Friday, August 31, 2012
'PM tells US 'time has run out' on Iran diplomacy'
Speaking of...hey, it's NFL time! All is well.
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=283353
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=283353
Ben Bernanke should return the Fed to its golden roots
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ben-bernanke-should-return-the-fed-to-its-golden-roots/2012/08/30/033bd9f0-f2d5-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html
Herbert Hoover, who knew a thing about monetary disorder, entered an eloquent warning in his memoir against the pure paper dollar. Currency convertible into gold at a fixed rate, he wrote, “is a vital protection against economic manipulation by the government. As long as currencies are convertible, governments cannot easily tamper with the price of goods, and therefore the wage standards of the country. They cannot easily confiscate the savings of the people by manipulation of inflation and deflation. They cannot easily enter into currency expansion for government expenditures."
Time for eurozone to reach for the gold reserves?
The author raises a legitimate question, but still doesn't understand this fundamental principle:
"Gold is money. Everything else is credit." - JP Morgan, testifying before Congress in 1912
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/80a239a6-f2c2-11e1-8577-00144feabdc0.html#axzz258phTXvZ
Apple Loses Patent Lawsuit Against Samsung in Japan
I figured Apple would win in the US with their patent lawsuits vs. Samsung, and would probably win in South Korean jurisdiction, but now Japan? Hmmm...Jim Rickards brilliantly forecasted a currency war in the making, and these lawsuits are more evidence of continuing trade wars. Let's hope we avoid the inimitable military conflicts.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-31/apple-loses-japan-patent-lawsuit-against-samsung-over-devices.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-31/apple-loses-japan-patent-lawsuit-against-samsung-over-devices.html
Thursday, August 30, 2012
The Gold Standard Goes Mainstream
Thanks to Dick for finding this.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444914904577619383218788846.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444914904577619383218788846.html
Pensions for new employees less generous
Don't say you weren't warned: pensioners are about to become extinct. Not if, but when. And that day of reckoning is approaching a lot faster than many think.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/29/california-pensions-idUSL2E8JSE4H20120829
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/29/california-pensions-idUSL2E8JSE4H20120829
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
In hard times, “I buy gold” is Italy’s boom business
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/european-business/in-hard-times-i-buy-gold-is-italys-boom-business/article4489515/?service=mobile
“Since I was a child I remember that gold was given as a gift on various occasions and people used to say: ‘Put it aside’,” said Ivana Ciabatti, who represents gold– and silversmiths at employers’ lobby Confindustria.
“We used to laugh at it, but they turned out to be right. Many families are surviving thanks to this gold.”
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Champions of Dishonesty
http://dailyreckoning.com/champions-of-dishonesty/
“The Fed is manipulating so many markets at once that it has become tougher to identify a genuine free-market price in the financial markets than to identify a genuine female in a Bangkok bar… I don’t want to play in markets like this.”
The Endless War: Saudi Arabia Goes on the Offensive Against Iran
So wait a minute: Israel is at war with Iran. Israel is at war with Syria. Hell, Israel is at war with everybody in the middle east. Iran supplies oil to China and Russia, who are considered allies. But now Russia is making nice with Israel. The US was at war with Iraq, and now Syria and Iran. Russia and China are at odds with the US in the battle for natural resources. Saudi Arabia and the US need each other, but at what price? And now the Saudis are at war with Iran, too. The US used to be "allies" with Egypt, but turned against their leader. The US was also at war with Libya's Gaddafi. Hell, we were also allies with Hussein of Iraq at one point--in our war against Iran, before turning against him.
