Gold World News Flash

Is political correctness costing people their lives?
Leftists Creating Shadow Government
Deutsche Bank agrees to $7.2 billion mortgage settlement with U.S.
Fiat Money: The Great Tragedy Of Modern Civilization
Federal Reserve: Globalist Christmas Gift
Federal Reserve Initiates End Game As Trump Heads To White House
Gold Price Closed at $1128.80 Down $2.30 or -0.20%
Royal Mint And CME Make A Mint On The Blockchain?
Donald Trump Issues EPIC Tweet About The Popular Vote After Officially Winning Election
Economic Collapse Crisis 2017 has begun! Financial Meltdown Dollar Crash Coming!
Dimitri Speck: Deutsche Bank settlement and charts provide market manipulation evidence
Hillary Supporter Sets Himself On Fire Because She Lost The Damn Race
U.S. and China on Collision Course
Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Edge Lower With Stocks
MAX KEISER -- The Trump Effect is Changing History
Strongest Gold “Buy” Signal In 16 Years
Royal Mint And CME Make A Mint On The Blockchain?
Outlook for 2017
Anonymous Christmas Message: It Is Time To Wake Up Now
In 2017 cars will talk to each other about the traffic?
Jim’s Mailbox
Avery Goodman: Comex creates fake 'spot' physical gold and silver market
Jan Skoyles: Will blockchain serve gold investors or just government gold vaults?
China tries to talk dollar down, saying market is 'too optimistic' about Trump
India said to consider lowering gold import tax to 6% from 10%
Alasdair Macleod: Inflation will outrun interest rates in 2017
Royal Mint And CME Make A Mint On The Blockchain?
Trump may have a $300 million conflict of interest with Deutsche Bank
Breaking News And Best Of The Web
An Uptick in Brucejack Resource Estimates Bodes Well for Pretium Resources

Is political correctness costing people their lives?

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 10:00 PM PST

Threat Knowledge Group Chairman Sebastian Gorka on the Berlin truck attack suspect. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more

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

Leftists Creating Shadow Government

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 09:30 PM PST

The Obama administration is on their way out, or are they? They're maneuvering themselves into positions of power outside the presidency and positioning to maintain as much control as possible when Donald Trump becomes President. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks...

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

Deutsche Bank agrees to $7.2 billion mortgage settlement with U.S.

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 09:28 PM PST

By Karen Freifeld, Arno Schuetze, and Kathrin Jones
Reuters
Friday, December 23, 2016

Deutsche Bank has agreed to a $7.2 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its sale and pooling of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

The agreement in principle, announced by Deutsche Bank's Frankfurt headquarters early Friday morning, offers some relief to the German lender, whose stock was hit hard in September after it acknowledged the Justice Department had been seeking nearly twice as much.

It also highlights the Justice Department's recent efforts to hold European banks accountable for shoddy securities that contributed to the U.S. housing market collapse.

The department sued Barclays PLC on Thursday over similar claims, after having reached $46 billion in settlements with U.S. banks over the last three years. ...

As part of the agreement, Deutsche Bank would pay a civil monetary penalty of $3.1 billion and provide $4.1 billion in consumer relief, such as loan forgiveness. The bank cautioned that there is "no assurance" the two sides will agree on the final documents. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-bank-mortgages-settlement-idU...

ADVERTISEMENT

Sandspring Resources Commences 2016 Exploration Campaign

Company Announcement
August 17, 2016

Sandspring Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:SSP, US OTC: SSPXF) is pleased to announce commencement of the 2016 exploration campaign at its Toroparu Gold Project in Guyana, South America.

In 2015 the company completed a 3,700-meter diamond drilling program on the promising Sona Hill Prospect, located 5 kilometers southeast of the main Toroparu deposit. Sona Hill is the easternmost gold anomaly in a cluster of 10 gold features located within a 20-by-7-kilometer hydrothermal alteration halo around Toroparu. Drilling at Sona Hill in 2012 and in 2015 intercepted high-grade mineralization in both saprolite and bedrock, and confirmed the continuity and grade potential of the Sona Hill mineralization.

For the remainder of the announcement and highlights of the 2015 drill program:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sandspring-resources-commences-2016-explo...

Help keep GATA going

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

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

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

Fiat Money: The Great Tragedy Of Modern Civilization

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 08:30 PM PST

David Knight and Stefan Molyneux break down how the fiat currency issued by central banks around the world has been used to control the worlds population. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative...

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

Federal Reserve: Globalist Christmas Gift

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 08:00 PM PST

The Federal Reserve while it's neither federal or holding anything in reserve does allow the globalists to keep total control of the United States economy. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative...

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

Federal Reserve Initiates End Game As Trump Heads To White House

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 07:15 PM PST

Submitted by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.com,

For years, alternative economic analysts have been warning that the “miraculous” rise in U.S. stock markets has been the symptom of wider central bank intervention and that this will result in dire future consequences. We have heard endless lies and rationalizations as to why this could not be so, and why the U.S. “recovery” is real. At the beginning of 2016, the former head of the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve crushed all the skeptics and vindicated our position in an interview with CNBC where he stated:

“What the Fed did — and I was part of that group — is we front-loaded a tremendous market rally, starting in 2009.It’s sort of what I call the “reverse Whimpy factor” — give me two hamburgers today for one tomorrow. I’m not surprised that almost every index you can look at … was down significantly.” [Referring to the results in the stock market after the Fed raised rates in December.]

Fisher continued his warning (though his predictions in my view are wildly conservative or deliberately muted):

“…I was warning my colleagues, “Don’t go wobbly if we have a 10-20 percent correction at some point. … Everybody you talk to … has been warning that these markets are heavily priced.”

