Three US Aircraft Carriers Now In The Middle East With Fourth En Route

A week ago we reported news that Middle East veteran aircraft carrier CVN-74 Stennis was ending its brief sabbatical prematurely, and far earlier than previously expected, and heading right back into the field, er sea, of action. As Kitsapsun reported, "Bremerton-based aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis is returning to the Middle East much sooner than expected. The Navy hasn't officially announced the new deployment plan for the Stennis, said spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Zach Harrell." The ship came home to Naval Base Kitsap on March 2 after seven months of launching planes into Iraq and Afghanistan. Generally, it wouldn't go back to the Fifth Fleet area of responsibility for four to five years, after a deployment to the Western Pacific and a maintenance period. But with Iran making threats, crew members learned Saturday they'll be leaving again in late August for eight months." We concluded that shortly, Stennis will be the third carrier accompanying Lincoln and Enterprise. As it turns out, a third carrier was already en route, and as of today, CVN 69 Eisenhower is either at the opening of the Straits of Hormuz, or just past it. That makes 3 aircraft carriers in the middle east, 2 in the Gulf and the Arabian Sea and one just off the coast of Syria. And technically, the LHD 7 Iwo Jima Big Deck Amphibious ship, which is also just off the coast of Iran region, makes three and a half. Which means that a 5th one (rounded up) - Stennis - is coming in 1-2 months. Good luck Iran.

Deep Into The Lieborgate Rabbit Hole: The Swiss Hedge Fund Link?

That Lieborgate is about to spill over and take down many more banks is well known: as previously reported that the world's biggest bank Deutsche Bank, has become a rat for the Liebor prosecution having turned sides. The reason: "Under the leniency programs of the EU, companies may get total immunity from fines or a reduction of fines which the anti-trust authorities would have otherwise imposed on them if they hand over evidence on anti-competitive agreements or those involved in a concerted practice." However, just like in the case of Barclays (with Diamond), JPM (with Bruno Iksil), UBS (with Kweku) and Goldman (with Fabrice Tourre), there always is a scapegoat. Today we find just who that scapegoat is. From Bloomberg: "Regulators are investigating the possible roles of Michael Zrihen at Credit Agricole, Didier Sander at HSBC and Christian Bittar at Deutsche Bank, the person said on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The names of the banks and traders were reported earlier today by the Financial Times." Of course, as so very often happens, the link between the investigated firm, and the person in question no longer exists - after all what better brute way to tie up loose ends, than to fire the person in question at some point in the past: "Michael Golden, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, confirmed that Bittar left the bank last year and declined to comment on the investigation." And since neither Bloomberg, nor the earlier FT article have any discussion of just where Mr. Bittar ended up, knowing quite well there is very likely a full-scale investigation forming into his Libor transgressions. The first place we went to, naturally, was LinkedIn, not because we expected to find his profile there: very few higher echelon bankers actually post their resumes on LinkedIn, but because we were fairly confident that the very useful function of seeing whose other profiles had been looked at in the context of even a "fake" Bittar, would provide us with clues. Sure enough that's precisely what happened.

The Bernank's Libor Alternatives

Libor is not a market determined interest rate, rather it is a trimmed mean from a survey of banks participating in a survey conducted on behalf of the British Bankers Association (BBA). There are a number of problems inherent in the survey-based Libor calculation. Chairman The Bernank was asked in testimony several times yesterday whether Libor should be dropped as a benchmark interest rate. His answer was Libor should be repaired or some market determined interest rate should be embraced as an alternative. He offered up 2 market-determined replacement possibilities for Libor: (1) Repo Rates; and (2) OIS rates. Both are market determined interest rates, but neither in our minds captures the essence of what Libor is supposed to measure. Stone & McCarthy's preference for a Libor alternative would simply be the eurodollar rate.

The Growing Pressures Likely To Blow The Eurozone Apart

There was yet another European Union summit at the end of June, which (like all the others) was little more than bluff. Read the official communiqué and you will discover that there were some fine words and intentions, but not a lot actually happened. The big news in this is the implication the ECB will, in time, be able to stand behind the Eurozone banks because it will accept responsibility for them. This is probably why the markets rallied on the announcement, but it turned out to be another dead cat lacking the elastic potential energy necessary to bounce. Meanwhile, Germany, meant to be the back-stop for this lunacy, is losing patience. It has become clear that the agreements that arose out of the June summit were not agreements at all. The questions arises:  How can the Eurozone stay together, and if not, how quickly is it likely to start disintegrating? And where does the exchange rate for the euro fit in all this?

