A unique and safe way to buy gold and silver 2013 Passport To Freedom Residency Kit
Buy Gold & Silver With Bitcoins!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Gold World News Flash

Save Your ASSets First

Gold World News Flash


2013 – Financial Destruction & How Gold & Silver Will Perform

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:00 PM PST

from KingWorldNews:

Today Egon von Greyerz spoke with King World News about the financial destruction that investors will witness in 2013 and in coming years, and how gold and silver will fare in this incredibly volatile environment. Here is what Greyerz, who is founder of Matterhorn Asset Management in Switzerland, had this to say: "Eric, 2012 was a tough year for some investors since gold has not really done much in dollar terms. Gold is also only up a bit in other currencies, and silver has done slightly better, being up around 7% in dollar terms, and a little better in euros."

Egon von Greyerz continues @ KingWorldNews.com

Gold Has Outperformed Housing By 600% Since 2001

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 10:30 PM PST

from GoldAndSilverBlog.com:

Anyone predicting that gold would outperform housing in 2001 would likely have been viewed as being seriously deranged. After all, housing prices had increased for decades and by the peak of the housing market in 2007, real estate was believed to be a "can't lose investment." The mantra that housing values only go up proved to be disastrous for many Americans as the over-leveraged real estate market imploded, shattering the wealth dreams of both naive homeowners and investors.

Despite the trillions of dollars of direct support from both the Federal Reserve and Congress, real housing values have yet to recover a fraction of their losses. Mainstream press reports of a solid recovery in housing markets usually neglect to mention, that according to the Case-Shiller National Index, housing prices are still lower than they were at the turn of the century.

Read More @ GoldAndSilverBlog.com

Gold Seeker Weekly Wrap-Up: Gold and Silver End Barely Higher on the Week

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 10:00 PM PST

Gold fell to as low as $1653.39 by about 3PM EST before it bounced back higher in the last hour trade, but it still ended with a loss of 0.42%. Silver slipped to as low as $29.86 and ended with a loss of 0.56%.

By the Numbers for the Week Ending December 28

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 08:54 PM PST

This week's closing table is just below. 

20121228-Table

If the image is too small click on it for a larger version.  Please note:  COT cutoff this week actually on Monday, December 24.  Everywhere "Tuesday" appears substitute Monday. 

Vultures, (Got Gold Report Subscribers) please note that updates to our linked technical charts, including our comments about the COT reports and the week's technical changes, should be completed by the usual time on Sunday (by 18:00 ET).  

DHS Insider Report: Coming This Spring: “Life for the Average American is Going to Change Significantly”

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 08:30 PM PST

by Doug Hagmann, SHTFPlan:

SHTFplan Editor's Note: The following interview is both informative and terrifying, and essential reading for anyone concerned about what comes next.

What the DHS Insider suggests is about to happen is exactly what many of us fear – a police state takeover of America, with urban centers to be pacified first, all outspoken critics of the government to be silenced, and travel restrictions across the United States to come shortly thereafter.

The dollar collapse, riots, the mobilization of domestic law enforcement, gun control, rationing of food and gas, suspension of the U.S. Constitution and a complete lock-down of America as we know it. According to the report, sinister forces within the U.S. government operating at the highest levels of our country's political, financial, intelligence and military hierarchies have set into motion a series of events that will leave the populace so desperate for government intervention that they'll willingly surrender their liberty for the perceived security of a militarized police state.

Read More @ SHTFPlan.com

6 Shocking Gold Charts Depicting Stunning Western Decline

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 07:30 PM PST

from KingWorldNews:

The following gold charts reveal the true horror of the decline of Western influence and power, and the rise of Eastern economic dominance and power. These fascinating, yet disturbing, graphics were sent to us from Nick Laird of ShareLynx out of Australia. This is the third and final in a series of releases where KWN featured charts from Laird which gave a visual snapshot of what is really taking place in the gold and silver markets. We thank Laird for sharing these incredible charts with our global readers.

King World News note: The chart below illustrates world gold reserves, and Asian reserves as a percentage of world reserves:

Read More @ KingWorldNews.com

The Bright Future of Gold: The Final Solution of the 2008 Monetary Crisis

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 06:48 PM PST

Dear CIGAs,

Let's keep things very simple:

1. The future of gold will not be determined by the USA.

2. The present manipulation in gold is purely Western, and any other thought is rank nonsense. This event is both short term and very short sighted in terms of people's published analysis.

3. The triumvirate

Continue reading The Bright Future of Gold: The Final Solution of the 2008 Monetary Crisis

Fed members gave their own banks $4 trillion during bailout — RT

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 06:03 PM PST

Check our website daily at http://www.figanews.com A report just released by the US Government...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://goldbasics.blogspot.com for full Content ]]

CME Drops Margins on Gold By 9% | ZeroHedge

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 06:02 PM PST

Check our website daily at http://www.figanews.com Adding to the confusion, for some, that is...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://goldbasics.blogspot.com for full Content ]]

Precious Metals “Under Pressure” Ahead of Year-End, US “Due to Hit Debt Ceiling This Monday” says Geithner

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 06:00 PM PST

by Ben Traynor, Gold Seek:

U.S. DOLLAR gold prices traded above $1650 an ounce Thursday morning, in line with where they started the week, as the London market reopened following Christmas.

Silver meantime hovered either side of $30 an ounce, while stock markets edged higher and the Dollar fell, following news that the US Treasury is to take extraordinary measures to avoid hitting the federal debt ceiling next Monday.

"I am still friendly with the [precious metals] market, but it looks like until the new year starts, it's under pressure," says Yuichi Ikemizu at Standard Bank in Tokyo.

US president Barack Obama has flown back early from Hawaii to resume talks on the so-called fiscal cliff, the $600 million of spending cuts and tax cut expiries due to come into effect from Monday. The House of Representatives remains on vacation.

Read More @ GoldSeek.com

Silver Knocks at Cited Window of Opportunity in 4-Sessions

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 05:49 PM PST

In just four trading sessions following the last update, which called for a bearish short-term decline, the price of silver has plummeted nearly 7%, and has raced toward the $29.62 threshold of opportunity previously cited. Read More...

2012 - 'Year Of Living Dangerously' In Review

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 05:49 PM PST

Submitted by Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform blog,

On January 8 of this year I posted my annual prediction article for this year – 2012 – The Year of Living Dangerously. Now it's time to assess my complete and utter cluelessness when it comes to predicting things within a given time frame. Despite the fact that myself and everyone else acting like they know what lays ahead are proven wrong time and time again, we continue to make predictions about the future. It makes us feel like we have some control, when we don't. The world is too complex, too big, too corrupt, too lost in theories and delusions, and too dependent upon too many leaders with too few brains to be able to predict what will happen next. This is the time of year when all the "experts" will be making their 2013 predictions. I haven't seen too many of these experts going back and honestly assessing their 2012 predictions, which didn't happen.

What I've learned is that "experts" usually have an agenda. Their predictions are designed to convince you to buy the stocks they recommend or purchase their newsletter. Many of these "experts" work for Wall Street, the corporate MSM, a political party or corporate interest. Half of the "experts" represent the status quo and want the masses to think everything is just fine and will steadily improve. The other half are fear mongers that want to scare you into buying their products with predictions of impending collapse at any moment. I like to read the predictions of a wide variety of pundits, bloggers, and so called journalists, while understanding they probably have an agenda.

Personally, I try to make my predictions based on the facts I observe and try to gather. My agenda is to prepare my family for whatever these facts tell me is likely to happen. My website is just a place for me to post my thoughts. I don't depend upon it for a living and I have nothing to sell. That doesn't mean that my biases, hopes, and desires do not color my predictions. As I reread my article yesterday, I found myself thinking, "when is this long winded gasbag going to actually make some predictions?" My article was supposed to make 2012 predictions but ended up trying to tie 2012 into the Fourth Turning Crisis paradigm. When I eventually got to the predictions, I realized that a monkey throwing darts could have done just as well. If I was one of those "experts", I'd say that I wasn't wrong, I was just early. Of course, that is a cop-out. Being early is the same as being wrong.

I'm more interested in why I was wrong. It seems I always underestimate the ability of sociopathic central bankers and their willingness to destroy the lives of hundreds of millions to benefit their oligarch masters. I always underestimate the rampant corruption that permeates Washington DC and the executive suites in mega-corporations across the land. And I always overestimate the intelligence, civic mindedness, and ability to understand math of the ignorant masses that pass for citizens in this country. It seems that issuing trillions of new debt to pay off trillions of bad debt, government sanctioned accounting fraud, mainstream media propaganda, government data manipulation and a populace blinded by mass delusion can stave off the inevitable consequences of an unsustainable economic system. But enough excuses. Let's see how wrong I was:

  • All the episodes which will occur in 2012 will have at their core one of the three elements described by Strauss & Howe in 1997: Debt, Civic Decay, or Global Disorder.

This was a generic prediction. Those are a lot easier to take credit for as being right. Considering the country is about to go over the fiscal cliff, I'd say that debt has had a major impact in 2012. The disgusting political campaign, the anger over efforts to ban guns, urban violence, 20% of nation on food stamps, and real unemployment rate of 20% certainly prove that civic decay is accelerating. Uprisings in Egypt, Syria and across the Middle East intensified. Israel and Iran got closer to inevitable war. Japan and China are on the verge of conflict. The U.S. is still bogged down in Afghanistan and has failed miserably in efforts to democratize the Middle East. I'd say we have had a bit of global disorder.

  • At best, the excessive levels of sovereign debt will slow economic growth to zero or below in 2012. At worst, interest rates will soar as counties attempt to rollover their debt and rolling defaults across Europe will plunge the continent into a depression.

The best case scenario for European bankers and politicians came to pass in 2012. The GDP for the European Union went negative in the 3rd quarter of 2012. The southern European nations are experiencing depression level conditions with soaring unemployment, social unrest, and higher interest rates. But even Germany is experiencing a dramatic slowdown. The bankers continue to call the shots, with various debt schemes designed to keep the bankers whole, while throwing the people to the wolves. They have postponed the day of reckoning, but it is coming. They do not have a liquidity problem. They have a solvency problem. You cannot resolve a debt problem by creating more debt.

