BTFD...

China Imports More Gold From Hong Kong In Five Months Than All Of UK's Combined Gold Holdings

There are those who say gold may go to $10,000 or to $0, or somewhere in between; in a different universe, they would be the people furiously staring at the trees. For a quick look at the forest, we suggest readers have a glance at the chart below. It shows that just in the first five months of 2012 alone, China has imported more gold, a total of 315 tons, than all the official gold holdings of the UK, at 310.3 according to the WGC/IMF (a country which infamously sold 400 tons of gold by Gordon Brown at ~$275/ounce).

Citi’s Fitzpatrick – Euro Under Pressure, Ready to Collapse

from KingWorldNews:

Today King World News wanted to share with its global readers a portion of top Citibank analyst, Tom Fitzpatrick’s latest report. Fitzpatrick, a 28 year veteran and top analyst at Citibank, which has $1.3 trillion in assets, covered the two key markets, the euro vs the dollar and bonds. Below were his comments with two important charts:
Tom Fitzpatrick latest report:
“U.S. 30 year yields held 2.50% twice – the first time in Dec 2008 and then again this year. A breach of that would leave the way open for the double top target in the 2.00% area.”
Euro vs Dollar: “Lower lows confirms the trend is still down and the sub 1.20 area should be tested. The 2010 low was 1.1876 and the channel base comes in at 1.1720. Note that end of May also saw a decent trend down on EUR/USD as German yields fell to zero and a U.S. long end yields trended down.
Tom Fitzpatrick continues @ KingWorldNews.com

 

That ‘Fiscal Cliff’ You’re Worried About? It’s Already Here

by John Melloy, via CNBC:
The much-bandied about “Fiscal Cliff” is already here, according to economists and investors, as businesses curb spending in anticipation of the higher tax rates and reduced spending set to be enacted at the end of this year.
“The fiscal cliff is not just a year-end story,” wrote Michelle Meyer and the economics team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in a report to clients. “We expect the uncertainty shock to be realized in the coming months, escalating before the election.”
The economists argue in the report that businesses have already started to curb investment and hiring plans in the face of this tightening of fiscal policy, further cutting into GDP.
Read more @ CNBC.com

Did YOU Get the Memo? Merrill Tells Wealthy Clients to Prepare For ‘a Fundamental Geopolitical Shift’

from Financial Times, via CNBC:
This year, investors have been gobbling up US treasuries in a desperate effort to search for safety. But would they have done better to grab Australian sovereign debt or Singaporean bank bonds, as a shield against political incompetence in a fractious world?
If the wealth management arm of Merrill Lynch is to be believed, the answer could be “yes”. This month, the US broker is quietly circulating a memo which tells its affluent clients to reposition themselves — and their portfolios — for a fundamental geopolitical shift.
During much of the late 20th century, the broker says, the world was shaped by American-dominated institutions, such as the Group of Seven wealthiest nations. But during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, it became clear western dominance was crumbling, and the focus moved from the G7 to the G20, which includes emerging markets such as China.
Read more @ CNBC.com

Featured Post: Our Money Is Dying – Don’t Let Your Wealth Die With It

by Chris Martenson, Peak Prosperity:
A question on the minds of many people today (increasingly those who manage or invest money professionally) is this: How do I preserve wealth during a period of intense official intervention in and manipulation of money supply, price, and asset markets?
As every effort to re-inflate and perpetuate the credit bubble is made, the words of Austrian economist Ludwig Von Mises lurk ominously nearby:

There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner, as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later, as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. (Source)

Because every effort is being made to avoid abandoning the credit expansion process — with central banks and governments lending and borrowing furiously to make up for private shortfalls — we are left with the growing prospect that the outcome will involve some form of “final catastrophe of the currency system”(s).
Read More @ PeakProsperity.com