Spain 10 yr bond yields approach 7%. Problems continue in Sicily/Compton California is next city to file for bankruptcy protection

Harvey Organ at Harvey Organ's - The Daily Gold and Silver Report - 5 hours ago

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen: The price of gold fell $2.10 to $1589.10.  Silver fell by one cent to $27.29. Both metals were under pressure early in the session but rebounded as the Dow rose.  The markets still think that Bernanke must engage in QEIII as the economy stagnates and thus the reason that the Dow finished in triple digits today. Today we witnessed the Spanish bonds creep ever

 

Real Mogambo Laugh (RML)

Richard Daughty, a.k.a., 'The Mogambo Guru' at Mogambo Guru Report! - 7 hours ago

July 18, 2012 Mogambo Guru I always get a Real Mogambo Laugh (RML), the one famous for dripping with scorn and disrespect, when someone, like Ben "Mental Case" Bernanke of the Federal Reserve, says that inflation is good because it makes your fixed debts less burdensome. Of course, a classic Real Mogambo Laugh (RML) contains a lot of coughing and gagging and spitting up as a result of laughing while being so angry at such stunning, senseless stupidity, so I recommend that you NOT be sitting at your computer at the time, since you will get flecks of what appears to b... more » 

 

The Critical Question Over The Next Decade

Admin at Marc Faber Blog - 8 hours ago

The critical question over the next decade isn’t "Where will my returns be highest"? Instead, ask: “Where will I lose the least money?” - in CBS Market Watch *Marc Faber is an international investor known for his uncanny predictions of the stock market and futures markets around the world.* 

 

The World Will Continue Changing

Admin at Jim Rogers Blog - 8 hours ago

“Not one country in existence today has had the same borders and government for as long as two hundred years. The world will continue changing.” ― Jim Rogers, A Gift to My Children: A Father's Lessons for Life and Investing *Jim Rogers is an author, financial commentator and successful international investor. He has been frequently featured in Time, The New York Times, Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and is a regular guest on Bloomberg and CNBC.* 

 

The Housing Market Black Hole

Dave in Denver at The Golden Truth - 10 hours ago

*We have reached a profound point in economic history where the truth is unpalatable to the political class - and that truth is that the scale and magnitude of the problem is larger than their ability to respond - and it terrifies them...Bad things are going to happen*. - Hugh Hendry on CNBC Once again we're going through another wash, rinse, repeat cycle with the housing market fairy tales. People who bother to pay attention to the news woke up this morning to a report from the Commerce Dept that housing starts rose the highest level since 2008 in June LINK. I'm not sure why ... more » 

Poor Thieves Go To Jail, Rich Thieves Don’t

A bank clerk who dreamed of becoming a model stole £46,000 from the tills — and spent it on plastic surgery and shopping sprees. Rachael Claire Martin, 24, used the cash to fund a boob job, dental work and liposuction, as well as hair extensions and nights out. Steal thousands from a bank? You face criminal charges, a trial and jail time.
When that same bank manipulates a $600 trillion market by rigging the LIBOR rate for profit? No criminal charges, no trial, no jail time.
We hope she achieves her dream of becoming a model. And We hope the LIBOR-riggers spend a very long time in jail — but in reality there’s not much chance of that.

The Asian-American Arms Race In Charts

"Asia is a study in contrasts. It is home to economic freedom and political liberty; it is also home to political instability and tyranny. Some of Asia’s borders are unsettled and volatile. And military budgets and capabilities are expanding, sometimes faster than economic growth. The rise of China as a great power presents both sides of this equation. It is being watched carefully by all the countries of the region. It is the U.S. that is recognized as the catalyst in ensuring a prosperous peace over conflict. America is a Pacific power. That much is a matter of geography and history. But the facts – and America’s principles and interests – demand more than resignation to geography. They call for continued American leadership, commitment, and the predominant comprehensive power that has enabled Asia’s very welcomed, opportunity-laden rise." Thus prefaces the Heritage Foundation its Asian 'Book of Charts', which summarizes most of the key economic, financial, trade, geopolitical, most importantly militaristic tensions both in Asia and, by dint of being the global marginal economic force, the world itself. And while we will present the complete deck shortly, of particular interest we find the summary in 7 easy charts how Asia is slowly but surely catching up on that accepted by conventional wisdom GloboCop - the United States.

