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• What’s the Difference Between Fascism, Communism and Crony-Capitalism?
• HFT: Rise of the Machines
• Former presidential aide acknowledges causes for gold price suppression
• Koos Jansen’s Exhaustive Summary of the Chinese Gold Market
• Fed to the Sharks, Part 2: Housing and the Death of the Middle Class
• It’s Time to Retire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a Measure of Prosperity
• Ukraine Hryvnia Collapses Nearly 70% Against Gold In 4 Months
• Salman Partners' Raymond Goldie: Copper Is Pathological And Suffers From SAD, But It Has Value
• Last Day to Grab Silver Buffs at SDBullion at 65 Cents Over Spot, ANY QTY!
• How to momentum trade gold and silver stocks
• Silver Conspiracy Fact Versus Conspiracy Theory
• Crux Quick Links: April 18, 2014
• Silver and Golden Choice to Expand Options in Money?
• Platinum Producers Capitulate on Union Pay Demand
• Matt Taibbi: The SuperRich in America Have Become "Untouchables" Who Don't Go to Prison
• Five King World News Blogs
• Paper Gold Falls in West, but Premium for Real Metal Jumps in India
• Asia Takes Every Ounce West Unloads, but Gold Will Fall for Two Years, GFMS Says
• General Mills Retreats an Inch on Its Mandatory Arbitration Overreach
• How to Momentum Trade Gold and Silver Stocks
• Japanese Gold reserves, end of last month
• Economic Outlook Darkens
• Gold Silver prices weak when there is every reason for it to go up
• Ukraine Tension Takes a Back Seat as Silver Hits Lowest Price Since February
• Scorpio Gold Provides Fourth Quarter Report and 2013 Year End Financial Results
• Jim Willie: Fed Has Lost Control, Systemic Failure Flashing Warning Signals Now!
• Gold, Silver Fall on Week; US Mint Bullion Coins Quicken
• GOFO Rates Plunging- Are We On the Verge of Another Rally?
• The Doc: Gov’t Planning CYPRUS-Style BAIL-INS!
• april 17/Today we lost another 3.29 tonnes of gold at GLD/SLV remains constant/Gold and silver fall marginally/
• First Majestic Announces US$30M Forward Sale Contract on Lead Production
• Holter muses on Chinas silver scheme; Barron doubts new raid on gold ETFs
• Russia and Ukraine just ended talks to "de-escalate" crisis. Here's what you should know.
• Gold Still Trading Heavy
• [KR589] Keiser Report: Chained American Dream
• This could be the most important news of the year. And you probably haven't heard it.

What’s the Difference Between Fascism, Communism and Crony-Capitalism? Posted: 18 Apr 2014 10:30 AM PDT The essence of crony-capitalism is the merger of state and corporate power–the definition of fascism. When it comes to the real world, the difference between fascism, communism and crony-capitalism is semantic. Let’s start with everyone’s favorite hot-word, fascism, which Italian dictator Benito Mussolini defined as “the merger of state and corporate power.” In other words, the state and [...] The post What’s the Difference Between Fascism, Communism and Crony-Capitalism? appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: A First Look at a New Report on Crony Capitalism – Trillions in Corporate Welfare Silver Update: Crony Capitalism Theft Is Deflationary–Especially the Crony-Capitalist/State Kind

HFT: Rise of the Machines Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:15 AM PDT No one has ever claimed that the financial markets are a level playing field. Equities, bonds, currencies, options and futures are not arenas that operate by equivalent standards for all parties. Great fortunes were built not by chance, but on superior information, known to the few. Professional traders are not risk gamblers, but operate on [...] The post HFT: Rise of the Machines appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Gone in Sixty Nanoseconds and other “Knight-Time” Stories w/David Greenberg! Inside Job Director Charles Ferguson on the Financial Landscape after 2008 JP Morgan Warns Gold to Go Parabolic and Rise to $2,500 By Year End

Former presidential aide acknowledges causes for gold price suppression Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:01 AM PDT GATA

Koos Jansen’s Exhaustive Summary of the Chinese Gold Market Posted: 18 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT On April 4, 2014 Alasdair Macleod published an extensive analysis on the Chinese gold market.  I felt obligated to respond to it by sharing my point of view and explain where I disagree with his analysis.  I think his estimates are largely overstated because he double counts certain demand categories.  Macleod states Chinese gold demand in 2013 [...] The post Koos Jansen’s Exhaustive Summary of the Chinese Gold Market appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Chinese Gold Demand 418 Tonnes YTD, West Confused Chinese Gold Demand Hits 488 tons YTD, Up 29 %! Shanghai Gold Exchange Physical Delivery Equals Chinese Demand

Fed to the Sharks, Part 2: Housing and the Death of the Middle Class Posted: 18 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT The Fed sacrificed the foundation of middle class wealth–stable housing values–to boost bank profits. Middle class wealth was Fed to the sharks. As the current housing bubble deflates, the investor-buyers who fueled the rally are exiting en masse: what’s the value of an asset when the bid vanishes, i.e. there’s nobody left who’s willing to pay [...] The post Fed to the Sharks, Part 2: Housing and the Death of the Middle Class appeared first on Silver Doctors. This post appears to be so unique that there are no related posts. Please keep checking back for updated content.

