saveyourassetsfirst3 |
- Barrick Gold Management Discusses Q3 2012 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
- Huldra Silver Ramps up Production at Merritt mill
- Volatility of Silver is the Price of Outperformance
- Peter Schiff talks with Chris Waltzek
- Daily Telegraph article on James Turk's aboveground gold stock research
- Thomas Jacob on the Swiss Gold Franc Association
- Santilli: Saudi Family Fires Minnesota Limo Driver—Because She Is A Woman
- Greg: Important Updates! Gold, Silver, Crude, Markets.
- VB Update Notes for October - November 2012 – Markets ‘Elect’ to Pause, but Sentiment Improves
- Why Has Gold Turned Into Paper
- Rick Rule – There Is Spectacular Demand For Gold Right Now
- Yamada – Here Are The Key Levels To Watch On Gold & Silver
- Don Coxe – A Gold Bull, Bond Bear & Commodity Supercycle
- MA: The Collapse of America May Be Literal
- Peter Warburton: The euro is becoming a structurally weak currency
- Gold Confiscation Rumor Control
- Precious Metals Rise with China's Long-Term Forecast
- Gold Shows Strong November Average Returns
- Silver Update: Crony Capitalism 10.31.12
- Silver Futurist: Silver To Go Extinct by 2020
- Gold and Silver Market morning, November 1, 2012
- Bullion or Certificated Bullion? He Owns Both: Rick Rule
- Links 11/1/12
- The Rich Create Bubbles, Not Jobs
- Gold Price to Rally Regardless of Who is Elected President
- Reserve Bank of India restricts bank loans for gold
| Barrick Gold Management Discusses Q3 2012 Results - Earnings Call Transcript Posted: 01 Nov 2012 11:50 AM PDT Barrick Gold (ABX) Q3 2012 Earnings Call November 01, 2012 9:30 am ET Executives Gregory S. Panagos - Senior Vice President of Investor Relations & Communications Jamie C. Sokalsky - Chief Executive Officer, President and Director Robert L. Krcmarov - Senior Vice President of Global Exploration Ammar Al-Joundi - Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Igor Gonzales - Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Analysts John D. Bridges - JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division Jorge M. Beristain - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division Greg Barnes - TD Securities Equity Research Stephen D. Walker - RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Research Division David Haughton - BMO Capital Markets Canada Alec Kodatsky - CIBC World Markets Inc., Research Division Presentation Operator Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Barrick Gold Third Quarter 2012 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder this conference is Complete Story » |
| Huldra Silver Ramps up Production at Merritt mill Posted: 01 Nov 2012 10:40 AM PDT HULDRA SILVER IS PLEASED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON Vancouver, British Columbia – November 1, 2012 – Huldra Silver Inc. (TSX-V:HDA) ("Huldra" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the commissioning of its 200 tonne per day silver, lead, and zinc crushing, grinding and flotation mill in Merritt, BC. The commissioning began on August 7, 2012 and, since then, the equipment and processing has been undergoing testing and fine-tuning. The Company is currently testing the mill by processing a 5,000 tonne stockpile of mill feed from development work in 1988 at its 100% owned Treasure Mountain Mine. Huldra continues to ramp up production and the mill is currently operating at a 24 hour a day, five days a week schedule, with two days a week of maintenance and upgrades. The Company expects to transition to a seven days a week operating schedule during the month of November and plans to begin shipping lead/silver concentrate to a smelter on a regular basis the week of November 5, 2012 under the terms of its previously announced lead concentrate purchase agreement. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has entered into a third amending agreement dated October 24, 2012 (the "Amending Agreement") with Waterton Global Value, L.P. ("Waterton") pursuant to which it has further amended the terms of the Credit Agreement dated June 16, 2011, as amended May 16, 2012 and July 30, 2012, between the Company and Waterton. Under the terms of the Amending Agreement, Waterton has agreed to amend the repayment terms of the Credit Agreement such that the repayment amounts owing on October 31, 2012 and November 30, 2012 have been reduced by more than 50% with the maturity date remaining as April 30, 2013. There is no cash payment or issuance of shares required under the Amending Agreement at this time, however the interest has been re-calculated in the context of the original Agreement. Under the terms of the Amending Agreement, Waterton has also agreed to provide funding for 80% of the value of concentrates delivered to the smelter on a spot basis for a 2% fee. This funding may be used to provide any working capital requirements of the Company while it awaits payment under the lead/silver purchase agreement. Ryan Sharp, President and CEO of Huldra, stated, "On behalf of all the stakeholders involved in the Company I would like to thank Waterton for all for their assistance in achieving this major milestone. We began this relationship prior to having broken ground or being permitted at either the Treasure Mountain Mine or the Merritt Mill and have seen this project through to production together. I would also like to personally thank all of the directors, officers, employees, consultants, contractors, and shareholders that have supported us throughout." The Company also wishes to announce that 380,000 stock options have been granted to certain new employees and consultants under the Company's stock option plan. The stock option plan was re-approved by shareholders on August 7, 2012 and is available on SEDAR. About Huldra Huldra is currently mining at its Treasure Mountain Project, located 3 hours east of Vancouver, BC, utilizing an offsite mill being commissioned for processing mill feed at the Company's property outside of Merritt, BC. The Company is also actively assessing other opportunities for acquisition and development. "Ryan Sharp" For additional information contact:
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| Volatility of Silver is the Price of Outperformance Posted: 01 Nov 2012 10:40 AM PDT The gold price is down almost $100 and silver has shed a couple of dollars an ounce. That is bad news if you have just bought gold and silver. But if you have bought and hold for the past few years you would know it is only what to expect...  |
| Peter Schiff talks with Chris Waltzek Posted: 01 Nov 2012 09:48 AM PDT
About Gold Seek Radio: More interviews @ radio.goldseek.com |
| Daily Telegraph article on James Turk's aboveground gold stock research Posted: 01 Nov 2012 09:30 AM PDT Daily Telegraph article on James Turk's aboveground gold stock research (external link - video)  |
