GLOBAL investors have returned to the edge of their seats as a knife-edge Italian election has raised fears the eurozone debt crisis could resurface.
Australia's share market lost 1 per cent on Tuesday after Italy's election saw disgraced PM Silvio Berlusconi locked in the lead with former comedian Beppe Grillo.
This stoked fears among investors and initially wiped 1.5 per cent from the value of the bourse. Despite staging a fightback through the day the bourse closed 1 per cent lower overall.
The jitters came as the Reserve Bank warned the cash rate could be used to offset the impact of a high Australian dollar.
These comments, and suggestions the RBA could intervene in currency markets if conditions demanded it, drove the dollar down to below US102.5¢.
Robert Rennie, Westpac's chief currency strategist, said Italy's deadlocked election result would rattle financial markets because it heralded a deterioration in European politics.
"The idea that Berlusconi was finished will now need to be rethought,'' he said.
Gold overnight surged back over the $1600 level on renewed concerns of EU stability in the wake of Italian election results and comments from Easy Ben in testimony to Congress.
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert notice that the mainstream media mocks the jury in the UK dismissed for being too stupid to understand basic concepts of jury trial like 'guilt beyond a reasonable doubt;' when, in fact, the same media takes financial regulators seriously when they say they can find no evidence of financial crime. They spot Gary Gensler, Chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, on BBC News seemingly incapable of understanding that Libor rigging is 'fraud' and not merely a 'fiction' as he suggests.
In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to renowned mathematician and monetary scientist, Professor Antal Fekete, about the gold basis - cash versus the nearest futures contract and why that the cash price for gold is never reported is by design. They also discuss gold repatriation from Germany as a trial balloon, to see how much demand there is for cash gold and how it is that permanent backwardation means internal bleeding in the monetary system.
I was fortunate to be on Sydney Harbour when the SSS Steve Irwin sailed under the Harbour Bridge, and past several idle and significantly larger Australian Navy vessels moored at Garden Island naval base, on its way to the Southern Ocean. I thought at the time whilst that ship is impressive it is smaller than even the passenger ferry from the CBD to Manly and they are going to the Southern Ocean in that? But I didn't think they would be getting smacked by plate steel as well as 40' waves.
Australia sends the Navy out to rescue boats that can't even get past the horizon of foreign countries yet it will not dispatch the Navy to capture foreign govt. sponsored ships illegally entering our waters and endangering our citizens, even when the majority of the people call for it. It seems trade concerns with the world's no. 3 economy outweigh any sovereignty or environmental concerns that this current govt. may have.
This story tells you all you need to know about the rule of law in the USA. Break out of a few hundred dollar phone contract - get 5 years jail. Break a multi-billion dollar brokerage firm taking clients "segregated funds" down with it - get an invite to the White House.
“The real damage is done by those millions who want to 'get by.' The ordinary men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves - nor enemies.
Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, love small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you.
But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.”
~ Sophie Scholl(1921 - 1943)
Read the brilliant post from Jesse's Cafe Americain on the 70th anniversary of Sophie's execution here
In a detailed and technical interview Andrew breaks down the current situation in the gold and silver markets, in particular the relationship between paper and physical metal trading. Listen the KWN interview here
Caddisfly larvae build protective cases using materials found in their environment. Artist Hubert Duprat supplied them with gold leaf and precious stones. This is what they created.
Max and Stacy discuss the downgrade of the UK rating, Egypt spending millions on US made tear gas grenades, the Pope and everything in between. Listen here
I highly recommend you listen to this wide ranging interview with Marc Faber. Marc discusses inflation, falling living standards for those in Europe and how money printing so far has not reached the man in the street, but instead has lead to asset inflation. Also an interesting report on the economy in Thailand which echos some of my observations over the last few years. Listen to the KWN interview here
Professor Martyn Poliakoff seems to have successfully escaped from the Bank of England's gold vault and is now discussing the precious metal - Palladium.
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert compare the real financial suicide machine that is the global financial markets to the hypothetical euthanasia coaster that would kill its passengers after an allegedly fun and euphoric ride induces GLOC - G-force induced Loss Of Consciousness. In the financial markets this is achieved by churning clients so rapidly or front running them at faster than the speed of light. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to professor and economist, Constantin Gurdgiev, about the liquidation of IBRC, the bank formerly known as Anglo Irish and how it is that the bank came to collapse in the first place.