  • The truth that no one wants to acknowledge is the standard of living for every person in Europe, the United States and Japan will decline. The choice is whether the decline happens rapidly by accepting debt default and restructuring or methodically through central bank created inflation that devours the wealth of the middle class. Debt default would result in rich bankers losing vast sums of wealth and politicians accepting the consequences of their phony promises. Bankers and politicians will choose inflation.

This was an easy one. Bankers and politicians will never choose pain for themselves when they can shift it to the people. Bernanke and the rest of the world's central bankers, in cooperation with their captured politicians, have chosen to inflate the debt away by printing money. They trust in the shallowness and ignorance of the masses to not notice as their standard of living steadily declines.

Controlling the distribution of data allows the oligarchs to falsify the true level of inflation and the corporate MSM dutifully spews the propaganda to the masses.

  • The European Union will not survive 2012 in its current form. Countries are already preparing for the dissolution. Politicians and bankers will lie and print until the day they pull the plug on the doomed Euro experiment.

I was 100% wrong in this assessment. The politicians and bankers are most certainly lying, but they have succeeded in keeping the EU intact. The dissolution would imperil too many bankers. Whether they can keep it intact through 2013 is another question.

  • The National Debt will be $16.5 trillion when the next president takes office in January 2013.

Barack Obama will be inaugurated on January 20, 2013. As of December 26, 2012 the National Debt stood at $16.34 trillion and according to Turbo Tax Timmy will hit the debt limit of $16.4 trillion on December 31. He will use accounting gimmicks and not fund government pensions to not exceed the limit, but the debt will continue to accumulate at a rate of $3.5 billion per day. The National Debt will be at approximately $16.47 trillion when Obama starts his 2nd term. Close enough for government work.

  • As debt servicing grows by the day, the economy losses steam. The excessive and increasing debt levels will lead to a renewed recession in 2012.

Despite the fact that the government and corporate media continue to report economic growth and a barely positive GDP, a recession did begin this past summer. Using a true level of inflation, GDP has been negative since 2006.

The horrific Christmas retail sales and declining corporate profits reveal the truth. Fourth quarter GDP will be negative and the government will eventually adjust the prior quarters lower. Excel spreadsheet models, fake inflation figures and seasonal adjustments cannot deny reality or the facts.

  • As foreclosures rise a self-reinforcing loop will develop. Home prices will fall as banks dump houses at lower prices, pushing millions more into a negative equity position. Home prices will fall another 5% to 10% in 2012, with a couple years to go before bottoming. 

Another 100% wrong prediction. I again underestimated the willingness of corrupt Wall Street bankers, in cahoots with the Federal government, to fraudulently boost home prices by withholding foreclosures from the market and creating a fake housing shortage. The Feds have willingly used Fannie, Freddie and the FHA to guarantee more bad mortgage loans and put the taxpayer further on the hook for the billions of bad debt. Bennie has swooped in and bought up billions of toxic mortgage debt from the criminal Wall Street banks, while driving mortgage rates to record low levels. With this massive intervention, they have managed to increase home prices by 4% and increase home sales to levels 60% below the peak. Job well done.

  • The working age population will increase by 1.7 million, the number of people employed will go up by 1 million, but the official unemployment rate will drop to 7% as the BLS reveals that 10 million people decided to relax and leave the workforce. Surely I jest. The government manipulated unemployment rate will rise above 9%, while the real rate will surpass 25%.

I made what I thought was an outrageous prediction as an attempt at humor, but my outrageous prediction was closer to the truth. The working age population has grown by 3.7 million people, the number of employed people has gone up by only 2.7 million, 2.4 million people decided to kick back and leave the workforce, resulting in the unemployment rate "plunging" from 8.7% to 7.7%.

Measuring unemployment on par with the method used during the 1930s would put the level at 23% today. But you should trust the BLS. Why would they lie?

  • Ben Bernanke, Wall Street shysters and Barack Obama want you to be drawn in by the allure of short-term gains based on hopes of QE3. The stock market will be volatile in 2012 with stocks falling 20% when it becomes evident the country is going back into recession. Ben will try to ride to the rescue with QE3 as he buys up more toxic mortgage debt. Wall Street will do their usual touchdown dance celebration, but the bloom will fall off this rose fast, as quantitative easing has proven to be a failure in stimulating economic growth.Gridlock in Washington D.C., chaotic national conventions, and the implosion of Europe will contribute to the market finishing down by at least 15% for the year.

I hope you didn't follow my stock market advice as it looks like I missed by only 25% or 30% with this prediction. It is amazing what zero interest rates for Wall Street banks, QE to infinity, high frequency trading supercomputers, and fake Wall Street earnings can do for a stock market. Since the recession has not been acknowledged and rigged corporate profits still sit near their peak, the stock market has continued to rise. I applaud the oligarchs for their ability to extract every last dime from the pockets of the middle class in their avaricious plundering of America. Bernie Madoff is proudly admiring their work from his prison cell.

  • The average price of oil will exceed $100 during 2012 resulting in the highest average gas price in history for American drivers. These high prices, along with various weather related issues will keep food prices elevated, with 5% or higher increases likely. This should spur a few more peasant revolutions around the globe.

I nailed this prediction. Americans paid the highest average price for a gallon of gasoline in history during 2012. Agricultural commodities like corn, wheat and soybeans soared by 7% to 20%, as the high oil prices and drought drove food prices higher. Meat prices will rise in 2013 as herds had to be thinned in 2012 because of the high feed costs. But don't worry. The BLS will just adjust the food inflation away as they assume you switch from hamburger to cat food.

  • Gold will finish the year higher. As always, it will be volatile and manipulated by the powers that be. A drop below $1,500 in the beginning of the year is possible, but when Ben announces QE3, it will be off to the races. I expect gold to reach $1,900 by year end. Silver will be more volatile, but will likely reach $40 by year end.

Gold will finish the year higher for the twelfth consecutive year. It was volatile, with a high of $1,796 and a low of $1,527. It will finish the year in the mid $1,600s. Silver was equally volatile, but also up for the year. It ranged between $37.50 and $26. It will finish the year in the $30 range. The powers that be know that rising gold and silver prices reveal their deceitful inflationary master plan, so they use all of their market manipulative powers to suppress the prices of these metals. The higher our debt, the higher their prices will go. When the confidence game is revealed to be a Ponzi scheme, the prices of gold and silver will be unleashed.

  • Old line mall based retailers like Sears and J.C. Penney die a slow agonizing death as they stagger into the sunset like Montgomery Ward, Circuit City and thousands before them. 

I was wrong about JC Penney. They are dying a fast agonizing death as the idiot savant from Apple has driven them straight into the ground, with sales plunging by 26% versus last year. It isn't a matter of if, but when this employer of 159,000 declares bankruptcy. The "brilliant" (Jim Cramer says so) Eddie Lampert has Sears on a glide path to liquidation. This Christmas season will reveal these CEOs to be frauds.

  • The Occupy Movement will become more extreme with more disruptions of the economic system with less warning so the authorities don't have time to prepare. I expect more cyber hacking into Wall Street, government, and media computer networks, causing disarray and uncertainty regarding financial information. I expect the Democratic and Republican presidential conventions to be overrun by protestors. The authorities will respond with excessive force, resulting in further violent protests in other cities.  

Another 100% miss. The Occupy Movement splintered and petered out after being brutally dismantled by the armed mercenaries of the status quo. There were some cyber-attacks, but they caused minimal disruption. The masses are satiated with their techno-gadgets and reality TV shows. No one protested. No one cared.

  • The Federal government grows ever more panicked by the knowledge that its Ponzi scheme economy is going to collapse. This is why passage of the NDAA and the future passage of SOPA are so important to them. Imprisonment of citizens without charge and shutting down the only remaining means of truth – the Internet – are essential to retaining their power and control over the masses. At the same time, gun sales are at record levels. Critical thinking Americans can see the writing on the wall and no longer trust corrupt politicians of either party. Arming yourself and buying physical gold and silver is a prudent act in today's world.

The outrage over SOPA, led by the alternative online media, stopped it from being passed. The tyrants continue their efforts to suppress free speech on the internet, as Facebook shuts down pages that do not conform to the corporate fascist government agenda. Gun sales are off the charts, as critical thinking people no longer trust the corrupt government. Physical gold and silver sales are soaring as critical thinking people no longer trust our corrupt economic system.

  • The ruling elite hand selected puppets for the 2012 presidential election are Obama and Romney. They are virtually interchangeable and both are acceptable to the Wall Street oligarchs. The monkey wrench in the gears is Ron Paul. He will run as a 3rd Party candidate and focus a light on the crony capitalism that passes for free markets in America today. He will be vilified by both parties and their media mouthpieces, but if he gains traction I fear an unfortunate accident will befall him. Either way, he will have a dramatic impact on the debate and the outcome of the 2012 election.

With this prediction I allowed my hope to overcome reason. The oligarchs are too powerful. Ron Paul's grassroots campaign made the oligarchs extremely uncomfortable. He drew huge crowds of young people on college campuses across the country. His message of liberty and freedom resonated with millions, but he was no match for the billionaires that call the shots in this country. He was silenced by the Republican establishment and chose not to run as a 3rd party candidate. The puppet on the left won the election. The puppet on the right retreated to one of his six mansions. Ron Paul rode off into the sunset knowing he gave it his best shot.

  • It seems more likely by the day that someone will do something stupid in or around Iran and the Persian Gulf will explode into a virtual hell on earth. The unintended consequences of such a development will far outweigh the intended consequences. The revolutions, protests, and brewing civil wars in Egypt, Syria, Libya and Iraq will flare up even if Iran doesn't explode into a shooting war. The tensions in the Middle East will keep oil prices above $100, despite a world plunging into recession.

The showdown between Israel and Iran did not happen in 2012, despite increasingly angry rhetoric. The stealth war with Iran began, as economic sanctions and cyber warfare have begun to destroy their economy and impoverish their people. Revolutions, riots, protests and civil war spread across the Middle East throughout 2012 resulting in high oil prices and a worldwide economic contraction which is picking up speed as 2012 comes to a conclusion.

  • China's hard landing will arrive in 2012. Keynesianism on steroids has failed as they've built more than enough vacant malls, vacant cities, vacant condo towers, and bridges to nowhere. Property prices will plunge, exports will decline, and peasants will revolt as food and energy prices push them over the edge.

