Friday, February 28, 2014

Weekend Chillout - Wanting

With the failure of the prominent bitcoin trading platform Mt. Gox this week there are going to be thousands of users wanting their bitcoins back. Although from initial reports it seems it will all end in tears for all concerned.

Breaking The Set - Big Brother Watching You Naked

From breakingtheset

Published on Feb 27, 2014

Abby Martin Breaks the Set on Government Voyeur Porn, Wall Street Secret Societies, Police State Round Up, and Cuban 5 Member Released.

In this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin remarks on yet another NSA leak involving a program called 'Optic Nerve' where British intelligence agency GCHQ has collected the webcam images of millions of average internet users. Abby then goes over the strange rituals of secret societies, remarking on the Yale fraternity 'Skull & Bones' calling out the surreptitious behavior of two the society's most famous members including George W Bush and John Kerry.

World's biggest gold ETF eyes first monthly inflow in over a year

LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters)

Article link

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Shares, is on track for its first monthly inflow of metal in more than a year after a run of weaker U.S. data boosted investment interest in gold.

The SPDR fund, which issues securities backed by physical metal and attracted big inflows in the wake of the financial crisis, has added 10.5 tonnes to its reserves so far this month.

That means that, barring a large outflow on Friday, February would be the first month to show an increase since December 2012.

Last year holdings of gold-backed ETFs fell by 881 tonnes, according to data from the World Gold Council and Thomson Reuters GMFS, as gold prices tumbled 28 percent. The SPDR alone saw its holdings drop by more than 550 tonnes.

Read more

Boom Bust - Max Keiser on banker extortionists

From Boom Bust

Part two of Erin's interview with Max Keiser, who provides a definition of financialization and explains all the problems surrounding it. He believes that as long as the Fed keeps interest rates at zero, we are heading in the direction of a collapse. He also gives his colorful view on a story we covered a couple of days ago: JP Morgan and their new business model.

GCHQ caught storing Yahoo webcam images

From RT America

Published on Feb 27, 2014

The United Kingdom's Government Communications Headquarters - their version of the National Security Agency - intercepted millions of Yahoo users' webcam images, with the help of the NSA. The program, called "Optic Nerve," was revealed through documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Yahoo condemned the collection and storing of its users' webchat images. "This report, if true, represents a whole new level of violation of our users' privacy that is completely unacceptable," the company said in a statement. Ameera David finds out how the program was carried out from RT's Sara Firth in London.

Keiser Report: Triangle Of Fraud

From RT

Published on Feb 27, 2014
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the 'cling-ons' unable to afford to live in London, while in Texas, Rex Tillerson of Exxon, the man most responsible for pushing fracking across the nation, refuses to have it happen in his backyard. In the second half, Max interviews Andrew Spooner of AsiaProvocateur.blogspot.com about the economic reasons behind the ongoing protests in Thailand.

Boom Bust - Max Keiser on crypto-currencies

From Boom Bust

Published on Feb 26, 2014

Erin welcomes The Keiser Report's Max Keiser talks about Bitcoin, Mt. Gox, and a second generation crypto-currency alternative, his very own Maxcoin! Although Mt. Gox is facing trouble, Keiser doesn't believe that Bitcoin is going to lose its long term value, and he further explains why he thinks crypto-currencies have more intrinsic value than fiat currency. Watch to see what he thinks of the US dollar, the British pound, and the effect crypto-currencies have on the banking world.

Devaluing the Mediterranean

From ukipwebmaster

Bitcoin Mt. Gox and the Federal Reserve

Finally an intelligent and reasoned discussion about bitcoin and the fall of Mt. Gox.

From Stefan Molyneux

Published on Feb 26, 2014

Stefan Molyneux and Andreas Antonopoulos discuss the fall of Mt. Gox, the greatly exaggerated death of Bitcoin, the joy of failure within the Bitcoin economy, the incredible opportunity Bitcoin provides those without access to the modern banking system, and the difference between Bitcoin and the Federal Reserve System and fiat currencies worldwide.

