This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Open Thread: 2011 Closes....Down
With the S&P 500 cash index closing 2011 down for the year (admittedly down 0.003181% is just 0.003181%, but it is also down), we look across asset classes and notable markets as we reflect on an increasingly intervention-driven and gap-heavy uber correlated global investing framework. UK Gilts, 10Y Treasuries, Gold, and Oil outperformed (rebased to USD terms) while Greek bonds, Copper, Emerging Market stocks, and Asia Ex-Japan stocks underperformed. The Dollar closed almost 1% higher on the year, the EUR down 2.6% versus the USD as the CRB Commodity Index closed -6.67% for the year. Japanese stocks and bonds had a tough year. US investment grade bonds outperformed high yield bonds. There is much to discuss and we open the thread for any and all discussions...
Global markets compared...(click to enlarge)...
An important grouping that many paid attention to is Gold vs TSYs vs Stocks...
Comparing Gold to other commodities...
Global Stock Indices...YTD performance...
While the S&P managed to close marginally down for the year, the sectors' performance was very diverse...
FX markets saw plenty of vol but ended with convergence as the all-powerful USD moved everything - except for the JPY which gained 8.1% YTD (and obviously swissy had the craziest of runs in the year)...
European AAA Sovereign spreads exploded and dispersed as clearly France and Austria are being priced 'differently'...

And evidently the desperate need for USD liquidity is highlighted best with the now ubiquitous EUR-USD basis swap spread...

Of course comparing VIX (actually the 3rd month VIX futures contract here) with implied correlation gives us a sense for the demand for macro protection versus micro protection...its clear that while VIX has dropped recently (as is its tendency at year-end) it is considerably elevated from a year ago and implied correlation is hugely higher signaling a demand for protection remains high as fear is still here.
but maybe security-of-the-year goes to...BTPs - certainly as much a pivot trade as any other in the latter half of the year...
But we end with the clear message that we discussed many times - the market is broken - it broke when S&P downgraded the USA and made the impossible possible...
The explosion of volatility in the financials post the USA downgrade, coupled with the markets absolute schizophrenia (risk-on / risk-off) are very clear when pictured above and below...
The S&P 500 traveled a marvelous 3240 total points close to close while amassing the 0.003181% loss it achieved on the year...
- 34014 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -












I think it's just a way to show and PROVE (to those that care) that they are in complete control of the market. In the electronic age, frankly, I don't even know if ANY OF IT is legit.
Man, fuck! Next thing you know you are going to tell me that that zumba instructor I'm chatting with isn't even a woman!
She might be a woman, just a lot more fake than you think...
Better to find out now!!!!!!!:)
In the Army, you use the "Two-Finger Sweep" to uncover mines.
Same applies to Zumba instructors, even if they don't have noticeable Adam's Apples and big hands....
They do it just to remind everyone (who bothers to look) exactly who is in control of the markets.
You or I could do it if we were printing the FRNs.
Calling all stats people! I would say more than a million to one but it is beyond me to figure out the probabilities. And probably lots of hidden variables.
Manipulation outperformed, true discounting free market mechanisms underperformed.
Corruption was hot on manipulations heels but just couldn't close the gap at the end. Manipulation wins this year but corrpution will get another shot next year.
Agree that corruption will have the edge next year as it will be difficult to improve on the massive manipulation in a statistically significant YOY from current manipulated basis and levels. Corruption, on the other hand, has awesome opportunities with so many leaders not even needing to pretend to be responsible to voting people or citizens. Fed and ECB love their appointments. Italy and Greece have no claim on their government leaders. Puppet leaders attempting to become established throughout MENA. Think Thailand, China, N. Korea, etc give no comfort. The b.s. election cycle in USA is entering the super stupid stage - distracting attention from the actual activities of the government - - - yep, ripe for corruption here, there, and everywhere.
Bear in mind that TPTB love a fearful, distracted, divided populace. They will continue to disseminate propaganda, disinformation, psychological tricks, and more fear while they perform their corruption for personal benefit. An important benefit, increasingly, may become retaining their physical life more than the asset riches of recent years.
Manipulation is inherent, true discounting free market mechanisms are a pacifying myth.
shit was up until it was down...especially gold & silver
Nah, while paper silver was an obvious case, i think what happened for gold, was that the quick moves up, as well as the quick moves down were orchestrated.... if you look at the behaviour of paper gold up to the middle of the year, it was on a stable constant move upwards.... and then suddenly went way up, and month later then way down.... again and again.... what happened for GLD in 2011 IMO simply was, that in the middle of the year, they decided they needed to shake it up real good, so as to kill confidence and trigger margin calls.
A smooth, close shave with Occam's razor says you're wrong.
Looking at the charts from a TA perspective, PMs behaved pretty much as expected, with the possible exception of the blow-off top. Since then, the metals have moved in pretty clear waves. Expect further downside.
That sounds really sophisticated, but without adding some meat to that claim, a pseudo-intelligent shell is all you offered so far.
Anybody who really believes in gold, as it appears you do, doesn't deserve any meat.
Nope. Gold up 11th year in a row. Up over 12% on the London Fix to close the year.
Gold to $2000 and beyond in 2012 Bitchez...
Damn lazy government workers, cutting out early on a Friday and fucking the whole year for TPTB...
Predictions Subthread!
