Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/17/2014 - 19:01
It seems Carl Icahn will not be going activist on the S&P500 after all. During the Reuters Investment Outlook Summit in New York on Monday, the 78 year old billionaire said that "I am still concerned that one day you'll see a break like you had a few weeks ago but it won't come back."
Mission Accomplished: Stocks & Homeless Kids Hit All-Time Highs
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/17/2014 - 15:50 Something is dreadfully wrong in America.
Here Is Your "Global Recovery" In 24 Charts
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/17/2014 - 18:18 No, this is not a joke.
"Godfather" Of Abenomics Admits Japanese Policy "Is A Ponzi Game... Taxpayers May Revolt"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/17/2014 - 18:02 “In a Ponzi game you exhaust the lenders eventually, and of course Japanese taxpayers may revolt. But otherwise there are always new taxpayers, so this is a feasible Ponzi game, though I'm not saying it's good.”
Japan Goes Full Helicopter-Ben: Prints "Free Gift-Cards" To Spark Consumption
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/17/2014 - 20:55 Since Ben Bernanke reminded the world of the existence of government printing-presses, echoed Milton Friedman's "helicopter drop" solution to fighting deflation, and decried Japan for not being as insane as it could be... it has only been a matter of time before some global central bank decided that the dropping of cash onto the populace was the key to economic recovery. Having blown their wad on QQE (and been left with a triple-dip recession), it appears Japan has reached that limit. As Japan's News47 reports, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has instructed his cabinet to develop economic measures such as handing out 'gift certificates' to the poor to "support personal consumption directly."
America Truly Is Becoming A '1984' Society
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/17/2014 - 20:23 If only George Orwell could see us today. When he wrote “1984” back in 1948, he probably never imagined that the “totalitarian, bureaucratic world” that he imagined would ever actually become a reality. But that is precisely what is happening. The control freaks that run our society are absolutely obsessed with watching, tracking, recording and monitoring virtually everything that we do. We truly are becoming a “1984” society, and if we continue on the path that we are currently on eventually our world will be transformed into something more hellish than anything that George Orwell ever imagined.
Illinois Pension Debt Soars To $111 Billion
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/17/2014 - 19:32 Pension debt in the Land of Lincoln is a big problem. So big, in fact, that it would take three years of a complete government shutdown, during which the entire general fund went toward pensions, just to break even. Illinois politicians have looted and mismanaged public-employee pension funds for decades. The system is no longer sustainable or affordable.from The Wealth Watchman:
Sometimes, it behooves us to revisit some basics, when valuations are strained beyond all limits of credibility and belief. When you really need that splash of icy-cold water on your face, ya know?
Case in point, this past Friday, in episode 2 of the Clarion Call, I took some time fleshing out an astonishing dollar figure about silver. If you’re a subscriber on the Watchman’s YouTube channel, then you’d already know what it is, and if you’re not, what are you waiting for? *nudge nudge*
Honestly though, the figure was so surreal to this Watchman, that I decided to flesh it out a great deal more in this article, to demonstrate just how precarious our enemy’s position has become in their silver suppression. I can’t stress enough how many times I’ve told our brothers, that this unforgiving downtrend in silver, which is now going on 4 years, has reached the point where valuations are so low, that just a handful of committed people, can really do some serious damage to the riggers.
Read More…
I just put out a report titled ‘Winter Is Coming.’ This report focuses
on the opportunity for investors as well the global problems that
remain unresolved. For investors, the high quality mining shares have
10-times upside potential from current levels. The sentiment in the
mining shares is extremely negative, and the long-term relative strength
in this group is almost at zero. This is an incredibly rare set up.In the midst of all this negative sentiment, China continues to buy gold. The Russians also continue to be big buyers of gold. The Russians are now the 5th largest holder of gold in the world, ahead of even China — who’s last reported figures date back to 2009. So central banks are still buying gold and it’s just a matter of time before we get a substantial move higher in the price.
John Ing continues @ KingWorldNews.com
by Lawrence Williams, MineWeb.com
As usual the bank analysts are great at making forward price
predictions based almost entirely on the current performance of whatever
commodity they are analysing. It means they almost all inevitably miss
any major turning points in price performance. This is particularly true
of those forecasting precious metals prices and recently, given the
sharp price falls which took gold down to around $1140, silver to $15
and platinum to below $1180, many of the banks have been rapidly
adjusting their forward price predictions ever lower.
