On The Goldman Path To Complete World Domination: Mark Carney On His Way To Head The Bank Of England?
Back in November we penned "The Complete And Annotated Guide To The European Bank Run (Or The Final Phase Of Goldman's World Domination Plan)" in which we described what the long-term reality of Europe, not that interrupted by the occasional transitory LTRO cash injection and other stop-gap central bank measure, would look like. And yet there was one piece missing: after Goldman unceremoniously set up its critical plants in Italy via Mario Monti and the ECB via Mario Draghi, one key target of Goldman domination was still missing. The place? Why the center of the entire modern infinitely rehypothecatable financial system of course: England, which may have 1,000x consolidated debt/GDP, but at least it can repledge any asset in perpetuity thus giving the world the impression it is solvent (no wonder AIG, MF Global, and now the CME are scrambling to operate out of there). Which is why we read with little surprise that none other than former Goldmanite, and current head of the Bank of Canada, is on his way to the final frontier: the Bank of England.
Guest Post: 10 More Years Of Low Returns
Ten
more years of low returns in the stock market. If you are one of the
millions of baby boomers headed into retirement - start saving more and
spending less because the stock market won't bail you out. Now that I
have your attention I will explain why this is the likely future ahead
for investors. In this past weekend's newsletter I wrote that “If you put all of your money into cash today and don’t look at the market for another decade – you will be better off..." I
realize that this statement is equivalent to heresy where Wall Street
is concerned but there is one simple reason behind my apparent madness -
the power of "reversion". This is not a new concept by any means as witnessed by Bob Farrell's rule #1 - "Markets tend to return to the mean over time." However, the reality of what "reversion" means is grossly misunderstood by Wall Street, and the mainstream media, as witnessed by the many valuation calls that "stocks are now cheap because the market is now trading in line with its long term average." French Elections/The faulty retail sales data/New housing starts down/Italy delays a balanced budget for one more year/failed raid on gold and silver
Good
evening Ladies and Gentlemen:
Gold closed up $1.60 to $1650.50. Silver also responded in kind by
rising by 28 cents to $31.66. Today before the second fix, a huge 6000
contracts (non backed paper gold) were thrown by the bankers and this
immediately caused gold to crater to around $1634. However gold and
silver rose to close above par as Europe rejoiced on wonderful news from
Spain that
Paper to Cash Exchanges Would Be Accompanied By Loud BOOM
Agreed. Paper exchanges and their key second derivative markets absorb
demand and leverage paper attacks. Watch the spreads between bullion and
paper markets swing from one statistical extreme to another before paper
attacks to better understand why Jim screams BOOM! Chart: Silver London PM
Fixed (SLVL) And SLVL to Silver ETF Ratio ZScores (SLVLSLVR), Monthly Dear
Ian: Paper...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
content, and more! ]]
There's No "BS" Like Government "BS"
*The Government reports garbage and the morons in the financial media
reports that garbage as hard facts* - Charles Biderman, Trim Tabs
Independent Research
Mr. Biderman didn't exactly discover plutonium here with this revelation,
but he provides excellent analyis of why the Government-released retail
sales report this week is a complete farce. Yesterday's retail sales
report for March was reported to be up strongly led by auto sales.
However, as Biderman details in the brief video presentation linked below,
the Government numbers on auto sales for March are at an extreme diverg... more »
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/17/2012 - 21:17
Gundlach Jeff Gundlach
Earlier today, thousands listened to Jeff Gundlach live (if with the
occasional flash crash) lay out his latest views on the economy and
markets. For those who missed it, as well as for those who may want a
refresher on why Gundlach is slowly building up a natgas position, or
why he is buying gold on dips, here is the full slidedeck used by the
DoubleLine manager.
NASDAQ
managed its largest gain in four months as Apple came back into vogue
and saved the day. The equity indices were alone in their magnificent
exuberance after the European close as Gold, Treasuries, and the USD
all tracked sideways in a very narrow range. As we have been warning, the
mania is back in equity (and credit markets but less so) as April has
now seen six of the last nine days swinging between 2 sigma gains and 2
sigma losses (for the NASDAQ). Volume was average today in ES
(the S&P 500 e-mini futures) and NYSE (stocks) but high in Apple's
equity and options markets as the schizophrenic behavior pushed the
stock from under $572 at the open to almost $610 by the close (though
notably stuck between Friday's close $605.19 and its closing VWAP at
$610.74). The last day to fund your IRA combined with tomorrow's VIX
futures/options expiration likely helped some of this momentum (as we
note VIX is about 1 vol higher than it was when the S&P closed at these levels on Friday). Just as in Europe, credit markets were simply not as enamored with the Spanish auction or Apple's awesomeness as equities
and drifted sideways to weaker all afternoon (with some late-day
weakness in HYG as it starts to fall back towards its NAV). Financials
and Materials lost some ground into the close and ES gave all its
post-Europe-close gains back as volume and trade size picked up
significantly at last Thursday's swing highs (near pre-NFP levels
again). The Treasury complex saw all its 'losses' in the early
going and went sideways in an extremely narrow range for much of the US
day session - ending the day slightly higher in yield
(0.5-1.5bps) on the week. Commodities surged early on as the USD slipped
but drifted back from mid-morning on (except WTI which broke above
$105 (ended above $104) for the first time in 2 weeks. Gold and Silver nose-dived right after the US open only to recover it all by the European close. EUR strength (and USD weakness) occurred early this morning on the Spanish auction and aside from a rip in CAD the rest of the day was relatively tight ranges with a very small drift higher in DXY.
All-in-all, it seemed like an oversold snap that saw opportunistic
sellers coming in at the end as average trade size surged and ES closed
back above its 50DMA again - echoing last week's mania and worryingly
raising realized vol for all those hopes and dreamers. Equities look
over-their-skis again relative to risk assets in general.
by Mac Slavo, SHTFPlan:
It’s hard to imagine an America where the fundamental laws of the land have been stripped away. Those founding principles that, for the better part of two centuries, made America the last bastion of true freedom in the world, so much so that millions of tired, poor, and huddled masses yearned to breathe free on our soil. These God-given rights, inherent to all men – the right to speak our minds no matter the unpopularity of our message, the right to carry a gun for personal protection, the right to be secure in our persons and possessions, and the right to be presumed innocenct and not robbed of life or liberty without fair trial – are and have been under assault for decades.