Here is the issue — stocks are a mostly meaningless factor when considering the economic health of a nation. Equities are a casino based on nothing but the luck of the draw when it comes to news headlines, central banker statements and algorithmic computers. Today, as Fischer openly admitted, stocks are a purely manipulated indicator representing nothing but the amount of stimulus central banks are willing to pour into them through various channels.

Even with the incredible monetary support pooled together by international financiers, returns on equities investments continue to remain mostly flat. It would seem that the propping up of indexes like the Dow has been only for the sake of keeping up appearances. For many people, revenue is barely being generated.

Unfortunately, the majority of Americans do not care to educate themselves on the finer points of finance. Their only relation to the health of the economy is their daily glance at the Dow. If it is green, or at all time highs, they assume that all is well, even if their gut is telling them something is not quite right.

The elites that stand at the helm of the Federal Reserve understand this dynamic very well. They are not stupid. They know that the whole of the global economy could be in a shambles but as long as stocks remain positive the masses will continue to ignore reality until the flames of destabilization are at their very doorsteps.

With this fact in mind one might think that the Fed would consider it in their best interest to keep stimulus measures operating indefinitely; but that is not what they are doing.

In fact, the Fed along with other central banks like the ECB has been slowly peeling back pillars of support from markets that have been in place since 2008-2009 and leaving the system open to a crisis event that should have been dealt with years ago. I examined this process of deliberate destabilization in my article 'The Global Economic Reset Has Begun.'

In that piece I outlined the three major pillars holding up the U.S. market system and certain parts of our economy and how they were being systematically removed.

The first pillar was the use of bailouts and quantitative easing measures. These were diminished through the implementation of the Fed “taper,” which I predicted would happen three months prior that year.

The second pillar was the use of near zero interest rates, which allowed numerous banks and corporations to access low-cost and no-cost overnight loans from the Fed. These companies then used these loans in large part to support a never-ending program of stock buybacks, which reduced the stock pool and artificially boosted the values of the remaining stocks. I predicted in August of 2015 that the Fed would hike interest rates and that this would be the beginning of the end for the stock buyback bonanza. The Fed hiked rates in December of that year.

This process of removing backdoor manipulation through low interest rates should be our main concern right now. Early in 2016 I believed that the Fed would reach a position in which it would finally unleash a series of rate hikes. I did not think they would be so blatant as to wait until right after the U.S. presidential election to do so. I was wrong.

This is why I eventually predicted the launch of a series of rate hikes starting right after the election of Donald Trump in my article 'World Suffers From Trump Shell Shock — Here’s What Will Happen Next.' The Fed has now once again hiked interest rates with assertions that they will be “accelerating” such hikes throughout 2017.

As I have been arguing for most of the past year, the election of Donald Trump was inevitable and would precede the triggering of the final stage of our ongoing economic crisis. I came to realize that the Fed’s timing of their latest rate hike is highly strategic. Not only does it set the stage for a series of hikes that will crush U.S. stock markets this coming year and finally shock the public out of their fiscal stupor, but it also maneuvers the crisis right into the lap of Donald Trump and the conservative movements that support him.

Beyond this, it perpetuates an increasing Left/Right division in America. Think about it — during a fiscal crisis under Trump, tiggered by accumulating Fed rate hikes, liberals will immediately set upon Trump as the culprit, while conservatives will immediately defend Trump as a victim of Federal Reserve meddling.

The Federal Reserve and the mainstream media are already composing the narrative by stating that Trump's potential economic policies and a widening budget deficit would REQUIRE higher rates at a faster pace in order to be accommodated.

I have heard arguments from some that this tactic would simply not work. That people would “never buy” a narrative in which Trump and conservatives are blamed for a market collapse that was at least eight years in the making. I have to say, this view is incredibly naive.

I understand why people would want to embrace the notion that the public is as savvy as the liberty movement when looking at economic events, but this simply isn’t reality. A large portion of the U.S. population identifies with the “Left” end of the political spectrum. We have already seen how they react in the face of a Trump election win. They are predisposed to believe that Trump is responsible for a market crash regardless of the facts. Not to mention, much of the rest of the world is economically ignorant and will likely jump on the anti-conservative bandwagon during a crisis as well.

But the real master stroke of this strategy on the part of the elites is that it creates the perfect platform for the destruction of the U.S. dollar’s world reserve status — the third and final pillar I mentioned months ago that is supporting our economic system.

Imagine that the Fed’s rate hike frenzy sparks an open feud between the central bank and Trump? Some people might say “Good! Shut the bastards down!” However, this is exactly what the elites want. With the Fed “at odds” with the president of the U.S., faith in the U.S. dollar will plummet. Its world reserve status will be destroyed. And instead of being blamed on central banks, the majority of people around the world will claim it was the fault of Trump.

With a historically sufficient excuse for the end of dollar dominance in hand, the elites can move forward with their great global reset, which includes the replacement of the dollar with the IMF’s special drawing rights as the go-to reserve currency mechanism. The SDR basket is an essential bridge in the formation of a single global monetary authority and a true single global currency.

I believe that the Fed will not only continue hiking interest rates throughout 2017, but that some of these rate hikes may be LARGER than many people expect (50 basis points or more). I believe this will be designed to foster extreme tensions between the executive branch and the central bank.

A few months ago I would have said that Trump may or “may not” be aware of this dynamic and the potential that he is a scapegoat. Now that I have seen Trump’s cabinet picks which include neo-con and Goldman Sachs alumni, I have little doubt that he is fully cognizant of the plan. I will be writing more on the issue of Trump as a "Trojan horse" in my next article. In the meantime I would point out that all of the elements of psychological support for stock markets will also disappear in the face of a Trump verses establishment narrative.

