Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Money Printing Set To Devalue Every Dollar You Own


Martin Weiss: Gutting The Dollar Is Now Official


"The Great Dollar Devaluation Disaster" Is Only Just Beginning...And The Intended Victim Is YOU!


Largest US Title Insurer To Demand Indemnity And Foreclosure Warranty From Banks

 

Posted: Oct 20 2010     By: Greg Hunter      Post Edited: October 20, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Filed under: Greg Hunter, USAWatchdog.com
(Courtesy of Greg Hunter of www.USAWatchdog.com)

Dear CIGAs,
There are some big questions facing the real estate market after the foreclosure fraud story exploded in the last few weeks.  The number one question for anyone who has a mortgage is “Who really owns your home?”  This would be simple to answer before the mortgage-backed security (MBS). These MBS’s were mortgages that were bundled together and sold to investors such as pension and bond funds by big banks.  They were considered as safe as U.S. Treasuries but paid a much higher interest rate.  The big banks received gigantic profits from MBS’s especially in the 2005 to 2008 time frame when most of the bundling was done.  It was all about the fees, and damn the paperwork.  Recently, Congressman Alan Grayson said, “It appears that on a widespread and probably pervasive basis they (the banks) did not take the steps necessary to own the note . . . which means that in 45 out of the 50 states they lack the legal right to foreclose. . . .  So they have simply created a system where servicers hire foreclosure mill law firms whose business is to forge documents showing or purporting to show they have a legal right to foreclose.”   I wrote about this recently in a post called “Could Foreclosure Fraud Cause Another Banking Meltdown?”
Guess what?  Some investors are already demanding their money back from companies like Countrywide Mortgage because it didn’t maintain “accurate loan records,” and that is “in violation of underwriting guidelines.”  This week, investors asked for $47 billion back in a demand letter delivered to Countrywide!  Because Bank of America bought Countrywide a couple of years ago, B of A is on the hook for the refund.  (Click here for the complete story from PR Newswire.)  This kind of investor outrage is just the beginning and will only intensify in the days and weeks to come.  Will the Fed be forced to, once again, save the big banks by printing trillions of dollars?  Who knows, but the banks cannot afford to buy back all their sins without going bust!
This will, also, further cloud the chain of custody for documents that prove who the rightful owner of a property is.  Adam Levitin, a Georgetown University Law Professor, said last week on CNBC, “The problems coming out in the foreclosure process raise questions about whether, and frankly this is frightening, but whether anyone in the U.S. has clear title to their property.”
More…

 

BofA's TARP 2 Overture: Bank Accuses Taylor Bean Of Triple-Pledging Mortgage Assets, Sues FDIC For $1.75 Billion

 

Guest Post: iDepression 2.0

 

Wal-Mart Jacking Up Prices


Worldwide Hyperinflation Race


Soaring prices threaten new food crisis.


Pimco sells US Treasuries ahead of QE2


11 state pension funds that may run of out money


Gerald Celente: "We Are Living On Borrowed Time"


Demand for Guns, Food Stamps Indicates Uncertainty


Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Where were all these geniuses in 2003?

Gold to US$1,500, silver to US$25 by year-end: Scotia Eric Lam
With both gold and silver prices on the rise and showing no signs of slowing down, best bets for investors include producers with either better than average sustainable free cash flow, growing reserves and resources, and/or those with growing production, a new note from Scotia Capital suggested Wednesday.
David Christie, analyst with Scotia, expects gold to approach a peak of  US$1,500 an ounce and silver near US$25 an ounce by year-end.
“Gold and silver prices are buoyant,” he said in a note to clients.
Gold prices rose 3% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter, and jumped 28% compared with the third quarter of 2009, while silver prices increased 3.6% quarter-to-quarter and 29% over the third quarter of last year.
“We believe momentum is now in the precious metal camp with talks of further quantitative easing from the U.S. Fed and from other central banks,” Mr. Christie said. “We see no reason right now for gold’s long- to medium-term rise to be halted and expect it to continue to rise, with short-term corrections as it meets technical resistance.”
And with the U.S. dollar  continuing to look weak in the face of other currencies, more and more investors will flee to gold as a safe haven.
More…



Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Mark this on your calendar as the beginning of the massive unwinding of bankrupt pension funds valuing their crap paper and securitized mortgage debt OTC derivatives at cost or better. This is all thanks to the FASB’s capitulation to political pressure. Father, before you forgive them, remember they knew exactly what they were doing when they sold their souls to the Wall Street Devils.

