By: Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital, Inc. - 5 December, 2008
Government and mainstream economists have erroneously concluded that the key to reversing the financial free fall can be found in stopping the plunge in home prices. (I would offer the corollary that the key to reducing injuries in auto accidents is to suspend the laws of inertia). But to accomplish the improbable task of re-inflating the housing bubble, the government appears ready to announce a coordinated plan to push down mortgage rates to just 4.5%. Of course, this is precisely the wrong solution to the housing crisis, but when it comes to bad ideas our government has been remarkably consistent. Full Story
By: Bill Bonner & The Daily Reckoning Crew - 5 December, 2008
-Who makes the best cars?..Nancy Pelosi wants to trump Mr. Market… -Congress is more like a lynch mob than a judge…most likely the Detroit Dinosaurs will be kept alive… -The Bubble Epoque is finito..it's a Jobs Jamboree Friday - and hold onto your hats, it's worse than expected…and more! Full Story
By: Julian D. W. Phillips, Gold/Silver Forecaster - Global Watch - 5 December, 2008
From 1980 right through to 1999, the gold market had the possibility of enormous central bank gold sales hanging over the gold market. Central banks did nothing to remove this impression but led the market to believe that it was likely. Their purpose was to ensure gold did not challenge the paper money markets. Full Story
According to the December 3rd Comex delivery report, there are 11,759 notices to take delivery. This represents 1.1759 million ounces of gold, while the Comex-approved warehouses hold 2.9 million ounces. Thus 40% of the total amount will have to be delivered by December 31st. Since not all the gold in the warehouses is available for delivery, Comex supply of gold falls far short of the demand at present rates. Futures markets in gold are breaking down. Paper gold is progressively being discredited. Full Story
For those who remember, I wrote a letter asking about taking delivery from the COMEX. Well I would like to tell you about a very educational experience. Recently, we took a delivery from the Comex. The process was a bit cumbersome but very enlightening. First, I would like to say that the process of dealing with the custodians was very professional. However, let me begin my story of amazement. Full Story
By: Adam Hamilton, Zeal Intelligence LLC - 5 December, 2008
It’s been a tough year for gold investors. Instead of soaring during the great fear and uncertainty of the global financial panic as most gold investors expected, gold got caught up in the selling. Thus it is down 7.3% year-to-date. This is far-better performance than virtually everything else, especially the S&P 500’s 40.7% YTD loss. Nevertheless, the lack of a flight to gold in such dire conditions remains disappointing. Full Story
This article is the eighth in a series of Deepcaster's work originally entitled "Juiced Numbers" providing an Overview of Market Intervention and Data Manipulation. It analyzes the recent Releases from (and actions of) the BIS (Bank for International Settlements), BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) and The U.S. Federal Reserve, as well as Highlights of recent Interventions culminating in the Fall, 2008 financial crises and the accompanying Takedown of Gold and Silver, and The Cartel* “End Game.” Full Story
By: Olivier Garret, CEO Casey Research - 5 December, 2008
The fact that after over 30 years of consistent mismanagement and decline, there is still any discussion on whether or not we should allow the now significantly smaller “Big Three” automakers to fail is clear evidence that Washington has lost all common sense. Full Story
It is disingenuous and an affront to the American people when Bush decries further regulation and oversight of industry as too much interference with free markets, and then dispatches billions in rescue dollars to select corporations because they are “too big to fail”. The only thing at this point that appears too big to fail is the disconnect between responsible financial leadership and the ham-fisted shotgun thinking permeating our present global “leadership”. Full Story
SO WE'RE LIVING through the end of something. Something important and ugly. Everyone seems agreed on that. But what is it...this big, slippery something, harder to nail down than twelve tonnes of jelly? Full Story
The intent of this article is to compare the net wealth of selected nations. The net wealth figures (actually labeled as 'Net Debt') for the G-7 nations (US, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy and Canada) can be found on the International Monetary Fund website here. It should be noted that all of the G-7 countries have greater government liabilities than assets. Full Story
By: David Morgan, Silver Investor - 5 December, 2008