All those leftist media outlets cherry picking economic stats and telling half truths to support the recovery lie now have no reason to continue cheerleading for the economy. I expect that propaganda rags like Reuters and Bloomberg will quickly change their tune with Trump in the Oval Office and begin a consistent chorus of negative financial data. Not only will the Fed remove all support from the system, but the mainstream media will be pounding day traders with the kind of “doom and gloom” headlines that they have been criticizing us for over the years.

Make no mistake, the election of Trump may have some in the liberty movement ready to pack up their preps and forget about any national crisis in their lifetimes, but the truth is, vigilance is needed now more than ever. I said it before the election and I’ll say it today — do not get comfortable; the times are about to get even more interesting.

Gold Price Closed at $1128.80 Down $2.30 or -0.20%

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 07:13 PM PST

23-Dec-16	Price	Change	% Change
Gold Price, $/oz	1,128.80	-2.30	-0.20%
Silver Price, $/oz	15.82	-0.10	-0.65%
Gold/Silver Ratio	71.375	0.317	0.45%
Silver/Gold Ratio	0.0140	-0.0001	-0.44%
Platinum	906.40	-6.90	-0.76%
Palladium	660.40	-3.30	-0.50%
S&P 500	2,260.96	-4.22	-0.19%
Dow	19,918.88	-23.08	-0.12%
Dow in GOLD $s	364.78	0.32	0.09%
Dow in GOLD oz	17.65	0.02	0.09%
Dow in SILVER oz	1,259.49	6.70	0.53%
US Dollar Index	103.08	0.06	0.06%

IMPORTANT NOTE: The following are wholesale, not retail, prices. To figure our retail selling price, multiply the "ask" price by 1.035. To figure our retail buying price, multiple the "bid" price by 0.97. Lower commissions apply to larger orders, higher commissions to very small orders.

SPOT GOLD:	1,128.80
GOLD	Fine Tr.Oz.	BID	ASK	$/oz
American Eagle	1.00	1,162.66	1,166.61	1,166.61
1/2 AE	0.50	585.05	595.44	1,190.88
1/4 AE	0.25	298.16	303.37	1,213.46
1/10 AE	0.10	122.65	123.60	1,236.04
Aust. 100 corona	0.98	1,099.81	1,108.81	1,131.21
British sovereign	0.24	267.71	280.71	1,192.49
French 20 franc	0.19	210.75	216.75	1,160.94
Krugerrand	1.00	1,142.35	1,152.35	1,152.35
Maple Leaf	1.00	1,138.80	1,152.80	1,152.80
1/2 Maple Leaf	0.50	649.06	592.62	1,185.24
1/4 Maple Leaf	0.25	287.84	301.95	1,207.82
1/10 Maple Leaf	0.10	119.65	123.04	1,230.39
Mexican 50 peso	1.21	1,351.36	1,362.36	1,129.93
.9999 bar	1.00	1,133.32	1,138.80	1,138.80
SPOT SILVER:	15.82
SILVER	Fine Tr.Oz.	BID	ASK	$/oz
VG+ Morgan $B4 1905	0.77	23.00	27.00	35.29
VG+ Peace dollar	0.77	17.00	20.00	26.14
90% silver coin bags	0.72	11,665.23	11,951.23	16.72
US 40% silver 1/2s	0.30	4,473.68	4,623.68	15.67
100 oz .999 bar	100.00	1,571.50	1,596.50	15.97
10 oz .999 bar	10.00	159.65	164.65	16.47
1 oz .999 round	1.00	16.07	16.37	16.37
Am Eagle, 200 oz Min	1.00	17.32	18.82	18.82
SPOT PLATINUM:	906.40
PLATINUM	Fine Tr.Oz.	BID	ASK	$/oz
Plat. Platypus	1.00	921.40	951.40	951.40

Get Franklin Sanders Daily Gold Price Reports and Market Commentaries:

If the form above does not display in your iPhone or android app, please use this link to visit the website signup form:

http://goldprice.org/franklin-sanders

Royal Mint And CME Make A Mint On The Blockchain?

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 07:00 PM PST

Royal Mint And CME Make A Mint On The Blockchain?

The last fortnight has been an exciting one in the gold and blockchain space. Earlier this week Euroclear and Paxos announced that a group which included Société Générale, Citi, Scotiabank had completed the first pilot of the blockchain-based gold trading platform as being developed by Euroclear. In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint became the latest sovereign mint to announce a blockchain product with GoldMoney.

Royal Mint Gold Sovereigns 2017

The Royal Mint in the UK had beaten the Royal Canadian Mint and GoldMoney to it by announcing at the end of November that they were launching a blockchain project, one which will be in direct competition with the Euroclear project.

We will be looking at this week's development in more detail shortly but today focus on the UK Royal Mint announcement and ask what this means for the 1,000 year old institution, the gold market and blockchain technology.

The Royal Mint and CME Group announced a gold and blockchain 'solution' three weeks ago. As one would expect from a trading solution using blockchain, it will 'log each transaction'. The two parties will collaborate on a digital gold asset called Royal Mint Gold (RMG) and will 'transform the way traders and investors trade, execute and settle gold.'

In a conference call quoted by the Internatonal Business Times, there was very little said about what made the plans any different to what is already being offered by the likes of Goldcore. Bars will be held in secure storage, represented on an online trading platform and then traded. But, a blockchain will be in place.

