By: Ira Epstein, The Linn Group - 24 February, 2012
In my last report, dated February 8th, I started off by saying “Gold is currently trading off drafts created by the ongoing Greece financial drama and the possibility of quantitative easing programs coming back, not only here in the US, but abroad as well.” As it turned out, that statement proved correct. Gold has propelled higher for the past couple of weeks and just recently made new highs for 2012. Full Story
Like the Titanic at the time, China is the biggest in the world in many categories. It’s the biggest exporter, the biggest manufacturer and the biggest property developer in the world. The unwavering belief that China’s real estate market can continue to expand at the current pace without blowing up is probably stronger than the belief in the early twentieth century that the Titanic was unsinkable. Full Story
By: Jeff Clark, Casey Research - 24 February, 2012
We've received a number of inquiries from Casey Research subscribers about our opinion on the current rare earth metals market. We have covered this topic previously, but this article, we'll take a fresh look. Full Story
By: Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru - 24 February, 2012
Hello, Junior Mogambo Rangers (JMRs), and welcome to the site of the Mogambo blog, an obligation that I did not want and overtly rejected, and have no intention of living up to any bargain for accepting any responsibilities of any kind, including, but not limited to, personal hygiene, social graces and, especially, blogs, but was given free, as an encouragement, by the folks at GoldSeek.com, for perhaps nefarious reasons that I can only darkly guess at, and shudder at the thought. Full Story
By: Adam Hamilton, Zeal Intelligence - 24 February, 2012
With the 2012 elections looming, politics are increasingly dominating newsflow. And it is only going to get worse, news will be all politics all the time by summer. Speculators and investors will be watching with great interest, as these elections’ outcome will impact the markets for years. But provocatively, the fortunes of the stock markets will heavily influence voters’ psychology and therefore the results. Full Story
Complicated more expensive extraction of metals from increasingly harder to find, lower grade ore bodies in almost inaccessible and hostile parts of the world is going to affect our lifestyles. What changes are we going to have to make as nature – the finite supply of materials and energy constraints - dictates lifestyles and aspirations? Full Story
A Macro-View of Likely Developments in Coming Months and a consideration of constructive Investor Responses is Essential to achieve Profit and Protection. “Greece” is much bigger than just Greece. The Most Recent Greek Bail-out was mainly a Bailout of Banks which had lent to Greece. (A 50%+ Haircut is easier to take than a 100% Haircut.) Full Story
On the chart, I have drawn a significant upward sloping resistance line (red line). Silver has now reached that line, trying to breach it and stay above it. It has also reached the top resistance line of a big flag pattern. If the silver price gets through these resistance lines, and stays above them, then it is likely to continue its rise, but likely in a more accelerated manner. Full Story
Over the past few months we’ve analyzed gold stocks from a historical perspective. We’ve compared this bull market to the past bull market as well as historical bull markets in equities. We’ve found that nothing is out of the ordinary. Gold stocks are not being manipulated. In fact, this bull market is actually ahead of the bull market in the 1960s and 1970s. Full Story
Despite obvious signs of economic recovery, including the brisk demand for 'big ticket' machine tools as noted on the blog yesterday, seasonally and non-seasonally adjusted jobless claims improving, a constructive Silver-Gold Ratio (SGR, chart below), implying improving general market liquidity with SGR's proximity to major support that NFTRH has been following for the last couple of months; despite these positive signs Ben Bernanke and the US Fed hold resolutely to a cautious view of the US economy. Full Story
By: Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer, GATA - 23 February, 2012
It has been almost a year since a federal court jury in North Carolina convicted Liberty Dollar founder Bernard von Not Haus of what seems to be considered a sort of counterfeiting for issuing his own gold and silver coins and advocating their use as currency. The U.S. attorney prosecuting von Not Haus called him a "terrorist." Hyperbolic as that was, federal authorities lately are hurling that term at anyone who contemplates gold's use as currency. Full Story
The financial world is awash with theories as to how significant the Second Greek Bailout is. I’m far less concerned with this (the Bailout accomplishes nothing of import and only puts off the coming Greek default by a short period). Instead, I think it much more important to ascertain the true exposure to Greek sovereign debt. Full Story
By: Jeff Clark, Casey Research - 23 February, 2012
