Gold Imports by China Soar Almost Fivefold as Inflation Spurs Investment

From Bloomberg.com:

China’s gold imports jumped almost fivefold in the first 10 months from the entire amount shipped in last year as concern about rising inflation increased its appeal as a store of value, said the Shanghai Gold Exchange.......read on

Crash JPMorgan, Buy Silver - Update

Weekend chill out

This weekend's chill out is dedicated to the Irish (Eire) school and university leavers hitting the worst job market since the Great Famine. Maybe they best do what my ancestors did and escape to Australia - Tip: don't come by boat, it is not looked on as favourably as it was in the 1850's.

CFTC suspected to unveil position limit plan Dec 16

By Roberta Rampton, silverbearcafe.com:

(Reuters) - The U.S. futures regulator intends to unveil on December 16 its long-awaited revised plan to limit speculative positions held by commodity traders, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is grappling with how to set and police the controversial limits. Furthermore, due to its complexity there could be further delays, said another source closely monitoring the issue.

It would be unsurprising if the proposal was postponed until the new year - one of several items that may be delayed as the CFTC races to meet deadlines set under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the industry source said.....read on

US Fed releases bailout details on Bear Stearns, JPMorgan Chase, and Maiden Lane LLC

From the Fed website:

Background

In March 2008, The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (Bear Stearns) was one of the largest securities firms in the country, with reported total consolidated assets of nearly $400 billion. Bear Stearns engaged in a broad range of activities, including investment banking, securities and derivatives trading and clearing, brokerage services, and originating and securitizing commercial and residential mortgage loans. Financial conditions for the firm deteriorated markedly between mid-January and mid-March 2008. On March 13, 2008, Bear Stearns notified the Federal Reserve that it expected that it would not have enough funding or liquid assets to meet its financial obligations the following day and would not be able to find a private-sector source of alternative financing.

The imminent insolvency of Bear Stearns, the large presence of Bear Stearns in several important financial markets (including, in particular, the markets for repo-style transactions, over-the-counter derivative and foreign exchange transactions, mortgage-backed securities, and securities clearing services), and the potential for contagion to similarly situated firms raised significant concern that the stability of financial markets would be seriously disrupted if Bear Stearns were suddenly unable to meet its obligations to counterparties, and the extension of credit allowed for an orderly resolution of the firm.......read on

US defended Pak, shielded ISI chief after 26/11 strikes?

From the Times of India:

NEW DELHI: In yet another Wikileaks disclosure, which could lead to awkwardness in Indo-US relations, a leaked cable suggests that the US might have tried to not just suppress information related to involvement of Pakistani agencies in 26/11 but also defend ISI. The cable from US embassy in Pakistan to secretary of state Hillary Clinton in January 2009 says "premature dissemination" of this information could escalate tension between India and Pakistan.

"We are concerned that the India's premature public dissemination of this information will undermine essential law enforcement efforts and forestall further Indo-Pakistan cooperation. Our goal is not only to bring the perpetrators of this attack to justice, but also to begin a dialogue that will reduce tensions between India and Pakistan," says the cable.....read on

Marc Faber dicusses the state of the World Economy

China Approves Fund That Will Invest In Foreign Gold ETFs, Opening Avenue For Millions Of Mainland Investors

From Zerohedge.com:

And here is the catalyst: China has approved a fund that will invest in gold exchange-traded funds outside the country, opening the door to mainland China investors who face negative real interest rates on their bank deposits and want to hedge against inflation. Beijing-based Lion Fund Management Co. said they received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Monday to proceed with the fund. Next stop: gold much higher as the bubble mania is really unleased in such ETFs as GLD, UGL and PHYS.......read on

China Blames Its Stock Market Plunge On An Unnamed International Bank

From the Businessinsider.com:

China is now blaming an unnamed international investment bank for the plunging Shanghai Composite, according to Caixin.

Mouthpiece publication People's Daily published a commentary today from Professor Shi Jianxun that accused an international bank of emailing investors and telling them to sell.

China's Securities Regulatory Commission had already started a probe into market manipulation after the Shanghai Composite Index fell 5.16 percent in one day. Shanghai is down 11 percent over the past three weeks.....read on

Want JP Morgan to crash? Buy silver

By Max Keiser, UK Guardian:

The campaign to buy silver and force JP Morgan into bankruptcy could work, because of the liabilities accrued by its short-selling

For decades, the world's banking system has been on a fiat currency standard that has led to banks that are "too big to fail". They have overreached their remit of providing loans and have leeched into the political system, using our money to change the political agenda in ways that boost bank management's compensation over the interests of their depositors.

Over the past 11 years, the Gata (Gold Anti-Trust Action) committee has worked to reveal the silver/gold price suppression scheme; thanks to whistleblower Andrew Maguire in London, an investigation has been opened. As part of the ongoing exposé, it has now become clear that JP Morgan is sitting on what is estimated to be 3.3bn ounce "short" position in silver (which they have sold short, meaning they don't own it to begin with) in an attempt to keep the price artificially low in order to keep the relative appeal of the dollar and other fiat currencies high.......read on