But there are others out there who see a different picture, often based on historic technical performance which tends to repeat over and over throughout long periods of history. Perhaps foremost among these are those who follow Elliott Waves…
Read More @ MineWeb.com
As usual the bank analysts are great at making forward price
predictions based almost entirely on the current performance of whatever
commodity they are analysing. It means they almost all inevitably miss
any major turning points in price performance. This is particularly true
of those forecasting precious metals prices and recently, given the
sharp price falls which took gold down to around $1140, silver to $15
and platinum to below $1180, many of the banks have been rapidly
adjusting their forward price predictions ever lower.But there are others out there who see a different picture, often based on historic technical performance which tends to repeat over and over throughout long periods of history. Perhaps foremost among these are those who follow Elliott Waves…
Read More @ MineWeb.com
by Graham Summers, Gold Seek:
Mario
Draghi once again surfaced this morning to promise to do “whatever it
takes” to help the Eurozone. Draghi has done this anytime the EU markets
drop ever since the bottom in the summer of 2012. It’s amazing to
watch, particularly when you consider that it is now public information
that Draghi actually didn’t have a plan when he first claimed this and
is effectively making up policy on the fly. Here are Draghi’s comments
from this morning:
*DRAGHI SAYS ECB WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES, WITHIN ITS MANDATE
*DRAGHI SAYS EXPANDED PURCHASE PROGRAM COULD INCLUDE GOVT BONDS
Note, that the first statement contains the qualifier “within its mandate.” Of course traders and investors won’t bother to consider that the ECB’s mandate DOESN’T ALLOW IT TO BUY SOVEREIGN BONDS.
Read More @ GoldSeek.com
Mario
Draghi once again surfaced this morning to promise to do “whatever it
takes” to help the Eurozone. Draghi has done this anytime the EU markets
drop ever since the bottom in the summer of 2012. It’s amazing to
watch, particularly when you consider that it is now public information
that Draghi actually didn’t have a plan when he first claimed this and
is effectively making up policy on the fly. Here are Draghi’s comments
from this morning:*DRAGHI SAYS ECB WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES, WITHIN ITS MANDATE
*DRAGHI SAYS EXPANDED PURCHASE PROGRAM COULD INCLUDE GOVT BONDS
Note, that the first statement contains the qualifier “within its mandate.” Of course traders and investors won’t bother to consider that the ECB’s mandate DOESN’T ALLOW IT TO BUY SOVEREIGN BONDS.
Read More @ GoldSeek.com
from Gold Silver Worlds:
Nick Laird at Sharelynx
has recently complied historical data from multiple sources on the
amount of earmarked (custodial) gold held by the US Federal Reserve Bank
for other central banks. The chart below shows these stocks, in green,
as well as the US’ gold reserves (in blue) and in red is an estimate by
the Fed (pre confiscation) of gold held in the US by citizens and
others. It provides a broad historical view of monetary gold in the US.
First feature to note is the privately held/circulating gold stocks figure in red. Up to 1915 we see that the gold held by government was stable and it was privately held gold that was growing. After this, the amount of gold in circulation as a proportion of total monetary gold reduced with the introduction of the Federal Reserve System. It ceased completely at the point holding gold was made illegal.
Read More @ GoldSilverWorlds.com
Nick Laird at Sharelynx
has recently complied historical data from multiple sources on the
amount of earmarked (custodial) gold held by the US Federal Reserve Bank
for other central banks. The chart below shows these stocks, in green,
as well as the US’ gold reserves (in blue) and in red is an estimate by
the Fed (pre confiscation) of gold held in the US by citizens and
others. It provides a broad historical view of monetary gold in the US.First feature to note is the privately held/circulating gold stocks figure in red. Up to 1915 we see that the gold held by government was stable and it was privately held gold that was growing. After this, the amount of gold in circulation as a proportion of total monetary gold reduced with the introduction of the Federal Reserve System. It ceased completely at the point holding gold was made illegal.
