from KingWorldNews:
With global stock markets in turmoil, gold on the move, and panic in
Europe, today Michael Pento, of Pento Portfolio Strategies, writes
exclusively for King World News to let readers know exactly why markets
are melting down. Here is what Pento had to say about the situation:
“Most investors and market pundits continue to misdiagnose the reason
behind the worldwide economic malaise. The underlying problem isn’t
‘uncertainty’ or any other platitudes Wall Street and politicians like
to offer. The truth is that massive sovereign debt defaults (if central
banks allow them to be written down honestly) are very deflationary in
nature.”
Michael Pento continues @ KingWorldNews.com
from The American Dream:
What the Republican Party has done to fiscal conservatives over the
past year and a half has been a betrayal so vast that it is difficult to
find words to describe it. Back in 2010, the Tea Party was riding high
and a flood of new Republicans was sent to the U.S. House of
Representatives in one of the greatest landslides in U.S. political
history. On election night 2010, more House seats changed hands than in
another other election since 1948. It was the greatest defeat for any
sitting president in a midterm election since 1938. After the election,
the Democrats were left with fewer House seats than at any other time
since 1946. Needless to say, it was an absolutely historic election.
The Tea Party completely dominated American politics that night, and
they sent the Republican Party a clear message that they wanted
government debt to be brought under control. So what has changed since
then? Not much. The U.S. government is still running trillion dollar
deficits every single year. I have previously spent a lot of time blaming Barack Obama
and the Democrats for this, but the truth is that they could not have
spent a single penny without the approval of the U.S. House of
Representatives. So the Republican Party is complicit in this crime
against the American people. If there was ever a mandate to take a
stand against runaway government debt, it was after the 2010 election,
and the Republican Party has failed miserably. So what are fiscal
conservatives supposed to do now?
Read More @ EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
With global stock markets in turmoil, gold on the move, and panic in
Europe, today Michael Pento, of Pento Portfolio Strategies, writes
exclusively for King World News to let readers know exactly why markets
are melting down. Here is what Pento had to say about the situation:
“Most investors and market pundits continue to misdiagnose the reason
behind the worldwide economic malaise. The underlying problem isn’t
‘uncertainty’ or any other platitudes Wall Street and politicians like
to offer. The truth is that massive sovereign debt defaults (if central
banks allow them to be written down honestly) are very deflationary in
nature.”Michael Pento continues @ KingWorldNews.com
What the Republican Party has done to fiscal conservatives over the
past year and a half has been a betrayal so vast that it is difficult to
find words to describe it. Back in 2010, the Tea Party was riding high
and a flood of new Republicans was sent to the U.S. House of
Representatives in one of the greatest landslides in U.S. political
history. On election night 2010, more House seats changed hands than in
another other election since 1948. It was the greatest defeat for any
sitting president in a midterm election since 1938. After the election,
the Democrats were left with fewer House seats than at any other time
since 1946. Needless to say, it was an absolutely historic election.
The Tea Party completely dominated American politics that night, and
they sent the Republican Party a clear message that they wanted
government debt to be brought under control. So what has changed since
then? Not much. The U.S. government is still running trillion dollar
deficits every single year. I have previously spent a lot of time blaming Barack Obama
and the Democrats for this, but the truth is that they could not have
spent a single penny without the approval of the U.S. House of
Representatives. So the Republican Party is complicit in this crime
against the American people. If there was ever a mandate to take a
stand against runaway government debt, it was after the 2010 election,
and the Republican Party has failed miserably. So what are fiscal
conservatives supposed to do now?Read More @ EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Euro Zone Nears Moment of Truth on Staying Together
by Landon Thomas, Jr, NY Times:
As Spain’s economic crisis deepens and uncertainty swirls over Greece’s
future in the euro zone, the guardians of the increasingly fragile
European monetary union are near a moment of truth: Can they muster the
will and resources to keep the euro zone from breaking apart?