These rules are pithy, timeless, and will pay big dividends to new investors and seasoned professionals alike. We asked David to share his knowledge, as the precious metals markets have become as turbulent as Wall Street’s. Full Story
The USGovt and financial system is growing deep commitments to support dead entities. Their business models have failed. They are bankrupt. Although with faulty business model, often laced with fraud, they have been fully adopted by the USGovt and US Federal Reserve. They are considered too big to fail. Or one should say, they are too connected to the power structure, or they are too intertwined with explosive financial devices, or one from their own tribe is running the Dept of Treasury. Full Story
By: Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru - 5 December, 2008
You want me to take the other side of your short by going long, even though the market is down, and has been going down, and every freaking technical indicator that anyone has ever thought up says the market will continue going down? Hahahaha! Full Story
By: Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks - 5 December, 2008
And now the government is hoping to raise the price of real estate by artificially pushing down mortgage rates. Does anyone actually think this is the best way to use what remains of America’s dwindling capital? Not that such a hair-brained scheme could possibly succeed. NASA might just as well try to launch a trash can into orbit by stuffing it with cherry bombs. Full Story
As I see it, regardless of what economic outcome we see in 2009, my expectation is for Gold to play an important role in wealth preservation. Interest rates are so low that in some cases buying a treasury instrument costs more than the interest earned. More important, I see Governments around the world spending funds they don’t have in a desperate move to shore up their economies. Full Story
By: Bill Bonner & The Daily Reckoning Crew - 4 December, 2008
-A bottom - for this portion of the cycle at least…inflation protection at 1% sounds like a bargain to us… -The bounce may be here now - but the worst is still to come…balance sheet recessions take time… -The Big 3 are at it again…can driving to the Hill in hybrids reverse the negative public sentiment?…and more! Full Story
By: John Browne, senior market strategist for Euro Pacific Capital - 4 December, 2008
To fight the downturn that it can no longer deny, the government has budgeted some $3 trillion to spend the economy out of recession. However, there is increasing evidence that the recession is deepening, just as we have forecast over the past year or so. It is now rumored that a further $8 trillion (some $25,000 dollars for every American man, woman and child) is being considered. Many people are worried and are beginning to wonder where it will all end. Full Story
We are now reaching the point of the helicopter drop. If the FED does not reverse its policy of buying bad debt with new money – high-powered money, as Friedman called it – we will get mass inflation before the next Presidential election. Full Story
If you have to pick one investment class that will shine in 2009 then choose gold, and probably silver. My prediction is that this will be the year when the Dow Jones to gold ratio goes to one. That is to say the Dow Jones Index will plunge again, way beyond the 7,000 limit target I suggested long ago for 2008, and head to 4-5,000, while at the same time the price per ounce of the yellow metal will tip the $4-5,000 an ounce level, way above the $2,000 now mooted by Citigroup. Full Story
By: Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster - 4 December, 2008
The monetary base has again risen dramatically over the past few weeks up 38% yoy, the largest increase since 1939. You can expect all the major central banks to do the same thing, as this was a large part of what G-20 was all about. Full Story
By: Richard Daughty, The MOGAMBO GURU - 4 December, 2008
The worse news, from the standpoint of a whole cornucopia of governments and taxing authorities that have sprung into being over the last 40 years, is that these kinds of 'fails to deliver' things are losses, and losses are deductible against taxable gains… Full Story
By: Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks - 4 December, 2008
Some years ago, when China began to ramp up its export economy, we predicted here that the country would continue to export aggressively even if global trade fell off a cliff. The result, we wrote, would be historically unprecedented deflation in the manufacturing sector – plummeting prices that would make it all but impossible for even the strongest exporters, including Germany and Japan, to make a profit. Full Story
By: Bill Bonner & The Daily Reckoning Crew - 3 December, 2008
-Curing the problem of over-consumption by spending…Goldman takes another hard whack… -The automakers are still haunting Washington…it's very hard to recover from success… -South Africa seems to still be booming - on the surface at least…the Agora Financial Reserve opens its doors…and more! Full Story