In his latest interview with the SGT Report, forecaster Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute warns of the multi-pronged attack on our liberty and suggests we are well on our way to living in a country not dissimilar to that of Hitler’s Third Reich. While the signs are all around us and as clear as day to those paying attention, a large portion of our population, like that of Germany in the 1930′s, simply doesn’t understand what’s happening, or they bury their heads in the sand so as to avoid ruffling the feathers of the all powerful and entrenched American Police State.
Read More @ SHTFPlan.com
Market Is Long Of Mania In Schizophrenic Terms
NASDAQ
managed its largest gain in four months as Apple came back into vogue
and saved the day. The equity indices were alone in their magnificent
exuberance after the European close as Gold, Treasuries, and the USD
all tracked sideways in a very narrow range. As we have been warning, the
mania is back in equity (and credit markets but less so) as April has
now seen six of the last nine days swinging between 2 sigma gains and 2
sigma losses (for the NASDAQ). Volume was average today in ES
(the S&P 500 e-mini futures) and NYSE (stocks) but high in Apple's
equity and options markets as the schizophrenic behavior pushed the
stock from under $572 at the open to almost $610 by the close (though
notably stuck between Friday's close $605.19 and its closing VWAP at
$610.74). The last day to fund your IRA combined with tomorrow's VIX
futures/options expiration likely helped some of this momentum (as we
note VIX is about 1 vol higher than it was when the S&P closed at these levels on Friday). Just as in Europe, credit markets were simply not as enamored with the Spanish auction or Apple's awesomeness as equities
and drifted sideways to weaker all afternoon (with some late-day
weakness in HYG as it starts to fall back towards its NAV). Financials
and Materials lost some ground into the close and ES gave all its
post-Europe-close gains back as volume and trade size picked up
significantly at last Thursday's swing highs (near pre-NFP levels
again). The Treasury complex saw all its 'losses' in the early
going and went sideways in an extremely narrow range for much of the US
day session - ending the day slightly higher in yield
(0.5-1.5bps) on the week. Commodities surged early on as the USD slipped
but drifted back from mid-morning on (except WTI which broke above
$105 (ended above $104) for the first time in 2 weeks. Gold and Silver nose-dived right after the US open only to recover it all by the European close. EUR strength (and USD weakness) occurred early this morning on the Spanish auction and aside from a rip in CAD the rest of the day was relatively tight ranges with a very small drift higher in DXY.
All-in-all, it seemed like an oversold snap that saw opportunistic
sellers coming in at the end as average trade size surged and ES closed
back above its 50DMA again - echoing last week's mania and worryingly
raising realized vol for all those hopes and dreamers. Equities look
over-their-skis again relative to risk assets in general.
It’s hard to imagine an America where the fundamental laws of the land have been stripped away. Those founding principles that, for the better part of two centuries, made America the last bastion of true freedom in the world, so much so that millions of tired, poor, and huddled masses yearned to breathe free on our soil. These God-given rights, inherent to all men – the right to speak our minds no matter the unpopularity of our message, the right to carry a gun for personal protection, the right to be secure in our persons and possessions, and the right to be presumed innocenct and not robbed of life or liberty without fair trial – are and have been under assault for decades.
In his latest interview with the SGT Report, forecaster Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute warns of the multi-pronged attack on our liberty and suggests we are well on our way to living in a country not dissimilar to that of Hitler’s Third Reich. While the signs are all around us and as clear as day to those paying attention, a large portion of our population, like that of Germany in the 1930′s, simply doesn’t understand what’s happening, or they bury their heads in the sand so as to avoid ruffling the feathers of the all powerful and entrenched American Police State.
Read More @ SHTFPlan.com
from The Economic Collapse Blog:
The Democrats, the Republicans and especially Barack Obama promised
that something would be done about the too big to fail banks so that
they would never again be a threat to destroy our financial system.
Well, those promises have not been kept and the too big to fail banks
are now much bigger and much more
powerful than ever. The assets of the five biggest U.S. banks were
equivalent to about 43 percent of U.S. GDP before the financial crisis.
Today, the assets of the five biggest U.S. banks are equivalent to
about 56 percent of U.S. GDP. So if those banks were “too big to fail”
before, then what are they now? They continue to gobble up smaller
banks at a brisk pace, and they continue to pile up debt and risky
investments as if a day of reckoning will never come. But of course a
day of reckoning is coming, and when it arrives they will be expecting
more bailouts just like they got the last time.
Read More @ TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Dear CIGAs,
Hello Jim,
That $1650 sure is a magnet, both on the upside and downside. I suspect we will hover around this range for the next week or so until the FOMC where Bernake will tell everyone how rosy things are, however Europe still poses a threat. Then down goes gold I would suspect. However, I am seeing this $1650 as quite the resistance level so who knows? Then in the following weeks we’ll see more unfavourable news continuing from the US as well as sh*t hitting the fan in Spain, Arab Spring in full force, and the stock market possibly turning over. All this just in time for the June FOMC and presidential campaigning. So I think I now understand when you say June may be the turnaround time. QE to infinity.
We in Canada announced this morning our interest rates are staying on hold… for now. I work in banking so I have already fielded several calls this morning on clients wanting to ‘lock in rates’ and worried that rates may increase. If everyone is concerned about a 0.25 or 0.5% increase, what does that say about the state of the consumer? They are worried. Then I thought how the citizens of the US would feel if there was a prospect on increasing rates. Probably would feel the same and then some. Increasing rates prior to 2014? Not a chance.
Anyway, quick question though: wouldn’t all the recent negative economic news – housing starts, manufacturing indices, jobless claims… have some sort of positive impact on the price of gold? I think the manipulators are holding it down because they know the storm that is coming.
CIGA Lou Lou
Dear Lou-Lou,
Jim,
During today’s trading there were simultaneous "V" drops and recoveries in both gold and silver. The drop in gold was around $20.
What’s behind a move like that? Did a large holder have to get out fast or was this a failed manipulation move?
Regards,
CIGA Stephan
Stephan,
Jim,
In the last 25 years, the main stream media’s news has gone from the "Fourth Estate" to "Tabloid News" to finally "Propaganda".
The sad thing is that the vast majority of the population doesn’t even realize the shift. They still believe it is the Fourth Estate.
CIGA Jeff S
Dear Jeff,
Hi Jim,
Tell me something please.