I'm confused...except for one thing. The region will never get sorted out. They haven't made peace with each other for thousands of years. With billions of people starving or about to starve due to soaring food prices, they won't all of a sudden start singing Kumbaya. And if/when they go to war, oil prices will spike, making everything go from bad to worse.
http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/The-Endless-War-Saudi-Arabia-Goes-on-the-Offensive-Against-Iran.html
I'm confused...except for one thing. The region will never get sorted out. They haven't made peace with each other for thousands of years. With billions of people starving or about to starve due to soaring food prices, they won't all of a sudden start singing Kumbaya. And if/when they go to war, oil prices will spike, making everything go from bad to worse.
http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/The-Endless-War-Saudi-Arabia-Goes-on-the-Offensive-Against-Iran.html
Ultra Easy Monetary Policy and the Law of Unintended Consequences
This white paper appears to be authored by a "conspiracy theorist" since
it makes so much sense on the unintended consequences of printing money
out of thin air. Only problem is it was written by the Fed itself, the
Dallas branch to be specific. Paul Krugman, you have been wrong, and
you continue to be wrong. But keep kissing that Nobel prize in your
trophy case if it makes you feel any better.
Heck, Ron Paul, the Fed's biggest critic, could have written this paper, and everybody would have dismissed it. But now the Fed is criticizing its own policies? Blasphemy!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/104109398/Dallas-Fed-QE
Heck, Ron Paul, the Fed's biggest critic, could have written this paper, and everybody would have dismissed it. But now the Fed is criticizing its own policies? Blasphemy!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/104109398/Dallas-Fed-QE
Keynesianism vs. the Gold-Coin Standard
Thanks to Kitty for finding this one.
http://mises.org/daily/6151/Keynesianism-vs-the-GoldCoin-Standard
http://mises.org/daily/6151/Keynesianism-vs-the-GoldCoin-Standard
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Smart Money acknowledges its big miss with GATA and gold
The editors at the soon-to-be-defunct Smart Money magazine admit they were dumb on gold. Perhaps it's one of the reasons they are going out of business. The other probably includes the retail investors' distrust of rigged markets.
Imagine that: they thought gold would plummet when it was priced at $422/ounce back in 2004. How much gold would you buy today at $422? Answer: as much as possible.
How about at $1670? The answer a few years from now could be the same.
http://www.gata.org/node/11687
Imagine that: they thought gold would plummet when it was priced at $422/ounce back in 2004. How much gold would you buy today at $422? Answer: as much as possible.
How about at $1670? The answer a few years from now could be the same.
http://www.gata.org/node/11687
GATA explained it to Smart Money then and since then has been explaining it to everyone else with eyes to see and ears to hear. But while you can lead a financial journalist to a central bank, you can't make him ask the right questions.
Absolutely Stunning Development In The Gold & Silver Markets
Time will tell how this will play out. Tread carefully--the ride is about to get awfully wild.
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2012/8/25_Absolutely_Stunning_Development_In_The_Gold_%26_Silver_Markets.html
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2012/8/25_Absolutely_Stunning_Development_In_The_Gold_%26_Silver_Markets.html
Fake Celebrity Pranks New York City
This video is living proof of how narcissistic, fraudulent, and stupid we've become. But it's still hilarious.
http://youtu.be/XYU1a0lTTTw
http://youtu.be/XYU1a0lTTTw
Keith Fitz-Gerald: The Perils of Underestimating Complexity & Mispricing Risk
http://www.peakprosperity.com/podcast/79525/keith-fitz-gerald-perils-underestimating-complexity-mispricing-risk
"If you’re rich you get a bailout. If you’re poor you get a handout. And if you’re middle class you get left out. " That's not a sustainable way to run the system, exclaims investment strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald.
A cancer at the core of our current economy is the magical thinking, "no pain, all gain" philosophy, pursued by those running it. They are doing all they can to remove the consequences of failure from the system -- blind to failure's essential 'waste-clearing' function in a healthy free market.
Without the discipline of Darwinism, the individual actors in the system make all sorts of malinvestments that would never make sense in an efficient marketplace. But since the losses from these inane pursuits are socialized, there's no incentive to stop making them. At least, up until the point where the class who's back is burdened with paying for the socialized messes finally breaks.