Brodsky On Gold, 'Credit Money', And Real Return Investing

Macroeconomic issues currently playing out in Europe, Asia, and the United States may be linked by the same dynamic: over-leveraged banking systems concerned about repayment from public- and private-sector borrowers, and the implication that curtailment or non-payment would have on their balance sheets. Global banks are linked or segregated by the currencies in which they lend. Given the currencies in which their loan assets are denominated, market handicapping of the timing of relative bank vulnerability is directly impacting the relative value of currencies in the foreign exchange market, which makes it appear that the US dollar (and economy?) is, as Pimco notes, “the cleanest dirty shirt”. Is there a clean shirt anywhere – creased, pressed and folded? QBAMCO's Paul Brodsky (in a deep dramatic voice-over) sets the scene: In a world where time series stand still... and real purchasing power value has no meaning... a few monetary bodies stand between economic death and destruction... between commercial hope and financial despair... between risk-free returns and return-free risk. Amid this set of conditions it seems entirely prudent to position purchasing power in vehicles that would benefit as the nominal stock of base money grows at a rate far in excess of the gold stock growth rate.

Low Volume Equity Decoupling Becoming Farcical

UPDATE: AXP (down AH) and IBM (up AH) miss top-line; QCOM misses everything and guides down (up AH - AAPL staggered a little but unch now), EBAY beat (small up AH); KMI miss (down AH)
Far be it from us to say but once again equity markets spurted far and away beyond credit, interest rates, FX carry, commodities, and reality would have expected with only good-old VIX crashing to breathe that levered life into them. Ending the day with a 15 handle, VIX closed at its lowest in over three-and-a-half months and notably beyond where equity and credit relationships would expect as the front-end of the curve remains under huge pressure. Gold, the USD, and Treasury yields all played along on the day - trading with a decent correlation in a relatively narrow range but the open of the US day-session saw the appearance of the infamous equity rally-monkey who lifted us 1% in 30 mins then extended 10 more points into the European close. EUR roundtripped on the day leaving USD practically unch but -0.35% on the week. Credit markets were quiet (cash busier than synthetic) as IG, HY, and HYG all underperformed for the second day. Gold and Silver limped lower on the day as WTI surged back above $90 to two month highs. Treasuries traded in a very narrow range ending the day -2bps across the curve. Financials underperformed as Tech and Industrials reached for the skies with a 1.75% boost today (makes perfect sense after the earnings?). Decent average trade size on the day which was more prevalent up above 1365 suggests more unwinds of blocks into strength but something has to give with VIX for this train to stop running.

Sicily Is Greece As Italy Provides EUR400 Million 'Risk-Free' Bailout/Loan

We thought it was coming (as we wrote yesterday); we heard the rumors; but now the 'temporary liquidity problem' that faced Sicily has been resolved by... yes, you guessed it - the transfer of EUR400 million from the Italian government. Do not worry though. As one official noted "there's no default risk for Sicily, whose budget was in surplus in 2010 and 2011". Unbelievable.

"The developments in Sicily are very serious," said Prof Giuseppe Ragusa from Luiss University in Rome. "It is just the sort of negative shock we don’t want right now. Everything has to go perfectly for Italy to pull through."
 

Is This Why VIX Is Behaving So Strangely?

Hedging basic equity positions with options is nothing new. Buying Puts or selling calls to protect or enhance your position is not uncommon. The relative price that is paid (or received) for that protection is the implied volatility - it is the lever with which supply and demand for protection is turned. Strategies to hedge large equity positions have become more and more complex (as more and more complex instruments have become available). A more advanced strategy is to buy risk-reversals (long out-of-the-money VIX calls against short out-of-the-money VIX puts) which creates a 'synthetic long volatility position' to hedge the long equity underlying position. This strategy has been very successful in hedging downside in the S&P 500 since the crisis began. The last few weeks has seen the return from the hedged strategy converge to the S&P 500's performance and we suspect this has been the trigger for exits. This unwind of a very popular risk-reversal hedge in VIX options is implicitly like selling volatility - hence the dramatic outperformance of front-month vol even as stocks and credit are not soaring to such highs. Watching the skew between VIX calls and puts may give us some sign that this exuberant compression is over.

