74 responses so far ↓

• Mep

  Nov 11, 2009 at 3:24 am

  

  Have to go to bed. Happy St. Martin’s Day to all who are lucky enough to celebrate it!
• Max Power

  Nov 11, 2009 at 3:26 am

  

  =====
  Justice Dept. Asked For News Site’s Visitor Lists
  http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/09/taking_liberties/entry5595506.shtml?tag=mncol;txt
  =====

  Assuming you have no sensitive internal files, most reasonably well trafficked websites should give some details of visitor origins or visitor patterns.

  Websites that are already open in this way attract less suspicion as well as make people wanting to put ads on the site more aware of its utility to them overall.
• Youri Carma

  Nov 11, 2009 at 3:39 am

  

  @Mep

  Nighty night and sweet dreams…..

  @The Man from Glad

  ’bout: Willen Buiter

  Indeed Gold has many Industrial use. In every computer there is gold for instance and in Germany you’ve got a company which profitably gets it out again. Think about the dental gold or the gold plugs for high end audio etc…

  Buiter seems to be a extremist FIAT currency believer and calls the Intristique value of gold “a believe”? That’s what extremist usually do cause there “God” is always better.

  I think Willem Buiter believe system has been shattered and it’s at that point people get angry and that’s good for him cause it would mean he’s on the right track of acknowledging of what’s realy going on here. He should realize that the dollar officially has been declared “Toast” and come to grip with it.

  So, come on Willem get yourself together and illuminate us again with some well founded sane reasoning again. Nobody is perfect. We don’t talk about the gold anymore we’ll just buy it.
• Youri Carma

  Nov 11, 2009 at 3:53 am

  

  @stacyherbert

  Maybe this is the reason for gold spike today?

  Oil slides below $79 on mixed China data http://tinyurl.com/y9csfc7
• Fibon11235

  Nov 11, 2009 at 3:54 am

  

  Many trillions of them so I hear?
• Max Power

  Nov 11, 2009 at 5:14 am

  

  US economic statistics that cannot be counterfitted, usable as alternate ways of tracking an economy:

  Families liquidated due to debt, re — mass killings + suicide
  – Coupled with conditions of debt and unemployment

  The special debt conditions in the US make this a very good measure, and one that can be tracked back as far as 50 years. I assume the FBI has some nationwide stats on this dating back to 1955.

  I am not being unrealistic, as there are other mechanisms that have been or are used:

  Sales of men’s underwear — used by Buffet and others

  What people are throwing away in public dustbins, a favourite of Tojo and like Generals from the Empire of Japan during WWII.
• Will

  Nov 11, 2009 at 6:18 am

  

  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703932904574511942676683258.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

  The Wall Street Journal sat down with Mr. Ruppert to discuss oil, Wall Street and the “imminent collapse of human industrialized civilization…”
• Will

  Nov 11, 2009 at 6:35 am

  

  The following op-ed is from the Fiji Times online this morning. It’s a good summary argument for owning gold, which many people who don’t know anything about it need to hear. Link to entire article & excerpts below.

  http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=133347

  Gold glitters again
  T.K. JAYARAMAN November 11, 2009

  The American dollar is not dazzling any more. The euro is yet to shine ever since its birth ten years ago. On Wednesday, November 4, gold hit a high at US$ 1,097.25 an ounce. No doubt, the spurt in price was attributed to the sale of 200 tonnes of gold out of the planned figure of 403 tonnes to Reserve Bank of India by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

  Is gold a better substitute for holding your money? Which is the reserve currency for more fortunate countries like China with export surpluses for putting away their foreign exchange earnings?
  …
  Freedom of choice

  Choice of reserve currency, metals or even holding oil reserves anticipating future gains due to inflation is part of economic freedom. Alan Greenspan, a former chairman of the US central bank did not hide his preference, when he noted “An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites persons of all persuasions. They seem to sense… that gold and economic freedom are inseparable.”

  So switching on to gold, ditching the American dollar in bad times is also part of the freedom of choice.

  That made the yellow metal glitter again early this month. The price of gold has been climbing for last six months. The highest peak was recorded at US 2,350 an ounce in 1980, when the world was reeling under inflation.
  …
  The modern theory of asset demand comes into play. Relative returns and risk are some important aspects of the theory. Viewed in the light of these, following are the reasons for the rise in price of gold.

  The currently prevailing low interest rates on US dollar deposits and rising budget deficit in the US have made holding dollars less attractive. The big institutional holders of US dollars, such as hedge funds now look to gold as investment. Much of the world is in the grip of deflation. What is now affecting markets is speculation, thriving under uncertainties. When speculation is rife, investors look to durable assets. Gold has been the evergreen favourite among all assets for hedging against inflation and volatility in prices.

