Gold World News Flash |
- Gold Investors: Take the Red Pill
- A Fed Policy Change That Will Increase the Gold Price
- Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts – It Was an FOMC Day in Paperland
- The five biggest investment lessons of 2013
- The All Important Chart For Gold & Silver Post-Fed Meeting
- Warrants “Don’t Get No Respect” But They Should – Here’s Why
- Gustavo Laframboise-Pierre Reveals More MADness About Central Banks
- Another Thought Experiment
- Gold and Gold Stocks – An Update Ahead of the FOMC
- Chart Of The Day: The Taper In Perspective (And What We Learned Today)
- On Bernanke's Legacy
- Who Knew What 50 Seconds Before The FOMC Release?
- Guest Post: Keeping It Real
- TF Metals Report: Is MorganChase buying all that gold for China?
- Jan Skoyles: Did China's announcement expose bitcoin's weak spot?
- The Gold Price Closed Up $4.90 at $1,236.10
- The Gold Price Closed Up $4.90 at $1,236.10
- U.S. Dollar’s Demise and the Rise of Bitcoin
| Gold Investors: Take the Red Pill Posted: 19 Dec 2013 02:27 AM PST We make choices in our thinking, lifestyle, savings, and investments. We can look reality squarely in the face and swallow the red pill (from the movie – "The Matrix"). Or, we can swallow the blue pill with a healthy slug of whisky, continue riding the roller coaster of mass delusion, and go back to watching "Reality TV" and the evening news. Either way we will experience the consequences of our actions and our thinking. The Blue Pill DelusionUS Government Budget: Congress, in their wisdom, will pass a budget that continues spending as usual, borrowing to cover the revenue shortfall, and increasing the official debt a $Trillion or so per year. The debt is still rated AAA because it will be rolled over well into the next century, and all is good. Individual equivalent: spend until credit cards are maxed out and then apply for more credit cards. What could go wrong? US Government Debt: It can increase forever. Deficits don't matter and debt is just something that happens in our modern times. Unfunded liabilities are somewhere between $100 and $200 Trillion, but – no problem. Individual equivalent: Keep spending on the credit cards! Let's party. Interest Rate Risk: Interest rates are at multi-generational lows. Hence the borrowing costs for already insolvent governments are exceptionally low. If interest rates do NOT stay this low FOREVER, borrowing costs will greatly increase, deficits will expand even more rapidly, and the spiral of insolvency accelerates. But, it's all good and really, why can't interest rates stay low for another 50 or 100 years? Individual equivalent: I borrow on credit card A to make the minimum payment on credit card B. Now I need to apply for another credit card with a higher limit and lower interest rate. FASB mark to myth: About five years ago the Financial Accounting Standards Board changed the rules – banks can value certain assets with considerable latitude instead of at market value. Example: Mortgage Backed Securities – some of which are known as toxic waste. This valuation process is also known as "mark to myth" or "mark to model." It perpetuates the illusion of balance sheet solvency – "extend and pretend." Individual equivalent: I have a 1,000 square foot house in the country that is worth less than $85,000. However, the bank and I agreed that it is worth $900,000 and I just took out a loan for $800,000 collateralized by that house. Let's party! Gold: We don't need the stuff, we have T-Bonds! Let's sell off a major portion of our gold, ship it to Switzerland where it will be melted down and sent to China, India and Russia. Our T-Bonds will be good forever and the gold was earning no interest and taking up space so it is best to dump the gold at today's LOW prices. Individual equivalent: I'll sell the gold Double Eagle my grandfather gave me and buy a 72 inch television made in China. In five years the gold will be gone, the TV will be practically worthless, and I'll be worse off than before. The Red Pill RealityGold: It has held its value for 5,000 years. Gold is respected everywhere in the world and immediately recognizable. By contrast, all paper money systems have eventually failed. Many paper currencies have disappeared in the past 100 years due to excessive creation of those unbacked paper currency units. It will happen again. Remember: if the intrinsic value of the currency is zero, it is not money – it is only a currency unit. Dollar as the reserve currency: Many countries around the world, such as China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa, have initiated "swap agreements" whereby they trade with each other in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. Clearly those countries see an advantage in bypassing the dollar in their international transactions. Similarly, countries are increasingly selling oil in Euros, Yuan, and gold, rather than the U.S. Dollar. Using swaps instead of the dollar will cause decreased demand for the dollar, which means it will be valued lower in the future against other currencies, commodities, and gold. The dollar is not likely to be replaced as the global reserve currency within a year, but what about within ten years? It is time to admit that the era of the U.S. Dollar as undisputed global reserve currency is drawing to a close. When the dollar declines, so will the value of assets denominated in dollars. What will unbacked debt-based paper dollars buy a decade from now? Debt: The U.S. government official debt is over $17 Trillion with many more $Trillions accrued in unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare, and government pensions. The usual consequence of too much debt has been a devaluation of the currency – a dollar crisis whereby the dollar buys less and less of what we need to live. Jim Sinclair refers to this process as "currency induced cost push inflation." The standard of living goes down, people march in the streets, and many ugly consequences materialize. Ask the people of Greece about the quality of their lives after excessive government indebtedness and fiscal irresponsibility destroyed their economy. It can happen here. QE and Printing Currency: Let's admit that QE was largely created to save the big banks, and that QE is maintained as a wealth transfer system to recapitalize the big banks and fund the deficits of many governments. Does anyone truly believe that printing a $Trillion (just in the U.S.) per year will NOT have negative consequences for the economy, for consumer prices, and for most citizens in the lower financial 90%? What did you pay for food and gasoline five years ago? What about 10 years ago? Has your after-tax income gone up proportionally? What will you pay for food and gasoline in the next 10 years? What will the devaluing dollar buy in 10 years? How much gold and silver do you own as insurance against a devalued dollar? Cycles: Many well respected individuals have written about cyclic downturns over the next several years. To name a few: Marc Faber, Gerald Celente, Jim Rogers, Mike Maloney, Russel Napier, Jeff Berwick, Michael Pento, Laurence Kotlikoff, Hugo Salinas Price, Robert Prechter, David Stockman, Harry Dent, and others. Will massive money printing delay or eliminate these downward cycles or is another financial collapse imminent? Are you prepared? CONCLUSIONSSwallow the blue pill and chase it with a half-pint of whisky if you want the easy and well-traveled road of collective delusion. But as Ayn Rand said, "We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality." Or, take the red pill and invest wisely along the less-traveled road. If you accept the red pill reality of our financial and monetary systems, then we believe you will find that fewer dollar denominated investments, more physical gold and silver, fewer paper assets, and more hard assets make sense. The consequences of your actions and beliefs are yours to experience. Blue pill or red pill – your choice and your consequences.