| Thomas Jacob on the Swiss Gold Franc Association Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:57 AM PDT GoldMoney's Andy Duncan interviews Thomas Jacob, President of the Swiss Gold Franc Association — a group campaigning for the reintroduction of physical gold money in Switzerland. The group currently enjoys cross-party political support, and is attracting more attention owing to the eurozone's debt crisis and central bank money printing (not least from the Swiss National Bank). Jacob comments that "there is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come", noting that his is a "non-threatening" means of reintroducing gold as currency again. His group is seeking a constitutional amendment in support of this initiative. Jacob calls it a "complementary" currency, and is emphasising its function as a means of allowing people to save rather than as a medium of exchange. He thinks that its introduction could potentially help the existing fiat Swiss franc, as it will divert safe-haven buying from it to this new gold alternative. This will mean the SNB has to expound less effort on trying to suppress the value of the franc. Go to www.goldfranc.org / www.goldfranc.ch for more information. This podcast was recorded on 27 October 2012. from goldmoneynews: ~TVR |
| Santilli: Saudi Family Fires Minnesota Limo Driver—Because She Is A Woman Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:53 AM PDT Every night the show starts off with the Bunker News Break with Susanne Posel, and tonight Pete & Susanne hit their stride; bringing you the serious news of the day with a "Pete Santilli twist". Tonight Pete interviews Minnesota Resident Gretchen Cooper who was fired from her private limo driver position for being a woman. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Plaintiffs, vs Defendants, The lawsuit alleges that members of the Saudi Royal Family visited Rochester Minnesota at the globally known "Mayo Institute" and stayed at the Kahler Marriot. Plaintiff Gretchen Cooper describes her experience as a driver of one of the Saudi "Princesses" in 2008 and 2010. Ms. Cooper describes shopping sprees with the Saudi royals with brief cases full of money; $100,000 shopping days; large, gluttonous buys of Alli brand diet pills amount to $20,000+, gift buying, and periodic shopping episodes whereby Best Buy and Sam's Club were opened exclusively for the Saudi Family to shop privately. Ms. Cooper was suddenly fired by the Saudi Family one day when she was asked to go to the Kahler Marriott and she was ordered to turn in her keys. Gretchen was told she was being terminated because the Saudi Prince did not a woman driving his family members. Tonight's coverage includes a broad range of news topics including man-made hurricane Sandy, Obama's Benghazi-gate, and the $43 trillion dollar lawsuit. Pete promises to bring more of his extensive expertise and knowledge to the lawsuit in the coming days. from petersantillitv: ~TVR |
| Greg: Important Updates! Gold, Silver, Crude, Markets. Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:51 AM PDT |
| VB Update Notes for October - November 2012 – Markets ‘Elect’ to Pause, but Sentiment Improves Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:30 AM PDT HOUSTON – Last time we pointed to obvious improvement in the indexes which track the smaller, more speculative junior miners and explorers, including the Canadian Venture Exchange Index or CDNX. Since the last full update, however, the upward trek of the CDNX has paused and a pullback has once again begun. Here's the now very familiar long-term monthly chart. Monthly charts are useful because they eliminate much of the "noise" inherent in shorter term charts.  Our sense is that even if the CDNX is currently consolidating or pulling back, sentiment and gamer attitudes have definitely improved since the July lows. Indeed, absent a totally unexpected black swan event, our contention is that the second junior bear market from hell in four years is in the process of morphing into a new cyclical bull for the companies we euphemistically call The Little Guys.
Let's take a look at a shorter term, weekly view of the CDNX. While we cannot yet point to an obvious 2009-2010 style surge in positive money flow for the small juniors represented by the CDNX, we most definitely can point to two items of interest (at least). First, the current pause for the index coincides with a test of the upper reaches of the wide falling wedge shown in the chart above. Since at least March of 2011, the trading has been confined within that giant falling wedge formation. In the process of shedding a colossal 53% of its "value" the CDNX opened up an enormous, very unnatural divergence from gold (gold shown in green), which is just begging for closure. The CDNX would have to outperform gold for an extended period of time to see that divergence closed. As most Vultures (Got Gold Report Subscribers) know, the CDNX outperformed gold for most of the 2-year period which ended in March, 2011 and has since then woefully underperformed (as shown clearly in the chart above). The 16-month 2011-2012 bear, a creature of confidence (or rather the lack thereof) is a perfect example of how negative money flow, momentum and sentiment feeds on itself until that impulse becomes exhausted completely. Negative money flow is simply the condition where more capital, more wealth is leaving a market than entering – a falling tide that lowers most all boats, if you will. The recent attempt to break out of the wedge is encouraging and technically minded traders will understand instinctively that "something has changed" should the CDNX catch a meaningful bid and move well above the mature wedge. It will mean that whatever had kept the index in a relentless down trend, with lower highs and lows in a tightening wedge; whatever confluence of conditions, metrics and sentiment had conspired to prevent The Little Guys from gaining popularity and positive money flow, resulting in what we have dubbed "The Second Junior Bear Market From Hell," has, at the very least, eased and may be in the process of reversing. Almost (but not quite) universally, when great bears end they are marked by an important reversal and followed by a new, powerful cyclical bull market as the markets strain to correct excesses in both directions over time. Secondly, almost (but not quite) universally, bear markets for the CDNX are periods of lower and falling volume. One quick look at the chart above will confirm that the recent bounce in the popular index has been accompanied by higher, if not robust volume. (It would be surprising to see robust volume at the beginning stages of a new bull for the CDNX.) The short version (no pun): If the CDNX manages to break out, north of the giant falling wedge and move noticeably higher just ahead, it will be one of the best confirming indicators we could ask for -- for our new bull market contention. That failing, with the market already so severely discounted, we would look for strong to overwhelming support to form inside the wedge and we would be very surprised to see the CDNX cutting new lows for 2012. In either case, as we mentioned last time, there is still a ton of risk which has been extracted/removed from smaller junior miners and explorers – following the second longest and deepest selloff bear market since the Great Gold Bull Market began. ... Having a gold and silver rally does help, but The Little Guys had been so severely sold off; they had been so unreasonably pummeled; they had been so shunned by the collective market, they had become collectively what we now call "Idiot Cheap." The level at which we are pretty sure we might look back at today's pricing of our Faves and the stocks covered by the popular indexes a year or two hence and say to ourselves, "Man, it was idiotic for them to trade so low back then." Our contention is that sentiment is now improving modestly for the juniors, for several reasons. We have to consider that as the second step in a new cyclical bull market, with the first step being Seller Exhaustion. To continue reading, please log in or click here to subscribe to a Got Gold Report Membership |