The question has grown more urgent since the release of data Friday showing a record-high rate of unemployment in the euro zone, poor job creation in the United States and a manufacturing slowdown in China. Combined, those signals have fueled fears of a second global recession.
As Spain’s economic crisis deepens and uncertainty swirls over Greece’s
future in the euro zone, the guardians of the increasingly fragile
European monetary union are near a moment of truth: Can they muster the
will and resources to keep the euro zone from breaking apart? The question has grown more urgent since the release of data Friday showing a record-high rate of unemployment in the euro zone, poor job creation in the United States and a manufacturing slowdown in China. Combined, those signals have fueled fears of a second global recession.
On consecutive days last week, two of the most powerful figures in
Europe — Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, and Olli
Rehn, the most senior economic official in Brussels — warned that the
future of the euro zone was in doubt. In the words of Mr. Rehn, the
union might well disintegrate unless policy makers took steps to bind the euro’s 17 nations closer together.
Read More @ NewYorkTimes.comAttending to Your Financial Resiliency
by Adam Taggart, Chris Martenson.com:
It’s been a frenetic couple of weeks.Amidst the deterioration in Europe and the growing weakness in the US markets, in mid-May Chris issued the warning Get Ready: We’re About to Have Another 2008-Style Crisis. Downside momentum has built since then, leading him to release a rare call to buy gold last week (which has since proved prescient in the immediate term) as well as a more-pointed report today to our enrolled members: Buckle Up – Market Breakdown In Progress.
It’s times of heightened uncertainty like this where dislocating change has the potential to occur swiftly and sharply. Often events move much faster than people’s ability to react appropriately to them. We’ve been recommending a defensive posture for investors for a long time now, but it’s critical to adopt that position before the big market swings occur.
Read More @ ChrisMartenson.com
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If there is a single confession of faith uniting economists all over
the world today it is this: their uncompromising hostility to a full
gold coin standard.The second confession of faith is their qualified support of the idea of central banking.
The two positions are operationally one position.
Austrian School economists oppose central banking. This goes back to Ludwig von Mises’ 1912 book, The Theory of Money and Credit. Mises promoted free banking: commercial banking governed by the law of contracts. He did not support the idea of legislation to establish 100% reserve banking.
His disciple Murray Rothbard promoted 100% reserve banking. But, because he opposed the existence of the state, his call for 100% reserves was not a call for legislation requiring 100% reserves.
Read More @ LewRockwell.com
No More Unemployment Checks For Seasonal Workers
Eric De Groot at Eric De Groot - 4 hours ago
Saying NO to enhanced social program is a form of austerity. Austerity
curtails economic growth. A slowing economy increases the need for QE(1),
QE(2), QE(3)...QE(n). QE(n) provides OPM to enhanced social programs.
Return to 1. Headline: No More Unemployment Checks For Seasonal Workers NEW
YORK (CNNMoney) -- Should seasonal workers be allowed to collect
unemployment checks in their...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
content, and more! ]]Bond Market - Phone Home
If
the U.S. Federal Reserve were a hedge fund, its phones would be
ringing off the hook with prospective investors wanting fresh
allocations and Ben Bernanke would be zipping around the French Riviera
in a gold-plated helicopter. The Fed’s multibillion-dollar position in
Treasuries is nicely in the money with the recent moves to record lows
risk-free yields, after all. But it’s policy outcomes, not returns,
that the Fed is after. By that measure, the current record low payouts
in “Safe Haven” bonds (U.S., Germany, U.K, for example) are
troublesome. There is, of course, the worry that they portend a global
recession. This concern cannot be waved away with the notion that a
worldwide flight to quality totally upends the bond market’s
historical function as a weather-vane of economic expansion and
contraction. Beyond this concern, however, Nic Colas of
ConvergEx sees two further worries. The first is that the Fed has
needlessly compromised its independence by pursuing bond purchases
that, in hindsight, were unnecessary in the face of the current
economic outlook and investment environment. The second is that
interest rates have been demoted to a supporting role in kick starting
any global economic recovery. As with unfriendly aliens unpacking their
bags at a landing site, the move to record low rates around the world
is a truly menacing development. Historically, low interest
rates have generally sparked economic recovery. In the current
environment, this gas-down-the-carb approach seems to have simply
flooded the engine of growth. Other factors are at play, as I have outlined here. The real answer is simply more time.Are Low Interest Rates Good?