Read More @ GoldSilverWorlds.com
by Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog:
Did you know that some Americans are being hit with health insurance
rate increases of more than 500 percent? Taking advantage of “the
stupidity of the American voter”, the Democrats succeeded in ramming
through one of the worst pieces of legislation that has ever come before
Congress. The full implementation of Obamacare has been repeatedly
delayed, but now we are finally starting to see the true horror of this
terrible law. Thanks to Obamacare, millions of American families are
losing health plans that they were very happy with, health insurance
rates are skyrocketing, millions of workers are having their full-time
hours cut back to part-time hours, rural hospitals all over the country are dying, and thousands of doctors are being driven out of the industry thus intensifying the greatest doctor shortage
in U.S. history. Obamacare is a slow-motion train wreck of epic
proportions, and the full effect of this law is only beginning to be
felt. In the end, the economic impact of this law will likely be
measured in the trillions of dollars.
Read More…
Did you know that some Americans are being hit with health insurance
rate increases of more than 500 percent? Taking advantage of “the
stupidity of the American voter”, the Democrats succeeded in ramming
through one of the worst pieces of legislation that has ever come before
Congress. The full implementation of Obamacare has been repeatedly
delayed, but now we are finally starting to see the true horror of this
terrible law. Thanks to Obamacare, millions of American families are
losing health plans that they were very happy with, health insurance
rates are skyrocketing, millions of workers are having their full-time
hours cut back to part-time hours, rural hospitals all over the country are dying, and thousands of doctors are being driven out of the industry thus intensifying the greatest doctor shortage
in U.S. history. Obamacare is a slow-motion train wreck of epic
proportions, and the full effect of this law is only beginning to be
felt. In the end, the economic impact of this law will likely be
measured in the trillions of dollars.Read More…
The headline is not a mistake. Yes, you can still go to the ATM and
withdraw funds. You can take small amounts of cash out of the bank
without the IRS seizing everything you own. However, because of new
rules that went into effect this morning, your bank deposits have no
insurance and it is a matter of time until they are stolen right from
under your nose.
Switzerland is preparing to hold a referendum on whether to keep 20
percent of its international reserves in gold. Meanwhile, Russia, which
would never ask its citizens to weigh in on such matters, is increasing
its gold holdings. It accounted for 59 percent of net gold purchases by
central banks in the third quarter of 2014, according to the World Gold
Council. Russia has been increasing its stockpile since the global
financial crisis, and the more recent Western sanctions — – which the
European Union said today might be strengthened — have only confirmed to
Russian policy makers that they’re doing the right thing.
Something BIG changed after the collapse of the U.S. Investment and
Housing Markets as a huge crack in the Fiat Monetary System took place.
After the world nearly disintegrated under the debt-based U.S Dollar
system in 2008, some of the Central Banks of the world finally found
MONETARY RELIGION.
Undercover operations, once the domain of the FBI, have expanded to “virtually every corner of the federal government,” a New York Times investigation 
“… the gold community paid great attention to the decision of the
German Bundesbank to “bring German gold home”. At the beginning of 2013,
the Bundesbank announced it would repatriate 300 tonnes of gold stored
in the US by 2020. It is well behind schedule, citing logistical
difficulties. Yet diplomatic difficulties are more likely to be
the chief cause of the delay, especially seeing as the Bundesbank has
proven its capacity to organise large-scale gold transports. In the early 2000s, the Bundesbank incrementally repatriated 930 tonnes of German gold held by the Bank of England.”
Over the past couple of years, I had the unpleasant experience of
having bloodwork done to confirm that I am gluten intolerant, only to
have it come back and say, “Nope, you’re just crazy.”
Leaders of the five BRICS nations have met in Brisbane on Saturday
ahead of the annual G20 Summit, aimed at boosting trade and economic
ties between the group.
Simply put, QE can never be halted or even slowed. The USFed is in a
corner, with no policy options, facing collapse, with no ability
whatsoever to halt the systemic failure in progress. It can only rely on
hidden machinery and profound lies, against a background of constant
economic propaganda. The central bank franchise system wrapped around
the fiat paper currency regime has failed. They cannot stop it, not even
with endless bond fraud and endless war, the new twin towers of the
fascist state legacy. The entire financial structures have become fully
dependent on easy money and debt financed by a printing press,
buttressed by derivative machinery. The Uncle Sam bearing the USDollar
emblem is like a pathetic heroin addict brandishing a modern howitzer.
The USDollar is fast losing its integrity, during a dangerous global
rejection episode. Therefore, QE must be exported, the easy candidate Japan. Call it Operation Tokyo Twist.