| Why Has Gold Turned Into Paper Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:29 AM PDT One of the most amazing things that has happened in the global capital markets in the past month is that gold and silver have turned into equities. You know, those precious metals that were supposed to be a store of value and a safe haven during troubled times?  |
| Rick Rule – There Is Spectacular Demand For Gold Right Now Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:05 AM PDT from kingworldnews.com: Today Rick Rule told King World News that right now, "There is spectacular demand for gold." Rule gave the example that "… the British (Royal) Mint, they are sold out of sovereigns. They have no more 2012 sovereigns." Rule also spoke about demand in the US and Canada, but first, Here is what Rule had to say about the ongoing crisis the Western world is facing: "One of the things about human nature is that people tend to want to believe things that comfort them. I certainly would prefer to believe that the governments are on top of all of the problems in the world and I don't have to worry about it." Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com |
| Yamada – Here Are The Key Levels To Watch On Gold & Silver Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:04 AM PDT from kingworldnews.com: With gold trading near the $1,725 level, and silver firmly above $32, today King World News is pleased to share a piece of legendary technical analyst Louise Yamada's "Technical Perspectives" report. This information is not available to the public and we are grateful to Louise for sharing her incredible work with KWN readers globally. Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com |
| Don Coxe – A Gold Bull, Bond Bear & Commodity Supercycle Posted: 01 Nov 2012 08:02 AM PDT from kingworldnews.com: Today 40-year veteran Don Coxe told King World News, "… when that bond bear market comes under way, it will be the next phase of the commodity supercycle." Coxe, who is Global Strategy Advisor to BMO ($538 billion in assets), also added, "What's fascinating to me is we've had this tremendous bull market in gold, against a bond bull market." Here is what Coxe had to say: "As of August 12th, 1981, the constant dollar Dow Jones Average, which was deflated by inflation, was back to where it was after 'Black Monday' in 1929. Think about that. What that meant was in real terms from 1929, in the next 52 years you had a negative return on stocks." Keep on reading @ kingworldnews.com |
| MA: The Collapse of America May Be Literal Posted: 01 Nov 2012 07:55 AM PDT Booms, explosions, flooding, underground bunkers,gas leaks and tunnels Take a look at the sponsors they may help to prep you. A simple click on the adds displayed in my videos allows you to help me support my life here in Asia. A simple click on the adds displayed in my videos allows you to help me support my life here in Asia. from martialarm: ~TVR |
| Peter Warburton: The euro is becoming a structurally weak currency Posted: 01 Nov 2012 07:31 AM PDT Peter Warburton, director of Economic Perspectives and managing director of Halkin Services, talks to GoldMoney's Alasdair Macleod. They talk about debt, central bank policy and the eurozone crisis. from goldmoneynews: Assessing an essay written by Warburton in 2001, they come to the conclusion that the search for inherent value is continuing and leading to polarising ideas about investment. They talk about changes in the gold market, enormous debt levels, and new central bank measures such as quantitative easing — which aim to prevent defaults. Central bank reflation is leading to a replacement of contracting bank credit with raw money. They also point out that market uncertainty about the sustainability of sovereign debt levels is stalling entrepreneurial activity and investment in productive capacity. Warburton states that global growth will likely slow until there is a significant event such as a 50% rise in the price level, which would wipe out some of our debt burden. He explains that the velocity of money can increase by both returning confidence and accelerating fear. They also talk about the crisis in the eurozone. Warburton thinks that the euro is becoming a structurally weak currency. Warburton expects a dramatic increase in the ECB's balance sheet in the coming years in order to hold the currency union together. They also discuss the role of Germany in this union, and the huge burden that is being put on the back of German taxpayers. This podcast was recorded on 23 October 2012. ~TVR |
| Gold Confiscation Rumor Control Posted: 01 Nov 2012 07:07 AM PDT |
| Precious Metals Rise with China's Long-Term Forecast Posted: 01 Nov 2012 06:21 AM PDT Wholesale prices to buy gold rose to seven-session highs in London on Thursday morning, touching $1,726 per ounce even as new data showed US employment rising at its fastest pace since February.  |
| Gold Shows Strong November Average Returns Posted: 01 Nov 2012 05:43 AM PDT The five-year average (2007-2011) saw returns of 5.6% and the 10-year average (2002-2011) saw returns of 5.1%. Gold's outperformance in November is significant.  |
| Silver Update: Crony Capitalism 10.31.12 Posted: 01 Nov 2012 04:48 AM PDT |
| Silver Futurist: Silver To Go Extinct by 2020 Posted: 01 Nov 2012 04:46 AM PDT It would seem that Ted Butler was responsible for introducing that meme into the silver blogosphere with his 2006 posting Freedman's Theory. from silverfuturist: ~TVR |
| Gold and Silver Market morning, November 1, 2012 Posted: 01 Nov 2012 04:00 AM PDT |
| Bullion or Certificated Bullion? He Owns Both: Rick Rule Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:59 AM PDT While he owns both bullion and certificated bullion, many investors are better off buying bullion says the founder of Sprott Global Investments and president of Sprott Asset Management USA. Certificated bullion may be more convenient while bullion provides assurance.  |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:55 AM PDT On Halloween, U.S. military forces train for zombie apocalypse Raw Story Secrets of T-rex sex! Salon (furzy mouse) Christian, Jewish, and Hindu Congregations Urged To Vote Yes On 37 Faith and GMOs (Aquifer) Bet the Farm Harper's (Lee S) The World's First Commercial Vertical Farm Opens in Singapore Inhabitat (furzy mouse) Efficiency Breakthrough Promises Smartphones that Use Half the Power MIT Technology Review More on China's official PMI MacroBusiness US warns Israel off Iran strike Guardian Eurozone unemployment hits new high Guardian The euro is heading for a permanent state of depression Jeremy Warner, Telegraph The German bloc will have to take its bitter medicine in Greece Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Telegraph Storm porn:
Equality's Amazing Vanishing Act American Prospect Obama Had A HUGE Surge On InTrade Today, And Is Nearly Back At 70% Clusterstock. Note most polls have the race very close in the popular vote, and with Obama leading in electoral college. Sen. Graham: Obama move on defense layoff notices 'patently illegal' The Hill (furzy mouse) Storm Damage: When Patients Must Be Moved MedPage Today (Aquifer) No Mitt Romney, Private Charity is Not Enough Helaine Olen, Forbes UAW Files Charges Against Romney on his Auto Bail-out Profiteering Greg Palast Few housing solutions offered in presidential race Associated Press (Matt T) World Bank's Anti-Labor Analysis Is a Dirty Business In These Times JPMorgan sues ex-boss of 'London Whale' Financial Times. Predictable blame-shifting. A Convenient Excuse The Phoenix (martha r). Today's must read. * * * lambert here: Mission elapsed time: T + 54 and counting* Nobody knows anything. — William Goldman Walmart. Supply chain: "In the recent strike of just two dozen subcontracted Walmart warehouse workers in Elwood, Illinois, the strikers heard reports from allies at Walmart retail stores in the region that there were already shortages of goods. This occurred less than 10 days into the strike, Elwood warehouse worker Mike Compton told me." CO. Legalization: "As of last week, there were 266 licensed dispensaries in CO, with the possibility for almost double that number by the time the state Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division finishes licensing." … Police state: "The following photos depict those officers, dressed in combat fatigues and carrying assault weapons, before and during arrests of activists affiliated with Occupy Denver at yesterday's foreclosure defense." So bank can take over a house? WTF? GA. Privatization: "The next big play, openly demanded by Atlanta business leaders like the Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the legislative oversight committee, and tacitly agreed to by Atlanta's black mayor, its majority black city council, and most of the local black leadership class is privatization of the city's transit assets, all at once or piece by piece. The transit agency's own governing board is on the privatization bus as well. " IA. Voting: "Iowa has joined Texas in warning international election observers of possible criminal prosecution if they violate state laws and get near polling places on Election Day." … Voting: "Unreturned absentees usually run 7 to 10 percent once returns are official, [Chad Olsen, spokesman for Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz] said — enough to leave a losing candidate wondering what might have been. LA. Hurricane Sandy: "The [NOLA] unwatering team successfully removed 250 billion gallons of water after Katrina, [P]lanning was credited in cutting the time needed to drain New Orleans from an original estimate of four months to less than 40 days. The team will share the lessons learned with New York [counterparts] as they address the best ways of removing millions of gallons of seawater pushed into Manhattan and other New York City boroughs by Sandy's storm surge." … Hurricane Sandy: "[H]urricanes like this one present an amazing opportunity. So let me repay all the favors you gave the Gulf Coast back then by helping you get your rebuilding plan going as you helped us get ours on the right track. The absolute first thing you have to do is fire all your public school teachers. Just fire them." ME. Social capital: "A computer specialist had a stroke in his [University of Southern Maine office] but wasn't discovered until five days later, then died at a hospital, relatives and authorities said Wednesday." Sad. MI. Refineries: "'It's like a Frankenstein lab experiment,' Theresa Landrum, a community leader and cancer survivor, said of the airborne chemicals that pour from industry in or near [the Marathon refinery in Detroit[s] 48217 [neighborhood] — including volatile organic compounds, many of which are carcinogens, and sulfur dioxide, a respiratory irritant. 'We actually are lab rats.' [D]ata submitted by Marathon to state regulators show that emissions of volatile organic compounds from the refinery increased by 36 percent from 2009 to 2011. The EPA has isn't keeping track of the refinery expansions around the nation." MN. Foreclosure: "Humanity provides a foreclosure service if contacted early in the process offers significant hope for home recovery. According to Carlene Coleman, Mortgage Foreclosure Manager for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, the mortgage group handled 406 cases last year with a 77% success rate in preventing foreclosure. They have dealt with owners at all stages of the foreclosure process." NC. Fracking: "Libertarian candidate Barbara Howe said companies should be free to explore for energy as long it doesn't involve taxpayer money or tax incentives and companies are bonded for damages. Howe said she would have questions if someone would want to drill under her Granville County property but said that's not a good enough reason to bar it." … Racism: "[The Halloween display that popped up in his neighbor's yard:] Hanging from a noose in a backyard tree at the house next door is a stuffed body with a photo of Obama's face as the head." Creeps. NE. Pipelines: "NE environmental regulators have released a preliminary 600-page report [which] doesn't include a recommendation about whether TransCanada should be allowed to build the Keystone XL pipeline to ship crude oil to Gulf Coast refineries. The state report says TransCanada's new route avoids the environmental sensitive Sandhills region. Pipeline opponent Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska says she's disappointed the state won't require disclosure of exactly what chemicals will be carried in the pipeline." … Pipelines: "[T]he Legislature changed direction in April, during a flurry of amendments in the final days of its regular session, and made the Nebraska DEQ the first stop for future pipeline routing decisions by the state. That decision moved the state's pipeline oversight toward a department responsible to the governor and away from independently elected officials. Because the change included in LB1161 came after committee hearings, the public never had a chance to weigh in on a departure from the November decision putting the PSC in charge." Shenanigains like this are always a sign of bad faith. NJ. Hurricane Sandy: "12:02 p.m.: Utilities report: More than 2.4 million N.J. residents making due [sic] without power. That leaves 1.5 million residents fortunate enough to be enjoying comforts such as light and heat. 11:53 a.m.: Roughly 75 percent of Jersey City residents and businesses remain without power and prospects for the immediate future aren't great. PSE&G officials expect that power should be restored by Monday" (good live blog from the Star-Ledger). … Hurricane Sandy: "I saw the same gas station attendant twice as I refilled my 2.5 gallon container. I could tell he was exhausted from 12 hours of bending over to fill the tanks. I offered to bring him hot chocolate, cider, coffee, a beer, anything he wanted. He finally cracked a smile and said he'd love a beer but he'd be done for the day at that point. NY. Ursula Rozum: "The Green New Deal would provide full employment, Medicare for all and student debt forgiveness, to name a few." … Hurricane Sandy: "The Governor's office has released a list of all subway and emergency shuttle bus service that will be operational as of 2 p.m. this afternoon tomorrow morning. There are three shuttle bus routes — two plying the Manhattan Bridge and one on the Williamsburg Bridge — filling some of the gaps in subway service. here will be very limited subway service restorations tomorrow today tomorrow