With gold and silver holding firm, despite bearish news, today King World News interviewed James Turk out of Spain. Turk told King World News the critical levels to look for in both gold and silver. But first, here is what Turk had to say about today’s action: “The precious metals ended last week on the ropes, Eric. The news at the open this morning here in Europe was bleak because the Indian government announced a doubling of the import tax on gold. Given that India is world's the largest purchaser of gold, this news was bearish.”
James Turk continues:
“Then the auction for the Greek credit default swaps concluded smoothly, suggesting the Greek default would not be disruptive. So the shorts had every chance today to deliver another crushing blow to the precious metals to continue the selling pressure from last week. But it didn't happen, Eric. The precious metals came back and put in a good day by holding above important support at $1650 for gold and $32 for silver.
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19 March 2012
Silver, Financial Repression And Economic Recovery
Ryan Jordan
Earlier this week, noted economist Carmen Reinhart posited once again that western economies are enduring another period of financial repression. In the simplest sense, financial repression means savers are subjected to additional taxation in the form of negative real interest rates (meaning you are losing money on your bank deposits after accounting for inflation.) The last period of negative real interest rates occurred in the wake of huge public sector deficits after World War II. In Reinhart's opinion, government-mandated negative real interest rates persisted from 1945 to 1980. This was a thirty-five year war on savers.
I found the timing of this article interesting, since so many people in the financial world are touting some sort of economic recovery, especially here in the United States. I have to admit things are going well on Wall Street: broader stock indexes have, in many cases, finally broken above levels not seen since before the collapse of Lehman in 2008. I would point out that in a qualitative sense, the word "recovery" feels out of place in a country where I doubt we can return to the world before 2007. Still, I am a good sport and willing to play along with the idea that the economy is on some sort of a rebound. (At least until the end of the world in December, mind you.)
So what does this "recovery" mean for people looking for places to put their hard earned savings? After all, the appearance of Reinhart's article on financial repression sort of throws a bit of cold water on anyone who equates recovery with the positive real rates of the 1980s and 1990s. Reinhart is implying that the heavy hands of the state and central banks are fiddling with the scales, manipulating the truth about the damage inflation can do to real economic growth, as well as to real investment returns.
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Earlier this week, noted economist Carmen Reinhart posited once again that western economies are enduring another period of financial repression. In the simplest sense, financial repression means savers are subjected to additional taxation in the form of negative real interest rates (meaning you are losing money on your bank deposits after accounting for inflation.) The last period of negative real interest rates occurred in the wake of huge public sector deficits after World War II. In Reinhart's opinion, government-mandated negative real interest rates persisted from 1945 to 1980. This was a thirty-five year war on savers.
I found the timing of this article interesting, since so many people in the financial world are touting some sort of economic recovery, especially here in the United States. I have to admit things are going well on Wall Street: broader stock indexes have, in many cases, finally broken above levels not seen since before the collapse of Lehman in 2008. I would point out that in a qualitative sense, the word "recovery" feels out of place in a country where I doubt we can return to the world before 2007. Still, I am a good sport and willing to play along with the idea that the economy is on some sort of a rebound. (At least until the end of the world in December, mind you.)
So what does this "recovery" mean for people looking for places to put their hard earned savings? After all, the appearance of Reinhart's article on financial repression sort of throws a bit of cold water on anyone who equates recovery with the positive real rates of the 1980s and 1990s. Reinhart is implying that the heavy hands of the state and central banks are fiddling with the scales, manipulating the truth about the damage inflation can do to real economic growth, as well as to real investment returns.
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Keiser Report - Episode 263
Max Keiser and co-host, Stacy Herbert, discuss ripping out client eyeballs and losing millions for a free breakfast; maggots of risk and plastic financial apartheid. In the second half of the show Max talks to filmmakers William Gagan and Geoff Shively about their crowd funded journey to Syria and ‘fake’ activists and, with the introduction of anti-free speech laws in Chicago, the filmmakers discuss the small drone helicopters they have acquired for reporting on the Nato summit.