Andreas Antonopoulos is the Chief Security Officer of Blockchain.info, a host on Let's Talk Bitcoin and an expert on Information Security and Cryptography.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

NSA Whistleblower on 911 Foreknowledge and The Information War

From wearechange

Published on Feb 27, 2014

In this video Luke Rudkowski of WeAreChange talks to former NSA Senior Executive turned whistleblower Thomas Drake. Mr. Drake speaks about 9/11 foreknowledge; in which the NSA had information that if shared could have prevented the 9/11 attacks. The NSA whistleblower discusses his conversations with Snowden and reiterates the fact the US government has repeatedly violated its own rules and has failed to adhere to the Constitution.

Keiser Report: Financial Death Shriekers

From RT

Published on Feb 25, 2014

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the shriek factor in financial markets and the whirlpool of money death at MtGox.

In the second half, Max interviews Jan Skoyles of The Real Asset Company about the biggest gold heists in history, the Goldilocks year for the gold and silver markets and the crowd-funding campaign for Get REAL.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Boom Bust - Doug Casey on the Chinese Century

From Boom Bust

Erin Ade talks to Doug Casey his assessment of China and why he thinks that 21st Century is a Chinese century. In this segment, he explains why he thinks central banks will lead to greater higher inflation and economic volatility in the near future; extols gold and explains why you should buy it; and warns why economic nationalism by governments could threaten economies throughout the world. After the break, Casey talks about water scarcity, the rising price of oil extraction, and how financialization and militarization hurt the US economy.

'No guarantee NSA will stop spying on Germany or Merkel'

From RT

Jim Grant - The Fed and year 6 of 'monetary improv'

Rick Santelli - Tea Party origins

Mon 24 Feb 14 
 
CNBC's Jeff Cox interviews CNBC's Rick Santelli five years after his 'tea party' rant to recap that fateful day.
 

Monday, February 24, 2014

Swiss take their secure storage seriously

From Bloomberg News

China Lunar Year Gold Rush

From Koos Jansen

What is an ETF?

Clients occasionally ask what is an ETF? Well this infographic answers some of the common questions:

Truth About Markets

Max and Stacy with their radio show "Truth About Markets", first aired 22 Feb 2014.



Dave Hodges and SGT Report on Dead Bankers and Coups

From SGTreport.com

David Morgan Presentation Palm Springs 2014

Note the sound and visuals are less than perfect on this video, might be best to use headphones.

From silver investor.com

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Ukrainian parliament impeaches Yanukovich

From RT

Keiser Report: Zero-Sum World

From RT

Published on Feb 22, 2014

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the new game called the Hunger Gains. In a financialized zero sum world, Housing Gains plus Hunger Pains equals The Hunger Gains. This game is sponsored by China, however, and if they withdraw their sponsorship by dumping their trillion in US Treasuries, a new game called working may have to happen.

In the second half, Max interviews Alasdair MacLeod of Goldmoney.com about the redemption of emerging market currencies into the US dollar mirroring pre-WW1 bank runs, except on a global scale. With this ongoing global bank run happening, it is China that is buying up all the gold.

Alasdair Macleod: Gold Cartel Can No Longer Manage Their Retreat!

From SilverDoctors

Saturday, February 22, 2014

And its gone.....

Just came across my favourite South Park sketch on youtube.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Weekend Chillout - Revolution

With revolution currently in the streets of Kiev I think we could all do with some words of wisdom from Bob.

Half of German gold reserves will be stored in Germany by 2020 - Really?

Evening all. I don't often commentate on this blog, as would prefer my readers to read and view the information I present and form their own views. But feel somewhat incensed by the content of the following interview and thought I must make comment. My comments are in red below.

Interview link

Interview with Carl-Ludwig Thiele, Member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, published in Handelsblatt on 19 February 2014.