morning, on 14 of the MTA's 23 lines. Nothing below 34th Street." (subway map) … Hurricane Sandy: "The people gathered around the side of a building on Third Avenue looked like refugees huddled around a campfire. But instead of crackling flames, their warmth came from more advanced technology: a power strip that had been offered to charge cellphones." …. Climate change: "[CUOMO: ] People will debate whether there is climate change … that's a whole political debate that I don't want to get into. I want to talk about the frequency of extreme weather situations, which is not political." Oh, semantics. OH. Voting: "Right-wing activists bent on exposing the alleged epidemic of in-person voter fraud suffered a major misfire over the weekend when anonymous pollwatchers set off alarms over groups of Somalis getting rides to a central OH early voting center." … Balllots: "An unknown number of absentee ballot applications across the state have been rejected due to the [data glitch] delay because election officials did not have some voters' current addresses." … Hurricane Sandy: "FirstEnergy reported more than 147,000 homes and businesses without power before dawn Tuesday. More than 114,000 of those were in Cuyahoga County, which includes the city of Cleveland. Restoring all of it could take days." … Gambling: "An official of a Columbus addiction treatment center told council members that about 40 percent of the people seeking help for problem gambling frequent the unregulated gaming parlors. The Columbus area has 37 of the state's 819 Internet cafes." Not what I think of when I hear "Internet cafe.") PA. Voting: "Monday's closures of county courthouses across the state has led Gov. Tom Corbett to extend allow some counties to extend today's deadline for applying for an absentee ballot." "Some." Shades of Operation Alberich, I'm tellin ya. … Voting: " [Cambria and Somerset] counties have backup battery packs for their electronic voting units, officials said. And, if it would be necessary to provide power for lights at some precincts, some generators are available." TX. Pipelines: "Since it altered its route, [TransCanada] has filed a civil lawsuit against dozens of protesters and others who have encouraged action to stop the pipeline, alleging that they have caused disruptions and changes that could cost more than $500,000. TransCanada also has alleged that if protests delay the overall project, it could cost the company millions of dollars." Perhaps TransCanada should sue in a secret NAFTA court? … Privatization: Privatized TX highway overrun by feral hogs. Noted without comment. VA. Coal: "So, if you buy the 'War on Coal' argument, consider how many other chemical processing factories are seriously considering switching to coal-fired boilers these days. My guess is that such uses went away in the 1950s or 1960s." VT. Landfills: "Imagine nine and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools filled with the juice that dribbles off the garbage truck. That's how much garbage-infused water is pumped out of a single 20-acre cell every year in Moretown Landfill. Moretown residents are concerned that garbage-infused water, called leachate, could leak into the groundwater and make its way to their drinking water wells." WY. Refineries: "The FBI and local police are investigating an alleged sabotage attempt at a [Rawlins WY Sinclair] refinery earlier this month. [A spokesman] declined to comment about whether there were any signs of forced entry. He added that the act 'doesn't look like' terrorism. Two May fires burned six employees, three seriously. Fires hit the refinery twice more in August but burned only one employee, who was quickly released from the hospital." Outside baseball. Progressives: "Obama supporters who profess an intent to 'hold his feet to the fire' may successfully deceive themselves and each other, but this president is no fool. Barack Obama knows that voters have no power whatsoever over him after next Tuesday, that he'll be free to follow his own inclinations, whatever those are" (Margaret Kimberly). … Tribalism: "[P]eople (Ds and Rs both) were two and a half times as likely to think [the protagonist] was a hypocrite if they were told he belonged to the other party. This experiment only confirms a wide body of work in social psychology demonstrating that we're biased against people we take to be members of a group that isn't our own, more biased if we think of them as the opposition. The news is not that we are biased, it's how deeply biased we are." … Federalism: "[Heather] Gerken was writing down all the ways in which she thought Sunstein was wrong. What Sunstein didn't seem to realize, she wrote, was that in order for minority groups to have real influence in politics–in order for them to make meaningful contributions to the way society works–they had to have more than the right to make their voices heard. They had to have the power to actually do things their way." … Corruption: "There have been a significant number of whistle-blowers during this crisis, but none has become famous. The Bush and the Obama administrations have failed to praise and make famous as an exemplar anyone who fought within the lenders to stop their endemic fraud" (William Black). … Legalization: " A study released Wednesday by a respected Mexican think tank asserts that proposals to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in CO, OR and WA could cut Mexican drug cartels' earnings from traffic to the U.S. by as much as 30 percent." Grand Bargain™-brand Cat Food watch. Filibuster: "Senator Jeff Merkley, the co-author of a package of filibuster reforms, has secured commitments from nine leading D Senate candidates to throw themselves behind fixing the filibuster if they are elected." So, where were they in 2009? It would sure be funny if the Ds left the filibuster to place and got a lousy stimpack and ObamaCare, then "fixed" it and passed the Grand Bargain with it. Not that I'm foily. The trail. Precinct map: [If you're a map geek, this is really keen.] … Ground game: "Voters nationally, as well those in the closely contested battleground states, report being contacted at about the same rates by each of the campaigns. And with a fifth of likely voters reporting already having cast their ballots, neither Obama nor Romney has a clear advantage among early voters." … Swing states: "Are MN, MI and PA really in play this close to the election? Obama senior adviser Axelrod says no–and made a bet with MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Wednesday that he would shave his moustache of 40 years if Obama failed to win those states. … Control of the Senate: "Republicans need a net gain of four seats for their first majority in six years, three if Romney wins, allowing a Vice President Paul Ryan to cast tie-breaking votes. Independent experts agree Rs could wind up with anywhere from a net gain of three seats to zero." … Legacy parties: "[A] case can be made that the R brand name is acting as a drag on Romney's candidacy. The average net rating for the Republican Party in this series is -13, whereas the average for the Democratic Party is +.3. Is this what's keeping a president with tepid approval numbers and a still-sluggish economy afloat?" (Note how essential the role of career "progressives" is to preserving this branding.) … Polls: "If we ran the election 100 times, Silver was