In a perfectly succinct follow-up to Last Friday's Santelli-Kaminsky CNBC-aberration discussion
of the now status quo financial repression (low interest rate / QE
environment), this two-and-a-half minute clip asks and answers the
seemingly simple question of whether low interest rates are good. Borrowing and saving are really about whether to consume more now or later (or more later and less now) and we agree with Professor Antony Davies that these decisions are best left to individuals - and not the nanny-state/Fed.
Each person's judgment of what is best for them is replaced by the
Federal reserve's judgment and the free market interest has become a
thing of the past (for now). Lower rates don't mean more spending; they mean more spending now and less in the future.Larry Summers Does It Again
"Rather than focusing on lowering already epically low rates, governments that enjoy such low borrowing costs can improve their creditworthiness by borrowing more not less."
"We Are Off The 2012 Lows" By About 10 Points
While
the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed into negative territory for
the year on Friday, E-Mini and the S&P are still "off the lows" of
the year (low print was 1259.75 on January 5th). However, if the rapid
sell off in the premarket session accelerates, it is possible that we
will wipe out all of the 2012 gains in hours if not minutes: December
30, 2011 close was 1252.50. We are now 10 just points higher and
closing fast.
from UrRightToKnow:
Japan is facing its biggest-ever backlash towards nuclear power in the aftermath of the March 11, 2011, tsunami triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that wiped out not just entire towns and villages, but also destroyed a nuclear power plant. Originally aired 8 march 2012.
Japan is facing its biggest-ever backlash towards nuclear power in the aftermath of the March 11, 2011, tsunami triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that wiped out not just entire towns and villages, but also destroyed a nuclear power plant. Originally aired 8 march 2012.
by John Galt:
The news from Athens continues to bleak over the past few weeks. A 90
year old mother and her 60 year old son jumped to their deaths off on
apartment building (See Ekarthimeini article here). A 62 year old pensioner hung himself off of a tree on the outskirts of Nikaia (See Athens News article here).
Migrants are being attacked and are desperate to leave the country.
Pharmacists are now refusing the government benefits card and demanding
cash only for life saving drugs because they fear not being paid in
Euros by the Greek bureaucracy, as payments are already many months
behind in reimbursements. Sadly, soup lines are the longest since the
end of World War II as the middle class has fallen into dire straits of
poverty, forcing dumpster diving by parents and children around the
nation.
Even with all of this hardship, the banksters of Brussels and Berlin have noted the anger and frustration of the Greek electorate and fear a victory by the anti-austerity forces but attempting to force the gyro (they’re out of turnips) to bleed is a field of expertise that the financial industry is unfortunately well known for. The bankers have elected to engage in a new strategy and it will create a humanitarian crisis unseen on the Continent since the siege of Sarajevo and the misery of the Soviet occupation: Starve the Greeks into voting for compliance with austerity.
Read More @ JohnGaltFLA.com
The news from Athens continues to bleak over the past few weeks. A 90
year old mother and her 60 year old son jumped to their deaths off on
apartment building (See Ekarthimeini article here). A 62 year old pensioner hung himself off of a tree on the outskirts of Nikaia (See Athens News article here).
Migrants are being attacked and are desperate to leave the country.
