TEHRAN (Commodity Online): OPEC member Iran has issued a warning that if its Crude Oil exports are blocked in any way, it will go ahead and completely close down the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is the second largest oil producer in the OPEC.
Ali Ashraf Nouri was quoted by the Khorasan Daily as saying that "The supreme authorities … have insisted that if enemies block the export of our oil, we won't allow a drop of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the strategy of the Islamic Republic in countering such threats”. Nouri is the a senior commander of Iran's revolutionary guard.
09 January 2012
Russian, French warships off Syria, Iran, US drones over Iranian coast
DEBKAfile Special Report January 9, 2012, 10:21 AM (GMT+02:00)
US, Russian French and British air and naval forces streamed to the Syrian and Iranian coasts over the weekend on guard for fresh developments at the two Middle East flashpoints.
The Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov anchored earlier than planned at Syria's Tartus port on the Mediterranean Sunday, Jan. 8, arriving together with the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and frigate Yaroslav Mudry.
To counter this movement, France consigned an air defense destroyer Forbin to the waters off Tartus.
debkafile's military sources report a buildup in the last 48 hours of western naval forces opposite Iran in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea in readiness for Tehran to carry out its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
Britain has dispatched the HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer armed with new technology for shooting down missiles, to the Sea of Oman, due to arrive at the same time as the French Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
Our sources report too that Saturday, the giant RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV, took off from the USS Stenning aircraft carrier for surveillance over the coasts of Iran. The Stennis and its strike group are cruising in the Sea of Oman at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran announced it would not be allowed to cross through.
US, Russian French and British air and naval forces streamed to the Syrian and Iranian coasts over the weekend on guard for fresh developments at the two Middle East flashpoints.
The Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov anchored earlier than planned at Syria's Tartus port on the Mediterranean Sunday, Jan. 8, arriving together with the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and frigate Yaroslav Mudry.
To counter this movement, France consigned an air defense destroyer Forbin to the waters off Tartus.
debkafile's military sources report a buildup in the last 48 hours of western naval forces opposite Iran in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea in readiness for Tehran to carry out its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
Britain has dispatched the HMS Daring, a Type 45 destroyer armed with new technology for shooting down missiles, to the Sea of Oman, due to arrive at the same time as the French Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
Our sources report too that Saturday, the giant RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV, took off from the USS Stenning aircraft carrier for surveillance over the coasts of Iran. The Stennis and its strike group are cruising in the Sea of Oman at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran announced it would not be allowed to cross through.
Gold prices may touch $ 2,000 an ounce in 2012: Study
NEW DELHI: Gold prices are likely to increase for the third consecutive year and would touch a record high of USD 2,000 an ounce in 2012, said a survey.
According to the annual London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) survey which covered 26 precious metal analysts, the average forecast for the precious metal for 2012 is USD 1,766 per ounce.
The average forecast for gold this year (USD 1,766 per ounce), a 12.34 per cent rise from average price in 2011 and a 10.2 per cent increase compared to the price in the first week of January, 2012.
Out of the 26 contributors to the survey, 19 expect gold to cross the USD 2,000 per ounce level in 2012.
Gold soared to an all time high in 2011 on strong demand as precious metals are considered as a 'safe-haven investment' in times of economic turmoil and rising inflation.
According to the annual London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) survey which covered 26 precious metal analysts, the average forecast for the precious metal for 2012 is USD 1,766 per ounce.
The average forecast for gold this year (USD 1,766 per ounce), a 12.34 per cent rise from average price in 2011 and a 10.2 per cent increase compared to the price in the first week of January, 2012.
Out of the 26 contributors to the survey, 19 expect gold to cross the USD 2,000 per ounce level in 2012.
Gold soared to an all time high in 2011 on strong demand as precious metals are considered as a 'safe-haven investment' in times of economic turmoil and rising inflation.
Gold Traders More Bullish After Bear Market Averted: Commodities
By Nicholas Larkin
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Gold traders are the most bullish in a month as Europe’s deepening debt crisis and increasing tensions over Iran drove the metal to its longest winning streak since October.