The Bernank Put 'Strike' Is Now At 1200 For The S&P 500

We have discussed at length the need for the equity market to be significantly lower in order for Bernanke to step in with his munificence. Critically, this is less about the absolute level of the S&P 500 (though anyone expecting the Fed chairman to step in with the S&P 500 within a few percent of multi-year highs is dreaming) but, as Barry Knapp from Barclays notes - based on Bernanke's writings - additional monetary stimulus is a function of a significant drop in inflation expectations (as opposed to a shallow drop in the S&P 500). It is the risk of deflation that will trigger a policy reaction. Current conditions are not even close to levels that have warranted additional stimulus in the past - which we estimate to be a 2% 5Y5Y forward inflation breakeven rate. In order for that level to be triggered - based on the post-crisis relationship between equities and inflation expectations - the S&P 500 trailing earnings yield would need to rise over 8.2% implying an S&P 500 level near 1200. Tracking inflation expectations is critical to any NEW QE hope - and for now, there is none on the horizon, no matter how much everyone clamors for it.

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ECRI's Achuthan: "The US Is In Recession Already"

Lakshman Achuthan, co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, spoke with Bloomberg Television’s Tom Keene today and said that, "What we said back in December was that the most likely start date for the recession would be in Q1 and if not then, by the middle of 2012. I’m here to reaffirm that. I think we’re in a recession already." And just like us, the anagrammatic ECRI economist believes that "It is not all about GDP. It is about jobs. It is about income and sales. A recession is a vicious interplay among output, input, employment, income and sales" noting that recessions don't generally start with a cliff (that everyone looks for) adding (rather ominously): "there is this belief that somehow government or a central bank will stave off a recession. For the last 220 years, you do some history with Hamilton, which ended in a duel by the way... you have had 47 recessions. Why are we going to avoid the 48th?"

The Ultimate Krugman Take-Down

Forget Ali - Frazier; ignore Santelli - Liesman; dismiss Yankees - Red Sox; never mind Silva - Sonnen; the new undisputed standard by which all showdowns will be judged happened in Spain over the weekend. During a debate on Europe's crisis, Pedro Schwartz (a mild-mannered Spanish 'Austrian' economics professor) took on the heavyweight Paul 'I coulda been a Fed Chair contender' Krugman, and - in our humble opinion - wiped the floor with his Keynesian philosophy. From the medicinal use of more debt to fix too much debt, to the Japanization of world economies and the demand-side bias of every- and any-thing - interested only in the short-term economic growth; the gentlemanly Spaniard notes, with regard to the European crisis, the fact that "Keynesians got us into this mess and now we have to sacrifice our principals so that they can get us out of this mess". Humble and generous in his praise - though definitively serious with his criticism - Schwartz opines: "Often Nobel prize winners are tempted to pontificate on matters that are outside the specialty in which they have excelled," noting "the mantle of authority whereby what ever they say - whether sensible or not - is accepted with resignation from some and enthusiasm by others." Krugman's red-faced anger is evident at the conclusion as he even refused to shake Schwartz's hand after the debate. Absolute must watch!

WTImmmberrr As 10Y Hits 1.49% Handle

S&P 500 futures have broken the shoulder and are off over 20 points from the day-session open highs but it seems that CMI's cut has spurred derisking reality in many industrials and that has knocked into everything else. WTI has plunged back under $84 and the 10Y Treasury yield just broke back under 1.50% for the first time in a month - heading close to record-lows. Equities remain at least 70pts or so rich to where Treasuries trade for now (short-term) and considerably more longer-term.

More Fun Facts With Crisis Period LI(E)BOR

Digging into the details of US and UK Liebor duing the crisis period is stirring both bad memories and some very clear disclocations from reality. While we noted many of these at the time, they seem even more egregious now and as Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors notes, outliers seem to be Citi, RBS, and to a less extent UBS. Our perception was that RBS was viewed as a worse credit than Barclay’s. CDS seems to confirm that, yet they are posting LIBOR significantly tighter. UBS always seemed to have some decent government support, so while maybe a stretch that they were quoting LIBOR close to JPM and DB, it isn’t totally unreasonable. DB if anything looks conservative relative to other prices. Citi just seems ridiculous. The CDS market was trading it as the worst of the credits, yet here they are with the best LIBOR. That looks consistent throughout the entire the period. Maybe there is something we're missing and just don’t remember, but it does seem surprising that Citi thought they could fund at the same level as JPM at the time in the unsecured interbank market. At this point it is all just speculation where the information Barclay’s has provided the FSA leads, but so many people have been talking about LIBOR so long, that we would be shocked if it ends at Barclay’s and there is enough data, in our mind, to warrant some much deeper investigation.

