By: Eric Sprott, Etienne Bordeleau & David Franklin - 10 May, 2013
Manufacturing data in the last several months has suggested that economic growth around the world is slowing.1 However, China’s export growth surprised the market this week and unexpectedly accelerated in April, even as shipments to the U.S. and Europe fell.2 This has created a conundrum for analysts and market watchers. How can China be growing while the countries that purchase its exports are slowing? The numbers don’t add up. Full Story
GOLD attracts investment capital when other asset classes fail to deliver. So now equities have clearly regained their appeal after more than a decade of what finance professionals would rather we called "sub-optimal" returns, gold investing has lost its urgency for money managers. Indeed, it's become a neat little "short" to trade against whilst picking the next winner in the S&P's all-time high dash. Full Story
Perceptive, Independent Market commentators like Trader Dan Norcini generally agree that The Fed’s (and Bank of Japan and European and other Central Banks) Easy Paper Money Policies are Creating An Asset Bubble in the Equities Market that is not justified by Economic Fundamentals. Full Story
By: Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital - 10 May, 2013
A good doctor will not simply make a diagnosis based on measurements. The symptoms and complaints expressed by the patient are at least as important in making a determination as the data provided by diagnostic tools. When the data says one thing and the symptoms continuously say another, it makes sense to question the reliability of the instruments. Full Story
By: Adam Hamilton, Zeal Intelligence - 10 May, 2013
As the US stock markets keep on levitating, the bulls continue to rationalize this inexplicable melt-up by claiming stocks are still cheap. They use this as a justification to buy high. But is this true? Not by a long shot! Today the US stock markets are just as expensive in classic valuation terms as they were back in late 2007 when the last cyclical bull topped. That led to a brutal cyclical bear, the same risk faced today. Full Story
The latest fear on Wall Street is that record levels of margin debt may end up toppling the stock market rally. NYSE margin debt recently reached its highest level since 2007 before the last major stock market peak and credit crash. Stephen Suttmeier, technical research analyst at Bank of America, noted that margin debt, rose 28% in March from a year ago to $380 billion. Full Story
Every so often the mainstream does get it right; they just don’t realize it. Or maybe they do. There is an old saying that every lie has 90% truth otherwise nobody would believe it. The hysteria over the Dow’s recent punch through the 15,000 level has everyone associated with stocks almost giddy. Or maybe totally giddy. Or maybe totally disconnected from reality. Take your pick. Full Story
T.S. Eliot called April “the cruelest month” in his famous poem, and without a doubt April was cruel to many gold investors. Sunshine Profits subscribers who followed our suggestions in April avoided a share of the pain. Probably no one suffered more than hedge fund manager John Paulson. He is joined by hedge fund manager David Einhorn whose Greenlight fund took a big hit on its gold miners ETF holdings. Full Story
The U.S. Dollar bubble may be one of the largest, most pervasive and most denied financial bubble in history. Nevertheless, the identification and awareness of bubbles typically comes only in hindsight. Investors missed the last two great ones, both of which were fueled by intervention. Full Story
By: Richard (Rick) Mills, Ahead of the herd - 10 May, 2013
Freshwater aquifers are one of the most important natural resources in the world today but were pumping the groundwater out of them so fast nature can’t recharge them. Many places we’re pumping water out of it’s just like your mining it - once the water is pumped out its gone forever, it isn’t coming back anymore than the gold in a mined out gold deposit could. Full Story
We wrote here recently that Wall Street seems to be revving up for The Mother of All Blowoffs. The banks are evidently trying to stoke a mania of their own, judging from the mail we get each day. A typical batch now includes no fewer than three or four teaser offers to borrow money for practically nothing. Full Story
By: Julian D. W. Phillips, Gold/Silver Forecaster - Global Watch - 9 May, 2013
Who is Warren Buffet? He’s ‘Yoda’ of the financial world. He is a man brilliantly skilled at making profits with considerable expertise in the U.S. economy and its corporations. Full Story
Dennis explains how the assumptions in the retirement calculations that many seniors used when they were younger no longer apply and why we’re seeing more seniors still in the workforce. He also explains steps retirees can take to avoid needing to return to working. Full Story
Do the markets live in a fantasy world? Well no, the level the markets are trading at any point in time is what it is. But those levels are what is known as the nominal price for the market. That is what is reported every day. Therefore, when the markets move to new (nominal) all-time highs the “talking heads” become very excitable and repeat incessantly that the markets have made new all-time highs. What they usually fail to tell everyone is that while the markets have made new all-time highs (nominal) they are somewhat detached from reality. Full Story
As the recent events in Cyprus have been unfolding, each iteration has seemed to me to be not only logical, but almost predictable. As Jim Sinclair has recently been stating frequently, the EU has run out of options… The next step is confiscation. Full Story
Sticking with the theme of milestones, we’ve just crossed a few important anniversary dates that relate to silver that taken in proper perspective point to a disturbing conclusion. That conclusion is that the US commodities regulator, the CFTC, has done more public harm than good over the past few years. Simply put, the public and our markets would have been better off had the agency not been run by the commissioners in place, specifically including Chairman Gensler and Commissioner Chilton. In fact, rarely has so much promise for genuine regulatory reform been squandered as badly as has been the case over the past few years. Full Story
