Wednesday, October 31, 2012

BTFD...It Begins: Ecuador Demands Repatriation Of One Third Of Its Gold Holdings



  • ECUADOR WANTS BANKS TO REPATRIATE ONE THIRD OF FOREIGN HOLDINGS
  • ECUADOR TAX CHIEF CARRASCO SPEAKS TO CONGRESS IN QUITO

ADP "Cancels" 365,000 Private Jobs Created In 2012

Frequent readers know that in addition of any "data" and "numbers" out of Larry Yun's National Association of Realtors, which we openly boycott as these are consistently manipulated (recall the massive historical December 2011 revision), slanted and conflicted, the second dataset which we have mocked with a passion is anything coming out of the ADP, which every month releases its "Private Jobs" number a day before the official BLS Non-farm Payroll data. Today, our mockeries have been proven 100% spot on. The reason? A week ago, ADP announced that going forward it would coordinate with Moody's (yes, that Moody's), and especially its chief economist, SecTres hopeful (InTrade odds of actually attain that post: 0.00) Mark Zandi, to fudge adjust its data going forward. The data revision was supposed to be publicly disclosed tomorrow when the official October ADP number was released. Well, just like today's Chicago PMI, and so many other data points recently, this too was released early. What the early release allowed us to promptly calculate is that using the historically revised numbers, and comparing those based on the original methodology, in 2012 alone, the US would have lost a whopping... 365,000 private jobs! Putting thus number in context, according to the revised methodology, the US has generated only 1.172MM jobs in 2012 through September, or in other words, a statistical "fix" magically eliminated over 30% of what the market had previously expected were job gains, a number which the incumbent president has certain taken advantage of on more than one occasions while campaigning.


The Financial Super-Storm of 2013

Four years of glorious central-planning "extend and pretend" have enriched the political and financial Aristocracies, and imbued them with a bubble-era hubris that they have indeed gotten away with murder: the $6 trillion the Federal government borrowed over the past four years, the Fed's $2 trillion in fresh cash, the Fed's $16 trillion bailout of the banking sector and various perception management manipulations have righted the storm-tossed ship. All those with power in 2008 remain in power and all those with outsized wealth in 2008 still hold their outsized wealth. Except the financial tides and winds have shifted, and the linearity of central planning is about to be disrupted by nonlinear, positive-feedback storms.


Real Economy Still Sliding As 'Eating Out' Continues to Go Down


While real consumer spending growth remains perilously close to recessionary levels for another year, one of our favorite indicators of real consumer sentiment (as opposed to the anchoring bias-driven surveys we are force-fed a few times per month) is the growth in spending on eating meals out. As Bloomberg Briefs notes, spending on dining out has fallen from 4.5% growth at the beginning of the year to under 1.8% growth currently (the lowest since May 2010). Add to this the slowdown in jewelry spending and the drag on discretionary spending likely from Sandy and we suspect the modicum of estimate revisions that have started to be published by sell-side analysts will need a little more adjustment.


Chart Of The Day: Sturm, Ruger's Revenues

 
This chart showing Sturm, Ruger's quarterly revenues needs no comment. There has evidently been no change in the trend of demand for weaponry
 


The Ethics Of Halloween

Every Halloween people are engaging in free-market anarchism whether they like it or not. To the economist, it’s clear that the child values receiving candy, even if it means dressing up in a funny or scary costume and going door-to-door, sometimes for hours, saying “trick or treat”. It’s clear that for the adults, joining in for the festive evening is valued more-so than the monetary value of the candy, or else they wouldn’t be giving it away. And some don’t. Some people, adults and children alike, shy away from Halloween night neither tricking nor treating nor allowing their homes to be used as candy repositories. To the free-market anarchist, Halloween is a perfect example of a non-coercive display of voluntary goodwill. Here is a spontaneous order of people partaking in a festive holiday without any expectation of monetary gain.


Individual preparedness, not Big Government ‘management,’ would have helped those most in Sandy’s path

by J. D. Heyes, Natural News:

A headline in Tuesday’s OP-ED section of The New York Times summed up the mentality of too many Americans these days and all that is wrong with it: “A Big Storm Requires Big Government.”
If by that headline you deduced that the Times’ editors were stumping for a Big Brother (read federal government) response to Hurricane Sandy, you’d be right. But then, that’s a common reaction to any incident that you believe is too big for you and that scares you to death; when you’re conditioned to die, you look for someone else to come bail you out, to come save you, to rescue you from a situation for which you are wholly unprepared.
Read More @ NaturalNews.com







I'll bet these unemployed people wished they had a year supply of food...

European unemployment rises to 11.6%. Italian unemployment rises to 10.8%/Greek housing permits plummet 7.7%/Greece's new 2013 budgetary deficit : 5.2% and a Debt to GDP of only 189%/Japan's PMI implodes to 46.9/

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen :Gold closed up by $5.70 to $1717.50.  Silver rose by 48 cents to $32.29.  The bankers let gold and silver rise today knowing full well that the jobs report will be released on Friday.  The bankers will either raid tomorrow  (highly likely) or raid on Friday.  Take your pick. In European news, the total European unemployment rate increased to 11.6% last month.

Truth In Media? Is Another Government Bailout Coming?

Dave in Denver at The Golden Truth - 5 hours ago
Anyone besides me ready for this election to be over so we don't have to listen to the incessant and vile barrage of SuperPAC-sponsored campaign ads? If I hear that commercial about Romney helping to bury some boy scout one more time I might jump out the window...I've said here before and I'll always maintain that the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision has buried democracy and buried this country for the 99%'ers. The corporate earnings charade has become so over-spun by the media that now it's impossible to tell what's real and what's fiction by l... more » 


France's Fiasco In One Fine Chart

Scanning the world, France ranks at or near the top in government transfers to households, vacation times and labor market rigidity, and at or near the bottom in hours worked per week, labor force participation rates and retirement age as a % of life expectancy. As JPMorgan's Michael Cembalest notes, France is a workers's utopia - which is expensive to maintain - and sure enough four out of four of its main economic indicators are accelerating lower since Hollande's 'Deluge' began.


Your support is needed...
Thank You


I'm PayPal Verified
 

The Case Against Corzine

As the one year anniversary of the MF Global Bankruptcy is upon us, the WSJ has now joined the NY Times in writing a ‘woe is me’ piece on behalf of Jon Corzine. The WSJ continues bemoaning the pitiable situation of “restlessness and frustration” of the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, former Governor of New Jersey, and former Senator from New Jersey who apparently isn’t content with being “confident about the likelihood that he will avoid any criminal charges related to MF Global.” Corzine is still estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars despite presiding over the failure of the largest non-bank commodity broker where $1.6 billion in customer money was stolen. I cry for him, I really do... Trying to portray Corzine as being focused on mundane things like finding a job rather than worried about doing jail time for his obvious crimes appears to be another prong of Corzine’s attorneys’ use of the Chewbacca Defense, along with saying that the fraud charges “Make No Sense,” because the money “Vaporized” and he had no motive since he had a de minimis portion of his net worth invested in MF Global stock. However, proving Corzine committed fraud and perjury would be relatively simple for any motivated prosecutor. Since the Department of Justice clearly is not motivated to prosecute Corzine after he bundled $500,000+ in campaign contributions to their boss, I provide this quick and easy guide for any ambitious state prosecutor to bring charges themselves:



