Friday, July 15, 2016

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Billion-Dollar Unicorns: SMS Assist Brings A Lackluster Industry To The Club

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 01:24 PM PDT

The Fundamental Reason The Silver Price Will EXPLODE Much Higher Than Gold

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 01:00 PM PDT

THIS is why there won't be enough silver to meet demand as mainstream investors stampede out of worthless paper assets and into physical precious metals:    2 oz Silver Queen's Beasts  Just $2.89 Over Spot, ANY QTY At SD Bullion!    From SRSRocco: Investors need to understand an important fundamental reason why the silver price will explode […]

The post The Fundamental Reason The Silver Price Will EXPLODE Much Higher Than Gold appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Eric Sprott Is Excited About Silver Prices: “Silver Just Won’t Break, It Could Get Very Explosive Here!”

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 12:23 PM PDT

In the MUST LISTEN Market Update below, Eric Sprott discusses the recent price weakness in gold relative to the continued STRONG performance of silver and the mining shares. “Silver Just Won’t Break….It Could Get VERY Explosive Here..”   Lowest Priced Silver Eagles Buy 90% Junk Silver Coins at SD Bullion As Low As $1.49/oz Over Spot! […]

The post Eric Sprott Is Excited About Silver Prices: “Silver Just Won’t Break, It Could Get Very Explosive Here!” appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Mainstream’s “Devil’s Metal” Will Be A Godsend in the Coming Years

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 12:04 PM PDT

While the Money Bunnies label silver the “Devil’s Metal”, the truth is physical silver bullion will be a Godsend in the coming financial apocalypse…  2 oz Silver Queen's Beasts  Just $2.89 Over Spot, ANY QTY At SD Bullion!     By Rory Hall, The Daily Coin: Silver is money and not necessarily an investment – […]

The post Mainstream’s "Devil's Metal" Will Be A Godsend in the Coming Years appeared first on Silver Doctors.

The Gold Rally YOU DO NOT SELL: Legendary Gold Trader Jim Sinclair Issues “The Most Important Article You Will Ever Read”

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 12:03 PM PDT

The following urgent communication from the legendary Jim Sinclair is not an easy read, “But it is the MOST IMPORTANT Read of Your Lifetime…“   Lowest Priced Silver Eagles   From Jim Sinclair, JSMineset; I have asked Editor Dan to post Stockman’s article in total today on JSMineset because here is where we are now and […]

The post The Gold Rally YOU DO NOT SELL: Legendary Gold Trader Jim Sinclair Issues “The Most Important Article You Will Ever Read” appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Elites In Fear of Return of the Gold Standard – Jim Willie

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 12:01 PM PDT

In his latest interview, Jim Willie explains the Elites’ greatest fear has begun…   Buy 90% Junk Silver Coins at SD Bullion As Low As $1.49/oz Over Spot!

The post Elites In Fear of Return of the Gold Standard – Jim Willie appeared first on Silver Doctors.

The Global Financial Situation Is A Lot Worse Than You Think

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 10:00 AM PDT

The conditions for a "perfect storm" are coming together very rapidly…   1 oz Platinum American Eagles Just $149.99 Over Spot! From Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog: On the surface, things seem pretty quiet in mid-July 2016.  The biggest news stories are about the speculation surrounding Donald Trump's choice of running mate, the stock […]

The post The Global Financial Situation Is A Lot Worse Than You Think appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Gold Stocks 101

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 09:21 AM PDT

SunshineProfits

The Gold Strategy is Working: Metals Sector Exploding in Huge Profits!

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 09:00 AM PDT

THIS is a defining moment of a lifetime… 1 oz Platinum American Eagles Just $149.99 Over Spot! 90% Junk Silver $100 FV Bags $1.49/oz Over Spot!