How does one remain true to oneself when many people around you aren’t ? I’m working in the financial game and it surprises me just how much money changes people. For example, I have a Director who pays me well, seems fairly balanced but will lie about anything and anyone.
It’s a pity I can’t sit down and have a cup of tea with you as you sound like a top person. Unfortunately I’m based in New Zealand and
that’s very far away.
Regards,
CIGA David
David,
Hi Jim,
Just a quick thank you for all you have done and the information you relentlessly provide the community.
Just wonder if the LME wants Chinese renminbi on hand to settle with currency rather than delivery of the metal?
CIGA Ian
Dear Ian,
Jim,
Are these types of bonds more secure or is this just another game of paper shuffling?
CIGA BJS
Dear BJS,
Covered Bonds in Dollars Soar to Fill AAA Vacuum By Esteban Duarte and Jody Shenn – Apr 17, 2012 9:59 AM MT
Sales of covered bonds in dollars are surging to a record as investors snap up the secured bank notes amid a drop in supply of AAA rated alternatives, benefiting lenders from Bank of Nova Scotia to UBS AG. (UBSN)
Bank of Nova Scotia and UBS have led $23.5 billion of the mortgage-backed offerings this year, a 43 percent jump from the same period in 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors in the notes earned 2.04 percent in 2012, double the gain in investment-grade debt from Treasuries to corporate bonds, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital indexes show.
More…
Paper to Cash Exchanges Would Be Accompanied By Loud BOOM CIGA Eric
Agreed.
Paper exchanges and their key second derivative markets absorb demand and leverage paper attacks. Watch the spreads between bullion and paper markets swing from one statistical extreme to another before paper attacks to better understand why Jim screams BOOM!
Chart: Silver London PM Fixed (SLVL) And SLVL to Silver ETF Ratio ZScores (SLVLSLVR), Monthly
D-Wave Declines in Gold Test Patience CIGA Eric
D-wave hooks form under and backdrop of fear and terminate when WA crosses above 50 percentile.
Chart: London PM Fixed Gold and GLD (ETF) Total Assets WA Stochastic
More…
Jim,
History repeats itself. Blame it on the so called speculators.
Like always, politicians are directing the debate away from the true problem on rising oil price: Currency produced cost-push inflation.
Best regards,
CIGA Christopher
Obama sees oil manipulation, vows response By Robert Schroeder
April 17, 2012, 7:58 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday morning will announce a plan to crack down on what the White House calls manipulation in oil markets. Obama will deliver a statement from the Rose Garden on the plan to increase oil-market oversight, the White House said. Energy policy has emerged as a major election-year issue between Obama and Republicans.
More…
Wall Street climbs, boosted by earnings, Spain debt sale CIGA Eric
The blissful charade of headline interpretations never gets old. Wall Street climbs because liquidity lifts all boats, but the boosted earnings is the explanation investors want to read (believe).
Headline: Wall Street climbs, boosted by earnings, Spain debt sale
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks rose at the open on Tuesday, with the Dow industrials climbing as much as 1 percent, as investors welcomed a slew of corporate results and a decline in borrowing costs for Spain. A better-than-expected Spanish bill sale boosted confidence as yields on Spain’s 10-year bond dipped below 6 percent before a longer-term debt auction later in the week. Spanish debt yields have jumped recently on concerns about the nation’s fiscal stability in the latest flare-up of the euro-zone debt crisis. Coca-Cola Co (NYS:KO – News) climbed 2 percent to $73.87 as one of the top boost’s to the Dow industrials after the world’s largest soft drink maker reported a higher quarterly profit. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYS:GS – News) edged up 0.1 percent to $117.89 after first-quarter earnings fell from a year earlier but were better than many analysts had anticipated.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
More…
Extremes, Divergences, and Art of Independent Thinking CIGA Eric
Extreme readings (green circles) followed by positive divergences in breadth and/trend energy relative to price generate bullish signals. If the financial media, also known as the dog and pony show, has been interviewing long-term bears every thirty minutes, it’s usually time to buy.
Chart: NYSE Composite Average
More…
Mr. Sinclair,
I am writing you because I think you are the real deal in the precious metal markets. I am in my mid sixties and got into silver almost one year ago. I made a big mistake and purchased my physical silver at $45.88/oz. It was for me a big purchase as it was 80% of my life savings. All the males in my family history died in their sixties. So I figure I have around 10-15 years at most to go. My question is with silver now running a surplus, do you think with all the manipulation, that I have any chance of seeing silver hit my purchase price again in the next 10-15 years? I thought when I purchased it, $100/oz. was around the corner. I now see investment demand, reflected in 2012 eagle sales dropping way off, is now down. I think investors are defeated with all the crashes.
Thanks for any input you may provide me in giving me hope or direction. Are we headed for the twenties or forties?
Thanks for all you do,
CIGA Dave
David,
Dear Jim,
I had some thoughts about China’s gold policy the other day and wanted your opinion. From an outside perspective it looks like the Chinese government is hoarding gold, and telling its people it is their patriotic duty to own physical gold. At first I thought they were going to eventually make a move to offer up a gold backed currency. I don’t think that is going to happen, because if the Chinese government doesn’t print paper and command cities to be built, their GDP would fall off a cliff. I have heard that below 5% growth in China would cause riots, in my mind I view a gold standard as holding governments accountable and keeping the printing in check. If that were to happen it’s my opinion they would see negative economic growth, their people would be in revolution. Also china does not have "safety nets" for their people like unemployment benefits etc, so telling their people to buy gold tells me the government wants them to hold insurance.
I don’t think the Chinese have a chance at pulling off a gold standard, but I definitely think they see a major currency event in the coming years across the board. Like a vote of no confidence in other countries ability to maintain stable currencies.
What do you think?
Cheers,
CIGA Matthew
Dear Matthew,
Dear CIGAs,
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
What the euro’s strength can teach us
Commentary: The euro has beaten stocks over last three months By Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch
April 17, 2012, 12:02 a.m. EDT
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — The euro is dead?
More accurate might be: “Long live the euro.”
You think I’m kidding.
But, believe it or not, despite widespread predictions that the euro is doomed — if not immediately, at least longer term — the European currency has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +1.50% over the last three months. In U.S. dollar terms, in fact, the euro EURUSD +0.02% is ahead 3.7% since mid January, while the Dow is up 3.5%.