The 70s silver bull took place during a period from a major peak in the Dow/Gold ratio (1966) to a major bottom in Dow/Gold ratio (1980). The silver bull market started in 1971 and ended at the beginning of 1980. Full Story
Chinese consumers led by their old ‘aunties’ have reportedly bought over 300 tonnes of gold worth more than $16 billion since the price crash last month. There have been queues at the nation’s many gold shops. Perhaps the Chinese aunties have heard the story about what happened to the Russian babushkas in the 90s. Full Story
The euphoria phase of the bull market that I warned about months ago is now beginning its final parabolic phase. I'm guessing we still have another month to month and a half before this runaway move finally ends. Depending on how far above the 200 day moving average it ends up stretching, I think there's a pretty good chance we will see the entire intermediate rally wiped out in a matter of days or even hours when this house of cards finally comes tumbling down. Full Story
The legal claims on physical gold far exceed the amount of physical gold that the banks actually have by a very, very wide margin. And right now the bankers are scared out of their wits because their warehouses are being drained of physical gold at a frightening rate. So what happens when their physical gold is gone but they still have lots and lots of people with legal claims to gold? When that moment arrives, it will represent the end of the paper gold scam. Full Story
By: The Gold Report and Lawrence Roulston - 8 May, 2013
Things are upside down in the gold market. Valuations are irrationally low, while global consumerism fuels demand and supply comes up short. Lawrence Roulston, editor and publisher of Resource Opportunities, advises people to trust their guts as well as the numbers when weeding through prospective investments. In this interview with The Gold Report, he skirts around conspiracy theories regarding the recent gold sell-off and keeps his advice simple. Full Story
By: Marin Katusa, Chief Energy Investment Strategist - 8 May, 2013
On May 1, 2012, Porter Stansberry and I made a bet. Porter predicted that oil would go below US$40 per barrel within 12 months. I stated that there was no chance that this would happen (my reasons are presented at the link above). Putting our money where our mouths are, we both agreed to bet 100 ounces of silver on the matter. Full Story
We often hear investors complain of financial markets (and the gold market in particular) being “rigged” or manipulated. The sad yet somewhat humorous tale of Henry Gribbohm recently brought this accusation to life. The 30-year-old Gribbohm infamously lost his life savings of $2,600 on a carnival game in an attempt at winning an Xbox Kinect valued at $100. For his efforts, he walked away with a giant stuffed banana sans his $2,600 life savings. Full Story
Although the Pharisees of paper money successfully forced down the price of gold, like those who lobbied Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus, the consequences of their actions will backfire beyond their wildest imagination. Full Story
As asset prices appear to be chasing the next perceived move of policy makers, the currency market may be the right place to express such views. Gold can play an important part in such a strategy, but as the recent past has shown, one needs to have a good stomach to get through the patches when there is substantial volatility when gold is measured in U.S. dollar terms. Full Story
Permabears who have waited patiently for The Mother of All Corrections should take encouragement from the blithe demeanor of yesterday’s 87-point rally in the Dow. It left the Indoos sitting above 15,000 for the first time and the network anchors oohing and aahing as though they understood what it means. Our take is that the little guy has not only returned, but that he is ready to party. Full Story
Annuities are complicated products that require some basic homework to be done before requesting quotes. Retirees will want to think about how they envisage their lifestyle and even their potential mortality to come up with an annuity product that’s right for them, or not even buy one at all. Full Story
By: John Browne, Senior Economic Consultant at Euro Pacific Capital - 7 May, 2013
Currently, central banks around the world are walking in lock step down a dangerous path of money creation. Led by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, economic policy is driven by the idea that printed money can be the true basis of growth. The result is an unprecedented global orgy of currency creation. The only holdout to this open ended commitment has been the hard money bias of the German-dominated European Central Bank (ECB). Full Story
By: Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer, GATA - 7 May, 2013
U.S. diplomatic cables show that three years after the United States canceled the dollar's official convertibility into gold for foreign governments, thereby ending gold's formal role as money, Western governments and central banks were still meeting secretly to scheme about controlling the monetary metal's market price. Full Story
Gold has stalled in the $1485 area. Is the rally in gold over, or about to accelerate? Please click here now. You are looking at the daily chart for gold. Technically, the gold price is moving sideways in a rough congestion pattern, between $1440 and $1480. I’ve highlighted the trading range with blue and red HSR (horizontal support and resistance) lines. These types of patterns have a 2/3 chance of consolidating the existing trend, which means there is a 2/3 chance of an upside breakout. Full Story