The post The Gold Strategy is Working: Metals Sector Exploding in Huge Profits! appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Ron Paul Discusses Alan Greenspan’s Recent Suggestion of Benefits of a Gold Standard

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 08:00 AM PDT

Alan Greenspan recently suggested we return to a GOLD STANDARD.  Fed slayer Ron Paul joins us to provide his thoughts and analysis…   Buy 1 oz Gold Buffalo Coins at SD Bullion     TND Podcast Spotlight:  Jay Taylor’s Turning Hard Times Into Good Times  Dr. Ron Paul and Michael Oliver return for a second […]

The post Ron Paul Discusses Alan Greenspan’s Recent Suggestion of Benefits of a Gold Standard appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Monetary Metals Closes First Gold Fixed-Income Deal at 5%

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 07:04 AM PDT

What was that about gold being a sterile asset?

FREEDOMFEST LAS VEGAS, Nev., July 15, 2016—At FreedomFest, Monetary Metals announces that it has closed its first gold fixed-income deal, to finance the gold working inventory of Valaurum. The initial amount of gold meets Valaurum's current needs, with room for expansion driven by its growth. The interest rate is 5 percent of the gold, paid in gold.

Read more here and check out the revamped Monetary Metals website.

What’s Next for Silver Prices?

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 07:00 AM PDT

Silver prices have risen from under $14 to over $20 in about six months. What’s next for the Red Hot white metal?   Buy 90% Junk Silver at SD Bullion As Low As $1.99/oz Over Spot! LIVE and Historical Market Data, Charts, and PM Prices: By Gary Christenson, Deviant Investor Point One: Debt grows exponentially, not because it […]

The post What’s Next for Silver Prices? appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Is the The Commitment of Traders Gold and Silver Data Fake?

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 06:00 AM PDT

If the source is corrupt, the data must be as well… Buy 1 oz Gold Buffalo Coins at SD Bullion By Dr. Jeff Lewis: If the source is corrupt, the data must be as well.  The nature of counterintuitive silver price action, secondary to ongoing, and blatant price manipulation lends itself to the swirling dreams […]

The post Is the The Commitment of Traders Gold and Silver Data Fake? appeared first on Silver Doctors.

Why is the gold price rising? Five forces driving the precious metal

Posted: 15 Jul 2016 01:37 AM PDT

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

Breaking News And Best Of The Web

Posted: 14 Jul 2016 06:44 PM PDT

Stocks recover on promise of massive new stimulus from Japan and UK and suspiciously good growth numbers from US and China. A growing number of name-brand investors are skeptical of current valuations. Gold corrects and interest rates rise. Banks report pretty good earnings, trucking firms and oil companies not so much. Another big terrorist attack […]

The post Breaking News And Best Of The Web appeared first on DollarCollapse.com.

Gold Price - Support is Lower

Posted: 14 Jul 2016 12:58 PM PDT

War Is Coming And The Global Financial Situation Is A Lot Worse Than You May Think

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 08:17 PM PDT

city skyscrapers clock time stopwatch seconds - public domainOn the surface, things seem pretty quiet in mid-July 2016.  The biggest news stories are about the speculation surrounding Donald Trump’s choice of running mate, the stock market in the U.S. keeps setting new all-time record highs, and the media seems completely obsessed with Taylor Swift’s love life.  But underneath the surface, it is a very different story.  As you will see below, the conditions for a “perfect storm” are coming together very rapidly, and the rest of 2016 promises to be much more chaotic than what we have seen so far.

Let’s start with China.  On Tuesday, an international tribunal in the Hague ruled against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.  The Chinese government announced ahead of time that they do not recognize the jurisdiction of the tribunal, and they have absolutely no intention of abiding by the ruling.  In fact, China is becoming even more defiant in the aftermath of this ruling.  We aren’t hearing much about it in the U.S. media, but according to international news reports Chinese president Xi Jinping has ordered the People’s Liberation Army “to prepare for combat” with the United States if the Obama administration presses China to abandon the islands that they are currently occupying in the South China Sea…

"Chinese president Xi Jinping has reportedly ordered the People's Liberation Army to prepare for combat," reports Arirang.com. "U.S.-based Boxun News said Tuesday that the instruction was given in case the United States takes provocative action in the waters once the ruling is made."

A U.S. aircraft carrier and fighter jets were already sent to the region in anticipation of the ruling, with the Chinese Navy also carrying out exercises near the disputed Paracel islands.

Last October, China said it was "not frightened" to fight a war with the U.S. following an incident where the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen violated the 12-nautical mile zone China claims around Subi and Mischief reefs in the Spratly archipelago.

