the world's "reserve currency."  That time is coming VERY, VERY soon; and it wouldn't surprise me one iota if a Syrian invasion or G-20 "communique" catalyzes the END GAME we all know MUST occur.  And when it does, the dumbed-down American and European populations – i.e., the "tops of the global currency totem pole" – will flee toward the safety of the scarce, remaining PHYSICAL PMs to be had.  Of course, you've heard the saying about trying to push "a golf ball through a garden hose"; which is EXACTLY the demand situation Miles Franklin and other bullion dealers will be swamped with when this happens.  Thus, I cannot be more forceful in my pleas for you to protect your net worth NOW; i.e., before "the 99%" try to do so simultaneously.Similar Posts: Third World The JP Morgan Mystery A Tale of Two Conferences

The New Gold Myth Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:44 AM PDT Actions have consequences. In the market for any physical good (i.e. a commodity), though the laws of supply and demand can be warped, and their corrective dynamics delayed – through brute-force manipulation – they can never be permanently resisted. For this reason, the Banksters themselves know they are fighting a losing battle with respect to the price-suppression of gold (and silver). They can delay the rise in their prices to fair market value (even to the point of keeping them permanently undervalued), but they cannot eliminate the relentless upward pressure which, one way or another, must result in higher prices. An important part of permanently keeping prices below any rational valuation is to keep market participants ignorant of the actual fundamentals which are producing this upward pressure. In the jargon of the mainstream propaganda machine; this is known as Controlling The Message. If you cannot prevent market participants from forming the view that "bullion prices should be higher"; ensure that this belief is based upon the wrong reasons. With respect to precious metals (and nearly every class of "hard asset" except real estate); these assets are ridiculously undervalued for one absolutely predominant reason: the insane over-printing (and relentless currency-dilution) of our fiat paper currencies. The simple fact that all assets are priced/denominated in this paper is, alone, strongly suggestive that this will be the dominant variable in market pricing for any asset. What elevates this money-printing from merely one of the drivers of precious metals markets to the absolute driver of bullion prices – and the prices of all hard assets – is the sheer magnitude of this money-printing insanity. At the risk of boring regular readers; nothing communicates this point like a picture: A vertical line. U.S. money-printing going straight up, which in the realm of mathematics can only be expressed one way: infinite money-printing (i.e. infinite currency-dilution). "Infinity" as a multiplier, renders all other variables mathematically irrelevant. The money-printing is going straight up, so hard asset prices should be going straight up with it. All other analysis is mere distraction. This point was illustrated in a recent commentary, Three Reasons Why The USD Is Already Worthless. There is not merely a single basis for asserting the U.S. dollar is worthless, today. Rather, there are three separate, concrete, fundamental reasons for concluding that the USD should already be priced at zero/near-zero. Naturally infinite money-printing is (and must be) the strongest of those three bases.

Guest Post: More Evidence That JPM Has Cornered Comex Gold Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:30 AM PDT This entire manufactured correction scheme was initiated by The Bullion Banks to give them an opportunity to get out from under their naked short positions and move net long. Desperate to cover and eliminate their 50,000 contract short position but not wanting to do so through the actual buying of futures contracts for fear of [...] The post Guest Post: More Evidence That JPM Has Cornered Comex Gold appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Guest Post: Is Silver More Rare Than Gold? JPM Appears to be Getting Out of the Silver Manipulation Game Guest Post: Should We Keep 3-6 Months’ Cash on Hand in Federal Reserve Notes, or Phyzz?

Of Precious Metals and Unsuccessful Parasites Posted: 03 Sep 2013 09:30 AM PDT Successful parasites do not kill their hosts, yet the currently parasitic banking system seems to be unsustainable for this very reason. Like an ineffective parasite, the huge international banks have sucked the juice from and distorted their hosts— the economy, the financial system, and even the culture — to the point of a sudden collapse [...] The post Of Precious Metals and Unsuccessful Parasites appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Precious Metals Set For Higher Weekly Close And Seasonal Year End Rally The Greatest Fundamental Reason to own Precious Metals SD Weekly Metals & Markets: Precious Metals Have Bottomed, Silver Shortage Intensifying!

Attack on Syria will be positive for Gold Posted: 03 Sep 2013 08:48 AM PDT US Gold futures for December delivery has inched closer to $1400 having hit a high of $1396 in electronic trading on Tuesday on news that Russia had detected a missile launch. Spot gold has risen to $1395 an ounce.

