Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Silver Powering 20 Million Homes as Glut Subsides: Commodities Q

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-31/silver-powering-20-million-homes-as-supply-surplus-subsides-commodities.html

Precious Metal related news

1/31    Rick Rule interview – King World News
1/31    Get ready, public to enter gold & silver markets – King World News
1/31    Goal-seeked analyses for gold – Automatic Earth
1/31    Manifest Destiny derailed – 24hGold
1/31    Gold surges 13.9% in January – USA Gold
1/31    Gold going to $3,000 before the end of 2012 – MunKnee
1/31    Vancouver Resource Investment Conference – Casey Research
1/31    Gold is the hottest currency in the world – Casey Research
1/31    Gold bullion headed for biggest monthly gain this century – BullionVault
1/31    Secular trends – 24hGold
1/31    Interviews from Cambridge House Conference – Korelin Report

The problem with the fiat currency and financial system is that eventually it turns into one giant Ponzi scheme. The politically/socially correct term for this would be "a fractional banking and financial system." It's a system based on "full faith and trust." When the trustworthiness of this system starts to fade, investors will start to move "fiat" money into hard asset currency - that is, gold and silver, the world's oldest and most trustworthy hard asset currency. It's happening now, only it's a lot more prevalent in the eastern hemisphere countries like China, Russia and India. In our own backyard, Venezuela demonstrated this movement by recalling nearly 100% of its sovereign gold that was being "safeguarded" by big banks in NY, London and Zurich: LINK Hugo Chavez, love him or hate him, is one smart hombre.

http://truthingold.blogspot.com/2012/01/so-be-it.html#comment-form

Venezuela Receives Last Shipment of Repatriated Gold Bars

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-31/venezuela-receives-last-shipment-of-repatriated-gold-bars-1-.html

San Onofre nuclear power plant unit shut down after potential leak

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/unit-shut-down-at-san-onofre-nuclear-plant.html

Report: ‘Empty’ Reactor No. 4 was actually filled with nuclear fuel — Only a matter of time before melt-out

http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/01/there-was-nuclear-fuel-in-reactor-4/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FukushimaDiary+%28Fukushima+Diary%29

Title: Magnitude 4.8 – NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Source: USGS
Date: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 at 04:35:24 AM at epicenter

Gold Bullion Coin Sales Soar By 94% In January As Confidence In The Dollar Crumbles

http://goldandsilverblog.com/gold-bullion-coin-sales-soar-by-in-january-as-confidence-in-the-dollar-crumbles-0344/

PayPal Co-Founders Fund Ron Paul Super PAC

Co-founders of online payment service PayPal, now owned by eBay Inc, donated to a Super PAC funding group supporting Ron Paul, the group Endorse Liberty announced today.

PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Luke Nosek and Scott Banister, an early adviser and board member, put their support behind the Endorse Liberty Super PAC, alongside Internet advertising veteran Stephen Oskoui and entrepreneur Jeffrey Harmon, who founded Endorse Liberty in November.

"Too often in this country we learn things the hard way ... With its unsustainable deficits, government spending is heading down the same path. Men and women who want freedom and growth should take action. A good place to start is voting for Ron Paul," Thiel said in a statement.

Thiel, worth $1.5 billion, is ranked 833 on the Forbes billionaires list last year.

Ht: EPJ

The World supports Dr. Ron Paul for president of the United States.

Gingrich Goes After George Soros

Homeownership Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since 1997; The Homeownership Bubble Is Still Deflating

CARPE DIEM: Homeownership Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since 1997; The Homeownership Bubble Is Still Deflating

A good article about BDI

http://www.alt-market.com/articles/540-baltic-dry-index-signals-renewed-market-collapse

Eating Popcorn during a credit default "event" triggering a major "papering" event is fun.

Massive U.S. Military Buildup Reported Around Iran; Up to 100,000 Troops Ready By March

DEBKA

Yup the recovery is near

Grower to lay off more than 2,100 seasonal workers - Bakersfield.com

Gov. Bill Haslam's $31 billion budget abolishes government jobs, raises pay » Knoxville News Sentinel

American Airlines to lay out cuts affecting 81,000 workers - Jan. 31, 2012

QE For Ever

BREAKING
CBO sees falling deficits in 2012, 2013
U.S. economy to grow 2.0% in 2012: CBO
U.S. unemployment 8.9% in 2012: CBO
U.S. budget deficit $1.08 trillion in 2012: CBO
U.S. budget deficit $585 billion in 2013: CBO

Consumer-confidence gauge falls to 61.1 in January - MarketWatch

You can almost smell the QE

Furnace malfunction hobbles Aomori spent nuke fuel reprocessing plant

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120131p2a00m0na016000c.html

Silver coin sales hit record pace

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/uk-silver-physical-demand-idUKTRE80T1OY20120130?feedType=RSS&feedName=GCA-GoogleNewsUK

Rival Blanchard & Co said it was selling now more 500 one-ounce Silver American Eagle "Monster Boxes" than ever. Last week, one client bought 17 of the $18,500 boxes at once -- a more than $300,000 purchase, said vice president David Beahm.