  David Ricardo, the first among the most ardent advocates of free trade, knew the value of gold in his times, the 19th century, much more than anybody else. He wrote: “Gold, though of little use compared with air or water, will exchange for a great quantity of other goods”.

  Associate Professor Jayaraman teaches economics at the University of the South Pacific. Views expressed are his own and do not represent those of USP.
• Will

  Nov 11, 2009 at 6:52 am

  

  http://www.cnbc.com/id/33850971

  China Hints at Yuan’s Departure From Dollar Peg
  Published: Wednesday, 11 Nov 2009 | 7:53 AM ET

  China sent its clearest signal yet that it was ready to allow yuan appreciation after an 18-month hiatus, saying on Wednesday it would consider major currencies, not just the dollar, in guiding the exchange rate.

  In its third-quarter monetary policy report, the People’s Bank of China departed from well-worn language on keeping the yuan “basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level.” It hinted instead at a shift from an effective dollar peg that has been in place since the middle of last year.

  “Following the principles of initiative, controllability and gradualism, with reference to international capital flows and changes in major currencies, we will improve the yuan exchange rate formation mechanism,” the central bank said in a 46-page monetary policy report.

  The comments, published just days before a visit to Shanghai and Beijing by U.S. President Barack Obama, set out the possibility of a return to exchange rate appreciation that began with a landmark July 2005 revaluation.
• Will

  Nov 11, 2009 at 7:11 am

  

  Acts of war which are largely unnoticed right now because of all the other more amusing circuses.

  http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/091111/world/mideast_conflict_israel_iran_weapons_2

  JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel released documents and pictures on Wednesday which it said provided proof that a massive arms shipment seized at sea last week came from Iran.

  Israeli commandos intercepted the Antigua-flagged “Francop” near the coast of Cyprus, claiming it was taking the weapons to Syria en route to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia….”Hidden among the dozens of other containers on board, and disguised as civilian goods, the ship contained a consignment of 36 shipping containers with 500 tones of arms en route via Syria to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation in Lebanon,” the army and foreign ministry said in a statement. “A total of about 9,000 mortar bombs of different types were seized, along with about 3,000 Katyusha artillery rockets, 3,000 recoilless gun shells, 20,000 grenades and over half a million rounds of small arms ammunition,” the statement said….Among the weapons seized were 2,124 Iranian-made 107mm artillery rockets and thousands of AZ111-A2 fuses manufactured only in Iran, the statement said.
• Will

  Nov 11, 2009 at 7:23 am

  

  Sociopolitical pressure is building everywhere. Here are some more ominous but ignored signs from the EU (excerpts). At some point gold will reflect this by popping quickly even higher.

  http://www.thedailybell.com/586/EU-Attacks-British-Civil-Liberties.html

  Free-Market Analysis: Of all the things going on in the world today, the steady encroachment on civil liberties by the European Union is one of the most puzzling to decipher. It would be a little easier to understand if it were happening pre-Internet. But in fact it is happening in plain view of the world, especially the Western world – especially America – because the Internet is cataloguing every bit of the profoundly anti-democratic changes that are being made…At every level, we would argue, the EU is moving too fast and without proper care. It is most surprising. It illustrates, we believe, the compulsion the monetary elite seems to feel to consolidate gains in wealth and power in a post-Internet world. This is not an indication of strength, in our opinion.
  …
  Those leading the EU are taking a very big gamble. No sociopolitical power of this size has ever been erected so swiftly, absent violence. And it is taking place in a Europe that seems tranquil on the surface but is actually a seething hotbed of tribal loyalties and ancient cultures that go back in some cases to nearly the Stone Age. Without an animating dominant social theme in place, with the Internet cataloguing virtually every aspect of the EU’s illegitimate actions, we begin to get a feeling that the elite steering the ship has left it on autopilot. There is no plan B. Just consolidate with maximum haste. Unless this course is modified, we have to believe this latest experiment in a greater Europe will end in tears, and worse.
• Dante

  Nov 11, 2009 at 7:23 am

  

  A Rock-Solid Case for Gold Reserves

  By Fabrice Taylor
  The Globe and Mail, Toronto
  Wednesday, November 11, 2009

  http://tinyurl.com/yddvb3c
• TSGordon

  Nov 11, 2009 at 7:55 am

  

  “Dollar drops against (other) currency (ies)” -that’s about all the news you are likely to see, with the UDS loosing an average of 12% over the past 45 days, in Central America. (For a year it’s been fetching about 583 Colones):
  _ _ _

  Dollar Drops Almost ¢9 Colones Overnight

  The Us dollar dropped almost ¢9 colones overnight, dropping to ¢554.38 for the buy and ¢563.23 for the sell against the Costa Rican Colon. The exchange rate on Tuesday was ¢564.39 and ¢573.03, respectively, dropping ¢8.64 colones overnight, as published by the Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR).