Suggested Reading: Daniel Amerman Taper and Quantitative Easing Reality Check
GE Christenson | The Deviant Investor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A Fed Policy Change That Will Increase the Gold Price Posted: 19 Dec 2013 01:00 AM PST by Doug French, Casey Research:
Johnson says central banks are printing money faster than gold is being pulled from the ground, so the gold price must go up. Johnson is on the right track, but central banks have partners in the money creation business—commercial banks. And while the FFed has been huffing and puffing and blowing up its balance sheet, banks have been licking their wounds and laying low. Money has been cheap on Wall Street the last five years, but hard to find on Main Street. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts – It Was an FOMC Day in Paperland Posted: 19 Dec 2013 12:00 AM PST from Jesse’s Café Américain:
Despite the big rally in stocks, what did the Treasuries market do? Nada. I rest my case. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The five biggest investment lessons of 2013 Posted: 18 Dec 2013 11:07 PM PST From the success of Royal Mail to the fall of gold, this year's events can teach investors some useful lessons 
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| The All Important Chart For Gold & Silver Post-Fed Meeting Posted: 18 Dec 2013 09:50 PM PST  With continued volatility in gold, silver, stock, and crude oil markets, today one of the savviest individuals in the business told King World News sent King World News an important on the gold and silver markets. He also included an incredibly important short-term chart as well. Below is what Jeffrey Saut, who is Chief Investment Strategist for $360 billion Raymond James, had to say in this timely piece.This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrants “Don’t Get No Respect” But They Should – Here’s Why Posted: 18 Dec 2013 09:50 PM PST This article offers a tutorial on warrants as an underused investment vehicle, disabuses myths about warrants, shares the So says the introduction to an interview of Dudley Baker (CommonStockWarrants.com) by Brian Sylvestor (GoldReport.com) as posted on SeekingAlpha.com under the title [The following is presented by Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com and www.munKNEE.com and the FREE Market Intelligence Report newsletter (sample here – register here). The excerpts may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.]Edited excerpts from the interview are as follows: The Gold Report: Before we get into how to invest in warrants, please tell our readers what a warrant is. Dudley Baker: Very simply, a warrant is a security that gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the underlying common shares at a specific price and includes a specific expiration date. TGR: How does that differ from a futures contract? DB: A futures contract refers to the purchase of an actual commodity: gold, silver, soybeans, pork bellies, etc. Warrants also differ from call options. Those are derivative contracts written on a stock, stock index or futures contract. The official definition of warrants states that they are securities, the distinction being here that a warrant is actually issued by the company.… TGR: …Does market performance have an effect on the warrant market? DB: Yes, if stocks are down, warrants will be down. That said, it’s all about the underlying company. For the warrant to do well, the company has to perform… [and warrants often provide twice the returns of the associated stock and the longer term the warrants are the greater the chance of such occurring.] TGR: Why do mining companies, especially gold and silver equities, deal in warrants more than other sectors? DB: The resource sector is highly capital intensive and high risk. Let’s face it, the companies need more incentive to get someone like Rick Rule and Sprott Global involved in a potential financing. They have to offer a long-term warrant as an equity kicker… TGR: What’s the typical path to making money by investing in a warrant? DB: The most straightforward, logical way is to pick the right company and buy its warrants. If the company doesn’t perform, the warrant can’t perform either…[and we also] need a good market environment or the expectation of a good market environment… TGR: Are there other ways to make money with warrants? DB: …An investor…could
…[Hedging] works better in the U.S. markets…because American investors can’t exercise a warrant issued in Canada; U.S. investors can only trade Canadian warrants… I’d almost say, especially in the U.S., any time you are doing a hedge and you’re buying the common shares as your core position, basically you just substitute the company’s long-term warrant for the common shares, and you can accomplish that same hedge position with a lot less cash on the line, which means your net return will be substantially higher. TGR: What are four things should investors be aware of before entering the world of warrants? DB:
TGR: When you talked with The Gold Report in 2008, there was no exchange where warrants were traded. Are there some new resources that make warrants trading more transparent and, perhaps, simpler? DB: The lack of information about warrants was one reason I started my service back in 2005 but there has been considerable progress since then. Today, warrants are traded like stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange [TSX] and the TSX Venture Exchange [TSX.V] in Canada and warrants for U.S. companies can trade on the New York Stock Exchange [NSYE] or on NASDAQ. Exchanges issue warrants a symbol usually with a .WT suffix in Canada & perhaps a -WS suffix or five letters in the U.S., just like common shares… TGR: When an outstanding warrant is worth less than the current stock trading price, it can create an overhang on a stock. How do you play that situation? DB: True, there will be slight dilution to the company’s shares, if and when those warrants are exercised, but that means new cash coming into the company’s kitty so we see it as a tradeoff…. TGR: What’s the best way to play a long-term warrant? DB: If you own a warrant and, after 6 to 12 months, decide that the common shares have peaked and are overbought, you sell the warrant at the same time that you would sell the shares. You make the same decision, as though you owned the common shares. You don’t have to hold the warrant until the expiration date….Warrants are totally liquid. You can buy today, sell tomorrow. You’re not locked in. TGR: What are some warrants in the gold and silver space that you’d like to share with us today? DB: There are several:
For any of those three, of course, you want to determine the leverage calculation. Is it overvalued, undervalued? TGR: You would buy those warrants and sell them when you believe they are appropriately valued? DB: Exactly. I would be utilizing all the tools that an investor would: looking at long-term charts, following analysts or newsletter writers [and] if, as I expect, we get a nice bull market in the resource sector, it would not be uncommon to see common share prices double, triple or quadruple. The warrants should do twice as well. It’s just a matter of staying on board as long as possible to capture these gains, but knowing that you can pull the plug and can exit at any moment. It’s like any investment, if you double your money, you may want to take some money off the table and minimize your risk. TGR: If investors want to find the current value of one the Sandstorm Gold warrants that are trading, where would they go? DB: That’s the dilemma for most investors. There are 200 warrants trading on the markets now in total, not just in the resource sector. It’s tooting my own horn, but CommonStockWarrants.com is virtually the only place to find all the detail needed to make informed investment decisions. Barring that, investors willing to invest the time can follow company news… TGR: What other warrant ideas are out there? DB: There are a number of interesting companies: In the energy space there are:
In the biotech space there is:
TGR: What would be one final thought for our readers? DB: Warrants are a simple investment vehicle that has been overlooked for decades, whether for trading or for hedging…. [Editor's Note: The author's views and conclusions in the above article are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original post. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.]*http://seekingalpha.com/article/1889941-warrants-warrant-more-respect-in-the-resource-sector-dudley-baker (© 2013 Seeking Alpha) DISCLOSURE: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gustavo Laframboise-Pierre Reveals More MADness About Central Banks Posted: 18 Dec 2013 09:49 PM PST An extraordinary agreement to share information between the National So says David Hauge (davidhague.wordpress.com) in edited excerpts from his original article* posted on Funny Business entitled NSA inks landmark deal to share information with Central Banks. [The following is presented by Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com and www.munKNEE.com and the FREE Market Intelligence Report newsletter (sample here – register here) and may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.]Hauge goes on to say in further edited excerpts: The Market Assistance Directive (MAD According to my good friend and trusted confidante, Gustavo Laframboise-Pierre, Global Director of Statistical Creation at the European Central Bank (ECB), this new agreement, called the 'Market Assistance Directive' (MAD) will allow the Central Banks to use their unlimited resources to trade and profit based on inside information on an almost unimaginable scale. Thanks to the data gathering of the NSA and its subsidiary spy agencies around the world, the Central Banks will now be privy to the most confidential conversations and communications from the boardroom, the bedroom and the trading floor. Central Banks will now be able to trade with inside information that could only be dreamed about in years gone by. Prior to the unique MAD agreement only the thousands of employees of the NSA and other security agencies, their friends and family, their political masters, paramours and twitter followers, have had the ability to use the PRISM surveillance capability to know every grain of inside information that exists in the world. Massive profits on their personal trading accounts are inevitable. It is a denial of human nature to believe that this activity is not only prevalent, it is the norm. Wouldn’t You? "Poppycock!" you say. "Balderdash!" you exclaim. Dear reader, I too shared your cynicism and disbelief regarding the possibility of such an agreement existing until I spoke with my good friend and trusted confidante Gustavo Laframboise-Pierre, Global Director of Statistical Creation at the European Central Bank (ECB). (Dear reader, before you click away in an indignant fit of outrage at the mere suggestion of this preposterous reality. I would encourage you to ask yourself one question.