saying that Obama would win 72 of them — but we'll only be running it once. Silver was predicting an approximate 50.3 percent of the two-party vote share for Obama, but shifts of as large as 1 percent of the vote could happen at any time. What if the weatherman told you there was a 30 percent chance of rain — would you be shocked if it rained that day? No." Nate Silver Wars! … Polls: "The states in which every site has Obama leading make up 271 electoral votes — one more than the president needs to clinch victory. The states in which everyone has Mr. Romney ahead represent 206 electoral votes." … Polls: "It is impossible to adequately weight to compensate for large segments of the population who cannot be reached at all in a survey, or in very low percentages, and whose opinions may have changed from previous, pre-storm measures. Gallup is now tentatively planning on conducting interviewing over the last four days of this week, Thursday through Sunday" … Recounts: "In the battleground states of CO and FL, a recount is mandatory if the margin between the candidates is within 0.5% of the total vote. In OH, it is mandatory if the margin is within 0.25%." … Biden 2016: "And after it's all over, when your insurance rates go down, then you'll vote for me in 2016. I'll talk to you later," Biden said, according a pool reporter." Green Party. Brass: "Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was arrested Wednesday morning in east TX while attempting to bring food and Halloween candy to protesters camping out in trees to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, according to anti-pipeline activists." To adopt the immortal and NSFW words of D operative James Carviille: If Stein gave Obama one of her b*lls, they'd both have two. Robama vs. Obomney watch. Conor Freidersdorf: "Neither the D nor the R candidate in this race is trustworthy or desirable as a leader. Obama is a left-leaning technocrat who habitually breaks his promises and is eager to assume near dictatorial powers in the realm of national security. He has little regard for the Constitution or the recklessness of the precedents that he's setting. And Romney? He's a right-leaning technocrat who unapologetically breaks his promises, is eager to assume near-dictatorial national-security powers, and has little regard for the Constitution. Each of these men would have you believe that it is imprudent to trust the other. Yet if their opponent wins, each is on record affirming that he is empowered to spy, detain and kill in secret, and wage war without Congress. Given their willingness to confer those extreme powers, how deep can their mistrust really be?" The Romney. Taxes: "[Bloomberrg's Jesse] Drucker used FOIA to get records about another Romney trust, which uses the Mormon church's tax-exempt status to save him from paying taxes, parking money there to defer tax bills while keeping almost all of the proceeds himself." … More Kook-Aid, vicar? [Readers, I'd like a really over-the-top endorsement of The Romney that meets the standard Chait set for The |
| The Rich Create Bubbles, Not Jobs Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:50 AM PDT By Hugh, who is a long-time commenter at Naked Capitalism. Originally published at Corrente. On June 7, 2001, HR 1836 the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act was signed into law. This was the first and largest of several tax cut bills passed during the Bush Administration. It was estimated to cost $1.35 trillion with most of its benefits going to rich. So this should have spurred job creation. Give money to the "job creators" and they will create jobs, no? The graph below (from the BLS' Establishment survey) covering the Bush and Obama years shows, in fact, what happened.
The blue line represents all nonfarm public and private jobs. The red line, jobs in the private sector. The difference between the two lines is public jobs. Though the scale is large, it is easily seen that public sector job number remained fairly stable during the period. It is the private sector which drove the overall changes in jobs numbers. [For those interested, the slight notch in the blue line in 2010 represents hiring for the Census.] What we see is that the Bush tax cuts had little effect on the trajectory of job losses from the 2001 recession. We also see the effects of the housing bubble taking off in mid-2003 and its collapse into recession (December 2007) and meltdown (September 2008) with jobs falling below their 2003 lows. Here you could argue that the rich do create jobs, but these bubble jobs aren't stable or permanent and are created at great cost to the non-rich. And while there is a recovery in private jobs from 2010 onward, we need to keep two things in mind. First, the quality of these post-bubble created jobs is generally poor. One sign of this comes from the Household survey where the growth in involuntary part time employment has increased from 3.332 million in January 2001 to 8.613 million in September 2012. Second, after 10 years of turning our economy over to the "job creating" rich, we are only just back to the level of private jobs we had in January 2001. In other words, the job creators in exchange for their trillion dollar tax cuts gifted the rest of us with a lost decade. Actually, it is worse than a lost decade. Jobs are not people, and the chart above does not reflect 10 years of growth in the US working age population. To see this, we must look at people, the employed (from the BLS' Household survey).
The blue line is the number of employed and is similar to the blue jobs line in the previous graph. The green line is the labor force (employed + unemployed as defined by the BLS) seasonally adjusted. The red line is my calculation of where the labor force should be, i.e. 67% of the working age population (non-institutional population over 16). This is based on the participation rate from October 1996 to June 2000 which for 44 of 45 months was at or above 67%. Notches in the red line come from annual revisions applied in January. The difference between the green line (current labor force) and the blue line (current employed) represents the unemployed. We can see this has increased markedly after the onset of the 2007 recession. Also from this time, the green line of the current labor force went flat. The difference between the green line and the red line represents the increasing failure of the labor force to keep up with population growth. This area of the graph represents people who are defined out of the labor force by the BLS' restrictive definition of unemployment but who would, from our experience from 1996 to 2000, work if jobs were available to them. This graph shows the true magnitude of the failure of the "jobs creators": bubble job formation, no growth in the labor force, and a 20.352 million gap in September 2012 between the employed and those who would work if work was available. Add in the poor quality of the jobs being created and the increased number of involuntary part time workers, and we have fail upon fail upon fail. It is Orwellian that after a decade of trillion dollar tax cuts and bailouts of the rich, and a steadily worsening jobs and employment picture for American workers, we are told to be kind to the rich and give them even more money because they are the "jobs creators". With job creators like these, we are better off without them.