Henry Kissinger used to say that the tricky thing about foreign policy is that information and options are inversely related. That is, when you have the widest range of available policy choices you generally have the least information, and vice versa. As information accumulates, options dwindle, until you’re left with absolute clarity but only a single viable course of action. Full Story
By: Gary Dorsch, Editor, Global Money Trends - 3 December, 2008
In the early 1980’s, the Federal Reserve’s headlines figures for the M1, M2, and M3 money supply aggregates flashed at the top of trader’s radar screens, and jolted US T-bill rates by 50-basis points or bond yields by 30-points within minutes. Inflation was raging at a 10.7% annualized rate, and repeated attempts to cure it had failed. Former Fed chief Paul A. Volcker was doggedly pursuing a radical monetary policy that led to skyrocketing interest rates and two back-to-back recessions. Full Story
By: Doug Hornig, Editor Casey Research – BIG GOLD - 3 December, 2008
The spot price of gold has fallen more than 20% from its all-time high, reached in March of 2008. But if you think that means demand has declined, think again. Gold demand has in fact exploded, and not just here and there. Everywhere. Around the world, customers have been queuing up to strip coin shops’ shelves bare. Mints have been running 24/7 and still have been forced to ration coin shipments to their dealers. ETF vaults are bulging. Full Story
As the G7 economies plunge over a cliff, the governments and central banks are taking turns at fire fighting in their respective economies. With each new initiative the Crack-Up Boom creeps closer and closer on the horizon as G7 public servants and central banks attempt to RESCUE foolish lenders and borrowers from their approaching demise and insolvency. The attempts will fail and insolvency will be brought to the entire G7 financial systems. Full Story
The main reason for holding gold during a deflation, in our view, would be to avoid trying to finesse on timing the expected future debasement of the currency. It also insures against a potential collapse of the foreign exchange value of a currency where a deflationary depression brings about a default, or fear of a default, of a country’s debts. Full Story
By: Dr. Ron Paul, U.S. Congressman - 3 December, 2008
As the printing presses for the bailouts run at full speed, those in power are no longer even pretending that the new giveaways will fix our problems. Now that we are used to rewarding failure with taxpayer-funded bailouts, we are being told that this is “just a start,” more funds will inevitably be needed for more industries, and that things would be much worse had we done nothing. Full Story
By: The Gold Report and Sean Rakhimov - 3 December, 2008
As SilverStrategies.com editor Sean Rakhimov tells us in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, the economic crisis may go on for a generation but the market is a separate animal that will stir back to life sooner. He expects physical gold and silver to lead the parade, with base metals lagging 12-18 months behind, followed by share price recovery for the majors and on down the line. Full Story
Fiat money doesn't work for very long. Initially, there is this false sense of prosperity, and then the piper demands his payment. As near as I can tell, nothing has really changed in the foundations of the economy - friends, family and neighbors are just as productive now as they were a year or two ago. Yet the carnage in the monetary system is definitely being felt in everyday life. Full Story
By: Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru - 3 December, 2008
Now I can afford to cruise the streets looking for hitchhikers, so that I can give them a ride while I explain to them, 'Hey, kid! Did you know that money is created by debt nowadays? It is!' Full Story
By: Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks - 3 December, 2008
How would one know if the 7449 low recorded on November 21 is destined to become a major bottom? Already, a couple of our more technically astute colleagues have speculated as much, and one of them, Porter Stansberry, even thinks the low will come to mark one of the best buying opportunities of the last 30 years. Full Story
It’s been a while since I have commented in detail about the Commitment of Traders Report (COT), since there have been other issues to be discussed. Plus, I know many find the topic confusing. However, there have been some recent developments that should be reviewed. Full Story
By: Bill Bonner & The Daily Reckoning Crew - 2 December, 2008
-Shopping: the patriotic duty of every American…the recession actually began in 2007… -The inevitable meltdown - just another process of capitalism…well gosh, all the big city money men are just too smart for us simple folk…can someone explain how this all works? -Why economists favor inflation over deflation…want something for nothing? Just add zeroes…and more! Full Story
