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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

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Secessionist Movements: Another Layer of Complexity

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 11:40 AM PDT

One of the lessons of medieval history (I'm listening to one of those recorded lecture series on the subject this week) is that Europe wasn't always made up of today's familiar countries. Italy, Germany, and Spain in particular started out as a patchwork of smaller kingdoms and principalities that were eventually rolled up by the monarchs with the best armies.

This cultural memory of independence lives on in many places, resurfacing in hard times and complicating already complex situations. Spain, for instance, includes several distinct populations, in many cases with their own languages and a sense that, as Texans like to say, they were a country once and might be again. Most Americans have heard of Spain's Basque separatists because they've tended to express their feelings with explosives. But now Catalonia, the country's richest region, is wondering if perhaps it would be better off on its own:

Europe's Crisis Spawns Calls for a Breakup—of Spain

BARCELONA, Spain—This vibrant northern region of Catalonia has long been known as the "factory of Spain" for generating wealth that helped sustain the entire nation. Now Catalonia, beaten down by years of recession, has become the battleground in what threatens to become an economic civil war.

In protests large and small, hundreds of thousands of Catalans are embracing a stark proposition: Only by breaking ties with Spain and becoming an independent country can Catalonia free itself from economic malaise.

Catalans go to the polls Nov. 25 for a regional parliamentary election, and polls show pro-independence parties in front.

"Madrid has been draining us dry for too long," says Josep Casadella, a corporate human-resources administrator. He became an Internet sensation not long ago after posting a video of himself refusing to pay the fare at a toll booth and complaining that Spain should build free roads for all the taxes it collects.

Appalled at the separatist sentiment, a military veterans' association said that politicians pushing for Catalonian independence should be tried for "high treason." In recent days, pro-Spanish-unity protesters held a smaller demonstration of their own. Marchers held a sign reading: "Help, Europe. Nacionalists are crazy."

Spain's internal struggle echoes a larger debate convulsing the euro zone itself, as wealthier northern nations complain about supporting poorer southern ones. But now, as Europe enters its fifth year of crisis, the economic strains are deepening the fractures within some nations.

In Spain and Belgium, and to a degree Italy, local and national governments are battling over how to allocate scarce resources. Even within Germany, which is economically stronger and politically stable, richer areas are grumbling about the cost of subsidizing the poorer areas.

Catalonia's president, Artur Mas, called the marriage between his region and the Spanish capital one of "mutual fatigue" in a speech, likening it to the way "northern and southern Europe have grown weary of one another."

Speaking of northern and southern Europe, the "euro-skeptics" continue to gain ground in national elections:

Euro Skeptics in Finland Are Projected to Make Gains
HELSINKI—The euro-skeptic Finns Party likely made good on pollster predictions of being the biggest gainer in Finland's local elections Sunday as the fiercely-nationalistic party continued to gain popularity compared with previous elections.

The party surged past its 2008 municipal election result in gaining 12.3% of votes, according to preliminary data released by the nation's justice ministry. The justice ministry numbers were based on 99.8% of votes being counted.

While growth in support for the Finns Party, which has advocated Finland's exit from the euro zone, isn't expected to drastically impact the day-to-day decisions taken by cities in Finland, the results show that the party's message remains popular among Finland's 5.4 million people.

Many political observers have said the strength of the Finns Party is putting pressure on Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and other policy makers to maintain a tough stance in euro-zone reforms and bailouts of nations suffering from debt woes. The country's next parliamentary election isn't until 2015.

Some thoughts
None of this is surprising. The pie is shrinking as Europe deleverages, and groups with relatively more wealth and/or self control are recoiling at the idea of being drained to support others who for whatever reason aren't as successful. Politicians and parties that give voice to this anger will get votes, and pressure will grow on elected officials to move in that direction.

The question then becomes how far central governments will allow this kind of movement to go. Will Catalonia actually be allowed to leave, or will it be bought off or prevented by force? Will the process encourage the rise of radical parties (like the neo-Nazis in Greece) that may or may not care about autonomy but want other extreme changes in governance? Who knows? Europe is in uncharted waters.

The US, meanwhile, has been spared this kind of unrest because the dollar is still functioning as the world's reserve currency. The Treasury can borrow as much as it needs to finance Social Security and Medicare payments and keep defense plants running, which takes enough pressure off of state budgets to avoid eurozone-style financial chaos.