Meanwhile, the relationship between the United States and Russia continues to go from bad to worse.  The installation of a missile defense system in Romania is just the latest incident that has the Russians absolutely steaming, and during a public appearance on June 17th Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to get western reporters to understand that the world is being pulled toward war…

"We know year by year what's going to happen, and they know that we know. It's only you that they tell tall tales to, and you buy it, and spread it to the citizens of your countries. You people in turn do not feel a sense of the impending danger – this is what worries me. How do you not understand that the world is being pulled in an irreversible direction? While they pretend that nothing is going on. I don't know how to get through to you anymore."

And of course the Russians have been feverishly updating and modernizing their military in preparation for a potential future conflict with the United States.  Just today we learned that the Russians are working to develop a hypersonic strategic bomber that is going to have the capability of striking targets with nuclear warheads from outer space.

Unfortunately, the Obama administration does not feel a similar sense of urgency.  The size of our strategic nuclear arsenal has declined by about 95 percent since the peak of the Cold War, and many of our installations are still actually using rotary phones and the kind of 8 inch floppy disks for computers that were widely used back in the 1970s.

But I don’t expect war with China or Russia to erupt by the end of 2016.  Of much more immediate concern is what is going on in the Middle East.  The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, but it is Israel that could soon be the center of attention.

Back in March, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration wanted to revive the peace process in the Middle East before Obama left office, and that a UN Security Council resolution that would divide the land of Israel and set the parameters for a Palestinian state was still definitely on the table…

The White House is working on plans for reviving long-stalled Middle East negotiations before President Barack Obama leaves office, including a possible United Nations Security Council resolution that would outline steps toward a deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to senior U.S. officials.

And just this week, the Washington Post reported that there were renewed “rumblings” about just such a resolution…

Israel is facing a restive European Union, which is backing a French initiative that seeks to outline a future peace deal by year's end that would probably include a call for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the creation of a Palestinian state. There are also rumblings that the U.N. Security Council might again hear resolutions about the conflict.

For years, Barack Obama has stressed the need for a Palestinian state, and now that his second term is drawing to a close he certainly realizes that this is his last chance to take action at the United Nations.  If he is going to pull the trigger and support a UN resolution formally establishing a Palestinian state, it will almost certainly happen before the election in November.  So over the coming months we will be watching these developments very carefully.

And it is interesting to note that there is an organization called “Americans For Peace Now” that is collecting signatures and strongly urging Obama to support a UN resolution of this nature.  The following comes from their official website…

Now is the time for real leadership that can revive and re-accredit the two-state solution as President Obama enters his final months in office. And he can do this – he can lay the groundwork for a two-state agreement in the future by supporting an Israeli-Palestinian two-state resolution in the United Nations Security Council.

Such a resolution would restore U.S. leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian arena. It would preserve the now-foundering two-state outcome. And it would be a gift to the next president, leaving her or him constructive options for consequential actions in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, in place of the ever-worsening, politically stalemated status quo there is today.

Sadly, a UN resolution that divides the land of Israel and that formally establishes a Palestinian state would not bring lasting peace.  Instead, it would be the biggest mistake of the Obama era, and it would set the stage for a major war between Israel and her neighbors.  This is something that I discussed during a recent televised appearance down at Morningside that you can watch right here…

At the same time all of this is going on, the global economic crisis continues to escalate.  Even though U.S. financial markets are in great shape at the moment, the same cannot be said for much of the rest of the world.

Just look at the country that is hosting the Olympics this summer.  Brazil is mired in the worst economic downturn that it has seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and Rio de Janeiro’s governor has declared “a state of financial emergency“.

Next door, the Venezuelan economy has completely collapsed, and some people have become so desperate that they are actually hunting cats, dogs and pigeons for food.

Elsewhere, China is experiencing the worst economic downturn that they have seen in decades, the Japanese are still trying to find the end of their “lost decade”, and the banking crisis in Europe is getting worse with each passing month.