By: Julian D. W. Phillips, Gold/Silver Forecaster - Global Watch - 2 December, 2008
Money authorities around the world will not stop stimulating economies, printing money and doing whatever it takes until growth and confidence are restored to the bright days prior to July 2009. And this will be done even if the cost is high inflation, for better inflation than savage deflation! Full Story
By: Axel Merk, Merk Hard Currency Fund - 2 December, 2008
Deflation won't happen here; at least not if Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman's Ben Bernanke's plan pans out. Deflation is considered a persistent decline in prices of goods and services; in a speech in 2002, Bernanke outlined the steps he would take if the U.S. ever faced the threat of deflation. Full Story
It is a marvelous thing to see the market work, in good times and bad. Just look at the way that marvelous, unplanned barometer of wise resource use – the price system – has reacted in response to the human reality of economic downturn. Full Story
By: Dudley Baker and Arnold Bock - 2 December, 2008
The current coordinated creation and distribution of copious quantities of new money around the globe will undoubtedly end in inflation during the next several years. My investment approach for sometime has been to invest in gold, silver, and the shares of natural resource and commodities companies. It is the best protection against the coming inflation, perhaps hyperinflation. Full Story
By: Roland Watson, The Silver Analyst - 2 December, 2008
Why is there no high premium on 1000 oz bars? The answer is because there is plenty of them to be had - the more common the item, the lower the premium. The scarcity of small investor silver is not a shortage of silver, it is a shortage of small pieces of silver pressed and stamped into pretty pictures. Full Story
Is there a true bull out there? Yes, I believe so. This bull lives with the gold miners. Various hockey sticks known as the gold-oil ratio, gold-gyx ratio and gold-human hopes for prosperity ratio provide undeniable evidence of superior fundamentals in the making. Full Story
By: Steven Saville, Speculative Investor - 2 December, 2008
Few people seem to appreciate that the increasing instability within the financial world, as evidenced by price oscillations of progressively greater magnitude, is being driven by government attempts to manage the economy. Recent attempts to stimulate the economy and mitigate the financial crisis are classic examples of what we are talking about. Full Story
By: David N. Vaughn, Gold Letter, Inc. - 2 December, 2008
The horror of this financial crisis continues to grow. The debate continues over bailing out the auto industry. What do you think? If a bailout occurs it will only be the first in a never ending line of industries seeking help. The world is now quickly changing and moving with a determined force we have not witnessed in our generation or the generation before. Full Story
By: Richard Daughty, The Mogambo Guru - 2 December, 2008
I have some bad news for the U.S. government; the taxpayers are not prepared to loan anything to anybody! Hell, total debt-to-GDP is over 350% already, maybe 450%, which is, either way, the highest, by far, of anything I've seen in U.S. history… Full Story
By: Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks - 2 December, 2008
So volatile have the markets become in recent months that the Dow’s fourth-biggest drop in history may warrant barely a yawn if stocks spend the rest of the week recovering, more or less. Some were attributing yesterday’s avalanche to news that November manufacturing activity in the U.S. took its biggest plunge in 26 years. But what will the pundits say if the Indoos gain it all back and perhaps more by week’s end? Full Story
By: Bill Bonner & The Daily Reckoning Crew - 1 December, 2008
-'Black Friday' - not as dark as previously feared…a senseless casualty in the war on frugality… -Investors should be checking their shorts - both of them…"going for broke" to avoid a "financial collapse"… -Madness on the way up, and madness on the way down…geegaws from China sell better than new boats…and more! Full Story
By: Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital, Inc. - 1 December, 2008
Keeping track of the ever mutating bailout debate is becoming increasingly difficult. With the Federal money spigots now thrown wide open, and with no one of influence advising restraint, the only debate is where to direct the torrent. During the past week, the talk began with Detroit and Citigroup, but by Friday had shifted to a massive "stimulus package" to bail out consumers. The early buzz includes some very large figures. Full Story