We Are Getting Closer To the End Game Posted: 03 Sep 2013 08:45 AM PDT Tweet I made it a point to hire two of the most talented and insightful writers in our industry to come and work at Miles Franklin.  You get to read Andy Hoffman and Bill Holter every day, for free, because I think they represent what Miles Franklin is all about.  They offer insight into our financial future plus a passion to help you to do the right thing, in a world where most everyone else will lead you astray.  I don't intend to step aside, and stop writing, but being as existential and life loving as I am, At age 71, I have decided that it is not necessary for me to write five days a week, every week.  I will still write several days a week but if I decide to take a day off, now and then "to smell the flowers," I think I've earned it.   You will still have Andy and Bill there five days a week.  We won't abandon you and I promise you that we will provide you with all of the important financial information that you need in this upside down, crazy world that we live in. There will be extremely important "tipping points" that you need to be aware of, but on a day-to-day basis, much of what goes on is just noise. For years, I have stressed the importance of the Primary Trends and the Big Picture.  If you have been reading us for a while, you already know what we think they are.  Nothing much has changed, except we are getting closer to the end game.  The end game is all about the US dollar (and its petro-dollar status and reserve currency status) and gold is the antithesis of the dollar.  Watch closely what is unfolding in the Middle East.  We are living in very interesting times, and the risks are greater to us now than at any time in my life.  Everything is coming to a head; it is the perfect storm.  Like the psychics say, "Prepare for the worst and hope for the best." In today's newsletter, Bill Holter writes about our "credibility," and discusses our position on Syria.  I'm not sure what Andy Hoffman is writing about, but he did send me an email and said it would be one of his all-time best essays.  I look forward to reading it. I have a few thoughts on Syria.  Why is it our responsibility to do anything over there?  We allow hundreds of thousands of people in other third world countries to die from starvation and brutal regimes and do nothing.  Of course, none of them have oil.  The Arab League is up in arms about the chemical weapons attack, but why aren't they doing something about it?  They expect us to act.  Doesn't this sound ridiculous to you?  We have to borrow money to pay our bills (a trillion a year) and yet we are expected to foot the cost of an attack on Assad's government.  How about spending the money to rebuild Detroit or provide shelter for the homeless here in America? On Monday, Sen. John McCain said that he and Sen. Lindsey Graham had “a candid exchange” with President Barack Obama on Syria, and warned that “the consequences would be catastrophic” if Congress voted against a military strike against President Bashar al-Assad for his use of chemical weapons. The consequences would be catastrophic because it would undermine the credibility of the United States of America and the credibility of the President of the United States. None of us want that.  I guess these guys think it is our responsibility to fix all of the world's problems, and pay for it along the way.  I say, let them blow each other to Hell.  I don't give a darn!  It is none of our business.  This is nothing more than a century's-old Sunni/Shiite conflict.  Let the Arabs take care of this.  Let China take care of this.  They have the military might and the money to handle it.  But God forbid that they should get a foothold in the Middle East.  Where would we get our oil?  Well, we could use our own.  From what I read, we have enough in Alaska and North Dakota to take care of our needs for centuries.  But then we would have to admit it wasn't really about oil; it was about the oil PROFITS that our big corporations have at stake and they are some of the most influential lobbyists in Washington. And then there is an article, from Zero Hedge below: Don’t Show Obama This Report About Who Really Is Behind The Syrian Chemical Attacks Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/30/2013 As we showed mere days ago, it appears the truth of who the real puppet-master in the Middle East is becoming plainer to see. The incredibly frank discussion between Saudi’s spy-chief Prince Bandar and Russia’s Putin exposed a much deeper plot is afoot and the following details from the actual people on the ground in the chemically-attacked region of Syria suggest Obama is playing right into the Saudi’s plan. While Obama is ‘certain’ that the chemical attacks took place on al-Assad’s orders, as MPN reports, “from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack.” Dave Kranzler offers another view that seems plausible.  The war in Syria will be a cover to give the Fed a reason not to cut back on QE – To Taper Or Not To Taper – Go Long Gold Either Way Aug 27 2013 Here's the #1 reason I still believe there will not be a taper John Williams: While there has been no significant flow-through to the broad money supply from the expanded monetary base—banks still are not lending normally into the regular flow of commerce—there appears to have been some minor effect. The ShadowStats contention, again, has been that the Fed's easing activity has been aimed primarily at supporting banking-system solvency and liquidity, not at propping the economy or containing inflation. When the Fed boosts its easing, but money growth does not pick up, or it contracts, as seen at present, there is a potential indication of mounting financial stress within the banking system. That's been my contention all along – that the Fed is primarily using QE to keep the banks from going insolvent. Why would the banks be in danger of that? Mounting pressure to post collateral from credit default swaps and interest rate swap derivatives. I have no doubt that just the Greece and Cyprus events triggered massive counterparty risk problems and the rapid spike up in interest rates in May triggered interest rate derivative problems. Secondarily, the banks are still sitting on billions in non-performing mortgage paper and empty foreclosed homes (REO), i.e. a portion of the banks' capital base is not providing any income to offset the cash outflows demanded by the liabilities which correspond with the non-performing assets. With mortgages that would be the interest payments owed to investors on the other side of the mortgages and with empty REO that would be maintenance, HOA dues and property taxes. This is the key issue that is not understood by the media, analysts and Zerohedge, who all believe QE, will be tapered. The Syrian “crisis” will give the Fed cover to avoid tapering. A taper will never happen as the economy collapses starting this fall. As long as we are on the topic of tapering, here is another short article worth your attention by Brendan Conway below: SocGen Bear Albert Edwards Repeats Call for $10,000 Gold By Brendan Conway August 29, 2013 And now we bring you the outlier forecasts. First it was Marc Faber calling for a 20% correction in the S&P 500 and gold to set a fresh high as it resumes its "haven" status. Now we've got Societe Generale über-bear Albert Edwards repeating a call for 450 on the S&P 500 — a 73% drop — plus a six-fold rise in gold's price, to above $10,000. And sub-1% yield on U.S. Treasury bonds. The key to this mayhem, as Edwards calls it, will be turmoil in emerging markets: I see the current EM FX turbulence leading to a renewed global recession, with waves of deflation flowing to the west from Asia as China is ultimately forced to devalue in the face of an unrelenting loss of competitiveness, most especially against its EM rivals. The structural US equity valuation bear market will then embrace the third major leg in its long and volatile Ice Age journey. With fiscal firepower essentially spent, QE will be ramped up exponentially as the Fed doves coo in universal reassurance that they can still save the world. In fact, as Marc Faber says, they will destroy it. Ultimately I expect a new phase of aggressive QE will lead to inflation that is unlikely to be containable. Policymakers have no idea how much QE is too much, other than by looking in the rear-view mirror. Capitalist Exploits published an excellent article on gold below.  What affect will the war in Syria have on gold?  What will it take for gold to really surge ahead? This is What The Impending War with Syria Means for Gold August 29, 2013 Without sifting through the rotting underbelly of the political machine to determine the real reasons why the US needs to go to war in Syria, I’d like to look at what the coming war means for real money. Yes, the shiny stuff. There are a few common misconceptions that surround war and gold:        War is in fact good for the economy        War is good for gold Lets deal with the first supposition. Destroying infrastructure, goods, buildings and then killing people and subsequently removing their skills from the labor force can never be good for an economy. It’s an asinine assumption trumpeted by social scientists such as the MMT crowd, which I dealt with in my recent article This Company's Burn Rate Should Scare The Hell out of You! Now, let’s deal with the second supposition that war is good for gold and look at what happens when a war breaks out. Firstly, people in the affected area attempt to secure what assets they can and get the heck out of Dodge. Money flows from the region of conflict to safer jurisdictions. Joe Six-pack, if he’s unfortunate enough to find himself in Dodge, looks around and thinks to himself “ruh roh, time to bail”. Mr. fancy overpriced Brooks Brothers suit wearing hedgie in London or NY thinks to himself, “ruh roh, time to get out or get short”. Humans are predictable creatures. The currency of the affected region or regions experiences net outflows – natural market effects taking place – notably collapsing currencies. Gold being a stable “money” performs well relative to the collapsing currency, but so do alternative currencies. What is important is that market participant’s focus is NOT on overall currency debasement, but on singular currency debasement. As such, don’t attribute value to gold over that of competing currencies that can provide rapid execution, liquidity and preservation of capital. (Note: I’m not suggesting the USD or Yen offer preservation of capital, I’m simply suggesting that this is what market participants believe, and until they believe otherwise the outcome is likely to be as suggested.) This is therefore not an environment, which portends a long and sustained bull market in gold, since most eyes are on the trees and not the forest. One tree is on fire (Syria), or maybe a few trees are on fire (Egypt, Libya and Syria), but the forest still holds safety, especially on the other side of the lake, or river (United States and Japan). So, when WILL gold get its legs again? I think Gold will move when the realization that deficits do matter becomes apparent to a sufficient number of market participants. What is that sufficient number? I wrote a post entitled Changes at the Margin – How to Prepare for a Disorderly Move, in which I discussed this very topic. The takeaway from that post was that a market needs only to change at the margin. Numerous examples exist. One need only to look at any of the historic stock market crashes, where one day the birds are singing on Wall Street and the next day brokers are jumping out of windows. What happened in one day, people ask? A market needs only to change at the margin. This brings me to what makes for a massive, disorderly move…the kind that gets those brokers jumpin’… LEVERAGE. Keep that in mind while we return for a moment to gold and ask some more questions. Q: Gold is the antithesis of what? A: Fiat money. Q: What is Fiat money in today’s monetary system? A: Debt Q: Debt issued by whom? A: Sovereigns who control the Fiat Q: Are these Sovereigns leveraged? A: Hahahahaha Pay attention, because here is the answer to when gold will run, gallop and stampede. The biggest bubble on this ball of dirt right now is Sovereign debt. If debt is simply long dated currency, and if currency is under attack, then the promise to pay said currency in the future should be under attack, right? But, it isn’t…yet. The antithesis of this debt and currency is, you guessed it….Gold Unless this (Syrian) war rapidly turns into a global war, which is always possible, I think gold will be region-specific. It’ll probably catch a bid on overall sentiment, but as I watch my screens now I see the Yen moving higher than gold with the same fundamentals underlying this whole steaming, seething mess. Above is the Yen versus the Syrian pound… And below is gold versus the Syrian pound. Only when a consensus change takes place with respect to global sovereign debt will we see a sustained bull market in gold. Since the bubble in sovereign debt exceeds anything this world has ever seen, my guess is that the other side of this coin promises to be pretty spectacular. Similar Posts: Is Gold a Good Asset To Own To Reduce Volatility In Your Portfolio? Credibility The Primary Trend For Gold And Silver Is UP!

Deja Vu All Over Again Posted: 03 Sep 2013 08:07 AM PDT In a stunning development, gold is being capped below $1400. Gee, where have we seen this before? read more

Gold bulls increase positions to highest since January Posted: 03 Sep 2013 08:02 AM PDT Hedge funds and other speculators are making the biggest bet on a gold rally since January as mounting signs that the U.S. will lead a military strike against Syria drove prices to a three-month high.