But a reserve currency is not a perpetual motion machine. It's a privilege that can be revoked by the market if abused. So our funding crisis is coming (see China, Russia, and the End of the Petrodollar) and once it begins to dawn on Texas and Montana that their hard-won savings are being siphoned off by profligates like Illinois, the idea of just saying no (nullification) or leaving altogether (secession) will start to poll in double digits. And another layer of complexity will be added to an already chaotic decade.

Third Time May Not Bring Charm For The Fed

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 11:11 AM PDT

By Benjamin Shepherd:

After spending the first half of the year in a consolidation pattern, gold made a decisive break to the upside in June as the Bank of Japan began a program of quantitative easing (QE) and expectations grew that the US Federal Reserve would follow suit.

And follow suit it did, with the announcement that it would begin buying mortgage-backed securities to the tune of $40 billion a month until the labor market began to improve under its QE3 program.

In years past, such a broad and open-ended program of QE would have been sure to trigger a bout of rapid inflation. As the Fed's QE1 program ran its course between late 2008 and early 2010, commodity prices surged and the valuations of emerging market equities shot higher, as all that easy money moved into the most lucrative market niches. A similar surged occurred as QE2 ran into early 2011.

However,


Complete Story »

Supply Issues Offer Additional Underpinnings To Gold

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT

By Peter Grant:

Gold turned defensive in recent weeks, weighed by global growth concerns, persistent economic uncertainty in the eurozone and the United Sates, along with a rising lack of clarity about the likely outcome of next week's U.S. Presidential election. However, downside potential is thought to be limited by continued robust demand for the precious metal as a hedge against the global debasement of fiat currencies, as well as ongoing central bank demand for the purposes of reserve diversification.

Most of our readers are probably pretty well aware of these macro-drivers on the demand side, but it's also worth noting some significant supply side considerations:

First of all -- and this is a topic we've discussed on numerous occasions -- none of the mining supply from China is making it to the open market. Essentially, every ounce of gold mined in the world's largest producer is going right to their insatiable reserve


Complete Story »

Best Performing Billion Dollar Energy Companies

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 10:42 AM PDT

By Ed Liston:

While different investors look for different types of returns from their portfolio, one thing is certain that capital appreciation is generally the biggest draw for an investor. You may look for a stock with attractive dividend return, but you wouldn't want it at the cost of eroding your capital investment. Thus, looking at a stock's performance over the period of the last 52 weeks is an important metric for stock picking.

I have a special liking for the energy sector because although it has not performed very well lately, I think this is a good time to pick up some stocks at a significantly lower price. Here, I have compiled a list of companies in the energy sector with market caps over a billion dollars that have given investors the highest returns over the last year. I have simply taken the 52-week returns they have given without taking into account


Complete Story »

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated Management Discusses Q3 2012 Results - Earnings Call Transcript

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 10:40 AM PDT

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL)

Q3 2012 Earnings Call

October 30, 2012 9:00 am ET

Executives

Colin Dyer - Global Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

Lauralee E. Martin - Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President, Director and Chairman of Global Operating Committee

Analysts

David Ridley-Lane - BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division

William C. Marks - JMP Securities LLC, Research Division

Todd Lukasik - Morningstar Inc., Research Division

David Gold - Sidoti & Company, LLC

Presentation

Operator

Good day and welcome to the Third Quarter 2012 Earnings Release Conference Call for Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. Today's call is being recorded.

Any statements made about future results and performance, or about plans, expectations and objectives are forward-looking statements. Actual results and performance may differ from those included in the forward-looking statements as a result of factors discussed in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year


Complete Story »

Clarity Coming To Markets Soon

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 10:38 AM PDT

By Gary Tanashian:

Excerpted from the October 28 edition of Notes From the Rabbit Hole (NFTRH 210)

We are wrapping up October with markets far and wide in the midst of corrections of varying degrees.

The U.S. stock market is following some old clichés in that it apparently hates the uncertainty of the upcoming presidential election and well, it is the spooky month of October after all. The market has done everything it was supposed to do this October and the correction is not yet indicated to be over.