Beef Prices, Already Near Record Highs, Going Up Again This Year

http://www.suntimes.com/business/10323929-420/beef-prices-already-near-record-highs-going-up-again-this-year.html

Piping at Fukushima reactor found insufficient to withstand quake

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201201310043

Update: Tepco has been ignoring the risk of frozen pipes

http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/01/tepco-has-been-ignoring-the-risk-of-frozen-pipes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FukushimaDiary+%28Fukushima+Diary%29

PM Related 1/30's

1/30    Gold's fall draws coin fans – Wall Street Journal
1/30    Gold ready to smash through $2,000, exploding higher – King World News
1/30    Gold market positioned for massive upside move – King World News
1/30    Bullish indicators for palladium price – GoldMoney
1/30    Spring Festival sparks a 'gold rush' in China – China Daily
1/30    A gold standard is good? – Daily Bell
1/30    Central-bank gold holdings reach 6 year high: joining the dots – Swiss America
1/30    Underpriced precious metals juniors due to move in 2012 – The Gold Report
1/30    Chinese buying gold "like cheap cabbage" – BullionVault
1/30    Junior gold stocks rebound from lows – Daily Gold

Fed Members Laughed As Housing Bubble Grew

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46194541

BlackRock: Munis face threat of 'super downgrade'

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20120130/FREE/120139988/-1/INDaily01&dailycount=1&issuedate=20120130

Yikes!

BDIY:IND

702.00 24.00 3.31%

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/BDIY:IND/chart

Massive head-and-shoulders formation in the market, which does not bode well going forward. End of month ram job so the punters get a nice statement for January (year's high?). Useless politicians continue to kick the can and add to an already unsustainable debt load.

Sorry, but I don't have any good news. Capital preservation remains the name of the game for retirees. Suggest taking what you have been able to recoup and ladder some bonds for security as well as Gold and Silver. This false sense that something good is happening will not last. Young workers are going to be stuck paying off this touchy-feely time for many years to come.

Monday, January 30, 2012

The Financial Services Club's Blog: Goldman Sachs

http://thefinanser.co.uk/fsclub/goldman-sachs/

Dated Article but well worth the read...

From the graphs it looks like France is the big bag holder.France owes the UK, Germany and US.

It's contained.

Greece needs to dump euro "shackles": Commerzbank

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/us-eurozone-greece-commerzbank-idUSTRE80T1O520120130

Germany warns Greece over bailout

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/germany/120130/germany-warns-greece-over-bailout

Finance Minister Schaeuble urges Athens to implement reforms, while Germany proposes a foreign budget czar for Greece.

Impact of the Great Recession on Public Schools in the Region - Federal Reserve Bank of New York

However, I must note that this boost is likely due in part to temporary factors. First, vehicle sales in the middle of 2011 were depressed due to supply chain disruptions stemming from the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In addition, a stimulus-related tax provision that allowed businesses to immediately expense some investments expired at the end of 2011. So, some purchases were no doubt timed to occur before that expiration.

Impact of the Great Recession on Public Schools in the Region - Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Constitutional Work Around: New Jersey Legislators Move to Ban Ammunition

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=7301

Robert Reich (Why No Responsible Democrat Should Want Newt Gingrich to Get the GOP Nomination)

http://robertreich.org/post/16529074860

RBS boss bows to pressure and gives up £1m bonus - UK Politics - UK - The Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rbs-boss-bows-to-pressure-and-gives-up-1m-bonus-6296565.html

U.S. Banks Tally Their Exposure to Europe's Debt Maelstrom

BANKS INSURED OVER EUROPEAN EXPOSURE - NYT’s Peter Eavis: “After a hurricane, homeowners check nervously to see if their insurance will cover all of their damages. With the European financial crisis still threatening a trail of defaults, United States banks are betting that their insurance is going to pay out. Five large American banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, have more than $80 billion of exposure to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece ... according to a New York Times analysis of the banks’ financial disclosures. But these banks have made extensive use of a type of financial insurance, called credit-default swaps, to help them offset any losses that might occur if defaults swamped the five troubled nations. Using these swaps, along with other measures, the five banks have cut their theoretical exposure to the troubled countries by $30 billion, to $50 billion.”