Gold Gained Back All Its Losses and Silver Rocketed Higher Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:45 AM PDT Tweet Ah, Labor Day, in which the nation's Labor Force, takes the day off.  We're told the economy is "recovering"; but not why the ranks of unemployed are surging – let alone, the "underemployed" not included in this chart, such as the fast-food workers in 60 cities that went on strike this weekend, seeking a more than doubling of wages to offset the rising cost of living.  Not to mention, the fact that due to Obamacare, many restaurants are no longer offering full-time, benefit-paying positions.  For those not aware that America has 315 million citizens, the below graph represents 43% of the population; gibing perfectly with the fact that U.S. vehicle miles driven continue to plummet… In Europe, too, we are told the economy is "recovering" – per a recent "diffusion index" showing manufacturing employment slightly above 50 last month.  Of course, the employment component plunged across-the-board, and the continental unemployment rate remained at an ALL-TIME HIGH.  Care of non-stop Central bank liquidity and manipulation, this is "supposedly" great for stocks; but not so much the people with no jobs, savings, or hope.  And by the way, the odds of a CATACLYSMIC market crash due to said liquidity and manipulation have NEVER been higher; per the shocking charts below – particularly if the topic of "tapering" continues to be carelessly bandied about, given surging interest rates and the fact the Fed now owns a whopping 32% of ALL U.S. Treasury bonds… Quite the interesting weekend, as following news that Obama will strong-arm seek Congressional approval to attack Syria; amidst alleged "proof" of an Assad-ordered Sarin attack.  Don't worry, Congress will always do what's "WORST FOR AMERICA, BUT BEST FOR PRECIOUS METALS"; which is probably why it was just learned that none other than the "Vampire Squid" itself purchased a whopping $450 million of GLD shares in the second quarter alone… It's Tuesday morning, and the Rupee is collapsing to a new ALL-TIME LOW, amidst a nearly 4% Indian stock market plunge – as an absolutely moronic government proposal surfaced regarding a misguided hope of purchasing sacred gold relics from Hindu temples – for rupees.  Meanwhile, a NATIONWIDE South African gold miner strike commenced today – for 80,000 miners, representing nearly 65% of the entire gold mining industry!  And oh yeah, they want wage increases of up to 150% – compared to the measly 6% raises they've been offered.  In other words, the "PRECIOUS METALS SUPPLY CRUNCH" I have written of is about to get a whole lot worse; particularly in light of the data in Steve St. Angelo's most recent report – showing how the top 12 primary silver miners reported cumulative 2Q 2013 losses of $545 million dollars. On the second anniversary of 2011's "OPERATION PM ANNIHILATION II," the Cartel attempted a new Sunday night attack – taking gold down $25/oz and silver $0.50/oz in the wee hours of the holiday weekend.  But then something strange happened – as gold gained back ALL its losses, and silver rocketed higher.  The Cartel is desperately holding the line on $1,400/oz ($1,397/oz as I write), but silver is up $0.75/oz; regaining ALL its Thursday and Friday losses as TPTB – equally desperately - attempted to prevent traders from taking delivery before Friday's COMEX "First Delivery Day." It's a BIG week coming up – starting with Thursday's Obama-less G20 meeting in Russia; and potentially, an historic quarter of global political, economic, and social turbulenceSimilar Posts: Comex Registered Inventories – Could Disappear Any Day! Junior Mining – And Future Production – Death JPMorgan Advises their Clients to Buy Gold

Gold Rises Towards $1,400 After Russia Says Missiles Fired At Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:01 AM PDT gold.ie

Who Benefits From A War Between The United States And Syria? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 07:00 AM PDT Someone wants to get the United States into a war with Syria very, very badly.  Cui bono is an old Latin phrase that is still commonly used, and it roughly means “to whose benefit?“  The key to figuring out who is really behind the push for war is to look at who will benefit from [...] The post Who Benefits From A War Between The United States And Syria? appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s Response to Chemical Weapons Allegations in his own words 25 Quotes About The Coming War With Syria That Every American Should See 15 Signs That Obama Has Already Made The Decision To Go To War With Syria

Gold price breaks back above $1400 – BUT $1424 holds the key Posted: 03 Sep 2013 06:56 AM PDT After the rather stunning vote in parliament last week that put the breaks on a war with Syria (for now at least), gold and oil drifted lower after the 'war-prima' came out of both commodities. Gold... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Does the gold price care about Syria? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 06:48 AM PDT In the last week or so there has been a changing sentiment towards what is driving gold, a large part of the focus is now directed towards Syria and less so on the FOMC's tapering. Depending on who you believe Syria may determine the outlook for the gold and silver price. But how much of an impact will a war with Syria really have on the gold price? Find out how war affects the gold price