Despite the fanfare and considerable PR benefit surrounding the announcement there is very little information on the hows and the whys of the decision by HM Treasury owned Royal Mint and the world's largest futures exchange operator to launch a joint blockchain offering. Instead this appears to be about encouraging physical gold ownership, facilitated by a government who happen to own a storage facility.

But what does it mean?

Blockchain has to be the most hyped technology in a very long time. Even AI, IoT and VR, all of which are creating a lot of excitement, are not experiencing the same level of fuss.

Solutions for trading physical assets, based on the blockchain are becoming more popular and as a result more sophisticated. Many are autonomous which is obviously attractive to those who choose to invest in gold.

This is where there is an interesting point when it comes to the Royal Mint and their interest in blockchain. It is too easy for someone unfamiliar with blockchain technology and the gold market to assume that this move by the 1,000 year old institution is to offer some kind of autonomy to the gold market.

It seems that we live in a world where we shout 'got a problem? Blockchain'll fix it!'

Take health records, for example. There is little doubt that blockchain technology really could transform the systems and processes that are currently in place. However those problems exist because of a multitude of reasons location, legacy systems, interest of invested parties to name a few.

None of which will disappear with the appearance of a blockchain.

The case is the same for gold and the blockchain. I do believe that blockchain could play a big role in the international gold market. But, in this case for the end customer and for the wider gold market I believe this will not have a significant positive impact. As explained earlier, this is a gold trading platform that happens to be using blockchain.

Economist Ashe Whitener agrees

"In my opinion, this is only news because the Royal Mint is basically a government-owned entity experimenting with blockchain. Just because something tangible like gold has a serial number on a blockchain, doesn't mean that it is any more secure, safe or less risky.

Since the underlying asset is still physical, we still must place our trust with the Mint in terms of vaulting the gold. So nothing here really changes."

What is it good for?

This is likely better news for the blockchain industry than for the gold market. For the blockchain space an announcement by a 1,000 year-old, government owned institution along with the world's largest futures exchange operator is another tick in the legitimacy box for this relatively new and much hyped technology.

The announcement has lead to even more discussions about how the distributed ledger technology can be used in the world of gold trading.

As Michael Scott wrote upon hearing the announcement:

"It reflects blockchain's ability to adroitly track and authenticate data, secured by a global ecosystem of computers which ensure that recorded transactions are tamper resistant and unalterable."

Does the Royal Mint need a blockchain?

Blockchain's abilities to remove uncertainties could be particularly beneficial to the gold market, a market that is so overrun with uncertainty and opacity that companies such as GoldCore go to great lengths to put systems and processes in place in order to guarantee transparency and accessibility.

At present, very little information has been released by CME Group and the Royal Mint on the specifics of what kind of blockchain will be used, and in what capacity it will play a role.

As Sandra Ro of CME said in the conference call

"We will go into further details about exactly how a lot of process will work and the finer details around the platform at a later date."

What we do know (thanks to Ro) is that the blockchain in place will be a permissioned network. This effectively means that Joe Bloggs cannot decide he would also like to participate in the Royal Mint's blockchain and start approving transactions. Instead, all actors will be known and 'and there will be a mechanism by which validators will validate the transactions.'

As the two parties have themselves said, this is not about a blockchain product, this is an investment platform that happens to use blockchain. However, be sure that both the Royal Mint and CME Group will have full oversight and likely control over the blockchain.

The attraction of blockchain technology in the gold market, is similar to that in any other marketplace where there is an exchange of information (which may or may not lead to an exchange of an asset). A central database, or registry, is not needed thanks to the decentralised network of records.

This creates some significant cost and time savings, as well as boosting the efficiencies in how information is recorded, updated and shared.

One of the claims by the Royal Mint is that by using a blockchain solution, they will not have to pass storage fees onto clients. How using the blockchain means that storage fees no longer have to be charged is something that is not yet clear. If RMG is fully-backed by gold then who is covering the storage and insurance costs for participants?

Is it not of interest as to why an institution owned by a heavily indebted government would be making a lot of noise about it's gold trading platform that just so happens to be connected to some storage vaults?

Boost to London?

The decision to use blockchain technology is, according to the UK's Daily Telegraph "a bid to broaden London's appeal as a place to buy and sell bullion."

Currently the London Gold market, along with the COMEX is the biggest price creator in the gold market. Around $5 trillion of gold deals are done in the capital city, per year. The City is not currently struggling in terms of appeal, to the mainstream at least.

However of late a series of moves across the globe may have current gold market influencers thinking about what the future may hold.

The move to blockchain by both groups is not surprising.

The Royal Mint has been looking at the space for the last couple of years, whilst CME Group have investments in two blockchain companies. Both will no doubt be feeling the pressure from the developments that are going on in London. We recently discussed the increasingly fragmented London gold market, which has new players offering blockchain solutions for various aspects of gold trading.

In the US, CME Group will also be carefully watching TradeWindMarkets, a spin off from IEX Group (of Flashboys fame) which will also be launching a blockchain supported gold exchange.

Outside of London announcements by Singapore and China, plus the setting of the Sharia Gold Standard likely has current price setters in the gold market, anxious about how they can maintain their stronghold.

But this is unlikely to just be about increasing awareness of the London Gold market. The big gold trading institutions are already aware of, and are using the OTC market.

Royal Mint gold is not diversification

Gold investors buy gold to diversify their portfolio. There are more detailed reasons, and further reasons for doing so, but this is the one that covers most gold investors. You might also invest in gold because you read that it would perform well in the next five years, your colleague might invest in gold because of concerns over the cashless society and it goes on. But ultimately we all do it to diversify our investments and as a form of financial insurance.