Pharmacists are now refusing the government benefits card and demanding
cash only for life saving drugs because they fear not being paid in
Euros by the Greek bureaucracy, as payments are already many months
behind in reimbursements. Sadly, soup lines are the longest since the
end of World War II as the middle class has fallen into dire straits of
poverty, forcing dumpster diving by parents and children around the
nation.Even with all of this hardship, the banksters of Brussels and Berlin have noted the anger and frustration of the Greek electorate and fear a victory by the anti-austerity forces but attempting to force the gyro (they’re out of turnips) to bleed is a field of expertise that the financial industry is unfortunately well known for. The bankers have elected to engage in a new strategy and it will create a humanitarian crisis unseen on the Continent since the siege of Sarajevo and the misery of the Soviet occupation: Starve the Greeks into voting for compliance with austerity.
Read More @ JohnGaltFLA.com
from The Economic Collapse Blog:
Another month, another bad jobs report. For the month of May, the U.S.
economy only added 69,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2%.
Many are calling this a total “disaster” and are worried that the U.S.
economy could be headed back into another recession. Economists had
been expecting 150,000 payroll jobs would be added, so the 69,000 number
really shocked a lot of people. The truth is that the economy needs to
add approximately 125,000 new jobs every single month just to keep the
unemployment rate steady. So yes, this bad jobs report is not welcome
news at all – especially for the Obama administration. When Barack
Obama first took office the unemployment rate was sitting at 7.6 percent
and now it is sitting at 8.2 percent. Some “recovery”, eh? But the
reality is that this jobs report was really not that “devastating” even
though the stock market had its worst day of the year.
Unemployment in America is still about at the same level as it was
back at the beginning of 2012. The tough stretch that we are going
through right now is only a very small taste of the economic nightmare
that is on the horizon. If you think that things are a “disaster” right
now, just wait until you see what is coming.
At the moment, 53 percent of all Americans with a bachelor’s degree under the age of 25 are either unemployed or underemployed, and there are more than 100 million working age Americans that do not currently have jobs.
Read More @ TheEconomicCollpaseBlog.com
from DayTradeShow:
Another month, another bad jobs report. For the month of May, the U.S.
economy only added 69,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2%.
Many are calling this a total “disaster” and are worried that the U.S.
economy could be headed back into another recession. Economists had
been expecting 150,000 payroll jobs would be added, so the 69,000 number
really shocked a lot of people. The truth is that the economy needs to
add approximately 125,000 new jobs every single month just to keep the
unemployment rate steady. So yes, this bad jobs report is not welcome
news at all – especially for the Obama administration. When Barack
Obama first took office the unemployment rate was sitting at 7.6 percent
and now it is sitting at 8.2 percent. Some “recovery”, eh? But the
reality is that this jobs report was really not that “devastating” even
though the stock market had its worst day of the year.
Unemployment in America is still about at the same level as it was
back at the beginning of 2012. The tough stretch that we are going
through right now is only a very small taste of the economic nightmare
that is on the horizon. If you think that things are a “disaster” right
now, just wait until you see what is coming.At the moment, 53 percent of all Americans with a bachelor’s degree under the age of 25 are either unemployed or underemployed, and there are more than 100 million working age Americans that do not currently have jobs.
Read More @ TheEconomicCollpaseBlog.com
from DayTradeShow:
from Testosterone Pit.com:
Tourism, Greece’s second largest industry after the shipping industry,
and already in a downdraft, is taking another hit as tour bus drivers
will go on strike for four days next week; wage negotiations have deadlocked. Owners demand that drivers take a 50% cut in pay and benefits on top of the 20% cut they’ve already suffered.
The National Organization for Healthcare Provision (EOPYY), Greece’s state-owned health insurer, hasn’t paid pharmacists for months and owes them €540 million. In turn, pharmacists are refusing to sell medications to insured patients, including cancer patients, unless they’re paid in cash—and even hospitals are reporting shortages.