Credibility Posted: 03 Sep 2013 06:48 AM PDT Tweet In today’s world of un backed fiat currencies, credibility is all there is.  Unfortunately, we in the U.S. have now lost any and all credibility we had accumulated over the last 200+ years.  Before I go any further I’d like to make a couple of points clear so there are not any misconceptions.  First, I really do not like writing about politics.  “Politics” is about opinions and everyone is entitled to theirs but in the long run it is the changing and shifting of political views that either improve or impede the underlying economy and society.  As for my views, I consider myself a libertarian with staunch fiscal ideals and some liberal views on several social issues. I also want to point out that my opinions below are not “Obama bashing” because starting with Bill Clinton, followed by George Bush and culminating now, the U.S. has morally, financially, socially, economically and nearly any other adjective you can think of…gone bankrupt.  No matter where you look, the banks, the justice system, the regulators, Congress or the Executive branch, we don’t even resemble what we were 50 years ago.  We have gone from THE shining beacon of truth and justice to one of the most corrupt systems in the world.  Not only that, the world knows this and would be laughing at us publicly if we did not have the potential to blow up the entire world.  That said the following is the way I see it for the truth, not as political commentary or “taking sides.” President Obama plain and simple blew this one.  He (and Kerry) immediately and without any proof of “who” delivered the chemical weapons attack “declared war” on Syria.  Without a better analogy, Yosemite Sam comes to mind.  The Constitution requires a vote of Congress, yes I know…Bush did an end around this but it still didn’t make it right.  The UN will obviously not vote a resolution as the Russians have veto power so no go here.  Britain’s Parliament voted no on going to war for the first time in over 200 years when requested by the Prime Minister.  Only the French will stand with us…there is no coalition, no allies, and no “no one” on this one. Now, Congress will be “consulted” and President Obama has backed off.  So, we have now 2 options.  Congress votes to attack or they vote no.  If we do attack, it is a good bet that with the current stance of the rest of the world, World War III will have started.  If Congress votes no then the US which has swung a big stick since WW II will look like a toothless abominable snowman.  Or of course there is one more option where President Obama says he has the power to attack even if Congress votes not to…in which case he would be judged by the international community as a war criminal if he wasn’t impeached beforehand for treason against the United States and the Constitution.  I would hope that his handlers would explain that this “option 3″ is not really an option but then again on the other hand, his “handlers” are the ones who “need” the war to prolong the petrodollar. I could probably write a book on this situation about the pros, cons, potential winners and losers…and the “why’s” for the various positions taken.  Very briefly, this is about natural gas.  It is about oil.  It is about a proposed pipeline through Syria that Assad (and the Russians) does not want.  This is about the “petrodollar.”  It is about the fact that the Fed needs the military industrial complex to go to another war so that the deficits SPEND which will allow the Fed to PRINT.  …And it is ALL HAPPENING just before the G-20 conference IN RUSSIA which President Obama has already cancelled his meeting with Mr. Putin because of the asylum given to Edward Snowden. “Dots,” lots and lots of “dots” to connect here and these are not even all of them.  My point is that now no matter what we do, we will look stupid.  We have boxed ourselves in so far that any move we choose to make will be the wrong one.  My personal opinion is that the chemical attack was a false flag in order to get the war started.  Maybe I am wrong in this opinion but let me point a couple of things out.  First off, John Kerry said that it will take “a couple of weeks” to get results back from the weapons inspectors…Why so long?…they were able to get DNA results back (in an airplane) in less than 24 hours “proving” that they had killed Osama Bin Laden.  Secondly, what business is this of ours?  Syria is in the middle of a civil war (and yes I know that we have supplied the rebels), what if the situation was reversed?  What if we had civil strife here in the U.S.?  What if Texas and Oklahoma were locked in a pissing match and some other power parked attack vessels (loaded with cruise missiles and presumably nuclear weapons) outside of Houston harbor? Just food for thought.  As a side note, I must say that it is more than obvious that chemical weapons were used…the question is who delivered them?  This I do not believe can be proven in any manner other than “he said she said.” So, war, no war, vote, no vote or a no vote and we still attack…  I want to remind you that “the dollar” when all is said and done will bear the brunt of this.  The dollar is the equivalent of “the common stock” of the United States.  If you thought that foreigners were already backing away from using the dollar just wait and see what this travesty will bring.  I was already of the opinion that the G-20 had cut some sort of deal, now I will be shocked if the US and the dollar are not “castigated” with foreign and public laughter. We used to be the “politically safe haven” for the world’s capital.  We were known for having free, fair and justly regulated markets.  Our opinion used to be “followed” because it made sense and was based in logic.  It has taken roughly 20 years but we have given ALL of the accumulated goodwill away.  We have said one thing, done another and then used illogical lies to cover past lies…our credibility are gone.  As I said, the loss of credibility will show itself in a weaker dollar and in inflation because our trading partners will shy further away from dollars. I do want to mention one other dangerous angle that now comes into play.  In the past, the world could absolutely bet that we would do whatever we said we would.  This has now changed and this change brings with it uncertainty.  The current Syrian event (especially after all of the other recent and numerous scandals) makes us look like “loose cannons.”  No one knows what to expect.  No one can gage whether we will or will not do what we say.  Will we really back an ally?  Will we really perform on a contract? Naturally this spills over to “investment.”  Are the banks really “solid” like we say?  Are the financial reports real or “fudged?”…Is the gold really in the bank?  All questions like these and similar where the “benefit of the doubt” was given because it was the “United States” may not play so well in the future.  And please remember that the US (dollar) is THE cornerstone to the global financial system…one that is based entirely on faith.  We have and are “breaking faith” with the rest of the world every single day and now doing in a very public and in your face way.  The word “DANGEROUS” comes to mind!Similar Posts: Black Swans and Precious Metals Is Gold a Good Asset To Own To Reduce Volatility In Your Portfolio? The Primary Trend For Gold And Silver Is UP!

Gold Explodes Through $1,400 After Russia Says Missiles Fired At Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 06:07 AM PDT Gold recovered from early losses and has broken through $1,400 an ounce and silver is spiking towards $24.50, after Interfax reported moments ago that Russia detected that two missiles had been launched at Syria. From Goldcore: Today's AM fix was USD 1,391.25, EUR 1,056.06 and GBP 893.09 per ounce. Yesterday's AM fix was USD 1,391.25, [...] The post Gold Explodes Through $1,400 After Russia Says Missiles Fired At Syria appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Russia Ups Stakes Over Syria-Threatens to Take Out US Missile Defense Systems in Europe Breaking: Turkish Deputy PM Says Syria Has Also Fired on a Turkish Search-and-Rescue Plane Reuters: Syria Shoots Down Turkish Fighter Jet Friday

Gold Touches $1400 as "High Syria Risks" Meet "Price-Sensitive" Asian Demand Posted: 03 Sep 2013 06:00 AM PDT Bullion Vault

Editorial: The Class-Backed Dollar Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT Editorial: The Class-Backed Dollar After disclosing some “gender undertones” in the maneuvering over the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, the New York Times is out with a new scoop — this one over the issue of class. “The most obvious topic for a Democratic Fed leader to emphasize is the sharp growth in income inequality, which many scholars think has destabilized the economy,” writes the paper’s Washington correspondent, David Leonhardt. He goes on to quote one contender for the job, Lawrence Summers, as saying he thinks “the defining issue of our time is: Does the economic, social and political system work for the middle class?” Mr. Summers, a former treasury secretary, is important in part because, according to the earlier dispatch in the Times, Mr. Summers is the individual who is being advanced for the job by the faction that favors a man. The reporters who broke that story, Binyamin Appelbaum and Anne Lowrey, disclosed that the individual favored by the faction that wants the next Fed chairman to be woman is the vice chairman of the Fed, Janet Yellen. At a time when the monetary debate is in a state of flux, the idea that the dollar should be based not on gender but on class is a scoop. So here's the real scoop: If the Times wants to recapture the era when the middle class soared, history suggests the thing to do is to define the dollar not in terms of employment or gender or class but in terms of gold. This editorial appeared on The New York Sun's website on Monday...and is definitely worth reading.  I found it buried in a GATA release yesterday.