Stocks Slump Back To Draghi's Elbow

While everyone is loudly patting themselves on the back for getting the electronic exchanges open and enabling a few proud men to wriggle out of positions (or into them) into month-end, we can't help but notice the overall weak tone of equities. The S&P 500 cash markets proclaim a very small green close but after-hours futures are getting hammered. The Dow is only -10pts (but with IBM and HD alone accounting for 25 points of gain!), The Nasdaq is leaking painfully as AAPL traded down exactly as we thought - inched back above VWAP and tumbled into the close -1.5%. Broad risk-assets, which had been indicating a lower move in US equities, kept on sliding and stocks stayed with them all day as correlations picked back up. Treasury yields are 4-6bps lower than Friday's close, the USD is down around -0.12%, but Gold and Silver are up 0.6% on the week now. Oil slipped (after a European close spike and dike) and Copper slid from the US open. The main story of today is the crash in S&P 500 futures after-hours to the lows of the day (down 8 points from its cash close).
 


HFT Caught-Red Handed In FX Trading

After decimating equity and commodity markets, the HiFreqs have boldly gone and broken another market - FX. But that is not news: we reported over two years ago, that while HFT accounting for all of the churn - not liquidity - in stocks, bonds, and commodities, HFT had moved on to the final frontier, FX, where even the smallest moves now are catalysts for avalanche-like surges and plunges on the most meaningless of newslfow. What is news it that finally it has been caught in the act. From Reuters, which is also an involuntary accomplice in this latest HFT unmasking, courtesy of its institutional FX trading platform: "Thomson Reuters Corp is investigating whether one of its currency trading customers gained an unfair advantage when making high speed foreign exchange trades on its platform. Lucid Markets, a privately held electronic trading firm registered in Great Britain, may have benefited from trades using several connections on the Thomson Reuters Matching platform."


Netflix Shorts Netflixed As Icahn Announces 10% Stake... Using Call Options!

UPDATE: Icahn did NOT purchase shares at all - he mostly bought ITM Calls (he only purchased 500K shares, the rest of the disclosed 5.541MM stake is from call-option equivalents). It would appear someone is trying to make their year in one super-leveraged pump!
Thanks to Mr. 'Blockbuster' Icahn, who just announced a 10% stake in the company (for reasons that seem to a pure punt on it being bought out), NFLX is trading up 15% on the day and has filled its Q2 miss gap. He has been building a stake since early September (according to filings) and we suspect was pissed when Q3 earnings stumbled the stock back to below his average fill (allegedly). Of course hundreds of knife-catching hedge funds are thanking the great investor for giving them their exit from Q2 earnings' miss - it seems that you do indeed get a second chance to sell... cue CNBC M&A renaissance chatter...


Hurricanes Do Not Have A 'Silver Lining'

It didn't take long for mainstream economists to provide us with some inane commentary regarding the latest natural catastrophe. Allegedly, the massive destruction of wealth hurricane 'Sandy' will leave behind has a 'silver lining'. We believe the main reason behind this stance is the unquestioned acceptance of one of Keynes' great fallacies: namely the idea that all economic activity – even unproductive activity – is somehow 'good'. Naturally, if it were really true that we could create economic progress by breaking windows or digging ditches (we will admit that pyramids at least render what one might term 'monument services', even if the expense seems hardly justified by this), then the government should pay half the population for digging ditches and hire the other half to wreak wanton destruction. The loss of wealth the hurricane has inflicted is very real; the wealth destroyed by it is most definitely gone.


One Year Later - Santelli Rips Apart 'Connected' Corzine

There remains more than $1.6 billion of customer funds unaccounted for and whether you believe PwC (as Forbes notes) were duped or not, one year on from MFGlobal, one thing is for sure - there is no more hated character in the pits of Chicago than Jon Corzine. CNBC's Rick Santelli says it all in this blockbuster rant against the incredible reality that this 'connected' individual has got away with monetary murder. Must watch - but beware your blood pressure... as he concludes "we haven't heard the end of this - Chicago will find the answers!"


Yamada – Here Are The Key Levels To Watch On Gold & Silver

from KingWorldNews:

Gold spot price moved toward our next resistance at 1,800 before taking an expected breather (see Figure 13), and has moved below 1,750 toward 1,700-1,680 where price may stabilize above the 200-day MA. The daily momentum (not shown) is negative reflecting the consolidation underway but does not preclude further risk. The weekly momentum (not shown) remains positive but is rolling over, suggestive of a consolidation in progress unless a renewed Sell signal comes into place.
Were price to slip below 1,680-1,660 there could be further risk toward 1,600 once again with the 1,563 low representing the former and still critical support. Were the equity market to embark on a serious decline over the coming weeks / months, Gold has had a tendency also to experience selling pressure, so this should be kept in mind.
Louise Yamada continues @ KingWorldNews.com


The Nation’s Deathbed

from JudgeNapolitanoFTW :

See what the mainstream media didn’t show you during the 2007 Security and Prosperity Partnership meeting in Canada. This Canadian documentary offers valuable lessons on the formation of the North American Union, something political leaders and mainstream media emphatically deny. (2009, 43min., DVD) This presentation, prepared by Press for Truth, has been edited by The John Birch Society.


Your support is needed...
Thank You


I'm PayPal Verified
 

SOLA 4.13 The Sacrificial Pawn

from TruthNeverTold :




Federal court approves use of hidden surveillance cameras on private property without warrants

by Madison Ruppert, Activist Post

Yet again, a federal judge undermined the Constitution in a wholly disturbing fashion, this time by allowing police to install hidden surveillance cameras on private property without obtaining a search warrant.
This is especially troubling since the federal government has conducted more warrantless surveillance over the past two years than the entire previous decade. This court decision can only be expected to increase that already troubling number.
Let us not forget that the Obama administration has fought vigorously to hold on to their ability to conduct warrantless wiretapping while also claiming that cell phone location data is not protected by the Constitution and the Supreme Court recently refused to review a lawsuit challenging the warrantless surveillance program of the National Security Agency (NSA).
Read More @ Activist Post

 

Germany Enforces Same Austerity that Paved Way for the Third Reich

from GlobalResearchTV:

One in four people are now officially out of work in Spain as unemployment in the debt-ridden country reaches another record. The grim news comes as Madrid’s transport workers go on strike, adding to a sixth day of protests in the capital against austerity cuts.