US sending aircraft carrier back to Persian Gulf four months early
Israel said October. I'm thinking why would a country telegraph an attack? It either won't happen, or if it does, it won't happen in the timeframe they indicate.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-sending-aircraft-carrier-back-to-persian-gulf-four-months-early/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-sending-aircraft-carrier-back-to-persian-gulf-four-months-early/
Friday, August 24, 2012
Public Pension Funds Named to Lead ‘London Whale’ Lawsuit
JPMorgan will receive a mere slap on the wrist. Nothing here.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-21/public-pension-funds-named-to-lead-london-whale-lawsuit.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-21/public-pension-funds-named-to-lead-london-whale-lawsuit.html
Republicans eye return to gold standard
Wow, I guess I'm not part of the lunatic fringe after all.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/06ebfdaa-ed3f-11e1-83d1-00144feab49a.html#axzz24TAgn6xG
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/06ebfdaa-ed3f-11e1-83d1-00144feab49a.html#axzz24TAgn6xG
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Who Wants The Highest Crude Oil Price? Presenting The OPEC Cost Curve
Does the fact that Iran needs higher crude oil prices an indicator that their saber-rattling is an attempt to induce higher oil prices? In fact, all OPEC exporters may have the same vested interests. I know that's stating the obvious...
The Saudis keep insisting they don't desire higher prices due to demand destruction, but bigger profits for the lowest-cost producer must be very tempting to them.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/who-wants-highest-crude-oil-price-presenting-opec-cost-curve
The Saudis keep insisting they don't desire higher prices due to demand destruction, but bigger profits for the lowest-cost producer must be very tempting to them.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/who-wants-highest-crude-oil-price-presenting-opec-cost-curve
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Decision by Netanyahu, Barak to strike Iran is almost final — Israel TV
The situation in Israel has gone beyond posturing.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/decision-by-netanyahu-and-barak-to-strike-iran-is-almost-final-israeli-tv-says/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/decision-by-netanyahu-and-barak-to-strike-iran-is-almost-final-israeli-tv-says/
'JPM's $150 Billion FDIC Reality Adjustment' - Jamie Dimon Just Admitted To The World That JPM's Assets Are Overvalued By $150 Billion
Mark to model (i.e. mark to fantasy) accounting has replaced mark to market. The whole banking system has cooked its books.
http://dailybail.com/home/jpms-150-billion-fdic-reality-adjustment-jamie-dimon-just-ad.html
http://dailybail.com/home/jpms-150-billion-fdic-reality-adjustment-jamie-dimon-just-ad.html
Moral Relativism and Patriotism as Weapons of the State
A Canadian's perspective on moral relativism and patriotism. Which brings up an awkward point: every loss of American life in Iraq and Afghanistan is tragic and unnecessary. What about the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, including many women and children? They couldn't all be terrorists, could they?
This is not an indictment on Obama's administration. Upon reflection, Bush II ordered the invasion of Iraq based on a false premise: that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Over a hundred thousand Iraqi's died as a result. So what did the US say? Ooops, sorry...for reconciliation, we'll help rebuild your country--the same country we destroyed. And oh, about that oil...
http://www.mises.ca/posts/blog/moral-relativism-and-patriotism-as-weapons-of-the-state/
This is not an indictment on Obama's administration. Upon reflection, Bush II ordered the invasion of Iraq based on a false premise: that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Over a hundred thousand Iraqi's died as a result. So what did the US say? Ooops, sorry...for reconciliation, we'll help rebuild your country--the same country we destroyed. And oh, about that oil...
http://www.mises.ca/posts/blog/moral-relativism-and-patriotism-as-weapons-of-the-state/
U.S. regulators irate at NY action against Standard Chartered
Yes, laundering money for Iran is the headline, but the subtext is the cozy relationship between London and Washington is about to get icy. The Olympic spirit lasted all of two weeks, as the sharks are now devouring other sharks.
The other subtext is US regulators are angry at New York regulators for doing their jobs, while the New York regulators are angry at the Fed and US Treasury for not doing theirs.
And caught in the middle is poor ol' Timmy Geithner, now US Treasury Secretary--and former New York Fed President. He's barely recovering for his non-action during the LIBOR scandal, and now he is getting heat from all sides.