Lawrence Williams: What Does Summer’s End Mean For Gold and Silver? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT "The Tokyo/Hong Kong trading session was anything but boring on their Monday." ¤ Yesterday In Gold & Silver Despite the fact that North American markets were closed for the Labour Day long weekend, there was someone waiting to sell three of the four precious metals down hard the moment that trading began on Sunday night in New York. The gold price got sold down about twenty-five bucks in the first 30 minutes of trading, with its low tick around the $1,370 spot mark.  From there it recovered back to $1,390 spot around 9:30 a.m. Hong Kong time, and the one attempt to breach the $1,400 spot price got turned back at 2 p.m. in their afternoon.  After that it didn't do much. Gold closed down a couple of bucks on very thin volume, with well over 50 percent of that volume coming before the London open. The silver price action was, how shall I put it, more "volatile".  After getting slammed for a bit more than 50 cents at the New York open, and back below the $23 spot price mark briefly, silver rallied back to around the $23.80 spot mark around 9:30 a.m. Hong Kong time. The price sat there until about 1:30 p.m. local time, before blasting off well above the $24 spot price mark.  The silver price then ran into serious not-for-profit selling in the last hour before London opened for business, and except for a brief excursion below the $24 spot price mark at the noon London silver fix, closed at $24.17 spot, which was up 64 cents from Friday's close. Volume was light as well, with most of it coming during the Far East trading session, as London volume was almost nonexistent. Platinum's price chart looks similar to both gold and silver.  The high for platinum came shortly before the London open, and from there got sold down for a six dollar loss on the day.  The palladium chart was a pale imitation of the platinum chart, with palladium closing down nine bucks when all was said and done yesterday.  Here are the charts. The dollar index closed on Friday in New York at 82.07 and chopped sideways until shortly after lunch time in London.  The index made all the way up to 82.30 by 12:30 p.m. EDT before sliding a hair into the close.  The index finished at 82.24, up 17 basis points.  Not much to see here. With both U.S. and Canadian markets close for the holiday, there's nothing to report regarding share price action. The same can be said for GLD, SLV, the U.S. Mint and the Comex-approved depositories. The only real reason that I decided to post a column today was the number of stories I've accumulated over the weekend, which is a lot.  So rather than dump all of them on you tomorrow, I thought I'd split them up. ¤ Critical Reads Editorial: Chasing JPMorgan Chase Not too long ago, JPMorgan Chase and its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, were celebrated for navigating the 2008 financial crisis, which brought other big banks to their knees. Now this one-time darling of federal regulators, long thought to be the best managed of all the big banks, is in trouble or apparently headed there on multiple fronts. While the outcome of the various investigations into the bank’s dealings remains unclear, they raise the obvious question of whether banks have become not only too big to fail but too big to manage. In the past month alone, JPMorgan paid $410 million to settle accusations by federal regulators that it had manipulated energy markets in California and Michigan. Federal prosecutors are pursuing criminal and civil investigations into mortgage securities that JPMorgan sold to investors before the housing bust. The question now is whether federal officials can be persuaded by evidence that the government is gathering to make fundamental changes to America’s banking landscape. Even Mr. Dimon must know that the underlying problem is not only this or that violation, but the fact that the sheer size and scope and complexity of the banking behemoths defy controls, encouraging speculation and bad behavior. If you were looking for absolute proof that the government is really going after JPMorgan Chase for real, you need look no further than this editorial that was posted on The New York Times website on Sunday.  It's a must read for sure, and I thank Phil Barlett for today's first story. Summers' Nomination Is the Likely 'Black Swan' Expectations have grown that former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will win President Obama's nomination for Federal Reserve chairman. But some warn that likelihood isn't good news. There has been a roaring debate about whether the president will select Summers or Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen to replace Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is expected to leave his post in January. For a while, Yellen was thought likely to win the nomination. Then, earlier this week, a source from the Obama camp told CNBC that Summers is likely to be named chairman in a few weeks. I knew quite some time back when his name was first floated as a prospect, that he would receive the nod.  The reason is simple, as he's the worst possible choice. This article was posted on the moneynews.com Internet site early on Friday morning...and it's courtesy of West Virginia reader Elliot Simon. Editorial: The Class-Backed Dollar After disclosing some “gender undertones” in the maneuvering over the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, the New York Times is out with a new scoop — this one over the issue of class. “The most obvious topic for a Democratic Fed leader to emphasize is the sharp growth in income inequality, which many scholars think has destabilized the economy,” writes the paper’s Washington correspondent, David Leonhardt. He goes on to quote one contender for the job, Lawrence Summers, as saying he thinks “the defining issue of our time is: Does the economic, social and political system work for the middle class?” Mr. Summers, a former treasury secretary, is important in part because, according to the earlier dispatch in the Times, Mr. Summers is the individual who is being advanced for the job by the faction that favors a man. The reporters who broke that story, Binyamin Appelbaum and Anne Lowrey, disclosed that the individual favored by the faction that wants the next Fed chairman to be woman is the vice chairman of the Fed, Janet Yellen. At a time when the monetary debate is in a state of flux, the idea that the dollar should be based not on gender but on class is a scoop. So here's the real scoop: If the Times wants to recapture the era when the middle class soared, history suggests the thing to do is to define the dollar not in terms of employment or gender or class but in terms of gold. This editorial appeared on The New York Sun's website on Monday...and is definitely worth reading.  I found it buried in a GATA release yesterday. Obama stalls on Syria, raising political pressure on Hollande U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to seek the approval of Congress for any military strikes in Syria has led to calls for French President François Hollande to put the question of action against Damascus to a parliamentary vote as well. It follows Barack Obama’s surprise announcement Saturday that he would seek approval from Congress before taking action against Damascus and Thursday's shock defeat of a motion to approve a military strike in the UK parliament. On Saturday evening, Jean-Louis Borloo, leader of the centrist UDI party, urged Hollande to follow the example of the US and UK and also seek parliamentary approval before going ahead with an attack on Syria. This Syria thingy is now D.O.A.  The entire premise for this military act of aggression against Syria has evaporated...and nothing can bring it back. This story was posted on the france24.com Internet site yesterday...and it's the first offering of the day from Roy Stephens. U.S. military officers have deep doubts about impact, wisdom of a U.S. strike on Syria The Obama administration’s plan to launch a military strike against Syria is being received with serious reservations by many in the U.S. military, which is coping with the scars of two lengthy wars and a rapidly contracting budget, according to current and former officers. Having assumed for months that the United States was unlikely to intervene militarily in Syria, the Defense Department has been thrust onto a war footing that has made many in the armed services uneasy, according to interviews with more than a dozen military officers ranging from captains to a four-star general. Former and current officers, many with the painful lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan on their minds, said the main reservations concern the potential unintended consequences of launching cruise missiles against Syria. This commentary appeared on The Washington Post website last Thursday...and although a bit redundant at the moment, it gives you a look into the current thinking inside the U.S. Military...and where their heads are at on this.  I thank reader Bill Busser for sending it along. 'I did not join for this': US military men speak out against Syria strike Many US servicemen are against the looming strike on Syria, Republican Congressman Justin Amash said on Twitter, in an attempt to counter the idea that the country might be overwhelmingly in favor of military action. Amash made his comments after President Barack Obama’s statement, in which he all but promised a strike in retaliation for the supposed use of chemical agents by the Syrian government. The Congressman for Michigan backed up his comments with a multitude of re-tweets from servicemen. Amash said he had been “hearing a lot from members of our Armed Forces" and said that "the message I consistently hear [is]: Please vote no on military action against Syria." This very interesting commentary was posted on the Russia Today website yesterday afternoon Moscow time, which was very early yesterday morning in New York.  I thank Roy Stephens for passing it along. Paul Craig Roberts: Obama Has Decided That It Is Safer To Buy Congress Than To Go It Alone While still claiming dictatorial powers to start a war on his own authority, Obama put his unilateral attack on Syria on hold when he received a letter from more than 160 members of the House of Representatives reminding him that to take the country to war without congressional approval is an impeachable offense and when he saw that no country that could serve as cover for a war crime, not even the puppet British government and the NATO puppet states, would support America’s announced military aggression against Syria. Obama got away with attacking Libya without an OK from Congress, because he used Washington’s NATO puppets and not US military forces. That ploy let Obama claim that the US was not directly involved. Now that the lack of cover and the challenge from Congress has caused the would-be tyrant Obama to put on hold his attack on Syria, what can we expect? This must read essay by [the always controversial, but pretty much right on the money] Paul Craig Roberts was posted on his website on Monday...and my thanks go out to reader Ken Hurt for bringing it to our attention. Israel: The missing link in the Syria puzzle As the world holds its breath, wondering when the U.S. and its allies will attack Syria, Western governments and its well-oiled mainstream media seem to be ignoring a key player that has kept strangely quiet during this crisis: Israel. Today, U.S. power rests heavily on its terrifying military, its industrial-financial complex, and its global media clout.  But that power is fast eroding because, in the age of the Internet, power is increasingly much more about prestige, credibility and trust, an area where the U.S. is falling to pieces. US interventionism has become all too blatant over the past 20 years. The Balkans War in the late 1990s, with the bombing of Belgrade, triggered initial alarms especially amongst non-ally countries because, coupled with Bush Sr.’s 1991 Gulf War, it became clear that the  American global hegemon was out to get the whole world, especially with the former Soviet Union out of the way. But what got red lights blinking really strongly was Iraq.  Baby Bush’s false accusations of “weapons of mass destruction” as an excuse to take out an entire country just so he could “smoke out” an uncomfortable former associate, Saddam Hussein, were blatantly obscene and proved to many that the American global hegemon was officially out of control. This essay was posted on the Russia Today website on Saturday.  It falls into the absolute must read category as well...and I thank reader M.A. for sharing it with us. Syria asks United Nations to 'prevent Western aggression' In a letter to the international organisation, Syria's UN representative Bashar al-Jaafari said the government "calls on the U.N. secretary general to assume his responsibilities... and to make efforts to prevent any aggression against Syria," the state news agency SANA reported. The letter also urged the United Nations to help seek a "peaceful political solution to the crisis" in Syria, where more than 110,000 people have been killed in violence since an uprising against the regime began in March 2011. The report came as Russia adopted an increasingly antagonistic posture against the use of force in Syria, further beefing up its naval presence in the region with the dispatch of an intelligence ship to the Mediterranean, and branding Western evidence on the use of chemical weapons "unconvincing". This article showed up on the telegraph.co.uk Internet site early yesterday afternoon BST...and it's another contribution from Roy Stephens. 'Success Story': NSA Targeted French Foreign Ministry Espionage by the U.S. on France has already strained relations between the two countries, threatening a trans-Atlantic trade agreement. Now a document seen by SPIEGEL reveals that the NSA also spied on the French Foreign Ministry. Dated June 2010, the "top secret" NSA document reveals that the intelligence agency was particularly interested in the diplomats' computer network. All of the country's embassies and consulates are connected with the Paris headquarters via a virtual private network (VPN), technology that is generally considered to be secure. Accessing the Foreign Ministry's network was considered a "success story," and there were a number of incidents of "sensitive access," the document states. With friends like the U.S...who needs enemies?  This news item was posted on the spiegel.de website early Monday morning Europe times...and I than Roy Stephens once again. Russia Restructures Cyprus Debt; Cyprus Prohibits U.S. Strikes on Syria Yesterday afternoon, Russia agreed to restructure Cyprus' EUR 2.5 billion loan terms to a much more affordable 2.5% semi-annual coupon through 2016 and a principal re-payment over the following four years. While probably still out of reach for the desperate economy, it was a positive step. Of course, this 'offer' by Russia has its quid pro quo. This morning, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has stated that Cyprus territory will not be used to launch military strikes against Syria, as "Cyprus wants to live up to its responsibility as a shelter if needed for nationals of friendly countries who evacuate from Middle East". It would appear Obama's influence is fading everywhere... Cyprus is located about 183 nautical miles west of Syria and is the E.U. member nearest to Syria. The news item appeared on the Zero Hedge website on Saturday...and it's worth skimming. I thank reader M.A. for bringing it to my attention...and now to yours. Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood Leaders Charged With Inciting Murder Egypt's chief prosecutor ordered former president Mohamed Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood leaders on Sunday to stand trial on charges including inciting murder, the state news media reported. The order seemed to extinguish hope of a political resolution that would bring the Brotherhood out from underground and back into the political process. The authorities, who allege that Mr. Morsi stoked deadly clashes outside his palace in December, did not detail the evidence against him on Sunday. There is no public record of statements he may have made to incite violence. Since Mr. Morsi was deposed on July 3, setting off protest rallies and sit-ins across the country, the authorities have killed more than 1,000 of his supporters and jailed much of the Brotherhood’s senior leadership. The former president himself had been detained without formal charges since his overthrow. The developments on Sunday seemed to close off any chance for an imminent settlement to the standoff between the Islamists of the Brotherhood and the military, and marked another confounding turn for Egypt’s chaotic political transition. As the country has

