Tuesday 10 May 2011

Keiser Report: Economic Euthanasia (E145)



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Yuan-Dollar relationship and impact on precious metals


Yuan-Dollar relationship and impact on precious metals

Last Updated : 09 May 2011 at 13:00 IST

http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Yuan-Dollar-relationship-and-impact-on-precious-metals-38840-3-1.html
By Jeb Handwerger In early January of 2011, a top secret candlelight dinner was held at the White House. There was no fanfare and meager publicity. Present were the industrial, military and governmental heads of both China and the United States. Our government had just digested the failures of Lehman Brothers, AIG and other corporate icons by creating massive bailouts and running up trillion dollar budgetary deficits. China was also concerned about inflation and soaring prices due to the intentional debasement of the U.S. currency (UUP) by the Federal Reserve. Both sides reached a modus vivendi, so they could mutually profit from these agreements. Please see my article on the “Chinamese Twins” back from January 2011 to understand these past few weeks. 

Since my January article highlighting the deal, the yuan has steadily risen versus the greenback. China had long wanted to enter the American financial markets. It had abundant U.S. dollars (UUP) to make acquisitions and at the same time needs to diversify out of its enormous U.S. Debt(TLT) position. The solution was simple the U.S. would deliberately weaken the U.S. Dollar in order to hope to fortify the proposed elevation of the Yuan. Consider the cleverness of these stratagems. A bolstered Yuan could allow the growing Chinese Middle Class to improve their lifestyle. In addition, China would now be able to go on a buying spree for foreign companies particularly in the area of commodities and natural resources. 

With the improved Yuan (CYB) they would now be able to acquire foreign companies at more attractive prices then heretofore. An elevated Yuan would allow them entry into American Institutions and Banks. It would also allow U.S. citizens to transfer their cheap U.S. dollars into the Yuan at bank windows right here in the United States. 

Remember that noises have been made establishing the Yuan as the World’s Reserve Currency. The agreement to facilitate Chinese acquisitions and financial entry into the U.S. markets and thus establish a pro quid pro with the United States. Conversely America also benefits by being able to sell products at advantageous prices and to pay off our colossal trillion dollar debts with cheap dollars. Basically, this was the scheme achieved by China and the United States at that candlelight dinner. 

The game-plan was conceived in Washington in early January of 2011 and delivered by Bernanke in Washington at the end of April with his grand debut in front of the media. The head of the Fed could regale his audience with phrases like interest rates, transitory inflation and other tropes. 


One question remained that no one would dare to ask. If there is no concern of rising silver prices and the falling dollar then why are precious metals especially silver (SLV) soaring into new highs? Obviously the plan to devalue the dollar had seen silver, poor man’s gold and a highly speculative market made up of mostly retail investors reach record heights. To combat this “bad inflation” would come not in the form of interest rate hikes to slow down the acceleration of the dollar decline but through a series of margin rate increases which would cause a temporary shakeout of speculators. Raising the costs of owning silver began a quick de leveraging of risky traders taking on too much risk at frothy level. This has sent fear throughout the commodity sector. This correction should be short lived as strong hands will come in and silver will regain its footing and find support after the washout has concluded. 

I have researched natural resource assets that might prove to be attractive to the Chinese. On our list are companies some of which already have Chinese participation. Just this year alone Minmetals was outbid by Barrick (ABX) to takeover copper miner Equinox. Jinchuan is making a bid for base metal producer Lundin (LUN.TO) Mining. General Moly (GMO) has received major assistance to build North America’s largest molybdenum mine in Nevada. General Moly is currently writing its feasibility study in Chinese to secure the necessary financing. 

The Chinese are very willing to partake in these world class assets and are not hiding that fact. This aggressive search for strategic metals may transfer into the rare earth sector (REMX) as well. Prices are continuing to soar and hybrid car manufacturers are looking for supply over the next 3-5 years as demand is rapidly advancing for the crucial heavy rare earths used in the fuel efficient engines. Manufacturers are trying to get all the ore they can and after this runs out I expect some off take deals to occur in late 2011 with some of these key rare earth assets in North America and Europe. Let us not forget that China made an unsuccessful bid for Lynas (LYSCF) not too long ago. 

