The phenomenon, known as a perigee full moon, can cause higher tides as it reaches its closest point to Earth
PICTURE: The moon appears over the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de JaneiroPicture: AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano
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| source |
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Super Moon
A "supermoon" graced the skies over the Bank Holiday weekend, the closest and therefore the biggest and brightest full moon of the year.
The phenomenon, known as a perigee full moon, can cause higher tides as it reaches its closest point to Earth
PICTURE: The moon appears over the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de JaneiroPicture: AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano
The phenomenon, known as a perigee full moon, can cause higher tides as it reaches its closest point to Earth
PICTURE: The moon appears over the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de JaneiroPicture: AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano
Silver takes a hit in Hong Kong trading
Silver has just been smacked down below $30 in Hong Kong trade, which is unusual as smack downs tend to only occur in London and New York trading hours (gee I wonder why). Trade in Asian exchange hours typically moves the price sideways or higher as Asian based traders are largely acting on behalf of clients who accumulate Gold and Silver vs. traders in the West who represent those who prefer to sell, particularly those who like sell the market short.
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| Charts from goldprice.org |
All the gold and silver roads now leading to China
I wish to add to my insights to the following article. At the 2010 Gold Symposium in Sydney I spoke to several mining company CEO's. One CEO in particular I quizzed about silver. His company was primarily a base metal miner but produced a significant about of Silver as a byproduct. I asked him where they had their ore concentrates smelted, he responded that most was sent to China, particularly the lead bearing ore. I asked if the silver was returned to his company in Australia, he responded that the refinery just paid his company out for the metals in the ore, no refined metals were returned.
Consider this in the light of the fact that China is one of the world's largest miners of silver and it seems the smelter of choice which may not be fully accounted for in its Silver imports. It would seem that China not only has a controlling position in Rare Earths it could soon control a significant percentage of the world's refined physical Silver.
Original source
With the opening of silver futures trading in Shanghai, China could rapidly become a major player in silver trading given its position as now almost certainly being the world's largest silver consumer.
This week the Shanghai Futures Exchange will start trading silver futures from Thursday. In a commentary on this the newspaper, The Australian, comments that nowadays all the gold and silver roads are leading to China, and speculation that the next few years could see the Chinese dominating the global silver market much as they appear to be doing with the global gold market.
Indeed a big inflow of silver into China - a country which has a long association with the metal having had a silver related currency standard up until the 1930s - is felt by some to be likely to end some of the metal's price volatility and perhaps end what some see as excessive manipulation of the market through COMEX.
But silver does need to throw off its reputation for volatility - the 'devil's metal' as some traders refer to it because of this, and initially silver trading in China could add to this until perhaps it finds some kind of stability. But commentators referred to by The Australian also say that there is indeed a particular penchant for silver investment in China because retail investors are attracted by the much lower price than that of gold and because of the relatively recent association of the country's currency with the metal.
There is little doubt that China's take-up of gold - both at the retail and institutional levels - and probably by official entities too - has been perhaps the most significant driver of the yellow metal's price over the past two or three years and it is felt that the impact on the silver market could be similar. Given that silver is a much smaller market than gold this could prove to be quite a substantial impact and could see those holding big silver short positions on COMEX, liquidating these just in case there is a big price kicker ahead as a result.
China is already the world's third biggest silver producer after Peru and Mexico, as well as the world's largest gold miner. It is also one of the world's largest consumers of industrial silver - probably the largest - and investment in silver bullion and jewellery has also been running at a very high level. Certainly China is a net importer of silver these days - both for investment and fabrication. Investment demand has been growing id double digits percentage-wise, while in industrial usage many of today's key uses of the metal are in areas where China is beginning to dominate world supply notably in electronic products, solar panel manufacture etc.
What might detract from an immediate demand surge from China, though, is the belief that the country's industrialists may have as much as 15 months supply in stockpiles. But China has a remarkable facility to surprise the global markets in its strength of demand for commodities and silver may prove to be no exception.
www.mineweb.com
With the opening of silver futures trading in Shanghai, China could rapidly become a major player in silver trading given its position as now almost certainly being the world's largest silver consumer.
This week the Shanghai Futures Exchange will start trading silver futures from Thursday. In a commentary on this the newspaper, The Australian, comments that nowadays all the gold and silver roads are leading to China, and speculation that the next few years could see the Chinese dominating the global silver market much as they appear to be doing with the global gold market.
Indeed a big inflow of silver into China - a country which has a long association with the metal having had a silver related currency standard up until the 1930s - is felt by some to be likely to end some of the metal's price volatility and perhaps end what some see as excessive manipulation of the market through COMEX.
But silver does need to throw off its reputation for volatility - the 'devil's metal' as some traders refer to it because of this, and initially silver trading in China could add to this until perhaps it finds some kind of stability. But commentators referred to by The Australian also say that there is indeed a particular penchant for silver investment in China because retail investors are attracted by the much lower price than that of gold and because of the relatively recent association of the country's currency with the metal.
There is little doubt that China's take-up of gold - both at the retail and institutional levels - and probably by official entities too - has been perhaps the most significant driver of the yellow metal's price over the past two or three years and it is felt that the impact on the silver market could be similar. Given that silver is a much smaller market than gold this could prove to be quite a substantial impact and could see those holding big silver short positions on COMEX, liquidating these just in case there is a big price kicker ahead as a result.