NFTRH's main area of interest is gold for all the reasons brought forward to date. But gold and its wild and slightly touched little brother, silver - along with their precious distant cousins platinum and palladium - remain mired in strong corrections of the formerly over bought reactions out of September's QE hype fest. There is no evidence as yet that these corrections are


Complete Story »

Corvus Gold Discovers New 11 Kilometre Copper and Gold System at Gerfaut Project, Quebec

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 10:23 AM PDT

Vancouver, B.C……..Corvus Gold Inc. ("Corvus" or the "Company") – (TSX: KOR, OTCQX: CORVF) announces results from the initial exploration program on its newly acquired Gerfaut Project in Quebec.  Gold mineralized rocks were found over an 11 kilometre strike length with several areas of outcropping copper and gold mineralization outlining a major new discovery (Figure 1).  Multiple styles of mineralization were encountered including gold with base metals, silver-lead mineralization and copper only stockwork mineralization (Figure 2, Table 1).  On the basis of these positive results, the claim position has been expanded from 24 km2 to 75 km2 and plans have begun for an aggressive 2013 exploration season, including additional surface exploration work and a discovery phase drill program.

Corvus CEO Jeff Pontius commented, "These very positive results, together with the results reported by Khalkos Exploration Inc. to the north, the extensive mineralized Cape Smith (Raglan) belt directly to the south and historic drilling by Falconbridge Limited during the mid-1990's, leads us to believe that this unexplored region of northern Quebec has the potential to host major new copper and gold deposits.  Corvus' first mover position in this new and emerging mineral belt has given it a unique opportunity to acquire some of the most prospective ground in the belt in one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world.  Gerfaut could represent another major discovery for the Corvus exploration team and produce significant downstream growth potential for our company as we augment our future anticipated production profile."

Table 1: Representative selected rock grab samples from different styles of Gerfaut mineralization, Main block.

Sample
ID
Mineralization
Style
Gold
(g/t)
Silver
(g/t)
Arsenic
(ppm)
Copper
(ppm)
Lead
(ppm)
Zinc
(ppm)
Bismuth
(ppm)
Tellurium
(ppm)
RK127452
Polymetallic
23.6
5
56500
1020
11800
9400
3
3
RK127482
Polymetallic
14.3
4
31200
261
1925
1920
2
2
RK127467
Polymetallic
3.3
15
1135
15850
6
120
104
32
RK127458
Polymetallic
2.6
2
58500
3060
6
45700
27
17
RK127521
Silver-lead
0.3
609
3
62
38000
19
1685
45
RK127526
Silver-lead
0.2
330
4
84
21600
8
938
25
RK127522
Silver-lead
0.8
272
2
165
13800
3
1235
52
RK127527
Silver-lead
0.4
245
2
73
17800
70
783
27
RK127620
Copper only
0.1
13
9
38800
4
349
4
1
RK127560
Copper only
0.1
5
1
18150
6
209
0.2
1
RK127466
Copper only
0.0
16
14
16550
15
523
1
6
RK127465
Copper only
0.1
10
9
11800
8
634
1
4

The Discovery

The 2012 exploration program has outlined a number of possibly intrusion-related mineral occurrences which could reflect the district-scale zoning of a very dynamic copper-gold system.  Gold mineralization occurs in massive sulphide veins and with disseminated arsenopyrite in shear zones.  Silver mineralization occurs with galena in quartz veins while copper occurs as chalcopyrite in the form of replacement patches or in high temperature veins associated with pyrrhotite and/or pyrite.  The overall size of the alteration system and areal extent of mineralization is significant.  At present, it is not clear as to precisely what genetic gold depositional model to apply, although it will likely be a combination of structural and stratigraphic controls.

On the basis of these initial positive results, the claim position has been expanded to both the north and the east to cover the extensions of mineralization and an additional block, called the Contact Block, was staked to the northeast of Gerfaut (Figure 4).  Initial results from 25 selected rock grab samples collected on the Contact Block returned 10 samples containing greater than 0.1% copper including one with 0.5% (the minimum copper grade was 0.004% and the average of all 25 samples was 0.12%).


Figure 1:  Gerfaut claim block showing distribution of gold mineralized rock samples encountered.  Black diamonds indicate soil sample locations.  Black triangles are rock samples with no gold.  Background image is total magnetic field intensity which highlights the structural continuity of the target zone.  Gold grades of selected rock grab samples are indicated.


Figure 2: Gerfaut claims showing distribution of copper in rock samples.


Figure 3: Gerfaut claims showing distribution of gold in traditional soil samples.  The intensity of the gold anomaly may be dampened by the till dilution of the bedrock response, particularly in the NE portion of the property, however, rock outcrop sampling has confirmed that even low level gold in soils may reflect the presence of mineralization.