Allow me to start:
1) Europe has a very bad recession, and we get ours six months after
2) Gold will go up, perhaps will average $2200 / oz for 2012
3) VIX gets a bid right out of the 2012 gate, as dumb ass criminal syndicate bankers actually left the building/year relatively unprotected.
4) MCD underperforms in 2012 as every dumb ass hedge fund manager/lemming realizes he is at risk of being the "greater fool." Duh.
PREDICTIONS SUBTHREAD:
I am VERY WORRIED about the health & safety of Ron Paul should his nomination prospects achieve any status of likelihood... The media "smear campaign" blitz towards anything & everything unfounded will commence in FULL FORCE starting next week...
Thankfully, most of his supporters probably don't respect the MSM much.
<comment deleted>
You are looking f.i.n.e tonight. What are ya doin later, Lovely.
Thank you very much! Actually, later today I have to pull a commode and attempt to unclog the sewer line it dumps into -- true story, unfortunately, and has me thinking that it is a wholly appropriate way to end this year. Reflecting on the job and the past year got me to thinking that I need to go up to the local rental store and ask what apparatus they have which would work best to remove a stuck banker and/or congressman that I am sure is blocking that line. That question should garner a vacant stare...
Ya'll have a great and safe New Year! May 2012 be known as the year the 99% woke up and took back the USA!
sure, they do.
They defend the MSM's position nearly to the death on a variety of topics. I am eager to see RP do well in Iowa and then have the MSM run the clips where he uttered "hate facts" like that blacks have a higher propensity to violent crime.
I think RP supporters' heads may blow up at that point. So far they have escaped the dissonance by saying RP's newsletters weren't really RP's newsletters.
RP is what most of his supporters on ZH would call "a racist."
In that case I would see 2 possibilities: either he will be allowed to get the post and thus the blame (by late 2012 there's no way a new president would be able to put this slow-motion engineered train wreck back on the tracks)
Or he will die of "natural causes" or become disabled in some way - although I wouldn't expect a heart attack, that would be expected and soooo 1970's - such as chemically induced sudden onset of senility or some such...
I believe that Dr. Paul knows the risks, which makes him even more heroic.
yeah, they'll shoot him like bobby.
No worries here my friend, to kill him would be to martyr him and they don't want that. So since the MSM propaganda isn't working any more they decided to subvert him in a more direct manner, they simply moved the vote count to a secret location, vote fraud bitchez.
The problem with the "more direct subversion", is that it may be too obvious - which may have the same "undesired" consequences, as making him a martyr.
See, one of the problems, is the political climate. Back then they elected obama, because they desperately wanted "change", because they were pissed off with bush. Now after obama conned them as well, there is significant dissatisfaction with the system as a whole, and they want a change from that. Merely rigging elections, won't give them that impression temporarily. Even if they would actually buy the vote results, the overall sentiment would not be defused at all.
Phrased another way: The popularity of RP, goes way beyond the policies that RP promotes.... especially among leftwing voters, it isn't specifically RP's specific ideas, but rather that he is the only candidate willing to promote anything different than the current system. Fuck, look at how the TP and OWS originated.... it isn't about a specific solution, but about being pissed and disillusioned with the current system. Rigging votes won't defuse that sentiment at all, but may even amplify it further.
Martyrs? Everywhere but America.
I agree that the mood of the the nation is different now than even the 08 election, people are becoming more disillusioned. But lets be honest, it has nothing to do with a growing sense of morality or some kind of rediscovered altruism. No it has every thing to do with the increasing realization that a small group of people are living extremely well while the vast majority don't have the extra cash to blow on shit they want anymore, and are beginning to net even have what they need for basic survival. It's not the corruption or theft that pisses the masses off, they have seen it for decades. Most could give a shit less about the death and destruction we wreak all over the planet. I don't even think they mind their phones being tapped or the growing police state, so long as they are assured that the manufactured boogeyman is kept at bay. The real reason people are getting angry is that their "cut" is shrinking.
Where was the mass outrage at the 2000 election fraud? With the the B.S. "chad" shit in Bush's brothers state that ended in the majority of Americans being told to basically screw off and saw the USC install the predetermined pick? Where was the mass indignation when the link between big business and politics was made so glaringly obvious by Dick(head)Cheney, Halliburtion, no bid contracts and golden parachutes? Just where in the fuck was the country's god damn anger when it was made clear to all that we sent our boy's and girls to get killed in yet another war based on lies and profiteering while the cocksucker that sent them is at fundraiser dinners cracking jokes about "nope no weapons over here!!"?? And 9/11 and all that that proves, beyond any doubt, to any person who doesn't have their head buried up their ass or are just too shit scared to admit it to themselves. Sure there have been a few pointing it out along the way, but we were dismissed as whack jobs or chicken little's or out right insane. The majority didn't give a damn, as long as they were able to wallow in the excess like pigs in shit, the show was allowed to continue.
And it's not just America it's the entire world, tho we are among the most slavish, and now the bill is coming due and the people want a reprieve granted. Well tough shit, Dr.Paul can't and won't be allowed to save us, no amount of yellow metal will settle the tab and your guns are not big enough to be a serious threat. I don't know exactly how bad the retribution is going to be, but it is coming to us all and will show us the price of our collective apathy. Some are more guilty than others, but we will all pay together for allowing brick of indifference to be stacked upon brick of indifference for decades. I had a First Sargent that told us once that a mistake of action was the nature of things, but that a mistake of inaction was unforgivable. Well we have done the unforgivable for so long now that it is beyond repair, this is going to be epic no doubt.