Rating Action:
Moody's downgrades UK's government bond rating to Aa1 from Aaa; outlook is now stable
Global Credit Research - 22 Feb 2013
London, 22 February 2013 -- Moody's Investors Service has today downgraded the domestic- and foreign-currency government bond ratings of the United Kingdom by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa. The outlook on the ratings is now stable.
The key interrelated drivers of today's action are:
1. The continuing weakness in the UK's medium-term growth outlook, with a period of sluggish growth which Moody's now expects will extend into the second half of the decade;
2. The challenges that subdued medium-term growth prospects pose to the government's fiscal consolidation programme, which will now extend well into the next parliament;
3. And, as a consequence of the UK's high and rising debt burden, a deterioration in the shock-absorption capacity of the government's balance sheet, which is unlikely to reverse before 2016.
At the same time, Moody's explains that the UK's creditworthiness remains extremely high, rated at Aa1, because of the country's significant credit strengths. These include (i) a highly competitive, well-diversified economy; (ii) a strong track record of fiscal consolidation and a robust institutional structure; and (iii) a favourable debt structure, with supportive domestic demand for government debt, the longest average maturity structure (15 years) among all highly rated sovereigns globally and the resulting reduced interest rate risk on UK debt.
The stable outlook on the UK's Aa1 sovereign rating reflects Moody's expectation that a combination of political will and medium-term fundamental underlying economic strengths will, in time, allow the government to implement its fiscal consolidation plan and reverse the UK's debt trajectory. Moreover, although the UK's economy has considerable risk exposure through trade and financial linkages to a potential escalation in the euro area sovereign debt crisis, its contagion risk is mitigated by the flexibility afforded by the UK's independent monetary policy framework and sterling's global reserve currency status.
In a related rating action, Moody's has today also downgraded the ratings of the Bank of England to Aa1 from Aaa. The issuer's P-1 rating is unaffected by this rating action. The rating outlook for this entity is now also stable.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The main driver underpinning Moody's decision to downgrade the UK's government bond rating to Aa1 is the increasing clarity that, despite considerable structural economic strengths, the UK's economic growth will remain sluggish over the next few years due to the anticipated slow growth of the global economy and the drag on the UK economy from the ongoing domestic public- and private-sector deleveraging process. Moody's says that the country's current economic recovery has already proven to be significantly slower -- and believes that it will likely remain so -- compared with the recovery observed after previous recessions, such as those of the 1970s, early 1980s and early 1990s. Moreover, while the government's recent Funding for Lending Scheme has the potential to support a surge in growth, Moody's believes the risks to the growth outlook remain skewed to the downside.
Gold will always have an emotional hold over investors' hearts because it's not priced on fundamentals.
It is a speculator's dream because there is no yield on owning gold, no earnings, and virtually zero use for the productive capacity of an economy.
If there are any fundamentals, there is the cost of finding the stuff, which seems to be increasing by the day.
Yes it is symbolic. Try giving your bride or groom a copper wedding ring. And yes, it is considered by many a store of wealth that could replace the current standard, which is the US dollar.
Much of the doubling of the gold price in the past five years has been due to a concern that the US dollar has been printed to excess in the wake of the ballooning US trade deficit and its sluggish economy.
The printing of the greenback has taken the form of "Quantitative Easing" or "QE", which is central bank slang for propping up banks' balance sheets in the hope that they'll lend some of it out. Radar views it as similar to smoking – it's good at the start, but you need more and more of it to get even close to the initial effect.
Well what an exciting week that was. The chicken littles in the mainstream media ran around screaming "the sky is falling" whilst seasoned investors, who had seen it all before, particularly in precious metals, and took the opportunity to add to their holdings at deeply discounted prices.
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss where you go when you can't even afford mystery meat? They also wonder whether Germany's gold has already been sent out to slaughter while the men running the money abattoirs continue sending us photos of the intact gold. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to HBOS whistleblower, Paul R. Moore, about the absurdity of naming the FSA twice and why eating dodgy securities is not a victimless crime.
A 5 min lecture on the economic and geopolitical consquencies of a shooting war between China and Japan, the world's No. 2 and No. 3 economies respectfully.