Bank of Japan Disappoints Markets

by Chris Marcus, Gold Money:

The weakening Japanese economy and concerns that the country is heading towards deflation led the Bank of Japan to announce further monetary easing measures yesterday. This is the second month in a row that the BoJ has unveiled new money printing measures, an unusual step. Its asset purchases are increasing by Y11 trillion ($138bn) to a total of Y91tn.
Ironically, what ZeroHedge calls “QE9” from the BoJ actually led to a 50-pip drop in the USDJPY – not exactly the result that the Japanese were after. USDJPY is currently trading around where it was at the end of last week.
Read More @ GoldMoney.com


$4 for a Can of Coke? Price Gouging Hits New Level

by John Carney , CNBC:

Four dollars for a can of coke. Five hundred dollars a night for a hotel in downtown Brooklyn. A pair of D-batteries for $6.99.
These are just a few of the examples of price hikes I or friends of mine have personally come across in the run-up and aftermath of hurricane Sandy. Price gouging, as this is often called, is a common occurrence during emergencies.
When everyone starts suddenly start buying batteries or bottles of water for fear of a blackout, shortages can arise. Sometimes there simply is not enough of a particular good to satisfy a sharp spike in demand. And so the question arises: how do we decide which customers get the batteries, the groceries, the gasoline?
Read More @ CNBC


Is Gold Overpriced?

by David Schectman, MilesFranklin.com:
Be sure and check out Bill Murphy’s comments (LeMetropole Café) today. He always has great things to say and his newsletter is one you should not miss. It is worth the price of admission many times over. Also, there is a wonderful essay by Sprott Global Resources that you should take the time to read here today. Both of these articles are outstanding.
Let’s see how gold is doing in four of the world’s major currencies. I have presented this chart before, but it’s time to review it again. Gold’s rise is a direct result of the central banks inflating (debasing) their currencies. Since gold is the only financial asset with no liabilities against it, gold has become very attractive to central banks and savvy investors, especially in India, China and Russia. The following chart prices gold in Dollars (Gold), euros (Blue), Japanese Yen (Red) and Swiss Francs (Purple):
Read More @ MilesFranklin.com


Is Silver Money?

by Ryan Jordan, Financial Sense:
Money is a medium of exchange that functions in lieu of barter. As a medium of exchange, money comes into existence in two ways: either naturally, from people agreeing that some item or other has value for trade, or money exists as a form of state coercion, meaning that the state uses its power to demand that people accept something as payment. This basic tension informs much of monetary and economic history. Unfortunately, states presume that people will always want their money, or that the government has the power to control all economic transactions. But even in some of the most totalitarian regimes (think Maoist China or Stalinist Russia) exchange occurred naturally outside the state sanctioned system. In many cases, society just reverted back to barter due to lack of confidence in the state’s money or economic system.
To some of us, the above lesson seems particularly relevant for today. As an American, I know that most of my fellow countrymen and women have exactly zero wealth apart from government transfer payments, pensions, or the state-supported housing industry (most loans to homeowners today are backed by the government). Even when people have savings, too often it is in paper form—meaning some claim on real assets—and not a real asset itself, such as a farm, oil well, business, or other tangible item. Most people, it would seem, trust the state to take care of them.
Read More @ financialsense.com


Q&A: Could Sandy postpone the election?

by Josh Lederman, My Way:
One week before a close election, superstorm Sandy has confounded the presidential race, halted early voting in many areas and led some to ponder whether the election might even be postponed.
It could take days to restore electricity to more than 8 million homes and businesses that lost power when the storm pummeled the East Coast. That means it’s possible power could still be out in parts of some states on Election Day next Tuesday – a major problem for precincts that rely on electronic voting machines.
But as the storm breached the coast, even some of those intimately involved in the election seemed in the dark about what options are available to cope with the storm. Asked Monday whether President Barack Obama had the power to reschedule the election, White House press secretary Jay Carney said he wasn’t sure.
Read More @ MyWay.com


RBI Restricts Bank Loans for Gold

India’s apex bank is concerned over banks’ exposure to gold finance companies and has curbed lending for the precious metal in every form.
by Shivom Seth, MineWeb.com

Coming down heavily against gold once again, India’s apex bank the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks not to finance the purchase of gold. Though the RBI has already halted banks’ ability to lend money for the purpose of purchasing gold bars, now the apex bank has slashed lending for gold in any form.
“No advances should be granted by banks against gold bullion to dealers/traders in gold if, in their assessment, such advances are likely to be utilised for purposes of financing gold purchase at auctions and/or speculative holding of stocks and bullion,” the bank says in its second quarter review of the monetary policy 2012-13 on October 30.
Read More @ MineWeb.com


JP Morgan Sues the London Whale’s Boss Martin-Artajo

by Kit Chellel, Bloomberg:
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) sued the executive responsible for supervising Bruno Iksil, the trader nicknamed the London Whale for market-moving wagers at the division responsible for a $6.2 billion trading loss.
Javier Martin-Artajo, Iksil’s boss in the chief investment office, is a defendant in a London lawsuit filed Oct. 22 by the bank and made public today. The court filings didn’t reveal any details of the complaint. Both men have left the bank.
JPMorgan disclosed trading losses in May after what Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said were “egregious” failures to manage flawed positions on synthetic credit securities. The bank is still recovering from those bets, the losses on which had risen to $6.2 billion through the first nine months of 2012 and may increase, the bank has said.
Read More @ Bloomberg.com


More And More Germans Want Their Gold Back

Germany’s gold reserves are amongst the highest in the world and they have been kept almost entirely overseas due to Cold War fears of a Soviet invasion. Almost half of Germany’s gold is kept in Manhattan — deep in the heart of the Financial District at the New York Fed.
But some German politicians seem to be getting uncomfortable with trusting the US with this system. They want to actually see the gold, to make sure its still there. Some even want it back. A campaign called “Bring back our Gold” was launched in May, and seems to be making an impact on mainstream politics.
Der Spiegel’s Sven Böll and Anne Seith have published a good explainer about the situation. A large part of the movement seems to come from Peter Gauweiler, the head of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), who has for years demanded to know exactly where Germany’s gold is (He eventually was allowed to visit the Bundesbank’s domestic gold in storage  in Frankfurt).
Read More @ BusinessInsider.com


Important Updates: Gold, Silver, Crude, Markets

from Gregory Mannarino:


Jim Willie: Central Bank Gold Rehypothecation Scandal to Take Gold to $5,000/oz

from Silver Doctors:

-The battle is on for delivery and verification for official gold accounts
-Evidence grows that much of it is gone, and when demanded, replaced with urgency
-It is soon to transform into a global gold war
-The German Govt gold demand to the London and NY City bankers represents a big escalation in the gold war
-The central bank coordinated QE to Infinity has brought questions of gold account location and integrity
-The Allocated Gold Account scandal is a natural event to follow the LIBOR banker scandal
-QE3 will assure a gold rise past the $2000 mark, but the new scandal will take the gold price to $5000
-The powerful gold factors are aligned and in place, led by permanent ZIRP and unlimited QE
A nasty Golden Harp could soon have its cords plucked, with the resonance working to shake loose the bankster cover of improper illicit duplicitous and probably highly illegal usage of Allocated Gold Accounts. When diverse scattered accounts are pilfered and depleted without authorization in Switzerland, resulting in several multi-$billion class action lawsuits in Zurich, all kept dutifully out of the news, that is one thing. But when a few key official government gold accounts are ransacked in systematic fashion from established trusted locations, defying and betraying the trust of the German Govt and other national governments, that is quite another. To be sure, the system can tolerate ransacking and replacing with scurried harried efforts the Venezuelan gold account like in 2011.
Read More @ Silver Doctors

Your support is needed...
Thank You


I'm PayPal Verified
 
 

A Grim Preview Of This Friday's Jobs Number


Following this morning's dismal employment sub-index from Chicago Fed PMI and the recent Philly Fed employment sub-index, the 'data' suggests that this week's (now confirmed by the BLS that NFP will be released on Friday as scheduled) payroll data could be the first negative print since September 2010. Of course, we are sure that pre-emptive Sandy 'action' and seasonal adjustments will explain away any miss from the current +125k estimate. Is this why the market is not levitating on moar broken windows?