I agree. I didn't mean to imply, that "the sheeple" actually get the full extend of it - especially not the majority of the potential voters. What i meant to imply instead is, that they notice that:
- their "cut" is rapidly approaching a threshold, where they feel their survival threatened, and where actually even the dumbest sheep goes beyond what is neccessary for keeping up the belief, that it is not merely a slave, held at rock-bottom.
- that the current political system and the ideologies they supposedly represent, will not change that at all. Which matters in terms of votes, because that bipolarity is the only thing they usually get to vote for. In other words: They are now beginning to grasp, that besides of "exotic" candidates like RP, no one will actually represent their desires.... not even keep up the "compensations" for them to survive without existencial fear.
So yes, it really is just the good old stuff: Foodstufs, shelter, sex, opium.... if any of that stuffs starts missing, they get pissed off..... and the situation is, that the kleptocracy has run it's course so far, that they fail to deliver at least the first two things to the serfs. And they apparently also are not willing to compromise far enough, to "give back" enough, to keep up the illusion, that is the only thing that keeps the population at bay.
So as i see it, there really are only three possibilities:
1. The elite compromises, and gives back to keep the serfs at bay.
2. The elite goes into powermad mode, keeping the population at bay with nothing else than physical force.... problem with that is - even with distractions like war - it will lead to:
3. Violent overthrow of the system.
Why does 2. alone by itself not work? Because even those supposedly totalitarian govs, do NOT merely rely on force. They rely on force AND giving back.... force alone never keeps sheeple at bay: Even slaves still need to eat.
I think it's been made abundantly clear that there will be no giving back of anything that has been taken, be it the money swindled or the freedoms stolen. It is apparent that in their own minds there are no rules, no practice is off limits, ethics is as foreign to them as compassion. If they are able to steal it from you than to them it is your fault for not protecting it better. Even when the truth slapped us in the face(JFK, RFK, USS Liberty, Waco, Murrah Bld, 9/11, Iraq WMD. ect...) as disgusted as some were we essentially turned a blind eye. Every single person who has no idea about the truth of the atrocities committed, is a failure on the part of those of us who were able to see thru the thin veneer of bull shit. Did we keep silent out of fear of being ostracized and ridiculed? Maybe it was our own lack of conviction in our intuition or our preference for the constructed illusion that allows blissful ignorance to be perfectly acceptable? No matter what caused us to never press the issue harder, to learn more so we could speak more intelligently and convincingly, to make efforts to fix our own flaws so as to lend more credibility to what we had to say, we have failed ourselves, our family and friends, and all who sacrificed and died to give us what we have so recklessly squandered. There will not be any change in our current direction, the wheels have been in motion for a long time gathering momentum as we pretended things weren't as bad as our instinct told us they were. Alot of people operate under the pretense that we are being punished by god and that when the time is right his hand will reach out of the sky and snatch the ship of state back on course, this is just the excuse used to justify doing nothing except perhaps telepathically beg for deliverance from our mistakes.
Rich and poor alike will pay, nobody will be spared their share of the cost of ignorance. The governments we have are a reflection of us. And even tho much of it was done in secret and with out the direct consent of the people, they have tipped their hand enough along the way that now standing at the precipice, we have no legitimacy in the claim of complete innocence. This wasn't all done to us, it was done with us, we all just suffer different levels of delusion about that singular truth. So the prediction for 2012? The bill comes due, and after a number of attempts to slide it around the table, we come to the realization that there is no skipping out on this tab. So dig deep bitchez, because it's a monster.
"So yes, it really is just the good old stuff: Foodstufs, shelter, sex, opium"
Shit, thats exactly what i have in my go bag. I store the opium in the dried pussy.
Then you need have zero concern for the good doctor.
usa equities down big in jan '12 as the new year allows individuals to cash out without a bigger 2011 hit tax wise.
What "individuals"? There are no individuals left in the casino.
R2, it's just that some low life stole the exit.
Predictions:
GOOD - By the end of '12 I'll be able to afford Bloomberg Terminal service, but won't want or need it.
BAD - Not a single CEO of a major financial firm will be indicted.
UGLY - VIX will peak above 70, several times.
Nostra-fuckin-damus!
1) A sovereign default, starting the sovereign/bank dominoes falling, probably preceded by a war on which to place the blame
2) Leading to bank runs and holidays
3) Causing EBTs and SNAP cards to quit working
4) Contributing to social unrest and riots
5) Resulting in pleas for a solution
6) Ending with a one-world currency
Insert massive currency printing/hyperinflation, and a flight to safety in PM's, somewhere in the middle. Happy New Year!
Man, you really are Dale Gribble aren't ya?
And then come the Africanized killer bees!
Predictions!
The next verse is as bad as the first!
Book it, Dano.
@ DoChenRollingBearing Prediction Subthread
A last prediction:
Our Ameru Trading del Peru S.A. will have a record sales year!
Anyone interested in reading my blog send me a gmail promising you will behave and I will send the link. My most recent articles are about gold premiums and arrival of bearings down there. I ask Zero Hedge members to do this to keep out the 'bots (and yet I got one the other day, a spammer).