Well, sure, you might object. The euro’s strength against the dollar merely means that the greenback has been debased even more over the last quarter.
But that is a hard argument to make. Gold denominated in euros has actually gone down over the last three months, not up.
Well, then, you might be tempted to say, the currency traders just don’t know what they’re doing. After all, Spain is only the latest in a long domino chain of bankrupt countries that will inevitably bring about the euro’s collapse. Just this week, in fact, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds rose above the psychologically important 6% level, the first time they have been that high since last Dec. 1. ( Read full story. )
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The latest from John Williams’ www.ShadowStats.com
- Industrial Production Unchanged for Second Month
- Housing Starts in 40th Month of Historically-Low-Level Stagnation,
Following 2006-to-2008 Collapse in Activity
No. 430: March Industrial Production and Housing Starts
Web-page: http://www.shadowstats.com
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Credit Suisse may slash 5,000 jobs
Credit Suisse (CS) could reportedly announce it’s cutting 5,000 positions at its investment bank when it reports Q1 results next week. Credit Suisse’s I-bank, at nearly 21,000 bankers, is "simply completely oversized," sources say, and shareholders have been applying pressure to cut costs. (Source: Sonntag)
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Sheriff’s deputy, locksmith killed during eviction; body found in burned building By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 8:58 PM EDT, Fri April 13, 2012
(CNN) — A locksmith hired to help in the process of evicting a California tenant was shot dead, along with the sheriff’s deputy serving the eviction notice, police said Friday.
In addition to the two men shot dead, a lone body has been found inside the charred ruins of the Modesto, California, apartment building, Modesto police Officer Chris Adams told CNN on Friday.
He did not say definitively that this was the same person being sought out for the eviction notice, adding that it could take days or weeks to positively identify the body. But he did say that police are no longer looking for any suspects in the case.
The incident actually began Thursday morning, when Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department Robert Paris, 53, tried to serve an eviction notice at an apartment when a gunman opened fire.
Paris, a 16-year veteran of the department, was shot dead.
So, too, was Glendon Engert, a 35-year-old locksmith hired by the apartment complex’s management company to get access to the unit as part of the eviction process, said Adams.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
US Editor of The Economist: “Paper Dollar” and “Paper Euro” Will “Debase” in a “Big Way” Posted by The Doc on April 17, 2012 09:02
Matthew Bishop, the US Editor of The Economist, has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal TV about gold and why “people have lost faith in the 20th century religion of government backed fiat money.” He says that he has become an agnostic or an atheist with regard to his belief in government-backed money as he fears that governments are in a position whereby they are going to debase currencies such as the “paper dollar and “paper euro” “in a big way.” Gold becomes one of the “alternative religions” in that environment. History shows that a deleveraging downturn takes a long time and can take 7 or 8 years. Inflationary pressures are building and will be seen in the second half of the cycle, according to Bishop. Bishop says he would put some of his money into gold but is prohibited from this due to the investment policies of The Economist. He advocates owning gold as a “portfolio of money” and diversification and advocates having 5% to 10% of one’s money in gold. The Economist magazine has a strong Keynesian bias and has been one of the most anti-gold publications in the world with many simplistic, unbalanced and ill-informed articles. The publication has suggested on many occasions since 2008 that gold is a bubble. Clients of GoldCore have told us that they were prompted to sell their gold bullion as long ago as 2009 after reading such articles in The Economist.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Banks Seen Dangerous Defying Obama’s Too-Big-to-Fail Move By David J. Lynch – Apr 16, 2012 2:02 PM ET
Two years after President Barack Obama vowed to eliminate the danger of financial institutions becoming “too big to fail,” the nation’s largest banks are bigger than they were before the nation’s credit markets seized up and required unprecedented bailouts by the government.
Five banks — JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. — held $8.5 trillion in assets at the end of 2011, equal to 56 percent of the U.S. economy, according to central bankers at the Federal Reserve.
Five years earlier, before the financial crisis, the largest banks’ assets amounted to 43 percent of U.S. output. The Big Five today are about twice as large as they were a decade ago relative to the economy, sparking concern that trouble at a major bank would rock the financial system and force the government to step in as it did in 2008 with the Fed-assisted rescue of Bear Stearns Cos. by JPMorgan and with Citigroup and Bank of America after the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the largest in U.S. history.
“Market participants believe that nothing has changed, that too-big-to-fail is fully intact,” said Gary Stern, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
‘We’re back in full crisis mode’: Fears grow Spain will need bail out as 10-year bond rate rises near critical 7% that tipped Portugal, Greece and Ireland over the edge By Hugo Duncan
PUBLISHED: 10:40 EST, 16 April 2012 | UPDATED: 03:35 EST, 17 April 2012
Spain plunged deeper into crisis yesterday amid mounting fears that it will need an emergency bailout to save it from financial ruin.
Borrowing costs soared and the cost of insuring Spanish debt against default hit a record high as investors fretted about the health of the economy and banking system.
The bleak start to the week sparked warnings that Spain will be the fourth eurozone country to need a bailout following the rescues of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
A report by the International Monetary Fund is today expected to warn that the eurozone faces recession this year with Spain and Italy among those economies worst hit.
‘We’re back in full crisis mode,’ said Lyn Graham-Taylor, a strategist at banking giant Rabobank. ‘It is looking more and more likely that Spain is going to have some form of bailout.’
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
US-NATO LOOSING CONTROL IN AFGHANISTAN? Insurgents attack heart of US-led occupation by James Cogan
Global Research, April 17, 2012
Small groups of insurgents fighting the US-led occupation of Afghanistan carried out a coordinated series of attacks on Sunday against prominent NATO and Afghan government facilities in the capital Kabul and three other provinces. Among the buildings hit with small arms and rocket propelled grenades were the parliament, the US, British, German, Japanese and Russian embassies, the NATO headquarters and a newly-opened hotel. In the country’s eastern provinces, airfields and police stations were attacked.
Operations by Afghan and foreign troops to regain control of the heavily-guarded governmental and diplomatic zone in Kabul continued for 20 hours into Monday afternoon. Afghan government forces, assisted in some cases by foreign troops, claimed yesterday that they had killed 39 insurgents. Eight Afghan army and police personnel were reportedly killed and up to 40 wounded. At least four civilians were killed in cross-fire and several dozen injured. There were no reported casualties among foreign military forces or diplomatic staff.
