CME Hikes Silver Initial And Maintenance Margins By 9%

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 15:47 -0400

The world's most telegraphed call comes and goes, however since it has been priced in about 7 times already, has absolutely no impact on the price of silver. And yes, we were off by about 8 hours. Also, for those who observed this is the third margin hike in as  many months (previously here and here) with neither doing anything at all to halt the price surge, you are absolutely correct.



VIDEO: Silver Breaks $50 Everywhere, But The COMEX!!! COMEX To Follow Shortly!

 

Apmex Out Of Silver Eagles Until May 13

With the US Mint forced to cut down dramatically on its Silver American Eagle sales, for some reason various timid elements considered the drop in monthly sales as indicative of a wane in investor interest (record prices aside). Perhaps the following note from Ampex: one of the otherwise "deepest" silver vendors in the market, may restore some balance to the (supply/demand) force.

Four Scary Words: "Silver Delivery Not Possible"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 12:38 -0400

The SHTFPlan's Mac Slavo brings us the story of one Bill Cramer who decided to cash in on his silver profits after a nearly decade holding period (under the assumption he was receiving warehousing services considering he was paying storage fees), confident that he could simply receive the metal he held with a broker, until he heard the following 5 very disturbing words: "Sorry, delivery is not possible." 

Dow Theory's Russell figures out that gold is manipulated

 

Guest Post: Anatomy Of A Crisis: 2011

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 11:37 -0400

There is a great disturbance in the world's financial Force. Many sense it as a storm on the horizon, something not yet visible but telegraphed by a rising, swirling wind and a new electric scent in the air. I don't claim to have a complete narrative that accounts for all the points of friction wearing down the moving parts, nor do I claim a "solution." But a few observations might help inform our awareness of the disturbance....The Fed is busily destroying the village, suposedly to save it--only it's the global village. But the Fed isn't the only player with a stake in its game, and the other players, notably China, are tipping their hand that they will have to act, and soon, to protect their own domestic economies from the Fed's destructive policies.

Graham Summers’ Free Weekly Market Forecast (China Dumping Dollars edition)



With Greek Debt Yielding 20%+ and Trading at Half Par Value, European Banks Are Trapped!

San Fran Fed Defends QE2 By Comparing It To Gold Arb Elimination Vehicle "Öperation Twist"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 13:57 -0400

Recently there has been lots of goalseeked speculation by sellside research about what the impact of QE2 will be. Considering that the biggest force in bond buying (PIMCO) disagreed with virtually everyone else, it is safe to say that nobody has any idea what will happen on July 1 (of course unless the Fed also actually stop its off-balance sheet curve vol selling, in which case the imminent collapse in the bond market is guaranteed). Naturally, after the private sector has come out defending its respective books, here come the Admirals of the Obvious from the San Fran Fed to voice in on just how good and wise QE2 was especially when compared to such a "monster" as 1961's $8.8 billion Operation Twist. According to the Fed, Operation Twist, which was truly a curve "twisting" operation instead of an outright debt monetization and deficit funding operation, succeeded in reducing rates by 0.15%. It is this delusion that fostered QE2, which is merely a continuation of QE1 and a contributor to the Fed's soon to be $2.9 trillion balance sheet, as the Fed was obviously trying to recreate history. Little did it realize that Twist was not about the implosion of a shadow banking bubble but all about removing rate arbitrage opportunities. Curiously enough, it was the rush of gold from the US To Europe, to express this arbitrage, that forced the US to engage in Operation Twist. Only later was the gold backing of the dollar completely removed thereby eliminating this arb opportunity. Of course, it is now deja vu all over again: the Fed has to do all it can to prevent the transfer of fiat into gold, albeit at non-fixed rates, or as some have called it, a non-central bank instituted gold standard. Yet oddly enough, despite all time record nominal prices, the demand for gold is only increasing, a result that the Fed had not anticipated at all and is forced to scramble to reverse. And now that QE2 has been a complete failure, the only option is to back track on everything and admit the Fed has failed, or pursue more QE, sending gold offerless. Your call Ben.

BATS Gone Wild: Today's Flash Crash In 84 Stocks Will Not Be Televised (Nor Appealed)

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 14:51 -0400

In accordance with the BATS Clearly Erroneous Trade Policy, BATS, on its own motion, has determined to cancel all trades executed between 09:28:00 and 10:03:00 that were executed at or above or at or below 30% from the consolidated closing price for the stocks in the attached list. This decision cannot be appealed. BATS has coordinated this decision with other UTP Exchanges. BATS will be canceling trades on the Member’s behalf. Please see the attached list.

MIT's Billion Prices Project Gets The (Permanent?) Axe

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/25/2011 14:05 -0400