Friday Farce: Caught Rigging Gold And Dark Pools, Barclays Begs To At Least Keep FX Manipulation

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-03/friday-farce-caught-rigging-gold-and-dark-pools-barclays-begs-least-keep-fx-manipula

Barclays Manipulated Gold as Soon as It Stopped Manipulating Libor

Readers should be aware of a few subtexts here.  Yes, the manipulation of gold prices is now out in the open (and no, gold bugs are not conspiracy theorists), as is the manipulation of LIBOR (and all markets, including the US Treasury bond market in the form of overt QE).  Us skeptics were right all along.

The more nuanced take-away message of Barclays manipulating gold and interest-rate markets is that they are not the only bank manipulating markets.  Not even close.  In fact, they may be one of the smaller players.

BNP Paribas is certainly not the only bank dealing with terrorist organizations or money launderers.  Not even close.  HSBC was notably fined for laundering money for organized crime and drug cartels.

What is the common thread amongst these banks exposed in criminal activities?  They are all non-US banks.  What are the chances of 100% compliance from every US bank regarding market manipulations?  Zero.  In other words, these foreign crooked bankers keep company with US banks.  The global financial system--is global in nature, after all.

This is nothing more than scapegoating of foreign banks, while protecting domestic banks in their financial crimes-in-progress.  It is a nuanced form of trade and currency wars all wrapped up in fines paid from the perps to the regulators in order to maintain a seat in the arena of financial boondoggles.

The banks (and bullion banks) act as proxies for sovereign governments in any case, so it's not in the governments' best interests to have these banks fail.  Governments need to manipulate markets in order to mask the structural problems in our global financial system.  So while they will scapegoat a few banks to maintain a semblance of enforcement, they need to take care of their complicit bankers.

Regulators aren't shaking down banks--they are partners in crime.  What money authorities are doing is stealing from the masses by diluting fiat currencies and masking the debasement with market interventions.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-23/barclays-manipulated-gold-as-soon-as-it-stopped-manipulating-libor

Barclays fined £26m for failings surrounding the London Gold Fixing and former Barclays trader banned and fined for inappropriate conduct

http://www.fca.org.uk/news/barclays-fined-26m-for-failings-surrounding-the-london-gold-fixing

Barclays Fined For Manipulating Price Of Gold For A Decade; Sending "Bursts" Of Sell Orders

Anybody still think I'm a conspiracy theorist?  Of course, the illegal price suppression will continue as the big players are still in the game.  Governments won't prosecute themselves.  Anybody have anymore tin foil hats?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-05-23/barclays-fined-manipulating-price-gold-decade-sending-bursts-sell-orders

It would appear that Plunkett is indeed nothing more than another instance of "Kerviel" or "Tourre" - an irrelevant mid-level trader thrown at the wolves of public consumption just so the attention can be redirected from the real manipulation elsewhere, and much higher up.

This is hardly surprising, as we noted three days ago when we wrote about the Barclays head gold trader termination:

"Bottom line: just like the Silver Fixing which last week announced its winddown, the days of the 117-year-old Gold fix are numbered. But to preserve continuity of riggedness and manipulation, perhaps they can just outsource their job duties to the biggest manipulators of all: Bank of England, the Fed and, of course, the BIS."

So yes: it is now a fact that gold is manipulated by various commercial banks, and that those gold "raids" one sees every morning usually around the time of the London fix aren't accidental at all but are entirely designed to reprice the market, but how deeper does the rabbit hole go?

[FCA Director Tracy] McDermott added: “Firms should be in no doubt that the spotlight will remain on wholesale conduct and we will hold them to account if they fail to meet our standards.”

Alas, this is a lie - by handing Plunkett to the public on a silver platter, it simply means that the far bigger and more important players in the gold manipulation market - stretching all the way to central bank and, of course, bank of central bank level, will simply be allowed to continue business "as usual."

So for those who want the real people behind the real manipulation before they all scatter into the dust, we urge you to reread "From Rothschild To Koch Industries: Meet The People Who "Fix" The Price Of Gold." Because the gold manipulation rabbit hole goes far, far deeper than just one single, solitary trader...

Why You Should Avoid GLD and SLV ETP's

Many of you have read my rants on why one should avoid the GLD, SLV and other precious metals ETP's (aka ETF's).  This letter by Kaye to his investors goes into some details on the mechanics of why they're Ponzi schemes.

http://www.gata.org/files/PacificGroupLetter-05-10-2013.pdf

Bottom line:  while GLD and SLV are convenient trading vehicles designed to track spot prices (which they are doing a poor job of, as the ETP prices are below already depressed spot prices relative to physical markets), investors are exposed to counterparty risk and will not be able to redeem their shares for physical precious metals--unless they have significant holdings--and even then there is risk if the ETP's are drained of their physical inventory, as is happening right now.  You can see the relative performances as ETF prices < spot prices < physical prices.   It's simple math and why you should buy physical coins and bars and avoid paper gold and paper silver.  Paper assets were designed by bullion banks to cheat investors out of their physical assets.

By the way, SLW is a silver streaming company, which is entirely different than the SLV ETF.

See disclaimers in the side bar.

Fort Knox on Thames. Barclays’ big new London gold vault

Demand for vaulting of gold worldwide is soaring.  My personal opinion is that vaulting in London and New York poses counterparty and confiscatory risk.

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/en/mineweb-whats-new?oid=165960&sn=Detail

Shhh... Don't Tell Anyone; Central Banks Manipulate Rates

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/shhh-dont-tell-anyone-central-banks-manipulate-rates

Rigged Rates, Rigged Markets

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/opinion/rigged-rates-rigged-markets.html?_r=1

Revenge of a fallen titan: Ousted Barclays boss makes damning claims Bank of England and Labour ministers were involved in rigging interest rates

We are beyond sharks eating guppies.  It's sharks hunting other sharks.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2168449/Bob-Diamond-resignation-Ousted-Barclays-boss-makes-damning-claims-Bank-England-Labour-ministers-involved-rigging-rates.html

Barclays’ Libor Scandal: Prison Will Remedy

LIBOR rates were manipulate by bankers on both sides of the pond.

http://www.senseoncents.com/2012/07/barclays-libor-scandal-prison-will-remedy/#ixzz1zZCKmEC0

The Bank Of England Made Me Do It

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bank-england-made-me-do-it

And Now The Fed Gets Dragged Into LiEborgate

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/and-now-fed-gets-dragged-lieborgate

Banking scandal: how document trail reveals global scam

To those who branded me a conspiracy theorist because I believed banks rig and manipulate markets, go pound sound.  You are the idiot.

In this case LIBOR and Euro interest rates control everything in the economy:  your mortgage, your car loan, business loan, credit card debt, student loans, the housing industry, economic cycles, and pretty much every sector in our local and global economy.  So when banks (with the complicity of central banks and governments--there you go again with your accusations) manipulate interest rates and bond markets, all kinds of unintended consequences occur--including the creation of asset bubbles and collapses.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jun/30/banking-scandal-barclays-lawsuits-libor

Barclays says gold prices will decline

Brian Nick of Barclays Bank believes gold prices are headed lower. Question: how many short contracts does Barclays have on gold in the COMEX or LBMA? In other words, is he "talking his book"?

In any case, I just wanted to present both sides of the coin.

http://www.hardassetsinvestor.com/features-and-interviews/1/1984-brian-nick-time-to-short-gold.html