Dear reader, I thought so. Please continue reading.) But I digress; my conversation with Gustavo would enlighten me as to the New World Order that now permeates our capital markets and our global economy. The Scoop on Gustavo Laframboise-Pierre For those of you not familiar with Gustavo, my friendship with such a highly placed member of the ECB executive traced its roots back to my days on Wall Street and to his days in New York when he was my bookie. His fortunes changed dramatically one day when a senior member of the ECB on a junket to New York placed an astonishingly large, incorrect and foolish bet on the outcome of the 2010 World Cup. The only way the debt could be settled was for the senior member of the ECB to offer Gustavo an obscenely highly paid sinecure at the ECB. Gustavo traded Brooklyn and Fulton Street for Paris and the Champs-Élysées. He became the ECB's Global Director of Statistical Creation. His notional job was to make up statistics that would support whatever lunatic policies were being proposed by central banks around the world. Gustavo's complete lack of moral fiber coupled with his gift for numbers allowed him to excel at his job. Our Chance Conversation Over Lunch Where Gustavo Spilled the Beans I was in Rome on business, (well, truthfully, I had left my home in New York to avoid some rather inconvenient lawsuits from my banks and other sundry creditors relating to my inability to make payments on my credit cards, lines of credit, loans, mortgages, and overdraft fees)…when I spied Gustavo (I surmised that he was in town visiting one of his mistresses) exiting the Gucci store on Via Venuto, laden with what appeared to be their entire inventory. I greeted him with a smile and suggested we repair to the nearest bistro for a lunch and libation. I helped with his bags and we strolled to the uber-chic Rome Cavalieri Hotel on Via Alberto so that we might feast at la Pergola, perhaps the finest restaurant in Europe. Dear reader, I had dined with Gustavo before. I knew that the meal would be charged to his expense account at the ECB. Today my empty wallet and penury would not prevent me from enjoying a culinary delight. We were seated at a prestigious seat by the window that offered us a magnificent view of St. Peter's Basilica. Gustavo's legendary expense account ensured that we received premium service. Our conversation went like this: Me: "Have you won the lottery? You must have $50,000 of Gucci accessories in these bags?" Gustavo giggled: "It is better than that. Central banks, thanks to an agreement with the world's spy agencies, (this would be the aforementioned MAD agreement) are now privy to not only the emails and phone calls of all the world's politicians, business leaders, journalists, accountants and lawyers but to the innermost thoughts of every citizen who uses an electronic device for communication. With this information we can use our resources to control the global markets. Now there is no trade, no event, no market information that we bankers do not know in advance. We can literally make as much money as we want. At the same time we relegate to destitution any soul who dares to challenge us. All we had to do to finalize the agreement was to promise to kick back 20% of our profits to the senior members of the spy agencies and 10% of our profits to their political masters." I almost choked on my Remy Martin Black Pearl Luis XIII Cognac as I digested Gustavo's statement. Little did I know that this particular brand of Cognac that Gustavo had requested, was worth $30,000/bottle. (Oh, how glorious it must be to be a banker with an expense account. However, as a frequent beneficiary of Gustavo's largesse I guess I should not complain.) Me: "Do the words insider trading, market manipulation, extortion, thievery, invasion of privacy, immoral, illegal and just plain wrong not mean anything to you bankers?" Gustavo said indignantly: "Don't you read the papers? Bankers have been given immunity from prosecution for any misdeed or imperfection no matter how damaging it is to the markets, the global economy and society…Banks are fined but no individual banker goes to jail. How many times do bankers need to skate on corruption charges before you get it through your thick skull that you can fine the bank but you cannot put bankers in jail? We central bankers will share the data gathering efforts with the world's commercial or retail banks for a (big) fee. Our prudence will ensure that the inside information is shared fairly. The profits the banks will make on these trades will guarantee their survival. Furthermore, it will ensure the bank executives become richer than King Midas . It is truly a win-win situation." I poked at the remainder of my appetizer, 'scampi Carpaccio with two caviars', and eagerly awaited the first course, 'liquorice consommé with sweet pepper cream and squid salad'. Gustavo had come a long way from his days making book from his car outside Madison Square Garden, I thought to myself. His notion of win-win was certainly unique. Me: "I don't know where to begin. How does any of this help Main Street and the masses? This sounds like a conspiracy by the 1% to own the entire universe". Gustavo slurred: "I am glad you brought that up." (The effects of his overindulgence of the Cognac was starting to have the usual impact.) "That whole silly Occupy movement and its childish 99% versus the 1% was our creation. The 1% is a phrase we coined to give us cover as we filled our pockets. There are two types of wealth in this world.
If the public ever thought about it for a moment, their anger would not be focused on the notional 1% who accumulated their wealth the old-fashioned way – they earned it – [but, instead,]…on the '10%.' The scoundrels like myself: bankers, consultants, lobbyists and other assorted leeches who drain the public's purse while adding to their own personal fortune". I was quite taken aback. Candor, honesty and critical self-analysis were not attributes I usually expected from Gustavo. I smiled at the waiter as he delivered my main course, a very appealing 'soya poached fillet of beef with garlic dandelion and wasabi purée'. Me: “Why are you sharing all this information with me. Are you not concerned that I might publish some of this, clearly confidential, information?” Gustavo replied sardonically: ”Have you heard nothing I have said! Bankers are immune from prosecution. Furthermore, unless you write your commentary in crayon and pass it out on street corners, either we or the NSA will become aware [of] your attempt to undermine our dominance. We will simply disable your computer and delete your files. If you persist in inconveniencing us we will turn your file over to our 'Blackmail' department who will examine your life with a fine tooth comb, discover your secrets and threaten you with exposure unless you cease and desist." Me: (As I was about to indulge in the first bite of my Caciocavallo Podolico I replied in dismay,) “It seems to me that the players in our global capital markets are more reminiscent of James Bond's nemesis, SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) than a functioning system for the free and fair exchange of goods and capital.” (By the way, this cheese is the pride of Italy. At $500/lb, it has the same value by weight as silver. I would strongly recommend this taste sensation should you ever be dining with a banker and their expense account.) As I waited for his response, (he was busy talking to his broker), I gazed out the window at the Vatican and wondered if there might be spiritual salvation to guide us through the financial quagmire we had entered. I then remembered that the Vatican Bank scandals indicated that there would be no guidance from that direction. (Oh please dear reader, curtail your disapproval. Just Google 'Vatican Bank scandals' and see for yourself.) Gustavo said boastingly as he hung up his phone: "I just made a million dollars in two hours based on information this new MAD Agreement provided me and the best part is that because I have set up Trusts in tax havens around the world I will not have to pay any taxes. Isn't life grand?" I sighed as [I] gazed through the window and watched a beggar appealing for donations from shoppers on the Via Veneto. Is this what 'la Dolce Vita’ is all about? [Editor's Note: The author's views and conclusions in the above article are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original post. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.]*http://davidhague.