The Ebola virus has caused fear of outbreaks in the US amid its
devastation of Africa. Turns out, the virus is a totally different,
potentially more lethal strain than any other Ebola virus seen before,
according to noted infectious disease experts. Virologists are saying
that the current Ebola strain appears to be far worse than any previous
strain and it is not one that scientists have seen previously. So where
did it come from?
“WAR
is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the
most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one
international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are
reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.” -General Smedley Butler, USMC
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Moscow wants to work
with other countries to “remove the imbalances in the global economy”.
While the United States is fully preoccupied with global crises
ranging from the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the spread of
Ebola and the conflict in Ukraine, there is another development on the
world stage which threatens the economic health of every single American
and American based business. Specifically, I am referencing the Trans
Pacific Partnership. The protocols of the TPP establishes a free-trade
zone/bloc stretching from Vietnam to Chile and Japan. The most draconian
free trade agreement in history includes nearly a billion people which
encompass almost 40% of the world’s economy. Since Obama failed to
fast-track the TPP into law last year, he has made amazing progress and
America is nearing its fate with destiny
Eric King:
“What the Bank of Japan just did, you obviously had a big piece that
you put together on that (unprecedented move). Aren’t Europe and the
United States going to have to respond to that with their own money
printing? They can’t just let Japan lead the race to the bottom (in the
currency wars). And doesn’t that force the other Asian countries to
print more money as well?”
Throughout history, in most cases of economic collapse the societies
in question believed they were financially invincible just before their
disastrous fall. Rarely does anyone see the edge of the cliff or even
the bottom of the abyss before it has swallowed a nation whole. This
lack of foresight, however, is not entirely the fault of the public. It
is, rather, a consequence caused by the manipulation of the
fundamental information available to the public by governments and
social gatekeepers.
The parallels between the false prosperity of 2007 and the false
prosperity of 2014 are rather striking. If we go back and look at the
numbers in the fall of 2007, we find that the Dow set an all-time high
in October, margin debt on Wall Street had spiked to record levels, the
unemployment rate was below 5 percent and Americans were getting ready
to spend a record amount of money that Christmas season. But then the
very next year the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression
shook the entire planet and everyone wondered why most people never saw
it coming. Well, now a similar pattern is unfolding right before our
eyes. The Dow and the S&P 500 both hit 
Apparently, not one of the global regulators pushing the latest plan to
prevent another taxpayer bailout of the over-leveraged, globe-trotting
banking behemoths that crashed the financial system in 2008 ever worked a
day on Wall Street or sat behind a trading terminal during the crisis.
If one had, he would have exposed this plan immediately as an exercise
in illusory thinking – effectively, the same framework on which global
banking currently exists.
On this day in 1918, Pvt Henry Gunther of Baltimore, Maryland thought
he saw a suspicious movement in the German trenches across the way.
Fearing that the “Huns” were using the mid-morning sun to get some
territorial advantage while the peace talks dragged on, Gunther decided
to rush the suspicious area. Henry was fast but, unfortunately, not
invisible. A single shot from a German rifle struck him in the heart
and killed him instantly. The time was 11:01 a.m. just 1 minute after
the war officially ended, making Put Henry Gunther the final casualty of
World War I. 
A funny thing happened on the way to the ‘end’ of the multi-trillion
dollar bond buying program known as QE – the Fed chronicles. Aside from
the shift to a globalization of QE via the European Central Bank (ECB)
and Bank of Japan (BOJ) as I wrote about earlier, what lingers in the
air of “post-taper” time is an absence of absence. For QE is not over.
Instead, in the United States, the process has simply morphed from being
predominantly executed by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to being executed
by its major private bank members. Fed Chair, Janet Yellen, has failed
to point this out in any of her speeches about the labor force,
inflation, or inequality. 
Our political-financial system has gone from the dysfunctional to the failed to the surreal.
Speculation, once left to individuals and investors, is now federally
sponsored, subsidized and institutionalized. When this sham finally
buckles and the next shoe falls and rates do eventually rise, the stock
market will tank, liquidity will die, and the broader economy will
plunge into a worse Depression than before. We are not there yet because
of these coordinated moves and the political force behind them. But we are on a precarious path to that inevitability.
Only for those persons who want or need to understand what is going on in the world financially.![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