Translation: Deutsche Bundesbank

Interview conducted by Norbert Häring and Jens Münchrath.

Mr Thiele, do you consider yourself a kind of psychotherapist of the German soul?

No, why should I?

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann described the partial transfer of German gold from New York as a trust-building measure in Germany. You are the one responsible for organising this major logistical undertaking.

Indeed, we are inspiring trust by storing half of the 3,400 tonnes of gold in Frankfurt by 2020. Building trust also means being transparent. We were the first central bank to publish details of our storage facilities, including the respective quantities of gold stored there.

Given the dis-trust surrounding this botched process no trust will be built until all of German's gold is stored in Frankfurt.

Is there a scenario in which gold could begin to be used in monetary policy?

A highly theoretical scenario would involve extreme turmoil on the foreign exchange markets. Germany safeguards its solvency through reserve assets. In addition to foreign currency, our reserve assets include gold reserves. This gold could be pledged or exchanged directly for foreign currency. That is also why we have left the other half of our gold reserves in New York and London. Although we thankfully do not envisage such a crisis scenario, central banks are designed for the long term.

Um isn't the German currency the Euro, under the control of the European Central Bank (ECB), wouldn't it be their issue to intervene in currency markets to protect the Euro? As to leaving half in London and New York for trading purposes this is also specious. New York is not a gold trading hub, but London is, so you could argue to leave some gold in London is justified, but then in this modern world you could airfreight 10's of tonnes of gold from Frankfurt to London in a single day. Hey if the Swiss can airfreight tonnes of gold around the world to China everyday I am sure the Germans could work out how to get some over the channel if needed.

In October 2012, you promised the German Bundestag that you would transfer a total of 150 tonnes of gold from New York to Frankfurt by 2015.In January 2013, you extended the time frame to 2020 and increased the amount to 300 tonnes.

What time frame are you looking at now?

The plans are not contradictory. We specified our initial target in October 2012. In January 2013, we then presented a new gold storage plan and specified a new target that is considerably higher than the first. Instead of only 150 tonnes, we are now transferring 300 tonnes of gold from New York to Germany.

Building trust requires keeping commitments, doubling the pledge and changing the period makes you sound like some sleazy bookie.

So both targets still apply?

We now consider ourselves bound to the new gold storage plan. But the three years have not yet passed. We shall wait and see. We are on the right track in any case.

Trust is not built on "wait and see" it is built on promises meet in full, good god man you are German, start acting like one!

But the members of the German Bundestag have acted on the assumption of the initial promise.The second has got a more long-term oriented time frame. Was your initial promise overly ambitious? In the first year, you only returned five tonnes from the USA.

It is not a question of “returning”. The gold is being transferred to Germany for the first time. Until 1998, only 2% of our gold, or thereabouts, was stored in Germany. In the first year, we transported five tonnes from New York. This year, we will transfer 30 to 50 tonnes, or perhaps even more, from New York to Frankfurt. And there is still next year to come.

So the gold coming from the Fed you say has never been in Germany before, right?

Does that mean that the target of 150 tonnes is still attainable?

Since we are in the midst of an ongoing process, I would like you to ask me the question again in two years’ time. In any case, we will store half of the German gold reserves in Germany by 2020 at the latest.

Why are you content with such a low target for this year? Is the programme still experiencing teething problems in its second year?

No, it is not. We have planned the timing of the transfers in such a way as to ensure that 300 tonnes are transferred from New York to Germany by 2020 at the latest.

There are these rumours that either the gold in New York is no longer there or you do not have unrestricted access to it.Why have you not called in auditors or other externals to oversee the transfers in response to such rumours?


It astounds me that Handelsblatt pays any attention to such absurd rumours. I was in New York myself in June 2012 with the colleagues responsible for managing the gold reserves and saw for myself how our money is stored in the vault there. The Americans have never stonewalled or hindered us in any way. On the contrary, their cooperation has been most constructive in every respect. Our internal audit team was present last year during the on-site removal of gold bars and closely monitored everything. The smelting process is also being monitored by independent experts.