Five Ominous Charts For Q2 Earnings

It's early, but as we pointed out yesterday in our Q2 earnings preview, the background noise is starting to grow louder. With near record levels of negative pre-announcements post the financial crisis (most recently AMD and Cummins), we are shocked (shocked we tell you) that analysts could have got it so wrong. Expectations for Q2 2012 EPS Growth have dropped from a Viagra-based 'its-always-better-two-quarters-out' view in August 2011 of +11% to -1.8% today. What is not surprising is the hope-filled 14% S&P 500 EPS growth rate expected for Q4 2012! With EURUSD down almost 11% from Q2 2011, we can only imagine the FX translation impacts that analysts are desperately trying to goal-seek into their forecasts - which we presume accounts for the surge in Q4 when Europe will be 'fixed'. With negative macro surprises so disconnected from equity market performance (and implicitly hope for earnings), it seems there is notable room for disappointment.

Cummins Going

In yet another negative pre-announcement, following AMD, MAKO and AMAT (just to start, many more coming), Cummins (common bellwether among the talking-est heads) has just cut its revenue guidance dramatically. From expectations of a 10% jump in 2012 revenues, they have cut the full year to breakeven with 2011 now. S&P 500 futures dipped on this news and remain at the cliff's edge. CMI is down over 4% but thanks to a 25% boost in their dividend (makes perfect sense when cutting forecasts?) it's not more (yet - we expect more) - though this confirms some of the signals of increased leverage in credit land as cash piles get burned through just to support dividends or share prices.

WET WORK? ‘Stressed’ Bank of England Official Supposedly STABBED HIMSELF TO DEATH

[Ed. Note: Not sure how we missed this one. This tends to remind us of all those (allegedly) Clinton-related Mena, Arkansas "suicides". You know, the ones with the victims hands tied behind the back with multiple gunshots to the back of the head. Yeah, those "suicides".]

from The Telegraph

The body of Christopher Dymond, 52, was discovered in a secluded car park in Herongate, Essex, after his family had reported him missing.
A post-mortem revealed Mr Dymond died from self-inflicted stab wounds to his chest and cuts to his arms.
His grieving father, Denis Dymond, told an inquest: “Our over-arching point of view is that Chris’s death came about because of intense anxiety which was work-related.
“He was let down in the duty of care by his employers.”
The father-of-three had been reported missing by his concerned family at around 10.30pm on April 21 this year after they were unable to contact him.
Police launched a full-scale search and discovered the body early the following morning four miles from the family home in a car park at Herongate Athletic Football Club.
Read More @ Telegraph.co.uk

Survey Indicates Many Wall Street Execs Think Wrongdoing is Necessary

from Reuters, via Yahoo:

If the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes were to go out with his lantern in search of an honest man today, a survey of Wall Street executives on workplace conduct suggests he might have to look elsewhere.
A quarter of Wall Street executives see wrongdoing as a key to success, according to a survey by whistleblower law firm Labaton Sucharow released on Tuesday.
In a survey of 500 senior executives in the United States and the UK, 26 percent of respondents said they had observed or had firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace, while 24 percent said they believed financial services professionals may need to engage in unethical or illegal conduct to be successful.
Sixteen percent of respondents said they would commit insider trading if they could get away with it, according to Labaton Sucharow. And 30 percent said their compensation plans created pressure to compromise ethical standards or violate the law.
Read more @ Yahoo.com

‘After 9/11 NSA had secret deal with White House’

from RussiaToday:

RT talks to a former National Security Agency executive in the US who sacrificed his career to blow the whistle on wrong-doings inside the NSA.