Asian bonds tumble below par in capital flight Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT Asian bonds tumble below par in capital flight Asia dollar-denominated bonds have dropped below par for the first time since 2011 as investors pull money out of the region amid concerns that growth is slowing and as currencies from the rupee to rupiah plunge. Average prices of company debentures in the region fell to 98.61 cents on the dollar on Aug. 22, the least since October 2011, Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes show. Dollar bonds globally have held above 100 cents since September 2009. Both investment- and non-investment-grade debt in Asia were below par on Aug. 22. The last time that happened was in September 2008, when Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed. Investor sentiment toward Asia is shifting as economic growth in China slows and currencies in India and Indonesia -- the two countries with the biggest external funding needs in the region -- plunge. About $44 billion has been pulled from emerging-market stock and bond funds globally since the end of May, data provider EPFR Global said on Aug. 23. This Bloomberg story, filed from Singapore on Sunday, is no longer available on their website.  However, since Chris Powell posted it in a GATA release, a hard copy still exists.  I'm not sure why it got spiked but, for that reason only, it now falls into the must read category.

Doug Pollitt: Of bullion, backwardation, and Buffett Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT Doug Pollitt: Of bullion, backwardation, and Buffett Taking over the market letter of Pollitt & Co. in Toronto from his much-missed father, Murray Pollitt, who died last year, Douglas Pollitt has written what may be the most incisive analysis yet of the lengthening phenomenon of backwardation in gold. Much gold recently has been dis-hoarded from exchange-traded funds and mining companies have resumed hedging, Pollitt observes, but gold lease rates keep rising, implying scarcity. "One of the main push-backs we get when peddling gold," Pollitt writes, "is that there is so much of it. Many bulls feel this way too; for them gold is going up not because it is not plentiful but rather because paper money is more plentiful. Market behavior corroborates this: Producer margins in the gold sector pale in comparison to producers of base metals and petroleum -- why provide a profit incentive to produce more when we already have vaults full of the stuff? The rest of Chris Powell's comments, plus a link to the Pollitt Essay, was posted in a GATA release yesterday.

Thousands Rally in Romania Against Gold Mine Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT Thousands Rally in Romania Against Gold Mine Thousands of Romanians across the country rallied late on Sunday to protest against the leftist government's support for a plan to open Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine in the small Carpathian town of Rosia Montana. The project, which aims to use cyanide to mine 314 tonnes of gold and 1,500 tonnes of silver, has drawn fierce opposition from civic rights groups and environmentalists, who say it would destroy ancient Roman gold mines and villages. It is led by Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, majority-owned by Canada's Gabriel Resources Ltd with the Romanian government holding roughly 20 percent. The project has been valued at $7.5 billion based on a 2007 study that used an average price of $900 per ounce of gold, with Romania estimated to get about 75 percent of the benefits in taxes, royalties, dividends and jobs. This news item was posted on The New York Times website on Sunday afternoon EDT...and I thank Phil Barlett for passing it along.

Documentary program on Austrian TV addresses gold price suppression Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT Documentary program on Austrian TV addresses gold price suppression Awareness of gold price suppression continues to spread internationally. A financial documentary program broadcast this month by Servus TV in Austria (and seen in Germany as well) addresses gold price suppression and GATA's work at length. It interviews, among others, GATA Chairman Bill Murphy, GoldMoney founder and GATA consultant James Turk, market analyst and GATA consultant Dimitri Speck, GoldMoney research director Alasdair Macleod, Sprott Asset Management CEO Eric Sprott, "The Creature from Jekyll Island" author G. Edward Griffin, market analyst Mike Maloney, and Euro Pacific Capital's Peter Schiff. The program is in German, is titled "Economic Crisis in the System," is 50-minutes long, begins its treatment of gold price suppression at about the 35-minute mark, and is posted at Servus TV's Internet site. The link to this program was embedded in a GATA release on Saturday.

'Give Our Gold Back' campaign launched in Poland Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT 'Give Our Gold Back' campaign launched in Poland Taking inspiration from Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, a movement to repatriate national gold reserves from vaulting with the market riggers at the Bank of England in London has arisen in Poland. The movement, Oddajcie Nasze Zloto ("Give Our Gold Back"), was brought to GATA's attention this week by its vice chairman, Piotr Wojda, who writes that it was started by two economists "worried about the safety of more than 100 tons of Polish gold held in the vaults of Bank of England for the last 70 years." Wojda adds that the movement "has been widely supported by organizations such as the Ludwig von Mises Institute , Business Center Club, Mennica Wrocawska (The Mint of Wrocaw, ), and many others. After several newspaper publications and TV shows we finally managed to persuade Polish politicians to listen to what we have to say." There's lots more to this story posted in another GATA release from Saturday...and it's worth reading.

