Looks like a complete Meltdown in Japan/gold and silver rise

Must Read..Harvey Organ March 16 2011

Looks like a complete Meltdown in Japan/gold and silver rise

 

Global Fears Mount as Japan Takes Desperate Steps

All Mizuho ATMs In Japan Have Stopped Working

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 21:08 -0400

Mizuho, the second-largest financial services company in Japan, has just locked out its customers from accessing their cash. Whether or not this is related to Zero Hedge reports from yesterday that the same bank is unable to complete ¥570 billion in transactions in unclear. What is clear is that we can only hope that those who need cash are calm and collected enough not to start a physical run on whatever bank deposit branches are open. From Reuters: "Mizuho Bank said on Thursday that all of its automatic teller machines (ATM) throughout Japan have stopped working. The bank did not immediately give a reason for the outage." One can only hope that the most recent ¥5 trillion injection was sufficient to keep the liquidity in the banking system online. Alas, should the Mizuho situation not be promptly fixed, we anticipate more injections from the BOJ before the night is out.

Let The Bombing Commence: UN Set To Impose "No Fly Zone" Over Libya

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 21:50 -0400

The endgame in Libya begins. The UN has agreed on a draft resolution to implement a no fly zone over Libya, which means the bombing may commence as soon as the vote passes later today. As to what Gaddafi's retaliation will be, and whether he will burn down the oil wells, which previously were in rebel hands, but have since fallen back into his control, we will surely find out in the next 24 hours. From AFP: "UN Security Council members agreed on a draft resolution that will impose a no-fly zone over Libya, diplomats in New York said. The decision will be brought up for a vote later in the day." 

 

 

 

A Detailed Look At The Spent Fuel Rod Containment Pools At Fukushima

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 21:41 -0400

With the latest headline from Reuters that TEPCO workers are preparing to spray water at the spent fuel pool in Reactor 3 which has been overheating and spreading radioactive steam into the atmosphere, it is time to present the details of how dry casks and spent fuel are contained at Fukuchima. For that we go to a presentation by TEPCO from November 2010 titled "Integrity Inspection of Dry Storage Casks and Spent Fuels at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station." It is no surprise that, as the introduction states, in Japan's 54 NPP, the strategy is "to store spent fuels safely until being reprocessed." Unfortunately for everyone involved, the existing spent fuel is store in a manner that is anything but "safe." Should these structures fail, the fallout that will enter the atmosphere will be unprecedented. So where and how are they stored? We find out, in detail, below. 

 

 

 

Watch The Attempt To Refill The Spent Fuel Bed At Reactor 3 Live - Webcast

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 20:51 -0400

As was reported earlier, nuclear workers had been preparing to spray water on Reactor 3 whose spent-fuel bed is overheating and releasing radioactive steam. The idea is to refill as much of the bed and contain the release for as long as possible. NHK is following the operation in real time. Readers can follow along with the following live webcast. 

 

 

 

Today's Nikkei Plunge Protection Invoice: ¥5 Trillion (For Now)

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 20:30 -0400

It appears the earlier speculation by PTI that the BOJ would inject ¥13.8 Trillion in the market to preserve asset prices was a little premature. The BOJ just released the official number and it is a measly ¥5 trillion. And by measly we mean $63 billion. Add this to the ¥28 trillion already deployed by the BOJ and get an even more modest ¥33 billion, or roughly $420 billion, which is the cost to preserve the Nikkei from plunging for a 4th consecutive day. Yet even with this latest injection, the Nikkei is down almost 4% as of this writing. Should headline newsflow from Fukushima deteriorate, we anticipate that the full PTI number will be not only reach by surpassed very promptly as no amount of taxpayer capital will be deemed too great to preserve the wealth of those invested in Japanese stocks. 

 

 

 

Total US Debt Hits $14.237 Trillion, Debt Ceiling At $14.294 Trillion

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 19:35 -0400

And from the relentless shock and awe happening abroad every single day, we briefly turn our attention to the total financial chaos domestically. Following the settlement of $67.6 billion in debt from last week's auctions, the Treasury managed to raise its dangerously low cash to a level that will give Tim Geithner pocket change for another week, or $99.5 billion. Alas, the cash buffer came at a price: total debt increased from $14.166 trillion to $14.238 trillion. As a reminder, the debt ceiling is $14.294 trillion, so on a pure basis there is a $56 billion buffer or less than one's week's worth of auctions. However since the debt actually subject to the limit is $52 billion less, there still is $109 billion in constitutional capacity. Add to that the $45 billion in SFP run offs over the next two week and Treasury has $150 billion or so in spending money left. As the deficit in the month of March is expected by Zero Hedge to be around $90 billion due to the deferred tax refund payments, we believe the money will last the US a month and a half, although once again depending on the daily burn rate, it may come much sooner as there is no book debt settlement until the week after next.

John Noyce Is First With Technical USDJPY Observations: "If The Down Move Continues, 71.70 Is Next"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 18:24 -0400

Goldman's John Noyce is the first FX technician with a proposed take on tonight's stunning developments. Keep in mind, he, like everyone else is in uncharted (pardon the pun) territory. 

 

 

 

The Day The Yen Carry Trade Died

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 17:59 -0400

While everyone is staring in disbelief at the USDJPY, the real carry action is in the high yielding-YEN pairs, i.e., the development, high growing countries. And it's a massacre: ZARJPY, NZDJPY, AUDJPY - all are plunging far more than the USD. This is nothing short of a complete carry trade unwind. The implications: the cheapest recurring source of funding for risk assets - the Yen carry trade, is over. Those who managed to sell early on are lucky. The rest will get such an onslaught of margin calls tomorrow they may need to access the discount window (if Primary Dealers and the luckier banks). Many will be forced to sell assets to satisfy collateral requirements as ongoing sales of carry pairs push the Yen ever higher, and force ever more liquidity out of the market. And if the Yen carry trade is done, the question is when will the USD, which has also been a carry currency for some time, follow suit. And, once again, the most troubling observation is that the BOJ has not intervened. Our sinking feeling is that after pumping 50 trillion or so in money markets, the petty cash may be running quite low. In any case, ES opens in 2 minutes. Grab the popcorn now. 

 

 

 

Guest Post: Nuclear Japan, Stock Market "Holding Up", Pictures Of 'Reactor' 3 And 4

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/16/2011 22:33 -0400

Chernobyl was attempted to be covered up 100% at the beginning, even though eventually 600,000 people used as "liquidators" were eventually brought in to cleanup, the first 200,000 were exposed to heavy radiation. Some pictures (still in my mind from 1986) showed workers in normal street clothes shovelling radioactive materials into wheelbarrows. Tokyo Electric Power tried to cover up their problems at the start, the Prime Minister was reportedly extremely mad when they finally fessed up a little bit 3 hours after it had already become a real problem.