Archive - May 2014 - Blog entry

With China's push for an international physical exchange, physical demand will begin to have a stronger influence, thereby ending gold manipulation. This will allow gold to rise to a more appropriate price given the scale of macroeconomic, systemic, geo-political and monetary risks of today.

It was all over the news last week, both mainstream and gold sites. Barclays was caught manipulating the gold price. This story is a big deal to the gold community.

On the same day in which we released our letter writing campaign to “End Gold Price Manipulation Now!”, Barclays Plc was fined $43.8 million and Barclays trader Daniel James Plunkett was fined more than $160,000 for manipulating the gold price to avoid a $3.9 million payout to a client that had placed options on gold in the market. Of course, these types of shenanigans have been going on for more than a decade now, but since this event marks the first significant fine against a bullion bank and a banker for gold price manipulation, it is groundbreaking in that regard.

Earthquake?  What earthquake?  

And War is a racket...

China and Russia signed an historic agreement in Shanghai this week - the ramifications of which have yet to be appreciated ... Reserve currency status does not last forever. Empires rise and fall. The world is constantly changing and evolving. Nothing lasts forever …

And Fat and Skinny...

The CBO report is screaming, "This is F-ed up! Fix this now, or pay a price later!"

A dispassionate look at the week ahead.  

Could this be the last straw?

The Fed claims inflation is too low. But in the US, inflation has become a political problem.

I have the good fortune to live in Palo Alto, and - mercifully - I bought my house way back in 1991, which was three bubbles ago. Over that time, the house in which I live is worth nine times what I paid for it. Those outside the Silicon Valley might find perverse comfort in the relative bargains of their own neighborhood.

QE Bonus Play...

The near-term outlook for the US dollar appears to be improving.  Here is why.  

So long as inflation stays under four percent, it's a bullish factor. In such environments, the S&P 500 (since 1948, according to S&P's Capital IQ) increases on average 70 basis points per month.