Chicago PMI Misses After Early Leak, Contracts; Employment At 33 Month Low

Half an hour ago, just as the NYSE was preparing to unleash the AAPL selling onslaught, MarketNews released an errant PR in which it indicated that the Chicago PMI missed, coming at 49.9, or well below expectations of a 51.0 print. A few minutes ago MarketNews officially broke the Chicago PMI embargo early, and the early leak was confirmed, with the October PMI printing indeed at 49.9, a modest increase from 49.7 in September, but missing expectations for the third month in a row. And once again the headline belied how ugly the underlying data was, which as even MNI explained, saw the employment index slide to 50.3 from 52.0, and just barely above contraction. Either way, this was the lowest print in 33 months. Surely this will be enough for another massive NFP beat on Friday.



Dark Knight Capital... Again

Dear Valued Client,
As per Knight’s request below, please route away from Knight.  If a client routes an order to Knight, the order will be rejected by our system.  Information on existing orders will still flow back from Knight.




How Wall Street's Bankers Survived Sandy

For millions of common people in New York and New Jersey, Sandy has been a historic disaster, with leaving ruined, homeless or forced to live in the dark and cold indefinitely. Sandy was a historic event for the Wall Streeters (a term used loosely as many of them reside in midtown or in Connecticut) among us too. And now, courtesy of Bloomberg's Max Abelson, we see how some of them managed to (just barely) scrape through...



Stock, Gold, Silver, Etc Are Highly Correlated

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 42 minutes ago
Those looking for a Frankenstorm in stocks* (implying something more than a correction) be advised that gold and gold stocks would offer little downside protection without a significant change in the current monetary system. Gold will not soar as the stock market crashes (see table). This is not a repeat of the 1930's. Roosevelt confiscated gold to end hoarding of tangible cash, so a... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 
 
 

Calls For Austerity Will Go Silent

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 2 hours ago
Headline: Eurozone unemployment hits record high NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Unemployment in the eurozone rose in September to a record high of 11.6%, the European Commission's Eurostat statistics agency reported Wednesday. This figure was a slight increase from 11.5% in August. The increase is more significant compared to September 2011, when the unemployment rate was 10.3%. The number... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 
 
Your support is needed...
Thank You

I'm PayPal Verified
 

Video: Year End Rally Or Fall Out?

Admin at Marc Faber Blog - 2 hours ago
Related: iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM), SPDR SP 500 ETF (SPY) *Marc Faber is an international investor known for his uncanny predictions of the stock market and futures markets around the world.* 
 
 

Next Year Is Going To Be Very Bad For US Stocks

Admin at Jim Rogers Blog - 2 hours ago
Next year is going to be very bad in the American stock market. Remember, we have an election this year. The government is doing everything it can to get re-elected. So next year is going to be a disaster. - *in MoneyNews* Related: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), ProShares UltraShort QQQ ETF (QID), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), Technology SPDR ETF (XLK) *Jim Rogers is an author, financial commentator and successful international investor. He has been frequently featured in Time, The New York Times, Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street J... more » 
 
 

Hurricane Sandy cost may hit $50 billion

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 2 hours ago
Headlines such as one below will be followed by the inevitable MSM spin that reconstruction will be good from the economy. Headline: Hurricane Sandy cost may hit $50 billion WASHINGTON — Superstorm Sandy will end up causing about $20 billion in property damages and $10 billion to $30 billion more in lost business, according to IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm. In the long run,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 
 
 

Weak Hands Freakout, Strong Hands Plan

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 2 hours ago
The weak hands freak out while the strong hands plan. A-wave (up) to B-wave (down) represents consolidation to transfer control of the trend. Three counts of accumulation/distribution mark terminate the B-wave. The third count tends to be statistically concentrated as the invisible hand pushes hard to control the trend. Chart: London PM Fixed Gold and GLD (ETF) Total Assets WA... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 
 
 

Greece delays austerity vote, warns of 'chaos'

Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 4 hours ago
As long as interest rates remain below dividend yields, expect capital to continue flowing into gold, silver, and stocks to the point of extreme concentration (buying climax) despite all pessimism and a growing number of calls for austerity. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] 



2 Refineries, 3 Nuclear Sites, And 6.25 Million Residents Still Dark

The US Department of Energy has just released their latest storm damage report for Sandy and it does not make for good reading. Over 50% of New Jersey residents remain without electricity and almost 2 million people in New York state alone. Port Reading (Hess) and Linden (Phillips) refineries remain shutdown (about 308,000 barrels per day or 26% capacity offline), and 3 nuclear sites (Salem, Indian Point, and Nine Mile Point) remain offline and many of the others are at dramatically lowered output (only 52% of capacity online!). Not good...



Citibank.com Down

Wet server? It's all Sandy's fault!




Ramp, Rejected

 
The US equity market refuses to copycat its Canadian cousin... "what goes up in a linear low-volume rampapalooza, comes down in a parabolic high volume dumpfest..."




Stocks Open Up, But Are Fading Fast As AAPL Plunges

Weak earnings over the last few days, notable weakness in Canadian GDP this morning and two dismal prints for Chicago PMI (early) and NAPM-Milwaukee all dragged on S&P 500 futures into the open. From strong overnight gains, ES was exactly at Friday's highs when the day-session opened. AAPL immediately dropped further from pre-open - down more than 2.5% at $586 (<200dma -="-" note="note" strong="strong">average trade size so far this morning is extremely high for AAPL
. Insurers are being hit hard with TRV down 1.9%, CB down 0.9%, ALL down 0.7%, and AIG down 1.2%. Some of the most stunning moves are in: UBS +14% (they should fire more people we guess), bankrupt A123 +13%, and Western Union -25% (miss).


Your support is needed...
Thank You


I'm PayPal Verified

Greece Releases Another Budget, Hilarity Ensues


If the just released 2013-2016 latest re-re-revised budget out of the Athens Finance Ministry (whose basement was forever memorialized in the following picture) is all Greek to you, it's because it is. But even it wasn't, it would still be absolute gibberish and yet another failed study in the analysis of animal entrails in order to predict the future. Why? We have extracted merely one data series: the brand new debt/GDP (ignoring for a second the -4.5% 2013 GDP forecast - already 0.5% worse than the just released IMF forecast for Greece for the same period and certainly worse than the May forecast of 2013 "growth"), and have compared it to the Debt/GDP "forecast" as of May 2010, when the first Greek bailout was announced. The numbers speak for themselves.



Putting Sandy In Destructive Context

Given Sandy's status as 'worse than the worst case', it is perhaps not surprising that our estimate of the total cost being in the $50-100 billion range is not totally off mark given the discussions that ensued. By comparison Katrina's total loss/damage cost was $108bn. BofAML is a little more hopeful with estimates in the $10-20bn range - which seems optimistic to us, and further note that while it is a big hit to wealth, once the offsetting effects (Keynesian broken windows?) are taken into account, it will likely have a very small impact on economic growth.  Sandy is still in the Top 5 in terms of economic damage among modern hurricanes, and as BofAML adds, ironically, Sandy may even contribute further to the policy bickering in Washington. With so much of our central-banker-in-chief's efforts focused on raising our wealth perception, we wonder if this will have greater implications than merely the physical damage.