It’s Time to Retire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a Measure of Prosperity Posted: 18 Apr 2014 06:58 AM PDT What if we used wellness (Gross Domestic Happiness) as a metric for prosperity rather than GDP? Distilling an economy’s success in delivering “prosperity” to a single number has outlived its purpose. Zachary Karabell describes the birth of GDP in far less complex times in (Mis)leading Indicators: Why Our Economic Numbers Distort Reality (Foreign Affairs): A GDP that is growing in sync with expectations can enhance a country's reputation and thus its strength and power. A GDP that is contracting or failing to meet expectations, on the other hand, can lead to disaster. Yet a hundred years ago, the concept of GDP did not exist; history unfolded without it. The United States, for example, managed to win its independence, fight a civil war, and conquer a continent without any measure of national income.GDP's origins lie in the 1930s, when economists and policymakers in the United States and the United Kingdom struggled to understand and respond to the Great Depression. It is not terribly surprising that economists and policymakers came to favor a statistical technique that helped the United States survive a depression and win a war. But not even the economists who invented this metric imagined that GDP would become so central to every state in the world within a few short decades. The problem is this radical reductionism at the heart of any single measure is irrevocably flawed: Leading indicators were invented to measure the economies of the industrial nation-states of the mid-twentieth century. In their time, they did so brilliantly. The twenty-first century, however, is proving more challenging to measure. Industrial nation-states have given way to developed economies rich in services and to emerging industrial economies exporting goods made by multinational companies. The statistics of the 20th century were not designed for such a reality, and despite the assiduous efforts of statisticians, they cannot keep up.These shifts have created a temptation to find new formulas, better indicators, and new statistics. But the belief that a few simple numbers or basic averages can capture today's multifaceted national and global economic systems is a myth that should be abandoned. Rather than seeking new simple numbers to replace old simple numbers, economists need to tap into the power of the information age to figure out which questions need to be answered and to embrace new ways of answering them. The limitations of GDP are so severe that the number is at best misleading. Karabell identifies three intrinsic flaws in any single-number scheme to measure GDP: 1. GDP does not include vast swaths of economic output and value 2. GDP is useless in measuring real-world trade 3. GDP counts digging a hole and filling it but not conservation of energy or resources. If a steel mill produces pollution that then requires a cleanup, both the initial output (the steel) and the cost of addressing its byproduct (the cleanup) add to GDP. So, too, would the cost of health care for any workers or residents injured or sickened by the pollution. Conversely, if a company replaces its conventional light bulbs with long-lasting LED bulbs and, as a result, spends less on lighting and electricity, the efficiency gains would detract from GDP. Yet few would argue that the pollution example represents a positive development or that the lighting example constitutes a negative one. The simplistic assignment of “import” and “export” completely misses the reality of modern manufacture and trade, where parts come from multiple nations. As Karabell explains: If trade numbers more accurately accounted for how products are made, it is possible that the United States would not have any trade deficit at all with China. The problem, in short, is that trade figures are currently calculated based on the assumption that each product has a single country of origin and that the declared value of that product goes to that country. Thus, every time an iPhone or an iPad rolls off the factory floors of Foxconn (Apple's main contractor in China) and travels to the port of Long Beach, California, it is counted as an import from China.A more reasonable standard, of course, would recognize that iPhones and iPads do not have a single country of origin. More than a dozen companies from at least five countries supply parts for them. Infineon Technologies, in Germany, makes the wireless chip; Toshiba, in Japan, manufactures the touchscreen; and Broadcom, in the United States, makes the Bluetooth chips that let the devices connect to wireless headsets or keyboards. Taking these facts into account would leave China, the supposed country of origin, with a paltry piece of the pie. Analysts estimate that as little as $10 of the value of every iPhone or iPad actually ends up in the Chinese economy, in the form of income paid directly to Foxconn or other contractors. I have addressed this issue for years, for example: Trade War with China: Who Benefits? (April 11, 2007) Trade and “Trade War” with China: Who Benefits? (October 5, 2010) No single number, regardless of the inputs, can possibly reflect the real economy.Karabell concludes: How entrepreneurs run effective businesses; how individuals buy homes, pay for college, or retire — none of those decisions should be based on the leading indicators of the last century. Old attachments to those indicators, and to the myth that there is something called "the economy" that affects all people equally, poses a major obstacle to progress. Karabell also discusses what I call the propaganda value of GDP: These measurements were not invented to serve as absolute markers of national success or failure or to indicate whether some governments were visionary and others destructive. But the transformation of these numbers from statistics into markers of national success happened so quickly over the course of a few decades that no one quite noticed what was happening. I tend to think political authorities knew exactly what was happening: they realized that their own credibility could be boosted by a rigged GDP number. Thus we have the central government of China issuing blatantly bogus claims of 7+% annual GDP, as anything less will severely erode their claim of managerial brilliance. In our own propaganda-dependent state, GDP is almost always positive, much like corporate earnings always beat expectations by a penny. But we should be paying attention to an even deeper critique of GDP: that prosperity no longer depends of the “growth” of consumption, financialization, etc. but on the Degrowth of narcissistic consumerism and more efficient use of resources and capital. What if we used Bhutan’s guiding national policy of Gross Domestic Happiness, as a metric for prosperity? A second-generation GNH concept, treating happiness as a socioeconomic development metric, was proposed in 2006 by Med Jones, the President of International Institute of Management. The metric measures socioeconomic development by tracking seven development areas including the nation’s mental and emotional health.GNH value is proposed to be an index function of the total average per capita of the following measures:1. Economic Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of economic metrics such as consumer debt, average income to consumer price index ratio and income distribution 2. Environmental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of environmental metrics such as pollution, noise and traffic 3. Physical Wellness: Indicated via statistical measurement of physical health metrics such as severe illnesses 4. Mental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of mental health metrics such as usage of antidepressants and rise or decline of psychotherapy patients 5. Workplace Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of labor metrics such as jobless claims, job change, workplace complaints and lawsuits 6. Social Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of social metrics such as discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates 7. Political Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of political metrics such as the quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts. Here in the U.S., we give lip-service to all these values, but ask yourself: where do we spend most of our time? Serving our masters in the State/crony-cartel economy, creating GDP. Yes, we all still need to earn a livelihood, but imagine a society constructed around generating Gross Domestic Happiness instead of GDP. The power structure would collapse because none of these activities generate enough profits or taxes to keep the Machine operational. It is a sad statement that we often only awaken to real value and meaning when we’ve run out of time to change the way we “invest” our time. Want to give an enduringly practical graduation gift? Then give my new book Get a Job, Build a Real Career and Defy a Bewildering Economy, a mere $9.95 for the Kindle ebook edition and $17.76 for the print edition.

Ukraine Hryvnia Collapses Nearly 70% Against Gold In 4 Months Posted: 18 Apr 2014 06:15 AM PDT GOLD IN UKRAINE CURRENCY SURGES ANOTHER 7% THIS WEEK – COLLAPSE CONTINUES This is particularly evident in Ukraine where the economy is nearing collapse and the currency is in free fall. The Hryvnia has been the world's worst performing currency in 2014. The charts below gives an indication as to the terrifying magnitude and speed [...] The post Ukraine Hryvnia Collapses Nearly 70% Against Gold In 4 Months appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Ukraine Proposes Depositor Bail-in On Deposits Over 100,000 Hryvnia Ukrainian Currency Collapses By 28% Against Gold In 4 Days Jim Sinclair: A Romney Election Means $3,500 Gold & A Dollar Collapse Within 6-9 Months!!

Salman Partners' Raymond Goldie: Copper Is Pathological And Suffers From SAD, But It Has Value Posted: 18 Apr 2014 06:15 AM PDT Dr. Copper may be in a supercycle, but there are serious problems. In this interview with The Gold Report, Salman Partners' Vice President of Commodity Economics, Raymond Goldie explains why even though the base metal acts pathologically and has a bad case of seasonal affective disorder, these three equities are priced below their intrinsic value. The Gold Report: You are giving a presentation at the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Current Trends in Mining Finance Conference called Diagnosing the Doctor, which refers to assessing the supply and demand problems for Dr. Copper as a way to understand what is ailing all the mining products today. Are we in a supercycle? What is the meaning of a sustainable supercycle? Raymond Goldie: I suppose it's best to answer your second question first - What is the meaning of a sustainable supercycle? - because a lot

Last Day to Grab Silver Buffs at SDBullion at 65 Cents Over Spot, ANY QTY! Posted: 18 Apr 2014 06:00 AM PDT Today is your last chance to stack Silver Buffalo rounds at 65 cents over spot, ANY QTY! & Sale ends at 5pm EST! Click or call 800-294-8732! The post Last Day to Grab Silver Buffs at SDBullion at 65 Cents Over Spot, ANY QTY! appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: SDBlowout! 2014 Silver Buffs 65 Cents Over Spot, ANY QTY! Small Stacker Day: Silver Buffs Only 89 Cents Over Spot, ANY QTY! March Madness Blowout! Silver Buffs As Low As 68 Cents Over Spot!