Have you ever had any doubts about gold? Does it sometimes feel like it should be performing better? Are you concerned about its volatility? Do you worry about how it might perform in the future? Have you ever wondered about its true purchasing power? Maybe you're nervous about a big drop in price again? I decided to go directly to the source to address these concerns: Gold himself. He put his arm around me and asked me to tell you a few things… Full Story
Underlying much of what we see and don’t see regarding the modern-day tragedy that is Greece, is all about preserving the dream of a pan European nation state, a United States of Europe if you will. Only secondarily is it about the solvency of the Greek nation and about bailing out the foreign bank holders of Greek sovereign debt. Let me explain my perspective. Full Story
By: Rick Ackerman and Robert Moore - 23 February, 2012
Blogger Robert Moore is a frequent contributor to the Rick’s Picks forum and the author of some of the more provocative guest commentaries we’ve published. In the essay below, he deconstructs talk by high-level bankers about offering savers a negative rate of return on Treasury Bills. Robert also explains why, for Baby Boomers in particular, this could have dire consequences. Full Story
Listen to the empty words of the last bailout for Greece. Credibility with the Jackass was lost back on the third bailout, well over a year ago, out of the six bailouts in total. Perhaps it is seven comprehensive final bailouts. The pattern is clear. The politicians, without popular support, forge agreements on debt coverage with the Greek officials. The deals fall through, hit the ground, and expose the lack of support even from the European bankers, led by the Germans. The pattern has been vividly clear for over a year, enough for my dismissal of new accords right away on the basis that the German bankers will not conform and agree to the deals struck. Full Story
By: The Gold Report and Carlos Andres - 22 February, 2012
Volatile markets. Natural disasters. Geopolitical turmoil. Last year was definitely one for the record books, according to Carlos Andres, managing editor and publisher of the Frontier Research Report. With the world in turmoil, is there any upside for mining investors? Andres believes there is for investors courageous enough to look past the perceived risk and snap up battered, but fundamentally sound, junior mining stocks. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Andres talks about why historical data points to a breakout year for gold and perhaps gold shares. Full Story
By: The Gold Report and James West - 22 February, 2012
Even in an environment ripe for takeovers, finding and sticking with quality precious metals assets is the strategy that speaks loudest to James West, publisher of the Midas Letter. Read about his philosophical and practical switch from "trader" to "investor" in this exclusive Gold Report interview. Full Story
"TREATING serious medical conditions often has unwanted side effects," said Charles Bean, deputy governor of the Bank of England and a doctor of economics, in a speech in Glasgow on Tuesday. "But, unpleasant as those side effects sometimes are, treatment is invariably better than the alternative. So it is with the economic medicine of low interest rates and quantitative easing." Full Story
Trading action in silver and gold were confined to a range as the Greek drama over obtaining the second €130 billion bailout from the so-called troika, IMF/EU/ECB continued. Even though the austerity measures — which were a condition for the loan — were approved in the Greek parliament on February 14th, the EU now wants to exercise more scrutiny before extending the money. Full Story
The charts are displaying new strength in gold and silver. We will see new highs in gold and silver this year. It’s not too late to buy the precious metals at bargain prices. Technical analysis is a powerful tool for understanding the market for a traded good. Technical analysis employs time-tested techniques for predicting future price levels. The successful technical trader uses a combination of indicators to support the decision to take a long or short position in a given commodity. The planets are lining up in favor of another leg up in gold and silver. Let’s examine what the charts are telling us about gold today. Full Story
By: David Galland, Casey Research - 22 February, 2012
It seems that the mainstream investment community only takes a break from ignoring gold to berate it: one of gold’s most outspoken critics, uber-investor Warren Buffett, did so recently in his latest shareholder letter. The indictments were familiar; gold is an inanimate object “incapable of producing anything,” so any investor holding it instead of stocks is acting out of irrational fear. How can it be that Buffett, perhaps the most successful (and definitely the most well-known) investor of our time, believes that gold has no place in an intelligently allocated investment portfolio? Perhaps it has something to do with his mentor, Benjamin Graham. Full Story
By: Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster - 22 February, 2012