In quite a few articles recently, I have discussed the ongoing implosion of the biggest and most important bank in Germany.  But I am certainly not the only one warning about this.  In one of his recent articles, Simon Black also commented on the turmoil at “the most dangerous bank in Europe”…

Well-capitalized banks are supposed to have double-digit capital levels while making low risk investments.

Deutsche Bank, on the other hand, has a capital level of less that 3% (just like Lehman), and an incredibly risky asset base that boasts notional derivatives exposure of more than $70 trillion, roughly the size of world GDP.

But of course Deutsche Bank isn’t getting a lot of attention from the mainstream media right now because of the stunning meltdown of banks in Italy, Spain and Greece.  Here is more from Simon Black…

Italian banks are sitting on over 360 billion euros in bad loans right now and are in desperate need of a massive bailout.

IMF calculations show that Italian banks' capital levels are among the lowest in the world, just ahead of Bangladesh.

And this doesn't even scratch the surface of problems in other banking jurisdictions.

Spanish banks have been scrambling to raise billions in capital to cover persistent losses that still haven't healed from the last crisis.

In Greece, over 35% of all loans in the banking system are classified as "non-performing".

Even though U.S. stocks are doing well for the moment, the truth is that trillions of dollars of stock market wealth has been lost globally since this time last year.  If you are not familiar with what has been going on around the rest of the planet, this may come as a surprise to you.  During my recent appearance at Morningside, I shared some very startling charts which show how dramatically global markets have shifted over the past 12 months.  You can view the segment in which I shared these charts right here…

I would really like it if the rest of 2016 was as quiet and peaceful as the past couple of days have been.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe that is going to be the case at all.

The storm clouds are rising and the conditions for a “perfect storm” are brewing.  Sadly, most people are not going to understand what is happening until it is far too late.

Silver Price Analysis: This Confirms The Continuation Of Silver’s Rally

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 12:46 PM PDT

The existence of this pattern, and its recent breakout confirm that the December 2015 bottom in silver is actually the bottom for the correction since 2011.

Commercial Delinquency Rates and Gold

Posted: 13 Jul 2016 08:20 AM PDT

SunshineProfits

Yin and Yang

Posted: 12 Jul 2016 11:02 PM PDT

During gold's bear market from 2011, the flow of gold out of ETFs drove the popularity of the West to East narrative not just among goldbugs but also bullion market professionals. It was a life raft I suppose that many clung to, to find hope as the price relentlessly fell, notwithstanding how much gold was flowing into "the East". Today, investors have abandoned the raft as they step out on to the terra firma of $1050 and stagger about basking in the lush tropical greenery of a rising gold price. Read more here.

The Dow And The S&P 500 Soar To Brand New All-Time Record Highs – How Is This Possible?

Posted: 12 Jul 2016 09:04 PM PDT

Stock Market Soaring - Public DomainThe Dow and the S&P 500 both closed at all-time record highs on Tuesday, and that is very good news.  You might think that is an odd statement coming from the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, but the truth is that I am not at all eager to see the financial system crash and burn.  We all saw what took place when it happened in 2008 – millions of people lost their jobs, millions of people lost their homes, and economic suffering was off the charts.  So no, I don’t want to see that happen again any time soon.  All of our lives will be a lot more comfortable if the financial markets are stable and stocks continue to go up.  If the Dow and the S&P 500 can keep on soaring, that will suit me just fine.  Unfortunately, I don’t think that is going to be what happens.

Of course I never imagined we would be talking about new record highs for the stock market in mid-July 2016.  We have seen some crazy ups and downs for the financial markets over the last 12 months, and the downs were pretty severe.  Last August, we witnessed the greatest financial shaking since the historic financial crisis of 2008, and that was followed by an even worse shaking in January and February.  Then in June everyone was concerned that the surprising result of the Brexit vote would cause global markets to tank, and that did happen briefly, but since then we have seen an unprecedented rally.

So what is causing this sudden surge?

We’ll get to that in a moment, but first let’s review some of the numbers from Tuesday.  The following comes from USA Today…

All three major indexes gained 0.7% apiece, as the Dow jumped 121 points to a new all-time closing high and the S&P 500 built upon its record close notched Monday. The blue chips now stand at 18,347.67, about 35 points above the previous record set May 19, 2015.