Who are these independent experts? Why have they not published their findings to support your "trust building" exercise?

Does this also apply to opportunities to inspect the stocks? You said a year ago that discussions on the matter with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York were making good progress.

That is correct. We have enjoyed an excellent relationship of trust with the New York Fed for many decades. As regards the details of the contracts, however, we are bound by confidentiality which we cannot unilaterally break. From my visit to New York, I can tell you that a number of bars selected by us were removed, inspected and reweighed even while I was there. The inspections conducted by our internal audit team, during which an external auditor was also present, were also completed to our utmost satisfaction.

Who was the auditor? Where is their report?

Was an external auditor present during your visit to the New York Fed gold storage facility in June 2012?

No, not during my visit. However, an external auditor was present for part of the time during the internal audit team’s inspection of stocks.

Did the gold from New York have to be melted down immediately?


The gold was removed from the vault in the presence of the internal audit team and transported to Europe. Only once the gold had arrived in Europe was it melted down and brought to the current bar standard. Some of the bars in our stocks in New York were produced before the Second World War. It was confirmed after the melting process, as anticipated, that these bars were absolutely fine.

What you couldn't have arranged a "show and tell" for at least the first bars shipped from New York? Even Hugo Chavez had the common sense to display the bars that where shipped from New York to Venezuela before they went into storage.


"Some of the bars in our stocks in New York were produced before the Second World War" - What the NY Fed happily stored these bars for Germany after the horrors of WWI and throughout WWII, really? 

Was the fact they were pre-WWII bars the real reason the bars had to be melted the moment they landed? Did they have markings best not seen? Marks from the Czechoslovakian Central bank or worse? Also which refinery melted the bars? German or Swiss? 

Of course the bars after the melting process were "absolutely fine" as any trace of their origin had been removed during the refining process. 


The Federal Court of Auditors (FCA) sparked the debate by calling for an inspection of Germany’s gold holdings abroad.When you announced in October 2012 that part of the holdings were to be transferred to Germany, the FCA responded that this was a first step, but not a comprehensive procedure. Is the FCA now satisfied?

The FCA never demanded that the Bundesbank transfer gold to Germany. It was more concerned with extending its rights with regard to inspecting gold reserves abroad. The Bundesbank’s internal audit department now has rights it never used to have. The Budget Committee has acknowledged the FCA’s report, which concludes this discussion. Incidentally, the FCA examined the Bundesbank’s annual accounts for 2012 and found no irregularities.

The FCA claims it has no knowledge of newly agreed audit rights. 

The FCA has access to all information at all times. I am sure the President of the FCA will be able to confirm this for you.

If the intention was to build trust, would it not have been better to postpone the smelting process that you would have been able to present skeptics with the original bars? 

Prior to transportation, the original gold bars were handed over to us in New York. Our internal audit team checked the numbers of the bars there and then against its own lists. The very same gold arrived at the European gold smelters that we had commissioned. This ought to demonstrate to everyone that such conspiracy theories are completely unfounded.

Actually no, you just fueled new theories you fool. Presenting the bars for inspection would have demonstrated the "conspiracy theories are completely unfounded"

Calling in external auditors or critics was not an option?

The Bundesbank’s internal audit department is involved in the process from start to finish. Independent experts were present during the smelting process.

Again who were they, were is their report?

Are there any advantages for the Americans in storing gold for other nations? After all, they are protecting our reserves free of charge.

To answer this question, you need to look at the historical context. As you may know, gold reserves were established during the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system. Given the threat from the East at the time, it seemed the safest option was to store German gold as far west as possible. The gold was therefore stored in New York from the outset.

What you couldn't have built a vault in Tasmania? Come on you know you love the place. 

So the Americans are taking on high storage costs for nothing in return?