The attacks had parallels with last September’s assault on the US embassy and NATO’s main command centre in Kabul. On Sunday, fighters were again able to infiltrate weapons, ammunition and explosives into the city and take up positions undetected in construction sites within a few hundred metres of their intended targets.
The puppet Afghan government headed by President Hamid Karzai claimed that insurgents had dressed in female burkas that covered their faces and decorated cars with flowers in order to pass through security checkpoints. This was contradicted by locals, who told the New York Times they had seen a utility vehicle occupied by a group of men simply drive into the car park of a building site near the embassy zone. As in earlier incidents, the seeming ease with which security was breached suggests the insurgents were assisted by elements in the Afghan government forces.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
LME eyes renminbi move for metals By Jack Farchy in Santiago
The London Metal Exchange is considering offering traders the chance to settle its contracts in the Chinese renminbi, a move that could lead to its dropping sterling after 135 years.
The move, still at an early stage of discussion, would highlight the shift in power in global metals markets.
When the LME was established in 1877, Britain was one of the world’s most important manufacturing powerhouses, and the LME’s benchmark contracts for delivery in three months were designed to mirror the length of time needed to reach British ports for shipments of copper from Chile and tin from Malaysia.
But now China is the dominant force in the market, accounting for more than 40 per cent of global demand for most metals and a rapidly increasing share of trading in LME futures.
While LME contracts – which serve as global benchmarks for metals from aluminium to zinc – are denominated in dollars, the exchange offers companies the option of settling and clearing their trades in euro, yen and sterling.
More…
The Democrats, the Republicans and especially Barack Obama promised
that something would be done about the too big to fail banks so that
they would never again be a threat to destroy our financial system.
Well, those promises have not been kept and the too big to fail banks
are now much bigger and much more
powerful than ever. The assets of the five biggest U.S. banks were
equivalent to about 43 percent of U.S. GDP before the financial crisis.
Today, the assets of the five biggest U.S. banks are equivalent to
about 56 percent of U.S. GDP. So if those banks were “too big to fail”
before, then what are they now? They continue to gobble up smaller
banks at a brisk pace, and they continue to pile up debt and risky
investments as if a day of reckoning will never come. But of course a
day of reckoning is coming, and when it arrives they will be expecting
more bailouts just like they got the last time.Read More @ TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Dear CIGAs,
You know there is no application process to a Committee of Monetary
Wizards to become a reserve currency. It just happens along with the
major economic growth of a country. The dollar will be here longer than
you and I. It is now a reserve currency only by default, until holders
are able to balance their holding which is still dollar biased. Becoming
a reserve currency is a process, not an edict. Ceasing to be a reserve
currency is a process, not an edict from some Committee of Monetary
Wizards.
Anyone that thinks the dollar is not in the process of cessation as a
reserve currency by choice is a world class moron or an economic flag
waver.
Hello Jim,
That $1650 sure is a magnet, both on the upside and downside. I suspect we will hover around this range for the next week or so until the FOMC where Bernake will tell everyone how rosy things are, however Europe still poses a threat. Then down goes gold I would suspect. However, I am seeing this $1650 as quite the resistance level so who knows? Then in the following weeks we’ll see more unfavourable news continuing from the US as well as sh*t hitting the fan in Spain, Arab Spring in full force, and the stock market possibly turning over. All this just in time for the June FOMC and presidential campaigning. So I think I now understand when you say June may be the turnaround time. QE to infinity.
We in Canada announced this morning our interest rates are staying on hold… for now. I work in banking so I have already fielded several calls this morning on clients wanting to ‘lock in rates’ and worried that rates may increase. If everyone is concerned about a 0.25 or 0.5% increase, what does that say about the state of the consumer? They are worried. Then I thought how the citizens of the US would feel if there was a prospect on increasing rates. Probably would feel the same and then some. Increasing rates prior to 2014? Not a chance.
Anyway, quick question though: wouldn’t all the recent negative economic news – housing starts, manufacturing indices, jobless claims… have some sort of positive impact on the price of gold? I think the manipulators are holding it down because they know the storm that is coming.
CIGA Lou Lou
Dear Lou-Lou,
It is actually the opposite. MSM Main Street media controls what
people believe to be true. MSM is the source of their intellectual
basis. MSM has informed everyone on a daily basis, hundreds of time a
day, by wire and financial TV that the Fed has an appetite to sit and
watch to see if the present weakness is the beginning of a weak economic
trend or a lull in the recovery. As such, the lousy economic news is
not the friend of gold until the public perceives QE in earnest. It will
come and come soon. Until then, yes $1650 is the most powerful magnet
among them all.
That is good because it negates those who pan gold to line their pockets with gold.
Jim
Jim,
During today’s trading there were simultaneous "V" drops and recoveries in both gold and silver. The drop in gold was around $20.
What’s behind a move like that? Did a large holder have to get out fast or was this a failed manipulation move?
Regards,
CIGA Stephan
Stephan,
The reason behind the V drops were manipulators at the gold banks
versus cash market buyers fighting it out while most voices call for
lower precious metals prices because they simply do not understand what
gold is. Gold’s price detractors are wrong in thinking that the Fed can
sit back and cogitate about economic indices as the bottom starts
dropping out of international business without the application of
enthusiastic QE
Jim
Jim,
In the last 25 years, the main stream media’s news has gone from the "Fourth Estate" to "Tabloid News" to finally "Propaganda".
The sad thing is that the vast majority of the population doesn’t even realize the shift. They still believe it is the Fourth Estate.
CIGA Jeff S
Dear Jeff,
It is worse than that. MSM’s mission is no different from what
intelligence services do in the opposite when they wish to unsettle an
enemy country.
Today’s reality is what is real to Main Street media. They are
writing whatever history they want in the present. The worst still is
utterances of the truth are considered as that of the enemy.
This usually is what exists at the end of empires when what is real cannot be confronted by the citizens, short of revolution.
Regards,
Jim
Jim
Hi Jim,
Tell me something please.
How does one remain true to oneself when many people around you aren’t ? I’m working in the financial game and it surprises me just how much money changes people. For example, I have a Director who pays me well, seems fairly balanced but will lie about anything and anyone.