China has come in for a hard landing. With a government more corrupt than even ours, their reported economic data would make a BLS drone blush with pride. Property prices are falling. Exports are falling. But somehow they report economic growth of 7%. And the MSM dutifully reports this gibberish as truth. Unrest and protests are a daily occurrence in China, but they are immediately crushed. The Chinese authorities continue to clamp down on the internet and media. China's economic system is a rotting Keynesian nightmare.

I also raised the generic possibilities of earthquakes, hurricanes, pandemics and terrorist attacks. I noted that a terrorist attack in a public venue might cause a government over-reaction. Even though the slaughter of young school children by a deranged mental defective doesn't constitute a terrorist attack, the reaction by government officials and their liberal control freak allies in the mainstream media are exactly what I feared. Every tragedy is used to gain more control over our lives and take away our Constitutional rights in the name of safety and security. The ignorant masses willingly give up their freedom and liberty, believing their Orwellian government protectors will look out for them. As we enter 2013, time grows shorter. The power hungry psychopaths continue to pillage and plunder. Our unsustainable economic system struggles under the weight of debt, despair and delusion as the endgame approaches. The willfully ignorant populace is lost in their techno-narcissistic dream world.

Will 2013 be the year it all collapses in a flaming heap of rubble? I don't know. Maybe you should ask an "expert".

It guarantees to be an interesting year. I'll be hiring Bonzo chimp to help me make my 2013 predictions in the next week or so.

Interactive Map of Economic Growth for the World's 300 Largest Cities – How Does Your City Rank?

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 05:47 PM PST

"Follow the munKNEE" via twitter & Facebook

The Brookings Institute has released an interactive map showing economic growth data (real GDP per capita and employment change) for the largest 300 metropolitan areas in the world for three periods:

  1. 2011 to 2012, the latest year of a still-volatile period for the global economy;
  2. the minimum year of growth between 2007 and 2011; and
  3. 1993 to 2007, which provides the long-run trend each metropolitan area followed prior to the recession

and ranks each accordingly.

So say Emilia Istrate and Carey Anne Nadeau (www.brookings.edu) in edited excerpts from their original article entitled Global MetroMonitor (with a hat tip to Simon Black (www.sovereignman.com) and his comments on the subject in his latest newsletter).

 This article is presented by www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com (A site for sore eyes and inquisitive minds) and www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!) and may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. The author's views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Please note that this paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.

They go on to say, in part:

It further shows:

  • how metropolitan areas performed relative to their countries between 2011 and 2012 and
  • identifies the degree to which metro areas have recovered from the downturn.

The interactive also provides:

  • a series of basic economic data for each metropolitan area, including industry composition of metro output, population, metro area GDP, and metro area GDP per capita.

The map then color codes each city by quintile. Dark blue represents the strongest economic growth over the three periods, orange and red represents the weakest. Below is an overview of the map but you can go here for the detailed interactive map of contents described above.

       screen-capture.jpg

As you can see, most of the orange and red is in Europe, Japan, the USA and Canada while most of the dark blue is in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Mexico and Chile.

Sign up HERE to receive munKNEE.com's unique newsletter, Your Daily Intelligence Report

  1. FREE
  2. The "best of the best" financial, economic and investment articles to be found on the internet
  3. An "edited excerpts" format to provide brevity & clarity to ensure a fast & easy read
  4. Don't waste time searching for articles worth reading. We do it for you!
  5. Sign up HERE and begin receiving your newsletter starting tomorrow
  6. You can also "follow the munKNEE" via twitter & Facebook

Related Articles:

1. Mexico: The New Economic Reality Makes It An Inviting Place for Visitors, Investors & Retirees Alike

mexico flag

Mexico, with  the world's 13th largest GDP, is no longer a "Third World Country", but  rather a fast growing, economically secure state. [Mexico is a great place to visit for a week or the winter, take early retirement to, and/or to invest in. This article outlines the new economic reality of the country.] Words: 785

2. How Much Higher Can the Canadian "Loonie" Soar Before Its Economy Gets Singed?

loonie

Booms — and the boom in Canadian commodities is no exception — are seldom without their unintended costs….[As the Canadian dollar appreciates versus the U.S. dollar, and with the U.S. as] its largest trading partner, falling Canadian exports could well induce a secular decline in the Canadian manufacturing base. Indeed, as the loonie soars, the inevitable question is: "How much higher before its economy gets singed?" Words: 528

3. Richard Duncan: China Headed Into a Serious Crisis

ch-lgflag

China's miracle is driven by one thing and one thing only: its trade surplus with the U.S., which went from zero in 1990 up to now more than $300 billion a year [but] since the darkest hours of the 2008 global economic meltdown, China has made little progress in shifting its reliance away from exports, and, as a result, the Chinese economy is dangerously exposed to a renewed downturn in global trade. Words: 500

4. Forget About the Fiscal Cliff! Increased Taxes & Austerity Measures Are Coming to the U.S. Regardless! Here's Why

financial cliff

It's easy to find analysts and investors who are certain that a deal [to avoid the fiscal cliff] will be reached, or at least that the can will be kicked down the road to buy more time. It's also easy to find more pessimistic views that are based on the lack of cooperation in the past, and a deeply polarized country and political system. However, I think many are missing the point, which is that austerity is coming to America – taxes are going up and government spending will be reduced – [and. as such,] the United States is likely to face a recession and market correction in 2013, regardless of whether or not a compromise is reached over the Fiscal Cliff. Words: 970

5. Impact of U.S. Fiscal Cliff on Canada, Mexico and Much of the Developed World Would be Major

11-10-24-canada

The (relative) impact on economies around the world would be major but particularly on Canada, Mexico and to a lesser extent on some other economies in a precarious state –- the UK, Germany, China, and Japan. [The details are illustrated, country by country, in a map below. Take a look.]

6. World's Most Prosperous Countries: Where Do the U.S., Canada and Others Rank?

top-10-300x300

The Legatum Prosperity Index survey, as shown in the following table, ranks countries on eight different attributes, and then consolidates those attributes into an 'overall ranking'. The report says that the U.S. has fallen out of the top 10 (to #12) in the 'most prosperous country ranking' increasing doubts about the health of its economy and ability of its politicians. Read the balance of the article to see where your country is ranked overall and in each of the 8 different categories. Words: 520

7. 18 Countries Now Have More Economic Freedom Than U.S. – Here are the Details

economy6

This year's Economic Freedom of the World Index, which lists countries by most to least free using every available objective criterion, contains a real shocker when it comes to the United States. We aren't just slipping on the index, we're falling off a cliff. In many parts of the world, life is freer than in the "land of the free." What this reports says about the United States should be front-page news. Instead, it has received barely any attention at all. The U.S. has fallen from a high of 2nd to its current 19th. Here's why. Words: 1040

8. Uncle Sam vs. Johnny Canuck: One is Thriving, the Other is Just Surviving

11-10-24-canada

For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is richer than the average American. According to data from Environics Analytics WealthScapes published in the Globe and Mail, the net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, while the average American household's net worth was $319,970. [In addition,] Canada's unemployment rate…[has fallen to] 7.2%, and America's [remains at] 8.2%. Canada continues to thrive while the U.S. struggles to find its way out of an intractable economic crisis and a political sine curve of hope and despair. Words: 805

9. U.S. Dollar Ranks #4 Behind Currencies of Australia, Canada and New Zealand Among G10 Countries Based on Monetary Policy – Here's Why

currency-300x283

debt-mountain-cartoon

Canada has the lowest total debt-to-GDP ratio of the world's 10 largest economies (Australia is 2nd best, Germany 3rd and the U.S 4th) while the U.K. and Japan are 9th and 10th but when such debt is broken down by sectors the findings are quite different. Let's take a look. Words: 800

11. Ian Campbell's Commentary: Canada's Many Economic Advantages Make it #1 – Here's Why

border

Canada's size, political structure, and culture will enable it to – properly governed – be more resilient to world economic problems than any other developed country. [For one thing] we don't have the extent of political polarization that… [is currently the case] in Washington…and now exacerbated to new levels in these difficult economic times – and that will, in my view, cause the U.S. to continue down an increasingly rocky economic road. [Below I put forth Canada's economic advantages and disadvantages.] Words: 1026

The Gold Price Traded in a Tight Range Closing Down 0.3 Percent at $1,654.90

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 05:05 PM PST

Gold Price Close Today : 1,654.90
Gold Price Close 21-Dec : 1,659.10
Change : -4.20 or -0.3%

Silver Price Close Today : 29.92
Silver Price Close 21-Dec : 30.142
Change : -0.222 or -0.7%

Gold Silver Ratio Today : 55.311
Gold Silver Ratio 21-Dec : 55.043
Change : 0.27 or 0.5%

Silver Gold Ratio : 0.01808
Silver Gold Ratio 21-Dec : 0.01817
Change : -0.00009 or -0.5%

Dow in Gold Dollars : $ 161.61
Dow in Gold Dollars 21-Dec : $ 164.35
Change : -$2.74 or -1.7%

Dow in Gold Ounces : 7.818
Dow in Gold Ounces 21-Dec : 7.951
Change : -0.13 or -1.7%

Dow in Silver Ounces : 432.42
Dow in Silver Ounces 21-Dec : 437.62
Change : -5.20 or -1.2%

Dow Industrial : 12,938.11
Dow Industrial 21-Dec : 13,190.84
Change : -252.73 or -1.9%

S&P 500 : 1,402.43
S&P 500 21-Dec : 1,430.15
Change : -27.72 or -1.9%

US Dollar Index : 79.663
US Dollar Index 21-Dec : 79.569
Change : 0.094 or 0.1%

Platinum Price Close Today : 1,517.40
Platinum Price Close 21-Dec : 1,536.90
Change : -19.50 or -1.3%

Palladium Price Close Today : 699.60
Palladium Price Close 21-Dec : 681.80
Change : 17.80 or 2.6%

The silver and GOLD PRICE remain lethargic. Silver lost 26.4 cents today and closed Comex at 2992c. Gold mislaid $7.80 to end at $1,654.90.

The GOLD PRICE range was tight, $1,662.60 to $1,651.10, but so 'twas the whole week. Stood rangebound by $1,667 and 1,650. Longer term chart makes me expect one final push down, but you'll know I am wrong if gold closes above $1,684.10, the last low. One last push down might carry to $1,620 or even $1,610.

The SILVER PRICE traded tightly today, too, from 3027.9c to 2987c. Week was bounded by 3040c and 2970c. Marking time, that's all.

Down below one last exhaustion selling spike down could carry silver to 2900c. It needs to close above 3100c to reverse.