Figure 4: Location of the extended Gerfaut claims relative to the regional nickel exploration play and the Khalkos Exploration Inc. copper-gold discovery.

About the Gerfaut Project, Quebec

The Gerfaut property is located in the Paleoproterozoic trans-Hudsonian orogen of northern Quebec.  Gold and copper mineralization is hosted in meta volcanic and meta sedimentary rocks of the Parent Group.  The property was discovered in 1995 by Falconbridge while prospecting for nickel in the region.  In 1996 Falconbridge drilled two holes, both of which encountered gold mineralization including 5.8 metres of 4.27 g/t gold in PAR96-01.  In 1997 Falconbridge optioned the property to Exploration Boréale Inc. who conducted ground geophysical surveys and collected a number of mineralized rock samples over the property but did not do additional drilling.  Eventually the core claims reverted to Les Resources Tectonic Inc. ("LRT").

The Gerfaut Project is being explored under a joint venture agreement with LRT, in which the Company can earn a 60% interest by incurring $565,000 on exploration and making payments to LRT of $225,000 over 5 years.  After having earned its initial 60% interest, the Company can earn an additional 20% by incurring an additional $3,000,000 of expenditures over 3 years.  LRT will retain a 2% Net Smelter Return, of which the Company can buy back 1% for $1,500,000.  Following the Company having earned its 60% or 80% interest, as applicable, the parties will enter into a joint venture in which each party will be required to contribute its proportionate share of ongoing expenditures.  If either participant should dilute to a 10% or lesser interest, its interest will automatically be converted to a 3% Net Profit Interest.

The newly staked claims are owned 100% by Corvus and are not subject to the joint venture with LRT.

Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance

Jeffrey A. Pontius (CPG 11044), a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that form the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein.  Mr. Pontius is not independent of Corvus, as he is the CEO and holds common shares and incentive stock options.

The work program at Gerfaut was designed and supervised by Russell Myers (CPG 11433), President of Corvus, who is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program.  On-site personnel at the project log and weigh all samples prior to sealing and shipping.  Quality control is monitored by the insertion of blind certified standard reference materials and blanks into each sample shipment.  Sample shipments are sealed and shipped to ALS Chemex in Val d'Or, Quebec.  Preparation and assaying may be done in ALS facilities in Val d'Or, Sudbury or Vancouver.  ALS Chemex's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025:1999.  Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples.  Finally, selected pulps are forwarded to an ISO compliant third party laboratory for additional quality control.

About Corvus Gold Inc.

Corvus Gold Inc. is a resource exploration company, focused in Nevada, Alaska and Quebec, which controls a number of exploration projects representing a spectrum of early-stage to advanced gold projects.  Corvus is focused on advancing its 100% owned Nevada, North Bullfrog project towards a potential development decision and continuing to explore for new major gold discoveries.  Corvus is committed to building shareholder value through new discoveries and leveraging noncore assets via partner funded exploration work into carried and or royalty interests that provide shareholders with exposure to gold production.

On behalf of
Corvus Gold Inc.

(signed) Jeffrey A. Pontius
Jeffrey A. Pontius,
Chief Executive Officer

Contact Information:   Ryan Ko
Investor Relations
Email: info@corvusgold.com
Phone: 1-888-770-7488 (toll free) or (604) 638-3246 / Fax: (604) 408-7499

WTI Crude Oil & Oil Stocks Seasonality & Year-End Outlook

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 10:05 AM PDT

By: Chris Vermeulen – www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Crude oil has had some large price swings this year and another one may be on its way. This report shows the seasonality of crude oil along with where oil is trading and what the oil service stocks are telling us is likely to happen going into year end.

Since WTI Crude Oil topped out in September at the $100 resistance level (Century Number) many traders are looking for a bounce or bottom to form in the next week. Historical charts show that on average the price of oil falls during November and the first half of December.

The charts of oil and oil stocks shown below have formed patterns on both time frames (weekly & daily) that lower prices are to be expected. If you did not read my Gold Seasonality Report I just posted be sure to review it here: Gold Seasonal Report

Crude Seasonality

WTI Crude Oil Weekly Chart:

Here you can see that price tends to fall going into Christmas and rallies during the last week of trading. This price action falls in line with Dimitri Specks seasonal chart providing us with insight as to what we should expect. Later this week I will finish my report on the Election Cycle Seasonality report which shows weakness in the market during Oct & Nov when a president is up for re-election.

