Transparency

“This could turn into a very violent wake-up call for [screen-traded gold]. People talk about ‘fiat currencies’, but we also have ‘fiat gold.’ Volatility is too cheap right now.”

As Rand Paul grows more vociferous with regard the Janet Yellen nomination, he and his father are once again pressing for more transparency into what really occurs at the Fed. While some argue that there has never been a more 'transparent' Fed as we are plagued with volumes of double-speak (projections and prognostications), Ron Paul explains in this brief clip that "the big stuff is done in secret," including international central bank bailouts. His hope, based on the fact that Janet Yellen is a self-described agent of transparency that "the time is ripe," to truly audit the Fed.

The global scramble for Africa's estimated 25 billion barrels of oil is on. Those scrambling to secure (and/or exploit) the continent's abundance of fossil fuels include each oil-rich nation's political and economic Elites, international oil corporations, regional powers, trading blocs and the four major (and energy-hungry) economic players: the E.U., the U.S., Japan and China. But, Oil-rich nations are bedeviled by the Resource Curse...

In this exclusive interview with Birch Gold Group, former Congressman Ron Paul shares his opinions on a number of topics, including investing in physical gold and silver, the future of the U.S. dollar and the role of the Federal Reserve.

“The longer [Quantitative Easing] lasts, the worse the correction will be when eventually people give up on our dollar and give up on our debt.”

The Chinese yuan has reached 20-year highs versus the U.S. dollar. It's a significant development with potentially huge ramifications for China and the world.

A farming harvesting his fields in North Dakota has come across a massive oil spill, undetected long enough to become the size of seven football fields. Local media reports cite farmer Steve Jensen as saying the crude appeared to becoming from a rupture in an underground pipeline operated by Tesoro Corp. The farmer noted that he had smelled the crude for days but it wasn’t until he began harvesting his wheat fields that he discovered the source of the smell, as his combine got caught up in crude spewing up to six inches above the ground. The spill, discovered on 29 September and since contained, is one of the largest ever in the history of North Dakota.

Despite the ongoing antics in Washington the market remains less than 5 points (at the time of this writing) from its all-time closing high.  If the markets were concerned about economics, fundamentals or potential default; stock prices would be significantly lower.  The reality is that as long as the Federal Reserve remains convicted to its accommodative policies the argument for rationality is trumped by the delusions of Mo' Money. We have seen these "Teflon" markets before - do we really need to remind you what happens to a Teflon pan when you finally scratch the surface? In the meantime here are 5 things to ponder as the week progresses...

In an interesting twist of irony, one of the Congressman most instrumental in the destruction of civil liberties in these United States due to his authorship of the Patriot Act, Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), is now leading the charge to reign in NSA abuses. His disgust with the NSA became clear back in early June when he wrote an impassioned letter to Attorney General Eric Holder criticizing the illegal NSA activity happening behind the scenes. The key point here is that Mr. Sensenbrenner strongly believes that these guys are misinterpreting the legislation he wrote to justify everything they are doing. As such, he and others are proposing legislation to make it crystal clear what is and what is not appropriate surveillance. Not only that, he is also calling for the prosecution of James Clapper the current Director of National Intelligence, who perjured himself in front of Congress earlier this year.

If Obama's intention in his CNBC interview was to get Wall Street to start selling, then congratulations: today he finally made some headway. However, he will have to do more before the capitulation dump we saw in the summer of 2011 pushes the House, and Boehner to finally fold (in the case of the latter, for the last time). Much More. Goldman's Sales and Trading desk explains: "Today was the first day that concerns about the debt ceiling really started to be felt."

Five years later, while some are congratulating themselves on avoiding another depression, no one in Europe or the United States can claim that prosperity has returned. The financial system may be more stable than it was five years ago, but that is a low bar – back then, it was teetering on the edge of a precipice. Those in government and the financial sector who congratulate themselves on banks’ return to profitability and mild – though hard-won – regulatory improvements should focus on what still needs to be done. Some are pleased that the economy may have bottomed out. But, in any meaningful sense, an economy in which most people’s incomes are below their pre-2008 levels is still in recession. An The glass is, at most, only one-quarter full; for most people, it is three-quarters empty.

At one time it was the Gold Rush that obsessed everyone as there were screams and shouts to be heard of ‘there’s gold in them there hills’. Now, it’s sugar that is creating the buzz in the investment world.

• Government Shuts Down as Congress Misses Deadline (WSJ); Shutdown starts, 1 million workers on unpaid leave (Reuters); Government Shutdown Begins as Deadlocked Congress Flails (BBG)
• This is not The Onion: Stocks Rise on U.S. Government Shutdown (BBG)
• Pentagon chief says shutdown hurts U.S. credibility with allies (Reuters)
• In historic step, Japan PM hikes tax; will cushion blow to economy (Reuters)
• Obama Says He Won’t Give Into ‘Ideological’ Budget Demand (BBG)
• More part-time warehouse workers: Amazon to Hire 70,000 Workers for the Holidays (WSJ)
• Less full-time legitimate workers: Merck to fire 8,500 workers  (BBG)
• Education cuts hit America’s poor (FT)
• Euro-Zone Factory Growth Slows (WSJ)
• Watchdog Warns EU Not to Water Down Insurance Rules (Reuters)

Silver continues to see strong store of value demand In India, the U.S. and elsewhere as buyers view the metal as cheap versus gold. 

Following the Fed’s surprise decision not to ‘taper’ its asset purchases this month, market participants feel misled. That’s hardly a surprise to UBS' Amit Kara who has long argued that central banks have limited ability to guide markets, given that their policies must adjust to hard-to-predict outcomes. Policy pre-commitment is an oxymoron, and central bankers who pledge ‘forward guidance’ do so at considerable risk to their credibility. In an inherently uncertain world, central bankers must adjust current policies to achieve those outcomes. That makes it impossible to pre-commit to a given policy, given that flexibility is required to respond to unforeseeable circumstances.

There's growing speculation that China will soon announce an overhaul of its financial system to address increasing risks from escalating debt.