For Once Europe Was Right: AAPL Sliding Pre-Open


We noted yesterday that European traders in the USA's 'first stock' AAPL were far less sanguine about the recent dismissals than the plthora of bloviators appearing in ouyr screens to calm down the maddening crowd. It seems, from pre-market trading, that Europe was right. AAPL is down 1.2% (with the market broadly up 0.5%), trading below $600 at $596 (inching closer to its 200DMA recent lows at $588), retracing much of its 'v-shaped' recovery from Friday.



Only Global Banks Will Benefit From A Cyber-Attack On The U.S.


A cyber attack does not have to be limited to a single country and its networks.  It could be used to strike multiple countries and fuel a global firestorm of systems failures.  Globalists need a macro-crisis, a world-wide catastrophe, in order to present their “global solution” to the desperate masses. This solution will invariably include more dominance for them, and less freedom for us.  A global crisis can also be used to manipulate various cultures to forget concerns of sovereignty and think in terms of one-world action.  Surely, a worldwide breakdown can only be solved if we “all work together and all think alike”, right...? Without a doubt, a cyber attack serves the interests of elitist entities and banking monstrosities like nothing else in existence.  Set off a nuke, start WWIII, turn the U.S. dollar into stagflationary dust; a cyber attack tops them all, because a cyber attack can lead to them all while maintaining deniability for the establishment.  The fact that whispers of cyber threats have turned into bullhorn blasted propaganda should concern us all.  Are we being conditioned for a cyber event in the near future?  That remains to be seen.  However, none of us should be surprised if one does occur, especially in light of the many gains involved for globalists, and all of us should be ready to dismantle and expose any lies surrounding the event before the American public is whipped into a 9/11 style frenzy yet again



Frontrunning: Halloween 2012 Edition

  • In Darkened NYC, Safety On The List Of Concerns (AP)
  • New York Subway System Faces Weeks to Recover From Storm (Bloomberg) ... as we said
  • Power Outages May Last More Than a Week (WSJ)... same
  • U.S. stock markets to reopen on Wednesday after storm (Reuters)
  • Questions Cloud Market Reopening (WSJ)
  • Apple revolution shows signs of reboot (FT)
  • Euro Chiefs Set to Grant Greece Extension Amid Squabbles (Bloomberg)
  • Italy Bank Poll Casts Shadow Over Savings (WSJ)
  • Shocked UBS staff take to Twitter (FT)
  • Corporate China hit by unpaid bills (FT)
  • Panasonic Posts Loss of Nearly $9 Billion (WSJ)
  • BoJ independence called into question (FT)
  • Barclays hit by fresh U.S. investigations (Reuters)
  • Adoboli’s Girlfriend Said Confess, Co-Worker Said to Run (Bloomberg)








Today’s Items:

First…
German Jobs Machine Falters
http://www.bloomberg.com
The number of Germans, that are now out of work and a part of the walking dead, increased to 2.92 million, an increase of over 20,000.   The German economy may contract in the fourth quarter as slowing global growth and Europe’s debt crisis crimp demand for its exports.    It is less than one year to Germany’s election and these numbers should have Merkel worried.

Next…
UBS Lay-offs
http://www.businessinsider.com
UBS announced 10,000 layoffs and the people who were laid off found out when their door passes just stopped working when they tried to get into their offices.  Oops…   No letter, no pink slip…   You just can’t get in.   How is that for a trick or treat?

Next…
Central Banks Scramble For Physical Gold
http://kingworldnews.com
James Turk states that the situation concerning Germany’s gold reserves is receiving increasing attention because gold reserves are one of the pillars underlying any country’s sovereignty.    He goes on to say that there is an ongoing scramble to turn paper-gold into physical metal because trading has now moved from the hedge fund community to central banks.    What this really means folks is that Central banks are quickly and quietly returning to the gold standard.   At any rate, a ship with 700 tons of gold ore has gone missing off of Russia.   Hmm… Sounds like a Central Bank opportunity folks.

Next…
Italy and Switzerland Ban Flu Vaccines
http://www.activistpost.com
After quality and safety were called into question, both the Italian and Swiss governments banned the sale of the Novartis flu vaccines.    At this point, no illnesses have been reported. Makes you wonder why the US Government is still allowing this poison to spread meningitis across the US.    Are they trying to create a nation of zombies or something?

Next…
Battle of the News Papers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Well, this is a battle that one honestly doesn’t know who to root for.   China’s People Daily, run by the China’s Communist Party, has accused the ghouls at The New York Times of “faking” and “distorting” news and being a government “propaganda tool.”   This is in response to a New York Times hit piece on the Chinese leadership about their hidden fortune.   The Chinese paper goes on to describe The New York Times having no journalistic integrity.   Nothing new there.

Next…
Obama: The Cowardly Lion
http://www.youtube.com
This video says it all folks.   Apparently, Obama, and his administration, knew what was going on regarding Benghazi in real time; however, they actually made the situation even worse by actively preventing the military and intelligence experts to do their jobs.   In the weeks that followed, people began to get somewhat close to what was going on and that is when, Hillary first, then Obama have tried to distract everyone by claiming partial, and non-descriptive, responsibility hoping that the mess, so close to the election, would go away.   Simply put, we still do not know the truth and some will work to ensure we never will.   Period!

Next…
We’re Trashing Mars
http://www.examiner.com
Environmentalists are horrified!   One piece of plastic was discovered by the Curiosity Rover and they figured out what is was.    It is a piece that is a part of the rover itself.   Oh…   The horror of it all. We are trashing Mars!

Finally, please prepare now for the escalating economic and social unrest.   Good Day!

Your support is needed...
Thank You


I'm PayPal Verified

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Gold Confiscation Rumor Control

by Jim Sinclair, JS Mineset:
My Dear Extended Family,
This is major rumor control that I feel you must understand if you are to know gold.
I am sick of all this confiscation talk of gold and even gold companies. It emanates from gold people who do not know or understand the history of gold. We condemn MSM for inaccurate, false and misleading news. I condemn gold writers who practice sensationalism, who offer their opinions as if they were facts and simply make things up out of thin air as if they were insiders privy to things that no one else is. Right now leaders of this community are printing stuff as misleading as MOPE or MSM ever have.
Apparently the Scottish hedge fund manager Hendrey, who is by his own admission “short some gold shares,” is warning about confiscation without remuneration of gold companies above gold $3000. Either he has never studied gold history, or totally misunderstood its role in the 1930s.
Read More @ JS Mineset

The Top Ten Reasons to Own Silver

from Wealth Wire:

1.  Moving into True Money
Would you convert your labor into depreciating fiat paper or into an appreciating tangible asset with intrinsic value?
Silver offers the opportunity to move into true money, an actual store of value, with the potential for substantial gains in future years as its current cycle continues.  Protect yourself and your family by acquiring silver with intrinsic value and insulate yourself from the wealth destructive policies of central bankers.
In Mike Maloney’s words: “Gold and silver have revalued themselves throughout the centuries and called on fiat paper to account for itself.” (Page 202 of Guide to Investing in Gold and Silver)
If history serves as any reference, we are poised to repeat the accounting of the Depression Era and the 70′s which put precious metal holder’s on top.
2.  The Common Man’s Gold 
The acquisition of silver is much more attainable for global populations compared to gold. As silver prices continue to rise, investor’s will further shift away from real estate, stocks, and bonds.
Read More @ WealthWire.com

The Game Is Up: US Financial System Is Heading Towards A Major Collapse As QE Bubble Created By The Fed Is About To Burst

from Before Its News:
The Incredible Shrinking Half-Life Of Central Bank Action
It seems the market – or the collection of pre-programmed heuristic biases that make up the equity investing public (and machines) – is slowly but surely realizing the confidence trick that is the Fed’s Quantitative Easing programs. The following chart should clarify – to anyone placing their gambling chips on the hopes of another round of easing from the Fed – why the game is up. To wit, the reverse geometric progression of S&P 500 performance during each Fed action: QE1 +50%, QE2 +30%, Twist +18%, QE3 & Twist +8%… so QE4 +4%, QE5 +2%, and QE6 +1%…
Read More @ BeforeItsNews.com


Anticipating the Devolution of Big Government

With the US elections approaching next week, as well as the threat of another fiscal cliff showdown looming, we look at how the expansive Central State has come to dominate both private society (i.e., the community) and the marketplace, to the detriment of the nation’s social and economic stability. We examine six critical dynamics that will lead to the devolution of Peak Government. "Governments, desperate for more revenues, ignore public resentment and loss of trust, which only deepens the disconnect between those in government and the public.  And the private citizenry sees a lack of accountability, soaring public debt, accounting trickery, political dysfunction, and mal-investment of public funds as the hallmarks of their government."
 

The Economic Aftermath of Sandy

The markets will be limping badly when they open for trading on Wednesday, numbed by the destructive power of Hurricane Sandy. The cleanup is going to take many weeks if not months, and cities up and down the East Coast will be in a daze until basic services have been restored. Pumping out the saltwater that gushed into tunnels and subways will be relatively easy compared to fixing and replacing electrical switches and components. Because New York’s subway system is very old, many of the parts that will be needed are no longer available. Of course, the trains will run again, and soon, but how smoothly is a question that looms large for those who live in, and commute to, New York City.
Read More @ RickAckerman.com

*RED ALERT: FEMA Making Preparations to Postpone Presidential Elections in Wake of Sandy

from Silver Doctors:

*BREAKING*
FEMA has just reported that they are preparing for Hurricane Sandy to disrupt next Tuesday’s Presidential elections.
Will Obama declare Martial Law along the US east coast due to the massive devastation and become the defacto der fuhrer by suspending elections? 
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing for Hurricane Sandy to disrupt next week’s elections, agency Administrator Craig Fugate said Monday afternoon.
From Politico:
We are anticipating that, based on the storm, there could be impacts that would linger into next week and have impacts on the federal election,” Fugate said on a conference call with reporters.
Read More @ Silver Doctors

Your support is needed...
Thank You


I'm PayPal Verified

What Hurricane Sandy Reveals About the Future of Preparedness

by Anthony Gucciardi, Activist Post

Hurricane Sandy gives you a glimpse into not only how a collapse scenario will function, but what you will require. I encourage you to read our information on how to prepare for not just Hurricane Sandy but any disaster in addition to the article on how to preserve your food without electricity. But at a glance, the key items that will immediately disappear or become highly challenging to find in a real collapse scenario include:
Fresh water: Water bottles, gallon jugs, and likely even access to nearby springs will be protected by certain groups.
Water-containing beverages: All types of juice, soda, milk, just about anything to quench thirst.
Firearms: Handguns, rifles, and shotguns will be most in demand however it’s likely even BB guns and airsoft will be purchased or looted for protection or otherwise.

Canned foods: Expect stores to sell out of long-term storable foods as soon as word of disaster hits.
Read More @ Activist Post

Hungary plans to offer passports to investors buying its debt


Politicians in Hungary plan to grant a European passport to investors willing to spend at least €250,000 (£202,000) buying up the recession-hit country’s government debt.
Under proposed legislation, foreign investors who buy special “residency bonds” would receive preferential immigration treatment. Politicans have suggested buyers would be granted permanent residency and, ultimately, Hungarian citizenship – entitling them to live and work across the European Union, including the UK.
Read More @ Telegraph.co.uk

Ned Naylor-Leyland: Gold Reserves at the BOE or NY Fed? No Chance of Getting Out With Any Metal!

from Silver Doctors:


Personal Incomes Offset By Rise In Food & Energy

by Lance Roberts, Financial Sense:

The Bureau Of Economic Analysis reported that Personal Incomes in September advanced 0.4 percent from August which had increased by only 0.1 percent. More importantly, wages & salaries gained 0.3 percent tacking onto the 0.1 percent increase in August. Real disposable incomes, after adjusting for inflationary pressures, declined for the month by 0.02%. This was the second month of decline after falling by -0.28% in August. However, digging down into the report revealed some other interesting issues as they relate to the financial state of the average American.
The chart below shows the changes to personal income broken down by major subcategories. The most notable change from last month’s report on personal incomes is that is that Government Social Benefits (welfare) jumped from a -1.8 billion dollar decrease in August to an increase of 12.6 billion dollars in September. This increase in social benefits accounted for more than 26% of the latest increase in personal incomes. Also, interesting is that personal dividend income rose less in September than August, presumably from stock liquidations, while personal interest income declined by 12.1 billion dollars again in September.
Read More @ financialsense.com

Hurricane Draws Out Political and Economic Fallacies

by Gary Gibson, Dollar Vigilante:

Throughout the next few days in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy you will repeatedly hear two great untruths:
  1. We need government to protect us from natural disasters.
  2. Natural disasters are good for the economy.
Regarding the first fallacy, let us consider today’s New York Times op-ed commentary, which is predictably fawning about centralized political power.
“Most Americans have never heard of the National Response Coordination Center, but they’re lucky it exists on days of lethal winds and flood tides. The center is the war room of the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], where officials gather to decide where rescuers should go, where drinking water should be shipped, and how to assist hospitals that have to evacuate.”
Read More @ DollarVigilante.com

Spying on Americans For Counterterrorism Will Be Conducted by New CIA Drones

by Susanne Posel, Occupy Corporatism:

David Petraeus, director of the CIA, is strongly “suggesting” that the White House approve an expansion of the CIA’s drone fleet to extend the agency’s ability to survey under a paramilitary force. Justification for this necessity is campaigns in Middle Eastern regions like Pakistan and Yemen. Petraeus cites the reemergence of al-Qaeda in North Africa.
This would add 10 more drones to the 35 already used in counterterrorism operations.
Ironically, the CIA denied knowledge of drone use in the US during a lawsuit prompted by the ACLU; as well as refused a Freedom of Information Act request claiming that they could not confirm US government drone use.
Read More @ OccupyCorporatism.com

Mainstream media, ignorant netizens in a total state of denial about looting following superstorm Sandy

by Mike Adams, Natural News:

It’s not even nightfall and the looting after superstorm Sandy has already begun. One person in Philadelphia has already been arrested on suspicion of looting, and residents throughout Philly and NYC widely expect a wave of looting to kick off tonight as darkness falls.
The New York State Police Department has formed an anti-looting patrol in anticipation of the looting, reports RT News. “People usually don’t loot in the middle of a hurricane — they wait until the end,” said SeanMichael Pagano, an investigator with the New York State Police Department who has been placed on the anti-looting patrol.
And yes, absurdly, the mainstream media as well as a large number of netizens remain in a state of total denial about the looting that’s about to take place.
Read More @ NaturalNews.com

Polish Newspaper Reports Explosives Found At Scene Of 2010 Plane Crash That Killed President

[Ed. Note: Those who are familiar with SGTreport know that we were among the first to question the 'official' story regarding this 2010 plane crash which eliminated nearly 100 top Polish governmental and military officials. Alternate theories suggest those officials were deliberately murdered in an organized coup. A video shot moments after the crash shows no evidence that the 96 Polish leaders were aboard the plane at all.]
by Adam Taylor, BusinessInsider:
In 2010, the plane that was carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashed into trees in Russia. Kaczynski died in the crash, along with over 100 others.
Since that point, a number of wild theories have gone around about the crash. Was it really just an accident? Leaked Stratfor emails suggested that Russia may have deliberately sought to delay the flight as a snub to the Polish President — Kaczynski was flying into the country to attend a memorial for the Katyn Massacre (a horrific World War II incident where hundreds of Polish prisoners were killed by their Russian guards) and had angered Moscow by supporting Georgia in the short Russia-Georgia war of 2008.
New reports in Polish media suggest something even darker. Earlier today, daily business newspaper Rzeczpospolita published a report that said the investigation had found signs of TNT and nitroglycerin on the remains of the plane specifically on the wings and in the cabin, including on 30 seats.
Read More @ BusinessInsider.com

The Coin Analyst: Central Bank Gold Holdings Believed To Be Smaller Than Governments Claim

by Louis Golino, CoinWeek.com:

An important development about gold is not receiving the attention it deserves in the mainstream, non-specialized media.
In particular, several reports have surfaced that the gold reserves of several Western countries are believed to be much smaller than previously estimated. That is a result of the fact that much of the gold is on lease to other countries, has been swapped, or in other cases, simply may not exist at all.
If these reports are accurate, they have important implications for the future price of gold, and therefore for precious metal investors. First, they suggest that much less mined gold exists than previously believed. Second, this is especially significant to the so-called manipulation thesis, which holds that governments act to suppress the price of gold. If governments hold less gold than we thought they did, then their ability to affect the price will also be greatly diminished.
Read More @ CoinWeek.com

Your support is needed...
Thank You


I'm PayPal Verified

Survival Cross Training – It’s Not Just For The Gym: 17 Skills Everyone In Your Family Should Learn

by Tess Pennington, SHTFPlan:

Possessing crucial skill sets are a must have when forming a survival group. Individuals bringing a variety of skills binds the group further to create a solid, well-functioning team. That said, like anything regarding preparedness, you do not want to become complacent and believe that just one person should perform a certain set of tasks. Remember, what one man can do, another can do. Your group is only as strong as its weakest link, and training members to perform multiple tasks will make for a more fluid unit, especially during highly stressful situations.
We have seen this type of group training with many emergency organizations who have cross-trained their employees in case one employee has to compensate for the other during a disaster. This helps cut down on dependency on one or two of the stronger members, because each member can pick up where the other has left off in the event the primary responder is incapacitated or has to perform other tasks. This type of training is both efficient and can easily be incorporated into your preparedness plan.
Read More @ SHTFPlan.com



Nigeria: A Primer on the Hazards of Country Risk


Nigeria has 37 billion barrels of crude oil reserve and is Africa’s largest oil producer. The country also boasts 187 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, the ninth-largest reserve in the world.
Nigeria has all the right geology for oil and gas. But geology isn’t everything.
The best geology in the world can still be a terrible place to put your money if other risks threaten to steal all of a project’s profits and potential – and country risk can pose precisely that threat.
Think about it this way. In considering any business venture, you need to know several key parameters, such as how much it will cost to establish the operation, how much you will produce, and what percentage of your profits the government will take. In Nigeria, you cannot calculate any of these metrics with confidence because the rules are so complex and corrupt.
Read More @ CaseyResearch.com

Visual Capitalist Presents: The SILVER Series

[Ed. Note: A compelling, informative and fun way to learn a LOT about our favorite precious metal...]
from Visual Capitalist:

SEE More @ VisualCapitalist.com

Greece Coalition Splinters, Austerity Vote Delayed, PM Warns of ‘Chaos’; Another Puppet Show or Is This For Real?


In Greece, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras coalition has split. The result is yet another delay in an austerity vote required for the next tranche of loans to Greece, and the PM warns of ‘chaos’.
Greece’s conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is at odds with the Democratic Left party, a coalition partner, which is threatening to vote against the new austerity measures unless labor reforms included in them are scrapped.
Samaras formed a coalition with the traditional rival Socialists and the Democratic Left after general elections in June. In a statement, the prime minister said he had “exhausted all the available time” to try and reach a consensus.
Read More @ GlobalEconomicAnalysis.blogspot.com

Gold in Hong Kong: Ridiculously Cheap Spreads

by Simon Black, Sovereign Man :

After spending a fantastic weekend in Myanmar, I headed to Hong Kong late Sunday to partake in one of my favorite activities: buying gold on the cheap.
As we’ve discussed before, Hong Kong consistently ranks as one of the cheapest places in the world to buy gold. In the past I’ve bought one ounce gold coins for as low as 0.1% over spot in Hong Kong… practically a rounding error. I suspect in the future it may be outmatched by Singapore. But not yet.
To be fair, premiums in Hong Kong do fluctuate wildly based on supply and demand. Just before Chinese New Year, for example, gold demand soars. It’s a common gift for the holiday.
Right now is a time of high demand; much of this is driven by mainland Chinese coming across the border to buy gold and stash it in Hong Kong.
Read More @ SovereignMan.com

5 actionable steps toward financial sanity

by Danielle Park, Juggling Dynamite:

Sheila Bair, former head of the FDIC, warns that the financial system remains far from stable – and that regulations like the Volcker Rule may be too complex to be effective. She offers 5 practical steps that the Obama or Romney governments must take in order to fix the mess of present day Wall Street, and set the financial system back on a path to supporting (rather than damning) the real economy.
See: 5 steps Obama or Romney must take to fix Wall Street  All of these are more simple than complex and most certain to make a huge impact in the desperately needed process of admit, repent, reform, recover.
1. Break up the “too big to fail” banks
In Bair’s eyes, the presence of giant institutions and untested “living wills” is one of the factors that helps to make today’s financial system unstable. Don’t draw any comfort from the fact that they all are passing the government’s stress tests, cautions Bair; those tests focus on credit risk, not interest rate risk, and a time when the Fed is artificially keeping lending rates at near zero, that’s a flaw.
Read More @ JugglingDynamite.com