How to momentum trade gold and silver stocks Posted: 18 Apr 2014 05:56 AM PDT How and why momentum trading works with gold stocks and silver stocks.

Silver Conspiracy Fact Versus Conspiracy Theory Posted: 18 Apr 2014 04:55 AM PDT marketoracle

Crux Quick Links: April 18, 2014 Posted: 18 Apr 2014 04:07 AM PDT Editor's note: The markets are closed today, but the world keeps turning...   USAToday shocked the world last night: "Leaflet tells Jews to register in East Ukraine"  But turns out, the story is not what it appears to be...   And the highest returning "asset" class in CNBC's 25 years is... No, not the S&P 500...   A Nevada rancher explains why the cowboys helped Cliven Bundy resist the federal government "Most of these people lost their livelihoods because of the actions of the BLM..."   And a side of the Nevada ranch stand-off you haven't seen "The next time you hear some bleeding heart environmentalist talking about the federal government 'protecting' the land and 'saving' the animals, kindly direct them to this..."   Wal-Mart just expanded into a brand new sector "A huge footprint that could reshape that industry..." ---------------------------Recommended Link--------------------------- Why Porter Stansberry is FURIOUS right now A situation he's facing for the first time in S&A's 15-year business… Why it's happening… And how it could make you rich. Click here to learn more -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Incredible Exchange: Russian president Putin just got grilled by NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden on live TV "Our secret services, thank God, are controlled by our society and by the law..."   World's biggest hypocrite?: How to become a millionaire by lamenting income inequality "The pay is $225,000 a year, plus a $10,000 expense budget – and the distinguished prof gets summers off..."   Astounding energy fact of the day: Net petroleum imports hit 28-year low... and falling "America's petroleum supplied by foreign sources has fallen from 62% in early 2007 to below 30% this year..."   Thanks, Obama! Obamacare really IS changing U.S. medicine for the better "A private line where they can call the doctor any time... even house calls..."   Precious metals: "One of the greatest opportunities in more than a decade" "A massive outperformance by the mining shares vs. the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and the NASDAQ..."  ---------------------------Recommended Link--------------------------- "Do not read this book" A new book has recently hit the market that could pose a serious threat to the financial industry. Many brokers, money managers, and financial advisories will likely advise their clients not to read it. And even though this book may ultimately hurt the financial newsletter business, we want you to have a copy. Click here to get yours. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MUST SEE: Rare historical photos come to life... "From Life magazine, Library of Congress, Shorpy and National Geographic..."   This is the easy way to "de-clutter" your home (and your life) "I had painlessly removed almost 1,500 items from my home..."   Get ready: "Kill Switches" are coming to your cell phone in 14 months "All smartphones... in the United States after July 2015 must have the technology..."   Are you suffering from "manopause?" Here are 5 facts every man must know. "More of a continuous process, potentially affecting a man for decades..."   The Onion: FBI discovers Al-Qaeda plot to just sit back and enjoy the collapse of the United States "Ayman al-Zawahiri chillingly exhorts his followers to "take a load off" and "unwind" in the name of jihad..." ---------------------------Recommended Link--------------------------- The world's next reserve currency The dollar's reign is over. But knowing what will replace it will make some investors a fortune. Click here for the full story. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below: "The Truth about Taxes," by Stephan Molyneux (Warning: some explicit language used)   Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Silver and Golden Choice to Expand Options in Money? Posted: 18 Apr 2014 03:32 AM PDT Arizona legal tender bill SB1096 attempts to account for details of implementation which Governor Jan Brewer said was the main reason for her veto despite enthusiastic support of her constituency in 2013. Description:  States looks forward to precious metals options in choice of money, sees support in Committees read more