Keep your eyes on the horizon. Silver and gold remain I a bull market (primary long term trend). If they have not already bottomed, they should in January's first two weeks. This is a time to BUY silver and gold, not panicking into selling them, and not a time to fret. Relax.

Everything went down this week? Everything? Yes, everything. Stocks were the biggest losers, down 1.9%. Well, okay, Palladium didn't fall. And the dollar was flat as a fritter. Otherwise the bleeding was general.

A look at the US Dollar's chart this week won't send you away enlightened. It merely traded in a range between 79.8 and 79.35, with a leetle spike today to 79.90. Flat. However, the longer term trend remains down, so you can expect small things from the dollar.

Euro remains above its downtrend line, but paralyzed and unable to advance. Not an encouraging sign, but the euro remains in an established uptrend, and a trend in force remains in force until violated. Closed $1.3218, down 0.18%

The Yen, on the other hand, is plumbing the depths of a politically engineered drop over Niagara Falls. Rose today 0.21% to 116.39 cents per 100 yen. The yen at this depth must be making the Nice Government Men all over the world nervous, because it screams "Competitive devaluation!" something no central banker in his right mind wants to see start. After all, where is the honor among thieves?

Stocks plunged deeply into trouble today. Somebody took a meat-ax to the Dow and chopped off 158.2 (1.21%), leaving it bleeding at 12,938.11, WAY below that 13,300 resistance above. Whoops. Did I mention that is also WAY below its 200 DMA at 13,015? Or its 50 DMA at 13,069? Or its 20 DMA at 13,140? No, I don't think I did.

Fix this in your mind: it is possible -- barely -- that a market in a primary down trend like stocks might, in the course of a rally, re-visit its 200 DMA and live to rally longer, it's just not too likely. That 200 DMA, remember, is the watershed of a primary downtrend, which spends most of its life BELOW that 200 DMA. Dow has now cast a continuing rally into the drawer with all "less likely outcomes."

S&P did a little better. Misplaced 5.13 (0.61%) to close at 1,402.43. S&P500 has not fallen below its 200 DMA (1390) but is below its 20 and 50 DMA.

More to the point are the charts of the Dow in Gold and S&P500 in gold. Both formed island reversal tops, both have fallen sharply down from that. Other indicators scream, "Expect lower prices!" Whatever they do in nominal dollar terms, from here stocks will lose lots of value against gold and silver.

Y'all enjoy your weekend.

Argentum et aurum comparenda sunt -- -- Gold and silver must be bought.

- Franklin Sanders, The Moneychanger
The-MoneyChanger.com
1-888-218-9226
10:00am-5:00pm CST, Monday-Friday

© 2012, The Moneychanger. May not be republished in any form, including electronically, without our express permission.

To avoid confusion, please remember that the comments above have a very short time horizon. Always invest with the primary trend. Gold's primary trend is up, targeting at least $3,130.00; silver's primary is up targeting 16:1 gold/silver ratio or $195.66; stocks' primary trend is down, targeting Dow under 2,900 and worth only one ounce of gold; US$ or US$-denominated assets, primary trend down; real estate bubble has burst, primary trend down.

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER. Be advised and warned:

Do NOT use these commentaries to trade futures contracts. I don't intend them for that or write them with that short term trading outlook. I write them for long-term investors in physical metals. Take them as entertainment, but not as a timing service for futures.

NOR do I recommend investing in gold or silver Exchange Trade Funds (ETFs). Those are NOT physical metal and I fear one day one or another may go up in smoke. Unless you can breathe smoke, stay away. Call me paranoid, but the surviving rabbit is wary of traps.

NOR do I recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper gold and silver products. These are not for the inexperienced.

NOR do I recommend buying gold and silver on margin or with debt.

What DO I recommend? Physical gold and silver coins and bars in your own hands.

One final warning: NEVER insert a 747 Jumbo Jet up your nose. No, I don't.

Man That First Spotted QE4 Now Says Gold To Break $10,000

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 05:03 PM PST

Today the man that spotted QE4, before anyone else in the financial world, surprised King World News when he boldly predicted that gold will eventually trade above $10,000 an ounce. Pento also warned that in the first half of 2013 Israel would attack Iran, sending oil prices skyrocketing to $170 a barrel.

Here is what Michael Pento had to say in this extraordinary interview: "The charade of independence between a government and their central bank is being shattered throughout the developed world. Let's just take a look at Shinzo Abe, and the Bank of Japan. Abe comes in and he has a 2% target of inflation. Right now inflation is negative in Japan."

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

16 Things About 2013 That Are Really Going To Stink

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 04:11 PM PST

Originally posted at The Coming Depression blog,

The beginning of the year has traditionally been a time of optimism when we all look forward to the exciting things that are going to happen over the next 12 months. Unfortunately, there are a whole bunch of things about 2013 that we already know are going to stink. Taxes are going to go up, good paying jobs will continue to leave the country, small businesses will continue to be destroyed, the number of Americans living in poverty will continue to soar, our infrastructure will continue to decay, global food supplies will likely continue to dwindle and the U.S. national debt will continue to explode.

Our politicians continue to pursue the same policies that got us into this mess, and yet they continue to expect things to magically turn around. But that is not the way that things work in the real world. Bad decisions lead to bad outcomes. Instead of realizing that what we are doing is not working, our "leaders" continue to give us more of the same. As a result, there are going to be a lot of things about 2013 that will not be great. Sticking our heads in the sand and pretending that everything will be "okay" somehow is not going to help anyone. We've got to make people understand exactly what is happening and why it is happening if we ever hope to see real changes.

The following are 16 things about 2013 that are really going to stink...

#1 Taxes Are Going To Go Up

Even if a fiscal cliff deal is reached, some taxes will still go up next year. And if no deal is reached, there will be a whole bunch of different tax increases in 2013.

According to CBS News, these tax increases would be very painful for the middle class…

If lawmakers fail to work out any sort of deal, there will be severe long-term consequences for the economy: According to the Tax Policy Center, going off the "cliff" would affect 88 percent of U.S. taxpayers, with their taxes rising by an average of $3,500 a year; taxes would jump $2,400 on average for families with incomes of $50,000 to $75,000. Because consumers would get less of their paychecks to spend, businesses and jobs would suffer.

#2 The Middle Class Is About To Be Scorched By The Alternative Minimum Tax

Of more immediate concern for the middle class is the Alternative Minimum Tax. Many Americans have never heard of the AMT, but it is truly one of the worst things about our tax code.
If Congress does not act, and right now it does not look promising, millions of middle class households will see a massive increase in their tax bills for 2012.

According to one analysis, households that are forced to pay the AMT will end up paying an extra $3,700 in taxes…

Unless Congress acts by the end of the year, more than 26 million households will for the first time face the AMT, which threatens to tack $3,700, on average, onto taxpayers' bills for the current tax year. Because those people have never paid the AMT, they have no idea they are in its crosshairs — put there by a broader stalemate over tax policy that has kept Congress from limiting the AMT's reach.
Do you have an extra $3,700 sitting around to send to Uncle Sam?
If not, you had better contact your representatives in Congress and scream like crazy about passing a fix for the AMT. They have always gotten it done before, but this year there is so much animosity between the Republicans and the Democrats that nothing may end up getting done.

#3 The Economy Will Continue To Get Worse

Despite all of the talk in the mainstream media and from our politicians that our economy is getting better, the truth is that the U.S. economy continued to decline in 2012. If you doubt this, just read the 75 statisticsin this article.

And there are a whole host of signs that the economy is starting to slow down even more as we enter 2013. For example, consumer confidence in the United States has experienced its largest two-month drop in over a year, and retail sales during the holiday season turned out to bequite disappointing.

#4 Good Paying Jobs Will Continue To Be Shipped Out Of The United States

Thanks to decades of "free trade agreements", workers in the United States must directly compete for jobs with hundreds of millions of workers on the other side of the globe that live in countries where it is legal to pay slave labor wages.

We continue to see millions of jobs being shipped out of the country and our politicians stand by and do nothing.
Most Americans have no idea how this emerging one world economic system works. The beautiful product that you buy at the big retail store may have been made by someone working in some of the most horrific conditions imaginable.

A 42-year-old woman named Julie Keith recently found this letterinside a box of Halloween decorations that had been made in China…

"If you occasionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever.

People who work here have to work 15 hours a day without Saturday, Sunday break and any holidays. Otherwise, they will suffer torturement, beat and rude remark. Nearly no payment (10 yuan/1 month).

People who work here, suffer punishment 1-3 years averagely, but without Court Sentence (unlaw punishment). Many of them are Falun Gong practitioners, who are totally innocent people only because they have different believe to CCPG. They often suffer more punishment than others."

But both political parties continue to tell us how wonderful it is that we are trading with communist China. They see no problem with the fact that good paying jobs that used to be performed in America are now being performed by slave laborers on the other side of the planet. And most Americans continue to support this system by filling their shopping carts with lots of stuff that has "made in China" stamped on it.

#5 Small Businesses Will Continue To Be Destroyed

At the same time, small businesses all over America are being strangled to death by taxes and regulations. Just consider the following numbers from a previous article…

We are told that the economy is supposed to be "recovering", but the number of "startup jobs" at new businesses has fallen for five years in a row. According to an analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data performed by economist Tim Kane, there were almost 12 startup jobs per 1000 Americans back in the year 2006. By 2011, that figure had fallen to less than 8 startup jobs per 1000 Americans.
How is our economy ever going to thrive if we keep killing off our small businesses?

#6 Hunger And Poverty Will Continue To Explode To Unprecedented Levels

As the U.S. economy bleeds jobs and loses small businesses, the number of Americans living in poverty continues to explode.
Here are some numbers to show to people who still don't understand how desperate the situation is…
-Families that have a head of household under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent.

-According to U.S. Census data, 57 percent of all American children live in a home that is either considered to be "poor" or "low income".

-For the first time ever, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. That number has risen by 57 percentsince the 2006-2007 school year.

#7 The Number Of Americans On Food Stamps Will Continue To Increase

If the economy is recovering, then why does the number of Americans on food stamps continue to soar?

As I wrote about yesterday, about 17 million Americans were on food stamps back in the year 2000.

Today, more than 47 million Americans are on food stamps.
Does anyone want to explain to me how that is a sign that things are getting better?

Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps.