PREDICTIONS - 2012
1. Equities down 25%
2. Gold and Silver down 25%
3. Oil - up? before crashing under $50
4. World economy - depression
This is the optimistic scenario.
+1
I would be interested in your pessimistic scenario... :)
PREDICTIONS - 2012
1. Equities down 75%
2. Gold and Silver down 75%
3. Oil - up? before crashing under $25
4. World economy - severe depression (worse than the 30s)
5. War - Middle East/Europe ?
This is the pessimistic scenario - Probability 30%.
Yes, that's pretty bad. You really should get more than just than my + 1 because you assigned a probability...
I actually think this is closer to what will happen, but maybe not all by the end of 2012. We'll be well on the way, but might take longer to reach all of those levels.
Agree.
TRN from H2A org? Just wondering - won't disclose the actual fullname domain, if you reply yes.
If yes - been a while :) I still love your avatar from back there.
We need this one to happen so all bankers bankrupt.
Agreed. Demand destruction. 2008 X 10. Thereafter printing like the world has never seen!
The U. S. gets a recession in 2012. Thank God! There is improvement on the horizon.
Prediction subthread:
Physical silver to $80/oz by May 1st, followed by 30%+ correction.
US invades Iran, Sept. 2012.
Potassium Iodide and canned ham on the menu for Christmas Dinner, 2012.
--or--
More of the same old shit, with a different date. Can't hold out much longer, though. I give it a decade at best.
Predictions Subthread!
1) More of what we saw in 2011.
a) More currency printing to keep the sovereign debt ponzi scheme going, including America.
b) Dollar, Euro, Yen lose more value thanks to (a). Yuan holds value thanks to huge trade surplus, strengthening against Dollar, Euro, Yen.
c) More brokerage accounts confiscated in next (pre-arranged) MFG style "bankruptcy". 5 billion this time.
2) Germany leaves EU.
a) Re-instates Deutschmark.
b) EU & Euro collapse.
c) TBTF Wall Street banks collapse, but are saved by ...
3) National emergency & martial law in America.
a) Pres election cancelled, congress adjourned, Obama now dictator.
b) 401ks, IRAs, pension funds, all brokerage accounts, and gold confiscated for "national security" reasons. (Two MFG-style test runs went smooth as silk, go for the big prize this time.)
c) Military deployed in cities, speaking against govt declared terrorist act, FEMA camps open, military arrests begin.
d) Dollar loses 35% of its value, inflation 54%.
e) (Real) unemployment 35% (higher than Great Depression).
f) 100 million Americans on food stamps (100% increase).
So what is pessimistic outlook?
If (when) I get pissed tomorrow night how long shall I stay rat arsed for?....I was thinking bout April(ish)
tomorrow night??? my New Year's Eve celebrations begin in less than 90 minutes (and I'm only six hours ahead of New York).
Just keep drinkin'...we'll tell you when...
http://m.cnbc.com/us_news/45826765 US drivers cut back as refiners export more fuel. United State becomes a net exporter of refined products, double the level of one year ago. Export of refined gasoline nearly equal to domestic use. USA also nearing becoming a net exporter of refined ethanol product. Tell me again why the price of oil and gas is so high? Why are we using so much food for fuel that we are about to become a net exporter of Ethanol with the biggest consumer of our ethanol being Brazil? WTF!!!!
first one out of iowa [gov't farmland subsidies for your votes] gets to swim in the pool [NH] before its pissed in
United State becomes a net exporter of refined products...
The US is already the world leader in exporting refined bullshit from our policymongers...
corn, the latest weapon of mass destruction. . .
http://www.naturalnews.com/034500_Agent_Orange_Dow_2-4-D.html#ixzz1hl7syNBG
of course, now that amrka / the world has been re-defined as a "battlefield". . .
My advice to one and all is - grow your own.
Short answer: Ag lobbies.
Long answer: Gas isn't expensive at all by comparison to the world now or what it will cost in decades to come.
2011 sure was a shit show.
I hope everyone has a happy and prosperous 2012.
Certainly a shitty tear for Paulson and Robo.
2012. Praise the Lord and pass the Depends.
Here's to you
Here's to me
I hope we never disagree
But if we do FUCK YOU!
Here's to me
Happy New Year!
Here's to me
And here's to me
I could give a fuck less
If you disagree
I'm part of the one percent
that make the laws
and run the court system
so..................
har, har, har fuckheads.
-Ben Bernanke-
looking forward to refinancing again after europe collapses in 2012
Lucky you, you got something to refinance.
All I got is this box that a Korean refridgerator came in and the local Occupy Whatever bozos shit all over it and I'm being evicted by Eric Holder for scribbling "I'm 4 Barry in 2012" on it.
You are the -1%.
Not a good Yr for the Banks I would say.
Like the avatar, very appropriate.
BONDS
BULLION
BULLETS
Bitchezzz.......
Happy New Year.
BEANS
BULLION
BULLETS
There, I fixed it for ya
No no no....It's Beans, Bullion, Bullets, Booze and Bitches...Bitchez!
I miss the good 'ol days of 2006 - it was booze, bitches and blow.
Sniff the latter, so you can drink more of the former, and ultimately disappoint the middle with captain softee!
Lulz.
Bitches don't like living on beans and bullets, bozo.