Turk – 2nd Time Germany’s Gold Has Gone Missing From Fed

from KingWorldNews:

This is the fourth and final of a series of blockbuster interviews with James Turk covering missing central bank gold. Turk spoke with King World News about a rather stunning event which took place at the Federal Reserve gold vault in the 1920s, and yes, it once again involved Germany’s missing gold.
Here is what Turk had to say: “There is an interesting thing I read a few months ago. It was an autobiography of the President of the Reichsbank, who was President (of the Reichsbank) back in the 1920s. His name was Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht.”
James Turk continues @ KingWorldNews.com

Now Central Bankers Directly Boost Occupy Movement

from The Daily Bell:
Occupy protesters were right, says Bank of England official … The anti-capitalist protesters who occupied St Paul’s Cathedral were both morally and intellectually right, a senior Bank of England official said … Members of the movement occupied the grounds of St Paul’s and remained camped there for more than three months until police evicted them in February last year. – UK Telegraph
Dominant Social Theme: This ragtag group of youngsters should be recognized for their truth telling. Out of the mouths of babes!
Free-Market Analysis: What a surprise … not! We’re long on the record as explaining the essential phony nature of this pseudo youth movement. Funded by George Soros among others and putatively generated out of the socialist-anarchist publication Adbusters, Occupy Wall Street is supposed to be an update of the 1960s hippy movement, complete with disdain for the “system,” dislike for the wealthy and discomfort with capitalism generally.
Read More @ TheDailyBell.com

The Formation of New Netherland

[This article is excerpted from Conceived in Liberty, volume 1, part 4, "The Rise and Fall of New Netherland." An MP3 audio file of this article, narrated by Floy Lilley, is available for download.]
by Murray N. Rothbard, Mises:
The British seizure of New Netherland — the vast if thinly settled Dutch territory in North America — wrought a permanent change in the pattern of English colonization in the New World. The grant of this vast area to the proprietorship of the Duke of York, younger brother of Charles II, and its seizure by Colonel Richard Nicolls in 1664, brought under English control a great land area that much later was to constitute the “middle colonies.”
How had New Netherland been formed? Seventeenth-century Dutch policies cannot be fully comprehended without recognizing the fierce and continuing political divisions within the Dutch republic over constitutional and foreign policies. Early in their long revolutionary struggle against Spain for religious toleration, freedom from taxation, and independence from central imperial rule, the seven northern Dutch-speaking Calvinist provinces of the Netherlands had established a loose confederation. Governing these United Provinces was a States-General representing the completely autonomous provincial legislatures or states. Not being burdened by the overweening state power of the other European countries, the Dutch maritime cities, especially those in the provinces of Holland and Zeeland, were able to forge the greatest economic progress in Europe.
Read More @ Mises.org

SOLA 4.11 Ten Ways of Breaking Bad

from TruthNeverTold :


Why is it important?

by Bill Holter, MilesFranklin.com:
I’ve recently written 3 pieces regarding the world’s central banks beginning to “question” other central banks and custodians. It is beginning to go beyond citizens asking these questions and having their doubts. But why is it important? What’s the big deal even if it does turn out that they don’t have the tonnage of Gold that they say or think that they have? Couldn’t the system just chug along unchanged or untouched and continue on its merry way? Well, in a word, no. THIS is exactly what we have already been through, “chugging along” on trust. Or better yet, we’ve gone along without the apple cart being upset other than asset prices of all sorts from stocks, bonds, commodities etc. being priced incorrectly either far too high or low. In my opinion, it is not “if” it turns out that the central banks do not have the amounts of Gold that they say they have, only “when”.
That said, the entire system from the “money” we use and spend to credit and bonds, to stocks to real estate… to everything under the sun that has value, has value and is “valued” against everything else. “Cross values” if you will. The problem is this; what used to be your garden variety standard investment “pyramid” has been turned upside down.
Read more @ MilesFranklin.com

Cop Tasers 10-Year-Old Boy For Refusing to Clean Patrol Car

Irony: Officer demonstrates what police do best on school “career day”
by Steve Watson, InfoWars:

A state police officer in New Mexico is being sued after he allegedly tasered a child in a school playground for no reason other than he refused to clean the cop’s patrol car.
The boy’s legal guardian, Rachel Higgins, claims that Officer Chris Webb shot the boy, referred to as “R.D.”, with a 50,000 volt stun gun while visiting on a “career day” at Tularosa New Mexico Intermediate School on May 4.
The complaint notes that the officer approached a group of boys and asked which of them wanted to clean his car. When R.D. said he had no desire to clean the patrol vehicle, Officer Webb is claimed to have stated “‘Let me show you what happens to people who do not listen to the police.’”
He then pointed his taser at the boy, according to the report, and fired two barbs directly into the 10-year old’s chest, electrifying him and causing him to blackout.
Read More @ InfoWars.com

Obamanomics: Class Warfare vs Pro-Growth Tax Policy

from CFPEcon101:

Even though he promised to bring Americans together, President Obama has used class-warfare tax policy to persecute and demonize successful entrepreneurs and investors. This mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation explains why the tax code shouldn’t be used for anything other than fairly and neutrally collecting a minimum amount of revenue to fund the legitimate functions of the federal government.

Mike Maloney’s Dire 2005 Warnings Come True – Silver Summit Presentation

from whygoldandsilver :

If you enjoyed the ‘Peter Schiff Was Right‘ videos, then check out these predictions from Mike Maloney way back in 2005. He was one of the elite few to publicly warn of the housing crisis well before the crash of 2008. Mike Maloney is the founder and CEO of GoldSilver.com, one of the world’s most trusted precious metals dealers and financial educators.
In this recently unearthed archive footage shot at the Silver Summit in September 2005, Mike Maloney correctly explains the impending housing crisis, the trend in precious metals, and what to expect moving into 2006 and beyond.
Mike asks the audience: “Do we have a housing bubble? Nope… We have a hyper-bubble”. His analysis proved to be spot on while Ben Bernanke was still denying that Real Estate was in trouble 18 months later, saying “subprime is contained.”
Can you imagine the impact on your finances if you had heard Mike’s presentation, followed it up with your own due diligence, and acted shortly after?

Raising the Inflation Target – It’s Temporary, I Promise

by Chris Marcus, Gold Money:
Recently several Federal Reserve governors have talked about the supposed benefits of “temporarily” raising the Fed’s target rate of inflation. The Fed has traditionally maintained an informal inflation target of 2%, and now they’re considering higher levels in an effort to reduce the unemployment rate. It’s a misguided strategy – for the simple reason that increasing inflation does not create economic growth. But there are also several other concerns with the discussion of inflation targeting.
The Fed has a dual mandate from Congress to promote price stability and maximum employment. The Fed already defines stable prices as prices that rise by 2% a year, but now they are concerned that 2% is not enough. What is the process in place to determine what the correct amount is and what is too much? The Fed designs plans like QE or Operation Twist and often just seems to hope for the best. There would have to be some cost to a greater rate of inflation, otherwise if more inflation is better then why not raise it to 10%? Or 20%? There is never any debate about measuring the costs or looking back at the results of the past inflationary policies that haven’t worked.
Read More @ GoldMoney.com

Your support is needed...
Thank You


I'm PayPal Verified