Even you are not interested in the topic, and damn it you should be, watch it for the amazing time lapse drawing , a very impressive way of conveying a message.
The sharemarket has shed $35 billion in the biggest one-day loss in nine months as the strong surge of 2013 came to an abrupt end.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed at the day’s low, down 118.6 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 4980.1, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 115.8 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 4998.6.
All sectors finished lower, contributing to the biggest sell-off since May last year, with energy stocks slumping 4.6 per cent, materials sliding 3.4 per cent and financials falling 2.4 per cent.
‘‘I’m not overly alarmed, this is probably a healthy break for the market after a strong run,’’ said Mike Kendall, executive director JBWere. Advertisement
‘‘Pretty much everyone knows that things just won’t go up in a straight line,’’ he said.
Another factor contributing to the sell-off was comments from the US Federal Reserve which, citing a risk of inflation, hinted at the winding back of its quantitative easing program.
Miners suffered heavy losses, with BHP falling 3.8 per cent to $37.17, Rio Tinto sliding 3 per cent to $67.30 and Fortescue Metals dropping 2.4 per cent to $4.80.
James Turk discusses the recent moves in the Gold and Silver markets and the dubious audit from the US Treasury on the US gold reserves. Listen to the KWN interview here
Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks retreated from five-year highs while oil, gold and silver led commodities lower as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed policy makers debated the risks and benefits of bond purchases. Matt Miller, Trish Regan and Adam Johnson report on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
THE Australian dollar has fallen more than one US cent as it looks likely there could be an early end to the US Federal Reserve's stimulus program.
At 7am AEDT today, the local unit was trading at 102.44 US cents, down from 103.65 cents yesterday.
The currency reached an overnight low of 102.43, its weakest level since Tuesday of last week.
The minutes of the Fed's January policy meeting show that some members were worried that the bond-buying programs could eventually escalate inflation and unsettle financial markets.
Gold and Silver have declined sharply overnight on momentum trading in New York after the release of the January Fed minutes. The minutes were perceived by the markets as a portend that the Fed may ease up on monetary policy accommodation - ie they might print a few less digital dollars and let interest rate rise a bit, maybe.
Gold fell through the US$1600 level down to $1559 before the decline halted. Silver fell through US$29.50 down to $28.29 before recovering slightly.
Relevant section of the Fed minutes and link follow the charts below.
Committee members saw the information received over the intermeeting period as suggesting that growth in economic activity had paused in recent months, in large part because of weather-related disruptions and other transitory factors. Employment had continued to expand at a moderate pace, but the unemployment rate remained elevated. However, members generally expected that, with appropriately accommodative monetary policy, economic growth would proceed at a moderate pace and the unemployment rate would gradually decline toward levels they judged to be consistent with the Committee's dual mandate. Although members saw strains in global financial markets as having eased somewhat, they continued to see an increase in such strains as well as slower global growth and a greater-than-expected fiscal tightening in the United States as downside risks to the economy. Members generally continued to anticipate that, with longer-term inflation expectations stable and slack in resource utilization remaining, inflation over the medium term would run at or below the Committee's longer-run objective of 2 percent.
In their discussion of monetary policy for the period ahead, members saw the economic outlook as relatively little changed since the previous meeting. Accordingly, all but one member judged that maintaining the highly accommodative stance of monetary policy was warranted in order to foster a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability. The Committee agreed that it would be appropriate to continue purchases of MBS at a pace of $40 billion per month and purchases of longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $45 billion per month, as well as to maintain the Committee's reinvestment policies. The Committee also retained its forward guidance about the federal funds rate, including the thresholds on the unemployment and inflation rates. Some members remarked favorably on the move away from providing calendar dates in the forward guidance and toward highlighting the economic conditionality of future monetary policy. One member dissented from the Committee's policy decision, expressing concern that the continued high level of monetary accommodation increased the risks of future economic and financial imbalances and, over time, could cause an increase in long-term inflation expectations.
In the statement to be released following the meeting, the Committee made relatively small modifications to the language of its December statement, including to acknowledge both the pause in economic growth during the fourth quarter and some easing of the strains in global financial markets. In light of the importance of ongoing U.S. fiscal concerns, members discussed whether to include a reference to unresolved fiscal issues, but decided to refrain. Similarly, one member raised a question about whether the statement language adequately captured the importance of the Committee's assessment of the likely efficacy and costs in its asset purchase decisions, but the Committee decided to maintain the current language pending a review, planned for the March meeting, of its asset purchases.