We want some portfolio diversification because we want to protect (and grow) our wealth as much as possible. What are we protecting it from? Changes in the economy. This in turn is affected by a multitude of factors from financial developments, economic policies, governments, geopolitical events and even the weather.

When we invest in an asset that is designed to reduce our exposure to global risk, it's probably a great idea to choose one which is as far removed from the system as possible.

This is why we choose gold. It is a border less, autonomous asset, a gold bar or coin cannot be printed many times over at the will of government or central bank, it cannot be eaten away by negative interest rates, if held non bank, non government, safer jurisdictions, a government will find it very hard to remove it through bail-ins or asset confiscation. History has shown how its value remains and it is an invaluable wealth preservation tool.

This is also why a lot of people like bitcoin, and why many are interested in the benefits a blockchain can bring to a system that represents exchange of value.

So when we invest in gold, it flummoxes me why many people choose to do so with the help of the very system that has created the need to hold safe haven assets e.g. gold and silver. Why place your gold in the custody of a heavily indebted national government?

We like the Royal Mint and their bullion coins, including Gold Sovereigns and Gold Britannias, are some of our best selling gold coins. However, for those looking to own gold for diversification, safe haven and financial insurance purposes it is prudent to opt for owning such bullion coins and bars in allocated and segregated storage in large, stable, creditor nations.

It is unlikely that a blockchain solution will give those Royal Mint users greater automony over their gold. The gold will still be stored in Royal Mint vaults, in the UK and, therefore, the custodian will remain the British Government which is under considerable stress and faces many challenges including Brexit and a massive national debt.

To begin to promote gold ownership, via the hype of the blockchain, at a zero-storage fee cost leads to obvious questions as to whether this is a win for the investor or for the Royal Mint.

Gold and Silver Bullion - News and Commentary

Gold steady as dollar edges away from 14-year peak (Reuters.com)

India Said to Consider Lowering Gold Import Tax to 6% From 10% (Bloomberg.com)

Donald Trump Issues EPIC Tweet About The Popular Vote After Officially Winning Election

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 06:00 PM PST

Donald Trump Issues EPIC Tweet About The Popular Vote After Officially Winning Election. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more

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

Economic Collapse Crisis 2017 has begun! Financial Meltdown Dollar Crash Coming!

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 05:00 PM PST

TV NEWS: FINANCIAL CRISIS 2017 has begun! How to protect your money! Important News!! How to survive on 2017 event! Gold Tips! Very important Information! Please take a look and Share... Share... because this video must be shared with max number of people! make your part now, please share it!...

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

Dimitri Speck: Deutsche Bank settlement and charts provide market manipulation evidence

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 04:42 PM PST

7:42p ET Thursday, December 22, 2016

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Gold researcher and author Dimitri Speck recounts today how the daily pattern of the gold price as it traded around the world disclosed the price-suppression scheme of the gold cartel 14 years ago and particularly incriminated the daily London gold price fixing. Speck's commentary is headlined "Deutsche Bank Settlement: Seasonal Intraday Charts Provide Evidence for Market Manipulation" and it's posted at the Acting Man internet site here:

http://www.acting-man.com/?p=48226

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

ADVERTISEMENT

Canadian Government Issues Key Water License
for Seabridge Gold's KSM Project in British Columbia

Company Announcement
Monday, November 21, 2016

TORONTO -- Seabridge Gold Inc. (TSX: SEA) (NYSE:SA) announced today it has received a license from the Government of Canada required for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the water storage facility and associated ancillary water works at its 100 percent-owned KSM Project in northwestern British Columbia.

The license, as authorized within the International Rivers Improvement Act, regulates all structures and activities situated on transboundary waters shared with the United States that have the potential to affect water quality and quantity. The Water storage facility and its ancillary water works (water diversion ditches and tunnels) are the primary water management control systems for the KSM Project. These facilities separate water that has not contacted mined material from so-called contact water originating from disturbed areas of the mine site and then contain the contact water prior to treatment and eventual release to the receiving environment.

These facilities are situated on Mitchell and Sulphurets creeks, tributaries of the transboundary Unuk River system that flows into Alaska. The license was granted for a term of 25 years under the International Rivers Improvements Regulations as administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. ...

... For the remainder of the announcement:

http://seabridgegold.net/News/Article/642/federal-government-issues-key-...

Help keep GATA going

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

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

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

Hillary Supporter Sets Himself On Fire Because She Lost The Damn Race

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 03:30 PM PST

Hillary Supporter Sets Himself On Fire Because She Lost The Damn Race The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more

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

U.S. and China on Collision Course

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 02:04 PM PST

This post U.S. and China on Collision Course appeared first on Daily Reckoning.

[Ed. Note: Jim Rickards latest New York Times best seller, The Road to Ruin: The Global Elites' Secret Plan for the Next Financial Crisis (claim your free copy here) goes beyond the election and prepares you for the next crisis]

China's capital and currency markets are on a collision course with the U.S., and by extension, the entire world. Economists are fond of saying if something can't go on forever, it won't. That truism applies to China.

Huge profits will be made by those who see this China train wreck coming and act in time.

The idea of economic stress in China sounds strange to most ears. China has come from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution to the world's largest economy measured on a purchasing power parity basis in just 35 years. Even using nominal GDP, my preferred metric, it is the world's second largest economy.

China's economy grew over 12% per year in 2006-2008, and again in 2010. Even at the depths of the global financial crisis in 2009, annual Chinese growth was still over 6%. Chinese growth ran between 8% and 6.7% from 2011 to 2016. These growth rates are extraordinary compared to the 0% to 2% annual growth achieved by the major developed economies since 2007.