Veteran contrarian commentator Dr. Marc Faber maintains that physical gold should be held outside the United States and is also now recommending junior gold exploration stocks. This is one of the best short commentaries on the state of US capital markets I have seen in ages. He sees a ‘very strong rebound’ for gold explorers which have been ‘hammered’. US stocks will rally further he maintains, at least for a short while. In January to March next year you must get out as the economy will implode, he adds. Full Story
As a follow-up to last week’s commentary on the chronic complacency that has gripped the investing public, a population that thinks ‘big daddy’ will bail them out of all troubles forever apparently, once its realized by the masses this belief is a falsehood, a sense of panic will enter the collective psyche, and the issue of our inflated egos will finally be addressed. Full Story
At the end of the de-leveraging, you will see a divergence between gold and silver on the one hand and industrial commodities on the other. Even today we have this very strong demand for physical gold and silver globally, from India to the Middle East to America. Once the de-leveraging ends, I think gold and silver prices could spike sharply higher, possibly as early as late November or early December. Full Story
Despite the fact that Ludwig von Mises' 1912 theory of money explains booms and busts better than rival theories, and despite the fact that Austrian School disciples predicted the most recent bust when academic economists denied that such a bust was imminent, Austrian School economists get no respect. I could almost hear Aretha Franklin as I read Anderson's essay. Full Story
As part of the research in developing the script for the feature length documentary film “Crime of the Century” (http://www.crimeofthecenturymovie.com) , I’ve been immersed over the last week in a detailed study of the history of J.P. Morgan, probably the most powerful bank in the world. Certainly it appears to be the only beneficiary of every painful twist in the slow-motion plunge into world depression. Full Story
Man is a social animal, and in any human society there is a great deal of pressure on any one human being to have the same opinions as his fellows. Before the Reformation, this took the form of torturing to death anyone who dared to express an opinion different from the prevailing orthodoxy. Full Story
By: Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster - 1 December, 2008
Let's step back for a moment, and look at the big picture, to determine what the Illuminist miscreants have been up to over the past year. Their plans to pawn off all the toxic waste derivatives on others backfired when Meredith Whitney exposed Citibank's subprime derivatives as being toxic waste, worth a mere fraction of par. This untoward event was a watershed event for our nation, and for Illuminist plans to destroy us. Full Story
By: David Chapman, Union Securities - 1 December, 2008
We are only a week or so from the lows of November 20 but seven weeks from the momentum low made on October 10. And we couldn’t help but notice that fewer stocks made new lows on November 21 than were made on October 10. This tells us that we are still trying to form a low of some importance. This does not rule out new lows or a test of the November 21 lows, quite possibly even in December, but we are seeing signs that things are looking up – at least a little. Full Story
What a year. It has been 11 months since I put out “My Ten Predictions for 2008”. In general, I think my predictions have luckily turned out to be about right, but I underestimated the severity of both the up and down movement. Full Story
The indiscriminate printing of paper money coupled with the crippling of the World’s financial system is the “perfect storm” setting for gold and silver investors. Current conditions in the financial markets should be more than enough proof to convince even the most stubborn of financial pundits of the necessity to own precious metals. Full Story
The US Federal Reserve is increasing the monetary base at an unprecedented rate in response to the present deflationary asset crunch, following the longest running inflationary boom in the country's history. Full Story
In order to understand why gold is so important now you must realize that the very concept of what is money is fluid. Since the early 80s, up until quite recently, the following were regarded as money or a proxy for money: blue chip stocks, quality real estate, quality corporate bonds. Two years ago, collaterized low quality loans were even considered money. Full Story
Celebrated contrarian investment advisor Dr. Marc Faber told Bloomberg television this weekend that he was buying gold exploration stocks as well as gold producers because prices were ridiculously cheap. Full Story
By: Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks - 1 December, 2008
For our part, with the global economy sinking into its deepest bog since the 1930s, we would be astounded if stocks were indeed about to embark on the kind of sustained rally that our friend Porter envisions. However, we think his “A-list” of stocks is a good place to start if you’re seeking relatively value, safety, and long-term returns. Full Story
