Oil Goes Berserk In Electronic Trading As WTI Passes $98

Considering markets in the US were closed due to President's Day, a lot of fireworks sure occurred in overseas markets.  Kaboom!

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/oil-goes-berserk-electronic-trading-wti-passes-98

What is a commercial signal failure?

http://traderdannorcini.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-is-commercial-signal-failure.html

Silver Crosses $34

I recall many experts last year declaring silver was a bubble bursting when it crossed $15.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/silver-crosses-34

Here was my untampered, recorded prediction last year (in case there is any doubt among new readers of this blog--long-time readers know I've been pounding the table on precious metals generally, and silver specifically):

http://predictionbook.com/predictions/1352

In hindsight, what appeared to be a very aggressive forecast at the time turned out extremely conservative.

See disclaimers in the side bar.

Disclosure:  long physical silver and mining equities.

As BP Prepares To Evacuate Staff From A Burning Libya, Commodities Are Exploding

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bp-prepares-evacuate-staff-burning-libya-commodities-are-exploding

Wake up, Americans. Your economic dream is a nightmare

I wouldn't say nobody sees this coming.  Some of us have been warning about this impending financial crisis for years.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/wake-up-americans-your-economic-dream-is-a-nightmare/article1913689/

A Frightening Satellite Tour Of America's Foreclosure Wasteland

http://www.businessinsider.com/satellite-tour-foreclosure-cities-2011-1#20-boise-idaho-1-in-21-homes-in-foreclosure-the-red-dots-show-foreclosures-1

As Speculative Bullish Bets Surge, Is Rice The Next Silver (And Manipulated In Kind?)

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/speculative-bets-surge-rice-next-silver-and-manipulated-kind

Meet The Objects Tunisia's Ben Ali Did Not Have Time To Steal

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/meet-objects-tunisias-ben-ali-did-not-have-time-steal

Short Squeeeeeeze in silver

Click on image to enlarge.

This is what the shorts look like when they are being squeezed.

If The CME Hiked Gold And Silver Margins By 50% And Nobody Cared, Did A Tree Fall In The Precious Metal Price Suppression Scheme?

Exchanges raising margin requirements usually tank the markets in question.  No such luck for the silver and gold shorts.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/if-cme-hikes-gold-and-silver-margins-50-and-nobody-cared-did-tree-fall-central-banking-pm-pr

Now that JPM is out of the picture, the last recourse of gold and silver price suppression is exchange margin hikes. Or was. The CME has announced, that as of close today, it will hike various gold and silver (and other metal) contract initial and maintenance margins by 50%.... And nobody cared. This means the CBs are well on their way to losing the imposed gold standard wars.

Silver rises to 30-year high as mints start to ration coins

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7f316ac4-3acc-11e0-9c1a-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1EOEHsrc4

Silver jumped to a 30-year high amid record levels of investor buying that has drained mints of silver coins.

The price of the precious metal hit $31.37 a troy ounce on Thursday, up 16 per cent since mid-January and the highest since March 1980. The world’s leading mints have reported record sales of silver coins in January and some, including the Royal Canadian Mint and Austrian Mint, have had to ration sales.

“We have sold everything we can produce in silver and have demand for at least twice that volume,” said David Madge, head of bullion sales at the Royal Canadian Mint, which produces the silver Maple Leaf coin. Silver coin sales at the US Mint and the Austrian Mint also hit record levels in January.

The surge of buying has both boosted silver prices and helped push the market into “backwardation” – an unusual condition in which forward prices are lower than prices for immediate delivery.

MIT "Billion Price Project" Confirms US Prices Surging (In Case There Was Any Confusion)

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/mit-billion-price-project-confirms-us-prices-surging

Protests for Week of 02/18/2011

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=206845628878227231839.00049c9414fdcdc29d66c&ll=17.644022,-39.902344&spn=127.694932,270.527344&z=3

A letter to Ben Bernanke

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/readers-letter-ben-bernanke

Prepare To Give Up All Private Data For Any Gold Purchase Over $100

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/prepare-give-all-private-data-any-gold-purchase-over-100

By the way, Executive Order 6102 referenced in the article was FDR's creation to confiscate all private citizens' gold in 1933...all except your gold wedding band.

The time to shut down the blog is coming.  Instead, I will blog about Justin Bieber.

Obama Administration calls for 5% royalty on gross proceeds of mines

Great--now the Obama Administration is going after one of the last profitable industries left by levying a 5% tax on the gross proceeds (which is more painful than a tax on net profits) of mining companies.  Why don't they just tax all companies 100%, kill all job-creating enterprises, and just call it a day?

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=120691&sn=Detail&pid=72068

Guess what, geniuses?  This will only drive miners out of the US--or out of business.  Guess what that does to the price of the natural resource?  Folks, this country's productive capacity is toast.  Sell your SUV and learn how to ride a bike again.

Federal deficit on track for a record this fiscal year

Last year, the Obama Administration and the CBO projected the budget deficit to decline.  Instead, it increased to a record amount (which I predicted).  They again are forecasting lower deficits going forward.  Anybody want to take that bet?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/14/debt-now-equals-total-us-economy/

Why our government leaders and central bankers have any credibility left is one of life's greatest mysteries.

Allstate sues JPMorgan over mortgage debt losses

We'll see who has more juice:  the plaintiff insurers or the investment bank defendants.  Or at least who has better lawyers.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/16/jpmorgan-allstate-idUSN1620783720110216

Special report: China flexed its muscles using U.S. Treasuries

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_wiki_china_treasury

Thanks to Kitty for finding this article on China and their hesitancy on long-dated US Treasury bonds.

THE BERNANKE PUT AND INSTABILITY IN COMMODITY MARKETS

http://pragcap.com/the-bernanke-put-and-instability-in-commodity-markets

Wisconsin Gov Puts National Guard On Alert After Implementing Emergency Budget Measures

Is this Greece?  Ireland? Egypt?  No, it is Madison, Wisconsin.  Expect to see  more of this domestically as "austerity" measures are implemented in an attempt to resolve budget deficits.

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/wisconsin-gov-puts-national-guard-on-alert-after-implementing-emergency-budget-measures_02172011


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AbeAcTiFFc&feature=player_embedded

Tips to Protect Yourself From a Worthless Dollar: Porter Stansberry

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/tips-to-protect-yourself-from-a-worthless-dollar-porter-stansberry-535935.html;_ylt=AuzGKaXFQwEevO6RtEr7kRZk7ot4;_ylu=X3oDMTE3NHVzdG5pBHBvcwMxOQRzZWMDYXJ0aWNsZUxpc3QEc2xrA3RpcHN0b3Byb3RlYw--?tickers=gld,xlf,skf,^dji,^gspc,slv

"The End of America”: Porter Stansberry Sees the Future ... And It's Grim

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/%22the-end-of-america%E2%80%9D-porter-stansberry-sees-the-future-...-and-it%27s-grim-535932.html;_ylt=AsvyEUcN1VlLwBBv231UsONk7ot4;_ylu=X3oDMTE3NnY0cGY0BHBvcwM2MQRzZWMDYXJ0aWNsZUxpc3QEc2xrA3RoZWVuZG9mYW1lcg--?tickers=^DJI,^GSPC,GDX,MOO,GLD,UUP,DBA

Matt Taibbi's Latest: " Why Isn't Wall Street In Jail?"

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216?page=1

Dr. Anthony Atala on growing organs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SfRgg9botI