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| Gold Price to Rally Regardless of Who is Elected President Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:09 AM PDT Yesterday in Gold and SilverGold rallied a few dollars in Far East trading on their Wednesday...and that rally developed more legs once the dollar index rolled over shortly after London opened. The rally ran out of gas around noon in London as the dollar index rallied back to unchanged by noon in New York. But an hour before that, the gold price spiked above $1,725 spot...and then got sold off exactly two hours later, as a not-for-profit seller showed up thirty minutes before the Comex close. After that, the gold price didn't do much. The low tick [$1,709.00 spot] was at the Wednesday morning open in Tokyo...and the high tick [$1,727.30 spot] came about 11:20 a.m. in New York. The gold price closed in New York at $1,720.20 spot...up $11.20 on the day. Volume was a little more robust at 130,000 contracts. Silver's price path was very similar to gold's...so I'll spare you the play-by-play. However it was obvious that there was even more price interference in silver during the New York trading session than there was in gold. The low tick...around $31.70 spot...came moments after the Tokyo open...and the high tick...$32.54 spot...like gold, came around 11:20 a.m. in New York. After that spike high, the silver price got sold down going into the 5:15 p.m. Eastern electronic close. Silver closed at $32.26 spot...up 51 cents on the day. Volume was only about 32,600 contracts. Like countless times in the past, it should be obvious to anyone with an open mind, that gold and silver would have finished materially higher if JPMorgan et al hadn't been standing by as the not-for-profit sellers of last resort during the New York trading session. The dollar index opened at 79.93 in Tokyo...and then traded flat until shortly after London trading began at 8:00 a.m. GMT. From that point, it got sold down to its low of 79.69...with its nadir coming about 11:15 a.m. in London, which was 7:15 a.m. in New York. The index then rallied back to unchanged by noon in New York...and traded sideways into the close, finishing virtually flat on the day at 79.96. Not surprisingly, the gold stocks gapped up at the 9:30 a.m. New York open...and then worked their way steadily higher until they topped out shortly after 12 o'clock noon Eastern time. They sagged a bit from there, but rallied during the last thirty minutes of trading. The HUI finished virtually on its high of the day...up 3.05%. The silver stocks did just OK yesterday, although some of the smaller junior producers I own turned in some rather above-average gains. Nick Laird's Silver Sentiment Index only closed up 2.19%. (Click on image to enlarge) The CME's Daily Delivery Report for 'Day 2' of the November delivery month showed that only 14 gold contracts were posted for delivery on Friday from within the Comex-approved depositories. As I said yesterday, November is not a traditional delivery month...but December is in both gold and silver. And, not surprisingly, there were no reported changes in either GLD or SLV yesterday, either. But Switzerland's Zürcher Kantonalbank updated their gold and silver ETFs as of the close of trading on Tuesday. They added 24,201 troy ounces of gold...and 163,808 troy ounces of silver were reported withdrawn. However, the U.S. Mint closed off the month of October with a pretty decent sales report. They sold 10,500 ounces of gold eagles...1,000 one-ounce 24K gold buffaloes...and a chunky 569,000 silver eagles. Unless the mint adds some more sales later today, total October sales were as follows: 59,000 ounces of gold eagles...11,000 one-ounce 24K gold buffaloes...and 3,153,000 silver eagles. I do hope you're getting your share, dear reader. Based on the sales in October the silver/gold ratio was 45 to 1...and year-to-date its just under 47 to 1...so October was about average. Year-to-date silver eagle sales total 28,948,000...and if we continue at this current rate of sales, we should hit very close to the 40 million mark by the end of December. But don't be surprised if the mint pulls a fast one and shoves some December sales into January, so that December...and the year-end figures...don't look quite as great. They've been pulling that stunt for several years in a row now...with December 2011/January 2012 being the last time they did it. That's why over 6 million silver eagles were 'sold' this past January. In actual fact, a huge chunk of those were pulled out of December 2011. The Comex-approved depositories showed no activity on Tuesday...either in or out. I have the usual number of stories today...but most of them are gold related, so I hope you can find the time to at least skim the paragraphs that I've cut and paste from each. Positive interest rates are light years away, so it will be up, up, up and away for the gold price. Reserve Bank of India restricts bank loans for gold. Iran starts requiring central bank approval for gold exports. German gold audit could spark others. U.S. Mint sells 3,153,000 silver eagles in October...28,948,000 year-to-date. Critical ReadsU.S. Comptroller Warns on Banks' Loan-Loss ReservesThe U.S. could stop banks from boosting their earnings by cutting back on reserves held against future loan losses, a top bank regulator said Monday, arguing that the economy remains too rocky for financial institutions to lower their cushions. Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry has been warning for several months about the practice of bank-reserve releases, which occur when banks add less to their loan-loss reserves than they write off for uncollectible loans. The difference has bolstered banking profits in recent quarters. Mr. Curry repeated his criticism in a speech before a group of bank risk managers in Dallas, citing the potential for future losses in residential and commercial real estate. No surprises here. The big banks have been crafting earnings by depleting loan-loss reserves and marking derivatives to fantasy. Now a U.S. bank regulator is warning about this abuse. The story showed up in The Wall Street Journal on Monday...and I borrowed it from yesterday's edition of the King Report. The link is here. Dow Chemical to take charge of up to $1.1 billionDow Chemical Co. will take a fourth-quarter charge of as much as $1.1 billion related to last week's announcement that it will close 20 plants, write down the value of its lithium ion battery business and lay off thousands of workers. Dow, the largest U.S. chemical maker, said the restructuring program - its second of 2012 - was necessary because of dropping demand for its plastics and other products. Another sign that the U.S. economy is on the mend. This short Reuters story from Tuesday is worth reading...and it's another article I borrowed from yesterday's King Report. The link is here. UBS to cut 10,000 jobs in fixed income retreatSwiss bank UBS unveiled plans on Tuesday to fire 10,000 staff and wind down its fixed income business, returning to its private banking roots as it adapts to tough capital rules that make it harder to turn a profit from trading. Zurich-based UBS will focus on wealth management and a smaller investment bank, ditching much of the trading business that ran up $50 billion in losses in the financial crisis and is embroiled in a