Pittsburgh mayor: Takeover ‘won’t be pretty’ By Bill Vidonic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said Monday he instructed his staff to begin preparing for a state takeover of Pittsburgh’s beleaguered pension funds because City Council rejected his parking-lease plan.
Ravenstahl, on his first day back in City Hall after an Asian business trip, said the alternative plan council proposed last week to raise money for the pension system is "illegal" and "irresponsibly" saddles the city with debt. Council today is expected to vote down Ravenstahl’s plan to raise the money by leasing parking assets, and he said he won’t lobby for members to change their minds.
"If they’re able to look in the mirror and make this decision, then we’ll all have to accept it," Ravenstahl said. The mayor previously said state management of municipal pensions could force the city to make $30 million more in annual payments into the funds, leading to severe cuts in city services or higher taxes.
Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak said Ravenstahl’s use of the word "illegal" is "something he’s used in the past, with any alternative council has proposed on anything else."
She and other members of council have a plan crafted with city Controller Michael Lamb that he is expected to explain today.
"This is a real, executable alternative to selling the city up the river for 50 years, or to a state takeover, for which (Ravenstahl) failed to negotiate acceptable conditions," Councilman Patrick Dowd said.
More…


Posted: Oct 20 2010     By: Dan Norcini      Post Edited: October 20, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Filed under: Trader Dan Norcini
Dear CIGAs,
Click either chart to enlarge in PDF format with commentary from Trader Dan Norcini
gold - bonds - Dow ratios 10-20-2010_Page_1
 gold - bonds - Dow ratios 10-20-2010_Page_2