But, beneath that glossy surface all is not well. Much of China's growth was completely artificial. It would not be counted if China were subject to more rigorous accounting standards.

China's growth consisted of about 45% investment. That compares with about 30% investment in developed economies. Investment is fine if the investments have positive expected returns and are not financed with excessive debt. But, China fails both of those tests.

Much Chinese investment is completely wasted on "ghost cities" (major metropolitan complexes that are completely empty). As well as white elephant prestige projects such as the multi-billion dollar Nanjing South train station with 128 mostly unused escalators. Assuming half of Chinese investment is wasted, then GDP should be reduced 22.5%. This turns 6.7% growth into 5.2% growth at best.

The situation gets even worse when you consider the amount of debt being used to finance this wasted investment. China's bank assets have grown from about $2.5 trillion to $40 trillion in the past 10 years, a 1,500% increase. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Most Chinese debt is "off the books" in so-called wealth management products (something like the CDOs that sank Lehman Brothers in 2008), and derivatives. China has a huge "shadow banking" system of provincial guarantees, inter-company loans and offshore transfer pricing schemes. When all of this debt is taken into account, China looks like the greatest Ponzi scheme in history.

If the situation is so unstable and overleveraged, why hasn't it collapsed already? The answer is that China is the greatest currency manipulator of all time. China used a 35% "maxi-devaluation" of the yuan in 1994 to make its currency globally competitive and boost its exports. Then it used central bank intervention from 1994 to 2006 to keep its currency at that depressed level.

This 12-year currency manipulation enabled China to build its factories, create jobs, pile-up dollar surpluses and prop up its banking system. Of course, much of this growth came at the expense of U.S. manufacturing jobs that were being lost by the millions over this same period. Only after 2007 under intense U.S. political pressure did China allow the yuan to appreciate to a more reasonable level given its factor inputs and terms of trade.

Now China is again resorting to its currency wars playbook. Since 2014, China has allowed the yuan to devalue from 6.0 to 1 dollar down to 6.9 to 1 dollar. Right now the yuan is poised to break through the significant benchmark of 7.0 to 1 dollar.

The difference between now and 1994 is that the U.S. is paying attention. In particular, President-elect Donald J. Trump has threatened to label China a "currency manipulator" on his first day in office on January 20, 2017.

This escalation of currency wars tension comes at a time when there is heightened risk of a real war with China. Soon after his election, Trump received a congratulatory phone call from the president of Taiwan. That might seem like a routine courtesy, but not from the Communist Chinese perspective.

Beijing views Taiwan as a "breakaway province" and not a separate country. U.S. politicians usually tiptoe around this issue, but not Trump. He not only chatted with Taiwan's president, but he questioned the U.S. "One China" policy in a tweet.

Trump's actions set off alarms in Beijing. The Communist leadership decided to send Trump a message by stealing one of our Navy underwater drones operating in Philippine waters, nowhere near the disputed South China Sea waters claimed by China.

The underwater drone was later returned, (after Trump tweeted that the Chinese should "keep it"), but the point was made. Geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. are definitely on the rise.

bowditch

With China heading for a credit crisis, and U.S.-China political relations strained, what does this portend for the Chinese yuan and a budding currency war?

The first indication is that a new Chinese maxi-devaluation may already have begun. Of course, the Chinese will not move 35% at one time as they did in 1994. They are moving in small steps.

But, even a 3% devaluation on August 10, 2015 was enough to send U.S. stock markets down 11% in the next three weeks.

A 10% maxi-devaluation today, less than one-third of what China did in 1994, would send U.S. stocks plunging 30% in days at the prospect of an all-out trade war with China.

How likely is a new maxi-devaluation? It could be coming in a matter of weeks.

The reason the yuan has been going down lately is not government manipulation but capital flight. Wealthy Chinese are trying to get their money out of China as fast as they can because they fear a new maxi-devaluation is coming.

China has burned through $1 trillion of foreign exchange reserves in the past two years to accommodate the demand for dollars from this capital flight. China's holdings of U.S. Treasury debt have crashed from $1.265 trillion in November 2015 to $1.115 trillion as of October 2016 according to U.S. Treasury data.

China's overall reserves have fallen from about $4 trillion in 2014 to $3 trillion today. Of that amount, about $1 trillion is illiquid and another $1 trillion will be needed to bailout China's banks in the coming credit crisis. That only leaves $1 trillion as a precautionary reserve to defend the yuan. China's capital flight continues at about $100 billion per month. This means China will be broke in one year.

If China wants to avoid going broke, it only has three choices according to Mundell's "Impossible Trinity." It can raise interest rates to defend the currency, slap on capital controls, or devalue the yuan.

Interest rate hikes will kill the economy and accelerate the credit crisis. Capital controls will choke off new foreign direct investment and force capital flight into illegal channels without actually stopping it. A maxi-devaluation is the simplest and easiest way out of the box for China.

Why hasn't China devalued already? Part of the reason is to avoid being labeled a "currency manipulator" by the U.S. This could cause retaliation in the form of tariffs. That is why China has been pursuing a slow, steady devaluation instead of a maxi-devaluation.

But, now Trump says he will label China a currency manipulator anyway. Perhaps with one of his "first day" executive orders as soon as he is inaugurated. If Trump does that, and he well may, then China has no reason to delay its maxi-devaluation because the U.S. will have taken away China's only motivation to play nice.

The resulting currency and trade war will make the 11% stock market correction of 2015 look like a picnic. All global markets will be affected. The U.S. will suffer, but China will suffer more.