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/nsa-inks-landmark-deal-to-share-information-with-central-banks/ ((Go here to read about David Hague) More Conversations Between David Hague & Gustavo Laframboise-Pierre: 1. Funny Business: An Expose on What the World's Central Bankers Are Up To  This article relates to a recent dinner I had with an European Central Bank [ECB] "executive" during which it was expressed/revealed (some might say, confirmed) that there is an on-going global conspiracy by Central Bankers to overthrow democracy and take over the world so to speak in what many refer to as a New World Order (NWO). My first reaction was that what he had to say was outlandish but, upon reflection, I think, in spite of the humorous circumstances surrounding the meeting, what he had to say was of considerable merit. Read on and express your own views in the Comment Section at the end of the article. Read More » 2. My Personal "(:Report:)" from the World Economic Forum in Davos  I am on assignment at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Unfortunately my previous commentaries irked the organizers so profoundly that I was not allowed the intimate access usually accorded friendly members of the media. No matter, I am staying at a pleasant bed and breakfast about an hour and half outside of Davos….[But I digress. Back to the Forum.] Words: 2369 Read More » 3. The Central Bankers' Theme Song: "Money, Money, It's a Rich Man's World!"  I was afforded a most extraordinary experience recently that has given me unique insight into our global financial and political systems. The information I gleaned from this experience is disturbing. What you are about to read will forever change your view of banking, politics, economics and money. It certainly did mine! Read More » Other Related Articles: (The articles posted on munKNEE.com deliberately present a diverse perspective on subjects discussed. Below are links, with introductory paragraphs, to a variety of related articles designed to help you become truly informed regarding both sides of the issues so that you can assess the merits of all points of view and come to your own conclusion.) 1. Does Behavior of "We the People" Suggest Central Bankers Have Gone Too Far? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Posted: 18 Dec 2013 09:00 PM PST from TF Metals Report:
First, some histoire…. Back in the middle of October, some very odd and very precise deposits were made into the eligible vault of JPMorgan. Over three days, the total amount of gold booked in was exactly and precisely ten metric tonnes. It looked like this: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gold and Gold Stocks – An Update Ahead of the FOMC Posted: 18 Dec 2013 08:40 PM PST by Pater Tenebrarum, Acting-Man.com:
Here we are again, donning our hat of Patron Saint of Lost Causes to take a look at the gold sector. While Acting Man was on its unexpected hiatus, nothing much actually happened, which is to say, price movements in gold and gold stocks were uneventful, with the latter continuing to trade at extremely low levels relative to gold (in fact, a new all time record low was established in terms of the XAU-gold ratio). Tax loss selling has weighed on gold stocks in addition to the usual litany of problems, such as extremely bearish sentiment. If we employ the ratio of gold stocks to gold as a sentiment measure, which strikes us as a legitimate way of looking at it, then it can be stated that sentiment has never been more lopsidedly bearish than it is now – not even in 1942, when shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack, the ratio of gold stocks to gold set its previous historic low. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chart Of The Day: The Taper In Perspective (And What We Learned Today) Posted: 18 Dec 2013 08:38 PM PST What did we learn today?
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| Posted: 18 Dec 2013 08:25 PM PST Ben Bernanke is concerned about his legacy.
Any why not? After all, he’s all but destroyed capitalism to benefit the largest banks in the financial system.
Capitalism means failure if you screw up. But under Bernanke’s watch, “capitalism” meant giving trillions in taxpayer money to those who screwed up.
It also meant a massive drop in median incomes, diminishing purchasing power for every American, increasing costs of living, inflation abroad leading to bloody revolutions, and funneling US funds overseas to bankrupt European entities.
The man and his policies, in a nutshell, have been a disaster for the world. We would all have been better off if he’d never left Princeton but had simply remained in the classroom where he’d simply corrupt young minds, rather than bet the US Dollar and the republic on his misguided theories.
So how did those theories work out?
Under Bernanke’s watch…
· The US has never experienced 3% GDP growth. · The labor participation rate has fallen to levels not seen since the ‘70s. · Inflation-adjusted median incomes have fallen 7%. · The US’s debt load has risen from $8.4 trillion to over $16 trillion. · The Fed’s balance sheet has increased from $800 billion to over $4 trillion (larger than the economies of Brazil, France and even Germany). · Food prices have hit record highs fomenting revolutions in the Middle East and untold suffering around the globe. · The Fed has funneled trillions of Dollars into both US banks and European banks. · The Fed has allowed fraud, insider trading, and corruption.
And so on.
So now, Bernanke is trying to begin polishing his legacy by tapering $10 billion a month. Somehow this is supposed to show us that he can make decisions other than leaving a paperweight on the printing press (the Fed has engaged in money printing in over 90% of months since the Crisis hit in 2008).
We all know how this will eventually end… with the system Crashing down yet again, thanks to his creating the largest bubble in history: that of the bond market today. But by that point it will be someone else’s mess to clean up and we the taxpayers will be the ones who pick up the tab, whether it’s through more bailouts, bail-ins, or a Dollar collapse. For actionable market insights on how to play bull runs and bear corrections, swing by:
http://phoenixcapitalmarketing.com/special-reports.html
Best Regards
Phoenix Capital Research
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| Who Knew What 50 Seconds Before The FOMC Release? Posted: 18 Dec 2013 06:47 PM PST Last time it was trading faster than the speed of light in gold and stocks. This time, 50 seconds before the FOMC statement was officially released to the great unwashed, Nanex notes that the market exploded with activity reaching levels higher than during the actual FOMC news release. As they show in the charts below, approximately $106 Million of SPY and 3,700 eMini Futures contracts traded in 1 second. Gold - while less voluminous - was just as berserko in the minutes and seconds leading up the news release. What is going on here?
See also this image of eMini liquidity during this time.
For clairfication, here is S&P 500 Futures price and volume... (1-second bars)
And Gold...
And Nanex shows the incredible surge in activity... 1. Trades per second in NMS Stocks and ETFs (2,200 of approximately 8000 symbols traded).
2. Dollars traded (thousands) per second in NMS Stocks and ETFs.
3. Symbols traded per second in NMS Stocks and ETFs.
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| Posted: 18 Dec 2013 06:00 PM PST Submitted by Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform blog,
The BLS reported the CPI yesterday morning. They tell me that inflation is well contained and has only risen by 1.2% in the past twelve months. Our beloved Federal Reserve chairman is worried inflation is too low. It is fascinating that the only people worried about inflation being too low are Ivy League educated economists and bankers whose wealth depends upon the middle class sinking further into poverty. As a person who lives in the real world, I can honestly say I like it when the things I need to buy cost less today than they did last year. When did inflation become a good thing for the average American? Our country was somehow able to grow from a fledgling new country to a world power in just over a century while experiencing mild deflation, except during times of war. The fallacy that inflation is beneficial to the common man has been peddled by bankers since 1971 when Nixon and his cronies closed the gold window and unleashed the inflationary boogeyman in the form of feckless politicians, captured Keynesian academics, and greedy soulless bankers.