And they prefer necklaces to bullion.
Wesson
Smith and Wesson
Wall Street bonus orgy bitchez!
I always take Wesson oil to my Wall Street bonus orgies.
That's the tarp I remember...
From an article at seeking alpha
http://seekingalpha.com/article/316778-stay-angry-and-get-physical-silver?source=yahoo
4) Imagine you are tasked with preventing the gold price from rising. How would you do it? First, you set up an “ETF” to divert people’s interest in metals away from the actual physical metal and into a stockpile of metal that you control – using your opponent’s money. Then, on your precious metals exchange, you repeatedly crash the price by issuing tons of shorts, calculated to create an avalanche of paper hitting stop-loss triggers, on low volume days. All the while, you sell metal (reserved for your ETF) into the market. Eventually, however, you’re going to lose as the world economy grinds to a halt and people keep buying gold. The question becomes – how do you shut down the ETF and the exchange shenanigans without going to jail? If the ETF's fraud is revealed or the exchange defaults, you lose and investigations begin. So you need to find a way to lose without going to jail.
If you create doubt that your ETF doesn’t have any metal, people will start to sell the ETF shares, which you can then buy back at a discount. Eventually, you can liquidate the ETF due to a “lack of market interest” – preventing people from proving that the ETF had no metal when it closed. Maybe you add in a fire or two that conveniently destroys all the records. Simultaneously, on your exchange, you break a clearinghouse and steal customer money, leading everyone “in the know” to leave your exchange, while raiding the customers for funds to buy precious metals. By forcing people off the exchange, you create a market inefficiency that helps to prevent sales of precious metals, thus eliminating the “demand” from large buyers! If buyers want 1 million ounces but the supply can’t keep up and nobody wants to buy at a higher price, then they don’t buy at all (in the short term – longer term, they just buy from the miners – but you only care about the short term!) If these buyers are too big to buy, you are by definition left with the small players who don’t buy a lot – meaning that your existing stockpile can drag the game out just a bit longer. And of course, after the large buyers exit your exchange, you alone set the paper price (because you are trading with only yourself). Nobody gets caught or goes to jail, and you keep the price down as long as you can, until one day the physical market finally takes over. But in the interim, you suppressed the market as long as was physically possible with no one being able to prove a thing. Neat, isn’t it?
My summary of 2011 ? The year of the CRIMINALS . I hope 2012 will be the year of JUSTICE.
Looks like the bottom to me.
Sentiment is beyond horrible, the COT numbers as of last Tuesday showed that the specs are quite short and the commercials as close to being long as they have been throughout this bull market. The media is out in full force talking "bear market" territory for Gold and their guests are doing their best to scare anyone away from this sector.
Jim Sinclair has written this week that anyone still holding on to PM's now are the last remaining "hardcore" believers and probably can't be shaken out no matter what happens. The entire PM sector is hugely oversold, washed out and has been given up for lost.
This is ridiculous!
Fundamentally, the case for Gold, Silver and the mining shares has NEVER been stronger and more sound than it is right now. NOTHING has been fixed. Europe is not only no closer to a solution but is now closer to a financial "accident" than it has ever been since the inception of the Euro experiment.
THE bubble of all time is in the global debt markets, interest rates are artificially and ridiculously low, They can only go higher from here. All currencies are trading at levels far above where they should versus "hamburgers, hot dogs and other real stuff". We are living through the last clean up where the last tiny morsels are swept off the street before the "mark up" occurs. Global central banks have only one true solution, to raise real capital to re liquify their balance sheets, they must MARK UP their Gold holdings to do this. They have no other options left.
History, time and time again supports this train of thought, whenever a government debases it's currency too far, the solution in the end is to always mark up their Gold reserves.
Do not be fooled by what is happening here and do not be scared. Especially DO NOT panic!
The little waves cresting over your lifeboat are being caused by the global financial system, otherwise known as the Titanic, slipping under the surface. Right now is probably the best buying opportunity you will have until in the current monetary system is introduced. New currencies of all shapes, sizes and colors will be issued to replace the current Monopoly money that is now unbacked and has no real nor intrinsic value. The reward for not allowing yourself to be panicked out of your positions? .......membership in an elite club as a charter member of the next banking and currency systems that mathematically MUST be introduced!
Make sure you arrive into this new system with savings intact and the "financial clout" to make your own decisions. Without real capital, your lifestyle will be determined for you just as common serfs and slaves have throughout history. Don't let this happen, we are within spitting distance of the "finish line".
Relax!
www.lemetropolecafe.com
Actually gold for now behaves as it supposed to, ended up 12% which is about right considering my feeling about inflation. Mid year fire works caused by "get rich quick" schemers. Probably in '12 we will have some similar show.
Banking problem won't blow up because they're playing on time (govs) allowing for slow write down of loses covered by gains from CB's help. Of course maybe one or 2 big offenders will go down but that's all. Meanwhile inflation slowly is doing it's job. That EUR/USD bullshit will fluctuate in set band which I think is 1.40-1.25 or something close to it.
I see problem with cost of energy so in Europe, also US, we should start to see some mild problems with brown-outs, and some shortages of gas, of course those problems will be result of some unspecified technical problems, that's all.
Food prices will go up and fast.