The new mark for the S&P 500 is 2,152.14, a 15-point improvement on its Monday close.

Overall, we have seen stocks shoot up more than eight percent over the last two weeks.  Normally, a rise of 10 percent for an entire year is considered to be quite healthy…

Interior Minister Theresa May is set to become the U.K.’s prime minister on Wednesday. Stock markets across the globe have risen sharply, after a steep sell-off, following the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union.

“In the past two weeks, post Brexit, the S&P 500 has vaulted over 8 percent,” said Adam Sarhan, CEO at Sarhan Capital. “Typically, a 10 percent move for the entire year is considered normal.”

What makes all of this even stranger is the fact that investors have been pulling money out of stocks as if it was 2008 all over again.  In fact, Zero Hedge tells us that on balance investors have been taking money out of equity funds for 17 weeks in a row.

So why are stocks still going up?

If your guess is “central bank intervention”, you are right on the nose.

Across the Pacific, the Bank of Japan has been voraciously gobbling up assets, and the architect of “Abenomics” just won a major electoral victory which has fueled a huge market rally over there…

Meanwhile, in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered new stimulus after his coalition won an election in Japan’s upper chamber by a landslide. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose nearly 2.5 percent overnight, while the yen erased all of its post-Brexit gains against the dollar.

“In the short term, I think it’s going to help, but in the long term, we’ll see,” said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. “I feel like a lot of people are getting themselves into situations that they can’t get out of.”

In Europe, the ECB has feverishly been pumping money into the financial system, and the result of the Brexit vote seems to have lit a renewed fire under the central bankers in Europe.  Collectively, intervention by the Japanese and the Europeans has created “a surge in net global central bank asset purchases to their highest since 2013″…

Fast forward six months when Matt King reports that “many clients have been asking for an update of our usual central bank liquidity metrics.”

What the update reveals is “a surge in net global central bank asset purchases to their highest since 2013.”

And just like that the mystery of who has been buying stocks as everyone else has been selling has been revealed.

So now you know the rest of the story.

The economic fundamentals have not changed.  China is still slowing down.  Japan is still mired in a multi-year economic crisis.  Much of Europe is still dealing with a full-blown banking crisis.  Much of South America is still experiencing a full-blown depression.

Here in the United States, just about every indicator that you can think of says that the economy is slowing down.  If you doubt this, please see my previous article entitled “15 Facts About The Imploding U.S. Economy That The Mainstream Media Doesn't Want You To See“.

The artificially-induced rally that we are witnessing right now can be compared to a “last gasp” of a dying patient.

But my hope is that this “last gasp” can last for as long as possible.  Because as much as I warn people about it, I am not actually eager to see what comes next.

The economic and financial suffering that are coming are inevitable, but they are not going to be pleasant for any of us.  So let us all hope that we still have a little bit more time before the party is over and it is time to turn out the lights.

Video: Gold & Gold Stocks Starting Correction…?

Posted: 12 Jul 2016 05:53 PM PDT

Are gold and gold stocks starting a correction? We discuss that probability and highlight support targets in Gold, GDX and GDXJ.

 

Gold Price Failing at 2011-2012 Trendline

Posted: 12 Jul 2016 12:51 PM PDT

Mark Carney: no silver bullet to address Brexit woes as policymakers warn of buy-to-let slowdown

Posted: 12 Jul 2016 11:24 AM PDT

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

Theresa May and Gold

Posted: 12 Jul 2016 06:20 AM PDT

SunshineProfits

Krazy Kuroda

Posted: 11 Jul 2016 07:40 AM PDT

While it's not exactly "helicopter money", the BoJ's decision to "expand easing" by roughly $100B overnight sent the USDJPY soaring two points which, in turn, took the wind from gold's sails. However, we thought that today would be an excellent time to remind you of the market reaction the last time the BoJ attempted to surprise everyone.

read more

Gold at 2011-2012 Trendline; Major Decision Point

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 01:23 PM PDT

Metals Easing Back

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 07:45 AM PDT

Just as we suggested they might in yesterday's podcast, gold and silver are both down this morning. However, after the tremendous run over the past two weeks, they were overdue for a slight pullback. All that really matters is where they go from here and nothing has changed to alter the fundamental and technical picture.

read more

Video: Gold Investment Demand & Gold Price in Foreign Currencies

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 04:56 PM PDT

GLD is a real-time indicator of investment demand for Gold. Investment demand drives Gold both up and down. Also, Gold/FC is now within 10% of its all time high.

