Precious Metals

Does it get any funnier than this? Well, arguably, we’ve already seen an even funnier episode from these financial “Wile E. Coyotes”. But let’s begin with a look at the most recent “botched operation” by the psychopaths of the One Bank.

The inverted relationship between gold and the dollar broke down in November 2011. The dollar soared from July to the present, spiking 21% against the other major currencies. Most of the negative commentary regarding gold in recent months misses the rather bigger point that the gold price has held up remarkably well given the extent of dollar’s move.

Quad-witching days are volatile on normal days, so in an environment of virtually zero liquidity, in which the market careens from one extreme to another simply based on whether the Fed utters one single word, in which volatility across asset classes is soaring, and in which it is all about igniting algo momentum, today's quadruple withicng should be memorable, which is good since there is virtually no macro data today to speak of. 

"Under our central case, gold prices are likely to rise gradually, eventually breaking through the USD2,000/oz level within the next decade. This is the most likely outcome, to which we assign a 45% probability," ANZ analysts say, in a note explaining how a number of factors are converging to make the outlook for gold particularly bullish.

History never repeats itself, but it always rhymes...

Many analysts regard this as further evidence that the Fed is caught in a bind. What is yet to be appreciated by most analysts is that it is unlikely that the massively over-leveraged and debt-saturated financial system can weather increases in interest rates.

“Most of the time you don’t want to pay for it. But if you need it, you’re glad you have it ...”

According to Austrian economists like Dr. Skousen, consumption and consumer spending are not the main drivers of economic growth. What really drives an economy are investments and innovation from businesses.

The luxury of paying your government to hold your money, once thought as absurd, hilarious and downright preposterous is now a reality.

- Silly gold ‘bug’ name calling shows bias against gold and towards stocks   - “Gold bugs” and “stock roaches” can peacefully coexist - Maybe a rational debate would be enlightening  ...

One of the “mysteries” of our modern (i.e. fraudulent) precious metals markets is explaining the face-value of our gold and silver minted coins, meaning relating their nominal price to their actual value. The face-value on U.S./Canadian silver 1-oz coins is $1 and $5, and the face-value for our 1-oz gold coins is $50. For those investors (including this analyst) who began using precious metals as a vehicle for wealth-protection at a relatively late date; the face-value of these coins seems totally arbitrary.

First she tried to take over the credit derivatives world which she first had to create, and succeeded. Then, after Enron failed, she tried to take over the California electricity market and also failed. And all through this time she made sure the prices of the world's precious metals were right where she wanted them. Now, a year after an embarrassing attempt to become head of her former regulator ended in humiliation, she is back and has her sights set on the final financial frontier: Bitcoin.

Greenspan believes that in five years gold will be “measurably higher” than current levels because of the excess liquidity that will eventually be released into the open market. Such an event will undoubtedly lead to riots across America as the general public, woefully unprepared for rapidly rising prices when the pin finally pops the dollar bubble, loses access to affordable critical supplies like food, gas and other resources. The collapse of the dollar, an inevitability suggested by Alan Greenspan, will be a game changer that results in the quadrupling of the cost of living for the average American.

It was not all smiles and jokes as Mario Draghi's European QE officially launched in Europe, with Greece leaving the proverbial turd in the monetary punch bowl.

"Commodity pricing is vastly more important than most people actually realize," explains former CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton, warning that "beginning around 2007 the rise of computer driven trading algorithms changed the rules, and the markets have not been the same since." Chilton is sympathetic to the perception many frustrated and bruised investors have about the manipulation of the precious metals markets - on record saying that the large short position concentrations have been outrageous. Why not the CFTC directly? Sadly, the former CFTC boss notes, "regulators by and large aren't listening to average people."