Who wins elections in any country in the West doesn't matter at all, one guy at the top is not enough to change the system even if he is supported by his cabinet. Millions of those midlevel gov guerillas won't allow any meaningful changes because they threaten their livelihood. To change system, probably, you need full fledged revolution followed by years of total mess.
Yeah, I'm hardcore, bitchez. Looking forward to stacking my new Philharmonics tomorrow- couldn't pass 'em up, they were on sale.
Also had a chat with the misses this evening about our impending additions to the pantry. Emergency Essentials will be getting a sizeable ETF drop in the next month or so this year. Plan is to bump the stash up to 2 years for 5 people before February. Also adding some gear.
Fight, fight. fight. And when they knock you down, get back up and cut the bastards. Rinse and repeat. You can be knocked down a million times, but as long as you keep your feet the million-and-first time, you still win. Too many lazy, fearful shits in this world- don't be one of them.
I think they tried to hit gold and silver so they would not look so good; though, gold is still up 10% at least from last year. If it would've stayed around 1700, that would've been closer to 20%; and all the end of the year comparisons would've made it look really good compared to the ponzi investments.
MFGlobal was a hit job so they can better control the market.
Gold miners mildly fuhqed:
GDX -15.6%
HUI -12.9 %
GDXJ -31.8%
2012 Got Guns ?
Record high gun sales this season.
Went this Wednesday with the girlfriend to pick up her 9mm after the 10 day waiting period (damn KKKalifornia laws), and we are going to the range tonight (practice, contrary to what Allen Iverson believes, is a good thing). While there I decided to invest in a Benelli 12ga, pick it up next Saturday. Up until earlier this year, I had no need or interest in firearms, I now have 2, the Benelli will make it 3.
ZH (Tyler, all the contributors, and commenters) have immensely helped in my decisions in 2011, so thanks to you all. I now do not feel so out of place in this fucked up world.
1 per room is the rule. Outside means extra.
Hey Doc, I have a Mossberg 500 tactical. Nice and short; 7 rounds of 2 3/4 00buck in the magazine tube with 1 in the chamber. Bitchezz P.S. I paid $345 for my scattergun. It is very reliable. Who in the f... would give you a minus?
Nice! The Benelli is the Nova Tactical, probably similar to the 500, I think 40" OAL.
Minus was probably from an Iverson fan.
If ammo is going to be the new currency, then my reloading machines are like Benny B's printing press!
Dr.Vanno
good call on the Benelli .. I have one myslef .
If you like the Italin style take a look at the fabarm lineup , If you want a nice compact bullpump Kel tec makes a kick ass 16 shot 12 g
kel-tec 15 round bullpub shotgun 12g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsJH5YMhKmM
I need to buy another shotgun. I will ask my local gun store about future availability. Thank you, sir. Happy new year!
A traitor!
Rem 870 w/tactical stock. 18.5" barrel, five in the tube, two spares in the stock. Coupla 50cal boxes full of made in USA 00 military shells and humidity controlled with big ass silica gel packets.
Paid two peace dollars and a 3x9 firefly scope for the rig, and two ASEs for the slug barrel. Took 3 ASEs to fill one box with the 00's, and a walker per case. Looks black and sounds mean, works every time.
That's just the throwaway that I keep in the closet, of course- it's no fun if you tell all your little secrets.
Benelli makes some damn good shit. Nice call.
A friend of mine has a remington semi-automatic and I believe it holds 14 in the magazine? Damn, that thing is wicked when he brings it out at our all steel shoots.
Be prepared for one helluva kick with your Binelli, but it can do some real damage, particulary to tyrants!
White Al Qaeda! Arrest that man!!!!!!!
"If you see tyranny, say something."
That's funny, Jim never has a quadruple cup of BAILOUT at home...
Happy New Year to everyone on this site. Esp. Tyler and his crew for keeping me informed thru-out the year.couldnt have beat all those loser hedge funds on returns without ZH.
Banker bonuses remained steady...to slightly down...at grotesquely absurd levels [considering that bankers killled the US economy].
Now...how to pull forward another decade of future profits...without any cash/fund flows....hmmmmm?
Its been fun hanging out at ZH all year, watching shit happen, then happen again, and again. Thanks to Tyler and co. for the news that counts and analysis, and to all the great members' for their comments and ideas.
The best to all of you in 2012. I hope you are prepared.
i got stucked on usd/jpy cross and wonder what will be the first oppening day. Any toughts?
I'll raise my glass to a toast of Corzine, and his last full year free of jail. at least untill the pardon anyway.
I can't recall who Jon Corzine is. I just don't remember. I feel terrible.
OneEyedJack toasted out the old year:
A pardon won't undo being hanged.
Best wishes for 2012 to all here, and remember:
a good length of sturdy rope comes in handy in a variety of situations, and it's reusable as well.
I'm drinking a very nice Tempranillo rosé from Spain.
Up on the year marginally. Down since May, marginally.
Really though. Why are we fucking around with money? Money is not wealth. The wine is wealth.
Fucking around with money is nothing more than fucking around. Why do we allow it? They know better? Bollocks they do. There is a class of parasites we need to get rid of. They don't produce wealth, they just suck it out of the rest of us. I think my new year resolution will be to bring ropes and Guillotines to the parasites.
Carpe Vino!
Donde la pena.
Are you John Galt?
Css1971
+1 On ropes and Guillotines to the parasites.
I dont get the wine thing ..