Greece’s ship repair and shipbuilding industry, a highly competitive activity in a global market, has collapsed. Over 90% of its union workers are jobless—though Greek shipping companies own 16% of the global merchant fleet, more than any other nation. They’re just not having their ships built and repaired in Greece anymore—whatever the reason, high cost of labor, lack of investment, changing shipping routes, strikes. A sign that there are fundamental problems related to competitiveness that a bailout, no matter how generous, won’t be able to solve.
Read More @ TestosteronePit.com
Japan’s radiation seems to be close to home and even inescapable
from Oregon Live.com:
The finding reported last week that bluefin tuna caught off southern
California carried low levels of nuclear radiation from Japan was
another signal the world’s food chain could be compromised. It also
showed how efficient natural systems are at distributing radioactivity
from the Fukushima-Daiichi plant that blew up last year.
Bluefin tuna spawn only off the coasts of Japan and the Phillippines, and some migrate to the waters off southern California and Baja. The tuna caught off southern California, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contained elevated levels of cesium 134 — a radioactive isotope otherwise absent in the Pacific Ocean and linked with nuclear production. The fish also contained elevated levels of cesium 137, already present in the eastern Pacific.
The findings were a surprise to the researchers. But they prompted no warnings that eating bluefin tuna would pose an increased cancer risk, because even the elevated radioactivity levels detected were well below thresholds considered safe.
Read More @ Oregon Live.com
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
As United States and Western nations pull out, China seeks role in Afghanistan
Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai will hold talks during a global summit in Beijing this week. updated 6/3/2012 5:05:22 AM ET
BEIJING — China and Afghanistan will sign an agreement in the coming days that strategically deepens their ties, Afghan officials say, the strongest signal yet that Beijing wants a role beyond economic partnership as Western forces prepare to leave the country.
China has kept a low political profile through much of the decade-long international effort to stabilise Afghanistan, choosing instead to pursue an economic agenda, including locking in future supply from Afghanistan’s untapped mineral resources.
As the U.S.-led coalition winds up military engagement and hands over security to local forces, Beijing, along with regional powers, is gradually stepping up involvement in an area that remains at risk from being overrun by Islamist insurgents.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai will hold talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Beijing this week, where they will seal a wide-ranging pact governing their ties, including security cooperation.
Afghanistan has signed a series of strategic partnership agreements including with the United States, India and Britain among others in recent months, described by one Afghan official as taking out "insurance cover" for the period after the end of 2014 when foreign troops leave.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Bank of England to consider £50bn stimulus for economy
Bank of England policymakers may opt to inject a further £50bn of stimulus into Britain’s ailing economy this week, according to leading economists. By Angela Monaghan
11:07AM BST 03 Jun 2012
Worsening economic prospects could force the hand of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which last month voted to pause its purchase of government bonds after pumping £325bn into the market through quantitative easing.
Since then however, the data have painted a picture of a worsening, not improving outlook for the British economy, and there is no sign of a solution to the eurozone crisis.
The Office for National Statistics said the recession that began in the first quarter was deeper than it initially thought, with the economy shrinking by 0.3pc in the first three months of the year and not 0.2pc as it previously estimated.
Then on Friday the Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI showed the sector shrank at the fastest pace in three years in May, suggesting manufacturing will be a drag on the wider economy in the second quarter.
George Buckley, economist at Deutsche Bank, said the grim manufacturing PMI survey was "a game changer".
"Up until now we had been arguing the Bank would sanction no more QE after ending the previous programme last month. But conditions have worsened."
More…
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
First I want to applaud you for your selfless service to this community especially during corrections. I don’t know how you tolerate so many emails from people especially when most are either hateful, or fearful and doubtful. The latter don’t realize your statements are rock solid and cannot be shaken by the steady drumbeat of news trivia.
You have certainly achieved the art of patience in your life which is most admirable. As the wealth of information on your site swells, I imagine many would never like to be without it.
As we embark on the next wave up I will always think of this last correction as ‘Buffet’s Bottom’ in line with Brown’s Bottom that most know all about. I didn’t read the Berkshire report that is said to have spent up to ten paragraphs mocking gold bugs, but I accept it at face value given their history and the Munger comments.