It’s a pity I can’t sit down and have a cup of tea with you as you sound like a top person. Unfortunately I’m based in New Zealand and
that’s very far away.
Regards,
CIGA David
David,
Take the position of the observer, and you may become it. Try being fictional, if you wish to be real.
Judge not that you should not be judged is what I wrote above. We
have to love each other, nobody ever said we had to like each other.
Some play the part of Bums. Some play the part of Saints. It really does not make any real difference.
Jim
Hi Jim,
Just a quick thank you for all you have done and the information you relentlessly provide the community.
Just wonder if the LME wants Chinese renminbi on hand to settle with currency rather than delivery of the metal?
CIGA Ian
Dear Ian,
Paper exchanges are not capable of becoming cash exchanges without a
loud explosion. One that might be heard on Mars without a radio.
This has to do with all eyes being on the East as the Yuan grows into the International Reserve Currency of choice.
It is just another daily increase in dollar negative items that very
few, if any, are looking at. See today’s message here on JSMineset
concerning how a currency becomes a reserve currency and how it ceases
as a reserve currency offered in the fewest words possible.
Jim
Jim,
Are these types of bonds more secure or is this just another game of paper shuffling?
CIGA BJS
Dear BJS,
They are just more fancy paper decorations.
Remember the axiom that states collateral is no better than the asset
offered and the guarantee is never superior to the guarantor.
These are simply more Bankster marketing psy-opts programs to produce commissions while picking your pocket.
Jim
Covered Bonds in Dollars Soar to Fill AAA Vacuum By Esteban Duarte and Jody Shenn – Apr 17, 2012 9:59 AM MT
Sales of covered bonds in dollars are surging to a record as investors snap up the secured bank notes amid a drop in supply of AAA rated alternatives, benefiting lenders from Bank of Nova Scotia to UBS AG. (UBSN)
Bank of Nova Scotia and UBS have led $23.5 billion of the mortgage-backed offerings this year, a 43 percent jump from the same period in 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors in the notes earned 2.04 percent in 2012, double the gain in investment-grade debt from Treasuries to corporate bonds, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital indexes show.
More…
Paper to Cash Exchanges Would Be Accompanied By Loud BOOM CIGA Eric
Agreed.
Paper exchanges and their key second derivative markets absorb demand and leverage paper attacks. Watch the spreads between bullion and paper markets swing from one statistical extreme to another before paper attacks to better understand why Jim screams BOOM!
Chart: Silver London PM Fixed (SLVL) And SLVL to Silver ETF Ratio ZScores (SLVLSLVR), Monthly
Dear Ian: Paper exchanges are not capable of becoming cash
exchange without a loud explosion. One that might be heard on Mars
without a radio. This has to do with all eyes East as the yuan grows
into the International Reserve Currency of Choice. It is just another
daily increase in dollar negative items that very few, if any, are
looking at See today message on jsmineset concerning how a currency
becomes a Reserve Currency and how is ceases as a Reserve Currency
offered in the fewest words possible Jim
More…D-Wave Declines in Gold Test Patience CIGA Eric
D-wave hooks form under and backdrop of fear and terminate when WA crosses above 50 percentile.
Chart: London PM Fixed Gold and GLD (ETF) Total Assets WA Stochastic
More…
Jim,
History repeats itself. Blame it on the so called speculators.
Like always, politicians are directing the debate away from the true problem on rising oil price: Currency produced cost-push inflation.
Best regards,
CIGA Christopher
Obama sees oil manipulation, vows response By Robert Schroeder
April 17, 2012, 7:58 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday morning will announce a plan to crack down on what the White House calls manipulation in oil markets. Obama will deliver a statement from the Rose Garden on the plan to increase oil-market oversight, the White House said. Energy policy has emerged as a major election-year issue between Obama and Republicans.
More…
Wall Street climbs, boosted by earnings, Spain debt sale CIGA Eric
The blissful charade of headline interpretations never gets old. Wall Street climbs because liquidity lifts all boats, but the boosted earnings is the explanation investors want to read (believe).
Headline: Wall Street climbs, boosted by earnings, Spain debt sale
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks rose at the open on Tuesday, with the Dow industrials climbing as much as 1 percent, as investors welcomed a slew of corporate results and a decline in borrowing costs for Spain. A better-than-expected Spanish bill sale boosted confidence as yields on Spain’s 10-year bond dipped below 6 percent before a longer-term debt auction later in the week. Spanish debt yields have jumped recently on concerns about the nation’s fiscal stability in the latest flare-up of the euro-zone debt crisis. Coca-Cola Co (NYS:KO – News) climbed 2 percent to $73.87 as one of the top boost’s to the Dow industrials after the world’s largest soft drink maker reported a higher quarterly profit. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYS:GS – News) edged up 0.1 percent to $117.89 after first-quarter earnings fell from a year earlier but were better than many analysts had anticipated.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
More…
Extremes, Divergences, and Art of Independent Thinking CIGA Eric
Extreme readings (green circles) followed by positive divergences in breadth and/trend energy relative to price generate bullish signals. If the financial media, also known as the dog and pony show, has been interviewing long-term bears every thirty minutes, it’s usually time to buy.
Chart: NYSE Composite Average
More…
Mr. Sinclair,
I am writing you because I think you are the real deal in the precious metal markets. I am in my mid sixties and got into silver almost one year ago. I made a big mistake and purchased my physical silver at $45.88/oz. It was for me a big purchase as it was 80% of my life savings. All the males in my family history died in their sixties. So I figure I have around 10-15 years at most to go. My question is with silver now running a surplus, do you think with all the manipulation, that I have any chance of seeing silver hit my purchase price again in the next 10-15 years? I thought when I purchased it, $100/oz. was around the corner. I now see investment demand, reflected in 2012 eagle sales dropping way off, is now down. I think investors are defeated with all the crashes.
Thanks for any input you may provide me in giving me hope or direction. Are we headed for the twenties or forties?
Thanks for all you do,
CIGA Dave
David,
You are going to be ok in your silver position, however in the future
you buy when weekly prices looks like a fishing line. You sell 1/3 when
weekly prices looks like a Rhino horn.
Cut this out and paste it on your computer. Let us call this the "Two commandments in Precious Metals."