High Frequency Trading Dissected

by Erik Townsend from Financial Sense via, Victory Report:

High Frequency provides the liquidity that today’s makers demand, right?
A Forensic Post-Mortem on Facebook with Eric Hunsader of Nanex.
Market Microstructure expert Eric Hunsader of Nanex joins Erik on The Next Level to discuss what really went wrong in the Facebook IPO.
Click here for Audio

Bye-Bye Syria: The Globalist Destruction of a Nation State

by Patrick Henningsen, Info Wars:
With all the rhetoric and talk of democratic reform in Syria, the Syrian opposition’s message is now clear: “No negotiations. We want power now.” Sounds more like a radical dictatorship in the making.
Yet, this is the very opposition being backed by the western powers led by Hillary Clinton and her ‘Friends of Syria’ steering group, an opposition that is currently killing, burning, and looting their way through to Damascus, with Syria looking more and more likely to eventually go the way of Libya.
The Syrian opposition, in the form of the Syrian National Council (SNC) were in Moscow today, lobbying to change Russia’s mind on Syria – lobbying for Russian support in removing the current Syrian regime. “No dialogue with Bashar al Assad and the ruling regime,” in effect demanding action before any talks of a new government can take place.
Read More @ InfoWars.com

‘A cesspit’: Libor scandal may be going on elsewhere

by James Kirkup, and Angela Monaghan, The Telegraph:
The market for determining one of the world’s key interest rates was a “cesspit” and banks cannot be trusted to be honest in several other major markets, the deputy governor of the Bank of England has warned.
Paul Tucker told MPs that Barclays’ abuse of the Libor system may be only one part of the banks’ dishonesty over crucial financial information, suggesting that other markets should now be investigated.
An official inquiry into Libor – which helps determine interest rates for householders and businesses – should be broadened to include several over markets where banks are trusted to report their own data, he said.
Mr Tucker’s evidence to the Treasury Select Committee also reignited the political row over the Libor scandal as he insisted that members of the last Labour government had not “absolutely not” put pressure on him to reduce Libor.
George Osborne, the Chancellor, has said that that the last government was “clearly involved” in the banks’ dishonest under-stating of the interest rates they were paying to borrow on money markets.
Labour last night demanded Mr Osborne withdraw his claims, but Treasury sources insisted that question remain about Labour’s direct dealings with dishonest banks during the 2007-08 financial crisis.
Read More @ Telegraph.co.uk

Obama Seizes Control of All Communications Systems With Executive Order

by Susanne Posel, Occupy Corporatism:
President Obama has usurped all available forms of communication for use and discretion of the US government. Under executive order (EO) , Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions, Obama has enabled the executive branch to control communications under all “possible under all circumstances to ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies, and improve national resilience.”
Radio and wired communications systems “of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public must inform the development of national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications policies, programs, and capabilities.”
Cellular phone corporations like Sprint owned Boost Mobile have released messages to their customers concerning the US government’s allocation of their phone communications at the whim of the President. In a text message to customers, Boost Mobile said that: “. . . you can receive national and local emergency alerts directly on your phone.”
Read More @ OccupyCorporatism.com

The Global Economy: It’s All About Increasing Leverage

by Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds:
If the global State/finance Empire can’t increase systemic leverage, it will implode.
If we look at the global economy with unclouded eyes, we reach this conclusion: “This whole thing is about leverage.”If leverage doesn’t increase, the system implodes. But since collateral is disappearing from the global economy like sand castles in a rising tide, and disposable income has stagnated,there is no foundation for more leverage.
As a result, the State/finance cartel has only one choice: increase leverage by whatever means are left. There are only two:
1. Allow banks to claim phantom assets as capital/reserves
2. Lower interest rates so stagnant income can leverage ever greater quantities of debt
Read More @ OfTwoMinds.com

What a Shocker: NY FED May Have Known About Libor Fixing in 2007

from Reuters, via CNBC:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York may have known as early as August 2007 that the setting of global benchmark interest rates was flawed.
Following an inquiry with British banking group Barclays in the spring of 2008, it shared proposals for reform of the system with British authorities.
The role of the Fed is likely to raise questions about whether it and other authorities took enough action to address concerns they had about the way London Interbank Offered Rates, or Libor, were set, or whether their struggle to keep the banking system afloat through the financial crisis meant the issue took a backseat.
A New York Fed spokesperson said in a statement that “in the context of our market monitoring following the onset of the financial crisis in late 2007, involving thousands of calls and emails with market participants over a period of many months, we received occasional anecdotal reports from Barclays of problems with Libor.
“In the Spring of 2008, following the failure of Bear Stearns and shortly before the first media report on the subject, we made further inquiry of Barclays as to how Libor submissions were being conducted. We subsequently shared our analysis and suggestions for reform of Libor with the relevant authorities in the UK.”
Read more @ CNBC.com