U.S. Banks Tally Their Exposure to Europe's Debt Maelstrom - NYTimes.com

Greece now needs 15 billion euros more than originally anticipated.

Greece Needs EU145 Billion in Second Aid Package, Spiegel Says - Bloomberg

Probably will require more German-mandated spending cuts. The EZ is a mess.

"Greece needs more money because the country’s economic situation is worsening"

Less spending is sure to spur economic growth.

Hedge-Fund Bulls Add to Commodity Bets

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-29/hedge-funds-lift-bets-to-two-month-high-as-rally-accelerates-commodities.html

Portuguese yield curve explodes.

2y yield closed on 383bp up. Sitting high and wide at 21%.

PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT BONDS 2YR NOTE PORTUGAL PL (GSPT2YR:IND) Index Performance - Bloomberg

5y up 305bp. To 22.87%.

PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT BONDS 5YR NOTE PORTUGAL PL (GSPT5YR:IND) Index Performance - Bloomberg

British tourists arrested in America on terror charges over Twitter jokes | Mail Online

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2093796/British-tourists-arrested-America-terror-charges-Twitter-jokes.html

The Department of Homeland Security was recently criticised over false accounts it set up on Twitter.

These are then used to scan networks for 'sensitive' words and then for tracking the people who use them.

Online privacy group, the Electronic Privacy Information Centre requested information on the DHS's scans, which it says the agency announced in February last year.

The group claims that a request under the Freedom of Information Act to access the documentation has gone unanswered.
The words deemed as being sensitive by the DHS include:

Illegal immigrant
Outbreak
Drill
Strain
Virus
Recovery
Deaths
Collapse
Human to animal
Trojan

HT: EPJ

Daily USA Gold Snapshot

30-Jan (USAGOLD) — Gold begins the week on a mildly defensive footing as last week’s assurances that a Greek PSI deal was nigh proved unfounded once again. In fact, the realization that Greece will now need €145 bln for its second bailout, rather than the currently proposed €130 bln and a German proposal that Greece cede its budget authority to an EU czar may well leave the two sides of the negotiation further apart than ever.

The rising chances that Greece will simply have to default on its outstanding debt keeps 10-year yields elevated near 35%. Meanwhile, Portuguese 10-year yields surged to record highs above 17% on the belief that if there is no resolution to be had for Greece, then Portugal is probably next in line for a disorderly default.

The uptick in risk aversion associated with the rise in uncertainty has weighed on the euro, lifting the dollar in the process. This has in turn knocked gold off the new 6-week highs established on Friday. However, the yellow metal already seems to have found support and is trading more than $10 off its intraday low.

EU leaders will meet today to discuss moving Europe toward a tighter fiscal union. However, the periphery seems disinclined to cede additional sovereignty to the core, while the core seems disinclined to throw good money after bad without some control over what they perceive as periphery profligacy.

• US personal income +0.5% in Dec, above market expectations of +0.4%. PCE flat on expectations of +0.1%.
• Eurozone economic confidence improves to 93.4 in Jan, below market expectations of 93.8, vs negative revised 92.8 in Dec.
• Eurozone consumer confidence ticks lower in Jan to -20.7; industrial confidence steady at -7.2; services improves to -0.6; business climate better at -0.21.
• Germany CPI – preliminary falls to -0.4% in Jan, in-line with expectations, vs +0.7% in Dec; decelerates to 2.0% y/y
• Spain Q4 GDP (sa) – preliminary -0.3% q/q, in-line with expectations, vs 0.0% q/q in Q3.
• South Korea current account (nsa) narrowed to $3.96 bln in Dec, vs negative revised $4.56 bln in Nov.
• Taiwan unemployment rate (sa) moderates to 4.22% in Dec, vs 4.3% in Nov.

http://www.usagold.com/cpmforum/2012/01/30/morning-snapshot-196/

Bill Weldon - J&J - $28.7M

Daniel Vasella - Novartis - $27M

Miles White - Abbott- $25.6M

Jeffrey Kindler - Pfizer- $24.7M

Richard Clark - Merck - $24.6M

Robert Coury - Mylan - $22.9M

Kevin Sharer - Amgen - $21.1M

James Mullen - Biogen Idec - $20M

John Lechleiter - Eli Lilly - $16.5M

John Martin - Gilead Sciences - $14.2M

Tax evaders in Greece, Spain and Italy better beware

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-01-29/tax-evaders-greece-spain-italy/52822942/1