Obama Will Not Release Dead Osama Pics 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/04/2011 13:24 -0400

And another part of the White House story on bin Laden changes once again, which after promising repeatedly through Panetta to release pictures of a dead bin Laden, has instead decided not to reveal the death pics. We wonder how the administration for which this whole affair is rapidly shifting from a rally around the flag affair to one of losing credibility will then explain the following statement by Leon Panetta: "I don't think there was any question that ultimately a photograph would be presented to the public. We got bin Laden and I think we have to reveal to the rest of the world the fact that we were able to get him and kill him."

 

 

 

A Picture of Currency Induced Cost Push Inflation

posted by Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 1 hour ago

Acceleration phases in the ISM's prices paid to PMI ratio illustrate currency induced cost push inflation quite well. ISM Prices Paid Index (PP) to National Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) Ratio: Observat...

Portuguese Gold Sale Urged By Senior German Lawmakers As Mexican Central Bank Buys 100 Tonnes 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/04/2011 07:59 -0400

Another sign of the increased appreciation of gold as an important asset came from Germany today where Angela Merkel’s budget speaker and his opposition counterpart have urged Portugal to consider selling their gold. Norbert Barthle, Germany’s governing coalition budget speaker and his counterpart Carsten Schneider from the Social Democrats, the biggest opposition party urged Portugal to consider selling some of its gold reserves to ease its debt problems. They called for a review of Portugal’s request for financial aid to include gold and other potential asset sales. The German lawmakers did not specify who should buy the gold from the Portuguese central bank but given the challenges facing Germany and the Eurozone it is likely that the Bundebank and the ECB would be willing buyers – if the gold is not already encumbered due to Portugal’s membership of the Eurozone. Meanwhile creditor nation central banks continue to accumulate gold reserves as seen with the breaking news from the Financial Times that the central bank of Mexico has been diversifying their currency reserves (largely in dollars) into gold with the purchase of 100 tonnes of gold bullion in February and March. 

The EUR Is Dead, Long Live Its Replacement - The Asian RMU 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/04/2011 07:27 -0400

In what could be the watershed news event of 2011, Dow Jones reports that Asean+3 governments (virtually every Asian country including China, Japan and South Korea), "have been concretely studying the idea of a common currency, though an internal paper shows anything like a euro for the region is still far off." In what appears to be Asia's attempt to recreate the Euro, "an Asian "regional monetary unit" could provide a helpful macroeconomic monitoring tool and its use could in time be expanded to include official and private transactions, according to a study by a high-level research group reporting to Asian officials." So for all those complaining that the Yuan would not be able to compete with the dollar as a reserve currency, how about a basket of currencies which includes the Yuan, the Yen, and virtually every other growth currency. It is only fitting that as a last ditch effort to save the current globalized system, as we see the last days of one failed "aggregator" currency, we get the inception of another.

US Treasury Tells Lawmakers It Needs $2 Trillion In Debt Capacity 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/04/2011 11:20 -0400

Reuters reports that the US Treasury has informed lawmakers it needs a $2 trillion debt limit increase to operate... until the end of 2012. Better stated, this is 112% of US GDP (which will soon be declining). This is precisely as Zero Hedge speculated. We hope PIMCO will be swayed soon enough to buy all this extra debt about to start coming down Geithner's conveyor chute. But yes, the Fed will most certainly not be needed to monetize this extra debt: Japan, Europe and Libya have it covered. That said, we don't know if Libyan rebels will have the capacity to monetize the $3 trillion in debt in 2013, $4 trillion in 2014, and so forth. The pattern is clear. 

 

 

 

 

Out Come The Big Gunz: Interactive Brokers Advises Traders Of Yet Unknown, But Certainly Scary, Silver Margin Increase 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/04/2011 10:59 -0400

If you don't know what to hike your silver margin to, just tell your clients cryptically you will hike it to some number (very high if possible) and leave it at that. Best to just leave them guessing. 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodities Take Out Support As Deflation, Economic Slowdown Fears Surge 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/04/2011 10:43 -0400

And so the overly expected "deflationary" wave takes hold, just in time for silver to take out the $40 support. Next up: everyone runs to the exits over fears that despite nothing having changed, deflation is gripping the land, which, of course, is precisely what the uberprinter needs in order to get QE3 approval. In the meantime, weak hands should certainly hit those bids. While that is happening, we eagerly await to see to what record low Comex registered silver drops today, not to mention seeing InTrade odds on whether QE3 will come in August or November... 

 

 

 

 

 

Services ISM Plummets: Just 2.8 Points Away From Contraction; Concerns About Fuel And Commodity Costs, And Economic Uncertainty 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/04/2011 10:13 -0400

And scene: as predicted, the US economy is now in free fall (even with QE2 still having two more months to go), validated by today's Services ISM (recall that the US economy is based on "services", not a manufacturing) which plunged from 57.5 to 52.8, taking out consensus of 57.5, and "growing" at the lowest rate since August 2010. As a reminder a number south of 50 means "contraction." From the report: "The NMI registered 52.8 percent in April, 4.5 percentage points lower than the 57.3 percent registered in March, and indicating continued growth at a slower rate in the non-manufacturing sector. The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased 6 percentage points to 53.7 percent, reflecting growth for the 21st consecutive month, but at a slower rate than in March. The New Orders Index decreased substantially by 11.4 percentage points to 52.7 percent. The Employment Index decreased 1.8 percentage points to 51.9 percent, indicating growth in employment for the eighth consecutive month, but at a slower rate. The Prices Index decreased 2 percentage points to 70.1 percent, indicating that prices increased at a slightly slower rate in April when compared to March. According to the NMI, 17 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in April. Respondents' comments are mixed about overall business conditions; however, they are mostly positive. Respondents' comments also indicate concern over rising fuel costs, commodity costs and the lingering uncertainty about the economy." Virtually every index declined with New Orders plummeting from 64.1 to 52.7 - the biggest drop in history, excepts for Supplier Deliveries (this will certainly drop next month), and Imports.