This finger-pointing exercise would be comedic if it wasn't so tragic to American consumers, whose purchasing power is being robbed blindly by the incessant manipulation of markets by the central planners. My takeaway message? They're all corrupt sociopaths, and their day of reckoning is rapidly approaching. The current theater is amusing only because they are exposing each other.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/10/us-standardchartered-iran-idUSBRE87911820120810
The other subtext is US regulators are angry at New York regulators for doing their jobs, while the New York regulators are angry at the Fed and US Treasury for not doing theirs.
And caught in the middle is poor ol' Timmy Geithner, now US Treasury Secretary--and former New York Fed President. He's barely recovering for his non-action during the LIBOR scandal, and now he is getting heat from all sides.
This finger-pointing exercise would be comedic if it wasn't so tragic to American consumers, whose purchasing power is being robbed blindly by the incessant manipulation of markets by the central planners. My takeaway message? They're all corrupt sociopaths, and their day of reckoning is rapidly approaching. The current theater is amusing only because they are exposing each other.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/10/us-standardchartered-iran-idUSBRE87911820120810
I think it's a concerted effort that's been organized at the top of the U.S. government. I think this is Washington trying to win a commercial battle to have trading from London shifted to New York," said John Mann, a member of parliament's finance committee who also called for a parliamentary inquiry.
Mann, from the center-left Labor party, has become a public scourge of London bankers' greed and immorality during the financial crisis. But he told Reuters he saw "anti-British bias" behind "disproportionate publicity that's given to British banking problems as opposed to American banking problems".
A British executive at an institution which ranks among the top 25 shareholders in Standard Chartered saw, like Mann, a politically motivated move by U.S. officials irked by the major role London plays in the global financial industry, attracted big investments from major U.S. banks like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
"Are we starting to see an anti-London bias in U.S. regulatory activities?" the executive asked. "Oh yes. Is there any subtle form of banking sector protectionism going on? Yes."
Fed's Williams now favors QE3
Actually, "open-ended QE" is a polite way of saying "QE to infinity", as Jim Sinclair predicted. God help us all, as we are now headed toward currency destruction.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-williams-now-favors-qe3-2012-08-10?link=MW_latest_news
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-williams-now-favors-qe3-2012-08-10?link=MW_latest_news
Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Gold rush in India? Government steps in again
http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=156649&sn=Detail&pid=92730
The Indian government is at it again. Worried that the flow of savings is moving towards investment in gold, India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said there is a need to spread financial literacy to encourage people to invest in market instruments and not bullion.
In the first two months of 2012, gold purchases in India jumped 35%, impacting investments in other instruments like the stock market, mutual funds and property. The government has said it would prefer savings to be invested in ``more productive assets'' that would help boost the growth rate.
Chirag Mehta, fund manager at Quantum Gold Fund however notes, ``Given the current economic backdrop, where governments are struggling with problems like rising deficits and unsustainable debts, it is indeed logical for gold prices to increase in value. With policy makers continuously debasing currencies, gold will be viewed as a preferred investment, lending some solace to investors.''
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Libor May Be Manipulated, But Silver Is Not, CFTC To Conclude
Here is another take on the CFTC ending their investigation on the price manipulation of silver.
China media tell U.S. to "shut up" over South China Sea tensions
Reuters has British media roots, not American.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/06/us-china-usa-southchinasea-idUSBRE87505N20120806
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/06/us-china-usa-southchinasea-idUSBRE87505N20120806
Gold, Price Stability & Credit Bubbles
http://azizonomics.com/2012/08/06/gold-price-stability-credit-bubbles/
The Japanese example shows that crashed modern economies with excessive debt loads can remain stagnant for long periods of time. My view is that such nations are in a deleveraging trap; Japan (and more recently the Western nations) hit an excessive level of debt relative to GDP and industry at the peak of the bubble. As debt rises, debt servicing costs rise, leaving less income for investment, consumption, etc.