Regards,

Jim Rickards
for The Daily Reckoning

The post U.S. and China on Collision Course appeared first on Daily Reckoning.

Gold Seeker Closing Report: Gold and Silver Edge Lower With Stocks

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 01:31 PM PST

Gold popped up to $1134.04 in midmorning New York trade before it fell back to $1127.80 in early afternoon trade and then bounced back higher at times, but it still ended with a loss of 0.25%. Silver slipped to as low as $15.765 and ended with a loss of 0.94%.

MAX KEISER -- The Trump Effect is Changing History

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 01:30 PM PST

I am not convinced that Trump is the "savior". I've heard so many promises that never got fulfilled. Those who are in power and are not elected, won't just give in, because of Trump. I prefer to wait and see. I don't believe any hype. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog...

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

Strongest Gold “Buy” Signal In 16 Years

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 12:52 PM PST

Debt issued behaves like printed money until that debt is payed back. That's the dirty little secret that bona fide economists don't discuss, at least in public. See the problem in the graph above? The level of debt NEVER declines. The small blip down in 2010 was a result of $100's of billions in bank write-offs for defaulted mortgages, credit cards and auto loans. In order to measure the true money supply, it's necessary to add to together the Fed's "M" accounts plus the incremental increase in the level of debt each year.

Royal Mint And CME Make A Mint On The Blockchain?

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 12:30 PM PST

gold.ie

Outlook for 2017

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 12:14 PM PST

This year, bulls of precious metals have ridden a roller-coaster of hope followed by disillusionment. Much of the frustration has been due to the bullion banks seizing the opportunity presented by a strong dollar to force closure of their short positions on Comex. Meanwhile, for hedge funds, short-term positioning in gold has been an easy way to play the strong dollar, which is why money-managers morphed from earlier bulls to a mixture of bears and don't-knows. Next year is shaping up to be an entirely different matter.

Anonymous Christmas Message: It Is Time To Wake Up Now

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 12:00 PM PST

Anonymous Message 2017 - You have to watch this! Something big is going to happen on this Christmas!This is the latest Anonymous message to the US citizens. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative...

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

In 2017 cars will talk to each other about the traffic?

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 11:30 AM PST

Detroit Free Press' Mark Phelan on the technology trends in the auto industry in 2017. The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more

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

Jim’s Mailbox

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 11:07 AM PST

Dear G, Bitcoin is a virtual game that is being made look better than gold or silver, to sell the concept of a world wide virtual currency. It should change its name to "Nintendo Virtual Foolishness," as it's purpose is to win the hearts and minds of a public. After that to construct a “Dollar... Read more »

The post Jim’s Mailbox appeared first on Jim Sinclair's Mineset.

Avery Goodman: Comex creates fake 'spot' physical gold and silver market

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 11:03 AM PST

2p ET Thursday, December 22, 2016

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Securities lawyer and market analyst Avery Goodman today warns investors against another unallocated gold scam being concocted by CME Group, operator of the New York Commodity Exchange. Goodman's commentary is headlined "Comex Creates Fake 'Spot' Physical Gold and Silver Market" and it's posted at his internet site here:

http://averybgoodman.com/myblog/2016/12/22/cme-inc-to-create-a-fake-spot...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

ADVERTISEMENT

We Are Amid the Biggest Financial Bubble in History;
When It Bursts, Bullion Owned in the Safest Way Will Protect Wealth

With GoldCore you can own allocated -- and most importantly -- segregated coins and bars in Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong remain extremely safe jurisdictions for storing bullion. Avoid exchange-traded funds and digital gold providers where you are a price taker. Ensure that you are outright legal owner of your bullion. If you do not own segregated bullion that you can visit, inspect, and take delivery of, you are exposed.

Crucial guides to storage in Singapore and Switzerland can be read here:

http://info.goldcore.com/essential-guide-to-storing-gold-in-singapore

http://info.goldcore.com/essential-guide-to-storing-gold-in-switzerland

GoldCore does not report transactions to any authority. Safety, privacy, and confidentiality are paramount when we are entrusted with storage of our clients' precious metals.

Email the GoldCore team at info@goldcore.com or call our trading desk:

UK: +44(0)203-086-9200. U.S.: +1-302-635-1160. International: +353(0)1-632-5010.

Visit us at: http://www.goldcore.com

Help keep GATA going

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

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

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

Jan Skoyles: Will blockchain serve gold investors or just government gold vaults?

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 08:52 AM PST

11:52a ET Thursday, December 22, 2016

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

GoldCore's Jan Skoyles writes today that attaching "blockchain" technology to gold transactions and vaulting does not necessarily accomplish much for gold investors, especially when a government is holding the gold for its nominal owners.

Skoyles writes: "So when we invest in gold, it flummoxes me why many people choose to do so with the help of the very system that has created the need to hold safe-haven assets -- for example, gold and silver. Why place your gold in the custody of a heavily indebted national government?"

Skoyles' commentary is headlined "Royal Mint and CME to Make a Mint on the Blockchain?" and it's posted at GoldCore here:

http://www.goldcore.com/us/gold-blog/royal-mint-cme-make-mint-blockchain...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

ADVERTISEMENT

Market Analyst Fabrice Taylor Expects K92 Shares to Rise
as Company Commences Gold Production and Gains Cash Flow

Interviewed on Business News Network in Canada, market analyst and financial letter writer Fabrice Taylor said shares of K92 Mining (TSXV:KNT) are likely to rise, even amid declining gold prices, because the company has begun producing gold at its mine in Papua New Guinea:

http://www.bnn.ca/video/fabrice-taylor-discusses-k92-mining~1008356

Taylor cited the company's announcement here:

http://www.k92mining.com/2016/11/6114/

Help keep GATA going

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

http://www.gata.org

To contribute to GATA, please visit:

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

China tries to talk dollar down, saying market is 'too optimistic' about Trump

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 08:35 AM PST

By Wendy Wu and Jane Cai
South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
Thursday, December 22, 2016

After making little headway in talking up the yuan, Beijing has changed tack to talk down the U.S. dollar.