Now you want to talk scotch .. 18yr glenlivet mmmmm or highland park yuummers
"I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly." - Ron Burgundy,
Would have +2'd you if I could have.
Only thing I'm leery about is the bit about "money." If it would have said "currency," that might have been good for a theoretical +10.
Definitely a game of 2 halves - can't believe how wide open everything has blown since H2.
All the best and thanks for all the work on this great site! Looking forward to 2012.
It's S&Ps fault for denigrating the full faith and credit of the United States Government.
S&P bastards, may they burn in hell, or rot in hell...the bastards.
After all that turmoil and monetary intervention, all we got was lower Treasury and mortgage rates, a sick housing market, and a BAD start to next year.
http://confoundedinterest.wordpress.com
lower treasury rates are good for everyone. elders can tighten up the belts happy - the oldest still remember the 'real' depression as infants. the housing market is recovering and i promise on jan 3 2012 - stocks are OFF to the races. probably 15 - 20% on the s&p for the year - just based on dollar inflation. easy. don't worry about fundamentals.
seems it is all about recapitalizing the "banks". robo
churning, the machines always win, it's the system.
anyway ....
i know, you will say this information is off topic.
it is not, it is right on topic. it is in the scale of the numbers. everyone
knows we just don't think big enough, or small enough.
so please give this your undivided attention as you are
very fortunate to be conscious at this moment, these moments
of life in this galaxy. william b could do a wonderful ben
printing his way to 2012 and transferring digital money to the
galactic center via a worm hole combat piece on it, all
for the purpose of reinvigorating
the liquidity needs of the spiral arms. i leave you with this.
apologies for the length of the post but it could not be avoided.
so .. ( template )
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/solarsystem/where.shtml
it seems, if i have this close to correct,
......
the axis of the rotation of the earth is going to align
with the axis of the galactic spiral and "coincidentally"
this will happen as the plane of the solar system passes through
the plane of the galactic spiral at an angle of 60' ; the earth,
the sun and galactic center on the central plane (equator) of the
galaxy at/on 12/21/2012 as the sun and solar system pass from the
southern galactic hemisphere to the northern galactic hemisphere.
this particular state of (passing thru) balance moment happens
once every 24000-26000 years. so this might be? ( i suspect not)
the first time in the history of the universe that a conscious being
knowingly experiences this. it will be available again in 24000 years
if you should miss it. patience is a virtue with its own rewards.
but seriously, the world of people should soon design some
monitoring stations and the like to study the effects of this event on
the magnetic fields of the earth /weather - temperature changes/
solar output variations and like that. we should be spending every
last borrowed nickle the country can steal collecting these data.
long term study and data set of course - multi year "event" emerging out
of an instant in time.
. .....
here some astro type facts as they are presented today.
.
galactic rotation period. = once every 250 million years.
galactic diameter = 90,000 - 100000 light years.
galactic circumference = 314000 light years
galactic thickness? width = 3000-7000 light years.
there are roughly 6000 visible stars, naked eye, in our sky
of which about 4 are extra-galactic objects/entities.
total stars in the galaxy = 200-400 billion.
velocity of the solar system around galactic center = 155 miles/second.
velocity of the earth in orbit around the sun = 18.5 miles/second.
so it seems the solar system is "undulating" in its rotation
of the galactic center about the galactic equator. ( but wouldn't other stars in the
system
do the same? ) so is this a unique feature or peculiar to certain
bands from the center?
the solar system is in the orion spur / spiral arm ........
.
the change is upon us. wondering concerning electrical and
magnetic flips and flops.
.
http://www.infinitelymystical.com/essays/2012-astronomy.html
The Actual Astronomy of 2012 and the
Sacred Triple Rebirth of the Sun
An Essay by Thomas Razzeto
© Copyright 2008 by Thomas Razzeto
....
"What Will Actually Happen on December 21, 2012
Venus will start things off by rising above the horizon at 4:46 AM. It will be extremely
easy to see in the black predawn sky and it will lead the sacred tree on its journey
across the sky throughout this special day. The fact that Venus will rise before the sun
should not be taken lightly with regards to the question of why the Maya picked 2012. Jim
Reed, editor of the Institute of Maya Studies’s newsletter, said:
I think it is important that they chose a date of a winter solstice and a
winter solstice when Venus would rise up before the sun. Venus is there
to witness the rebirth.
Yes, of course the Maya would have had a vision that included the planets, especially
Venus, which they tracked with a very precise calendar. The Maya were so concerned about
Venus that they could even predict when it would pass as a black dot across the face of
the sun. This is called a Venus transit and there will be one in June 2012.
Now, let's get back to the unfolding of the day. At 5:11 AM, the moment of the winter
solstice will arrive and the sun will be reborn with the days becoming longer. Mercury
will rise at 5:23 AM and it will be visible even with dawn's increasing light. It will be
the second object on the sacred tree. Next, the sun will enter our world with a blaze of
color at 6:29 AM to become the most important object on the sacred tree. Obviously, by
this time, the sky will be so bright that both Mercury and Venus will be obscured from
view but nonetheless, they will continue their journey across the sky. Pluto, which is
never visible to the naked eye, will rise at 7:03 AM and finally Mars will rise at 8:24
AM, making it the last object on the sacred tree. Notice that the sun will rise 103
minutes after Venus and that Mars will rise 115 minutes after the sun. This means that
the sun will be close to the middle of these two planets! (10)
A few hours later, at 10:05 AM, the center of the sun will be exactly on the galactic
equator. This is the galactic alignment of 2012 and the peak of the celestial love
making! This is the moment of cosmic orgasms!" ...