 

‘Currency Crash’ Drives British Pound To A 31 Year Low As Deutsche Bank Sinks To The Lowest Level Ever

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 02:48 PM PDT

British Pound Brexit - Public DomainThe fallout from the Brexit vote continues to rock the European financial system.  On Wednesday, the British pound dropped to a fresh 31 year low as confidence in the currency continues to plummet.  At one point it had fallen as low as $1.2796 before rebounding a bit.  As I write this, it is still sitting at just $1.293.  Meanwhile, the problems for the biggest banks in Europe just continue to mount.  At one point on Wednesday Credit Suisse hit an all-time record low, and German banking giant Deutsche Bank closed the day at an all-time record closing low of 12.93.  Overall, Europe’s Stoxx 600 Bank Index closed at the lowest level in almost five years.  What we are watching is a full-blown financial meltdown in Europe, but because it is not personally affecting them yet, most Americans are not paying any attention to it.

The collapse of the British pound that we have seen since the Brexit vote has been nothing short of breathtaking.  In fact, CNN says that this “is what a currency crash looks like”…

This is what a currency crash looks like. The pound has slumped to $1.28, its lowest level in more than three decades.

Investors are dumping the pound following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union on June 23. The pound has dropped roughly 15% since the referendum day, when it reached $1.50.

After appearing to stabilize, the pound resumed its decline this week after three big asset management firms halted withdrawals from real estate investment funds.

Of course this is likely only just the beginning.  There are some analysts that are suggesting that the British pound could eventually hit parity with the U.S. dollar at some point.  We are seeing seismic shifts on the foreign exchange market right now, and this is going to affect trillions of dollars worth of currency-related derivatives.  It will be exceedingly interesting to see how all of this plays out.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank continues to get absolutely hammered.

If the biggest and most important bank in Germany is not completely imploding, then why does the stock price continue to crash time after time?

Since the start of 2016, the value of Deutsche Bank has fallen by half, and many have pointed out that the trajectory that it is on is very, very similar to Lehman Brothers in 2008.

My regular readers are probably sick and tired of hearing me warn about Deutsche Bank, so today I will let someone else do it.  According to an article that was just published by the BBC, Deutsche Bank is now “the most dangerous bank in the world”…

Deutsche Bank shares hit a new record low today. It’s value has halved since the beginning of the year.

So is it now the most dangerous bank in the world?

According to the International Monetary Fund – yes.

Last week, the IMF said that, of the banks big enough to bring the financial system crashing down, Deutsche Bank was the riskiest. Not only that, Deutsche Bank’s US unit was one of only two of 33 big banks to fail tests of financial strength set by the US central bank earlier this year.

At this point Deutsche Bank is scrambling to raise cash to stave off an imminent implosion.  Just today, I came across a report about how they plan to sell at least a billion dollars worth of shipping loans in order to bring in some much needed funds.  Many of the steps that they are taking are reminiscent of what Lehman Brothers tried to do just prior to their collapse, and that alone should tell you something.

At the same time all of this is going on, things in Italy just continue to get even worse.  As of this moment, approximately 17 percent of all bank loans held by Italian banks are considered to be “non-performing”.  In other words, they are absolutely swamped by bad debts.  At the height of the 2008 crisis, only about 5 percent of the loans held by U.S. banks were bad.  So what we are watching unfold in Italy right now could definitely be described as “cataclysmic”.

Since the Brexit vote, Italian banks have been hit harder than anyone else.  The following comes from CNN…

Shares in Italy’s Banca Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena have crashed 45% in 10 days, forcing regulators to temporarily ban short-selling in the stock. The bank has been given until Friday to come up with a plan to reduce its bad loans by 40% by 2018.

It’s not alone. Other Italian bank stocks have fallen by about 30% since June 23, when the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. Italian officials are trying to find ways to shore up the country’s financial system.