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the four horsemen of the bondpoclypse riding into town bringing with them the reversal of multi-decades long trends and as pipe swipers steal toilets and as supermarkets hit the limits of cost-cutting, the population confronts the high cost of backsliding trends. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to former energy regulator, Chris Cook, about how we move from dollar diplomacy to gas diplomacy and a world where energy as the modern water hole where you don't have to kill each other and a gas backed currency becomes a new global reserve currency in a post-dollar world.
Last time we saw Mark struggle to sell his 1oz Silver Eagle for 99cents. This time he can't even give it away when it competes with a filthy $5 fiat note. Of course when you can't give something away that means that thing is in a bubble and will become worthless.
Egon von Greyerz discusses the recent action in the precious metal markets and how the recent price falls are a mere blip on the 13 year chart. Listen to the KWN interview here
Even Cramer from CNBC's Mad Money gets you hold Gold in your portfolio not to get fabulously wealthy, but to act as insurance against really bad things happening.
Gold and Silver sold off going into Saturday, Australian time as US traders closed out positions going into a 3 day weekend for presidents day (sounds like Kings birthday - I thought they got rid of the King?). Anyway gold and silver got sold down below recent support levels - see chart for current prices.
Of course as prices fell CNBC couldn't help gloating about it and their gun trader admits to loosing money buying gold. He says he bought the GLD ETF on the way up last year and then sold on this recent down move - buying on a rising market and selling on a falling market. Brilliant! if Jesse Livermore had done that no one would have ever heard of him, just like no one will ever remember this CNBC struggler. Their trader admits to "wanting to hold this trade for a year" - so why didn't he? did someone hold a gun to his head and say "go ahead make that trade punk" or was he leveraged to buggery and "got sold out" not "traded out of" - this would make more sense. As the afore mentioned Jesse was quoted as saying "be right and sit tight", in a 12 year bull market in gold this is very sound advice. As I regularly tell my clients don't buy gold if you think that you will need to draw down on all or a substantial portion of that holding in under 12 months, not only are Australian Capital Gains Tax rules advantageous for holding assets over 12 months prior to realizing a gain but the longer you hold the less that daily/weekly volatility will effect your decision to sell.
Back to CNBC, I spat my weetbix when the work-experience girl said "as interest rates are starting to normalize people are looking at the gold trade and not seeing the opportunity any more". Gee really? well I haven't checked what ING Direct is paying for cash management in the US lately, lets go look - Wow 0.75% return (last time I looked 6 months ago it was 0.8%). So for every $1,000 I put into that account I get back $7.50 in interest pa - yeah I will dump my 12 year silver/gold position for a return like that, where do I sign up?
BRITISH schoolchildren have been given meals containing horse meat, DNA tests have confirmed for the first time.
Councils throughout Britain urgently withdrew processed beef dishes from menus after cottage pies containing horse meat were sent to 47 schools.
British hospital patients have also been given beef meals containing equine DNA, it emerged, as the scandal spread to pubs, restaurants and more supermarkets.
Mary Creagh, the opposition's environment spokeswoman, said: ''People will be shocked and dismayed that horse meat has now been found in schools and hospitals.''
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss ending the currency war with a gold standard. They also look at how, since going off the gold standard in 1971, productivity gains have all gone to the one percent who create and push the paper and credit. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Jan Skoyles of the Real Asset Company about gold monetisation, renminbi internationalisation and the very harsh laws against sterling devaluation.
With the mainstream media finally coming out of their comma this week and begrudgingly acknowledging there might actually be a global currency war going on, maybe, it is seems everyone is chasing ever cheaper money.
Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's David Ingles looks at how threats of a
currency war are positive for the U.S. dollar. He speaks on Bloomberg
Television's "On The Move Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the honkey infestation causing an inflationary vortex and the Dutch sandwich being the financial equivalent of a horsemeat burger. And how the FSAs - the Financial Services Authority and the Food Standards Agency - operate with a similar cover up mentality. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to anthropologist, David Graeber, author of Debt: The First 5000 Years, about the dollar, a war backed currency, being displaced by gold and about who killed Aaron Swartz and why.