U.S. May Sanction India Over Level of Iran-Oil Imports
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan and Pratish Narayanan - Mar 15, 2012 2:43 PM GMT+0100
India has failed to reduce its purchases of Iranian oil, and if it doesn’t do so, President Barack Obama may be forced to impose sanctions on one of Asia’s most important nations, Obama administration officials said yesterday.
A decision to levy penalties under a new U.S. law restricting payments for Iranian oil could come as early as June 28, according to several U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“Given the level of trade, and in particular oil, between Iran and India, targeting an Indian entity that facilitates Iran’s access to the international financial market should be top of mind for the U.S. Treasury,” Avi Jorisch, a former Treasury Department official who is now a Washington-based consultant on deterring illicit finance, said in an interview.
The U.S. law, which targets oil payments made through Iran’s central bank, applies to any country that doesn’t make a “significant” reduction in its Iranian crude oil purchases during the first half of this year. If India fails to cut Iranian imports sufficiently, Obama may be compelled to bar access to the U.S. banking system for any Indian bank processing oil payments through Iran’s central bank, the U.S. officials said.
While India hasn’t asked its refiners to stop purchasing Iranian crude, the government has told processors in the South Asian nation to seek alternate supplies and gradually reduce their dependence on the Persian Gulf state due to increasing pressure from the U.S. in recent weeks, three Indian officials with direct knowledge of the situation said today.
India bought an average of 328,000 barrels a day of Iranian crude in the first six months of last year, making it the No. 3 buyer, behind China and Japan and ahead of South Korea, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Iran is the No. 2 producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The U.S. government may not be aware that India’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, state-owned Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL), plans to import less from Iran starting next month, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak.
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India has failed to reduce its purchases of Iranian oil, and if it doesn’t do so, President Barack Obama may be forced to impose sanctions on one of Asia’s most important nations, Obama administration officials said yesterday.
A decision to levy penalties under a new U.S. law restricting payments for Iranian oil could come as early as June 28, according to several U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
“Given the level of trade, and in particular oil, between Iran and India, targeting an Indian entity that facilitates Iran’s access to the international financial market should be top of mind for the U.S. Treasury,” Avi Jorisch, a former Treasury Department official who is now a Washington-based consultant on deterring illicit finance, said in an interview.
The U.S. law, which targets oil payments made through Iran’s central bank, applies to any country that doesn’t make a “significant” reduction in its Iranian crude oil purchases during the first half of this year. If India fails to cut Iranian imports sufficiently, Obama may be compelled to bar access to the U.S. banking system for any Indian bank processing oil payments through Iran’s central bank, the U.S. officials said.
While India hasn’t asked its refiners to stop purchasing Iranian crude, the government has told processors in the South Asian nation to seek alternate supplies and gradually reduce their dependence on the Persian Gulf state due to increasing pressure from the U.S. in recent weeks, three Indian officials with direct knowledge of the situation said today.
No Significant Reduction
India hasn’t significantly cut imports this year because refiners’ annual crude term deals with Iran typically run from April to March, they said. The planned reductions will start only when new annual contracts begin next month, the Indian officials said, declining to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.India bought an average of 328,000 barrels a day of Iranian crude in the first six months of last year, making it the No. 3 buyer, behind China and Japan and ahead of South Korea, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Iran is the No. 2 producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The U.S. government may not be aware that India’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, state-owned Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL), plans to import less from Iran starting next month, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak.
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We See Debt People
| Tuesday, 13 March 2012 00:00 |
| It's ugly out there, the world is flooded with fiat currency and in debt to its eyeballs. Global governments have done an excellent job hiding their insolvency and keeping the people they represent in the dark. Remember, the government is technically 'the people,' so the gold at Fort Knox (if there is any) is our gold and the debt the government has accumulated, is our debt. We find it sad that so many Americans go to the government for help after the government is the very entity that put them in a personal mess. Prior to the government entering our housing market, the max you would see for a home mortgage was 7 years, however, in order to make homes more affordable, the government started backing 30 year loans. The government's definition of affordability is you making a payment for life and not actually having ownership. Every government program designed to help has driven costs up through inflation, direct taxation, regulations, and or course the redistribution of wealth. Recently, Lew Rockwell posted some ugly facts about Americans' personal debt. Please note that it is the Federal Reserve that sets interest rates, this is the key factor in what a debt payment will be, so the lower rates are, the more Americans are encouraged to load up. If the rates aren't low enough for you, state and local governments have special deferred payment plans and government backed loans. The result of all this help is 16.5 trillion in official national debt, over 100 trillion in debt liabilities, and an entire class of debt slaves. Debt Slaves
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SilverDoctors: Iran presses ahead with dollar attack
SilverDoctors: Iran presses ahead with dollar attack: Iran is set to begin selling oil in currencies other than the dollar tomorrow. Combine this info with the fact that there are now 4 NATO ai...