After 50: Get A Job, Work Longer, And Become A Woman

As we discussed recently, the idea of retirement - given ZIRP (or even NIRP) - remains further and further away for many middle-aged men and women in America. But Michael Cembalest has some sage advice for those who are passing 50 years old with whimsical views of Viagra-commercial-like retirement settings any time soon. Based on recent research from the Munich center for the economics of aging, one should keep working as long as possible (the precipitous drop in cognitive function once retirement is hit is enormous) - which also offers some insight into why the long-term unemployed suffer so much more in ever getting back into the work-force. More importantly, it seems as we pass that magic 50 year-old barrier, so men's cognitive function plunges far quicker than women's - especially in immediate and delayed recall (where did I leave my keys?). The bottom line is, if you want to succeed later in age: get a job; keep a job; work that job longer; and become a woman!

UBS Issues Hyperinflation Warning For US And UK, Calls It Purely "A Fiscal Phenomenon"

From UBS: "We think that a creditor nation is less at risk of hyperinflation than a debtor nation, as a debtor nation relies not only on the confidence of domestic creditors, but also of foreign creditors. We therefore think that the hyperinflation risk to global investors is largest in the US and the UK. The more the fiscal situation deteriorates and the more central banks debase their currencies, the higher the risk of a loss of confidence in the future purchasing power of money. Indicators to watch in order to determine the risk of hyperinflation therefore pertain to the fiscal situation and monetary policy stance in high-deficit countries. Note that current government deficits and the current size of central bank balance sheets are not sufficient to indicate the sustainability of the fiscal or monetary policy stance and thus, the risk of hyperinflation. The fiscal situation can worsen without affecting the current fiscal deficit, for example when governments assume contingent liabilities of the banking system or when the economic outlook worsens unexpectedly. Similarly, the monetary policy stance can expand without affecting the size of the central bank balance sheet. This happens for example when central banks lower collateral requirements or monetary policy rates, in particular the interest rate paid on reserves deposited with the central bank. A significant deterioration of the fiscal situation or a significant expansion of the monetary policy stance in the large-deficit countries could lead us to increase the probability we assign to the risk of hyperinflation."

We The Sheeplez... is intended to reflect excellence in effort and content. Donations will help maintain this goal and defray the operational costs. Paypal, a leading provider of secure online money transfers, will handle the donations. Thank you for your contribution.

I'm PayPal Verified

 

Spain’s Brutal Cuts Can’t Lead to Growth

by Jeff Rubin, Financial Sense:
If you’re under 25 and live in Spain, odds are you’re looking for a job. The latest numbers from Eurostat show 52 percent of the country’s youth are out of work. Such a hopeless employment backdrop makes it no surprise that thousands of Spaniards are taking to the streets to protest the latest round of fiscal austerity measures. As part of last week’s deal to secure bailout funds from the ECB, the Spanish government is, among other steps, raising an already immodest VAT rate to 21 percent from 18 percent, rolling back public sector wages by 7 percent, and slashing unemployment benefits to youth. The cuts, which will amount to $79 billion through 2015, are being enacted with the hope that when the smoke clears all of the budgetary slashing and burning will promote long-term economic growth.
Spain may be wise to check with Greece to see how well that plan actually works in practice. Runaway government spending certainly isn’t the path to prosperity, but, as the Greeks would surely tell their Mediterranean brethren, neither are brutal fiscal austerity measures. The so-called policies of fiscal stabilization dictated by the Bundestag will only make the situation in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy worse, not better. The savings such austerity measures are supposed to achieve will be upstaged by the dwindling revenues eked out by a shrinking economy. As Greece’s experience makes evident, unremitting fiscal restraint ultimately leads to neither deficit reduction, nor economic growth. For countries already in the grip of punishing recessions, policies that lead to further economic strangulation only serve to make potential debt defaults even more of a certainty.
Read More @ Financial Sense.com

How Gold Will be Made Acceptable by the Powers that Be

by Julian D. W. Phillips, Gold Seek:
The critical requirements of gold’s return to the monetary system are twofold:

1. It must easily dovetail into the current monetary system.
2. It must provide a workable application, right down to consumer level.
Without meeting these requirements any attempt to mobilize gold in the system will fail eventually. So many writers have focused on ways to re-introduce gold in, for instance, a repeat of the old gold standard. We are of the opinion that this will not work, not simply because there is nowhere near enough gold at current prices to do the job, but it does not meet the first requirement above.
Read More @ GoldSeek.com

Lew Rockwell Pins the Tail on Ben Bernanke

from CapitalAccount:

The Bernank was back on the hill today, in his second day of testimony before members of Congress for his Semi-Annual Report. He has slowly started to change his tune over the course of recent appearances. It seems as if the same man who claimed, with incredible hubris, that the Fed could drop money from helicopters if necessary in order to reliquify and reignite the economy is now openly stating that there are limits to what monetary policy can achieve. In fact, he said that too much QE via treasury and agency security purchases could actually hurt the market.