We expect China to now aggressively pursue these strategic metal mining companies (REMX) as part of this little publicized arrangement between these two powerful nations which I have called the “Chinamese Twins” who are now conjoined intimately. (Courtesy:http://goldstocktrades.com)


All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advise. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold MinKL Invest harmless in any and all ways.

Microsoft to Announce $8.5 Billion Skype Purchase

Microsoft to Announce $8.5 Billion Skype Purchase Tuesday, say Reports

Microsoft will purchase Skype for $8.5 billion in a deal expected to be announce Tuesday morning. According to news sites GigaOm and The Wall Street Journal's All Things D blog the the all-cash deal will make Microsoft a powerful player in Internet-based voice and video communications overnight.
Neither Microsoft or Skype have made any formal announcements as of this writing. Sources say a announcement is expected early Tuesday morning.
Previous reports suggested the purchase price would be somewhere between $7 billion and $8 billion. Skype has been on sale for a while now, and a number of companies reportedly showed interest in purchasing the web-based phone and video chat service, including Facebook, Google, and Cisco.
The $8.5 billion purchase would be Microsoft's largest acquisition in nearly three decades. Until now, Microsoft's most expensive acquisition was its2007 purchase of digital marketing services agency aQuantive for $6 billion.
Despite Skype's having a debt of $686 million, the deal should be a plus for Microsoft. After all, Microsoft will finally have a brand-name Web service under its wing, though it's believed Microsoft plans to integrate Skype into Microsoft Live.
Microsoft's Plans for Skype?
This also could mean that Kinect users can probably look forward to Skype calling through Xbox Live.
Another reason Microsoft will benefit from Skype--if Microsoft plans (and I'm sure it does) to use Skype on its Windows Phone 7 platform, it will finally have a competitive alternative to Google's Google Voice and Apple's Facetime services.
GigaOm breaks down who (likely) made what, based on an $8.5 billion purchase price:
- Skype co-founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis get $1.19 billion for their 14 percent stake
- Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) get $4.76 billion for their 56 percent stake
And of course Microsoft is out $8.5 billion, but they now have a new tool with which to (try to) terrorize Google and Apple. And everybody's happy!
Follow Sarah on Twitter (@geeklil) or on Facebook



All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advise. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold MinKL Invest harmless in any and all ways.

Bob Chapman - RADIO LIBERTY - 05-09-2011


Bob Chapman : so what has happened is the CME which controls the COMEX , they increased margin requirements for those who are on margin because they borrow money to buy their positions and the margin was about $9500 they jacked it up 5 times ...they were successfully able to arbitrary blowing all the small and medium size players out of the market , it was total manipulation ...the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange is going to end the COMEX Monopoly 




All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advise. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold MinKL Invest harmless in any and all ways.

'Accumulate as much silver as you can'


'Accumulate as much silver as you can'


Last Updated : 09 May 2011 at 17:50 IST
http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Accumulate-as-much-silver-as-you-can-38824-3-1.html
By Tehmaas S. GorimaarTo simply follow the silver price without trying to understand the extreme stress in the global paper currency system today would be folly. 

Since August 15, 1971, when Nixon closed the gold window, the world has been floating on a sea of fiat currencies, supported only by its one reserve currency, the U.S. dollar, which is nothing more than an I.O.U.

During the days of the true gold standard, a country was required to disgorge its gold reserves if it ran consistent trade deficits. Of course, these days, in the absence of the gold standard, countries have been at liberty to print as much currency as they deem fit.

This has led to a scenario of competitive devaluations. We are now at a point where the smart money is losing its faith in this paper currency system, and is viewing it as a giant, Ponzi scheme, the likes of which the world has never witnessed before.