One of the things we learned in almost 30 years in the brokerage business is that self-regulation does not work. The players are simply too abusive, greedy and prove to take the regulations to the very edge. We saw that at MF global. All markets are rigged today. Twenty-five years ago perhaps 80% were rigged. The SEC and CFTC are well aware of this and in many cases aid and abet in the crimes. The crimes are too many to mention, but among the leading problems are complicity in front running and naked shorting. There is no such thing as an efficient market hypothesis. Just another phase to led you off into the forest. Full Story
By: Jeff Berwick, The Dollar Vigilante - 22 February, 2012
I was on a panel at the recent California Investment Conference in Palm Springs and the question was asked, "What percentage of your portfolio should be gold bullion?" The first panelist answered 20%. The second panelist said, up to 30%. Then it came to me. "I have no problem with someone having 100% of their portfolio in gold," I stated bluntly. Many in the crowd laughed. Their laughter confused me. What's so funny about that, I thought? Full Story
The nearer time frames generally look okay, with some caveats; notably including the over bought, over loved state for the broad US market. These time frames must be managed on an ongoing basis, but throughout all of the ups and downs, euphoria and agony, there is and has been the monthly chart and its Cup & Handle target of 1000, which has been active since 2010. Full Story
What’s been holding the price of silver below $34 this year? It’s been the possibility of a disorderly default by Greece. Now that we have an orderly default, and what else is a 73 per cent loss for private bondholders, things have changed. But the price is very high. $170 billion is the highest sovereign debt restructuring in history. The ECB has made north of $1.5 trillion available to European banks. This is highly inflationary in the monetary sense and will be highly inflationary for consumers down the line. Full Story
By: Julian D. W. Phillips, Gold/Silver Forecaster - Global Watch - 21 February, 2012
Some investors may feel that the Eurozone debt crisis has been resolved by the bailout from the other E.U. members. Whether it has or has not, is irrelevant to the price of gold, or is it? There are still hurdles in the way, such as the acceptance by private Greek Bondholders of the 53% haircut and low interest rates they will get until 2015. But let’s assume the best and believe they’ll accept the terms. The first market reactions were to move up and hold new levels without any effervescence in any market. The moves had largely been discounted already. Yes, we’re seeing a shift of money from the U.S. Treasury market to the euro but not in large amounts yet. In this piece we look at the overall prospects for the precious metals. Full Story
The World Gold Council (WGC) reaffirmed the power of the Love Trade in its 2011 Gold Demand Trends report released this week. Gold demand grew 0.4 percent in 2011 despite a 28 percent year-over-year increase in bullion’s average price. After flirting with the top spot for some time, China emerged as the world’s largest gold market for jewelry and investment during the fourth quarter of 2011 as demand in India weakened. This is the first time China’s demand outpaced India’s in 11 quarters. However, India did retain the gold demand crown for the entire year, purchasing 933 tons compared to China’s demand of 770 tons. Full Story
Most of you believe that a time machine is a theoretical device. You might like to be able to buy gold at $250 an ounce today, but without a time machine your dream cannot come true. I’ve created a real time machine. It really works, and you can use it to buy gold at $250 an ounce today. You can’t go back in time and buy gold at its point of maximum price sale, but you can look at other major markets and understand the emotional strength required to buy them during similar price sales. Full Story
Abruptly, backwardation ended on Thursday.Recall that this was a day when the paper currency spigot was turned on full blast.How could paper printing affect the spreads in precious metals? My hypothesis is that borrowers of silver who were stuck having to perpetually roll their silver leases were given a more attractive source of financing. Full Story
By: John Browne, Senior Market Strategist at Euro Pacific Capital - 21 February, 2012
History has shown us time and again that out of control money supply expansion creates inflation. In light of the trillions of synthetic dollars that have been injected into the economy by the Federal Reserve over the past five years, most observers (this one included) had expected prices to spiral upward. But in making these determinations, many of us forgot to factor in the supply side of the supply/demand equation. Inflation remains low now because of game changing events that have reduced the demand for money. Full Story
By: Steve Saville, The Speculative Investor - 21 February, 2012
Although it is a long way from being a mainstream view, over the past two months we've read several comments along the lines of: the financial world will soon be immersed in another 2008-style crisis, only worse. In some cases the commentator went as far as to suggest that the next crisis, which will probably soon begin, will make 2008 look like child's play. What, then, do we think are the odds of a 2008 repeat? Full Story