I can see the picture of this new Bottom developing with you as the painter. That would be a nice addition to your growing collection as we move through this dramatic stage in history.
Best wishes for your departure to Tanzania to you and yours. I imagine that thought is shared by untold thousands of followers.
CIGA Wesley
Dear Wesley,
No Offense, But Don’t Let The U.N. Do Your Thinking CIGA Eric
Once the 2012 commodity pause is over (chart 1), expect rising food prices (chart 2) and unemployment to drive social unrest throughout the world. You don’t need the UN to decipher this market message. Gold will continue to defy the experts by outperforming commodities (chart 3).
Chart 1: CRBFoodstuffs And Year-over-Year (YOY) Change
Chart 2: Gold and CRBFood to CRBSpot Ratio
Chart 3: Spot Commodity Price Index (CRBSPOT) to Gold Ratio
Headline: UN Sees Risk of Unrest From Food Costs Above 10-Year Average
Food prices may stabilize at high levels and keep government import bills near a record, increasing the risk of social unrest in the world’s least developed countries, the United Nations said. The UN Food & Agriculture Organization is asking international lenders to accelerate the release of funds to help poor countries cope with high food costs through subsidies and avert riots, Hiroyuki Konuma, assistant director general at the FAO, said in an interview. Global food costs are about 40 percent above the average in the past 10 years, according to a UN gauge, which tracks 55 commodities. Drought in South America, the biggest soybean- growing region, has wilted harvests, helping the organization’s measure of cooking-oil prices advance to the highest level in nine months in April, even as bigger supplies of corn, rice and wheat pushed cereal prices lower. “This is the danger that we’re looking at,” Konuma said on May 3. When governments are unable to subsidize food and are forced to pass on higher costs, “then you see the youth riot and you have social unrest,” he said.
Source: bloomberg.com
More…
Jim,
"Not on the eve of the apocalypse"
It gets to be a problem when you are aware of MOPE and you read articles from the MSM that almost always end up being the opposite of what they are saying. Here is one that did not make my morning but at least I’m aware.
"Moving away from pessimistic speeches in recent weeks, Rajoy said Spain would weather the financial storm by stepping up efforts to rein in public finances and by implementing structural reforms at national and European level.
"We’re not walking on a bed of roses but we’re also not on the eve of the apocalypse," he said."
Link to full article…
When they use the word apocalypse you know QE to infinity is for sure.
Thanks for everything you do!
CIGA Les
Dear Les,
Jim,
Most are saying the Fed will be stopped by the US Congress debt limit ceiling.
I think the Fed, if necessary, will bring the economy to its knees, for as long as it takes, to get the printer started.
You say we have 2 more years – I think you mean inflation will be unbearable by then and Congress will act in its own interests to put the US on the gold (and silver? and/or other commodities?) standard.
But I don’t think the US will ever declare bankruptcy as Iceland did, and all the "swells", like Jamie and Loydie, will be bailed out until the dollar replacement is reset to $10,000+ per ounce.
Regards,
CIGA Sam K.
Sam,
Please Donate
Thank You
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Tourism, Greece’s second largest industry after the shipping industry,
and already in a downdraft, is taking another hit as tour bus drivers
will go on strike for four days next week; wage negotiations have deadlocked. Owners demand that drivers take a 50% cut in pay and benefits on top of the 20% cut they’ve already suffered.The National Organization for Healthcare Provision (EOPYY), Greece’s state-owned health insurer, hasn’t paid pharmacists for months and owes them €540 million. In turn, pharmacists are refusing to sell medications to insured patients, including cancer patients, unless they’re paid in cash—and even hospitals are reporting shortages.
