Aussie sub sinks US naval ship

In the long and fine tradition of the Australian Navy sinking US Naval ships, even when they weren't trying to, a Collins Class sub, HMAS Farncomb, has sunk the USS Kilauea on the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) off Hawaii, during RIMPAC 2012.

HMAS Farncomb fired a Mark 48 Torpedo into the Kilauea's hull, striking the ship below the bridge.

Capital Account with Mish and Eric Fry

Jul 23, 2012 by CapitalAccount

Key to the Gold Vault

Indeed, there can be no other criterion, no other standard than gold.

Yes, gold, which never changes, which can be shaped into ingots, bars, coins, which has no nationality and which is eternally and universally accepted as the unalterable fiduciary value par excellence.

Charles de Gaulle

Frbny Gold

Ronald Stoeferle - The biggest misconception in gold and other factors driving the metal

A look at the latest edition of the Erste Group's 'In gold we trust' report and some of the big factors at work within the gold market.

Listen the Mineweb interview here

Access the referenced report here

Reserve Bank of India - Indians should reduce gold tributes to God

Um, do you think this bloke has been game enough to say this to his wife and or daughter(s)? No, I didn't think so either. 

MUMBAI (MINEWEB.com) -

Original source

Gold offerings at temples have come under the scanner of the Reserve Bank of India. Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty has called for a reduction in demand for gold as an offering to the deities.

"Ninety percent of the gold demand is jewellery or to offer to God. Both have to stop," said the official of the apex bank. The deputy Governor noted that Indian society's obsession with gold was an archaic idea of pre-historic times when India was a rich society of abundance.

"Wearing gold as an ornament was a culture when you were a rich society, when you were contributing to 30% of the GDP of the world. Today, we have become a poor country, we need to change our culture," he added.

For millions of Indian households which think otherwise, this assertion by Chakrabarty, may come as a shocker. Over the weekend, the deputy governor's remarks made at a function has opened up a Pandora's Box.

For centuries, Indian households have had a twin tradition - buying gold during festivities or on auspicious occasions largely in the form of jewellery, and offering gold to their Gods as a form of appeasement or in gratitude.

Both need to change, said Mr Chakrabarty, stressing on the need for a shift in people's social and cultural attitudes towards gold to cut its demand. This, he feels, will help ease the current account situation, especially "since investing in gold is non-productive".

If Mr Chakrabarty could have his way, he would have Indians donating only 2 carat gold instead of the regular 22 carats to temples. "Yes, if it is of religious value, it is the faith, (then) why do you require ornaments of 22 carats gold? Ultimately, ornament is ornament," he went on to add.

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Know Your Money - Gold & Silver

SGTbull07 on Jun 4, 2011

This government film was released in 1947, "Know Your Money".

Tony Blair - "Hanging Bankers Won't Help"

I always thought Tony was a spoil sport. OK lets get all scientific like and conduct a double blind test. Lets hang 20 bankers at the end of the High Street and track a control group of another 20 bankers, then see which group steals the most from the British public. No doubt the experiment would have to carried out multiple times to ensure consistent results, can't be too careful when it comes to banksters.

From the Telegraph.co.uk

Original source

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the former prime minister launches a defence of the free market and liberal economic rules established by the Thatcher government.

The approach promoted by Baroness Thatcher’s government is not to blame for the recent financial and economic crisis, Mr Blair says, warning against taking vengeance on bankers and increasing State intervention in the private sector.

We must not start thinking that society will be better off “if we hang 20 bankers at the end of the street”, Mr Blair says.

Big international banks are still the focus of public and political attacks for what critics say was their role in causing the financial crisis.

Mr Blair cautions against letting that anger lead to regulations that could reverse Lady Thatcher’s work to reduce government involvement in free markets.

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Brother JohnF - Silver Update: Loco London

Jul 23, 2012 by BrotherJohnF

$21Trillion Hidden from the Thieving Classes

Aye all those scurvy dogs burying their fortunes in the Caribbean to protect it from marauding banksters and petulant bureaucrats, arrr!

Jul 23, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

The Pain in Spain continues

From NYTimes.com

Original source

MADRID — The euro zone crisis refuses to take a summer vacation.

Financial markets flared anew Monday, despite various moves by European officials in recent weeks to buy the time that might let the money minds of Brussels and Frankfurt take a euro-policy vacation until September.

The main trigger seemed to be the fact that Spain’s borrowing costs hit a record level, on investor concerns that a deepening recession and the financial strains on its regions might eventually lead the government to seek a Greek-style bailout from Europe. And those worries were hardly eased by new signs that Greece’s bailout may not be working out so well, either.

A chief worry once again is that Europe, which has already spent or pledged about €270 billion, or $327 billion, trying to rescue tiny Greece, would be hard-pressed to find the money to salvage an economy the size of Spain’s, the euro zone’s fourth-largest after those of Germany, France and Italy.

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Jul 23, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

Moody's updates outlook for Germany, Netherlands to negative

From Reuters.com

Original source

(Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Monday changed its outlook for top-rated Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative from stable, warning that they may have to increase support for indebted euro zone states such as Spain and Italy.

Moody's also cited an increased chance of Greece leaving the euro zone, which "would set off a chain of financial sector shocks ... that policymakers could only contain at a very high cost."

The agency affirmed Finland's 'Aaa' rating and stable outlook, but it said all four countries were adversely affected by rising uncertainty about the outcome of the euro area debt crisis and the increasing likelihood that greater support would be needed by other euro area countries, most notably Spain and Italy.

Moody's said the burden of that support would fall most heavily on the euro zone's top-rated states. It said its actions on Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg mean it now has negative outlooks on all the countries "whose balance sheets are expected to bear the main financial burden of support."

The agency put France and Austria on negative outlook in February.

Finland escaped a negative outlook partly because of its small and domestically oriented banking system and its limited trade links with the rest of the euro area, Moody's said.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has a stable outlook for Germany but negative outlooks for Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland. All are rated 'AAA'.

Fitch gives all four the top rating and stable outlooks.

Living the Dream

Ned Naylor-Leyland talks to Alasdair Macleod about Europe and increasing demand for allocated

Jul 23, 2012 by GoldMoneyNews  Subscribe to our newsletter at http://www.goldmoney.com/goldresearch.

GoldMoney's Alasdair Macleod talks to Ned Naylor-Leyland of Cheviot Asset Management about Europe's debt crisis, the euro, and gold and silver price prospects. He also discusses the Pan-Asia Gold Exchange, and how an increasing number of investors are demanding allocated gold.

Ned is slightly more optimistic about the euro than most analysts, owing to what he sees as the high likelihood of further successful moves towards fiscal union. He also thinks the large gold reserves held by the European Central Bank as well as the largest member states (Germany, France and Italy) are a plus for the currency.

Regarding the Pan-Asia Gold Exchange that he talked about at last summer's GATA conference in London, Ned notes that internal Chinese political wrangling appears to have blocked the introduction of an international fully-allocated spot gold contract. However, an equivalent silver contract is going to start trading within the next few months, which could have bullish consequences for silver.

Alasdair and Ned also discuss proposals to make gold bullion a Tier-1 bank asset. They state that this is further evidence that gold is once again regaining a formal role within the financial system -- good news for both gold investors and the banks themselves.

This podcast was recorded on 20 July 2012.