No, why high storage costs? The gold has been stored there for decades. The storage rooms already exist.

Security guards cost money…


It is not just our gold that they protect, but also that of other central banks. But that is a matter for the New York Fed.

Wow free allocated and segregated storage at no cost! Didn't that concept ever worry you at night? 

Just over a year ago, you were asked whether storing gold with the victors of the Second World War was not perhaps an echo of the old Bonn Republic when Germany was not yet a fully sovereign state. Back then, your answer was rather vague. What is your answer today?


To my knowledge, gold was stored in New York, London and Paris mainly for security policy reasons. We transferred 930 tonnes of gold from London more than ten years ago without experiencing any difficulties with the Bank of England or upsetting German-British relations. The same applies to the Banque de France and the New York Fed.

Sorry when was Paris ever secure? As a German you should know that.
 
Which just leaves the final word to Sgt. Schultz 

 

Gerald Celente on Ukraine

From RT

CrossTalk: Kiev's Violent Agony

From RT

Published on Feb 20, 2014

Why has the situation in Kiev become so violent and dangerous? Does it have anything to do with the leaked Victoria Nuland conversation? Why should the west determine who governs in Ukraine? And, is Ukraine heading toward civil war? СrossTalking with Marcus Papadopoulos, Robert Oulds and Ariel Cohen.

Ukraine protests continue - Death toll hits 75

(Reuters) - European Union ministers sought to broker a political settlement in Ukraine after gun battles between police and anti-government protesters brought the death toll to 75 in two days of the worst violence in the country since Soviet times.

Three hours of fierce fighting in Kiev's Independence Square, which was recaptured by the protesters, left the bodies of over 20 civilians strewn on the ground, a short distance from where President Viktor Yanukovich was meeting the EU delegation.

Read more

Warning there are explicit scenes in the following videos.

From euronews (in English)


From RT

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Boom Bust - Gold Everything: Consumption, Gold Standard and More

From Boom Bust

Published on Feb 19, 2014

China has supplanted India as the number-one consumer of the world's gold, according to new numbers from the World Gold Council, even as the global supply of gold fell last year. Erin Ade reports.

Then, Erin sits down with George Selgin of the University of Georgia and the Cato Institute to discuss whether the inflexibility of the gold standard contributed to debt-deflation in the 1930's.

The famous Bretton Woods conference still has a huge impact on our global financial system, and has become shorthand for international monetary cooperation. Dr. Benn Steil, Director of International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, does some myth-busting on the meeting.

Kiev - Before and After

 

From RT


Can the New Gold Rally Keep Going?

Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg’s Julie Hyman and Larry Shover of SFG Alternatives look at the gold market on today’s “Futures In Focus” on Bloomberg Television's "In The Loop."

The European Debt Crisis Visualized

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- At the heart of the European debt crisis is the euro, the currency that ties together 18 countries in an intimate manner. So when one country teeters on the brink of financial collapse, the entire continent is at risk. How did such a flawed system come to be? Bloomberg Television and Jonathan Jarvis present "The European Debt Crisis Visualized."

 

Meet the Robot Telemarketer Who Denies She's A Robot




What Could Prompt the Next Big Move for Gold?

From Bloomberg News

Published on Feb 12, 2014

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Olivia Sterns and Bloomberg Industries' Kenneth Hoffman put futures in focus with a look at gold in "On The Markets" on Bloomberg Television's "In The Loop."


Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Boom Bust - Peter Schiff: "I think we're in a depression"

From Boom Bust

Peter Schiff is back on at Boom Bust. It's no secret that investor and financial commentator Peter Schiff thinks the US Dollar is going to fall off a cliff and that he also thinks interest rates are going to skyrocket. But what does he make of the latest US economic figures? And what is his view on the outlook for the economy and investing? Schiff explains to Boom Bust's Erin Ade.

