Martin Armstrong - Rising Frustration with the Debt Crisis

Martin Armstrong's latest musings on the Debit Crisis in Europe and the US..........read here

North Korea has launched an artillery barrage on a South Korean island in one of the most serious clashes since the end of the Korean War

From ABC.net.au:

North Korea has launched an artillery barrage on a South Korean island in one of the most serious clashes since the end of the Korean War nearly 60 years ago.

One South Korean soldier has died, while more than a dozen others have been wounded and a number of houses caught fire.

Media reports say about 50 North Korean artillery shells slammed into the island of Yeonpyeong, about 3km south of the Yellow Sea border and 120km west of Seoul.

Residents were forced to flee as the shells hit homes and set them ablaze.

South Korea's military has confirmed one marine was killed and at least 14 others were wounded in the barrage, four seriously.

Defence minister Kim Tae-Young says the South fired 80 shots in response during an exchange that lasted for about an hour.

Seoul has raised its alert to the highest level and the security cabinet is meeting in an underground bunker.

South Korean F-16 fighter planes have also been scrambled to the island.....read on

Insider Selling To Buying Ratio Approaches Five Digits, Hits Record 8,280:1

From Zerohedge.com:

In the first full week of the latest iteration of post-QE2 POMO, which was supposed to see a dramatic ramp in stocks, the only thing we have seen is the biggest insider buying to selling imbalance since the data has been tracked.

Overall, selling by S&P500 insiders was 8,279.5x times greater than buying (per Bloomberg). There were 5 insider buys for a total of $150,673, and 117 sales for a total of $1,247,500,249. There is no point to even discuss what this data point indicates.....read on

Irish Aid Bid Forces Cowen to Call Election, May Prompt Moody's Downgrade

From Bloomberg:

Ireland’s bid for financial aid yesterday prompted Prime Minister Brian Cowen to call elections after support for his government unraveled.

Cowen made the announcement late today hours after the Green Party said it would pull out of his coalition. He said the vote will come early next year after passage of a 2011 budget.

The euro fell and Irish bonds pared their advance after Moody’s Investors Service said a “ multi-notch” downgrade in Ireland’s Aa2 credit rating was “most likely” because the aid would increase the country’s debt burden.......read on

China sitting on inflation 'volcano'

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Standing near his 12-table noodle shop on Beijing’s Yonghegong Avenue, owner Liu Heliang says meat and vegetable prices have climbed 10 per cent in a year and staff wages are up 40 per cent.

“I’m struggling to make ends meet with costs going up like this,” said Liu, a native of Sichuan province who pays his workers as much as 1,800 yuan ($274) a month, or 88 per cent more than the Beijing minimum wage, to serve up a staple Chinese meal. “Raising prices is the only way out,” he said, predicting he won’t be able to hold out beyond two months......read on

A Chemist Explains Why Gold Beat Out Lithium, Osmium, Einsteinium

From National Public Radio:

The periodic table lists 118 chemical elements differentiate. And yet, for thousands of years, humans have really, really liked one of them in particular: gold. And yet, for thou sands of years, humans have really, really liked one of Them in Particular: gold. Gold has been used as money for millennia, and its price has been going through the roof. Gold Has Been Used as money for millennia, and its price Has Been going through the roof.

Why gold? Why gold? Why not osmium, lithium, or ruthenium? Why not osmium, lithium, or ruthenium?

We went to an expert to find out: Sanat Kumar, a chemical engineer at Columbia University. We went to an expert to find out: Sanat Kumar, a chemical engineer at Columbia University. We asked him to take the periodic table, and start eliminating anything that wouldn't work as money. We asked him to take the periodic table, and start anything Eliminating That Would not work as money......read on

Super Heroes Love Silver

Ireland bail-out: British banks hit as Irish rescue falters

From the UK Telegraph 22 Nov 2010

British banks lost billions of pounds in value yesterday after the Irish bail-out was thrown into jeopardy over concerns that the country's government might collapse before a rescue deal can be agreed.

The share prices of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds fell sharply as stock markets took fright at the political chaos engulfing Dublin.

It had been hoped that the £70 billion bail-out agreed between Ireland, the European Union and International Monetary Fund would ease investors' fears over the eurozone economies.

But within hours of the Irish government admitting it needed help, the Green party – on whom Prime Minister Brian Cowen relies for support – called for a general election by the end of January.The suggestion prompted a fall in the value of the London stock exchange and the euro and a rise in the cost of borrowing for both the Irish and Spanish governments. The head of the eurozone warned that "crazy" market speculators could turn on Portugal and Spain next.....read on

Portugal next as EMU's Máquina Infernal keeps ticking

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard 22 Nov 2010

The Portuguese seemed baffled - and pained - that investors should link their country in any way with Greece or Ireland. I am afraid they must come to terms very soon with some unpleasant facts.

So must Europe’s leaders, who comfort themselves that Greece is a special case because it cheated, and that Ireland is a special case because it allowed its "Anglo-Saxon" banks to go berserk. They have yet to acknowledge the deeper truth that monetary union has insidiously destabilised much of Europe and trapped a ring of largely innocent countries in depression.......read on

Gold close to repeating late 1979 takeoff says Jim Sinclair

From Arabianmoney.net:

Gold trading legend Jim Sinclair thinks the gold market is right in front of a major move and current weakness is like that seen in late 1979 before the gold price shot higher.

What makes Mr Sinclair so exceptional is his long-term forecasting record. He predicted gold would hit $1,650 in February 2011 some eight years ago when gold was $300 an ounce. Nobody else has come close for forecasting accuracy.......read on

Gold Bubble Expands as ETPs Hold 9 Years of U.S. Output

Got to love the word bubble in the headline, since when has a MSM outlet ever predicted a bubble?

From Bloomberg:

Gold’s 23 percent surge this year to a record is proving no deterrent to George Soros, John Paulson and Paul Touradji, whose investments signal more gains for the longest winning streak in at least nine decades.

Securities and Exchange Commission filings this month by Soros Fund Management LLC, Paulson & Co. and Touradji Capital Management LP listed investments in gold as their biggest holdings. Exchange-traded products own 2,088 metric tons, equal to nine years of U.S. mine supply, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Precious metals will produce the best commodity returns in the next year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a Nov. 9 report.....read on

Ted Butler: The End of Silver Price Manipulation

Chris Martenson interviews silver guru Ted Butler.....listen to the interview here

Ted Butler is one of the pre-eminent commentators on the silver market. In addition to his decades following the metal, he's spent years raising suspicions about silver’s suppression by a few large banks taking on egregiously large short positions. The current CFTC action is a direct result of Ted’s activism.