Crude Oil Price

Oil Services Stocks – Weekly Chart:

If you follow oil closely then you know likely know already that oil related stocks can lead the price of oil by a couple weeks. What this means is that if big money is flowing into oil stocks (bullish price patterns with strong volume), then you should expect the price of crude oil to rise in the coming days. That said, if money is flowing OUT of oils stocks then lower or sideways oil price should be expected.

The weekly chart oil stocks show a very large bearish head & shoulders pattern. While I do not think the neckline will be broken it is very possible.

One of the most important pieces of data on the chart is the VOLUME. Notice the lack of it… Volume tells us how much interest and power is behind chart patterns and declining volume clearly tells us these investments are out of favor currently and that big money is not moving into them.

Oil Stocks Weekly

Oil Services Stocks – DAILY Chart:

Zooming into the daily chart of the oil service stocks we can see there is yet another bearish pattern unfolding. Another head & shoulders pattern which looks as though it is just starting to breakdown as of this writing. Next support level is $35-36.

Crude Oil Stocks Daily

WTI Crude Oil and Oil Service Stocks Trading Conclusion:

Looking forward 1-2 months (November – December) taking the seasonal price swings in oil, re-election cycle seasonality and price action of oil stocks I feel oil will trade sideways or down from here. With that being said, expect crude oil to rally during the last week of the year. I hope this provides some useful info for your trading!

Get my Daily Trading Analysis & Trade Setups at: www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

 

Chris Vermeulen is Founder of the popular trading analysis website www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com. There he shares his highly successful, low-risk trade ideas. Since 2001 Chris has been a leader in teaching others to skillfully trade Currencies, Stock Indices, Bonds, Metals, Energies, Commodities, and Exchange Traded Funds. Reach Chris at: Chris[at]TheTechnicalTraders.com

Disclaimer:
This material should not be considered investment advice. Technical Traders Ltd. and its staff are not a registered investment advisors. Under no circumstances should any content from this website, articles, videos, seminars or emails from Technical Traders Ltd. or its affiliates be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. Our advice is not tailored to the needs of any subscriber so go talk with your investment advisor before making trading decisions This information is for educational purposes only.

Timing the Gold Bull

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 09:20 AM PDT

James Turk talks with King World News

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 09:13 AM PDT

James Turk talks with King World News

To Listen to the Interview goto kingworldnews.com:

James Turk: Founder & Chairman of GoldMoney – James has written "The Freemarket Gold & Money Report," an investment newsletter since 1987. James has specialized in international banking, finance and investments since 1969. His business career began at The Chase Manhattan Bank (now JP Morgan Chase Bank). He subsequently joined the investment and trading company of a prominent precious metals trader based in Greenwich, Connecticut then moved to the United Arab Emirates to be appointed Manager of the Commodity Department of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, until resigning in 1987.

Listen to the Interview Now @ kingworldnews.com

Time to Pull the Lever – On Gold

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 08:53 AM PDT

Bullion Bull Giustra is Still Bullish

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 08:41 AM PDT

Despite having publicly declared his bullishness on gold when it was trading below $300, Frank Giustra is still bullish on gold at the present levels. In case you do not know who Frank Giustra is, he comes with extraordinary credentials.

Bundesbank Slashed its London Gold Holdings in a Mystery Move

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 08:32 AM PDT

Embry – Truth Exposed About Missing Central Bank Gold

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 08:16 AM PDT

from kingworldnews.com:

Today John Embry told King World News, "I firmly believe that if you look at all of the Western central banks, and the gold they allegedly own, I believe a significant portion of that is not in their vaults." Embry also stated, "So they can say all they want, but in the end the truth will be revealed by the lack of physical gold in the market as they run out of enough gold to keep the price under control." Embry also predicted, "The revelation of this central bank conspiracy will make the Libor scandal pale in comparison."

Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com

Turk – 15,000 Tons Of Western Central Bank Gold Is Gone

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 08:14 AM PDT

from kingworldnews.com:

Today James Turk once again shocked King World News when he stated, "… in 1997 over (a stunning) 2,000 tons of gold moved out of Great Britain." Turk added, "Now since Great Britain is not a gold miner, we know that gold had to come out of the Bank of England (where they store other countries gold), and it probably went into Zurich (Switzerland) for what's called 'leasing' but I use the word 'lending,' or lending into the market."

Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com

Here Is Why Gold & Silver Are Set To Explode Going Forward

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 08:13 AM PDT

from kingworldnews.com:

oday 40 year veteran, Robert Fitzwilson, wrote the following piece exclusively for King World News. Fitzwilson, who is founder of The Portola Group, discusses every investors dream.

Below is Fitzwilson's exclusive piece for KWN:

"We have seen some very fine discussions this week about the short-term technical and fundamental situation for gold. We thought it might also be useful to take a bit longer view of the situation as well as explain why people are frustrated with their investment allocations and the advice they have been receiving main stream financial advisors.

Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com

Turk – Central Banks Now Scrambling For Physical Gold

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 08:11 AM PDT

from kingworldnews.com:

Today James Turk told King World News, "… we have seen an ongoing scramble to turn paper-gold into physical metal. But here's the important point, this scramble for physical metal has grown because it has now moved from the hedge fund community to central banks."

Here is what Turk had to say: "The situation concerning Germany's gold reserves is receiving increasing attention, Eric, which is a good thing because gold reserves are one of the pillars underlying any country's sovereignty."

Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com

Turkish Banks Go for Gold to Lure $302 Billion Hoard

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 06:37 AM PDT

Are they desperate for supply, or what??


Turkish Banks Go for Gold to Lure $302 Billion Hoard

By Sibel Akbay on October 29, 2012

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...-billion-hoard

Deniz Kalkan, a 32-year-old housewife in Istanbul, is ready to move her gold.
"I'll put these in a deposit account as soon as I get the time," Kalkan said of the half-dozen gold coins she has collected and stashed in her apartment. "It's much safer to keep them in the bank than at home."

When Kalkan brings in her coins, she'll be joining a wave of Turks responding to a drive to lure an estimated $302 billion of hidden gold into the economy to help ease the nation's current-account deficit, the world's biggest after the U.S. Gold-based deposit accounts surged 15 percent this year through the end of July, three times the increase in standard savings accounts, according to the central bank.

The gold accounts give customers an amount in Turkish lira equivalent to the weight of the precious metal they turn over to the bank. They can then withdraw cash or take out loans, while the lender is able to sell or hold onto the gold.

At Yapi Kredi Bankasi AS (YKBNK), owned by UniCredit SpA (UCG) and Koc Holding AS (KCHOL), deposits in gold-based mutual funds, which invest at least 51 percent of their money in precious metals and offer a guaranteed return on capital, increased 62 percent in 2012. Turkiye Is Bankasi AS (ISCTR), Turkey's largest bank by assets, said gold deposits increased 10-fold in the two years through June.

The campaign by Turkey's banks, featuring ads for "golden age" accounts and products such as gold gift checks, is targeted at Turks who traditionally give gold coins or jewelry as presents at weddings, births and circumcision ceremonies. The custom gained popularity a decade ago as Turkey's inflation rate topped 70 percent, making gold an attractive store of wealth.
Irish GDP

By bringing some of what the World Gold Council estimates are 5,000 metric tons (5,512 tons) of treasure into the banking system -- an amount greater in value than Ireland's gross domestic product -- Turkey hopes to reduce gold imports and external borrowing, according to Erdal Aral, deputy chief executive officer of Isbank.

"We have to get the gold that's out there into the financial system," Aral said in an interview in Istanbul this month. "This is going to be an important step toward solving our current-account problem."

Turkey's current-account deficit, the amount its imports exceeded exports, peaked at $77 billion in 2011. The gap narrowed by 23 percent this year to $59 billion at the end of August on a 12-month rolling basis as record gold sales by Turkish companies to the United Arab Emirates and Iran pushed up exports, according to the government's statistics office.
Exporting Gold

Imports shrank at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in August, while exports rose 14.5 percent, driven primarily by gold. Sales of precious metals to the UAE and Iran, which is grappling with trade sanctions, jumped to $9.2 billion this year through August from $645 million a year earlier, statistics office data show.

"Gold exports to Iran and UAE are helping Turkey to improve its current-account gap quicker than expected," Ozgur Altug, chief economist at Istanbul-based brokerage BGC Partners, said in an e-mail.

Turkey doesn't produce enough gold to account for its exports. Production this year through August was about 25 metric tons, according to data from the Gold Miners Association. Gold imports were 109 tons as of the end of September, the Istanbul Gold Exchange said on its website.

