Hyperinflation

By Howard Katz: One hears much discussion of hyperinflation on the gold web sites. It is a worst case scenario and used to alarm and excite. It is used to designate a period when prices are rising very rapidly, the favorite example being Germany of 1914-23, and during this time prices rose by very close to one trillion times. That is, a piece of bread which started off costing 1 mark ended costing one trillion marks. So it is not merely in today's world that we are using numbers above 1 trillion. But it is an instructive period of history, and we must always keep in mind that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.....read on

To Infinity...And Beyond!

By Warren Bevan:

This coming week will be very important as the US Fed meets to discuss interest rates. Chances are near 100% that they will remain in the current range but what is important is that they are likely to announce some sort of second quantitative easing program, adopting Buzz's phrase, only applying it to money printing.

Chances are, they will not make it quite so clear, but it's very likely that some sort of "program" or "initiative" will be announced. Then again, it seems everyone including the great US business channel is expecting this, so maybe it won't happen, or maybe it will, but they just won't tell us about it!

What has my antennae piqued though is that the great Giant Squid "bank" has lowered their US economic growth forecasts for 2011 and they are also predicting "another round of unconventional monetary easing".

It's uncanny how you can usually bet against this "bank" and win. They are known for saying one thing and doing the other, in turn screwing their clients or followers.....read on

The Fiatocracy

Another brilliant article by Peter Souleles of Sydney:

Over 40 million people in the USA are reliant on food stamps yet in July men in suits paid 600 million sterling pounds for 240,100 tonnes of cocoa beans. Let the plebeians eat cake.

137,698 men and women filed for bankruptcy last month in the USA whist the average taxable bonus on Wall Street rose to $123,850 in 2009. Let them eat more cake.

Men in suits and with degrees argue whether we are headed for deflation or hyperinflation without understanding that the unemployed are doomed under either scenario. Let them eat cake as well.

A bankrupt US Government can borrow money for 10 years at 2.95% whilst struggling businesses seeking small commercial and industrial loans of about $500,000 were paying 3.5% more than the federal funds rate back in May according to the Fed's own data. And that's IF they could get the loan.......read in full

John Hathaway interviewed

John Hathaway is interviewed on King World News about the effect political decisions can have on the gold price and the end game for fiat currencies. One of the best interviews ever conducted on King World News - a must listen........listen here

China, India and the price of gold

Jeffrey Nichols is interviewed on mineweb.com and explains why recent developments in India and China can only be good for the price of gold.......listen here

Gold's upward path will be volatile but direction and magnitude are assured

from Mineweb.com:

Although gold prices have slipped during the Northern Hemisphere summer, expectations are for a much stronger last quarter.

And, much of the reason for this is the difference between the type of person who has recently been selling the metal and those whose buying pushed up the price to its highs in June.

Speaking on Mineweb.com's Gold Weekly podcast, Jeff Nichols, MD of American Precious Metals Advisors, explains "The buyers have largely been buyers of physical products, small buyers, bullion coins and also to some extent, gold ETFs which are a form of physical gold investment as well. Much of this investment is sticky - it doesn't tend to get sold any time soon. It's long term holders, who have an affinity and interest in holding gold as a hedge an insurance policy and the like.

"The sellers on the other hand,""he says, have largely been institutional traders and speculators......"We're predicting or expecting that gold prices will in the next few years, hit $2,000 followed by $3,000 and possibly higher,".....read on