All the best,
Jim
Jim
Dear Jim,
I had some thoughts about China’s gold policy the other day and wanted your opinion. From an outside perspective it looks like the Chinese government is hoarding gold, and telling its people it is their patriotic duty to own physical gold. At first I thought they were going to eventually make a move to offer up a gold backed currency. I don’t think that is going to happen, because if the Chinese government doesn’t print paper and command cities to be built, their GDP would fall off a cliff. I have heard that below 5% growth in China would cause riots, in my mind I view a gold standard as holding governments accountable and keeping the printing in check. If that were to happen it’s my opinion they would see negative economic growth, their people would be in revolution. Also china does not have "safety nets" for their people like unemployment benefits etc, so telling their people to buy gold tells me the government wants them to hold insurance.
I don’t think the Chinese have a chance at pulling off a gold standard, but I definitely think they see a major currency event in the coming years across the board. Like a vote of no confidence in other countries ability to maintain stable currencies.
What do you think?
Cheers,
CIGA Matthew
Dear Matthew,
China is a Maoist country that likes money. The two hundred foot
picture of Mao on the Hall of the People tells you all you need to know
to get along in China.
The ousting of Starbucks from the center of the Forbidden City also
has a message in it. Understand this, and you will understand more about
our Chinese brothers. You might actually be able to work with them if
you respect this.
As such, the population of China is to serve the best interest of the
program for the greater good. The gold being bought by Chinese citizens
is the Chinese government’s shadow inventory. If the nation needs it
the civilian population will have the great honor of doing their
patriotic duty by sending it in.
Small inexpensive pins made in China will be distributed to be worn
in public by the citizens that have earned their patriotic status. So
will you if you have gold in anywhere Chinese.
You, however, will not get a pin.
Regards,
Jim
Jim
Dear CIGAs,
JSMineset.com is really "The
Cooperative For Truth" in the darkest period of finance in the Western
World. Sodom and Gomorrah were kindergarten sex education compared to
today in finance and politics.
One of the most famous investment firms on Wall Street was a partner
in a virtual bawdy house until revealed recently. They defended
themselves by saying “we only owned 16.7% of the enterprise and were not
the management.” It was rumored their investment specialized in very
young employees and employees forced to work, according to the WSJ.
There was no comment when the investment bank was asked if they were the clients.
Can you not see that the USA and Great Britain are at economic war
with Euroland? How about the morons in Euroland that do not know who
their enemy truly is?
God help the dollar if Euroland ever got a leader rather than the
hopeless group of self interested Bankster supported political hacks
that attend their 50 summit meeting before they decide exactly what they
are told to decide by their benefactors.
If there is to be a Second Coming we need it now.
If you do not perceive all that you do not know how MSM is used to accomplish the goal. There is some truth to chew on.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
What the euro is telling us is that whatever is required will be provided as QE to infinity.
Whatever Spain needs, Spain will get.
Whatever Portugal needs, Portugal will get.
Whatever Italy needs, Italy will get.
Whatever Portugal needs, Portugal will get.
Whatever Italy needs, Italy will get.
Once you have started down the path of QE there is no practical means
to stop it without trashing everything behind you in an economic
conflagration that would go down in history.
Note the operating word here is "practical" as the learned elite will
quote many impractical and impossible ways to drain liquidity.
Do not listen to the chorus of Euroland’s so-called leader’s
clap-trap drivel, denying what I have told you. The Euroland gang even
outdoes the US bs’ers.
This is the message, nothing else
Commentary: The euro has beaten stocks over last three months By Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch
April 17, 2012, 12:02 a.m. EDT
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — The euro is dead?
More accurate might be: “Long live the euro.”
You think I’m kidding.
But, believe it or not, despite widespread predictions that the euro is doomed — if not immediately, at least longer term — the European currency has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +1.50% over the last three months. In U.S. dollar terms, in fact, the euro EURUSD +0.02% is ahead 3.7% since mid January, while the Dow is up 3.5%.
Well, sure, you might object. The euro’s strength against the dollar merely means that the greenback has been debased even more over the last quarter.
But that is a hard argument to make. Gold denominated in euros has actually gone down over the last three months, not up.
Well, then, you might be tempted to say, the currency traders just don’t know what they’re doing. After all, Spain is only the latest in a long domino chain of bankrupt countries that will inevitably bring about the euro’s collapse. Just this week, in fact, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds rose above the psychologically important 6% level, the first time they have been that high since last Dec. 1. ( Read full story. )
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The latest from John Williams’ www.ShadowStats.com
- Industrial Production Unchanged for Second Month
- Housing Starts in 40th Month of Historically-Low-Level Stagnation,
Following 2006-to-2008 Collapse in Activity
No. 430: March Industrial Production and Housing Starts
Web-page: http://www.shadowstats.com
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The Western world recovery just keeps jogging along.
We are watching this bank to see if they will get in line to give up
their US clients for sacrifice. If they got cut out of the SWIFT system
they would have to cut another 15,999 jobs.
Chalk up another one for Phil. Who would have ever believed?
Credit Suisse may slash 5,000 jobs
Credit Suisse (CS) could reportedly announce it’s cutting 5,000 positions at its investment bank when it reports Q1 results next week. Credit Suisse’s I-bank, at nearly 21,000 bankers, is "simply completely oversized," sources say, and shareholders have been applying pressure to cut costs. (Source: Sonntag)
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The banksters dirty work. Who said OTC derivatives are a victimless crime?
Sheriff’s deputy, locksmith killed during eviction; body found in burned building By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 8:58 PM EDT, Fri April 13, 2012
(CNN) — A locksmith hired to help in the process of evicting a California tenant was shot dead, along with the sheriff’s deputy serving the eviction notice, police said Friday.
In addition to the two men shot dead, a lone body has been found inside the charred ruins of the Modesto, California, apartment building, Modesto police Officer Chris Adams told CNN on Friday.
He did not say definitively that this was the same person being sought out for the eviction notice, adding that it could take days or weeks to positively identify the body. But he did say that police are no longer looking for any suspects in the case.
The incident actually began Thursday morning, when Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department Robert Paris, 53, tried to serve an eviction notice at an apartment when a gunman opened fire.
Paris, a 16-year veteran of the department, was shot dead.
So, too, was Glendon Engert, a 35-year-old locksmith hired by the apartment complex’s management company to get access to the unit as part of the eviction process, said Adams.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
I would argue with his percentages, but then he is a Newbie.