Pento - Soaring Oil, Inflation and Households Soaked in Debt
There has been a great deal of hype in the mainstream media stating the US economy is recovering. Pento, who founded Pento Portfolio Strategies, told King World News the truth is the US economy is not recovering and global readers should expect a surge in inflation. This is what Pento had to say: “Since the US economy is so intertwined with the global economy, I decided to look at claims by the mainstream media that the US economy is strengthening. The conclusion, please don’t believe the hype that the American economy is healing. While it is true that some data is showing improvement, the true fundamentals of the economy continue to erode.”
Michael Pento continues:
“America’s trade deficit hit $52.6 billion in January. That’s the highest level since October of 2008 and is clear evidence that we have fully reverted back to our under production, under saving and overconsumption habits with alacrity.
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Michael Pento continues:
“America’s trade deficit hit $52.6 billion in January. That’s the highest level since October of 2008 and is clear evidence that we have fully reverted back to our under production, under saving and overconsumption habits with alacrity.
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John Williams: Inflation Effect - Tough to Ignore or Contain
John Williams just warned that significant inflation will feed into the global system because of rising oil prices and the Fed’s policy to debase the dollar. Williams, who founded ShadowStats, also warned the US dollar will take a major hit because of global “dollar dumping.” Here is what Williams had to say about the situation: “With oil and gasoline prices pressured by market concerns over Middle Eastern political stability, monthly consumer inflation jumped in February and stabilized in the three-plus percentage range on a year-to-year basis.”
John Williams continues:
“The current level of inflation, however, stands where it is due primarily to the effects of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to debase the dollar, which, in turn, spiked global oil prices into the $100 per barrel range. The effects of the dollar-debasement and oil-price-spiking policies not only had direct inflationary impact on energy-related prices, but also—in the period following QE2—had an accelerating upside impact on inflation throughout the broad economy, as indicated by rising “core” inflation (net of food and energy inflation).
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John Williams continues:
“The current level of inflation, however, stands where it is due primarily to the effects of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to debase the dollar, which, in turn, spiked global oil prices into the $100 per barrel range. The effects of the dollar-debasement and oil-price-spiking policies not only had direct inflationary impact on energy-related prices, but also—in the period following QE2—had an accelerating upside impact on inflation throughout the broad economy, as indicated by rising “core” inflation (net of food and energy inflation).
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Greyerz - Gold Will React to the $120 Trillion of Additional Debt
Today Egon von Greyerz told King World News that global debt has increased 140% in the last ten years. Von Greyerz also said even though the massive creation of debt has yielded virtually no GDP growth, the gold market will soon react to the money printing binge. Egon von Greyerz is founder and managing partner at Matterhorn Asset Management out of Switzerland. Here is what von Greyerz had to say: “We are all focused on the short-term and that’s natural, but let’s step back and look at the longer-term picture because that is really what is important for us today and for the next few years. The bigger picture is so important because very few people understand that the last 100 years are exceptional in history.”
Egon von Greyerz continues:
“The prosperity that we’ve had since the early 1900s, to a great extent is governed by massive money printing. Let’s just take GDP for example. In the first 50 years of the 1900s, for every dollar of debt about five dollars of GDP was generated. So five times the amount of debt created was generated in GDP in the US.
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Egon von Greyerz continues:
“The prosperity that we’ve had since the early 1900s, to a great extent is governed by massive money printing. Let’s just take GDP for example. In the first 50 years of the 1900s, for every dollar of debt about five dollars of GDP was generated. So five times the amount of debt created was generated in GDP in the US.
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