Greece’s ship repair and shipbuilding industry, a highly competitive activity in a global market, has collapsed. Over 90% of its union workers are jobless—though Greek shipping companies own 16% of the global merchant fleet, more than any other nation. They’re just not having their ships built and repaired in Greece anymore—whatever the reason, high cost of labor, lack of investment, changing shipping routes, strikes. A sign that there are fundamental problems related to competitiveness that a bailout, no matter how generous, won’t be able to solve.
Read More @ TestosteronePit.com
from Oregon Live.com:
The finding reported last week that bluefin tuna caught off southern
California carried low levels of nuclear radiation from Japan was
another signal the world’s food chain could be compromised. It also
showed how efficient natural systems are at distributing radioactivity
from the Fukushima-Daiichi plant that blew up last year. Bluefin tuna spawn only off the coasts of Japan and the Phillippines, and some migrate to the waters off southern California and Baja. The tuna caught off southern California, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contained elevated levels of cesium 134 — a radioactive isotope otherwise absent in the Pacific Ocean and linked with nuclear production. The fish also contained elevated levels of cesium 137, already present in the eastern Pacific.
The findings were a surprise to the researchers. But they prompted no warnings that eating bluefin tuna would pose an increased cancer risk, because even the elevated radioactivity levels detected were well below thresholds considered safe.
Read More @ Oregon Live.com
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
If the West really believes it is going to get Afghanistan’s minerals they are nuts.
As United States and Western nations pull out, China seeks role in Afghanistan
Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai will hold talks during a global summit in Beijing this week. updated 6/3/2012 5:05:22 AM ET
BEIJING — China and Afghanistan will sign an agreement in the coming days that strategically deepens their ties, Afghan officials say, the strongest signal yet that Beijing wants a role beyond economic partnership as Western forces prepare to leave the country.
China has kept a low political profile through much of the decade-long international effort to stabilise Afghanistan, choosing instead to pursue an economic agenda, including locking in future supply from Afghanistan’s untapped mineral resources.
As the U.S.-led coalition winds up military engagement and hands over security to local forces, Beijing, along with regional powers, is gradually stepping up involvement in an area that remains at risk from being overrun by Islamist insurgents.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai will hold talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Beijing this week, where they will seal a wide-ranging pact governing their ties, including security cooperation.
Afghanistan has signed a series of strategic partnership agreements including with the United States, India and Britain among others in recent months, described by one Afghan official as taking out "insurance cover" for the period after the end of 2014 when foreign troops leave.
More…
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Whatever QE is needed and wherever it is needed in the West will be supplied to infinity and not limited at 50 billion.
Bank of England to consider £50bn stimulus for economy
Bank of England policymakers may opt to inject a further £50bn of stimulus into Britain’s ailing economy this week, according to leading economists. By Angela Monaghan
11:07AM BST 03 Jun 2012
Worsening economic prospects could force the hand of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which last month voted to pause its purchase of government bonds after pumping £325bn into the market through quantitative easing.
Since then however, the data have painted a picture of a worsening, not improving outlook for the British economy, and there is no sign of a solution to the eurozone crisis.
The Office for National Statistics said the recession that began in the first quarter was deeper than it initially thought, with the economy shrinking by 0.3pc in the first three months of the year and not 0.2pc as it previously estimated.
Then on Friday the Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI showed the sector shrank at the fastest pace in three years in May, suggesting manufacturing will be a drag on the wider economy in the second quarter.
George Buckley, economist at Deutsche Bank, said the grim manufacturing PMI survey was "a game changer".
"Up until now we had been arguing the Bank would sanction no more QE after ending the previous programme last month. But conditions have worsened."
More…
Dear Mr. Sinclair,
First I want to applaud you for your selfless service to this community especially during corrections. I don’t know how you tolerate so many emails from people especially when most are either hateful, or fearful and doubtful. The latter don’t realize your statements are rock solid and cannot be shaken by the steady drumbeat of news trivia.
You have certainly achieved the art of patience in your life which is most admirable. As the wealth of information on your site swells, I imagine many would never like to be without it.