"The gold has to come from somewhere so that it can be exported," Altug said. "It's obvious the gold under the mattress is fast entering the system."
Household Savings

The effort to lure gold into banks also will increase household savings, the lowest among emerging markets. Turkey's savings rate is 12.7 percent compared with China's 53 percent, according to a World Bank report. Raising the savings rate will reduce the amount banks have to borrow to fund their lending and enable them to make more loans.

"We support the government's drive to increase savings," Galip Tozge, executive vice president for consumer banking at Istanbul-based Akbank TAS (AKBNK), part-owned by Citigroup Inc. (C), said in an interview. "Gold accounts will play an important role in this, as unregistered assets will come into the system."

The rise in gold prices in recent years added to the metal's popularity. Spot gold, which traded at $1,711.38 an ounce on Oct. 29, has climbed 9 percent this year, heading for a 12th consecutive annual gain, as investors bought bullion to protect against inflation.
Turkish women began holding "golden days," when a gift, in the form of coins or jewelry, was brought to the hostess of a party. That's how Kalkan accumulated her small hoard, she said.
'It's Profitable'

"I buy gold every month, usually in the form of jewelry," said Ozlem Basar, a 26-year-old Istanbul shipping-company executive. "It's profitable, as prices are rising fast and inflation's increasing."

Turkey's inflation accelerated to 9.2 percent in September, climbing to a five-month high, almost double the central bank's year-end target of 5 percent. GDP growth fell to 2.9 percent in the second quarter from 9.1 percent a year earlier.

Banks are competing to attract gold with a variety of products. Isbank and Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS (GARAN), the country's biggest lender by market value, offer gold-backed loans, where customers can bring jewelry or coins to the bank and take out loans against their value. Garanti also has a credit card linked to gold deposit accounts. The bank said it soon will enable customers to withdraw their savings in gold, instead of Turkish lira or foreign exchange.
'Golden Days'

Islamic Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB) has hosted its own "golden days," when customers bring in coins and jewelry to be evaluated by experts. The Istanbul-based lender said it collected three metric tons of bullion through such promotions since March 2012 and that gold accounts have climbed 22 percent this year through July.
HSBC Holding Plc's (HSBA) Turkish unit is promoting a gold-based mutual fund on its website with the slogan, "Let the fund you touch turn to gold."

While Indian banks offer some instruments linked to gold to discourage hoarding, the choices are not as varied as those in Turkey, according to Isbank's Aral.

"Turkey seems to be trying the hardest to get the stashed gold into the system," he said.
Government measures, including an Aug. 16 central bank decision to raise the proportion of reserves lenders can keep in gold to 30 percent from 25 percent, have encouraged efforts to attract more bullion, Aral said. Central bank Governor Erdem Basci has said he may make adjusting the ratio his main monetary policy tool.
Grand Bazaar

Banks will have to diversify their services further for customers to find keeping gold in the bank attractive, Gokhan Ceviker, senior vice president for retail management at Bank Asya, said in an interview.

To speed up diversification, Turkey's regulators have been discussing planned legislation to enable customers to buy or sell gold at bank branches or transfer gold into other accounts, according to an Aug. 29 report in Milliyet, a daily newspaper. Bank Asya has said it will soon start purchasing and selling bullion at its branches.

Turkey's jewelers, many of them located in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, one of the world's largest covered markets, have opposed the move. They say banks buying and selling gold would cut their revenue and push them into underground trading.

"I always viewed gold deposit accounts positively because the funds will return to our industry as loans," Kamil Karakas, chairman of gold producer Karakas Atlantis Kiymetli Madenler AS (KRATL), said in an interview. "But banks buying and selling gold is a serious blow for jewelers."
Changing Habits

The plan will fail as banks won't be able to replicate the trust between the jeweler and the customer, said Faruk Bektas, a spokesman for the Grand Bazaar Tradespeople Association, which represents jewelers.

The six-century-old Grand Bazaar is host to almost 4,000 jewelers, and about 1.5 metric tons of scrap gold is processed into bullion there every day, according to Istanbul Gold Exchange data. Transaction volume totaled 8.5 billion liras ($4.7 billion) last year.
"It will take a while for tradition to break, but habits will eventually change," Bank Asya's Ceviker said. "More and more people will see banks as the place to take their gold. These new resources will help us fund more loans, which will help the Turkish economy to grow."
Editors: Robert Friedman, Dale Crofts

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...llion-hoard#p1

Governments Eye Gold In Them Thar Mattresses

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 06:34 AM PDT

While not all was well and back to normal this morning, electronic trading quotes enabled us to round up some prices for you to glance at. Spot gold was last seen near $1,713 while silver traded at $32 per ounce on the bid-side.