Platinum Producers Capitulate on Union Pay Demand Posted: 18 Apr 2014 02:19 AM PDT "Wonder why palladium and platinum didn't head south at the same time" ¤ Yesterday In Gold & Silver [NOTE: Unless the precious metal markets are open in New York today---and there's something worth reporting if they are---I can absolutely guarantee that I won't have a column tomorrow.] Gold chopped around the $1,300 price mark for all of the Far East and early London trading sessions yesterday.  The price rallied a bit more convincingly above the $1,300 mark once the noon silver fix in London was in---but that ended an hour later---20 minutes before the Comex open.  It was all downhill from there, with an extra kick in the pants starting at noon in New York.  By 1:10 p.m. EDT, the price was down another $7---and then traded sideways into the close. The CME Group recorded the high and low ticks at $1,304.40 and $1,292.80 in the June contract. Gold closed in New York at $1,294.60 spot, down $7.60 from Wednesday.  Volume, net of April and May, wasn't overly heavy at 111,000 contracts. Not much happened in silver yesterday---and the price action really doesn't merit any comment at all---except for the fact that it was the only precious metal that didn't get kicked in the teeth during the New York lunch hour.  The low and high ticks aren't worth looking up, either. Silver closed in New York at $19.65 spot, up two cents from Thursday.  Net volume was very light at around 19,500 contracts. Platinum traded pretty flat up until about 12:30 p.m. in New York---and at that point, the roof caved in.  Platinum finished down $26 on the day.  And I thought for sure that palladium was finally going to close well above the $800 spot price mark, but JPMorgan et al. showed up shortly before 1 p.m. EDT and put an end to that.  Palladium closed down $5---and back below $800 per ounce. Now there was news on the strike front that Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum had made a "startling" offer to AMCU, but if that was the real reason for the selloffs in both platinum and palladium, why did they occur at different times---and not simultaneously?  Just asking. The dollar index finished the Wednesday trading session in New York at 79.83---but by 10:45 BST in London, it was down to its 79.59 low.  The subsequent rally took the index back up to 79.84 by 12:30 p.m. EDT---and the index didn't do much after that.  It finished the Thursday session almost where it started---at 79.85. Once again the gold stocks opened in positive territory---and for the most part remained in the black until the gold price got sold down $5 starting around lunchtime in New York.  Then the shares headed south as well, and the HUI finished down another 0.92%---and on its absolute low of the day. Despite the fact that silver outperformed gold in the New York trading session---and actually finished up on the day, that didn't affect the silver equities, as they continued to sell off as the Thursday trading session wore on.  Nick Laird's Intraday Silver Sentiment Index closed down 1.17%. The CME's Daily Delivery Report showed that five gold and 20 silver contracts were posted for delivery within the Comex-approved depositories on Tuesday.  ABN Amro was the short/issuer on the 20 silver contracts---and Canada's Scotiabank took delivery of all of them.  The link to yesterday's Issuers and Stoppers Report is here. Another day---and another withdrawal from GLD.  This time an authorized participant took out 105,965 troy ounces.  And as of 9:10 p.m. EDT yesterday evening, there were no reported changes in SLV. Joshua Gibbons, the "Guru of the SLV Bar List" updated his website with the internal goings-on within SLV for the end of their reporting week on Wednesday---and this is what he had to say:  "Analysis of the 16 April 2014 bar list, and comparison to the previous week's list.  No bars were added, removed, or had serial number changes.  As of the time that the bar list was produced, it was overallocated 39.6 oz.  All daily changes are reflected on the bar list."  As you know, dear reader, despite the big decline in the silver price recently, there has been no in/out activity over at SLV worthy of the name---and I'm really starting to wonder why that is.  The link to Joshua's website is here. There was no sales report from the US Mint. Over at the Comex-approved depositories on Wednesday, they showed that only a tiny 353 troy ounces of gold were shipped out---and none was reported received.  I shan't bother with the link. Of course it was a different story in silver, as it almost always is.  There was nothing reported received---and 802,042 troy ounces were reported shipped out.  It was JPMorgan and Canada's Scotiabank doing the honours---and the link to that activity is here. Here's a FRED chart that Casey Research's BIG GOLD editor Jeff Clark sent my way yesterday---and it has finally cracked the $4 trillion mark.  Jeff mentioned that "It was $855 billion in April 2008, so that's a 368% increase in six years." I have the usual number of stories for a weekday column---and I hope you find some you like.  Because of the Good Friday holiday,  I probably won't have a column tomorrow, because all the market are closed, so I've included all the stories that I've been saving for that---and some of them are truly incredible. ¤ Critical Reads NYT: Rents No Longer "Affordable" for Most Americans Demand for rental housing has soared over the past seven years, and that has pushed rents higher than many middle-class Americans can afford to pay. A rule of thumb is that households shouldn't pay more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. But now half of U.S. renters devote more than 30% of their income to housing, up from 38% in 2000, revealed a report from Harvard University. Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan has called this "the worst rental affordability crisis that this country has ever known." The story from The New York Times showed up on the moneynews.com Internet site early Wednesday afternoon EDT---and today's first news item is courtesy of West Virginia reader Elliot Simon. IHS Economist: "Living Standards Will Suffer" as Food Prices Surge Food prices are registering sharp gains, climbing 0.4% in both February and March and threatening to put a damper on the economy. What's happening is that wholesalers have raised the prices they charge grocers, and grocers in turn have passed along the increases to their customers, USA Today reports. That obviously creates a hardship for consumers, who account for about 70% of GDP. "Living standards will suffer, as a larger percentage of household budgets are spent on grocery store bills, leaving less for discretionary spending," Chris Christopher, an economist at IHS Global Insight, told USA Today. The bad news may not be over. California's drought will probably push prices upward this year for fruits and vegetables, including avocados, lettuce and berries, Timothy Richards, a professor at Arizona State University's business school, told the paper. This short article from USA Today on Thursday, was also picked up by the moneynews.com Internet site---and it's also courtesy of Elliot Simon. Hedge Funds Post Worst First-Quarter Results Since 2008 It’s time again for another installment of “Hedge Funds Are a Ripoff,” our long-running series chronicling the asset class’s habit of underperforming far less exotic investments while charging more and limiting clients’ access to their own money. Hedge funds posted their worst first-quarter results since 2008, according to financial data service Preqin, whose “All Hedge Fund Strategies” index shows a gain of 1.2% since the start of the year. That compares with a 1.8% total return for the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index through March 31. Hedge funds have badly trailed plain-vanilla equities over the past 12 months, gaining 8.53% vs. 19.32% for the S&P. In 2013, the gap between hedge funds and stocks was the widest since 2005. Defenders of hedge funds often get exasperated when the asset class gets compared with stocks: The investments are not supposed to outperform equities when the market is on a tear, this argument goes—they operate complicated strategies that hedge against lots of contingencies, so that they do well in all types of weather. Well, nobody would call 2014 a bull market, and hedge funds aren’t exactly shining now, either. This piece appeared on the businessweek.com Internet site on Wednesday---and I found it in yesterday's edition of the King Report. Matt Taibbi: The SuperRich in America Have Become "Untouchables" Who Don't Go to Prison Earlier this month, attorney James Kidney, who was retiring from the Securities and Exchange Commission, gave a widely reported speech at his retirement party. He said that his bosses were too "tentative and fearful" to hold Wall Street accountable for the 2008 economic meltdown. Kidney, who joined the SEC in 1986, had tried and failed to bring charges against more executives in the agency’s 2010 case against Goldman Sachs. He said the SEC has become "an agency that polices the broken windows on the street level and rarely goes to the penthouse floors. ... Tough enforcement, risky enforcement, is subject to extensive negotiation and weakening," he said. Well, for more, we turn to our guest Matt Taibbi, award-winning journalist formerly with Rolling Stone magazine, now with First Look Media. His new book is called The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap. Matt, we welcome you back to Democracy Now! It’s a remarkable, important, certainly needed book in this day and age. Talk about the thesis. What is the divide? This interview/book review was posted on the alternet.org website on Tuesday---and for content and length reasons, had to wait for today's column.  It's the first offering of the day from Roy Stephens.  This will be on my must-read pile for the weekend. After Success on Iran, US Treasury's Sanctions Team Faces New Challenges This is what the modern American war room looks like: the clocks on the wall show the times in Kabul, Tehran and Bogota. The faces around the conference table are mostly young. There is talk of targets, and of middle-of-the-night calls to Europe. But the meeting one recent morning convened deep within the Treasury Department, not the Pentagon. The weapons at hand were not drones or cruise missiles, but financial sanctions, aimed with similar precision at U.S. rivals' economic interests. Before discussing possible next steps against Russia over its annexation of Crimea, Adam Szubin, the slim, boyish-looking director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, thanked his team for putting in a string of sleepless nights to devise sanctions against senior Russian officials and associates of President Vladimir Putin. The measures, rolled out in three executive orders signed by President Barack Obama in March, included blocking the Russians and Bank Rossiya, Russia's 17th-largest bank, from access to the U.S. financial system and freezing their U.S. assets. This longish Reuters story, filed from Washington, was posted on their website late Monday afternoon EDT---and it's another news item that had to wait for today's column.  It's definitely worth reading---and Ambrose Evans-Pritchard touches on it in the story from The Telegraph posted below this one.  I thank internationalman.com senior editor Nick Giambruno for bringing it to our attention. US Financial Showdown with Russia Is More Dangerous Than It Looks, for Both Sides The United States has constructed a financial neutron bomb. For the past 12 years an elite cell at the US Treasury has been sharpening the tools of economic warfare, designing ways to bring almost any country to its knees without firing a shot The strategy relies on hegemonic control over the global banking system, buttressed by a network of allies and the reluctant acquiescence of neutral states. Let us call this the Manhattan Project of the early 21st century. "It is a new kind of war, like a creeping financial insurgency, intended to constrict our enemies' financial lifeblood, unprecedented in its reach and effectiveness," says Juan Zarate, the Treasury and White House official who helped spearhead policy after 9/11. “The new geo-economic game may be more efficient and subtle than past geopolitical competitions, but it is no less ruthless and destructive,” he writes in his book Treasury's War: the Unleashing of a New Era of Financial Warfare. This absolute must read Ambrose Evans-Pritchard commentary showed up on the telegraph.co.uk Internet site very early Wednesday evening BST---and I found it in yesterday's edition of the King Report. Runaway Spy Snowden Is Surprise Guest on Putin Phone-In Edward Snowden, the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor who leaked details of U.S. intelligence eavesdropping, made a surprise appearance on a TV phone-in hosted by Vladimir Putin on Thursday, asking the Russian president if his country also tapped the communications of millions. The exchange was the first known direct contact between Putin and Snowden since Russia gave the American refuge last summer after he disclosed widespread monitoring of telephone and internet data by the United States and fled the country. Snowden was not in the studio with Putin, who angered U.S. President Barack Obama by refusing to send the American home to face espionage charges. He submitted his question in a video clip that a lawyer said had been pre-recorded. Snowden, 30, wearing a jacket and open-collar shirt and speaking before a dark background, asked Putin: "Does Russia intercept, store or analyze, in any way, the communications of millions of individuals?" This must-read Reuters story, filed from Moscow, was posted on their Web site late on Thursday morning EDT---and it's the second contribution to today's column from Roy Stephens. Putin Says it's Impossible for Europe to Stop Buying Russian Gas Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday it would not be possible for Europe, which is trying to cut its reliance on Russian energy, to completely stop buying Russian gas. Putin also said that the transit via Ukraine is the most dangerous element in Europe's gas supply system, and that he was hopeful a deal could be reached with Ukraine on gas supplies. Russia meets around 30% of Europe's natural gas needs. Moscow's actions in Ukraine have spurred attempt