When confronted about the Fed’s handling of monetary policy and Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill, Bernanke said it would be his “nightmare scenario” if politicians had the power to overturn or second-guess monetary policy. So what should we make of this? Has Bernanke been humbled by reality, or is he just holding his best hand for last? According to our guest, Lew Rockwell, the Monetary Control Act of 1980 gives the Fed the authority to buy more than just Treasuries and Agency debt. We speak with Mr. Rockwell for his take during the show.
Also, previously undisclosed letters from Peregrine Financial Group’s CEO have come out. According to the Wall Street Journal, the CEO described deceiving regulators as “relatively simple,” which allowed him to embezzle customer money undetected for two decades. He also called regulators mean-spirited. We talk to Lew Rockwell, Chairman of the Ludwig Von Mises Institute and author of “The Left, The Right, and the State”, about the difficulties surrounding regulation of the financial sector, and why it does not work.

Bernanke Slams Audit the Fed

from Ron Paul 2012:
Reports Reuters:
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday rebutted Republican lawmakers pushing a bill that would give Congress the ability to review monetary policy decisions, saying it could compromise central bank independence.
Bernanke said it would be a “nightmare scenario” if politicians decided to second-guess monetary policy.
“That is very concerning because there’s a lot of evidence that an independent central bank that makes decisions based strictly on economic considerations and not based on political pressure will deliver lower inflation and better economic results in the longer term,” Bernanke told the U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee.
The hearing was the likely last chance for retiring Texas Representative Ron Paul, known for proposing the Fed should be abolished, to grill the central bank chairman.
“Trillions and trillions of dollars (are) being printed out of thin air,” said Paul.
Read More @ RonPaul2012.com

Flash Mobs – How to Protect Yourself From Being Caught in the Mayhem

from Off Grid Survival:
Technology is changing the way we live, unfortunately it’s also making it easier and faster for criminals to communicate, plan and execute their crimes. With the advent of texting and social media it’s never been easier for large groups of criminals to come together and wreak havoc in a matter of minutes. This makes it incredibly difficult for the average person to prevent being caught up in a bad situation.
The latest criminal threat is something that’s been dubbed “Flash Mobs”. Flash Mobs actually started as a pretty innocent online trend where people would use social media to spontaneously gather large groups of people in a set location. I suspect that a lot of these early flash mobs were driven by marketing companies as a way to promote their clients products and services.
Fast forward a couple years, and this once innocent online trend has grown into something more insidious. Over the last couple of years these Flash Mobs have morphed into something that can quickly go out of control and become a serious danger to the public
So what happens if you find yourself in the middle of a full blown riot?
Read More @ OffGridSurvival.com

Eveillard – We Are Near The End Of This Correction In Gold

from KingWorldNews:

Today legendary value investor Jean-Marie Eveillard told KWN, “If you look at China’s view of the West, they think we are decadent. They think we are Rome, towards the end.” Eveillard, who oversees $50 billion at First Eagle Funds, also said, “At the same time, they are beginning to worry about China itself.”
He also discussed the gold market, but first, here is what Eveillard had to say about Europe and the US: “One can have confidence that if the economy does not start doing somewhat better, at some point Bernanke will use some tools to try to stimulate things. I think he’s mistaken. The fact that the short-term interest rates have been taken to zero over the past several years, and kept there, I mean money is not supposed to be free.”
Jean-Marie Eveillard continues @ KingWorldNews.com

Texas Republican Party calls for mandatory GMO labeling, legalized raw milk, complete elimination of TSA

by Jonathan Benson, Natural News:
Delegates from the Texas Republican Party recently gathered in Fort Worth to iron out their party’s official 2012 platform. And in the official platform document, it is spelled out that the Texas Republican Party is in full support of mandatory labeling of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), legalized raw milk, and the complete elimination of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The 22-page report outlining the party’s platform contains a section titled Empowering Families to Direct their Health Care that promotes freedom of choice in food and medicine, including the freedom not to vaccinate. The Texas Republican Party also opposes all efforts to restrict access to vitamins, herbs, and other supplements, and also takes a stance in support of natural, unprocessed foods, including legalized access for all to raw milk.
Read More @ NaturalNews.com