Keiser Report: France's Financial Horror Movie

From RT

Published on Feb 18, 2014

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert critique Francois Hollande's B Movie for France. Turning to America for economic advice is a classic trope of the B financial horror movie and the President of France was in Silicon Valley drumming up support for French industry while neglecting to mention the bossnapping trend. They also look at the posh suburbs in London where residents are turning their homes into Fort Knox in order to defend themselves from moped riding ram raiders.

In the second half, Max interviews French journalist, Pierre Jovanovic of Jovanovic.com about the ménage a trois of fraud, the Days of Rage and Francois Hollande as the enemy of the finances of the French people.

Mike Maloney - Silver Has More Potential Than Gold

From whygoldandsilver

Thai Bank Run

 
From Bangkokpost.com

The Government Savings Bank (GSB) has decided to suspend further lending to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) after experiencing a 30-billion-baht deposit run amid concerns...

Read more

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Gold Fever makes some do very silly things

From Al Jazeera English

Mining for Precious Metals in E-Waste

Not that it is explained in this video but the main reason e-waste is "recycled" is to extract the gold and palladium.

From Al Jazeera English

Monday, February 17, 2014

Dannii Minogue goes for Gold

Paul Craig Roberts and Alex Jones discuss the Geopolitics of the Ukraine and the World Economy

From TheAlexJonesChannel

Published on Feb 12, 2014

Paul Craig Roberts boils down the destabilizing operation in the Ukraine in this two part interview.The EU is ready to "assist" Ukraine if the present government capitulates and a new regime is installed. Only then can Ukraine "pursue economic and political reforms," in other words take orders from Brussels and submit to the austerity and serfdom regimen imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.


Sunday, February 16, 2014

SD Metals & Markets: The Bull is Back

From SilverDoctors

Tweet of the Week


Precious Metals & World Affairs update with Gerald Celente, Andy Hoffman and Mark S Mann

From SGTreport.com

Published on Feb 15, 2014

Gold breaks out, Silver vaults over $21, Physical Gold demand is at least twice global annual production according to Eric Sprott, Bankers are unexpectedly dying, Emerging markets are melting down and hyperinflation is taking root, Fukushima is out of control & much more. Interviews with Andy Hoffman, Gerald Celente and SGT Report contributor Mark S. Mann.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Weekend Chillout - What's going on?

What's going on? Gold and Silver have hit 2014 highs going into the weekly close, gold has even wiped out half of its 2013 losses, in Aussie dollars at least. If I work it out, I'll let you know.

Aussie band The Badloves playing at the best live music dive in Sydney The Basement

Paul Craig Roberts on the US economy and paper versus physical gold

From Boom Bust

Erin Ade conducts a wide-ranging interview with economist Paul Craig Roberts, an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration and a co-founder of Reaganomics. He has voiced his concerns about the strength of the US economy, US politics, and US civil liberties. Roberts also believes the US is playing fast and loose with the monetary system and the value of the dollar. He speculates that, as the German Bundesbank has begun repatriating its gold from overseas out of storage in places like the Federal Reserve, the Fed will not be able to make delivery because it doesn't physically possess the gold. Similarly, Roberts does not believe Gold ETF funds have enough physical gold to back their exchange traded fund shares.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Gold breaks and holds $1300

Gold broke US$1,300/oz overnight in New York trading and has so far managed to hold and consolidate during Sydney, Asian and London trading. The test of this level will be New York trading tonight as often the gold price trades down going into the weekly close as the day traders sell winning trades so they can buy blow for the weekend.

chart from goldprice.org

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's day to all my blog followers. To celebrate I thought I would post possibly the greatest love song ever written, Split Enz's "Message to My Girl". The first version is Neil Finn with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (skip the first minute) and the second is the original music video from Split Enz.