.
The Actual Astronomy of 2012 - Absolutely Amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGPcjMe6Qlw&feature=related
.
that's it for now. best to you, all around.
I'll tell you one thing Capt. Nut-Job: There is NOTHING Absolutely Amazing about Uranus.
i'm speechless.
Good.
thank you and happy new year.
The future of the future is the present (1968)
http://marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/prophecies/1968-the-future-of-the-futur...
blindman, thank you for a breath of fresh air in investment planning and analysis. Tyler's post clearly says "the market is broken". Time to think outside the box. I'm with you…time to think outside the solar system: "the axis of the rotation of the earth is going to align
with the axis of the galactic spiral."
The ground-breaking cross-pollination of astronomy and federal reserve banking is sure to win a Nobel Prize. Your discovery of the "ben" particle "transferring digital money to the galactic center via a worm hole combat piece" is on a par with Einstein's E=MC2. Many of us have struggled with a gaggle of models (Black–Scholes, VAR, etc.) trying to make sense of the financial universe. Your insights provide the Grand Unified Theory that will help us investors navigate the super novas and black holes of Wall Street.
Just one question…is it a BUY or SELL signal. :)
imo. not advice !!
btfd. but ....
you must have the fiat cushion to
be liquid with the squid as it occupies
your domain as you negotiate it.
the wormhole of digital fiat will take it
all one day and then they will have to come up
with some antimatter fiat that does not react
with the worm hole. somehow i suspect the smell
of precious metals will have something to do
with that.
thanks for playing ! and .. we could as a species,
we should, we owe it to the generations to come,
to document and record as best we can exactly what
happens, the physics of it, when this transition
occurs. a window of say 6-8 months before and after.
build a global data base of samples of all kinds of
geophysical, magnetic, light, temperatures, atmospheric etc. .
we have the technology, the science, plenty of labor
in need of employment. they are going to print the
fiat anyway. they need a mechanism to get it into
the economy. here is the answer ! plenty jobs all over,
for years. so.. then at least we did something for the
betterment of the "race" in a coordinated and cooperative
manner and even if we don't learn anything, we will have
learned something! it isn't rocket science, it is just earth science.
Happy New Year to you my friend. God Bless.
Capt. Nut-Job.
That's funny :)
Ghadafi Lives?
Or is it Andiwannahandjob?
it's a little girl in shades with
a tray of cupcakes in the back seat
of a honda civic saying "have a cupcake" !
many people see a vicious enemy in it,
i get it, it is all so horrifying ; we
living in the age of self delusion, fear and
loathing, projected as far and near as possible.
Old versus new assumptions (1960)
http://marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/electric-age/1960-old-versus-new-assump...
27degrees Sagittarius. *grins*
this one's for you blindman,
http://vimeo.com/31464974
imagination at play, it's something that they can never take from us, merely obscure, occasionally. . .
best wishes as all ways!
that was great, sean pecknold, the shrine/an argument.
reminded me of these...( some ) i can't stop with the links.
it is a problem, ....
?Simple Man?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gua6mFty4so&feature=related
.
graham nash- Chicago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4BJpC-esA8&feature=related
.
Graham Nash - I Used To Be A King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DY_GYJi7RA&feature=related
.
Graham Nash - Be YourSelf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWrtQOgOlHY&feature=related
.
here, where all the money goes ....
The Point - Life Line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmfwHxk6b1k&feature=related
The Point - Think About Your Troubles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=h2O3cUN8yWk
.
Feelin' Good - Levon Helm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2QYJ64iVWE
.
speaking of sag 27 ...
Levon Helm - Wide River to Cross
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm2_7o8DGtI&feature=related
.
they asked cornel west why he always wears that three piece suit.
he said he's always "coffin ready" and words to that effect.
Cornel West’s Revolution and Romans 12
http://chriscocca.com/2011/08/26/cornel-wests-revolution-and-romans-12/
......
Tom Waits - Chicago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAjtkyGVDxc&feature=related
.
http://marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/electric-age/1977-loss-of-private-ident...
For some reason I keep coming up with '32'.
Is that right?
No, naughty fez monkey. The correct answer is 42.
Bingo!
I live in decent neighborhood in a pretty wealthy area in the NE. I bought a Mossberg recently (friiends & family think I'm nuts). There are break in's happening all over whether people want to acknowledge it or not. I went to an indoor range to shoot for the first time today. I could not believe how many people were there. Young, old, men, women. The place was packed. Really took me by surprise.
I think next year seperates the men from the boys. Especially early. Gold will push towards 1,200 and silver 20. Weak and non weak hands are going to cave and sell. Whoever ends up winning is going to negate the automatic spending cuts and do a massive stimulus program to start off the next 4 years. Metals will shine but you are going to have to earn it. My 2 cents.
Happy new year.
Don't forget a good watchdog. You have to be awake to use the shotgun.
You said it man. I have a German Shephard.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Bitchezz
where is this going to end?
Roman Capitoline Geese?
LOL. On 100 things which will disappear first in the collapse, Large Dogs.
its certainly possible.