Timothy Geither on LIBOR Manipulation ‘We Did the Right Thing’

from Silver Doctors:
CNBC lobbed Timothy Geithner a softball this morning to allow the Treasury Secretary an opportunity to explain away his role in the LIBOR manipulation scandal.
CNBC softball: ‘ Let me just ask you this recent libor –I’m reluctant to call it a scandal but an libor flap.  The Wall Street Journal editorial and lots of other people are saying Tim Geithner knew about this, wrote a memo in 2008.  If it was such a great problem or such a great scandal why Mr. Geithner did regulators do so little? Why didn’t you make a bigger stink?‘
Geithner’s response?:  ‘We did the right and necessary thing and we did it early.’
If by ‘we did the right thing’ you mean handed down explicit instructions on what rates should be submitted by the banks, then yes Timmy, we are positive you did do ‘the right thing’ for the TBTF banks and the Fed.
Turbo Timmy’s Full response on LIEBORGATE below:
Read More @ SilverDoctors.com

UK Telegraph Struck With Internal Feuding Between Top Columnists Over Money Printing

by The Daily Bell:
Red Pill, Blue Pill … The other day m’learned colleague Ambrose Evans Pritchard wrote a piece in praise of money-printing. What the world needs is more Quantitative Easing, he argued, though this time deployed in “nuclear force.” I have no doubt that this would bring about a full recovery very fast if conducted with enough panache, but is it possible to marshal political consent for such revolutionary action? The Tea Party Congress, like Europe’s bourgeousie, would rather wallow in liquidation, Puritan cleansing, and mass default than tolerate the possibility of a solution. I couldn’t disagree more violently with this analysis. Nor, happily could most of you. The most popular comment response – approved by over 300 readers – countered: In reality, economics is not the fiscal rocket-science you make it sound. Capitalism itself is based on good old-fashioned honesty. The money at the heart of it must be both an honest store-of-value and an efficient medium of exchange. It ceases to be so when the inherent deceits of fractional reserve banking allow trillions of false credit to be pumped into the system, thus forcing up prices (booms) which inevitably lead to over-valued commodities (busts). – James Delingpole/UK Telegraph
Dominant Social Theme: What do we do now? Print! Indeed, we must …
Free-Market Analysis: James Delingpole and Ambrose Evans-Pritchard are now in a literary face-off about money printing and what needs to be done to revive lagging Western economies.
Read More @ TheDailyBell.com

What Role Does Government Play in Price Inflation?

by Michael Pettis, Financial Sense:

Let’s take a look at inflation from the standpoint of prices.
That viewpoint puts the cart before the horse (my definition of inflation pertains to an increase or decrease in money supply and credit, not an increase in prices). Nonetheless the results are significant.
Inflation Comparison – Select Components Since 1978.

Discussion of Starting Year
The above charts are from Doug Short at Advisor Perspectives. Doug creates excellent charts every month on various CPI components. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I asked Doug for a set of custom charts.
Specifically, I had asked Doug to go back to 1971 for both charts.
Unfortunately, data for components in the first chart only goes back to 1978, and in the second chart not even that far.
The reason I asked for a starting year of 1971 is that’s when I started college.
Tuition at the University of Illinois in Fall of 1971 was $250 a semester for engineers (My degree is in civil engineering). Current University of Illinois Tuition is $8,278 per semester for Illinois residents, $15,349 for non-residents.
Read More @ Financial Sense.com

New $2bn China/Africa mining-beneficiation fund launched By: Martin Creamer
18th July 2012
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A new collaborative China/Africa private equity fund that embraces value-adding beneficiation in Africa, has been launched to boost mining on the continent.
Ruukki South Africa CEO and former South African Department of Trade and Industry director-general Dr Alistair Ruiters told the Africa Mining Congress 2012 in Johannesburg that the China Mining United Fund represented a collaborative new Chinese/African approach which embraced the adding of value to Africa’s metals and minerals on the continent itself.
“This is about creating value in Africa,” Ruiters told Mining Weekly Online.
The fund, which is eligible to raise funds in Chinese renminbi (RMB) currency for global mining investments, is one of the first private equity funds in China to gain the approval of China’s National Development Reform Committee, a political body that endorses State-owned entities going abroad.
The new fund, China Mining United’s second private equity fund, is represented in South Africa by the privately held Kermas group, which controls Ruukki South Africa.
More…