global LIBOR rate-fixing investigation. Some UBS staffers took to social media to air their frustration after dozens of traders were stopped from entering the bank's London offices on Tuesday. I ran a similar story to this in my column yesterday. That one was posted in The Telegraph early yesterday morning GMT...and the Reuters article posted here was filed from Zurich yesterday afternoon Eastern time. It, too, came from yesterday's edition of the King Report...and it's very much worth the read. The link is here. Barclays Faces $435 Million Fine, Another ProbeBarclays LC faced a double-barreled assault from U.S. authorities, as the federal energy-market regulator sought a record $435 million in penalties for the bank's alleged manipulation of U.S. electricity markets, and the lender also disclosed that it was facing a U.S. anticorruption investigation. The corruption investigation focuses on potential violations during the bank's efforts to raise money from Middle Eastern investors in the early days of the financial crisis. The probe, being conducted by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, is at an early stage. Barclays said Wednesday that it is investigating the matter itself and cooperating with authorities. The U.S. investigation follows a similar probe that British regulators opened earlier this year. This item was posted on The Wall Street Journal Internet site late last night Eastern time...and I thank West Virginia reader Elliot Simon for sending it our way. The link is here. Halifax Bank of Scotland whistleblower was 'abused' by top executiveManagers at HBOS were routinely threatened and abused by colleagues and senior executives at the lender in the years leading up to its collapse, according to a former head of risk at the bank. Paul Moore, who was in charge of group regulatory risk at HBOS and claims he was sacked in 2004 for raising concerns about the way the bank was run, said he had personally been abused by one of the lender's top managers. "When I went to try to resolve the previous difficulties with Jo Dawson [Mr Moore's replacement and a former head of HBOS's retail distribution business], she lent over the table... she stood up... pointed at me and said 'I'm warning you. Don't you make an effin' enemy out of me'. And that is an absolute verbatim comment. "That is the most extreme example," he added, "but it demonstrates that if a very senior executive who is clearly a protégé of the chief executive feels that it is OK to speak to the head of group regulatory risk in those terms you can imagine how that type of culture spreads through the organisation." This story was posted on the telegraph.co.uk Internet site on Tuesday evening GMT...and I thank Donald Sinclair for sending it. The link is here. France, Britain set stage for EU budget wranglingBritish Prime Minister David Cameron came under pressure to act tough on the European Union budget and France threatened to use its veto, signaling a divisive start to bargaining over the 1 trillion euro ($1.3 trillion) long-term spending plan. Wednesday's warning from Paris echoed similar threats from Denmark and Britain, where Cameron suffered a humiliating defeat in parliament after Conservatives rebelled over Europe, an issue that has long divided his party. Although the British parliamentary vote is non-binding, rebel Conservatives said Cameron should ditch his call for a real terms freeze in EU spending and push for outright cuts. This Reuters piece, filed jointly from Brussels and London, was posted on their website early yesterday evening...and my thanks go out to Roy Stephens for finding it for us. The link is here. Greek death spiral raises heat for German-bloc creditorsGreece's debt-load is rising much faster than expected as the country spirals into a sixth year of depression, ratcheting up the pressure on Germany and Europe's creditor states to accept debt-forgiveness for the first time. Finance minister Yannis Stournaras said public debt will reach 189pc of GDP, far higher than estimates of 179pc published just weeks ago. The new estimates exceed the worst-case scenario sketched by the International Monetary Fund and demolish any hope that Greece can claw its way back to solvency. "Unless EU leaders come up with a sustainable solution and cut the debt burden, everything is going to fall apart in Greece," said Simon Derrick from BNY Mellon. The Greek economy is still caught in a vicious circle. It will contract by further 4.5pc next year, while the budget deficit will remain stuck at 5.2pc, according to forecasts in the 2013 budget. Ambrose Evans Pritchard provides the material in this story that was posted on the telegraph.co.uk Internet site early yesterday evening GMT...and it's courtesy of Roy Stephens as well. The link is here. Eurozone unemployment rises to record 11.6pcThe unemployment rate crept up from a revised 11.5pc during August, according to data from EU statistics agency Eurostat, leaving 18.5m hunting jobs. Eurostat estimates that the number of men and women out of work across the 27 EU states rose by 169,000 from August to 25.8m. The eurozone accounted for the bulk of that increase, climbing 146,000 over the same period. The lowest rates in the eurozone were seen in Austria (4.4pc) and Luxembourg (5.2pc), while the highest remained in stricken Spain (25.8pc) and Greece (25.1pc, most recent available figure from July). This Roy Stephens offering was posted on The Telegraph's website mid-morning GMT yesterday...and the link is here. Three King World News BlogsThe first blog is with Louise Yamada...and it's entitled "Here are the Key Levels to Watch on Gold & Silver". The second blog is with Rick Rule. It's headlined "There is Spectacular Demand for Gold Right Now". Lastly is this blog with BMO's Don Coxe. It bears the headline "A Gold Bull, Bond Bear & Commodity Supercycle"...and it's a must read. German gold audit could spark othersMineWeb's Dorothy Kosich notes the clamor for an audit of Germany's gold reserves, largely vaulted abroad, and the role played in that clamor by GATA. Kosich's commentary is headlined "Germany's Gold Reserve Inspection Could Spark Other Central Bank Gold Audits" and it's posted at the mineweb.com Internet site. I thank Chris Powell for wordsmithing the introduction...and the link to this must read story is here. German gold audit could spark othersMineWeb's Dorothy Kosich notes the clamor for an audit of Germany's gold reserves, largely vaulted abroad, and the role played in that clamor by GATA. Kosich's commentary is headlined "Germany's Gold Reserve Ins |
| Reserve Bank of India restricts bank loans for gold Posted: 01 Nov 2012 03:09 AM PDT  Coming down heavily against gold once again, India's apex bank the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks not to finance the purchase of gold. Though the RBI has already halted banks' ability to lend money for the purpose of purchasing gold bars, now the apex bank has slashed lending for gold in any form. "No advances should be granted by banks against gold bullion to dealers/traders in gold if, in their assessment, such advances are likely to be utilised for purposes of financing gold purchase at auctions and/or speculative holding of stocks and bullion," the bank says in its second quarter review of the monetary policy 2012-13 on October 30. |
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