Trading "Pretty Quiet" with US Markets Closed Again

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 06:09 AM PDT

The spot market gold price traded just below $1,715 an ounce during Tuesday morning's London session, little changed from last week's close, while European stock markets recovered their losses from a day earlier and UK and German government bond prices fell.

Bullion Remonetized as Banks in Turkey Target Gold

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 05:57 AM PDT

Gold is moving higher on Tuesday as the dollar has weakened possibly on concerns that Sandy may derail an already fragile economic recovery. October is on track for its largest monthly loss (-3.3%) since May.

Royal Canadian Mint launches silver bullion-backed ETRs

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 05:49 AM PDT

Just what the world needs, more paper metal..:cool1:

Royal Canadian Mint launches silver bullion-backed ETRs

Following up on the resounding success of its Gold Reserves' Exchange Traded Receipts program, the Royal Canadian Mint is launching a similar product for its silver reserves.
Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Tuesday , 30 Oct 2012


RENO (MINEWEB) - The Royal Canadian Mint announced Monday it will make an initial public offering of C$100 million in silver exchange-traded receipts.

The Mint will offer exchange-traded receipts, priced at $20 each, which can be redeemed for silver or cash.

"The goal is to offer investors an exchanged-traded investment vehicle that tracks the price of silver and makes investing directly in physical silver available to institutional and retail investors," said the Mint.

Each exchange traded receipts represent "an equal undivided direct legal and beneficial interest in silver bullion to be held in custody by the Mint. The silver bullion will be legally and beneficially owned by the ETF Holders and not by the Mint."
The Mint's current IPO is being led by TD Securities and National Bank Financials, the same dealers that helmed the Mint's gold reserves program.

Proceedings from the C$100 million offering will be used to purchase silver bullion. The silver ETRs will trade on the TSX and will be redeemable once a month for either cash or silver bullion.
Unlike other silver investment products, the purchaser of an ETR owns the actual silver rather than a unit or share in an entity that owns the silver. ETRs holders can redeem their ETRs for physical silver, such as 99.9% pure bars or 99.99% Maple Leaf coins, or for cash based on the future silver price or market price of the ETRs.

ETRs will be listed in both Canadian and U.S. dollars and may be traded in either currency. However, "It follows that there will be no redemption of units for silver unless a minimum redemption amount (5,000 ETRs, or $100,000 of new issue stock) has been reached," said the Royal Canadian Mint.

"We believe that this new program will build on our reputation as a world-class custodian of precious metals with the drive to bring silver ownership to the market in creative and innovative ways," said Ian E. Bennett, CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "After the success of our Canadian Gold Reserves Program we are pleased to offer investors the same convenience, efficiency and security to invest in and own physical silver."
The Royal Canadian Mint's gold Exchange Traded Receipt IPO raised an astounding C$600 million in only three weeks when it was launched in November 2011.

The launch of the silver product was complicated by the fact it requires considerably more room to store silver bullion equivalent than is required to store the gold bullion equivalent for the gold ETR program.

The silver ETRs have not been and will not be offered or sold in the United States and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. However, U.S. customers are, by far, the largest buyers of Royal Canadian Mint gold although the U.S. Mint is the top gold bullion supplier globally.

http://www.mineweb.co.za/mineweb/vie...ail&id=102055

Markets Are Waiting for Storm to Pass

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 05:48 AM PDT

This morning the gold price hit a low of $1,704 before recovering. This month has seen the biggest monthly loss for the yellow metal in five months. The debasement of money is continuing, it's just that countries are taking it in turns to make it "official."

Dutch Citizens Group Now Demands Central Bank Reveal Location of Countrys Gold Reserves

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 05:33 AM PDT

Thoughts on Gold, Silver & Fiat Currencies

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 04:28 AM PDT

Gold is money that maintains its purchasing power, and for this reason it should be viewed as insurance against financial calamity and a hedge in case of economic collapse. When money supplies are inflated, fiat currencies are devalued and the price of gold goes up.

Gold and Silver Market morning, October 30, 2012

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 04:00 AM PDT
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