How much worse do things have to get before people realize that what we are doing is not working?

#8 Millions Of Americans Are About To Lose Their Unemployment Benefits

During this economic crisis, an unprecedented number of American families have been relying on unemployment benefits in order to stay afloat.

Well, if no agreement is reached in Washington D.C., millions of Americans will shortly lose those benefits…
Three million Americans may become unwitting casualties of the political war in Washington over the fiscal cliff.
Since 2008, the federal government has funded extensions of the unemployment insurance offered by states, more than tripling the amount of aid available to the unemployed in some areas. But the program is expensive, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating it would cost $30 billion to extend it through 2013. President Barack Obama wants to extend the benefits for another year, but Congress has already pared back the program, and Republicans insist it represents the kind of largesse Washington can no longer afford.

#9 Our Infrastructure Will Continue To Rot And Decay

The United States once had the most beautiful infrastructure in the entire world. Our highways, bridges, airports, railroads, sewer systems and electrical grids were the envy of the entire planet.
Well, now we don't even have enough money to repair what we already have, so our infrastructure will continue to rot and decay in 2013…
Highways and bridges will need $2.5 trillion in upgrades if they are to survive for another 50 years — a must-do to keep commerce thriving. And that figure doesn't even take into account the airports, railroads, subways, sewage-treatment plants, waterworks, levees, electric grids, pipelines, and all of those other expensive systems that people ignore until they break down.

#10 Many Of Our Major Cities Will Continue To Be Transformed Into Festering Hellholes

A lot of our major cities are also rapidly degenerating. Detroit is one of my favorite examples, but the same kinds of things could be said about dozens of other major cities all over the country. The following is a brief excerpt from one of my recent articles…
If you can believe it, more than 50 percent of all children in Detroit are living in poverty, and close to 50 percent of all adults living in the city are functionally illiterate. The high school graduation rate in Detroit is down to about 25 percent, and the city has become a breeding ground for gangs and violence. The number of murders in Detroit is already higher than last year, and recently groups of young men toting AK-47s have been running around robbing gas stations. How much worse can things possibly get for Detroit?

#11 State And Local Governments Will Find Ways To Squeeze Even More Money Out Of Us

In case you haven't noticed, state and local governments all over the country are bleeding cash and are desperate for money. In 2013 you can expect them to continue to find more ways to squeeze even more money out of all of us. Here is one example…
Over the course of 2013, the District government will add 134 traffic cameras to its network, more than doubling the size of a system that generated $85 million in revenues for the city in its last fiscal year.

Police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump told The Washington Examiner that the city will intensify its camera-based efforts to cite motorists for speeding and stoplight violations while also adding cameras to detect other moving violations.

#12 Drug Cartels Will Continue To Easily Cross Our Borders And Terrorize Our Citizens

The federal government continues to refuse to protect our borders, and that means that drug runners and gang members will continue to pour into the United States.

Down in the Southwest, many ranchers are being absolutely terrorized by these criminals. The following is from a recent NBC News article…
Just before nightfall, 73-year-old rancher Jim Chilton hikes quickly up and down the hills on his rugged cattle-grazing land south of Tucson, escorting two U.S. Border Patrol agents.

He wants to show them the disturbing discovery he made earlier in the day: a drug-smugglers' camp on his private property. Stacked together under a stand of trees are blankets, jackets, food, water, binoculars and bales of marijuana from Mexico wrapped in burlap. The smugglers, themselves, are nowhere in sight and are believed to have fled the area, which is about 10 miles north of the Mexican border.
Chilton has had his house burglarized a couple of times and his family regularly encounters groups of armed drug smugglers coming across from Mexico…

Their cattle fences are frequently cut and paths heading north from Mexico cross their property. Beckham says a smuggler even fired shots at him while he walked his land with a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Several illegal border crossers have also approached his house at night–one even reaching his hand into their bathroom window.
"Several years ago, one of my children was taking a shower and had a gentleman reach into the shower while he was in there, and he came out screaming, absolutely refusing to take a shower for the next couple months."

But even if you don't live along the border, all of this still affects you. According to government figures, Mexican drug cartels are actively operating in more than 1,200 U.S. cities right now. They are probably hard at work in the community where you live.
So what is the Obama administration doing to fix the problem?
Not much.

In fact, the Obama administration is actually encouraging people to come to the U.S. and become dependent on the system. If you can believe it, there is actually a website run by the Department of Homeland Security that teaches immigrants how to apply for welfare benefits once they get into the United States.

#13 Social Decay Will Continue To Accelerate

All over America we are seeing signs of social breakdown. Here is yetanother example…
A woman sleeping on a street bench outside a drug store was doused with an accelerant and set on fire early Thursday morning in Van Nuys.

Witnesses told police that a man poured liquid — possibly a beverage containing alcohol — on the sleeping woman at about 1 a.m. outside a Walgreens store near Van Nuys Boulevard and Sherman Way. He lit a match and ran from the location, witnesses told police.
Who would just run up and set a woman on fire?

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. For many more examples like this, please see this article: "20 Shocking Examples Of How Sadistic And Cruel People Have Become".

We need to admit that we have a major problem on our hands. Violent crime in the United States increased by 18 percent in 2011, and another huge increase is expected when the numbers for 2012 come out.
America is changing, and not for the better.

#14 Global Food Supplies Will Continue To Dwindle

Did you know that for six of the last eleven years the world has consumed more food than it has produced?
As a result, global food reserves have reached their lowest level in almost 40 years.

So what is going to happen if the world continues to eat more food than it makes?

Let us hope that there is not another major drought in 2013. If there is, we could be looking at a very serious food crunch.

#15 Wall Street Will Continue To Resemble A Giant Casino

Our financial system seems to have not learned any lessons from the financial crash of 2008.

Instead of admitting their mistakes, they just continue to engage in even more reckless behavior.

Today, there are four major U.S. banks that each have more than 40 trillion dollars of exposure to derivatives.
At some point that house of cards is going to collapse and we will be facing a derivatives crisis of unprecedented magnitude.
Will it be in 2013?

#16 The U.S. National Debt Will Cross The 17 Trillion Dollar Mark

In 2013, our national debt will blow past the 17 trillion dollar mark and start heading toward 18 trillion dollars.

How stupid can we possibly be?

During the first four years of the Obama administration, the U.S. national debt has grown by about as much as it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that George W. Bush took office.

It really takes something to match more than 200 years of debt accumulation in less than four years.

But our politicians don't seem to care about all of this debt. They will continue to steal more than 100 million dollars from our children and our grandchildren every single hour of every single day. That is beyond criminal, and yet the American people don't seem to care.

What in the world has happened to this country?

 

Of course not everything about 2013 will be bad. Personally, I am looking forward to an exciting year. I have a new book that will be coming out, and my family is blessed and healthy. I would like to wish all of you a very blessed 2013. Things may be falling apart all around us, but that doesn't mean that we can't have a great year even in the midst of all the chaos.

Fabian Calvo – The Real Estate Ponzi – YouTube

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 03:43 PM PST

Check our website daily at http://www.figanews.com Fabian Calvo from Fabian4Liberty discusses: (1)...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://goldbasics.blogspot.com for full Content ]]

Gold Outlook 2013: Vince Lanci – YouTube

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 03:40 PM PST

Check our website daily at http://www.figanews.com Gold Outlook 2013: Vince Lanci via Gold Outlook...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://goldbasics.blogspot.com for full Content ]]

Don’t Freak Out Over Falling Gold – YouTube

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 03:38 PM PST

Check our website daily at http://www.figanews.com Don’t Freak Out Over Falling Gold via...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://goldbasics.blogspot.com for full Content ]]

Fiscal Cliff -hanger – YouTube

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 03:36 PM PST

Check our website daily at http://www.figanews.com Fiscal Cliff-hanger via Fiscal Cliff-hanger...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit http://goldbasics.blogspot.com for full Content ]]

CME Lowers Gold Margin By 9%

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 03:07 PM PST

Adding to the confusion, for some, that is today's trading session, here comes the CME which in a post-closing announcement, proceeds to hike outright margins on a variety of petroleum and freight products, but more importantly just cut the margins on gold by 9%. Is it that time when the establishment is clearing the path for everyone to rotate out of equities (and/or bonds) into gold, just to set the trap and pull the trapdoor once everyone is once again left holding paper gold? We shall see, but following tonight's selloff, gold is now less than 5% less than stocks YTD. It may well be up to the last trading session of the year to determine who wins in 2012: rock or paper.

Source: CME

Crisis Fatigue

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 02:35 PM PST

December 28, 2012 [LIST] [*]The "dire threat" to the U.S. economy that's not the fiscal cliff. But no worries, there's a bogus paper clip-and-rubber band fix for this one too! [*]How China will propel gold toward $5,000 in 2015... and the catalyst that could push the metal halfway there next year... [*]After the bust... our team spots bargain-basement opportunities in hotels and office space... [*]Pickup line then: "What's your sign?" Pickup line now: "What's your FICO score?" [*]"Only in Washington": reader's last fiscal cliff takeaway for the year! wee-woo!... kind feedback on our new 5 PRO level of service... your final opportunity to snag "loyalty rewards"... and more! [/LIST] "Failure to reach an agreement," warns a letter from 100 business groups, "will have serious economywide impacts." The overhyped "fiscal cliff"? No... a strike by longshoremen. Thousands of dockworkers from Boston to Houston are threatening to go on strike ...

Make a 153-174% Return ? With 95% Confidence ? IF Gold Goes Up Just 10% in 2013! Here?s How

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 02:25 PM PST

[B][B][B][B][B]“[B]Follow the munKNEE” [/B][/B]via[B][B][B][B][B][B][B] twitter [/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B]&[B][B][B][B][B][B][B] Facebook[/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B] I am not a big fan of gold [and believe that the best we can expect for 2013*is that it*will go sideways.] That said, [however,] I believe that there is still substantial money to be made from a such a sideways movement [and much, much more should it actually increase somewhat*in price. This article*explains exactly how.] Words: 691; Charts: 2 So says Macro Investor in edited excerpts from a post* on Seeking Alpha entitled A High Risk/High Reward Play For Gold In 2013.* [INDENT]This article is presented by [COLOR=#ff0000][COLOR=#ff0000]www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com [/COLOR](A site for sore eyes and inquisitive minds) and [COLOR=#ff0000]www.munKNEE.com[/COLOR] (Your Key to Making Money!) and may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/itali...