South Africa's gold sector goes on strike today Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT South Africa's gold sector goes on strike today About 80,000 miners in the gold sector will down tools this afternoon after wage negotiations between mining companies and the National Union of Mineworkers reached a deadlock. Last week a final offer from the gold producers was rejected by the NUM, which called it an insult. NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the strike would begin on the night shift today as per the strike notice given to the employers. Gold producers in the Chamber of Mines offered an increase of 6.5% in the basic wage of category four and five employees, which includes rock-drill operators. This news item was posted on the timeslive.co.za Internet site just after midnight local time today...and the story is courtesy of reader M.A.

If Syria’s behind gold’s latest run, bigger trouble is afoot – Adrian Ash Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT If Syria's behind gold's latest run, bigger trouble is afoot – Adrian Ash 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.  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. This is only a semi-interesting piece, as Adrian would never admit the real reason why gold got smashed when it did...and it has little to do with what he offers.  However, it's nice to read that interest has picked up at the BullionVault once again.  It has at our store as well, as the last couple of weeks have been nothing short of excellent. Adrian's commentary was picked up the mineweb.com Internet site yesterday...and I thank Manitoba reader Ulrike Marx for sending this.

India's Holy Mary: Converting Sacred Temple Gold Into Dollars Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT India's Holy Mary: Converting Sacred Temple Gold Into Dollars Ten days ago, it was a tongue in cheek suggestion that the Reserve Bank of India should lease their gold in a last ditch effort to procure much needed USD and keep the economic engine going. Then it was an offer so good, the citizens could simply refuse (or maybe not if it was enforced) that the millions of ounces of local wealth preserving gold be converted into Rupees in a wholesale gold purchasing campaign by the domestic banks. Now, the India Times, reports that as the dollar-starved desperation deepens, the local central bank is "discussing with banks on how to convince temple trusts to deposit their hoard of idle jewellery that could be converted into bullion." In other words, the government is going for the sacred gold which will be sold to keep the petrodollar economy functioning for another several months. Surely, yet another "transitory" measure. From the Times of India:  With all efforts to arrest the rupee's slide coming to a naught, policymakers now plan to knock on the doors of temples - from Tirupati to Shirdi - seeking a boon to feed Indians' fetish for gold without importing it. The Reserve Bank of India, which has been making gold imports more difficult through a series of restrictions, is discussing with banks on how to convince temple trusts to deposit their hoard of idle jewellery that could be converted into bullion, said two bankers familiar with the matter. They refused to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue. The Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Maharashtra, Siddhivinayak at Mumbai and Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram are among the richest in India with huge reserves of gold and precious metals. This Zero Hedge piece from Sunday, with The Times of India Story embedded is a must read...and it's courtesy of Elliot Simon.

India to bring in more measures to curb gold imports Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT India to bring in more measures to curb gold imports Hinting at more measures to curb gold imports, India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, admitted in Parliament on August 30th that the current account deficit had gone up sharply and that it was affecting the value of the rupee. In his statement on the current economic situation he made several references to gold that rung alarm bells across the country. Post noon on September 2, gold prices zoomed to an all time high of $522.54 (Rs 34,500) per ten grams in the Mumbai market, with the rupee hitting an historic low of 68.75 amidst a firm global trend. “The prime minister has said we need to reduce our appetite for gold, and economise the use of petroleum products. Since our hands are already tied with the high import duty on gold, and we are not bringing in any gold into the country as this point, the bullion industry will be left with no other choice but to shut shop once again against these draconian views,'' said Mansukhlal Motwani, bullion retailer at Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar. This news item, filed from Mumbai, was posted on the mineweb.com Internet site earlier this morning...and I stumbled across it just before I hit the 'send' button on today's column.

Gold 'will hit $1,500’ as investors seek safe haven Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT Gold 'will hit $1,500' as investors seek safe haven The yellow metal climbed above the $1,433 mark on Wednesday, its highest level since mid-May, as tensions around Syria increased its allure as a “safe haven”. On Friday it ended the week at $1,395 against its late-June trough of $1,180 an ounce. “Safe-haven and geopolitical hedges are back in vogue,” said analysts at HSBC. The metal’s price has passed both its 50-day and 100-day moving averages this month, setting it on course for the $1,500 mark. “Gold is now decisively through previous resistance and is pushing higher towards the $1,500-$1,532 area,” said Citigroup’s technical research team in a recent note. The threat to supply from a strike in the South African gold sector announced for the coming week could also push prices higher, while jewellery-buying in China and India to take advantage of the price weakness has been offering support. That price, or higher, is certainly possible...but it will only happen if JPMorgan Chase allows it.  This story was posted on the telegraph.co.uk Internet site late Saturday evening BST...and I thank Roy Stephens for his last contribution to today's column.

Lawrence Williams: What does summer’s end mean for gold and silver? Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:29 AM PDT Lawrence Williams: What does summer's end mean for gold and silver? Today is Labor Day in the USA, the official end of summer as far as the country’s citizenry is concerned, and everything changes.  From tomorrow the top bankers, fund managers financiers etc. are back at their desks supposedly refreshed from their summer in the Hamptons, the Caribbean or points further.  Summer dependent businesses close down for another year, women start wearing fall and winter fashions regardless of the temperature – and the silly season in news comes immediately to an end.  The equity market professionals are back and the next pattern of investment flows will rapidly start to establish itself. For gold and silver investors everything could change.  Some kind of direction will likely establish itself, but whether this will be upwards or downwards remains to be seen.  If the past is anything to go by, September can be a strong month for precious metals, but it isn’t always so – take 2011 for example.  Arguably the major turning point in the gold price after its heady days through the 2011 summer started immediately after Labor Day that year, but this has tended to be the exception.  Those who move the markets saw a gold price rise through June, July and August 2011 which they reckoned was overdone – and the general trend in price has been downwards since with gold currently sitting some $500 below its heady 2011 peak. This year gold and silver made something of a recovery from their recent nadirs through the summer months, but we don’t think this will have been seen as an over-excessive gain by the financial community in the same way that that of 2011 was.  There does seem to have been something of a change of sentiment with regard to precious metals.  Some safe haven talk has resurfaced, there is an increasing realisation that almost all the physical gold which may have been released by investors in the West has been taken up in the East – and more.  Comex gold inventories have been slipping away and there are indications that some of the big bullion banks, JP Morgan in particular, are turning long on gold.  Things could thus  be about to change for the better for the precious metals investor. Yes, JPMorgan is long gold, and Ted Butler was the one that figured it out.  It remains to be seen whether they use their long corner in the gold market to either cap the price or stick it to the shorts in a short squeeze of biblical proportions.  So far it's been the former outcome, rather than the latter, at least for the moment.  This commentary by Lawrie was posted on the mineweb.com Internet site yesterday morning BST...and I thank Ulrike Marx for today's last story.

Gold, Silver, miners look attractive on bullish signals Posted: 03 Sep 2013 05:03 AM PDT Gold, silver and miners are likely to witness consolidation as traders are waiting for signals from the FOMC meet this month. After FOMC meet, metals and miners (GDX) may rally amidst Middle East tensions and unlikely Fed tapering.

Gold and Silver may perform better if US August employment data disappoints Posted: 03 Sep 2013 04:32 AM PDT Gold and silver continue to benefit from safe havel appeal-it may out perform better if August employment data also disappoints as in July. In the absence of investment demand, the decline in prices in the first half of the 2013 revealed strong physical demand, notably strategic buying from Asia.