In failing to take a “healthy” correction to the equivalent of SPX 1350 to 1450 from the upside target zone of 1550 to 1590, the market is now running on policy and momentum. Hence we now dub thee Young FrankenMarket; Ben Bernanke’s creation, sustained by government and legacy MBA debt, following Alan Greenspan’s monster that was stitched together with artificially low interest rates that ultimately manifested in a huge commercial credit bubble. Full Story
The media is jumping for joy over last week’s US jobs numbers. But beneath the veneer of headline numbers lies a truly horrible economic reality. Let’s have a look at the two key economies for the world: China and the US. Full Story
These past few weeks it seems like paper gold is out and physical gold is in. The fall in the price of gold has triggered a new run on physical gold that shows no sign of abating. Record amounts of money have exited ‘paper,’ i.e. futures and ETFs, and headed straight to the bank or the mint to be exchanged for coins and bullion bars, that is if one can get them. The strength of physical retail buying has taken dealers and mints around the world by surprise, leaving them scrambling to keep up with demand. The sudden surge is evidence of pent-up demand, particularly from China and India. Full Story
By: Julian D. W. Phillips, Gold/Silver Forecaster - Global Watch - 6 May, 2013
Since the start of the credit crunch in mid-2007 we have seen a steady move forward by government to place greater control over the financial aspects of people’s lives. One of the biggest milestones from an investor’s point of view has been the establishment of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). This is consistent with the intentions expressed by President Obama that U.S. Citizen’s financial successes at home and abroad should be subject to U.S Taxation so that the U.S., as a nation, can benefit. The Patriot Act was the first to employ this approach but now we are moving several steps forward from these measures. Full Story
Through a fortuitous chain of events, I have recently uncovered the 36 year energy wave that shapes and influences every major trend in financial markets. This wave can be traced back in perfect alignment with all of modern market history, and far beyond. Full Story
By: The Gold Report, Tim Alch, and Dave Kanagy - 6 May, 2013
Money: mining companies need it and investors want to know what companies will use that money to make them money. An innovative conference sponsored by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) called "Current Trends in Mining Finance—An Executive's Guide: What Are Lenders, Investors Looking For?" brought together about 145 experts who were actively funding and running companies for answers. Full Story
By: Paul Brodsky, QB Asset Management - 6 May, 2013
A couple of days after the Fed announced Ben Bernanke would not attend the Jackson Hole summit, for the first time in twenty five years, the New York Times (on the first page, no less) ran an in-depth profile of Janet Yellen, the heir apparent to run the Fed. Beneath her profile there were three other candidates "being discussed": Roger Ferguson, Tim Geithner, and Larry Summers. Full Story
Lately there has been a lot more news on how the physical demand for precious metals is off the charts. It seem like the physical off-take of bullion from dealers has only accelerated during this recent price drop in the metals. Inventory shortages are now a common occurrence at many dealers and premiums are rising until more supply comes to market. Full Story
Skip the supposed theory and purpose of Quantitative Easing, and ask yourself what is its equivalent weight? Suppose we use the $85,000,000,000 per month that is officially acknowledged and round it to $1,000,000,000,000 per year and relate that $1 Trillion per year to items more easily understood. Full Story
Regular readers will know I am in the inflation, possibly hyperinflation camp; but there are those that think the future is more likely to be deflationary. In the main this is the view of neoclassical economists, Keynesians and monetarists, who generally foresee a 1930s-style slump unless the economy is stimulated out of it. Full Story
By: John Mauldin, Millennium Wave Advisors - 6 May, 2013
Sell in May and go away? What about "risk off?" And ever more QE? Today's letter is a quick note and a reprise of a popular letter from yesteryear (with a bit of new slant), as I am at my conference in Carlsbad. Full Story
By: Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer, GATA - 6 May, 2013
GATA has not been among those asserting that Fort Knox is empty. Rather, GATA has been pressing for a complete accounting of the U.S. gold reserve and our suspicion has been that, rather than having vanished entirely, the gold at Fort Knox and other U.S. government depositories is, to put it politely, oversubscribed, insofar as the Federal Reserve has admitted to GATA that it has secret gold swap arrangements with foreign banks. Full Story
Last week at its regular policy-setting meeting, the Federal Reserve announced it would double down on the policies that have failed to produce anything but a stagnant economy. It was a disappointing, but not surprising, move. Full Story
This week’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) disaggregated commitments of traders (DCOT) report was released at 15:30 ET Friday. Our recap of the changes in weekly positioning by the disaggregated trader classes, as compiled by the CFTC, is just below. Full Story
By: Rick Ackerman and Doug Behnfield - 6 May, 2013
Our friend Doug Behnfield, the savviest financial advisor we know, says stocks are extremely vulnerable now but that long-term bonds, far from being in a bubble, are about to explode and send yields below two percent. He explains why in the letter below. It went out to clients in mid-April, and although the S&Ps have since continued their surreal rise into record territory, little else has changed. Full Story
It was really another amazing week. We had a great April except the last week while consolidation occurred and we didn’t do much but this past week starting into May has been another great one. Full Story
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