Monsanto Launches Massive Campaign Against GMO Labeling

from TheAlexJonesChannel :

We’ve gone on at great lengths discussing the dangers of genetic modification. Monsanto’s GMO corn has been linked to weight gain and organ function disruption, while GMO crops and pesticides destroy our farmland and environment.
According to the Alliance of Natural Health, the grandchildren of rats fed GMO corn were born sterile. GMO is just one of those things to avoid, but with our own government in bed with Monsanto, it’s not easily done. Monsanto has recently launched a proverbial war against the open labeling of genetically modified foods, and only through activism and awareness can it be overcome. The People Versus GMO:

In February of this year, Vermont contemplated the Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. The proposed bill prohibits GMO food producers from using keywords like “natural,” “naturally made,” “naturally grown,” and “all natural” to describe GMO ingredients and products. In the same month, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported that nearly 20 states were considering similar programs. Public surveys and studies also show a whopping 90 percent of the U.S. in favor of such practices.
In theory, this should make California’s GMO labeling initiative, which would require all foods within the state made with GM ingredients to carry a label stating so, a shoo-in. But let’s not get so hasty.
Leaders in the disinformation campaign launched against the labeling initiative cry out that it would be—like the infamous Proposition 65, “The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986″—a way for bounty-hunting trial lawyers to file suits against even natural food companies for supposedly selling products containing undisclosed GMOs. Of course, GMO’s ally StopCostlyFoodLabeling.com receives funding from the Council for Biotechnology Information. It should be no surprise that the likes of Monsanto and Dow count themselves members of the said organization.

8 Vital skills to teach your children that will trump an Ivy League education

from TheSurvivalMom.com:
A few weeks ago I was in a particularly depressed mood. That’s not the norm for me, but this time it was completely justified. I was pondering my children’s futures.
College prices have sky-rocketed, far surpassing wage increases. My daughter will be ready for college in five years. Will we be able to afford a college education for her or even pay a percentage of it? And, if she does go to college, what will she major in that will provide a reliable career in a world whose future is increasingly unreliable?
Read More @ TheSurvivalMom.com

Central Banks: Running Out of Ideas, Road

by Detlev S Schlichter, Financial Sense:
On page two of today’s Wall Street Journal Europe you will find the result of a readers’ poll from last Friday: Question: Will the ECB’s rate cut help restore confidence in the bloc’s economy? Answer: 81 percent of readers say no, 19 percent yes.
Last week’s round of global monetary easing – another ECB rate cut, another round of debt monetization from the BoE, another rate cut from the People’s Printing Press of China – is, of course, more of the same old same old. It has a discernible touch of desperation about it and this is not lost on the public. Monetary policy is ineffective. Or, to be precise, it is only effective in delaying a bit further the much-needed liquidation of the massive imbalances that previous monetary policy helped create, and thereby is contributing, on the margin, towards making the inevitable endgame even more painful. It is counterproductive and destructive. It is certainly not restoring confidence.
Read More @ Financial Sense.com

14 Incredibly Creepy Surveillance Technologies That Big Brother Will Be Using To Spy On You

from End of the American Dream:
Most of us don’t think much about it, but the truth is that people are being watched, tracked and monitored more today than at any other time in human history. The explosive growth of technology in recent years has given governments, spy agencies and big corporations monitoring tools that the despots and dictators of the past could only dream of. Previous generations never had to deal with “pre-crime” surveillance cameras that use body language to spot criminals or unmanned drones watching them from far above. Previous generations would have never even dreamed that street lights and refrigerators might be spying on them. Many of the incredibly creepy surveillance technologies that you are about to read about are likely to absolutely astound you. We are rapidly heading toward a world where there will be no such thing as privacy anymore. Big Brother is becoming all-pervasive, and thousands of new technologies are currently being developed that will make it even easier to spy on you. The world is changing at a breathtaking pace, and a lot of the changes are definitely not for the better.
Read More @ EndoftheAmericanDream.com