Matt Taibbi: The SuperRich in America Have Become "Untouchables" Who Don't Go to Prison Posted: 18 Apr 2014 02:19 AM PDT Matt Taibbi: The SuperRich in America Have Become "Untouchables" Who Don't Go to Prison Earlier this month, attorney James Kidney, who was retiring from the Securities and Exchange Commission, gave a widely reported speech at his retirement party. He said that his bosses were too "tentative and fearful" to hold Wall Street accountable for the 2008 economic meltdown. Kidney, who joined the SEC in 1986, had tried and failed to bring charges against more executives in the agency’s 2010 case against Goldman Sachs. He said the SEC has become "an agency that polices the broken windows on the street level and rarely goes to the penthouse floors. ... Tough enforcement, risky enforcement, is subject to extensive negotiation and weakening," he said. Well, for more, we turn to our guest Matt Taibbi, award-winning journalist formerly with Rolling Stone magazine, now with First Look Media. His new book is called The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap. Matt, we welcome you back to Democracy Now! It’s a remarkable, important, certainly needed book in this day and age. Talk about the thesis. What is the divide? This interview/book review was posted on the alternet.org website on Tuesday---and for content and length reasons, had to wait for today's column.  It's the first offering of the day from Roy Stephens.  This will be on my must-read pile for the weekend.

Five King World News Blogs Posted: 18 Apr 2014 02:19 AM PDT Five King World News Blogs 1. David P: "One of the Greatest Opportunities In More Than a Decade"  2. Art Cashin: "Unprecedented $5 Trillion Liquidity Monster to Be Unleashed"  3. Keith Barron: "The Elites Fear What Will Crash the Global Financial System"  4. Richard Russell: "Silver---and the Greatest Mistake My Father Made"  5. "Pippa" Malmgren: "Western Default, China---and Gold" [Please direct any questions or comments about what is said in these interviews by either Eric King or his guests to them, and not to me. Thank you. - Ed]

Paper Gold Falls in West, but Premium for Real Metal Jumps in India Posted: 18 Apr 2014 02:19 AM PDT Paper Gold Falls in West, but Premium for Real Metal Jumps in India Hawala Premium Crosses 4% as Akshay Tritiya Boosts Demand; Spot Delivery Premium also Doubles The premium for getting spot delivery for gold in the Indian market jumped to $70 an ounce from $35 a couple of days earlier, with a sudden scarcity. While the trade is facing a scarcity of gold in official channels due to lower imports by private banks, the increase in demand in the unofficial market resulted in the hawala market premium crossing four per cent from 2.75-3% a few days earlier and 2-2.25% a month before, said a source in the Kolkata market, where smuggled gold inflow is said to be higher. Recently, gold spot premiums were on a downward trajectory due to permission to five private banks to import gold. However as the new financial year had begun, a private bank bullion desk official said quarterly and yearly targets were being fixed, which is why their import was limited. This gold-related news item, filed from Mumbai, showed up on the Business Standard Web site late on Wednesday evening IST---and I found it embedded in a GATA release.

Asia Takes Every Ounce West Unloads, but Gold Will Fall for Two Years, GFMS Says Posted: 18 Apr 2014 02:19 AM PDT Asia Takes Every Ounce West Unloads, but Gold Will Fall for Two Years, GFMS Says A lack of investment interest in gold is starting to take its toll on the price, with an average of $1,225/oz forecast for 2014 and heading lower in 2015, GFMS said Thursday in its Gold Survey 2014. The price forecast is 13% lower than the 2013 average of $1,411.23/oz. "The price is expected to post 2014 lows in mid-year, with a fundamentally driven rally thereafter, but this is likely to peter out in early 2015," the Thomson Reuters/GFMS survey read. Despite the "heavy visible sales from Exchange Traded Funds, driving a 25% price fall in the second quarter [of 2013], OTC investors were net buyers in 2013, notably in East Asia and the Middle East," the report read. This story showed up on the platts.com Internet site midmorning in London yesterday---and it's another gold-related news item I found in a GATA release.  By the way, I'd take anything that GMFS says with a big grains of salt.  But it's worth reading nonetheless.