The U.S. dollar has abused its privileged status as the reserve currency via extremes in fiscal and monetary policy. We are now at a breaking point. Make no mistake about that. To protect itself, real wealth is starting to abandon the paper Ponzi system in earnest. Smart investors are accumulating real money, namely, gold and silver.

It may behoove us all to bear in mind the difference between money and currency. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines currency as something (as coins, treasury notes, and bank notes) that is in circulation as a medium of exchange. A medium of exchange, and nothing more.

No implication is made regarding its value. The same dictionary defines money as something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment. For something to be considered to be money, therefore, it must be perceived as a thing of value.

After an evolutionary process spanning centuries, during which time things such as grains, cattle and sea-shells had their brief day in the sun, only gold and silver emerged as things of true value that could be considered as money. In the context of the present silver situation, it is well known that both, gold and silver, are the only assets that have been in a raging bull market for a decade or so.

Some months ago, supplies of silver started to tighten, and silver went into backwardation. This means that prices for silver futures were lower than spot prices for the metal. This, in turn, means that people were not willing to accept future promises of silver delivery on futures exchanges.

They wanted their metal at the present. Something else happened, too. Some silver longs on the Comex started to ask for delivery of physical metal, rather than settle their contracts in cash, or roll them over into the next delivery month. The Comex was caught with its pants down. (At the time of this writing, the Comex had about 33 million ounces of silver to deliver against more than 600 million ounces worth of silver contracts.)

Even if a tiny fraction of the longs took delivery, the Comex would have been busted, and their paper fraud would have been exposed. In other words, the Comex has insufficient silver to deliver, by a wide margin. It must be remembered that many of the players on the Comex, such as hedge funds and other managed accounts, are only interested in paper profits. They are not interested in taking physical possession of the metal, which, in reality, is their folly.

Their only interest is in showing high profits to their clients, so they can earn 20% or so of the profits they generate. On the short side of the silver trade are bullion banks, who, in cohorts with the Federal Reserve, want to preserve what is left of the declining dollar. If gold and silver rise against the dollar very rapidly, there may be a cascading effect, and we may see a waterfall collapse in the dollar.

At the time of writing, the dollat index had fallen below 74, and the only level left to protect was the band between 71 and 72. Below that was an abyss.

Once the dollar got there, it could have gone down to 60, marking the beginnings of a complete collapse. The Comex, in order to protect its own clients, the bullion banks, and the dollar, decided to raise the margins on silver contracts an unprecedented five times in three weeks.

This was the degree of fear at the Comex – that the silver market could bring the Exchange down, along with its bullion banks. So they decided to cut the legs from under the hedge funds. Unable to come up with the extra margins, the hedge funds were forced to liquidate.

However, the supply-demand situation in silver has not changed, Supplies are still tight. But by increasing margins by frightening amounts, the Comex has revealed its hand. It has shown the world that they are mortally wounded, and that they are fighting back with everything they’ve got

Here is what I think will happen next. The hedge funds, as a group, will have learnt their lesson. They now know how to beat the Comex. They will now go and buy physical silver in the market, and abandon the Comex. The next time the bullion banks short silver, there will be none left to deliver. There is a short window you have in which to accumulate as much silver as you can. There may never be another opportunity like this one.

All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advise. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold MinKL Invest harmless in any and all ways.

Gold,silver move up as dollar dips


Gold,silver move up as dollar dips


Last Updated : 09 May 2011 at 12:10 IST
http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Goldsilver-move-up-as-dollar-dips-38842-3-1.html
SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Gold advanced further in Asian trade Monday while Silver rebounded from last week’s plunge as the dollar dropped while bulk buying by some investors also helped. 

Spot gold was seen trading at $1,503.91 an ounce at 1.30 p.m Singapore time after reached a high of $1,504.80 an ounce in early trade while silver was seen trading at $36.14 an ounce after hitting as high as $36.31 in earlier trade. 