VIX Snaps To Six-Month Highs On Longest Stocks Slump Since May

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 02:09 PM PST

For the first time since May, the S&P 500 has fallen for 5 days in a row. VIX has very much heralded the fact that investors were not as bullish as media-types would like to believe - as we have vociferously noted - and today's jump in the VIX pushes it to six-month highs over 22.5%. The S&P 500 futures ended the day-session at the week's lows testing down just shy of last week's flash-crash lows. Meanwhile, while equities slumped catching down to Treasury yields, commodities were relatively flat as was the USD; it seems that the excess longs in equities relative to the rest are unwinding - a different picture than what was seen during last Summer's debt ceiling debate.

 

S&P 500 futures slumped further after the day-session close to test the flash-crash lows from last week...

 

VIX has been sending the message (and we have been relaying iot - especially yestewrday's repeat of the dump-and-pump from pre-crash last week!)... VIX (red) vs ES (green)

 

VIX has seen the biggest 7-day rise in 16 months - reacting in the same way as we did into the debt ceiling debate last year...

 

And VIX's term-structure is following the same path as last summer!!

 

Which leaves the S&P at the lows pre-Draghi II...

 

The difference is that this time - equity investors are the most net long since 2007 highs!

 

Equities were notably weaker than other asset classes into the close (upper right) - though ETFs saw VXX slamming higher (sending risk lower) as we closed...

 

Meanwhile, the Dow Transports remain +2% on the month while the rest of the majors (RTY excluded my apologies) are red...

 

Gold and Silver close the week unch with Oil higher...

 

Charts: Bloomberg and Capital Context

 

Bonus Chart: AAPL lowest close since February 17th!

 

Bonus Chart: Oldie but goodie... Treasury vs S&P 500...


Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - See You Sunday Evening

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 02:08 PM PST

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

France Economic Implosion Underway; French Retail Sales Contract 9th Consecutive Month as Cost Inflation Surges

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:56 PM PST

Inquiring minds are noting the expected (at least in this corner) collapse in European retail sales as measured by PMI indices. The spotlight for this post is France, the second largest Eurozone economy following Germany. Read More...

FRIDAY FAIL

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:46 PM PST

Supermarket Parking FAIL

Supermarket Parking FAIL

Sounds About Par For the Course

Brilliant!

Only in Russia...

Editors Need an Exercise Plan Apparently

Cookie Placement FAIL

A Great Gift For Anyone!

Jerry-Curl Disaster

Towers of the Evening

Dessert FAIL

Cycling Attire FAIL

Juice FAIL

WHICH DOOR DO I PICK?

Robot X-mas FAIL

Sketchy Toilet FAIL

Well, This Floor is Uninhabitable

Papa Was a Tennessee Mud Farmer

Duck Quickly!

Say Hello to the Ball!

Time to Stay Inside!

Yeah, the Snow Might Be a Little Heavy

DIY Project FAIL

Well, It's the Gesture, Right?

Happy Grooms. Very, Very Happy.

Snowy Wipeout FAIL

Mouthful FAIL

Surprise Pets are the Best Pets!

The Elf on The Shelf Has... Turned.

Beautiful Dive, Gold Medal Material

Sounds Like a Deal to Me

Not-So Intentional Grounding FAIL

Herp Derp Barbie FAIL

Futile Lawn Work FAIL

I Knew Something Was Wrong...

Value FAIL

I Think I'll Take the Former, Thank You

Slam Punk'd

I Know Your First Project!

Gold and Silver Disaggregated COT Report (DCOT) for December 28

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:42 PM PST

HOUSTON -- This week's Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) disaggregated commitments of traders (DCOT) report was released at 15:30 ET Friday. Our recap of the changes in weekly positioning by the disaggregated trader classes, as compiled by the CFTC, is just below.

20121228-DCOT

(DCOT Table for December 28, 2012, for data as of the close on Monday, December 24.   Source CFTC for COT data, Cash Market for gold and silver.) 

In the DCOT table above a net short position shows as a negative figure in red. A net long position shows in black. In the Change column, a negative number indicates either an increase to an existing net short position or a reduction of a net long position. A black figure in the Change column indicates an increase to an existing long position or a reduction of an existing net short position. The way to think of it is that black figures in the Change column are traders getting "longer" and red figures are traders getting less long or shorter.

All of the trader's positions are calculated net of spreading contracts as of the Tuesday disaggregated COT report.

COT Gold, Silver and US Dollar Index Report - December 28, 2012

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:32 PM PST

COT Gold, Silver and US Dollar Index Report - December 28, 2012

An Oily Holiday

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:12 PM PST

December 27, 2012 [LIST] [*]Deja vu, drama in the Middle East oil fields -- just in time for the holidays!... UAE and Saudi terrorists caught plotting (for the first time together)... [*]Uncovering the "gas for gold" trade... what you should know as we head into 2013... [*]The Long Green Mile for resource stocks... good riddance to 2012... good times ahead? The 5 Min. PRO suggests, yes!... [*]A "cure" for 30 million Americans suffering liver disease... [*]The Kafkaesque world of post-Sept. 11 law enforcement... readers offer their own fiscal cliff tax solutions... a 5 Min. glitch resolved... and more! [/LIST] As the world turns. Last year between Christmas and New Year's Eve, oil crested $100 because of bluster from Iran about Western sanctions. Yesterday, oil crested $90 for the first time in two months because of... well, take your pick: [LIST] [*] Police in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) broke up a terrorist cell. Attacks ...

LGMR: "Gold Market Overhang" Poses Risk of Another Price Fall, Fiscal Cliff "Will See Minimal Last Minute Deal"

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:11 PM PST

London Gold Market Report from Ben Traynor BullionVault Friday 28 December 2012, 06:30 EST THE SPOT MARKET gold price fell back to $1660 an ounce Friday morning, close to where it started the week, as stock markets also edged lower, ahead of talks in Washington aimed at avoiding the $600 billion "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax rises due within days. Gold will break its four-week losing streak today if the spot price ends the week above $1657 an ounce, while spot silver needs to close above $30.03 an ounce to do likewise. "The weight of the [gold] market still overhangs with resistance seen at $1673, the November low, and $1685, the December support," says the latest technical analysis from bullion bank Scotiabank. "While the market holds below $1685 the technical risk remains for another leg lower." "There's some buying but you don't see heavy activity," one physical gold bullion dealer told newswire Reuters this morning. Silver meantime eased back towards the...

‘Fiscal Cliff’ Distracts As ‘Fiscal Abyss’ In Japan, UK and U.S. Cometh

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:05 PM PST

Our friends at Stephen Flood's GoldCore write:

Gold pared back early gains and edged down on Friday and tick tock goes the US "fiscal cliff" clock as time is running out for the somewhat irrelevant New Year's deadline. 

Gold bullion prices are on target for their first weekly gain in a month after the sharp fall in December (-3%)  led to bargain hunters buying the dip. Gold bottomed on December 29th last year prior to very strong gains in January 2012 and we believe a similar pattern may be seen again this year. 

The yellow metal looks set to rack up its 12th straight year of gains on low to zero interest rates, concerns of the eurozone debt crisis and diversification into bullion by central banks.

2013 should see global gold demand grow on further strength from China and a recovery in India, helping the precious metal continue its bull run into its 13th year, according to the World Gold Council. 

U.S. CFTC commitment of traders' data is at 1930 GMT today.

President Obama meets congressional leaders from both parties regarding the fiscal cliff and if a deal isn't struck it will likely fuel safe haven buying of gold. 

Negotiations to avert the 'fiscal cliff' offer great political drama, but they won't solve America's looming budget and debt crisis and may cast the nation into another recession or worse.

A deal is likely to be done but any deal will be another cynical exercise of kicking the can down the road while failing again to address the root causes of the debt crisis which is too much debt at all levels of American society.


Gold Spot $/oz, 1 Year – (Bloomberg)

The political and media side show that is the so-called "fiscal cliff" will soon be overshadowed by the appalling and rapidly deteriorating situation regarding the U.S. national debt. 

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has alerted Congress that the nation will once again hit the debt ceiling on Monday, but that his department can take "extraordinary measures" to keep paying the bills for another few months.

Incredibly, the debt ceiling was raised from $14.294 trillion in August 2011, to its current level of $16.394 trillion. Thus in the span of only sixteen months, the Obama administration has added a whopping $2.1 trillion to the national debt.


Silver Spot $/oz, from Oct. 2011 – (Bloomberg)

The U.S. federal deficit is now exceeding $1 trillion dollars every year —up from $161 billion in 2007, the last year before the financial crisis. Spending is up some $1 trillion, as outlays for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements have increased by an amount equal to the entire 2013 military budget – a budget which may again surpass the combined military expenditure of every other nation in the world.

U.S. unfunded liabilities are now estimated at between $50 trillion and $100 trillion and by the end of the decade (in less than just 7 years), runaway entitlement spending will require shutting down the military or crippling many other vital domestic spending programs to head off massive deficits that will likely lead to a dollar crisis and significant inflation.

No matter what deal is eventually agreed, whether before or after the new year, it will at best nibble at the edges of the trillion dollar annual deficits that are being piled up.

While all the focus has been on the so called U.S. 'fiscal cliff', amnesia has taken hold and many market participants have forgotten about the far from resolved Eurozone debt crisis – not to mention looming debt crisis in the UK and Japan.


Cross Currency Table – (Bloomberg)

In Japan, the national debt is seen topping ¥1 quadrillion by the end of March 2013. A policy of money printing pursued for a decade has failed abysmally and now politicians look set to pursue currency debasement in an even more aggressive manner – with attendant consequences.

The UK is one of the most indebted countries in the industrialised world - the national debt now stands at more than 1 trillion pounds ($1.6 trillion) and total debt to GDP in the UK remains over 500%. 

Gold is traditionally sought out as a safe-haven and inflation hedge that investors diversify into in times of trouble. This is because throughout history, those who own physical gold have been protected from financial, economic and monetary crisis.

Also, much recent academic research has shown gold is a proven safe haven asset.

Gold has lately been behaving like any risk asset. However, buyers should continues to focus on the long term as gold ownership will protect people from the fiscal abyss facing major economies and currencies internationally in the coming years.