Ma Jun, chief economist at a central bank research bureau, said today the market was "too optimistic" about US president-elect Donald Trump and his policies.

He said the greenback's rise since Trump won the presidential election "does not have much fundamental support" and was mainly due to "changes in market expectations." ...

Ma's comments come as Beijing faces an uphill battle in support the yuan against the dollar. The Chinese currency fallen steadily against the greenback to hit an eight-year low, and it is expected to soon break through the key psychological barrier of seven yuan to the U.S. dollar. ...

The central bank's intervention in the foreign exchange market to defend the yuan has bled the country's forex reserves. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2056650/china-tries-talk-...

India said to consider lowering gold import tax to 6% from 10%

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 08:18 AM PST

By Shruti Srivastava
Bloomberg News
Wednesday, December 21, 2016

India, the world's second-biggest consumer of gold, is said to be considering cutting the import tax on the precious metal to curb its smuggling, according to people familiar with the matter.

The government is planning to reduce the duty to 6 percent from its current 10 percent, said the people, who asked not to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Gold shipments to India, which accounted for a quarter of global demand in 2015, have fallen due to higher prices in the first half of this year, a crackdown on undisclosed income and the government's decision to withdraw old high-value bank notes. The government had raised the import tax three times in 2013 to curb inbound shipments, narrow a record current-account deficit and stop a slump in the rupee.

"Smuggled gold is cheaper while those who import have to pay high cost." said Praveen Shankar Pandya, chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. "The duty structure should be such that it doesn't encourage smuggling and brings in transparency." ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-21/india-said-to-conside...

Alasdair Macleod: Inflation will outrun interest rates in 2017

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 07:59 AM PST

11a ET Thursday, December 22, 2016

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Describing his outlook for 2017, GoldMoney research director Alasdair Macleod today explains why he thinks it will be a good year for gold.

Macleod writes: "This year bulls of precious metals have ridden a roller-coaster of hope followed by disillusionment. Much of the frustration has been due to the bullion banks seizing the opportunity presented by a strong dollar to force closure of their short positions on Comex. Meanwhile, for hedge funds, short-term positioning in gold has been an easy way to play the strong dollar, which is why money managers morphed from earlier bulls to a mixture of bears and don't-knows. Next year is shaping up to be an entirely different matter. ...

"The defining economic feature of 2017 is almost certain to be increasing rates of price inflation and interest rates that are unlikely to rise by enough to stop it without triggering a debt crisis. These are precisely the conditions that will disfavor government currencies, measured in gold, and have actually been in place to a greater or lesser extent for a considerable time."

Macleod's commentary is headlined "Outlook for 2017" and it's posted at GoldMoney here:

https://wealth.goldmoney.com/research/goldmoney-insights/outlook-for-201...

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

Royal Mint And CME Make A Mint On The Blockchain?

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 06:00 AM PST

Trump may have a $300 million conflict of interest with Deutsche Bank

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 05:48 AM PST

Notice that there's no mention here of any concern by the U.S. government about Deutsche Bank's confessed involvement in the gold price suppression scheme -- a very conspicuous omission by not only the U.S. government but by Bloomberg News itself.

* * *

By Keri Geiger, Greg Farrell, and Sarah Mulholland
Bloomberg News
Thursday, December 22, 2016

For years Donald Trump has used a powerful tool when dealing with bankers: his personal guarantee.

Now that guarantee -- employed to extract better terms on hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to the Trump Organization -- is at the center of a delicate loan-restructuring discussion at Deutsche Bank AG, which is under investigation on several fronts by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The bank is trying to restructure some of Trump's roughly $300 million debt as part of an attempt to reduce any conflict of interest between the loan and his presidency, according to a person familiar with the matter. Normally, the removal of a personal pledge might lead to more-stringent terms. But there is little normal about this interaction. Trump's attorney general will inherit an investigation of Deutsche Bank related to stock trades for rich clients in Russia -- where Trump says he plans to improve relations -- and may have to deal with a possible multibillion-dollar penalty to the bank related to mortgage-bond investigations.

Whatever terms a restructured loan might include, they will reflect the complex new relationship spawned between Germany's largest bank and its highest-profile client. Ethicists say this concerns them. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-22/deutsche-bank-s-rewor...

Breaking News And Best Of The Web

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 01:37 AM PST

US stocks, interest rates, dollar at recent and/or record highs. Worries about valuation are spreading. US housing starts plunge as higher mortgage rates begin to bite. US auto sales turn down, numerous factories scaling back. Italian banks restructuring and raising capital as government begins bail-out. Terrorist attacks in Turkey and Germany. Best Of The […]

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

An Uptick in Brucejack Resource Estimates Bodes Well for Pretium Resources

Posted: 22 Dec 2016 12:00 AM PST

Upward revision of gold reserves estimates at Pretium Resources' Valley of the Kings deposit, along with announcement of a management change, caught the attention of a handful of analysts, who...

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

Save Your ASSets First

Friday, December 23, 2016

Gold World News Flash

Gold World News Flash

No comments:

Post a Comment

Links

Comments? Questions?