General Mills Retreats an Inch on Its Mandatory Arbitration Overreach Posted: 17 Apr 2014 11:17 PM PDT Law Professor Adam Levitin argued that we peons should make counterclaims against General Mills. Recall that the New York Times reported yesterday that the food producer asserted that anyone receiving a “benefit” from the company, such as downloading coupons, and even buying its products or liking it on Facebook had agreed to give up their right to sue and had to submit to arbitration in the event of a dispute. Levitin’s language, from the Credit Slips website: In light of General Mills policy of claiming that its binding mandatory arbitration requirement (with class action waiver) applies to anyone who purchases its products, including via third-party vendors, I have decided, to post the following legal notice, applicable to all persons, everywhere: By permitting, allowing, or suffering me to purchase any of your products or services, whether directly from you or indirectly through dealers, vendors, agents, or other third-parties, you agree to irrevocably surrender all rights to compel me to arbitration or to waive my rights to proceed against you as a member of a class action. In order to make this provision effective and allow effective vindication of my rights, you also agree to irrevocably surrender all rights to compel arbitration and to prevent class actions against all other purchasers of your products and services. You also agree to cover all of my costs associated with bringing an action, including attorneys’ fees and any damages awarded against me, irrespective of the outcome of the action. Is General Mills notice any more effective than mine? I don’t see why it would be. Let’s get this long-range battle of the forms on! As much as Levitin’s riposte might get some traction, it appears that the New York Times article on General Mill’s overreaching policy hit a nerve in the public at large. The Grey Lady reported today that General Mills had amended, as in climbed down an itty bit on its policies: General Mills, the multibillion-dollar food company behind brands like Cheerios and Pillsbury, said on Thursday that an update to its new legal policies, which stated that consumers "joining our online communities" could not sue the company, did not apply to people who visit its Facebook pages and Twitter accounts…. In an email received Thursday, Mike Siemienas, a General Mills spokesman, said the "online communities" mentioned in the policy referred only to those online communities hosted by the company on its own websites. He later elaborated in a second email: "No one is precluded from suing us merely by purchasing our products at the store or liking one of our brand Facebook pages. For example, should an individual subscribe to one of our publications or download coupons, these terms would apply. But even then, the policy would not and does not preclude a consumer from pursuing a claim. It merely determines a forum for pursuing a claim. And arbitration is a straightforward and efficient way to resolve such disputes." But lawyers remained skeptical. More from the Times’ account: Lawyers had pointed out that the new terms were vaguely written, leaving them open to a wide range of interpretation. A pop-up notice on the company's home page, for example, says that the new terms "require all disputes related to the purchase or use of any General Mills product or service to be resolved through binding arbitration." "It is very clear that if you do any number of things, you are covered by these changes," said Julia Duncan, director of federal programs at the American Association for Justice, a trade group for trial lawyers. "If you use a coupon, go on their website, participate in a promotional campaign of any sort, sign up for email alerts or 'participate in any offering by General Mills.' That is so exceptionally broad that it may be possible anything you purchase from them would be held to this clause." “Purchase or use”? That means if you were visiting a friend’s house and everyone got sick from consuming a General Mills product, you couldn’t sue even though you hadn’t made the purchase, as in you had no commercial relationship with General Mills whatsoever. Adam Levitin, via e-mail, says the General Mills position is bunk: There has to be an agreement to arbitrate. I don't think that I am agreeing to anything with General Mills when I purchase Cheerios from the supermarket. My agreement is with the supermarket, and it is limited to the price listed for merchantable goods. Similarly, I don't think that liking something on Facebook constitutes an agreement—there's no exchange of value. Downloading the coupon is perhaps an exchange of value, but it's so lopsided that it doesn't even approach the situation in AT&T v. Concepcion, so I could imagine a court ruling it unconscionable. But the overreach of binding mandatory arbitration (which is really about class action waivers, not arbitration) and the Supreme Court's recent approval of this in Concepcion and American Express v. Italian Colors Restaurants is one of the greatest threats to democracy today because it has effectively closed the courts to the small against the powerful. They are a license for business fraud and theft done in small amounts on a large scale. Overcharge everyone by $5 and there's no remedy available because no one will arbitrate this individually and there's no class action remedy. Do this to 10 million people and that's real money. Concepcion and Italian Colors are going to be remembered in history as travesties of justice akin to Lochner. While I am loath to disagree with the good professor, let me point out another layer to the General Mills chicanery: how many people will know that the General Mills assertion that consumers have consented to arbitration is rubbish? How many will write complaints or threaten litigation and have General Mills write back and tell them falsely that their only option is arbitration? I imagine most NC readers are at least somewhat legally sophisticated and have some lawyers in their personal networks that they can sound out for sanity checks. But General Mills sells products to a mass market. Many of its consumers aren’t as savvy and no doubt can be successfully bullied into going the arbitration route when they likely would have done better in court (among other things, it would be difficult for General Mills to get a case sealed, so litigation has PR downside missing in private arbitration hearings). This continuing, successful campaign by large corporations to inflict one-sided contracts on consumers demonstrates how the notion of “free markets” is a fantasy. Recall that libertarians argue that all commercial interactions can be handled by contract; there’s no need for government oversight save for a court system. But they ignore that most industries have scale factors (barriers to entry, increasing returns to scale, network effects, etc) which means that over time, they will evolve into having a comparatively small number of incumbents who have pricing power (as in oligopoly status either across the industry or in certain product/geographic niches). Being an oligopolist is a good business model; all the standard textbooks show it is more profitable than competing in a more level playing field. And one of the things these large concerns have done is to subvert the judicial process to favor corporate interests over those of ordinary citizens, assuming they even have access to courts at all.

How to Momentum Trade Gold and Silver Stocks Posted: 17 Apr 2014 10:10 PM PDT GoldandOilGuy

Japanese Gold reserves, end of last month Posted: 17 Apr 2014 09:50 PM PDT Bank of Japan

Economic Outlook Darkens Posted: 17 Apr 2014 08:00 PM PDT After six years of monetary and tax policies that could have not been better designed to destroy savings and the savings ethic, you’d think governments might have learned some sort of lesson. They are having none of it. Instead Japan is hell-bent on monetary kamikaze, and the ECB is now warming us up for negative [...] The post Economic Outlook Darkens appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Gold Prices Rise On Positive Chinese Economic Outlook, Japanese Debt Passes ¥1 Quadrillion! James Turk- The Outlook for 2014: An Even Bigger Crisis is Coming! Fitch Downgrades Spain 3 Notches to BBB, Outlook Negative

Gold Silver prices weak when there is every reason for it to go up Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:30 PM PDT commodityonline

Ukraine Tension Takes a Back Seat as Silver Hits Lowest Price Since February Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:30 PM PDT resourceinvestingnews

Scorpio Gold Provides Fourth Quarter Report and 2013 Year End Financial Results Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:30 PM PDT resourceinvestingnews

Jim Willie: Fed Has Lost Control, Systemic Failure Flashing Warning Signals Now! Posted: 17 Apr 2014 07:12 PM PDT The US Federal Reserve has been printing money since 2011 to cover USGovt debt securities in a frenetic manner. They have lost control. They call it stimulus, when it is actually the opposite. It does assist the speculators with nearly zero cost money to borrow, but one must be a club member to win loan [...] The post Jim Willie: Fed Has Lost Control, Systemic Failure Flashing Warning Signals Now! appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: Jim Willie: In 2014 The Failure Begins! Collapse and Systemic Failure at All Levels Coming to U.S.- Dmitry Orlov Jim Willie: Breakdown Signals: Contagion Looms!