Liberty Is A State of Being

by Eric A. Sharp, Mises.ca:

Sadhguru Vasudev cautions those that want to change the world to first rid their own hearts of fear and pain, before embarking to change the way others live — otherwise one will only transcribe one’s own darkness upon the world and make a bigger mess.
Before you can bring the message of liberty to anyone, you must first “live in truth” and experience liberty in your mind and heart. If your heart, mind, and body, are not aligned to the same purpose your message will be muddled. As the saying goes, ” No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” But if you have dedicated your entire being to freedom and really feel it, then no force can stop our message.
Do it now. Break yourself apart from the archetypal authoritarian nested deep in your mind. Cease your fevered dreams of wandering the Stately Halls, searching for meaning that isn’t there. Krishnamurti writes:
It is very easy to conform to what your society or your parents and teachers tell you. That is a safe and easy way of existing; but that is not living, because in it there is fear, decay, death. To live is to find out for yourself what is true, and you can do this only when there is freedom, when there is continuous revolution inwardly, within yourself.
Read More @ Mises.ca

Things That Make You Go Hmmm – Such As The Transition From Conspiracy Theory To Conspiracy Fact

by Grant Williams, Info Wars:

Attempts to manipulate free markets invariably end badly – after all, they are, supposedly, by their very nature, free.
Over the past few weeks, the exposure of the Libor-rigging scandal has monopolized the headlines of the financial press and inveigled its way onto the front pages of every major news publication in the world through the sheer size and scale of the story.
Something as big as this just CAN’T be hidden from the public. Only… it can.
It has been. It no doubt still is to a certain extent. I’m not going to go through all of the events of the past few weeks as you are no doubt familiar with them, but [simply understanding how LIBOR works makes for a simple conclusion].
I’m afraid it’s rather obvious. Given that almost half the reported inputs that help establish the Libor rate are discarded immediately, Barclays simply CANNOT have manipulated the Libor rate alone. Period.
What’s more, to effectively ensure the rate is set at the price required, you’d need to not only establish the highest and lowest 25% of prices, but then ensure the remaining 50% average out to the required rate and, based on the fact that there are 16 banks that submit rates, that would mean about 13 of the 16 involved would need to be complicit.
As a very good friend of mine put it earlier this week; at best this is a cartel, at worst it’s outright fraud on a scale that is completely unprecedented.
Read More @ InfoWars.com

Punk Economics 5: The World Slows & Euro Crisis Far From Over

by Punk Economics:

Pro-Israeli Lobby in Washington Ensures America Does Israel’s Bidding

by Susanne Posel, Occupy Corporatism:
When the US House of Representatives, with the coercion of the Obama administration, passed the HR 4133 United States – Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 (USIESC), the US-Israeli relationship took a new turn. In one fail swoop, Obama tied America to the agendas of Israel and brought to light what was once only implied in secret meetings.
The US has become the strong-arm, military force and financier of Israel in a “commitment” to assist Israel in remaining a Jewish State; and all that entails.
On Capitol Hill, the biggest lobby firm, The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a domestic lobby that ensures that America protect “Israel’s security and protecting American interests in the Middle East and around the world” as well as making sure that “America and Israel remain strong and that they collaborate closely together”.
Read More @ OccupyCorporatism.com

If you believe in liberty, the U.S. government now considers you a terror suspect

by J. D. Heyes, Natural News:
In this season of Independence, it’s important – and sad – to note how far we’ve come from our nation’s founding, where brave, insightful men laid everything on the line just a couple of centuries ago in an all-or-nothing effort to birth the greatest, most successful, free country in the history of the earth.
Today, holding dear such values as freedom and liberty will get you put on a terrorist list. Welcome to America 2012.
A new study funded by the Department of Homeland Security, using your tax dollars, describes Americans who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority” and “reverent of individual liberty” as “extreme right-wing” terrorists.
Read More @ NaturalNews.com