The white metal climbed nearly 3 percent Monday as investors took advantage of last week's free fall in prices to enter the market. Silver plunged 27 percent in the previous week, its biggest weekly drop since 1980. 

Meanwhile, the dollar index a measure of the greenback's strength against a basket of currencies, edged down 0.4 percent, from a 2-1/2-week high hit on Friday following unexpectedly strong US. 

The euro strengthened to $1.4381 as of 6:45 a.m. in London from $1.4316 in New York on May 6, when it touched $1.4311, the lowest since April 19. The shared currency gained to 115.95 yen from 115.44, after touching 114.99 in early trading, the weakest since March 29. 

On Friday, Gold for June delivery rose $10.20, or 0.7%, to $1,491.60 an ounce. July silver declined 95 cents, or 2.6%, to settle at $35.29 an ounce. 

All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advise. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold MinKL Invest harmless in any and all ways.

Silver maintains gain in Asia

Last Updated : 10 May 2011 at 11:30 IST

SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : Gold eased while silver maintained the overnight rebound in Asian trade Tuesday, mainly on the impact of CME’s move to hike trading margins in US crude futures.

Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1509.94 an ounce while gold for June delivery on the comex was at $1510.60 an ounce at 1.00 p.m Singapore time.

Comex silver gained 1.6 percent to $37.70 an ounce. Spot silver was at $37.63 an ounce after posting a 6-percent rally in the previous session, its biggest one-day rise in six months.

The CME Group on Monday hiked margin for trading in US crude futures, after a similar move on silver trading last week.

Analysts said the move affected the yellow metal as sentiment was dampened by it ahead of China's inflation data which may shed light on if and how Beijing will further tighten up its monetary policy.

However they said, concerns over Europe debt crisis, especially that of Greece are expected to limit losses

Consecutive margin hikes in COMEX silver by the CME Group over the past two weeks knocked silver prices down more than 25 percent last week.

On Monday, Silver futures picked up 5 percent while gold topped $1,500 an ounce Monday, rebounding from a rocky week on the U.S. commodity market.

Silver futures rose $1.83, or 5.2 percent, to settle at $37.12 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile. Silver closed at $34.92 an ounce Friday.

Gold futures rose $11.60, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $1,503.20 an ounce Monday. The precious metal closed at $1,485.90 on Friday.


All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advise. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold MinKL Invest harmless in any and all ways.

China overtakes US...

Last Updated : 09 May 2011 at 14:00 IST


BEIJING (Commodity Online) : China has overtaken the US as world’s largest commodity Futures market, according to China Futures Association. 

The CFA said, China's futures market is steadily expanding. Last year, trading volume on the Shanghai Futures Exchange surged 43.01% year on year to 1.24 billion lots, with transaction value surging 67.41% year on year to RMB 123.48 trillion, according to a report released by China Futures Association. 

China, currently has three commodity futures exchanges, with agricultural commodities mainly traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, and metals mainly traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. 

Analaysts said China has established a risk prevention and dissolution mechanism that not only conforms to international market operation legislation, but is also in line with the reality in the country. 

This mechanism has effectively averted the significant risks following the drastic price fluctuations in the international futures markets in recent years, successfully handled the spread and proliferation of extreme market moves experienced last year as a result of the international financial crisis, and maintained the smooth operation of both China's futures markets and the futures sector. 

The Shanghai Futures Exchange or SFE, formed through the merger of the Shanghai Metal Exchange, Shanghai Foodstuffs Commodity Exchange and the Shanghai Commodity Exchange in December 1999, is the largest commodity futures exchange in China in terms of trading volume and transaction value. 

The SFE currently trades futures contracts in copper, aluminium, zinc, lead, gold, deformed steel bar, wire rod, natural rubber and fuel oil. 

The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange or ZCE, which was established in 1990 and is now the country's second-largest commodity exchange, specializes in agricultural and chemical product futures, including hard white wheat, strong gluten wheat, sugar, cotton, rapeseed oil and PTA, a petroleum-based chemical product. 

The Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange last year experienced the highest growth in trading volume and transaction value among the three Chinese commodity futures exchanges. ZCE saw its trading volume jump 118.36% year on year to 991.65 million lots and its transaction value swell 223.37% year on year to RMB 61.79 trillion. 

The Dalian Commodity Exchange or DCE trades futures contracts on soybean, soybean oil, corn, palm oil, soymeal, coke and LLDPE, a petroleum-based product. Last year, the DCE was the worst-performing commodity exchanges among the three ones in China. 

The bourse recorded a 3.27% decline in trading volume, which stood at 806.34 million lots in 2010, and its transaction value grew only 10.79% year on year, reaching RMB 41.71 trillion in the year. 

The China Financial Futures Exchange or CFFEX, the country's first financial futures exchange, started trading the long-awaited stock index futures in April 2010, booked a trading volume of 91.75 million lots and transaction value of RMB 82.14 trillion. 

All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advise. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold MinKL Invest harmless in any and all ways.

Gold May Advance .....


Gold May Advance as Sovereign-Finance Concern Stokes Demand; Silver Gains


Gold may rise for a third day in London as concern aboutEurope’s debt woes spurs demand for precious metals as a protection of wealth. Silver gained.
Standard & Poor’s yesterday downgraded Greece’s credit rating for the fourth time since April 2010, rekindling concern the region’s debt crisis is escalating. Silver extended its rebound after dropping into a bear market last week.
“Economic uncertainties in the monetary union and fears over peripheral debt were returning to the focus yet again,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said in a report to clients. “In the short run, bullion is likely to remain well supported, also helped by physical activity picking up inAsia amid seasonal demand.”
Immediate-delivery gold rose $1.68, or 0.1 percent, to $1,514.43 an ounce by 11:25 a.m. inLondon. Prices declined 4.4 percent last week after climbing to a record $1,577.57 on May 2. Gold for June delivery was 0.8 percent higher at $1,515.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York.
Bullion rose to $1,517.25 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell output, from $1,502 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing. Prices have gained the past 10 years, the longest run of gains since at least 1920.
S&P lowered Greece’s credit rating to B from BB- yesterday, saying that further reductions are possible. Another cut would make Greece the lowest-rated nation in Europe. European Central Bank Executive Board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said allowing a euro-area member state to default on or restructure its debt would create more difficulties than it solves.

Silver Rebounds

Silver futures slumped 27 percent on the Comex last week, the worst weekly drop since at least 1975, as investors sold commodities from oil to copper and exchange owner CME Group Inc. (CME) increased the cost of making new speculative positions. The metal slid as much as 34 percent since reaching a 31-year high of $49.845 an ounce on April 25. A bear market is defined by some investors as a decline of 20 percent or more.
Silver for July delivery gained 3.3 percent to $38.335 an ounce on the Comex. The metal for immediate delivery was 1.3 percent higher at $38.3525 in London. Spot prices touched a record $49.79 on April 25.
“The bounce in silver is not too surprising” as there’s “a strong market appetite to buy anything on the dip,” Mark Pervan, commodity analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne, wrote in a note. The downgrading of Greece “reaffirms the reason why investors require the safe- haven support of the precious-metals market.”
Silver assets held in exchange traded products fell for a sixth day yesterday, dropping 176.56 metric tons, or 1.2 percent, to a six-month low of 14,191.21 tons, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Gold ETP holdings fell 3.12 tons, or 0.2 percent, to 2,054.64 tons yesterday, data showed.
Palladium for immediate delivery was up 0.6 percent at $733.75 an ounce. Platinum was little changed at $1,796.55 an ounce.
To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at kkim19@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter atccarpenter2@bloomberg.net


All information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advise. Any statements about profits or income, expressed or implied, does not represent a guarantee. Your actual trading may result in losses as no trading system is guaranteed. You accept full responsibilities for your actions, trades, profit or loss, and agree to hold MinKL Invest harmless in any and all ways.