Gold, Silver Fall on Week; US Mint Bullion Coins Quicken Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:25 PM PDT coinnews

GOFO Rates Plunging- Are We On the Verge of Another Rally? Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:00 PM PDT As expected, London gold forward rates are plunging again during the New York Comex delivery month. In the recent past, this signal of tight physical supplies has correlated with higher prices. So, are we on the verge of another rally? Submitted by T. Ferguson, TFMetals Report: Longtime readers will recall that we first identified this [...] The post GOFO Rates Plunging- Are We On the Verge of Another Rally? appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: GOFO Rates Drop Further On Supply Concerns Negative GOFO and Rising Gold Prices: The Days Of Central Bank Gold Leasing Are Almost Over! The Negativity Of GOFO Rates And Factors That Will Spark The Next Big Move In Gold

The Doc: Gov’t Planning CYPRUS-Style BAIL-INS! Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:30 PM PDT Over the past 18 months we’ve seen nearly all of the Western nations move to prepare for bail-ins for the next financial crisis.  They’re not doing that for no reason- they’re preparing the legislation because they know its coming and they know that bail-outs are no longer an option, so their last ditch effort now [...] The post The Doc: Gov’t Planning CYPRUS-Style BAIL-INS! appeared first on Silver Doctors. Check out these similar articles: CONTAGION! Depositor Haircut Bail-Ins Spread to New Zealand, Gov’t Discussing Cyprus Style Solution for Bank Failure! SD Weekly Metals and Markets 3/29 FDIC & BOE Create Resolution for Cyprus-Style "Bail-Ins" FDIC & Bank of England Create Resolution Authority for Unlimited Cyprus-Style "Bail-Ins" for TBTF Banks!

april 17/Today we lost another 3.29 tonnes of gold at GLD/SLV remains constant/Gold and silver fall marginally/ Posted: 17 Apr 2014 03:17 PM PDT

First Majestic Announces US$30M Forward Sale Contract on Lead Production Posted: 17 Apr 2014 03:09 PM PDT First Majestic Silver Corp. (“First Majestic” or the “Company”) (TSX – FR, NYSE – AG) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a US$30 million forward sale contract with Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) on a portion of the Company’s future lead production. All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless stated otherwise. The Company executed this forward sale contract for 15,911.3 metric tonnes (MT) of lead at a fixed price of $0.945 per pound ($2,083/MT) for total proceeds of $30 million. The contract term is valid from April 2014 to September 2017, with a six-month repayment holiday from April to September 2014. The forward sale contract is financially settled from the sale of lead from any of First Majestic’s operations and represents approximately 35% of the Company’s total estimated future lead production over this period. The repayment terms carry an interest charge based on the one year LIBOR rate plus 350 basis points. The purpose of this prepayment contract is to fund the Company’s continuing expansion plans and for general working capital. This forward sale contract is in addition to the $50 million forward sale agreement announced in December 2012 for a portion of the Company’s lead and zinc production to be delivered into by July 2016. The previous forward sale agreement was executed for 12,157.6 MT of lead at $1.01/lb ($2,236/MT) and 13,175.8 MT of zinc at $0.96/lb ($2,116/MT). To date, 2,076.4 MT of lead and 2,173.9 MT of zinc have been delivered into this earlier contract. Following today’s announcement, the Company is committed to repay a remaining balance totalling 25,992.5 MT of lead (averaging $0.972/lb or $2,143/MT) and 11,001.9 MT of zinc. The Company is now hedged to the extent of 52% of its estimated lead production to September 2017 and remains 49% hedged on its estimated zinc production to July 2016. Keith Neumeyer, President and CEO of First Majestic, comments: “We are pleased to have executed this contract with BAML which allows us to top up our treasury without diluting our shareholders. We decided to exclude any future zinc production from this agreement as ongoing global supply issues could put upward pressure on the price of zinc in the coming years. Furthermore, we remain committed to offering investors full leverage on our future silver production as we have no intentions of ever hedging silver.” First Majestic is a mining company focused on silver production in Mexico and is aggressively pursuing the development of its existing mineral property assets and the pursuit through acquisition of additional mineral assets which contribute to the Company achieving its corporate growth objectives. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION contact info@firstmajestic.com, visit our website at www.firstmajestic.com or call our toll free number 1.866.529.2807. FIRST MAJESTIC SILVER CORP. “signed” Keith Neumeyer, President & CEO SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release includes certain “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “target”, “plan”, “forecast”, “may”, “schedule” and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the price of silver and other metals; the accuracy of mineral reserve and resource estimates and estimates of future production and costs of production at our properties; estimated production rates for silver and other payable metals produced by us, the estimated cost of development of our development projects; the effects of laws, regulations and government policies on our operations, including, without limitation, the laws in Mexico which currently have significant restrictions related to mining; obtaining or maintaining necessary permits, licences and approvals from government authorities; and continued access to necessary infrastructure, including, without limitation, access to power, land, water and roads to carry on activities as planned. These statements reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in the spot and forward price of silver, gold, base metals or certain other commodities (such as natural gas, fuel oil and electricity); fluctuations in the currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso versus the U.S. dollar); changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, Mexico; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining, including those currently enacted in Mexico; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities; diminishing quantities or grades of mineral reserves as properties are mined; the Company’s title to properties; and the factors identified under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Information Form, under the caption “Risks Relating to First Majestic’s Business”. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. The post First Majestic Announces US$30M Forward Sale Contract on Lead Production appeared first on The Daily Gold.

Holter muses on Chinas silver scheme; Barron doubts new raid on gold ETFs Posted: 17 Apr 2014 03:01 PM PDT GATA