Last year it was the communist one party state of South Africa causing supply disruptions in the platinum market and spiking prices. Now their smaller neighbouring communist one party / one man state is envious of SA's efforts to destroy their precious metal mining industry and has therefore taken mining rights off Zimbabwe's largest platinum miner and thrown them up for grabs and no doubt for bribes. Why would any foreign company want to sink any capital into this despotic hole?
THE government has repossessed over 27,000 hectares of land from the country’s top platinum miner, Zimplats, with immediate effect.
This comes as the State moves to reclaim idle claims in a bid to court new investors, Mines minister Obert Mpofu said yesterday.
Mpofu told a Press conference that the repossessed claims were enough to accommodate five big investors, amid disclosures the platinum mining firms were holding on to the land for speculative purposes.
The figure represents nearly a tenth of the size of Harare. The measure, according to Mpofu, will extend to all mining companies under-utilising their claims.
“As the sole regulator and promoter of the mining industry in terms of the mines and Minerals Act (Chapter 21:05), the ministry is focusing on the creation of real opportunities and investment space by making more land available for new investments, attracting new players into the industry and acting on excess and unutilised ground,” Mpofu said.
“This will be done through reviewing all mining rights deemed to be in excess. To that end and following protracted discussions on the release of excess ground, my ministry is taking a step forward to repossess excess ground from Zimplats measuring 27 948 hectares.”
Mpofu said the claims would be up for grabs using an approved indigenisation model compelling foreign-owned companies to sell 51% to black Zimbabweans. Zimplats, a unit of South Africa’s Impala Platinum, has already complied with the country’s empowerment law.
“We have seen that the current model at the diamond companies with ZMDC holding 51% or more shareholding is viable and we could see that in the new platinum ventures, of course with the approval of the indigenisation ministry,” he added.
Zimbabwe has the second largest known platinum reserves in the world after South Africa.
Really is there anything funnier than laughing at the average American? not that the result would be much different in Australia, but still funny. And of course when no one wants something, even at a 97% discount, you can be sure that something is in a bubble.
French auto giant Peugeot Citroen goes from turning a profit in 20-11 to posting a historic loss in 20-12. A major reason for the quick turn-around was its decision to withdraw from the Iranian market.
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Blackrock Portfolio Manager Catherine Raw discusses the price of gold. She speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Money Moves." (Source: Bloomberg)
Amid concerns over a “currency war” of competitive currency devaluations, the G7 ministers have issued a statement reaffirming a “longstanding commitment to market determined exchange rates.” Ministers also stated that “fiscal and monetary policies have been and will remain oriented towards meeting…domestic objectives.”
Notably absent from the statement is any kind of condemnation of Japan’s attempts to devalue the yen, a policy that prime minister Shinzo Abe campaigned on and won. “Abenomics” advanced in January, when the Bank of Japan announced a higher, 2% inflation target and an open-ended asset purchase program, or QE.
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the money printing cargo cults leading to a post-industrial nation of debt addicts, who have forgotten what real wealth is. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Sandeep Jaitly about debt, inflation, currency kamikazes and Austrian economics.
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Trading Advantage Senior Market Strategist Scott Bauer discusses the price of gold. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Money Moves." (Source: Bloomberg)
OMG Lloyd is trying to culture a nice beard like Ben Bernanke, a cargo cult of beard growing and Ctrl-P'ing ~ Tears.
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein sits down with Trish Regan to discuss the importance of technological innovation, the state of the U.S. economy and the outlook for the brokerage industry They speak on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
I couldn't resist this classic QE sketch to go with the nice beard
Eric Sprott discusses the increasing demand for gold for silver whilst mine and recycle supply is declining. Eric argues that Western Central banks are supplying gold into the market to keep prices constrained. Listen to the KWN interview here
Yes Virginia, once upon a time there was such a thing as "real money". People would transact in gold in silver coins who's weight and fineness were strictly controlled. They would keep them in their pockets, waistcoats and purses. They exchanged them endlessly for non-GM organic foods and hand made goods and in turn received them in for their labour. Alas such times are only a distant memory for even the oldest amongst us, as such items of golden beauty were taken from general circulation in 1931 in exchange for filthy paper. As a result the world has been searching for a constant measure of value ever since.