December 28, 2012 (Source: GoldCore)

http://www.goldcore.com/goldcore_blog/%E2%80%98fiscal-cliff%E2%80%99-distracts-%E2%80%98fiscal-abyss%E2%80%99-japan-uk-and-us-cometh

Make a 153-174% Return – With 95% Confidence – IF Gold Goes Up Just 10% in 2013! Here's How

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:42 PM PST

So says Macro Investor in edited excerpts from a post* on Seeking Alpha entitled A High Risk/High Reward Play For Gold In 2013. 

This article is presented by www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com (A site for sore eyes and inquisitive minds) and www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!) and may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. The author's views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Please note that this paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.

The article goes on to say, in part:

For gold to go up, I feel that…inflation expectations have to be high (this is not the case…); the US Dollar has to weaken against other currencies (it is not likely to happen…) and the demand for physical gold has to strengthen (this is unlikely. In fact, demand may drop…)

Let's examine some of the gold ETFs.

UGLD Chart

As the chart above shows:

  • The core gold ETF, SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), which tries to reflect the price of gold bullion, is up about 4% over the past year. However, over the past 5 years the ETF has almost doubled.
  • The 2x leveraged ETF pair, the ProShares Ultra Gold ETF (UGL) and the ProShares Ultrashort Gold ETF (GLL), try to replicate on a daily basis 2x or -2x the performance of the gold bullion….[and] UGL is up about 2% for the year, while GLL is down about 17%….
  • The 3x leveraged ETF pair, the VelocityShares 3x Long Gold ETN (UGLD) and the VelocityShares 3x Inverse Gold ETN (DGLD)…[with] UGLD flat and DGLD down 24% in the past year. This is to be expected as these 3x ETFs are leveraged even more than the 2x ETFs, so are expected to erode faster.

So, how can gold investors profit from the above in 2013? To me, the best way is to buy puts on GLL. [As the chart below shows,] over the past 5 years, as GLD has almost doubled, GLL has lost about 75%. This means investors who shorted GLL would have quadrupled their investment. [For a similar article on investing in inverse puts (on silver) by the same author read:  If You Think Silver Is Going To Increase In 2013 Here's How to Best Maximize Your Return]

GLD Chart

Expected Profit From Buying This Put

The July 2013 expiration 58 strike puts on GLL are trading at $2.80/3.40 (bid/ask)….[To determine] what the expected profit of buying these puts [would be]…I:

  • assumed that GLD stays flat in 2013 and its daily volatility remains unchanged,
  • created a set of 140 daily returns for GLD, and 140 daily returns for GLL leveraged at -2x for GLD,
  • estimated the price of GLL and that of the July 2013 strike 58 put on GLL at the end of the 140 daily returns,
  • assumed that the cost to buy the put is midway between bid/ask, or $3.10.

Over the 5000 trials, the 95% confidence interval for the expected return of buying this put is:

  • 53-67% return if GLD were to appreciate 0% in 2013
  • 97-110% return if GLD were to appreciate 5% in 2013
  • 153-174% return if GLD were to appreciate 10% in 2013

Of course, investors are risking 100% downside as well, as the put may expire worthless.

Potential Losses From Buying This Put

If GLD were to decline by:

  • 5% the put would still return 3-15% with 95% confidence,
  • 10% the put would end in a loss of 8-18%,
  • 15% the put would end in a loss of 40-50%,
  • 20% the put would end in a loss of 65-70% and were GLD to decline by
  • 25% the put would be down by more than 80%.

When it comes to buying puts, my rule of thumb is that unless there is an upside to buying the put compared to the underlying, I wouldn't even buy the put. By that logic, investors who believe that there is a more than 10% downside to the price of gold in 2013 would be better served to consider strategies involving the underlying GLD ETF itself.

Conclusion

I think it is safe to assume that a 50%+ return with this put is not unreasonable, if investors believe that gold will at least stay flat in 2013. [Remember, too, that if an investor were to buy such a put as described above, and gold was to go up by just 10% in 2013, the return would by somewhere between 153% and 174% with 95% confidence.] 

Disclaimer: The above is not meant as investment advice….Before investing in any of the above-mentioned securities, investors should do their own research, consult their financial advisors, and make their own choice.

Sign up HERE to receive munKNEE.com's unique newsletter, Your Daily Intelligence Report

  1. FREE
  2. The "best of the best" financial, economic and investment articles to be found on the internet
  3. An "edited excerpts" format to provide brevity & clarity to ensure a fast & easy read
  4. Don't waste time searching for articles worth reading. We do it for you!
  5. Sign up HERE and begin receiving your newsletter starting tomorrow
  6. You can also "follow the munKNEE" via twitter & Facebook

*http://seekingalpha.com/article/1083001-a-high-risk-high-reward-play-for-gold-in-2013

Related Articles:

1. If You Think Silver Is Going To Increase In 2013 Here's How to Best Maximize Your Return

sunshine-silver-slide-e1268276971175

I am not normally a big fan of precious metals but in 2013 I am an unabashed fan of silver. If  SLV were to return 15% next year there is a 95% probability that a ProShares Ultrashort Silver ETF (ZSL) put option on SLV would return 80%+!  [Let me explain how I have come to that conclusion.] Words: 985

2. David Morgan: Gold to Go Up 10-20% in 2013; Silver By a Good 30%

10 Ounce Silver Bullion Bars

According to David Morgan 2013 will be a bullish year in which a new leg up will start with gold going up 10% to 20% and silver a good 30%. That leg up is starting right now, although we probably will not see a substantial acceleration in the leg up like we saw in the first part of 2011 but, obviously, as soon as $50 is crossed an acceleration can be expected. [Morgan explains his position in article excerpts below.] Words: 912

3. Buy & Hold Commodity Assets (Particularly Gold & Silver) Starting Today: BIG Profits are Coming – Here's Why

commodities

Savers will not stand idly by and watch their savings get wiped out by taxes and inflation….[which] is good news for investors who buy and hold commodity assets today – and it's also a stark reminder to not be fooled by the short-term head fakes that might make it look like the commodity bull is over. Stay the course – the biggest profits are yet to come. [Here's why.] Words: 405

4. LAST CHANCE to Buy Gold/Silver/PM Stocks At Low Prices – BIG Moves Coming In December, January & February

gold and currencies

5. Available Supply of Gold Declining: Secure Your Personal Gold Reserves Now

gold nugget

The facts can't be denied: China is on the hunt for gold deposits and mines. These gold-focused deals will add more ounces to the country's pool of gold assets [which will only exacerbate the ex-China downward trend in the supply of gold outside China].  Given that what's produced in China stays in China (where there is escalating domestic consumption), a widening of the fundamental market shortage in gold seems almost certain. Words: 1138

6. Gold Watch: Several Factors Suggest That 2013 Will Be a Very Good Year

Gold_intro

One  of our favorite charts is the oscillator which shows the probability of gold  returning to its mean after a dramatic rise or fall. We believe it helps  investors put the current correction in context with historical moves and  determines potential buying and selling opportunities. [Here's what the oscillator chart and several other factors are telling us about the prospects for higher prices for gold in 2013.] Words: 539; Charts: 4

7. How Will the Price of Gold Evolve Into 2013, 2014 and Beyond? A Perspective

gold-bar5

8. Bull Markets Always End With a Bang, Not a Whimper, So Gold's Run Should Have More Legs

BULL

[Here is a summary of my]…thoughts on the 2011 gold price peak relative to the last time a long term bull market ended (back in 1980): Long-term bull markets almost always end with a bang, not a whimper, and last year's price peak was clearly the latter. A 25% rise over a period of about two months last year [does not an] end-of-cycle, blow-off top [make]. No, I think there's still some room to run for gold if for no other reason than that we haven't even come close to the "mania" stage that characterizes the end of long-term market moves…[Let me explain further.] Words: 359; Charts: 1

9. Goldrunner: Gold's Extremely Bullish Backdrop Setting Stage for Run to $2,050, Then $2,400, Then $4,500 and Ultimately $10,000-12,000!

Multiple-forms-of-gold-bullion

Our subscription service provides detailed technical analysis of where the price of gold, silver and precious metal stocks are going short term (in the next week or two), intermediate term (within the next 3-6 months) and long term (the ultimate top) in each stage of their respective bull runs. This service comes with detailed charting based on conventional technical analysis and our proprietary fractal analysis based on the '70s. Below are some of our latest comments and rationale for expected price movements in gold without illus

THE ECONOMY HAS SURRENDERED

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:34 PM PST

Obama's inauguration speech has leaked. I thought you might want to take a look.

null

Comrade Workers, Peasants and Welfare Recipients of America,

For four long years we have battled the economy, and now I am pleased to announce that the economy is finally ready to surrender. Representatives of the economy have met with the party leadership and signed a preliminary surrender agreement. This means that our prolonged War on the Economy has been successful, and the complete destruction of the economy is at hand. And with these newly liberated resources from the private sector, we believe that it may actually be possible to drive unemployment down beneath 50 percent.

Throughout the long years of battling against the economy, there were many who thought that we would not prevail, that an economic recovery would somehow occur and the American people would be forced to return to their private sector jobs, instead of spending all day waiting in the unemployment line. But under the inspired leadership of the party, the collective organizers engaged in the people's struggle refused to accept handouts from the capitalist bosses. Instead they remained dedicated to bringing them to their knees. And they have. The American Economy is no more.

Nationalized health care. Cap and Trade. Open Door Immigration. The 80 percent Redistribution Tax. The New Constitution. Statehood for Mexico. And of course the atomic destruction of Ohio and Indiana to prevent them from swinging over to the reactionary forces of the counter-revolution, marked the end of American Capitalism. Today the American People live better than ever, unchained from the artificial parameters of the Standard of Living. Over their heads waves the banner of the party which cares and provides for all party members.

Comrades, our struggle is still not over. Outposts of capitalism remain active around the world. Their competitiveness threatens to dampen our revolutionary spirit.
~
And we must remain vigilant against outbreaks of capitalism at home. These infestations can seem innocent at times. Take the young boy selling homemade lemonade from a wooden crate on his front lawn. But has that boy paid all his business taxes? Has he provided health insurance for all his employees. Has he passed his party administered business ethics exam? Does he provide preferential service to party members and oppressed peoples? Is he using Comrade Chavez's "Green" corn syrup, instead of the decadent sugar? We already know the answer to these questions, because if he were doing all these things, a glass of his lemonade would cost 50 dollars, not 50 cents.