Russia and Ukraine just ended talks to "de-escalate" crisis. Here's what you should know. Posted: 17 Apr 2014 02:13 PM PDT From Bloomberg: Four-way talks on the crisis in Ukraine ended with an accord aimed at taking the first steps toward de-escalating the conflict, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he hopes he won't have to send in troops. The agreement was announced after talks in Geneva today between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign-policy chief. Their session lasted more than six hours, longer than scheduled. Kerry said Russia, which the U.S. and its European allies accuse of stoking the conflict, must start implementing the deal within days. "The Geneva meeting on the situation in Ukraine agreed on initial concrete steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security for all citizens," the four said in a joint statement. "All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation, or provocative actions. The U.S. and its European allies have threatened to ratchet up sanctions on Russia, their former Cold War enemy, if it doesn't act to calm the situation in eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists have seized government buildings and NATO estimates 40,000 Russian troops are massed on the border. U.S. Skepticism U.S. President Barack Obama said he remains skeptical about concrete results coming from the agreement, while adding that there remains a possibility that diplomacy can de-escalate the situation. "I don't think we can be sure of anything at this point," Obama said at a White House news conference. "We're not going to know whether, in fact, there's follow-through on these statements for several days." Putin, who annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea last month, today rejected accusations from Ukraine that he'd already deployed forces in the east of the country and said he would fight to defend compatriots outside Russia. The Geneva statement called for all illegal armed groups in Ukraine to be disarmed, seized buildings to be returned to their legitimate owners and occupied public places to be vacated. An amnesty will be granted to protesters. A mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will help oversee the measures. A new constitutional process will aim to establish "a broad national dialogue." Market Reaction  As the talks took place in Geneva, Russia's Micex Index (INDEXCF) of equities extended a two-day advance to 1.4 percent in Moscow, the ruble jumped the most among 31 global currencies and Ukraine's hryvnia posted the longest rally since August. The Micex has still fallen 11.6 percent this year, while the hryvnia is the world's worst performer against the dollar, with a 26 percent loss. U.S. stocks rose and Treasuries fell the most in a month after the accord was announced. Obama held out the prospect of more sanctions against Russia if Putin's government continues to interfere in eastern and southern Ukraine and warned that they may be crippling. "We have no desire to see further deterioration of the Russian economy," he said. Speaking at a news conference after the talks, Kerry described the talks as "a good day's work," though "just the beginning" and added that "nobody has left behind the issue of Crimea," the annexation of which has not been recognized by the U.S. and the EU. Lavrov's View "The Ukrainians themselves must resolve this crisis," Lavrov told a separate news conference. "We have no desire at all to deploy our troops in Ukraine, a friendly state, a territory where a brotherly people lives; this is against the basic interests of the Russian Federation." He said Russia continues to be "very concerned at the discrimination by the current authorities against the Russian and Russian-speaking population, the Russian language, Russian culture." Ukraine's Deshchytsia told reporters that "the next couple of days will be crucial" and "will be a test for Russia if Russia wants to really show it's willing to have stability." Deshchytsia said separately that Putin's reference to the country's southeast being historically part of Russia raises concern about his intentions. 'Worrying Signal' "It is a very worrying signal, because President Putin is now trying to revise the borders, the border that exists and was internationally recognized after World War II and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union," Deshchytsia told Bloomberg Television today. Earlier today, Ukrainian police killed three pro-Russian fighters and wounded 13 following an attack overnight on a national-guard base in the southeastern city of Mariupol, less than 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Russian border, according to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. Special forces and helicopters were deployed in the operation, in which 63 people were detained and weapons captured, Avakov said. "We definitely know that we should do everything to help these people defend their rights and define their destiny," Putin said in a televised question-and-answer session in Moscow, when asked about Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. "We will fight for this. The Federation Council gave the president the right to use military force in Ukraine. I hope very much that I don't have to use this right." Putin said he didn't want to discuss what "red line" might trigger Russian military action. Ukraine's Response  Ukraine's government sent troops this week to regain control of buildings that the government said are occupied by armed "extremists" operating under Russian orders in its eastern Donetsk region. They retook an airfield near Kramatorsk two days ago in a push that stalled yesterday when pro-Russian activists seized armored vehicles and disarmed some soldiers. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said his government has evidence Russian troops are present in the east of the country. "There is just one man in the entire world who believes that there are no Russian soldiers in Ukraine's east: His surname is Putin," Yatsenyuk told reporters in Kiev. "He is again telling a tale that those saboteurs who shaped a terrorist network in Ukraine are not Russian." Putin said the allegations Russian forces are operating in Ukraine are "nonsense" and that he annexed Crimea last month because Russian speakers were facing "real threats." The east and south of Ukraine are historically parts of Russia and the former Soviet republic has suffered an anti-constitutional revolution, Putin said. "Let me remind everyone, this is New Russia, using the terminology of Czarist Russia," Putin said, adding that regions including Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk and Odessa weren't part of Ukraine until last century. "These are the territories that were passed to Ukraine in the 1920s by the Soviet government. God knows why they did that." The U.S. will provide nonlethal military aid to Ukraine including "medical supplies, helmets, sleeping mats and water-purification units," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in Washington. The U.S. already has provided ready-to-eat meals to the Ukrainian military. Some American lawmakers have criticized the Obama administration for not providing weapons and ammunition.   More on Russia and Ukraine: Ukraine update: Chances of a civil war just increased If you don't know where Ukraine is on a map, chances are you'll want to send U.S. troops Get ready... The crisis in Ukraine could return with a vengeance

Gold Still Trading Heavy Posted: 17 Apr 2014 01:52 PM PDT

[KR589] Keiser Report: Chained American Dream Posted: 17 Apr 2014 01:43 PM PDT We discuss the American Dream as being chained to the booth in the waffle house as cogs in the wheels generating income for Wall Street sharpies and the poverty of this century in which the beggar is a reminder of nothing. In the second half, Max interviews Alasdair Macleod of Goldmoney.com about the geopolitical situation in Ukraine and its impact on gold and the dollar as the reserve currency. They also talk about the true size of China’s gold reserves.

This could be the most important news of the year. And you probably haven't heard it. Posted: 17 Apr 2014 12:10 PM PDT The mainstream media has completely ignored the most important stock story of this year... But if you've been reading my DailyWealth Trader service, you've not only heard this story... you've been making good money on it. And there's much more to come… What's the story? I'll tell you in a moment... First, let's review a story the mainstream press has been all over: Over the past 18 months, some of the world's most-watched stocks have skyrocketed... Online retailer Amazon climbed as much as 85%. That was nothing compared with 3D-printing pioneer 3D Systems, which soared 310%. And even 3D's move couldn't match the 657% gain in movie streamer Netflix. Social-media network Facebook climbed 280% since November 2012. Its cousin Twitter nearly tripled from its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2013. These stocks climbed to valuations beyond all reason. Amazon was trading at more than 600 times trailing 12-month earnings. 3D Systems hit 171 times earnings. Facebook at one point last January traded at 1,623 times earnings. And Twitter... Well, Twitter doesn't have positive earnings yet. It lost $645 million in 2013. But it peaked at 75 times annual sales... which is an outrageous number. When valuations are that high, it's hard to imagine a scenario where shareholders are going to make money... except by selling to a "greater fool." And it looks like greater fools are getting scarce... As you no doubt have heard, the "glamour" stocks are falling... hard. What you probably haven't heard about is the price strength in some of the world's greatest companies... You can see what I mean below. Soda- and snack-maker PepsiCo (PEP) is up 9% over the last two months. In DWT, we've traded Pepsi twice this year. We're averaging 3% per trade... 15.6% annualized. Meanwhile, Amazon is down 9%.     Tech-services giant IBM (IBM) is up 3% over the last two months. We've traded IBM three times this year. We're averaging 3.3% returns... 22.8% annualized. Meanwhile, Netflix is down 22%.     Beverage giant Coca-Cola (KO) is up 5% over the last two months. We've traded Coke three times this year. We're averaging 3.5% per trade... 20.4% annualized. Meanwhile, 3D Systems is down 35%.     Newspapers love to write about meteoric rises and gruesome collapses, like we're seeing in the glamour stocks. What they won't write about is a 3% gain in a big, safe, "boring" stock like IBM or Wal-Mart. But if you're looking to build wealth in the market over the long term, this is a much more important story. Stick with trades on stocks that have great brands... that bring in billions of dollars of cash earnings... that have decades-long track records of rewarding their shareholders. This isn't a "sexy" strategy, but it works. If you want cocktail-party conversation-starters, go ahead and buy IPOs at 75 times sales. You might get lucky. But if you want a lifetime of trading success, stick with a proven formula. That's the story I'm writing. Crux note: You can learn exactly what strategy we use to get regular, safe double-digit annual income from blue-chip stocks, right here.   More from Amber Lee Mason: Amber Lee Mason: The Three-Minute Trading Expert Amber Lee Mason: The answer to a BIG question you're probably asking about stocks Amber Lee Mason: A world-class way to profit from the next big rally in silver

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