Italian banks have been choking on bad debt for years, but the U.K. vote has thrown their problems into sharp relief.

Personally, I have been amazed that the European financial system has been able to hold it together for this long.  A total collapse was inevitable, but I really thought that it would have started before now.  Up until this time we have seen small crisis after small crisis, but in 2016 the full-blown meltdown has finally arrived.

And this growing crisis in Europe is going to have a dramatic impact on the entire planet.  Everywhere you look the economic fundamentals are getting worse, and if you won’t believe me, perhaps you will believe this editorial by Tim Quast on CNBC…

The bottom line is that the fundamentals of the economy and market don’t look good: Whoever you’re listening to — the Federal Reserve, to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, to the International Monetary Fund — hoary heads of the dismal science see deepening malaise worsened by the Brexit, creaky European banks, possible copycat flight from the euro zone — even a slowdown for the U.S.

Can a market characterized by declining money flows, weakening fundamentals and arbitrage that has posted no material gain in over 18 months gather steam? Anything is possible. But it’s not a sound conclusion.

Whenever I post an article about Europe, it tends to get significantly less response than many of my other articles do.

But I hope that my fellow Americans will start paying attention to this growing crisis, because it is going to deeply affect all of us.

What is happening to the European financial system right now is truly history in the making, and I believe that it is going to be one of the biggest news stories of the second half of 2016.

Silver Price Forecast: Get Gold At $345 Per Oz By Buying Silver Today

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 04:41 AM PDT

Why do I think it is too expensive? Because I think there is a way of getting it at the equivalent of $345 an ounce, by buying silver instead.

Gold Heading Toward $1,400 As Bull Run Commences

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 01:00 AM PDT

Gold's post-Brexit vote surge continues unabated, with Bloomberg reporting today that the price of the safe haven commodity has risen for six consecutive days.

Visit the aureport.com for more information and for a free newsletter

America Has Become A Lawless Nation – Hillary Clinton Magically Cleared By The FBI

Posted: 05 Jul 2016 05:03 PM PDT

Hillary Clinton - Photo by Nathania JohnsonIt is hard to be proud to be an American today after watching FBI director James Comey magically clear Hillary Clinton of all wrongdoing.  Sadly, Comey is likely to go down in history as the man that struck the final death blow to the rule of law in America.  During his address to the media, Comey admitted that Clinton sent or received 110 emails in 52 email chains that contained classified material at the time they were sent.  But of course there were probably many more.  Comey told the press that it was “likely that there are other work-related emails that they did not produce … that are now gone because they deleted all emails they did not return to State, and the lawyers cleaned their devices.”  So basically Clinton turned over to the FBI whatever she felt like turning over, and then she destroyed the rest of the evidence.  As a former lawyer, this infuriates me, but it doesn’t surprise me.

In fact, it doesn’t surprise me at all that Hillary Clinton was allowed to skate.  I expected this all along.  If you search the thousands of articles that I have posted on The Economic Collapse Blog and End Of The American Dream, you will find many articles where I say that Hillary Clinton should be in prison, but not a single one where I ever said that I thought she would be going to prison.

This is how politics in America works today.  People like Bill and Hillary Clinton could openly sacrifice children to Satan on the White House lawn and still probably not get into trouble.  Despite scandal after scandal going all the way back to Arkansas in the 1980s, nothing ever sticks to them, and nothing probably ever will.

In this case, FBI director James Comey essentially had to rewrite federal law in order to clear Clinton.  This is something that Andrew McCarthy explained very well in his article entitled “FBI Rewrites Federal Law to Let Hillary Off the Hook”…

There is no way of getting around this: According to Director James Comey (disclosure: a former colleague and longtime friend of mine), Hillary Clinton checked every box required for a felony violation of Section 793(f) of the federal penal code (Title 18): With lawful access to highly classified information she acted with gross negligence in removing and causing it to be removed it from its proper place of custody, and she transmitted it and caused it to be transmitted to others not authorized to have it, in patent violation of her trust. Director Comey even conceded that former Secretary Clinton was "extremely careless" and strongly suggested that her recklessness very likely led to communications (her own and those she corresponded with) being intercepted by foreign intelligence services.