Gold Rises Towards $1,400 After Russia Says Missiles Fired At Syria Posted: 03 Sep 2013 04:06 AM PDT Reuters have just reported that Israel has now said that it carried out joint missile test with U.S. Today's AM fix was USD 1,391.25, EUR 1,056.06 and GBP 893.09 per ounce. Yesterday's AM fix was USD 1,391.25, EUR 1,052.46 and GBP 893.14 per ounce. London's PM fix was USD 1,392.25, EUR 1,054.49 and GBP 893.843 per ounce. Yesterday the U.S. observed a national holiday and the COMEX was closed. Gold, silver and brent oil rose and European stocks declined after reports of missile launches in the Mediterranean. Russian radar detected two ballistic “objects” that were fired towards the Syrian coastline from the central part of the sea. Gold in USD, 1 Day – (GoldCore) Gold recovered from early losses and climbed toward $1,400 an ounce, after Interfax reported that Russia detected that two missiles had been launched. The missiles appear to be headed toward the eastern Mediterranean, RIA Novosti reported, citing comments Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made to President Vladimir Putin. The reports led to some safe haven buying of gold. Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.5% to $1,399/oz soon after the reports. The FTSE, DAX and CAC all fell by between 0.4% and 1% in volatile conditions as traders sought more information about the missile launches. Brent crude climbed 0.6% to $115.04 a barrel. At one point it surged 1.6% and reached a six month high of $117.34. The Russian embassy in Syria said there was no sign of a missile attack or of explosions in Damascus. The Ministry of Defence in London confirmed that the missiles were not British. The Israeli military initially said it was “not aware” of any missile launch in the Eastern Mediterranean according to the Daily Telegraph. Reuters have just reported that Israel has now said that it carried out joint missile test with U.S. Russia earlier today had criticised the United States for sending warships close to Syria, saying the deployments would exacerbate tension as Washington prepares for a possible military strike. Gold had edged down for its fourth consecutive day prior to the missile reports, while the U.S. dollar has reached a seven week high ahead of U.S. economic data that will help determine the state of the U.S. economy. Gold in USD, 5 Year – (GoldCore) Gold rallied from its low in June of $1,180.50/oz but has fallen from its three month high on August 28th of $1,433.83/oz due to a delay of the U.S. military attack on Syria. Gold has rallied 17% since the end of June as lower prices boosted demand, particularly in China and Asia. Gold looks set to rebound as spending cuts by producers and the closure of many increasingly costly mining operations leads to a further reduction in supply while aggregate global demand remains robust. Geopolitical risk continues to be underestimated and the missile reports this morning underscore the importance of having an allocation to gold bullion.

Aim investors go for gold after Isa rule change Posted: 03 Sep 2013 01:47 AM PDT One month after investors were first allowed to hold Aim stocks in tax-free Isas, it has emerged that gold miners are among their most popular choices.

Drums Of War Spark Rally In Gold, Silver and Energy Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:11 AM PDT GoldStockTrades

Stoeferle - Superb Book of 50 Charts Posted: 03 Sep 2013 12:01 AM PDT Being somewhat of a chart wonk, I appreciate good charts. Charts tell stories visually, distilling lots of information into pictures we humans can understand in an instant.  Good charts are therefore valuable.  Today we have an opportunity to devour two score and ten excellent charts that must have taken tons of work to produce, sent to us by the author via email in PDF format.   Our good friend Ronald-Peter Stöferle, CMT, of Incrementum Liechtenstein AG writes:  "A picture is worth a thousand words and therefore I want to share my 50 most interesting charts with you. Attached please find our first Chartbook "Gold Bull, Debt Bear" including the following charts for example: ·         Gold during various currency crises ·         Gold Is One of The Most Liquid Currencies ·         Stocks are Cheap? Not really.. ·         The Coefficient of Coincidence ·         No Bang for the Buck: Increase in Real GDP per Dollar of Incremental Debt ·         Housing Bubble in China? ·         A Bull Market in Bureaucracy ·         …and the world famous: Gold/Oktoberfest Beer Ratio Enjoy!" GGR readers will know Ronni as the author of the annual report "In Gold We Trust,"  a very comprehensive look at the gold market from a savvy advisor we look forward to each year. This new chartbook is certainly a worthy addition to that work and is definitely worthy of sharing.  Download the entire chartbook at the link just below: (Allow time to load.)  Download ChartbookIncrementum-TheGoldBullandDebtBear A few examples of the charts to be found in Ronni's new offering are shown below. Thanks for sharing, Ronni!

Monetary-Base Confusion Posted: 02 Sep 2013 10:07 PM PDT The following is excerpted from a commentary originally posted at www.speculative-investor.com on 1st September 2013. We occasionally see articles where the monetary base is wrongly discussed as if it were akin to the money supply or as if the change in the monetary base indicated the amount of monetary inflation in the economy. We’ll now outline the differences between the monetary base and the money supply and explain how these differences are related to the contrasting inflation situations in Japan and the US. The monetary base (MB) is made up of bank reserves and physical currency (notes and coins). Bank reserves are not counted in the money supply (MS) for the good reasons that a) they are not available for spending and b) they provide ‘cover’ for money that is available for spending and is counted in the money supply. The physical currency that resides outside the banking system is, of course, available for spending and is naturally counted in the MS as well as in the MB, but these days the combined value of all notes and coins tends to be small relative to the total MS. Also, the total quantity of notes/coins can only increase due to the withdrawal of bank deposits, a process that is always money-supply neutral (every dollar added to the total quantity of physical currency will be offset in the MS calculation by a dollar coming out of a demand or savings deposit). In other words, adding to the supply of physical currency never increases the total money supply. An implication of the above paragraph is that boosting the monetary base will not boost the money supply. There is an indirect link in that an increase in reserves held at the central bank could prompt commercial banks to lend more money into existence, but the point is that increasing the MB won’t immediately put additional money into the economy and won’t necessarily even lead to a higher money supply in the future. A related implication is that a large increase in the MB will not necessarily lead to currency depreciation. The difference between an increase in the MB and an increase in the MS is linked to why the pro-inflation policies of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) have not, over the past 20 years, led to “price inflation” worthy of the name. In Japan, quantitative easing (QE) does not directly expand the money supply; it only expands the monetary base. The BOJ relies on commercial banks and other private financial institutions ramping-up their investing/lending in order to transform a QE-related increase in the MB into a higher MS. As a consequence, the BOJ’s QE is not necessarily inflationary. Up until now the BOJ’s QE has not led to much in the way of monetary inflation, which is why it hasn’t brought about much in the way of “price inflation”. The rate of growth in Japan’s money supply has averaged only 2% per year over the past 20 years — a level of monetary inflation that would be expected to result in no “price inflation” assuming an average annual rate of productivity improvement of at least 2%. In other words, there’s no mysterious disconnect between money supply and money purchasing-power at work in Japan. The lack of “price inflation” is exactly what should be expected given the low rate of monetary inflation. The situation in the US is very different. Whereas the BOJ’s QE is not necessarily inflationary, the Fed’s QE is always inflationary (meaning: it always increases the money supply, leading to price rises in some parts of the economy, distortions in relative prices, and, eventually, a decline in money purchasing-power). As explained in many previous commentaries, the reason is that when the Fed monetises X$ of assets it adds X$ to bank reserves (part of the MB, but not part of the MS) AND it adds X$ to demand deposits at commercial banks (part of the MS). A consequence is that in the US there is no requirement for commercial banks to expand their lending/investing in order for the money supply to grow, because the Fed is capable of increasing the US money supply by whatever amount it desires regardless of what the commercial banks are doing. It’s amazing that very few people understand this. The bottom line is that the monetary base is not necessarily a good indicator of the monetary inflation situation. The main focus of analysts should therefore be on the change in the money supply, not the change in the monetary base. Unfortunately, not many analysts know how to correctly measure the money supply. Regular financial market forecasts and analyses are provided at our web site: http://www.speculative-investor.com/new/index.html We aren't offering a free trial subscription at this time, but free samples of our work (excerpts from our regular commentaries) can be viewed at: http://www.speculative-investor.com/new/freesamples.html

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