It is no coincidence inflation accelerated the moment politicians, academics and bankers were unleashed to spend your money at will in order to obtain votes, Nobel prizes in economics, and ill-gotten obscene levels of wealth. David Stockman described Nixon’s dreadful sellout of the American people in his brilliant new book:
The USD has lost 83% of its purchasing power since 1971. The moment Nixon began playing politics with the USD and bullied the Federal Reserve Chairman into pumping up the money supply prior to the 1972 election, the inflation genie got out of the bottle and led to the miserable stagflation of the 1970′s. It took extreme measures by Paul Volcker to get it back under control in the early 1980′s. Since Volcker we’ve had nothing but academics and toadies who have chosen to change the definition of inflation in order to mislead the average American regarding how badly they are getting screwed. Every refinement, tweak, adjustment, or revision to the calculation of CPI has been designed to produce a lower figure. Why control inflation when you can just change the calculation to suit your purposes? Over the proceeding decades, the BLS has sliced and diced the CPI in such a way that they can make it say whatever TPTB want it to say. They need to keep the mushrooms (you) in the dark regarding your standard of living deteriorating, while the beneficiaries of inflation (bankers, politicians) see their standard of living soaring. They have made hedonistic “adjustments”, quality “adjustments”, substitution “adjustments” and geometric weighting “adjustments”, all with the sole purpose to reduce the level reported to the American people on a monthly basis. CPI was supposed to measure a common basket of goods and services that Americans needed to purchase in order to live their lives. If the price for this basket rose, you had inflation. If the price for this basket fell, you had deflation. The politicians, academics, bankers and government bureaucrats decided if the price of steak went up by 10%, you would switch to chicken, therefore the price of steak did not go up by 10%. They decided if the price of a new car went up 5%, but you now had heated seats, the price didn’t really go up 5%. They now want to change to a chained CPI, which will further depress the reported figure. CPI no longer represents the increase in price of goods and services you need to live your day to day life. Even the composition of the index doesn’t match the true cost picture for the average American. Somehow they bury the energy component within multiple categories and have the gall to argue that energy costs only comprise 9.6% of the average American expense budget. Tell that to the suburban two worker family that drives 30,000 miles per year and has to heat and cool a 2,000 square foot home. I doubt that too many families only spend 7% of their money on medical care. Housing accounts for 41% of the CPI calculation, but it is again a made up calculation called owner’s equivalent rent. Only an Ivy League economist could explain the calculation. The fact that home prices have risen by 12%, rents have risen by 4% and mortgage rates have risen from 3.25% to 4.5% in the last year somehow results in a 2.4% annual rate of inflation for housing.
If you have the feeling your standard of living has been falling for the last few decades even though your owners tell you the economy is expanding, inflation is contained, unemployment is falling, the stock market is rising, and consumer spending is growing, then you might be smarter than a 5th grader. The financial elite ruling class are counting on the dreadful public education system, along with their mainstream corporate media propaganda arms, to keep the techno-distracted math challenged masses from understanding how the financialization of the country has resulted in their demise. Being a skeptical sort, I decided to verify the accuracy of the CPI propaganda issued by the Bureau of Lies and Scams. The combination of the internet and memories from my youth provide a powerful and accurate assessment about the truthfulness of our government. I decided to create a chart of goods and services that average Americans have spent their hard earned wages on for decades. In a matter of minutes I was able to obtain prices from 1971 for various items common to most people. I was eight years old in 1971, being raised in a middle class one earner household on the salary of a truck driver. The chart below provides the proof the government CPI data is a bad joke and the American people are the butt of that joke.
The BLS tells me the CPI has risen by 473% since 1971. The very same agency also tells me average hourly earnings have risen by 464% since 1971. This means the average worker is earning less than they did in 1971 in real terms. The median wage per worker has lagged CPI dramatically, as the averages have been skewed by those making outrageous compensation in the financial world. Median household income has barely kept pace with inflation even though households were forced to send both parents into the workforce, with the expected consequences of higher divorce rates and children left to fend for themselves or be raised by strangers. By the government’s own measures, the average American’s standard of living has fallen since 1971. But, we also know the government has been manipulating the CPI figure lower since the mid-1980′s. After examining the true cost increases for housing, transportation, energy, food, education and entertainment, you would have to be brain dead or an Ivy League economist to believe inflation since 1971 has only been 473%. If home prices and car prices are 800% higher, while the energy needed to power and heat them are 900% to 1,000% higher, and the cost of food is 500% to 1,000% higher, how could the CPI only be 473% higher? There are far more people going to college today than in 1971. With college tuition 1,500% higher, how can this not be reflected in the CPI? It certainly isn’t because the education is better. Statistics show the uneducated poor are more likely to smoke. Lucky for them, cigarette prices have risen at a rate of 4 times CPI due to the government taxing the crap out of them to fund their various taxpayer boondoggles. Inflation always hurts the poor and enriches the peddlers of debt. My dad would take me to the brand new Veterans Stadium (built for $50 million in 1971) to see the Phillies in the early 1970′s. He paid $2.00 for a general admission seat and kids got in for 50 cents. We would buy a bag of soft pretzels outside the stadium and bring them into the park. We’d get a hot dog and soda for another $1. The entire outing to see a baseball game was about $5. Today, if I wanted to bring my family of five to a Phillies game at Citizen Bank Park (built for $458 million and paid for by the taxpayer) the lowest cost for the outing would be about $200. In 1971, you could spend a vacation week at the Jersey shore for $200. Now it gets you 3 hours of watching spoiled millionaires playing a child’s game while sitting with a bunch of foul mouthed drunks. I also found it fascinating that the most regressive tax on earth, the Social Security tax, which hammers the poor and middle class while leaving the rich virtually unscathed has gone up by 2,100% since 1971. The rate in 1971 was 5.2% and the maximum salary level was $7,800. Today, the rate is 7.65% and the maximum level is $113,700. This increased cost for every middle class American is not factored into the inflation figures. Why would the government need to increase the maximum taxable wages by 1,500% when wages have gone up by less than 500%? The hard working truck driver bears the full impact, while Jamie Dimon not so much. So now that I’ve proved beyond a shadow of a doubt the prices of everything we need to live have far outpaced our wages and the patently false drivel published by the BLS and parroted by the MSM, what are the implications? Well that is an easy one and is summed up by the last two entries in the chart. The average American has been lured into $16 trillion of debt over the last forty years in a pathetic attempt to keep up with the Joneses. Consumer credit (credit cards, auto loans, student loans) has gone up by 2,100% and mortgage debt has gone up by 2,500%. The American people have been sold a false lifestyle dream built on easy credit by evil bankers and Madison Avenue PR maggots. There are those who would blame the people who have chosen to live far beyond their means. They have a point. The American people certainly haven’t shown a penchant for delayed gratification, saving for the future, or consuming less than they produce. But it takes two to tango and the lead in this dance of debt has been and continues to be the Federal Reserve and their Wall Street bank owners. It’s always reasonable to ask – Who benefits? – when trying to figure out why something has happened over time. Did the American people benefit by increasing the debt owed to Wall Street banks from $650 billion in 1971 to $16.25 trillion today? I don’t think so, based upon the visible deterioration I am witnessing in my suburban paradise. The financialization of America; where Wall Street con artists,shysters and swindlers rake in billions for shuffling paper and making risky casino bets; mega-corporations ship blue collar middle class jobs to Asia in an all out effort to increase quarterly profits; politicians spend future generations into the poor house in order to get re-elected; and the Federal Reserve purposefully creates monetary inflation to prop up the corrupt system; has systematically destroyed the working middle class and created generations of debt slaves. The American people have been foolish, infantile, and easily duped. But it is clear to me who the real culprits in our long downward spiral have been. Lord Acton stated the obvious, many years ago:
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| TF Metals Report: Is MorganChase buying all that gold for China? Posted: 18 Dec 2013 04:13 PM PST 7:10p ET Wednesday, December 18, 2013 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Gold delivery data from the New York Commodities Exchange has gotten the TF Metal Report's Turd Ferguson wondering whether JPMorganChase is actually the buyer for China in the United States. Ferguson's commentary is headlined "Another Thought Experiment" and it's posted at the TF Metals Report's Internet site here: http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/blog/5322/another-thought-experiment CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer ADVERTISEMENT Buy metals at GoldMoney and enjoy international storage GoldMoney was established in 2001 by James and Geoff Turk and is safeguarding more than $1.7 billion in metals and currencies. Buy gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from GoldMoney over the Internet and store them in vaults in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, taking advantage of GoldMoney's low storage rates, among the most competitive in the industry. GoldMoney also offers delivery of 100-gram and 1-kilogram gold bars and 1-kilogram silver bars. To learn more, please visit: http://www.goldmoney.com/?gmrefcode=gata Join GATA here: Vancouver Resource Investment Conference http://www.cambridgehouse.com/event/vancouver-resource-investment-confer... Mines and Money Hong Kong http://www.minesandmoney.com/hongkong/ * * * Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006: http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt: Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009: http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal Help keep GATA going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: To contribute to GATA, please visit: ADVERTISEMENT How to profit with silver -- Future Money Trends is offering a special 16-page silver report with our forecast for 2013 that includes profiles of nine companies and technical analysis of their stock performance. Six of the companies have market capitalizations of less than $800 million and one company has a market cap of only $30 million. The most exciting of these companies will begin production in a few weeks and has a market cap of just $150 million. Half of all proceeds from the sale of this report will be donated to the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee to support its efforts exposing manipulation and fraud in the gold and silver markets. To learn about this report, please visit: http://www.futuremoneytrends.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=376&tmp... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jan Skoyles: Did China's announcement expose bitcoin's weak spot? Posted: 18 Dec 2013 03:50 PM PST 6:51p ET Wednesday, December 18, 2013 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Having banned a bitcoin exchange from taking yuan deposits, The Real Asset Co.'s Jan Skoyles writes, China has shown that digital currencies are far from invincible against government. Skoyles' commentary is headlined "Did China's Announcement Expose Bitcoin's Weak Spot?" and it's posted at The Real Asset Co.'s Internet site here: http://therealasset.co.uk/china-bitcoin-weak-spot/ CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer ADVERTISEMENT You Don't Have to Wait for Your Monetary Metal: Many investors lately report having to wait weeks and even months for delivery of their precious metal orders. All Pro Gold works with the largest wholesalers that have inventory "live" -- ready to go. All Pro Gold can ship these "live" gold and silver products as soon as payment funds clear. All Pro Gold can provide immediate delivery of 100-ounce Johnson Matthey silver bars, bags of 90 percent junk silver coins, and 1-ounce silver Austrian Philharmonics. All Pro Gold can deliver silver Canadian maple leafs with a two-day delay and 1-ounce U.S. silver eagles with a 15-day delay. Traditional 1-ounce gold bullion coins and mint-state generic gold double eagles are also available for immediate delivery. All Pro Gold has competitive pricing, and its proprietors, longtime GATA supporters Fred Goldstein and Tim Murphy, are glad to answer any questions or concerns of buyers about the acquisition of precious metals and numismatic coins. Learn more at www.allprogold.com or email info@allprogold.com or telephone All Pro Gold toll-free at 1-855-377-4653. Join GATA here: Vancouver Resource Investment Conference http://www.cambridgehouse.com/event/vancouver-resource-investment-confer... Mines and Money Hong Kong http://www.minesandmoney.com/hongkong/ * * * Support GATA by purchasing DVDs of our London conference in August 2011 or our Dawson City conference in August 2006: http://www.goldrush21.com/order.html Or by purchasing a colorful GATA T-shirt: Or a colorful poster of GATA's full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on January 31, 2009: http://gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal Help keep GATA going GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: To contribute to GATA, please visit: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Gold Price Closed Up $4.90 at $1,236.10 Posted: 18 Dec 2013 03:50 PM PST Gold Price Close Today : 1236.10 Change : 4.90 or 0.40% Silver Price Close Today : 20.014 Change : 0.222 or 1.12% Gold Silver Ratio Today : 61.762 Change : -0.445 or -0.72% Silver Gold Ratio Today : 0.01619 Change : 0.000116 or 0.72% Platinum Price Close Today : 1342.20 Change : -1.50 or -0.11% Palladium Price Close Today : 698.40 Change : -1.25 or -0.18% S&P 500 : 1,810.65 Change : 29.65 or 1.66% Dow In GOLD$ : $270.38 Change : $ 3.84 or 1.44% Dow in GOLD oz : 13.080 Change : 0.186 or 1.44% Dow in SILVER oz : 807.83 Change : 5.73 or 0.71% Dow Industrial : 16,167.97 Change : 292.71 or 1.84% US Dollar Index : 80.550 Change : 0.330 or 0.41% Comex closes before the FOMC vomits out its decision, so the GOLD PRICE closed up $4.90 at $1,236.10 while silver gained 22.2 cents to close at 2001.4. Then the FOMC news hit, and the gold price dropped 1.7% to a low at $1,215.20. The SILVER PRICE lost 58.4 cents (2.9%) to a low at 1942c. Both climbed after that, the GOLD PRICE back to $1,220.90 and silver to 1976c. Like the dollar rising, this makes no sense. How is this positive? News that took stocks way up to new highs didn't drive silver and gold to new lows, and they bounced a little after their lows. They act sold out, that is, their woe is not attracting new sellers. But it's too soon to say. Let's see what they do tomorrow. It would be a good sign if they held on above today's lows, and a sign of lower prices if they break those marks. Wait patiently. A low is near. Ahh, me. They said they would taper -- well, sort of. They will reduce long term Treasury bond purchases from $45 billion a month to $40 billion a month, and Mortgage Backed Securities purchases from $40 bn/mo. to $35 bn/mo. That's a total $10 billion reduction from the current $85 bn monthly rate. Y'all are saying now that I ought to eat crow because I said they wouldn't taper but they did. I say, y'all can eat your own crow, because this is no substantial action, only cosmetic. Lo, I shall explain. Say you had a REALLY obese friend who got up to 700 lb. by eating 6,000 calories a day. Now say he calls you up and tells you he is changing his lifestyle and reducing his daily calories to 5,294. You would deduce he is not serious about trimming his waistline, right? The Fed's $10 bn/mo. reduction amounts to the same drop, 11.76%. Instead of creating $1.02 trillion a year, they will be creating only $900 billion a year. Wait, wait! Don't I remember that in September 2008 when the Fed cranked up the money creation machine that the Fed's entire balance sheet was only $939 billion, and it had taken 95 years to get there? And now, after adding $3 trillion in new money, they are going to "taper" by adding "only" $900 billion a year. Aww, shucks! That sure sounds like a solution to me, like buying another case of bourbon is a solution for an alcoholic with the shakes. But trembling Wall Street was relieved to find the Fed would keep on pumping out new money plus promised to keep interest rates low, which they cannot do without continuing to buy bonds. Dow leapt 292.71 (1.84%) to a new high at 16,167.97. Nor was the S&P500 far behind, adding 29.654 (1.66%) to a new high at 1,810.65. Shucks, the millennium has arrived, and the Fed is planning to teach fried chickens to fly so they can just fly right into our mouths. Won't even have the trouble of picking up a drumstick. I will now plainly tell you what the Fed is doing: they are ruining the American economy. They climbed on that tiger of pumping out money to bail out the banks' balance sheets (y'all know, the banks that are Too Big to Fail run by bankers who are Too Big to Jail), keep Wall Street rising, and suppress interest rates. They can probably do this for quite a while, but at some time it will explode all over the Fed, the dollar, and America. They are destroying the economy pimping for the banks. A time for jubilation? Nay, a time to weep and grieve. Dow jumped enough to make a new CLOSING but not a new intraday high, and closed at the top of its range. S&P500 made a new closing but not a new intraday high. From here it must climb or die. 