Dear Slavey — Feedback Edition

By Jeff Berwick, Dollar Vigilante:
Dear Slavey:
Your advice to Dennis in the July Edition of Dear Slavey, to simply not repay his credit card debt, is disturbing.
One of the most fundamental principals necessary for a free market to operate, is the honoring of contracts. Dennis was not forced into accumulating this debt. He was not forced to borrow and purchase goods and services. Dennis chose to. Therefore, he is obligated to repay the debts that he has accumulated. He should honor a contract to which he has entered into with his creditor.
One whom does not honor their contractual obligations is a crook. One whom does not honor their contractual obligations cannot be a part of a productive free market economy.
You have it wrong on this one. Way wrong.
Read More @ DollarVigilante.com

Why do so few investors seem to understand the silver story?

by Peter Cooper, Silver Seek:
It is a mystery story really: why do so few investors seem to understand the case for silver? After all the track record is formidable. Silver prices have risen 10-fold in a decade, out performing gold and pretty much any other investment available to the ordinary investor.
You would need to have been a private equity investor like Mitt Romney to have done better or some kind of hedge fund rocket scientist trading derivatives in a favourable market. Silver is a boring lump of metal and anybody could have owned it. Those who did, and held their nerve during the volatility, are laughing.
Tempus fugit

The diehards who miss every major investment call through excessive caution would now have it that silver’s game is somehow up. Industrial use will plummet in another global recession producing a panic crash in the silver price.
Read more @ SilverSeek.com

Jim’s Mailbox

July 10, 2012, at 1:06 pm
by Jim Sinclair

Dear Jim,

Retirement is a thing of the past unless it is you being placed 6ft underground.
CIGA BJS

Pension Deficits Deepen in Corporate Britain and US Published: Tuesday, 10 Jul 2012 | 11:09 AM ET
Chronically weak stock markets and record low bond yields have pushed company pension deficits in the United States and Britain sharply higher, adding to the burden of retirees living longer than ever before, reports said on Tuesday.
In the United States the aggregate deficit of S&P 500 companies grew $59 billion in the first half of the year to $543 billion, consultancy Mercer said.
Corporate America is sitting on total liabilities of $2.09 trillion against total assets of $1.55 trillion, Mercer added.
The picture is no less bleak in Britain, where the combined deficit of FTSE 100 companies more than doubled over the past year to 41 billion pounds ($64 billion), actuarial firm Lane, Clark & Peacock (LCP) said in a separate report.
This is despite companies having poured 11 billion pounds ($17 billion) into schemes over the last year in an attempt to plug the deficit, LCP said.
More…






Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

How can you continue to trade any commodity, especially gold, when you have no certainty that your funds will be returned to you?

You simply cannot.

UPDATE 3-MF Global redux: CFTC says Iowa broker misused over $200 mln Tue Jul 10, 2012 12:08pm EDT
By David Sheppard and Tom Polansek and Alexandra Alper
NEW YORK/CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – The U.S.futures trading industry reeled on Tuesday as federal regulators accused Iowa-based broker PFGBest with misusing over $200 million in customer funds for more than two years, resurrecting the shock of MF Global’s collapse.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which had give a clean bill of health to the brokerage industry in January, said that the broker’s regulated Peregrine Financial Group (PFG) unit and its owner had failed to maintain sufficient capital in segregated accounts since at least February 2010.
It said the shortfall was in excess of $200 million, more than half of the broker’s total client funds.
"The whereabouts of the funds is currently unknown," the CFTC said in a complaint against the regulated broker arm and Russell R. Wasendorf Sr., the founder and chairman of PFGBest whose apparent suicide attempt on Monday morning outside the firm’s Cedar Falls, Iowa, offices appears to have triggered the crisis.
Wasendorf, a well-known and mostly well-regarded figure in the industry, was reported to be in a coma, the filing said.
The complaint relies on many of the details released on Monday by the National Futures Association (NFA), the broker’s first line regulator, which discovered during an audit that a U.S. bank account that PFG reported was holding $225 million in 1,845 customer accounts actually contained only $5 million.
More…

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