  It was evident before the banks closed for business on Tuesday that a sharp drop was coming overnight, when some banks, like Scotiabank, were posting their rates at ¢554 for the buy and ¢562 for the sell.

  The dollar has dropped more than ¢30 colones since the middle of September, when the buy was ¢585.87 and sell ¢595.59 on September 18.

  The BCCR (Central Bank) says the changes are based on supply and demand, based on the excess or lack of dollars in the market.

  Today’s exchange rate is slight above the rate on November 11, 2008, when the buy was ¢551.18 and the sell ¢560.98.

  Experts say that the fall could continue as more dollars in the market place and lower demand means a drop in price. Other experts say that this could also be a sign of a permanent condition, while others say that there could be greater volatility in the coming weeks that in the past eight months.
• TSGordon

  Nov 11, 2009 at 8:05 am

  

  @Will: That article about anti-democratic conditions in Europe is profound–if just because so few Americans are even aware of any potential conflict in the Main.

  “(This) could end in tears, or worse.” -Like, duh, dude!

  One of my favorite graphics of late is a map that shows flames in various parts of france where riots have broken out. Soon, you could paint a fairly accurate picture of Modern England by pulling plates out of Charles Dickens books, and simply adding video CAMERAS to each of the street views.

  Still, as long as the NYT has a great ‘ARTS’ -section, and plenty of haute couture, who cares?
• TSGordon

  Nov 11, 2009 at 8:09 am

  

  Note to all GOLDMAN Employees:

  With the purchase of your New $100.M. private Yacht, we will be placing 1 free Kilo of GOLD in the ballast ! …ditto those interested buying a full-priced (LOL) flat in central London, or Hong Kong!
• Supergeek

  Nov 11, 2009 at 8:12 am

  

  @max power
  dustbins… classic!
• Dante

  Nov 11, 2009 at 8:55 am

  

  Cleansing Process

  http://inpoints.blogspot.com/2009/11/cleansing-process.html
• Dante

  Nov 11, 2009 at 9:05 am

  

  Where will they get all the $ for this?

  Chanos says dump munis as distress mounts and ratings attacked

  It’s not just the recession, which has reduced tax receipts. Rather, he says the poor economy “is masking real problems in municipal cost structures.” The big problem, he says, is “the platinum-plated health-care and retirement benefits” given to state and local workers. “It’s all coming home to roost” as boomers start to retire.

  http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2009/11/chanos-says-dump-munis-as-distress-mounts-and-ratings-attacked.html
• Jeroen Nouwens

  Nov 11, 2009 at 10:23 am

  

  Hurrah!
• Will

  Nov 11, 2009 at 10:47 am

  

  TSGordon – Maps

  Links, post links please!

  Here’s one of my favorites:

  http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php

  Click on the little widgets for info on what’s happening.
• Problem Is

  Nov 11, 2009 at 11:31 am

  

  Uncle Mad Max is solid in Gold!

  Hey Uncle “Daddy Warbucks” Mad Max:

  Mail me a Krugerrand for Christmas.

  Love your nephew, PI.
• Problem Is

  Nov 11, 2009 at 11:36 am

  

  PS: Hey Aunt Stacy:

  Was that you walking with your back to the camera with Uncle Mad Max in the hotel in Italy in the CIA conviction video?

  By the camera angle you looked a foot taller than Uncle Max in those black boots…

  You are either going to have to go with flats… or we need to get Uncle Mad Max some lifts for Christmas. I know a guy, he’s whole sale…
• merci

  Nov 11, 2009 at 2:45 pm

  

  @Will

  The Daily Bell article re: the destruction of civil liberties

  This describes exactly what I have been seeing, feeling and dreading for months.

  There is an obvious mad rush to pass through massive illegitimate mandates at unprecedented speed. This is a huge Warning sign….Red Flags everywhere! The target date appears to 2010.

  In addition, legislation and mandates that are written in convoluted, long legalese, which makes it difficult to impossible for the average person to sift through, is another sign that something wicked this way comes…..and soon if we don’t rise up.

  I do not believe as Mother that this is in anyway a benevolent NWO to promote a world group hug or in anyway to benefit the people. This is a massive attempt at a power/ wealth grab never before seen.
• Grand Supercycle

  Nov 12, 2009 at 3:39 am

  

  I use technical analysis to identify trends.

  My long term USD indicator has been giving BULLISH warnings for a while and I am expecting a USD rally.

  My indicators can identify trend changes before they occur.

  They warned me of an impending market crash back in early *2007*

  The VIX continues to give bullish warnings as well.

  The primary trend for stocks remains down, is the current bear market rally ending ?