'Twould be very weak if it stops here and vacillates. Seasonally it should rally into year end in any event. On an end of day basis the Dow in Gold made a new high today at 13.28 oz (G$274.52 gold dollars). Oddly enough, the Dow in Silver did not make a new high, but closed above its 20 DMA. Ended at 820.08 oz, up 2.95%. On the announcement that the Federal Reserve would further and surely depreciate the US dollar, the US dollar index -- rose 33 basis points (0.41%) to 80.55. Sure. Right. That makes sense to me. Oh, yeah. This came after a low at 79.50. To the US dollar index's rise the euro fell like a piano off the third story, down 0.62% to $1.3684. Japanese yen crumpled 1.56%, falling to 95.92 cents per Y100, by far a new low for the move and way below the May low at 96.41c. SPECIAL OFFER: British sovereigns One of the world's most common gold coins is the British sovereign, thanks to the British empire. It is 22 karat (91-2/3% pure gold) and has a net gold content of nearly a quarter ounce, namely, 0.2354 troy ounce. We bought a slug of sovereigns today, and would like to find them a happy home. Yes, these are great survival coins, since they're in a small size and widely recognized and very liquid. These are all old sovereigns, i.e., minted before 1934, so may show a little wear but I guarantee the gold content. They will be a mixture of George V, Edward VII, and the various Victoria types. Head of the sovereign appears on the obverse and Pistrucci's unforgettable St. George slaying the dragon on the reverse. THE OFFER Ten (10) each British Sovereigns, mixed types but all minted before 1935 at $301.95 each, a total of $3019.5 plus $35 shipping for a total of $3,054.5 Based on spot gold at $1,220.90, that's a premium of 5.1% over the gold content and five bucks per coin LESS than our current retail price. Great survival coin (US Air Force used to put them in their downed pilot survival kits). Sorry, I have only Sixteen lots at this price and cannot re-order except at higher prices.. LIMIT two (2) lots per customer. Special Conditions: First come, first served, and no re-orders at these prices. I will write orders based on the time I receive your e-mail. We will not take orders for less than the minimum shown above. All sales on a strict "no-nag" basis. We will ship as soon as your check clears, but we allow Two weeks (14 days) for your check to clear. Calls looking for your order two days after we receive your check will be politely and patiently rebuffed. It increases your chances of getting your order filled if you offer me a second choice, e.g., "I want to order Two lots but if not available will take One lot." ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS: 1. You may order by e-mail only to offers@the-moneychanger.com. No phone orders, please. Please do NOT order by replying to this email, because it will delay your email. Your email must include your complete name, address, and phone number. We cannot ship to you without your address. Sorry, we cannot ship outside the United States or to Tennessee. Repeat, you must include your complete name, address, and phone number. Our clairvoyant quit without warning last week, I tripped, dropped, and smashed my crystal ball, and our fortune-teller is on strike, so I can no longer read your mind. 2. When you buy from us, we cannot later change or cancel the trade. We are giving you our word that we will sell at that price, and you are giving us your word that you will buy at that price, regardless what later happens in the market, up or down. If you break your word to us, we will never again do business with you. 3. Orders are on a first-come, first-served basis until supply is exhausted. 4. "First come, first-served" means that we will enter the orders in the order that we receive them by e-mail. 5. If your order is filled, we will e-mail you a confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation, your order was not filled. 6. You will need to send payment by personal check or bank wire (either one is fine) within 48 hours. It just needs to be in the mail, not in our hands, in 48 hours. 7. "No Nag Basis" means that we allow fourteen (14) days for personal checks to clear before we ship. Want your order faster? Send a bank wire, but that's not required. Once we ship, the post office takes four to fourteen days to get the registered mail package to you. All in all, you'll see your order in about one month if you send a check. 8. Please mention you saw this offer on goldprice.org in your email. Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought. - Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger The-MoneyChanger.com © 2013, The Moneychanger. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission. To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary is up targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stocks' primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold or 18 ounces of silver. or 18 ounces of silver. US $ and US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate bubble has burst, primary trend down. WARNING AND DISCLAIMER. Be advised and warned: Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures. NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day one or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps. NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced. NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt. What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands. One final warning: NEVER insert a 747 Jumbo Jet up your nose. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Gold Price Closed Up $4.90 at $1,236.10 Posted: 18 Dec 2013 03:50 PM PST Gold Price Close Today : 1236.10 Change : 4.90 or 0.40% Silver Price Close Today : 20.014 Change : 0.222 or 1.12% Gold Silver Ratio Today : 61.762 Change : -0.445 or -0.72% Silver Gold Ratio Today : 0.01619 Change : 0.000116 or 0.72% Platinum Price Close Today : 1342.20 Change : -1.50 or -0.11% Palladium Price Close Today : 698.40 Change : -1.25 or -0.18% S&P 500 : 1,810.65 Change : 29.65 or 1.66% Dow In GOLD$ : $270.38 Change : $ 3.84 or 1.44% Dow in GOLD oz : 13.080 Change : 0.186 or 1.44% Dow in SILVER oz : 807.83 Change : 5.73 or 0.71% Dow Industrial : 16,167.97 Change : 292.71 or 1.84% US Dollar Index : 80.550 Change : 0.330 or 0.41% Comex closes before the FOMC vomits out its decision, so the GOLD PRICE closed up $4.90 at $1,236.10 while silver gained 22.2 cents to close at 2001.4. Then the FOMC news hit, and the gold price dropped 1.7% to a low at $1,215.20. The SILVER PRICE lost 58.4 cents (2.9%) to a low at 1942c. Both climbed after that, the GOLD PRICE back to $1,220.90 and silver to 1976c. Like the dollar rising, this makes no sense. How is this positive? News that took stocks way up to new highs didn't drive silver and gold to new lows, and they bounced a little after their lows. They act sold out, that is, their woe is not attracting new sellers. But it's too soon to say. Let's see what they do tomorrow. It would be a good sign if they held on above today's lows, and a sign of lower prices if they break those marks. Wait patiently. A low is near. Ahh, me. They said they would taper -- well, sort of. They will reduce long term Treasury bond purchases from $45 billion a month to $40 billion a month, and Mortgage Backed Securities purchases from $40 bn/mo. to $35 bn/mo. That's a total $10 billion reduction from the current $85 bn monthly rate. Y'all are saying now that I ought to eat crow because I said they wouldn't taper but they did. I say, y'all can eat your own crow, because this is no substantial action, only cosmetic. Lo, I shall explain. Say you had a REALLY obese friend who got up to 700 lb. by eating 6,000 calories a day. Now say he calls you up and