Is this September all over again, a sharp couple day rally and then a more casual topping out and decline? This time the rally didn’t even come close to the 200 day moving average line which has now turned to the down side. But who knows, maybe this time it’s different. Full Story
1st Hour: Headline news & Market Weatherman Forecast. Spotlight Stock Picks with big dividends. The International Forecaster and Host Chris Waltzek answer listeners' questions. 2nd Hour: -Jim Sinclair, JSmineset.com Full Story
By: Scott Wright, Zeal Intelligence LLC - 30 November, 2008
Junior resources stocks reside in a realm that has long been considered the Wild West of the equity markets. And investors who speculate on the junior circuit are the consummate gamblers. Risks and rewards are realized in extreme fashion as juniors can either make you rich or rob you blind. Full Story
CENTRAL BANKING used to be easy, back when there was so little to do. You raised interest rates to attract an inflow of gold, supporting your currency on the foreign exchanges and restraining new credit at home. Or you cut interest rates to deter savers, and give the economy a shot of cheap money. Full Story
We’re witnessing unprecedented, dramatic times and it’s been difficult. But things seem to be settling down, at least for the time being, and that’s a relief following the turmoil in September and October. We’ll know much more in the critical months ahead and while it’s still premature, so far things seem to be getting a little better. Full Story
After suffering through the biggest stock market correction since the 1930s, many are wondering if the market – that great discounting mechanism – foresees depression in 2009. The thinking behind this interpretation of the 45% correction is that the stock market envisions a collapse in GDP and the biggest downturn in consumer spending of the current generation. Could the bear market of 2008 in fact be warning us of economic gloom next year? Full Story
Apparently with market confidence and functionality still in a state of crisis the only thing being restored on a regular basis is Bernanke’s pledge to take radical steps to combat deflation. And while Mr. Bernanke will likely be successful in this blitzkrieg, you can not help but wonder at what cost. Full Story
US stocks might have bounced off their lows but have only retreated to the fair value levels of 1991. Typically stock markets tend to over-correct, so we are not at the bottom yet, though it might not be that far away now. Full Story
The war over gold and silver rages on, with its center stage as always at the NY COMEX futures exchange, often referred to affectionately as the “CRIMEX”. Myself and other metal market observers, most notably Jim Sinclair, Marc Faber, Eric Sprott, and Bill Murphy, have painstakingly watched this horror show play out over the past decade, under the guise of the U.S. “Strong Dollar Policy”, the ultimate oxymoron and falsehood. Full Story
My title is a paraphrase of the 1896 battle-cry of William Jennings Bryan during his presidential bid. He was talking about ‘crucifying mankind on a cross of gold’. Bryan was protesting against the unconstitutional closing of the U.S. Mint to silver. Congress inadvertently suspended the unlimited coinage of the standard silver dollar, which it had no authority to do under the Constitution. Bryan called it “the crime of 1873”. Full Story
The US financial crisis has now spread across the globe. Years of easy credit created massive asset bubbles in the housing and financial services sectors. As bond fund manager Bill Gross points out, there was “too much exuberant leverage, not enough regulation; too strong a belief in asset-based prosperity, too little common sense that prices could go down as well as up; excessive “me first” greed, too little concern for the burden of future generations.” Full Story
By: John Mauldin, Millennium Wave Advisors - 30 November, 2008
The economic news just continues to be bad. New unemployment claims were over 529,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The "real" number was 606,877 lost jobs. New home sales were off by another 5% and down 40% from a year ago, as builders slash inventories. Full Story
By: David Morgan, Silver Investor - 30 November, 2008
During my recent trip to Europe we visited four main cities: London, Paris, Zurich, and Munich. My impression of each location varied, in relation to the current global economic climate and how the precious metals are behaving. Full Story
Gold has held its value better than any other commodity during the on-going asset deflation. Gold is in the process of forming a bottom. A symmetrical triangle has taken shape with a gap to the upside. Gold and the gold stocks are starting to look better. Full Story
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