Once again, someone famous and once again Warren Buffet is dismissing Gold. In comparing it to the bubbles in housing and Internet stocks, he feels he’ll ultimately be vindicated. In his annual letter to shareholders, Buffet trashed Gold as a bubble that is being driven by fear of other asset classes. He believes that those who buy today only do so because they believe the “ranks of the fearful will grow.” Full Story
The market has had an impressive run since the start of the year, but one sector that has lagged is the commodities sector. Unlike general stocks, commodities are still quite a ways away from their 2011 highs. Recession fears and a surging dollar contributed to the weakness in commodities last year. But a number of factors are starting to show the tide potentially turning for the commodities sector going forward in 2012. Full Story
By: Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer, GATA - 21 February, 2012
You never know what sort of compromising documents central bankers will leave lying around, confident that the mainstream financial news media throughout the world have no more curiosity or insight than, say, Kitco gold market analyst Jon Nadler, who maintains with a straight face that central banks have no interest in manipulating the gold market. Full Story
Headline news & the Market Weatherman Report. Spotlight Stock Picks. Host Chris Waltzek & Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster discussion and answer listener's questions. GUESTS: Dr. Ron Paul, ronpaul.org Dr. Stephen Leeb, Leeb Capital Management Full Story
SO THOSE MILITANT crazies known to the mainstream media as "gold bugs" – and to the FBI as subversives – got the headline they've been longing for, apparently, last week. "China central bank in gold-buying push," declared the Financial Times. "It does appear the People's Bank of China has been a significant buyer," agreed a Reuters columnist. At last, rapture is upon us! Beijing is buying gold in the open market! Full Story
By: The Gold Report and Greg McCoach - 20 February, 2012
Greg McCoach, publisher of The Mining Speculator, feels gold is ultimately headed above $6,000/oz and silver into the hundreds of dollars and those who aren't paying attention now are missing their best opportunity to buy before the frenzy begins in earnest. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, he spells out the reasons for his optimistic projections for the junior mining sector, which he believes is headed for much higher ground. Full Story
By: Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster - 20 February, 2012
Several years ago free trade, globalization, offshoring and outsourcing were discussed in the major media. As time wore on the issues disappeared and now it is not easy to find discussions of these policies virtually anywhere as the drain of jobs and companies leave the third world. Not only have the better paying jobs been leaving, but the destruction of economic independence and sovereignty has been a victim as well, something few professionals, never mind the public, thinks about. If America is to ever have an economic recovery there will have to be trade legislation with tariffs on goods and services. Full Story
By: John Mauldin, Millennium Wave Advisors - 20 February, 2012
We are coming to the point in the United States when even the US government will no longer be able to borrow at very low long-term rates. That point is a few years off, and we have time to change paths; but as I have shown in previous letters, the longer we wait to get the deficit under control, the fewer choices we have and the more painful they are. NO country can run deficits the size we are currently running, along with unfunded deficits over four times the size of the economy and a growing overall debt burden, without consequences. At some point, investors in bonds will start wondering exactly what the process is by which they will be repaid. And what will the value of those future payments be? Full Story
By: The Gold Report and Tom MacNeill - 20 February, 2012
Lesser resource companies have been slowly starving to death since the capital faucet was turned off in 2008. What's left? Some exciting, early-stage companies with management teams industrious enough to make it through with promising projects on the horizon. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Tom MacNeill, CEO of 49 North Resources Inc., a Saskatchewan-focused resource investment company, discusses the conditions that have primed the junior resource environment for growth. Full Story
All over the world the central banks are printing money like it just came into fashion. The printing is disguised. China raises its reserve requirements for banks. The Bank of England does another $80 billion in QE. Euro leaders meet to discuss a $170 billion second Greek bailout. Full Story
It was yet another very strong week in US equities for the most part and major US markets are now above 2011 highs with the exception of the Russell 2000. This market continues to amaze me with its relentless march higher but this past Wednesday we did have the look of a reversal coming as certain leading stocks tanked hard which caused us to take our profits off the table and get short early the next day only to see everything head back up higher once again forcing us to take some losses in the swing trading portfolio. Full Story
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