So while it may seem harsh of us to seize that boy and transport him behind the frozen chain link fence of the Al Franken Memorial Reeducation and Obesity Center in Minnesota, the alternative would be to return to the bad old days when there were capitalist factories with smokestacks on every corner and supermarkets with variably priced food in them, instead of our delicious free Universal Grade Government Gruel. The lesson of the last four years is that we cannot let capitalism get its foot in the door of our Great Socialist Homeland. No, Comrades. We must stand strong against their temptations, because a truly equal society is almost here. A society in which all party members will be equal, regardless of race, sex or degree of transvestism.

Little Joe Biden, our new "gun czar"
null

Comrades, our glorious America today is exactly the one envisioned by Comrades Washington, Jefferson and Ayers, our great founding fathers, who created this country, writing, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all progressive party members were endowed with equal obligations by the party leadership, that among these are collectivism, equality, and the pursuit of the people's collective struggle."

And as the great preamble of our New Constitution reads, "The socialist system of economy and the socialist ownership of the means and instruments of production firmly established as a result of the abolition of the capitalist system of economy, the abrogation of private ownership of the means and instruments of production and the abolition of the exploitation of man by man, constitute the economic foundation of the United States" and further, "The land, its natural deposits, waters, forests, mills, factories, mines, rail, water and air transport, banks, post, telegraph and telephones, farms as well as municipal enterprises and the bulk of the dwelling houses in the cities and industrial localities, are state property, that is, belong to the whole people." This glorious consolidation of the rights of the people, under the wise leadership of the Democratic People's Congress has made America the happiest and freest of nations.

It is in the spirit of that glorious collectivism that the old capitalist American greenbacks will be replaced by shining red currency. From this day forward the American basic economic unit will no longer be the Dollar, but the Debit. As our annual interest on the national debt has long since surpassed our gross national product, the Debit is the people's way of repaying the great debts amassed by the party leadership on their behalf. As there is no more gold in Fort Knox, our national debt serves as the new basis for our economy. With each Debit you receive, you take on a greater share of the national debt and a heavier burden of taxation. Therefore it may truly be said that in America the rich are the poorest of us all.

Comrades, many of you cannot even begin to understand how much effort the Party and its Organizers have put into your welfare. For four years we have battled the forces of counterrevolutionism in order to usher in a bright socialist future. And even now when the last of the dissenters are chipping away at their blocks of ice in the wilds of Alaska, we must remain vigilant against the plotting of the reactionaries who wish to restore an oppressive free market economy. To uproot the freedoms we have fought so hard to impose. To destroy the aspirations of the party and the glorious collective people's struggle.

null

Yes there have been setbacks. We have been forced to withdraw from California and Texas. And continued occupation of Florida may be untenable. But that is only because the high morality of the Party has prevented it fighting with the same ruthlessness as our enemies. We have only used nuclear weapons once in this conflict against crucial swing states. By contrast the foul bestial viciousness of our enemies knows no boundaries. They mock our leaders, lampoon their effigies and draw hurtful cartoons of them. They deride the Party leadership and subvert our glorious revolutionary imperative.

Know this though, the Party leadership remains strong. And the nation is united behind the Party in its determination to bring peace and freedom to the murderous hordes of the reactionaries who would take away our free Universal Government Grade Gruel, our wise Death Panels and the People's Dole, and replace them with chaos, competitiveness and misery. And so I call upon you to listen to your organizers and to report any reactionary propaganda to the appropriate White House email address, as usual.

The War is going gloriously. The defeat of the economy will make the economy stronger than ever. And the War on the Economy will be truly won when the War on Employment succeeds in finally reaches the fabled 60 unemployment percent mark. Something that has never been accomplished in any country before. Meanwhile the War on the Harvest is going well, with 98 percent of the harvest successfully gathered and redistributed to those who need it most, the hardworking members of the Party. The War on Health is also going well, with the latest Cholera outbreak in Detroit claiming less than ten thousand lives. Truly it can be said that everything the Party does, it does perfectly.

Comrades, as you sip your Government Universal Grade Gruel through a straw, peering through the windows of your Census mandated temporary mobile housing unit, and prepare for another hard day of toiling in the fields or collecting unemployment checks– you can be confident of looking forward to another four or four hundred glorious years of the same thing.

B.H. OBAMA
null

Why Precious Metals, Uranium and Rare Earth Miners May Outperform in 2013

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:22 PM PST

Gold Stock Trades is still climbing the wall of worry as wealth in the ground metals becomes increasingly cheaper in a world that is threatened with the ghosts of depressions and deflations past.  We observe the doubters who regale us with the view that the miners are underperforming bullion and the general equities.  They claim that housing, financials and the dollar has bottomed.  We disagree.  Gold, silver and the undervalued miners may be bottoming and a reversal may occur in 2013.

The world is navigating troubled financial waters.  Over the past decade Central Banks have injected a flood of dollars into an ailing fiscal system.  The result of a flood of bailouts and entitlements has been a short term bounce in the toxic sectors of U.S. debt, real estate and financials as the Fed artificially manipulates the price by printing dollars to buy these troubled assets.

Precious metals, uranium and rare earths have corrected for most of 2011 and 2012 as The Fed  has successfully boosted the toxic housing sectors and US debt while keeping a lid on precious metals and commodities.  A good job has been done to misdirect investors off of the long term supercycle in real assets, discredit precious metals and natural resources and create an illusion of deflation.

Watch video highlighting miners, gold and the U.S. Dollar.

Refer to our notes of October 4th and video on October 5th of 2011 in which GST called for a major reversal, which indeed did occur in the last hour of trading.  Since that time we have witnessed a strong rally in general equities for close to 15 months, however we observe that the miners and Venture Index did not keep pace.  This divergence between the S&P 500 and the TSX Venture is historic.  Contrarians look for opportunities like this where the Venture is extremely discounted to make triple digit returns in coming years.

This decline in the mining sector may have been exacerbated by margin rate hikes in gold and silver, the Fukushima Disaster and obfuscation from the Fed that they would not announce further QE every time gold and silver were about to breakout into new highs.  Gold and silver have been basing and rangebound for many months.  We expect that 2013 could mimic early 2009 when the miners bottomed and outperformed the general equity market.  The first two years of Obama's first term were exceptionally good for the small miners and precious metals.

Now we hear the voices of the Precious Metal Cassandra's and the prophets of doom as they inform us that the gold and silver rally is devoid of lasting power.  We disagree.  The Fiscal Cliff and the economic cancer of debt continues to metastasize.

Right before the U.S. election, the market got a boost as the Fed announces QE3 to infinity and further purchases of mortgage backed securities and treasuries in the recent December meeting to hopefully cushion the impact of falling off the Fiscal Cliff.

Long term rising precious metal markets love climbing walls of worry which are in this case spreading malignantly.   The U.S. Government and its European acolytes have failed to address the real issue of the malaise in which the world finds itself.  Specifically, the cancer consists of too much reckless spending and dependance on governments whom one suspects doesn't really know what is going on.

Gold and silver bullion appears to be bouncing off of strong support, while the U.S. dollar is forming a bearish head and shoulders pattern.  The elites of the west possess all they need for the wives, children and grandchildren to live in splendor.  They are trying to solve fiscal malignancies with fiat dollars, which is destroying savers who are getting negative returns at the local bank.

Our leaders are addressing the debt problem with financial band-aids.  This is a perilous Keynesian experiment, which has long ago been disproven, but which arises every time capitalism reaches for a solution and comes up with the old pump-priming.

Eventually, the masses will realize the economic malaise the world is in and will seek out undervalued wealth in the earth assets which our society is increasingly dependent on.  Everyone  has a smart phone even small kids and they all want the good things of life for their families.  This requires increasing amounts of critical metals and energy.

Critical minerals, uranium and precious metals are already in a supply shortfall, while Central Banks in Europe, Japan and the U.S. continue to devalue their currencies through QE.  These are ingredients for a price spike in several strategic commodities.  This move may be right around the corner in 2013.

We are reaching a societal point of no return where entitlements can no longer be afforded.  Investors currently think we can make everything right by monetizing the debt.  We disagree as all this printing could lead to supply shortages and gut wrenching inflation.

To paraphrase the great trader Jesse Livermore, "We must be like a merchant who foresees future demand, purchases his line and patiently awaits for profit taking time."  Investors in wealth in the earth assets should listen to Livermore's wisdom.

In due time, these commodities which are low priced will come back into vogue.  In order to be right in the market, the majority has to believe you are wrong.  Great investors like Livermore and Baruch were able to have confidence to hold on even when the positions were not popular.

Hard asset investors have been swimming against the tide for over 22 months.  Many have already thrown in the towel.  Typical bears last about 18 months.  We are already way overdue for a reversal and this may be exactly the wrong time to get caught up with the summer soldiers and sunshine patriots who flee from crisis exactly at the wrong time.  Smart investors must fight the short term currents that favors toxic US bonds, financials and housing.

In conclusion, what does all this mean?  As time goes by the only true repositories of wealth exists in the natural resource area as it has since the days of Athens and Rome.  Oddly enough after millennia we have come full circle, the same countries and the world's greatest empires are going broke.

History may not repeat, but it recurs.   Monitor a potential breakout in gold and silver in 2013.  Critical minerals such as rare earths, graphite, ferro alloys, tungsten, antimony and uranium may be slowly forming a bottom from which up moves occur.  The junior miners and the Venture are extremely undervalued compared to the S&P500 and the gold price.   Get ready for the downtrend to turn in 2013 and stay tuned to my free newsletter for updates.

______________________________________________________

We will be speaking at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference on January 21st, 2013 at 1PM.  Register for the conference for free by clicking here… and watch the video below.

Read more analysis on precious metals, uranium and rare earths by signing up for my premium service by clicking here… 

Happy New Year…2013 should be an exciting year!

Accredited Investors click here…

2013 - Financial Destruction & How Gold & Silver Will Perform

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 11:18 AM PST

Today Egon von Greyerz spoke with King World News about the financial destruction that investors will witness in 2013 and in coming years, and how gold and silver will fare in this incredibly volatile environment. Here is what Greyerz, who is founder of Matterhorn Asset Management in Switzerland, had this to say: "Eric, 2012 was a tough year for some investors since gold has not really done much in dollar terms. Gold is also only up a bit in other currencies, and silver has done slightly better, being up around 7% in dollar terms, and a little better in euros."

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

No comments:

Post a Comment