China is already the world's third biggest silver producer after Peru and Mexico, as well as the world's largest gold miner. It is also one of the world's largest consumers of industrial silver - probably the largest - and investment in silver bullion and jewellery has also been running at a very high level. Certainly China is a net importer of silver these days - both for investment and fabrication. Investment demand has been growing id double digits percentage-wise, while in industrial usage many of today's key uses of the metal are in areas where China is beginning to dominate world supply notably in electronic products, solar panel manufacture etc.
What might detract from an immediate demand surge from China, though, is the belief that the country's industrialists may have as much as 15 months supply in stockpiles. But China has a remarkable facility to surprise the global markets in its strength of demand for commodities and silver may prove to be no exception.
www.mineweb.com
Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger Tag Team Gold
Original source
It is no secret that Warren Buffett publicly dislikes gold. Earlier this year, Berkshire’s CEO and largest shareholder reminded investors in a Fortune article that gold has limited industrial demand and even said the precious metal “will remain lifeless forever.” Apparently, the strong distaste for the yellow metal runs throughout the Omaha-based company.
Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire, recently sat down with CNBC’s Becky Quick to discuss the economy, Federal Reserve and even gold. When asked about the Fed, Munger says he has no real quarrel with the central bank system. However, he clearly has some issues with gold. He said, “I think gold is a great thing to sew onto your garments if you’re a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939, but civilized people don’t buy gold, they invest in productive businesses.” The statement is extreme to say the least, but reinforced the view from Buffett’s right-hand man.
In 2010, Munger gave a speech at the University of Michigan that discussed bailouts and also touched on gold. While Munger says we should all thank God for the bailouts, he spoke quite differently on gold. He said, “I don’t have the slightest interest in gold. I like understanding what works and what doesn’t in human systems. To me that’s not optional; that’s a moral obligation. If you’re capable of understanding the world, you have a moral obligation to become rational. And I don’t see how you become rational hoarding gold. Even if it works, you’re a jerk.”
Perhaps the hostility Buffett and Munger have towards gold comes from the hard asset outperforming Berkshire shares for the past decade? Since May 2002, Berkshire shares have increased 64 percent. Meanwhile, the price of gold has surged 430 percent in the same period. While the 80-something billionaire investors probably couldn’t care less about gold’s outshining performance, Berkshire’s recent underwhelming performance against the S&P 500 is beginning to attract more attention. As Bloomberg notes, Berkshire’s annual weekend this past Saturday marked a three-year period where shares have climbed nearly 32 percent, lagging the S&P 500’s gain of about 60 percent.
Although gold investors may be considered “uncivilized” by some, even “jerks” need to diversify their portfolios and preserve wealth. Investing in productive businesses is worthy advice, but it is also hard to ignore the financial headwinds facing the global economy. In regards to individuals protecting their wealth from the printing-press, a Congressman from Nebraska years-ago once said, “The taxpayer is completely outmatched in such an unequal contest. Always heretofore he possessed an equalizer. If government finances weren’t run according to his idea of soundness, he had an individual right to protect himself by obtaining gold.” He continued to explain, “Also those elements here and abroad who are getting rich from the continued American inflation will oppose a return to sound money. You must be prepared to meet their opposition intelligently and vigorously.” The source of this insightful and cautionary quote comes from none other than Howard Buffett, Warren’s father.
Read in full here
SGT interviews Patrick Henningsen
May 7, 2012 by SGTbull07
SGT's interview with Infowars.com Associate Editor & reporter Patrick Henningsen. We cover a LOT of territory including Eric Holder's lies in front of Congress over Fast & Furious - and the potential murder of J.T. Ready.
SGT's interview with Infowars.com Associate Editor & reporter Patrick Henningsen. We cover a LOT of territory including Eric Holder's lies in front of Congress over Fast & Furious - and the potential murder of J.T. Ready.
Part 2 of my interview with Infowars.com Associate Editor & reporter Patrick Henningsen, we discuss the Ron Paul Revolution and how it's shaking up a very corrupt GOP. We agree that Romney isn't meant to beat Obama, how the American vote count totals will be outsourced to Spain and under Soros' control - and how the Occupy movement is being painted as 'Communist' despite many decent Americans being involved.
Julian Assange's The World Tomorrow: Moncef Marzouki (E3)
May 1, 2012 by RussiaToday
In the third episode of The World Tomorrow Julian Assange speaks with Tunisia's first post-revolution leader Moncef Marzouki about the West's double standards in protecting human rights. He is a former human rights activist. During the reign of the previous President he was imprisoned and kept in solitary confinement, which he considers to be torture. Once elected Head of State, he has vowed to put an end to human rights violations in Tunisia.
Marzouki recalls how he was invited to the US to talk about the human rights situation in Tunisia with a man he believed was involved in the Guantanamo controversy. Torture and the West's double standards on the issue is indeed one of the hottest topics in this episode of the show.
OFFICIAL VIDEO PAGE http://assange.rt.com
Marzouki recalls how he was invited to the US to talk about the human rights situation in Tunisia with a man he believed was involved in the Guantanamo controversy. Torture and the West's double standards on the issue is indeed one of the hottest topics in this episode of the show.
OFFICIAL VIDEO PAGE http://assange.rt.com
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