Thursday, February 13, 2014

Yellen pledges continuity; Rickards says prepare for a 'taper pause' in June


One Tonne Gold Party Coin moves onto Berlin

From Perth Mint

Global Precious Metal Roundtable

From ABC Bullion

Monthly catch up with fellow young gold analysts Ronald Stoeferle of Incrementum AG, Tekoa Da Silva of Bull Market Thinking and Jan Skoyles of the Real Asset Company discussing the latest market, economic and political developments, especially those affecting precious metal investment.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Egon von Greyerz - Gold Reflects the Destruction of Paper Money

Note this interview was recorded in late December 2013.

From GoldSwitzerland

Why Congress is Obsessed with Snowden

As a contrast the Australian TV news shows are only talking about sport in Sochi.

From breakingtheset


Published on Feb 11, 2014

Abby Martin takes a look at the corporate media's fearmongering regarding the Sochi Olympics with RT political commentator Sam Sacks, who breaks down the latest intelligence hearings regarding the worldwide 'threats' Congress is most focused on: Snowden.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Protests come to Sarajevo

From RT

Published on Feb 8, 2014

Thousands of people across Bosnia set fire to local government buildings and clashed with police. Hundreds have been injured in three days of protests in a state that's slipping into serious economic stagnation with around 40 per cent of the population out of work.

The capital Sarajevo, rioters set the Presidential building ablaze, along with police cars and tires. Authorities fired rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas to disperse the crowds. In other parts of the country protesters hurled rocks at security forces and torched local government buildings.

The unrest initially erupted over the closure of several state-owned companies that were sold off and then collapsed under private ownership.

Robert Wiedemer: False Economic Recovery and Updates on Gold, Stocks and the Fed

From Greg Hunter

Published on Feb 9, 2014 http://usawatchdog.com/100-fake-recov... Author Bob Wiedemer says, "You are actually getting negative growth. The Fed knows this. They just don't talk about it because their job is to be a cheerleader. They want to try to make everybody feel good and that their policies are working. If those policies don't work, what's the Fed going to do? What are we going to do? It's a bigger issue, but bottom line here is I think the banks are safe in the sense the Fed can bail them out, but there will come a point when the Fed can't and won't, and that's when you got a bigger problem."


Breaking the Set on HSBC and Bitcoin

From breakingtheset

In this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin remarks on the latest State Department scandal involving Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland discussing a regime-change strategy with US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt. Abby then wraps up Part 2 of her interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Chris Hedges, discussing the unsustainable nature of the economic system, the military mind in solving world problems, and the antidote to defeatism. Abby then calls attention to how charges were brought against a Bitcoin executive who is accused of laundering $1 Million in the 'black market' yet the HSBC crime syndicate receives immunity for laundering billions of dollars for criminals and terrorists. BTS wraps up the show with an in depth interview with Margaret Heffernan, entrepreneur and author of the upcoming book 'A Bigger Prize' about how the notion of willful blindness inhibits humanity's ability to grow, and how the concept of competition is more damaging than we've been indoctrinated to believe.

Jim Rogers: The serious problems in emerging markets 'are going to get worse'

From Boom Bust

Famed investor and author Jim Rogers is a bull on China and Asia. He sees a shift in the economic importance of Asia, and has even relocated his family to Singapore - to be a part of it! But right now the emerging markets are a big concern. Erin was keen to get Jim's view on the crisis in emerging markets and she certainly does. Jim also gives his view on the US, European, Japanese and Chinese economies -- and the Gold Standard.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Eric Sprott - Expect Fireworks in 2014

In a tremendous wide ranging interview Eric Sprott discusses the false recovery in the US, changing gold supply/demand fundamentals and gold market manipulation. Listen to the KWN interview here.

In the above interview Eric references a book by Dimitri Speck, "The Gold Cartel", links to the book and an interview posted on this blog late last year follow.

To purchase Dimitri's book "The Gold Cartel" - Australia / US

Lars Schall interviews Dimitri Speck

Quote of the Week

“None so blind as those that will not see” 
 Matthew Henry (1662-1714)

Weekend Chillout - Getting Lucky

Yes I have staying up late to watch the Aussies get lucky at the Sochi Winter Olympics and they are doing very well (well considering it only snows in the ski fields of Australia for about 3 months of the year).