US Editor of The Economist: “Paper Dollar” and “Paper Euro” Will “Debase” in a “Big Way” Posted by The Doc on April 17, 2012 09:02
Matthew Bishop, the US Editor of The Economist, has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal TV about gold and why “people have lost faith in the 20th century religion of government backed fiat money.” He says that he has become an agnostic or an atheist with regard to his belief in government-backed money as he fears that governments are in a position whereby they are going to debase currencies such as the “paper dollar and “paper euro” “in a big way.” Gold becomes one of the “alternative religions” in that environment. History shows that a deleveraging downturn takes a long time and can take 7 or 8 years. Inflationary pressures are building and will be seen in the second half of the cycle, according to Bishop. Bishop says he would put some of his money into gold but is prohibited from this due to the investment policies of The Economist. He advocates owning gold as a “portfolio of money” and diversification and advocates having 5% to 10% of one’s money in gold. The Economist magazine has a strong Keynesian bias and has been one of the most anti-gold publications in the world with many simplistic, unbalanced and ill-informed articles. The publication has suggested on many occasions since 2008 that gold is a bubble. Clients of GoldCore have told us that they were prompted to sell their gold bullion as long ago as 2009 after reading such articles in The Economist.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Here is another reason for gold.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
If you can control the story and "MOPE" the thesis you can control the markets.
Wrong, this only applies when the economic wind is at your back. If that is the case then yes, it is true.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Economic recovery and problem solving 2012.
Banks Seen Dangerous Defying Obama’s Too-Big-to-Fail Move By David J. Lynch – Apr 16, 2012 2:02 PM ET
Two years after President Barack Obama vowed to eliminate the danger of financial institutions becoming “too big to fail,” the nation’s largest banks are bigger than they were before the nation’s credit markets seized up and required unprecedented bailouts by the government.
Five banks — JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. — held $8.5 trillion in assets at the end of 2011, equal to 56 percent of the U.S. economy, according to central bankers at the Federal Reserve.
Five years earlier, before the financial crisis, the largest banks’ assets amounted to 43 percent of U.S. output. The Big Five today are about twice as large as they were a decade ago relative to the economy, sparking concern that trouble at a major bank would rock the financial system and force the government to step in as it did in 2008 with the Fed-assisted rescue of Bear Stearns Cos. by JPMorgan and with Citigroup and Bank of America after the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, the largest in U.S. history.
“Market participants believe that nothing has changed, that too-big-to-fail is fully intact,” said Gary Stern, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Whatever they need, they will get is the market message from the Euro.
QE to infinity and forget the denials.
‘We’re back in full crisis mode’: Fears grow Spain will need bail out as 10-year bond rate rises near critical 7% that tipped Portugal, Greece and Ireland over the edge By Hugo Duncan
PUBLISHED: 10:40 EST, 16 April 2012 | UPDATED: 03:35 EST, 17 April 2012
Spain plunged deeper into crisis yesterday amid mounting fears that it will need an emergency bailout to save it from financial ruin.
Borrowing costs soared and the cost of insuring Spanish debt against default hit a record high as investors fretted about the health of the economy and banking system.
The bleak start to the week sparked warnings that Spain will be the fourth eurozone country to need a bailout following the rescues of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
A report by the International Monetary Fund is today expected to warn that the eurozone faces recession this year with Spain and Italy among those economies worst hit.
‘We’re back in full crisis mode,’ said Lyn Graham-Taylor, a strategist at banking giant Rabobank. ‘It is looking more and more likely that Spain is going to have some form of bailout.’
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
History teaches that Afghanistan cannot be occupied, and if you did for some time, you would wish you didn’t.
But hey, who in management cares about history? Living it over and over is more interesting.
US-NATO LOOSING CONTROL IN AFGHANISTAN? Insurgents attack heart of US-led occupation by James Cogan
Global Research, April 17, 2012
Small groups of insurgents fighting the US-led occupation of Afghanistan carried out a coordinated series of attacks on Sunday against prominent NATO and Afghan government facilities in the capital Kabul and three other provinces. Among the buildings hit with small arms and rocket propelled grenades were the parliament, the US, British, German, Japanese and Russian embassies, the NATO headquarters and a newly-opened hotel. In the country’s eastern provinces, airfields and police stations were attacked.
Operations by Afghan and foreign troops to regain control of the heavily-guarded governmental and diplomatic zone in Kabul continued for 20 hours into Monday afternoon. Afghan government forces, assisted in some cases by foreign troops, claimed yesterday that they had killed 39 insurgents. Eight Afghan army and police personnel were reportedly killed and up to 40 wounded. At least four civilians were killed in cross-fire and several dozen injured. There were no reported casualties among foreign military forces or diplomatic staff.
The attacks had parallels with last September’s assault on the US embassy and NATO’s main command centre in Kabul. On Sunday, fighters were again able to infiltrate weapons, ammunition and explosives into the city and take up positions undetected in construction sites within a few hundred metres of their intended targets.
The puppet Afghan government headed by President Hamid Karzai claimed that insurgents had dressed in female burkas that covered their faces and decorated cars with flowers in order to pass through security checkpoints. This was contradicted by locals, who told the New York Times they had seen a utility vehicle occupied by a group of men simply drive into the car park of a building site near the embassy zone. As in earlier incidents, the seeming ease with which security was breached suggests the insurgents were assisted by elements in the Afghan government forces.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
The rise of the Renminbi and larger official trading range
accompanies the fall of the dollar and pound in international
settlement.
This is a key market item for 2012 watched by very few, denied by the many.
LME eyes renminbi move for metals By Jack Farchy in Santiago
The London Metal Exchange is considering offering traders the chance to settle its contracts in the Chinese renminbi, a move that could lead to its dropping sterling after 135 years.
The move, still at an early stage of discussion, would highlight the shift in power in global metals markets.
When the LME was established in 1877, Britain was one of the world’s most important manufacturing powerhouses, and the LME’s benchmark contracts for delivery in three months were designed to mirror the length of time needed to reach British ports for shipments of copper from Chile and tin from Malaysia.
But now China is the dominant force in the market, accounting for more than 40 per cent of global demand for most metals and a rapidly increasing share of trading in LME futures.
While LME contracts – which serve as global benchmarks for metals from aluminium to zinc – are denominated in dollars, the exchange offers companies the option of settling and clearing their trades in euro, yen and sterling.
More…
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