China aims to rewrite perceptions on Africa investment By: Reuters
18th July 2012
Beijing is eager to rewrite negative perceptions of its growing ties with Africa at a summit this week, citing expanding private investment and a push to shift low-end manufacturing to the continent long seen as a commodities and energy cache for China.
Chinese State-owned firms in Africa face criticism for using imported labour to build government-financed projects like roads and hospitals, while pumping out resources and leaving little for local economies, an image Beijing wants to change at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation beginning on Thursday.
"As China’s economy transitions, shifting labour intensive industry to regions outside of China offers production opportunities," Zhong Jianhua, China’s special envoy to Africa, told Reuters this week.
"African countries should seize this opportunity," he added. "They can step into a track that China has taken in the past to develop their own industry."
Chinese President Hu Jintao will speak at the summit’s opening day and is expected to announce a new set of loans for the continent. At the last meeting held three years ago, China pledged $10-billion.
More…





Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Hot off the press from http://www.GATA.org.

Opposing Paul’s audit bill, Bernanke guards secret transactions with foreign banks Submitted by cpowell on 04:34PM ET Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Section: Daily Dispatches
Like the transactions at issue in GATA’s freedom-of-information lawsuit against the Fed:
http://www.gata.org/node/9917
Audit the Fed? Bernanke Fights Back against Ron Paul
By Annalyn Censky
CNN Money
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/18/news/economy/fed-bernanke-ron-paul/index…
NEW YORK — In what is likely to be the last showdown between Ron Paul and Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman once again fought back against the congressman’s calls to audit the Federal Reserve.
Rep. Paul, a Republican from Texas and author of "End the Fed," has been trying for years to pass a law that would give Congress the ability to examine the central bank’s decision-making process.
Now he’s closer than ever before, after his colleagues voted last month to finally take up his bill on the House floor. The vote is expected to happen next week.
It’s important, though, not to confuse the aim of the bill with a financial audit. The Federal Reserve’s finances are already audited every year by an independent accounting firm. (Last year it was Deloitte and Touche.) The central bank also publishes its balance sheet every Thursday online.
More…




Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

To hear the word hyperinflation from a recognized member of the good ole boys club is significant.

I have told you for years that it is coming almost out of nowhere as a currency event due to the currency induced cost push inflation impact of the velocity of money.

Do not let your emotions take you out of your gold insurance. The manipulators will turn to the upside just as they did in 1979 after they have taken you out in emotional capitulation.

UBS: The Risk Of Hyperinflation Is Largest In The US And The UK Max Nisen | Jul. 17, 2012, 2:26 PM
To be clear, UBS does not think hyperinflation is imminent. They estimate that there is less than a 10 percent chance over the next 12 months.
But according to a new report by UBS’s Caesar Lack, the risk of hyperinflation is greatest in the U.S. and the U.K.
"Although we see a very small chance of hyperinflation in the near future, the risk should not be neglected, particularly given the ongoing unsustainable global fiscal and monetary expansion," writes Lack.
UBS examines it at length in the latest entry in their "Global Risk Watch" series.
Here are the points from Lack’s paper:
Hyperinflation is a fiscal phenomenon, resulting from unsustainable deficits. Historically, it occurs after central banks monetize a large amount of debt.
It’s actually more closely related to deflation than inflation "as hyperinflation can be viewed as the result of a failed attempt at printing money to avoid the deflation that would be caused by austerity."
Currently, it is a concern for the some major currencies because their path is exactly like that described above; large fiscal deficits have forced austerity and deleveraging, and countries are responding with large scale monetary easing.
More…




Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

The latest from John Williams’ www.ShadowStats.com.

- Housing Growth Slowed in Second Quarter
 
- Headline Housing Starts Gain Not Statistically Significant
 
- Annual GDP Revisions Loom

"No. 457: June Housing Starts, Economic Review"
 
Web-page: http://www.shadowstats.com

We The Sheeplez... is intended to reflect excellence in effort and content. Donations will help maintain this goal and defray the operational costs. Paypal, a leading provider of secure online money transfers, will handle the donations. Thank you for your contribution.

I'm PayPal Verified