tells you he is changing his lifestyle and reducing his daily calories to 5,294. You would deduce he is not serious about trimming his waistline, right? The Fed's $10 bn/mo. reduction amounts to the same drop, 11.76%. Instead of creating $1.02 trillion a year, they will be creating only $900 billion a year. Wait, wait! Don't I remember that in September 2008 when the Fed cranked up the money creation machine that the Fed's entire balance sheet was only $939 billion, and it had taken 95 years to get there? And now, after adding $3 trillion in new money, they are going to "taper" by adding "only" $900 billion a year. Aww, shucks! That sure sounds like a solution to me, like buying another case of bourbon is a solution for an alcoholic with the shakes. But trembling Wall Street was relieved to find the Fed would keep on pumping out new money plus promised to keep interest rates low, which they cannot do without continuing to buy bonds. Dow leapt 292.71 (1.84%) to a new high at 16,167.97. Nor was the S&P500 far behind, adding 29.654 (1.66%) to a new high at 1,810.65. Shucks, the millennium has arrived, and the Fed is planning to teach fried chickens to fly so they can just fly right into our mouths. Won't even have the trouble of picking up a drumstick. I will now plainly tell you what the Fed is doing: they are ruining the American economy. They climbed on that tiger of pumping out money to bail out the banks' balance sheets (y'all know, the banks that are Too Big to Fail run by bankers who are Too Big to Jail), keep Wall Street rising, and suppress interest rates. They can probably do this for quite a while, but at some time it will explode all over the Fed, the dollar, and America. They are destroying the economy pimping for the banks. A time for jubilation? Nay, a time to weep and grieve. Dow jumped enough to make a new CLOSING but not a new intraday high, and closed at the top of its range. S&P500 made a new closing but not a new intraday high. From here it must climb or die. 'Twould be very weak if it stops here and vacillates. Seasonally it should rally into year end in any event. On an end of day basis the Dow in Gold made a new high today at 13.28 oz (G$274.52 gold dollars). Oddly enough, the Dow in Silver did not make a new high, but closed above its 20 DMA. Ended at 820.08 oz, up 2.95%. On the announcement that the Federal Reserve would further and surely depreciate the US dollar, the US dollar index -- rose 33 basis points (0.41%) to 80.55. Sure. Right. That makes sense to me. Oh, yeah. This came after a low at 79.50. To the US dollar index's rise the euro fell like a piano off the third story, down 0.62% to $1.3684. Japanese yen crumpled 1.56%, falling to 95.92 cents per Y100, by far a new low for the move and way below the May low at 96.41c. SPECIAL OFFER: British sovereigns One of the world's most common gold coins is the British sovereign, thanks to the British empire. It is 22 karat (91-2/3% pure gold) and has a net gold content of nearly a quarter ounce, namely, 0.2354 troy ounce. We bought a slug of sovereigns today, and would like to find them a happy home. Yes, these are great survival coins, since they're in a small size and widely recognized and very liquid. These are all old sovereigns, i.e., minted before 1934, so may show a little wear but I guarantee the gold content. They will be a mixture of George V, Edward VII, and the various Victoria types. Head of the sovereign appears on the obverse and Pistrucci's unforgettable St. George slaying the dragon on the reverse. THE OFFER Ten (10) each British Sovereigns, mixed types but all minted before 1935 at $301.95 each, a total of $3019.5 plus $35 shipping for a total of $3,054.5 Based on spot gold at $1,220.90, that's a premium of 5.1% over the gold content and five bucks per coin LESS than our current retail price. Great survival coin (US Air Force used to put them in their downed pilot survival kits). Sorry, I have only Sixteen lots at this price and cannot re-order except at higher prices.. LIMIT two (2) lots per customer. Special Conditions: First come, first served, and no re-orders at these prices. I will write orders based on the time I receive your e-mail. We will not take orders for less than the minimum shown above. All sales on a strict "no-nag" basis. We will ship as soon as your check clears, but we allow Two weeks (14 days) for your check to clear. Calls looking for your order two days after we receive your check will be politely and patiently rebuffed. It increases your chances of getting your order filled if you offer me a second choice, e.g., "I want to order Two lots but if not available will take One lot." ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS: 1. You may order by e-mail only to offers@the-moneychanger.com. No phone orders, please. Please do NOT order by replying to this email, because it will delay your email. Your email must include your complete name, address, and phone number. We cannot ship to you without your address. Sorry, we cannot ship outside the United States or to Tennessee. Repeat, you must include your complete name, address, and phone number. Our clairvoyant quit without warning last week, I tripped, dropped, and smashed my crystal ball, and our fortune-teller is on strike, so I can no longer read your mind. 2. When you buy from us, we cannot later change or cancel the trade. We are giving you our word that we will sell at that price, and you are giving us your word that you will buy at that price, regardless what later happens in the market, up or down. If you break your word to us, we will never again do business with you. 3. Orders are on a first-come, first-served basis until supply is exhausted. 4. "First come, first-served" means that we will enter the orders in the order that we receive them by e-mail. 5. If your order is filled, we will e-mail you a confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation, your order was not filled. 6. You will need to send payment by personal check or bank wire (either one is fine) within 48 hours. It just needs to be in the mail, not in our hands, in 48 hours. 7. "No Nag Basis" means that we allow fourteen (14) days for personal checks to clear before we ship. Want your order faster? Send a bank wire, but that's not required. Once we ship, the post office takes four to fourteen days to get the registered mail package to you. All in all, you'll see your order in about one month if you send a check. 8. Please mention you saw this offer on goldprice.org in your email. Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought. - Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger The-MoneyChanger.com © 2013, The Moneychanger. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission. To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary is up targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stocks' primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold or 18 ounces of silver. or 18 ounces of silver. US $ and US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate bubble has burst, primary trend down. WARNING AND DISCLAIMER. Be advised and warned: Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures. NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day one or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps. NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced. NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt. What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands. One final warning: NEVER insert a 747 Jumbo Jet up your nose. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Dollar’s Demise and the Rise of Bitcoin Posted: 18 Dec 2013 09:13 AM PST One of the questions investors have been asking lately concerns the outlook for the U.S. dollar index. Investors are understandably concerned by the dollar’s weakness and worry that perhaps that any notable increase in inflation could lead to further erosion in the dollar’s value. |
For investors having a rooting interest in the price of gold, the catalyst for a recovery may be in sight. “Buy gold if you believe in math,” Brent Johnson, CEO of Santiago Capital, recently told CNBC viewers.
Today was pretty much what I had expected. It was Christmas meat on the table from the Fed, mostly roasted jawbone. The ‘taper’ was meaningless, except to take the talk about when it would start off the table. The FOMC went out of its way in the verbage to signal accommodative policy and money for nothing for the foreseeable future.
About a month ago, I was maligned and pilloried by some detractors for having the audacity to suggest that the reported Comex vault stock numbers were obviously dubious. Other bloggers suggested that the deposits in question were easily explained by the deposit of 99.99% pure, Asian kilobars. OK, maybe. For fun today, I thought we’d take these folks at their word and see where it leads us.
Gold’s Triangle, Tax Loss Selling Pressure and a Surfeit of Bearish Sentiment
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