Throughout Japan’s lost decade, and indeed the years that followed, total debt levels (measured in GDP) have remained consistently high. Simply, the central bank did not devalue by anywhere near enough to decrease the real debt load, but nor have they devalued too little to result in a large-scale liquidation episode. They have just kept the economy in stasis, with enough liquidity to keep the debt serviceable, and not enough to really allow for severe reduction. The main change has been a transfer of debt from the private sector, to the public sector (a phenomenon which is also occurring in the United States and United Kingdom).
Eventually — because the costs of the deleveraging trap makes organically growth very difficult — the debt will either be forgiven, inflated or defaulted away. Endless rounds of tepid QE (which is debt additive, and so adds to the debt problem) just postpone that difficult decision. The deleveraging trap preserves the value of past debts at the cost of future growth.
Under the harsh discipline of a gold standard, such prevarication is not possible. Without the ability to inflate, overleveraged banks, individuals and governments would default on their debt. Income would rapidly fall, and economies would likely deflate and become severely depressed.
Yet liquidation is not all bad.
Although liquidation episodes are painful, the clear benefit is that a big crash and depression clears out old debt. Under the present regimes, the weight of old debt remains a burden to the economy.
U.S. regulator set to drop silver probe: FT
What a surprise--the CFTC has decided to drop their investigation into silver manipulation in the futures market. Never mind that they are in bed with the CME, the COMEX, and JPMorgan Chase. Nothing to see here--move along folks. All is well. End sarcasm.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/06/us-comex-silver-manipulation-idUSBRE8750B020120806
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/06/us-comex-silver-manipulation-idUSBRE8750B020120806
Sunday, August 5, 2012
On The One Year Anniversary Of The US Downgrade
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/one-year-anniversary-us-downgrade
A year ago, the budget “deal” concocted between Mr Obama and his Congress was ballyhooing a “plan” to cut $US 1.2 TRILLION off annual budget deficits over a DECADE. Now, the projection for the 2012 budget is that the US government will add that amount to the funded debt of the US Treasury over ONE YEAR. This would be hilariously funny if it wasn’t so tragic. What is even funnier - and more tragic - is that the entire world is “depending” on the people who concoct this stuff.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Interview with a High-Frequency Trading Expert
This not news to investors who understand order flow (and invest in volatile stocks), but is an instructive read. For example, I've warned readers on the dangers of telegraphing stop losses. Yet, most brokers advise clients to do so, "in order to protect profits." Nonsense--it only encourages market makers to scalp unsuspecting long investors from their holdings.
Also, it goes into some details on the dangers of market orders.
http://www.caseyresearch.com/pdfs/crTcr20120726102306.pdf
Also, it goes into some details on the dangers of market orders.
http://www.caseyresearch.com/pdfs/crTcr20120726102306.pdf
What's in your vault? Uncle Sam audits its stash of gold at the New York Fed
Gee, are us conspiracy theorist gold bugs supposed to breathe easier now? The gold under the New York Fed and Ft. Knox may be there, but how times has each bar been re-hypothecated? How many ounces of paper gold have been traded against physical inventory?
And the US Treasury is performing the audit? I'm feeling warm and fuzzy already. Investigative journalism at the LA Times = massive fail.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gold-bars-20120803,0,5461335,full.story
And the US Treasury is performing the audit? I'm feeling warm and fuzzy already. Investigative journalism at the LA Times = massive fail.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gold-bars-20120803,0,5461335,full.story
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Manufacturing in slump in US, UK, eurozone and China
Unlike what the Polyanna's would have you believe, China and Germany will not save the global economy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19083533
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19083533
Advertise on NYTimes.com Fed Sees Slowing Economy, but Defers New Action
Expect the expected when you least expect it--not when you expect it. QE is coming, but it's impossible to determine exactly when.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/business/economy/fed-sees-slowing-economy-but-defers-new-action.html?_r=1&ref=business
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/business/economy/fed-sees-slowing-economy-but-defers-new-action.html?_r=1&ref=business
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