SD Weekly Metals and Markets

From SilverDoctors

Keiser Report: Staged Rumble in Wall Street Jungle

From RT

Published on Feb 6, 2014

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert compare Wall Street to World Wrestling Entertainment where alleged competitors adopt stage personas and meet each other in a choreographed, scripted and over-acted competition. And just as people are betting on the pre-determined outcomes in the WWE ring, they're doing the same in the rigged financial markets. In the second half, Max interviews Doug Casey of CaseyResearch.com about his new book, RIGHT ON THE MONEY. They also discuss Argentina, the dollar, art and gold.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Keiser Report: Slingin' Debt Whores

From RT

Published on Feb 4, 2014

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the 'bullion in the sky' that is the UK housing market in the Year of the Whores, as the BBC accidentally called the Chinese New Year.

In the second half, Max interviews coder, hacker and cryptocurrency expert, Andreas Antonopoulos about FUD from the bitcoin wannabe regulators who don't understand the protocol is a push system unlike the pull system that is the modern online transactions market. They also discuss the fact that gold can't be teleported and the Charlie Shrem perp walk, a walk which no TBTF banker has had to do in modern times.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

RBA Keeps the Cash Rate on hold

The Australian Reserve Bank has stayed the course and left the cash rate on hold at 2.5%. In response AUD:USD has spiked over one cent on the news, even though the "nothing to see, keep moving" stance was widely expected, so much for markets pricing in the future.


chart from xe.com

Boom Bust - Cause & effect of a financialized economy

From Boom Bust

Monday, February 3, 2014

U.S. Mint Gold-Coin Sales Jump 63% in January; Silver Triples

From Bloomberg.com

Article link

Sales of gold coins by the U.S. Mint rose 63 percent in January to the highest since April as futures rebounded.

The volume climbed to 91,500 ounces from 56,000 ounces in December, while sales of silver coins almost tripled to 4.78 million ounces, the highest in a year, mint data showed yesterday.

In January, gold futures rose 3.1 percent, snapping a four-month slump, as a rout in emerging-market currencies increased demand for the metal as a haven. Mints from the U.S., the world’s biggest, to Australia boosted sales with Austria’s Muenze Oesterreich AG operation running 24 hours a day to meet a surge in demand.

“Any kind of uncertainty attracts people to gold,” Scott Carter, the chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based Lear Capital, said in a telephone interview. “The long-term buyers accumulate gold every time there is a drop.”

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Jan Skoyles - The Paper Silver & Gold Dominoes Are Falling

From SGTreport.com

Published on Feb 2, 2014

Writer and researcher Jan Skoyles joins us to discuss German gold, the paper silver and gold Ponzi, three dead international bankers in one week and the stunning work of her pal Koos Jansen, the man Harvey Organ calls the 'go-to researcher" when it come to Chinese gold accumulation and the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

$20,000 Gold?

From FinanceAndLiberty.com

Keiser Report: Round Tripping Financial Crisis

From RT

Published on Feb 1, 2014

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss accounting fraud as the new opium for China and how it is that we keep roundtripping to financial crisis because every time we get to tomorrow we've already spent it yesterday. The also discuss raining the marmite of fraud on a ten foot tall Janet Yellen.

In the second half, Max interviews Mitch Feierstein of PlanetPonzi.com about the unintended consequences of money printing, the China mirage where the GDP statistics are for 'reference purposes only' and about later this year when Greece will also 'roundtrip' its way to a 3% GDP growth mirage.

Bonus Chillout - Happy!

A bonus Chillout this weekend. Thanks to Max Keiser for the link.


Australia's 1 Tonne Gold Coin showcased in Vienna

Not sure what the Surfer's Paradise meter maids were doing in this video, not that I am complaining.

From Perth Mint