—–

In essence, in order to give Mrs. Clinton a pass, the FBI rewrote the statute, inserting an intent element that Congress did not require. The added intent element, moreover, makes no sense: The point of having a statute that criminalizes gross negligence is to underscore that government officials have a special obligation to safeguard national defense secrets; when they fail to carry out that obligation due to gross negligence, they are guilty of serious wrongdoing. The lack of intent to harm our country is irrelevant. People never intend the bad things that happen due to gross negligence.

The amazing thing is that the FBI handled a highly similar case very, very differently less than a year ago.  Just check out what happened to Naval reservist Bryan Nishimura…

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman immediately sentenced Nishimura to two years of probation, a $7,500 fine, and forfeiture of personal media containing classified materials. Nishimura was further ordered to surrender any currently held security clearance and to never again seek such a clearance.

According to court documents, Nishimura was a Naval reservist deployed in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008. In his role as a Regional Engineer for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, Nishimura had access to classified briefings and digital records that could only be retained and viewed on authorized government computers. Nishimura, however, caused the materials to be downloaded and stored on his personal, unclassified electronic devices and storage media. He carried such classified materials on his unauthorized media when he traveled off-base in Afghanistan and, ultimately, carried those materials back to the United States at the end of his deployment. In the United States, Nishimura continued to maintain the information on unclassified systems in unauthorized locations, and copied the materials onto at least one additional unauthorized and unclassified system.

Nishimura's actions came to light in early 2012, when he admitted to Naval personnel that he had handled classified materials inappropriately. Nishimura later admitted that, following his statement to Naval personnel, he destroyed a large quantity of classified materials he had maintained in his home. Despite that, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched Nishimura's home in May 2012, agents recovered numerous classified materials in digital and hard copy forms. The investigation did not reveal evidence that Nishimura intended to distribute classified information to unauthorized personnel.

So what is the difference between Nishimura and Clinton?

Neither of them ever intended to do anything wrong.

So why were they treated so differently?

Needless to say, social media is exploding with outrage over this decision to let Clinton go free.  Many Americans are openly asking why they should continue to play by the rules if politicians like Hillary Clinton are not required to do so.

Unfortunately, this is what America has become.  Our politicians are a reflection of who we are as a society, and as I have stated before Hillary Clinton is going to be the overwhelming favorite if there is an election in November.  At this moment, she has solid leads in all of the “swing states”, and she only really needs to win one of them…

Perhaps you enjoy talk of battleground states. Well, there’s a scenario for you, too. First, pick the six “closest” swing states (VA, NH, IA, OH, FL, NC). Got it? Now understand that New Hampshire excepted, Clinton only has to win one of them in order to reach the requisite 270 electoral votes to win. (Optional third step for Republicans only: start shotgunning Pabst Blue Ribbon and don’t stop until November.)

Lest any Trump supporters seek solace in poll numbers, recent polls have Trump sliding further behind in all the relevant swing states. According to a Ballotpedia battleground poll released last week, Trump trails by 14% in Florida, 4% in Iowa, 10% in North Carolina, 9% in Ohio, and 7% in Virginia.

Hillary Clinton is a horrible, evil, miserable human being, and right now she is the odds-on favorite to become the next president of the United States.

But ultimately it is the American people that are to blame for blindly supporting corrupt politicians such as Clinton, and if they willingly pick her to be our next president then we will certainly deserve whatever consequences follow.

Silver Price Forecast: Silver Prices Will Move Much Higher And Faster Than Most People Think

Posted: 05 Jul 2016 04:57 AM PDT

Silver Price Forecast 2017 / 2016 Historically, the silver price has a tendency to decline and rise way more and faster than most people expect. The recent 5-year decline is a good example of a decline that went lower than expected. There are good reasons for this, but we often miss it due to our…

Visible Gold Unearthed at Newmarket's Fosterville Mine

Posted: 05 Jul 2016 01:00 AM PDT

Assay results from Newmarket Gold's Harrier South gold system have confirmed the potential for expansion at the company's Fosterville Gold Mine in Australia.

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