Posted: Oct 20 2010     By: Dan Norcini      Post Edited: October 20, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Filed under: Trader Dan Norcini
Dear CIGAs,
It sure didn’t take long for market participants to look at each other and say, “what the hell were we thinking yesterday”, when a mini selling panic hit the commodity markets on account of a miniscule ¼% interest rate hike in China. The Dollar gave back every bit of its gains from yesterday while the Euro promptly reversed course as if yesterday had never happened. We just dreamed that it did.
Just about every market out there experienced a reversal from yesterday as it was, “Game on” for the hedge funds and their algorithms. Gone was fear from any impact of an interest rate hike in China with anticipation of a bag of goodies called QE2 replacing it.
“Fickle” does not even come close to doing justice to the madness that has gripped our markets these days. I cannot even begin to attempt to quantify the casualties mounting in that same hedge fund universe as they proceed to chop each other up and shred each other to itzy bitzy pieces with their whiz bang algorithms.
Dollar up – sell commodities; Dollar down – Buy commodities. Now is that a stunningly brilliant trading strategy or what?
My dog could become a better trader than most hedge fund managers if I took the time to teach him to hit the “Enter” button on my trading platform. For that matter, he could just mash the keyboard with his paws and probably produce a more realistic order flow than that coming from the hedge fund computers. This is what the markets have degenerated into courtesy of the whiz kids at the Fed.
Quite frankly, watching a day like this in which billions of Dollars are stuffed right back into the markets after the same billions were yanked out yesterday fills me with a great sense of dread and foreboding. If the Fed manages to pull the rug out from under the Dollar with its insane policies, the speed at which it can fall and the corresponding affects on the markets will be not only stunningly dramatic, but will be devastating for the chaos that it will unleash. The cost of the basics of life will rise at breakneck speed as this huge sum of hot money jams prices northward, with little to no relief in sight. Pandora’s box will look like a care package compared to what the next round of QE will unleash. And to think all of this is a pathetic attempt to bail out the abominable bastards at the big banks who gave birth to this carnage.
Enough of that for now –
The result of all this “reassessment” was that gold was higher along with silver. Yesterday’s open interest revealed a bout of long side liquidation was the culprit in the sharp drop in price but with the market stabilizing near the $1,330 level, shorts have been thus far stymied in their attempts to induce a larger wholesale exodus of longs out of the market. If bulls can now push price back above $1,350 and HOLD IT THERE, they will force more of these shorts out.
Considering the extent of the decline in gold yesterday based on the extent of the Dollar rally, it is a bit disappointing to see the metal moving up such a small degree as the Dollar gives back all of those gains from yesterday. Based on what I can see, there might be some hedge fund reversal of those ratio spread trades involving the mining shares as the HUI is up over 2% today as I write this compared to a rather modest gain of .71% in gold itself.
It could be that some of those funds are lifting longs out of the Comex and buying back the shorts in the shares in other words. I will know a bit more about this tomorrow when I can see the open interest figures and hopefully draw some conclusions from those numbers.
I still think we are in a holding pattern now in both gold and silver as the market waits for the FOMC meeting in November to determine the size and scope of the next round of QE. That seems to be keeping further aggressive selling at bay for now in both the gold and silver markets but they also lack a fresh catalyst to kick them higher. It could be we need to see another rotten set of data regarding the US economy that would shove the Dollar down below 76.80 on the USDX  to jump start both markets.
The news from the Foreclosure Gate front is deteriorating but it looks as if the metals have factored this in, for now. Any further nasty surprises on that front will benefit gold. I still see no possible way for this fiasco to end well. One way or the other, the big banks are going to get slammed.
Technically, support for gold has emerged on the charts down near the $1,330 level. That seems to be attracting buying whether from fresh would-be longs or from some frustrated short sellers. It would take a strong push below this level to dislodge more of the speculative longs. As said many times here on this site, all that is required to force the shorts out is for the bulls to simply not run. There simply does not exist sufficient firepower on the sell side to take the gold market sharply lower without the selling that would come from long side liquidation. If the bulls stand, dig in and use their horns – they win. That simple.
The HUI’s ability to recapture the 500 level is impressive, considering that yesterday’s horrific sell-off really soured the technical picture on the charts. We are back to seeing if it can regain the 520 level. That level is becoming almost etched in stone for its significance from a technical chart perspective. I should point out that the index has held at the 50 day moving average and that probably encouraged some short covering in the gold sector. It will now need to hold above 494 or so to set up a consolidation type trade and avoid another move lower.
Crude oil broke through the bottom of its recent trading range yesterday only to recover a large part of those losses and move back within its price band. The market will need to see two consecutive closes either above $83 or below $80 to set up the next trending move. For now, it appears the market is relatively balanced between the two opposing bull and bear camps.
Soybeans set a 16 month high in price today. Cotton seems to be either going limit up or limit down these days. Yesterday it hit limit down out of fears that a rate hike in China would spell the end of the clothing manufacturing industry over there. Today it hit limit up on fears that the same industry would buy up all the world’s available cotton leaving none for anyone else. And people have the stupidity to say with a straight face that our modern markets are “efficient price discovery mechanisms”?
I am personally thinking of collecting all the rags in my garage and sewing them together to make a fresh set of clothes. Either that or I need to post armed guards around them as wild roaming hordes of bandits have been spotted in the region rampaging through neighborhoods looking for cotton clothing to steal and take to pawn shops for cash. Last week cotton prices posted the highest price since the War between the States for Pete’s sake. Tell me that is a market that has not gone whacky.
Bonds are basically putting in a repeat performance of yesterday. They are up slightly but remain below the major moving averages. The long bond needs to get over 133 to generate any upside excitement. They continue to bide their time waiting for further evidence of the size of any upcoming QE package.
Click chart to enlarge today’s hourly action in Gold in PDF format with commentary from Trader Dan Norcini
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