Task Number One For The Next US President: Tell The Nation The "Age Of America Is Over"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 08:48 -0400

After a weekend full of empty (or not) Chinese posturing, Marketwatch's Brent Arends has an interesting tidbit to add to the China vs US debate. "The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed. For the first time, the international organization has set a date for the moment when the “Age of America” will end and the U.S. economy will be overtaken by that of China." The year? 2016. So perhaps having a 5 year head start in selling the bonds of what will soon be even an official former superpower is not such a bad idea. "It provides a painful context for the budget wrangling taking place in Washington, D.C., right now. It raises enormous questions about what the international security system is going to look like in just a handful of years. And it casts a deepening cloud over both the U.S. dollar and the giant Treasury market, which have been propped up for decades by their privileged status as the liabilities of the world’s hegemonic power." And here's why pretty soon America may be left without presidential candidates: "According to the IMF forecast, whoever is elected U.S. president next year — Obama? Mitt Romney? Donald Trump? — will be the last to preside over the world’s largest economy." Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

 



Silver Surges to All-Time High as Investors Seek Protection From Inflation

Gold Opens $1,520, Silver Over $50 Everywhere But Comex (For At Least A Few More Minutes)

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 03:44 -0400

While markets are relatively quiet everywhere, precious metals have just gone apeshit. Gold opens at $1,520 while silver hits $49.70 on the Comex, drops, and is backing up again last treading at $49.22, as the world is pricing in the end of the US reserve currency. The parabolic melt up is in full force and we expect the nominal Hunt high to be taken out today, after which the resistance is the real Hunt high somewhere around $140, courtesy of the Federal Reserve confetti.

The War Over The $1,520 Gold Pin Tomorrow - Part 3 Of "Market Manipulation: A Recipe in Three Parts"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 10:22 -0400

Summary: Right now there is a war in Gold options. It is between the May 1520 longs, who most likely are unhedged, and their short option counterparts, who most likely are hedged. One would think the longs intend to sell futures at some point, perhaps 1520, perhaps 1540 we do not know. It is also possible that they intend to take delivery, but that is unknowable for the moment. The shorts are probably delta hedgers and have no desire to see this market go above 1520, much less move at all. 

 

 

 

What Does the Largest Move Higher in Silver in Years Mean?

Posted by: smartknowledgeu

Post date: 04/25/2011 - 05:05

I expect the silver bears to proclaim this recent huge move as a "blow-off" top that marks the inevitable bursting of the silver bubble. My take? Let’s wait until silver reaches the mid-triple digit range before we realistically start talking about a silver bubble.

Silver Margin Hikes Begin... And Nobody Notices

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 04:36 -0400

You didn't think they'd forget did you. We predicted last week that the exchange would imminently hike silver margins. Well, our prediction was just a little off (and far more spot on than all those speculations about a weekend Greek restructuring and/or Chinese revaluation). As expected, the Shanghai Gold Exchange just announced it had raised the level of deposit required for its silver forward contract by 3 percent and may roll out further measures to curb excessive speculation and manage price volatility. According to the SGE, margins on its silver [Ag (T+D)] forward contract would be raised to 15 percent from April 25 compared with the previous 12 percent, according to a notice posted on its website. Silver did not even pretend to react on the news. And the upcoming silver hike by the COMEX will have absolutely the same effect. 

Guest Post: Into The Economic Abyss

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 07:06 -0400

Over the past few years, mainstream analysts have shown a tenacious blind faith in the U.S. economy and the dollar that goes far beyond religion to the point of mindless cultism, so, when even they begin to question the future of American finance (as has been occurring more and more everyday), you know its time to worry. For those that have been following my work since 2007, the events of the past few months have not been a surprise at all, however, for those just waking up to the ongoing implosion of our fiscal infrastructure, the bubbling inflationary meltdown just over the horizon and the nightmare unfolding around our national debt is rather shocking. Living through a full spectrum catastrophe is, to say the least, confusing, especially when you have no idea where the whole thing began. Until now, the mainstream media has provided nothing but economic fantasy for the masses. They have satiated the public with what amounts to financial toddler talk for helpless preschool minds averse to any research beyond their daily 15 minute sippy cup of New York Times, CNN, MSNBC or FOX cable news sound bites. I mean, have you ever actually stopped and read a Paul Krugman article more than once? Or listened carefully to an MSNBC economic piece? It’s like being violently accosted by a band of slobbering mental deficients with securitized ARM mortgages stuffed in their pants. Of course, fewer and fewer people are now buying what these hucksters are selling. With gasoline nearing $5 a gallon, grain prices doubling, and shelf prices beginning to skyrocket, it’s hard for even the most ignorant suburban schlep to remain oblivious to the problem anymore. We are no longer on the edge of the abyss; we have fallen into it head first… 

Dallas Fed Confirms Economic Re-Contraction, Respondents Complain About "Record Low Margins"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 10:58 -0400
And following the continuing plunge in new homes for sale reported earlier, we get the second validation of the theory that the Q2 GDP is about to get the rug pulled from underneath it. The April Dallas manufacturing number came precisely at the borderline we expected would mean an outright downgrade of Q2 economic data by Goldman, or 10.5%. Of note: The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, moved down from 24 to 8, suggesting slower growth in output." We thing the proper word is "plunged." This is as expected considering our long held assumption that the Japanese economic collapse is already impacting the US. In addition to production, other indicators that saw a collapse were volume of shipments, down 10.9 and the average employee workweeks, which tumbled by over 13. But at least Bernanke is getting his hyperinflation wet dream on: average wages increased by 4. Probably the most important index: prices paid, barely budged, printing at 56.6 compared to 57.2 last month. We are confident that Hatzius will have some very unpleasant words when commenting on this latest contractionary data point. As for the respondents, they confirmed that the bulk of the broader inflation is about to hit, as manufacturers can no longer internalize plunging margins. To wit: "From a cost standpoint, commodity prices continue to increase, negatively impacting material and delivery costs. As a result, we are in the process of taking a price increase to the market, which should occur in May" and "Our sales are up, but our cost of goods sold and the cost of diesel are keeping our margins at record lows" and, FTW: "Rapidly increasing costs and fuel costs have shocked the consumer away from any nonmandatory spending." Pretty much says it all. 

 

 

 

Radiation Expert: "Sr-90 and Uranium and Particulates Will Be Building Up in the USA and Europe ... For Now I Think It Prudent To Stop Drinking Milk" 

Posted by: George Washington

Post date: 04/24/2011 - 23:58

I wrote to radiation expert Dr. Chris Busby to ask him if he thought people living outside of Japan should take any actions to try to reduce their radiation exposure. Here is his response …