As we embark on the next wave up I will always think of this last correction as ‘Buffet’s Bottom’ in line with Brown’s Bottom that most know all about. I didn’t read the Berkshire report that is said to have spent up to ten paragraphs mocking gold bugs, but I accept it at face value given their history and the Munger comments.
I can see the picture of this new Bottom developing with you as the painter. That would be a nice addition to your growing collection as we move through this dramatic stage in history.
Best wishes for your departure to Tanzania to you and yours. I imagine that thought is shared by untold thousands of followers.
CIGA Wesley
Dear Wesley,
I have an unfinished job. That task is to call the true over
valuation of gold in both price and time from which I do not anticipate a
1980 replay. That is because gold is coming into the system, not moving
away from it.
If I am able to define this properly then I will be proud of my time
spent in markets. It would then be evident that I have managed my public
company correctly.
Knowing when to cash out is more important than knowing when to get in all investments and public companies.
Respectfully,
Jim
Jim
No Offense, But Don’t Let The U.N. Do Your Thinking CIGA Eric
Once the 2012 commodity pause is over (chart 1), expect rising food prices (chart 2) and unemployment to drive social unrest throughout the world. You don’t need the UN to decipher this market message. Gold will continue to defy the experts by outperforming commodities (chart 3).
Chart 1: CRBFoodstuffs And Year-over-Year (YOY) Change
Chart 2: Gold and CRBFood to CRBSpot Ratio
Chart 3: Spot Commodity Price Index (CRBSPOT) to Gold Ratio
Headline: UN Sees Risk of Unrest From Food Costs Above 10-Year Average
Food prices may stabilize at high levels and keep government import bills near a record, increasing the risk of social unrest in the world’s least developed countries, the United Nations said. The UN Food & Agriculture Organization is asking international lenders to accelerate the release of funds to help poor countries cope with high food costs through subsidies and avert riots, Hiroyuki Konuma, assistant director general at the FAO, said in an interview. Global food costs are about 40 percent above the average in the past 10 years, according to a UN gauge, which tracks 55 commodities. Drought in South America, the biggest soybean- growing region, has wilted harvests, helping the organization’s measure of cooking-oil prices advance to the highest level in nine months in April, even as bigger supplies of corn, rice and wheat pushed cereal prices lower. “This is the danger that we’re looking at,” Konuma said on May 3. When governments are unable to subsidize food and are forced to pass on higher costs, “then you see the youth riot and you have social unrest,” he said.
Source: bloomberg.com
More…
Jim,
"Not on the eve of the apocalypse"
It gets to be a problem when you are aware of MOPE and you read articles from the MSM that almost always end up being the opposite of what they are saying. Here is one that did not make my morning but at least I’m aware.
"Moving away from pessimistic speeches in recent weeks, Rajoy said Spain would weather the financial storm by stepping up efforts to rein in public finances and by implementing structural reforms at national and European level.
"We’re not walking on a bed of roses but we’re also not on the eve of the apocalypse," he said."
Link to full article…
When they use the word apocalypse you know QE to infinity is for sure.
Thanks for everything you do!
CIGA Les
Dear Les,
We are in the apocalypse and QE can buy but 24 months only if at the rate of "to infinity."
Jim
Jim,
Most are saying the Fed will be stopped by the US Congress debt limit ceiling.
I think the Fed, if necessary, will bring the economy to its knees, for as long as it takes, to get the printer started.
You say we have 2 more years – I think you mean inflation will be unbearable by then and Congress will act in its own interests to put the US on the gold (and silver? and/or other commodities?) standard.
But I don’t think the US will ever declare bankruptcy as Iceland did, and all the "swells", like Jamie and Loydie, will be bailed out until the dollar replacement is reset to $10,000+ per ounce.
Regards,
CIGA Sam K.
Sam,
I did not say we had 2 years. Read it.
If QE starts to infinity tomorrow, June 4th 2012, we would have 24 months.
The end is here and now.
Jim
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