Ten of 22 surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to gain next week and five were neutral, the highest proportion since Dec. 9. The U.S. Mint sold 45,500 ounces of American Eagle gold coins this month, compared with 65,500 ounces in the whole of December and 41,000 in November, data on its website showed.
Britain and France will press the European Union to stop Iranian crude imports at a Jan. 30 meeting, in response to the country’s nuclear program. Iran is threatening to retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global oil supplies. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned his nation may face economic collapse as soon as March. Investors are holding a near-record amount of gold through exchange-traded products after the metal rose for an 11th consecutive year.
“European sovereign-debt risk and the geopolitical risk of the Iranian situation escalating should support gold,” said Mark O’Byrne, executive director of Dublin-based GoldCore Ltd., a brokerage that sells everything from quarter-ounce British Sovereigns to 400-ounce bars. “Gold’s safe-haven attributes will continue to be in demand.”
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Gold traders are the most bullish in a month as Europe’s deepening debt crisis and increasing tensions over Iran drove the metal to its longest winning streak since October.
Ten of 22 surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to gain next week and five were neutral, the highest proportion since Dec. 9. The U.S. Mint sold 45,500 ounces of American Eagle gold coins this month, compared with 65,500 ounces in the whole of December and 41,000 in November, data on its website showed.
Britain and France will press the European Union to stop Iranian crude imports at a Jan. 30 meeting, in response to the country’s nuclear program. Iran is threatening to retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global oil supplies. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned his nation may face economic collapse as soon as March. Investors are holding a near-record amount of gold through exchange-traded products after the metal rose for an 11th consecutive year.
“European sovereign-debt risk and the geopolitical risk of the Iranian situation escalating should support gold,” said Mark O’Byrne, executive director of Dublin-based GoldCore Ltd., a brokerage that sells everything from quarter-ounce British Sovereigns to 400-ounce bars. “Gold’s safe-haven attributes will continue to be in demand.”
Complex Systems, Dysfunctional Industries, and Catastrophic Collapse
Goldman Sachs execs must cringe every time they pass a newsstand where the latest Rolling Stone is calling their company a "vampire squid".
REPORT: Goldman Sachs And Morgan Stanley Bankers Will Take Huge Pay Cuts
At Goldman Sachs Group Inc., many of the roughly 400 partners can expect to see their 2011 pay cut at least in half from 2010, according to people familiar with the situation. Pay for some employees in the New York company's fixed-income trading business will shrink by 60%, with some workers getting no bonus, these people said.
Morgan Stanley is expected to shrink bonuses for some investment bankers and traders by 30% to 40% from 2010, said people familiar with the matter.
Morgan Stanley is expected to shrink bonuses for some investment bankers and traders by 30% to 40% from 2010, said people familiar with the matter.
Panic Mode? The Netherlands Urged to Repatriate Gold Reserves Held Overseas
By Esther Tanquintic-Misa: Subscribe to Esther's RSS feed
January 9, 2012 12:16 AM EST
Notwithstanding how good current relations may be between the Netherlands and the U.S., once global investor confidence waned on the American dollar, the Dutch could still lose the gold reserves it placed in full trust in various strategic vaults in the US. Call it perhaps survivor's instinct.
Gold experts in the Netherlands advised the federal government it should start facilitating the repatriation of its gold reserves from the U.S. , as well as from Great Britain and Canada, after the Dutch central bank (DNB) confirmed a Dutch newspaper report by the de Volkskrant that revealed much of the country's reserves of the yellow metal are not within the country.
Dutch gold experts all the more got restless when American commentator Jim Richards, according to the Radio Netherlands Worldwide, said the US government has the power to confiscate whatever foreign gold reserves it holds in the event global interest on the dollar decelerated, still owing to the global fiscal crisis that had shaken the fiscal stability of the much developed economies.
'Gold is great, so too is silver'
In this exclusive interview with James Turk, he discussed gold, but let’s start off with what he had to say about silver: “Whenever I look at Silver I keep going back to the wonderful blog piece you wrote on October 18th, titled, ‘Is Silver the Next Apple?’ That long-term chart of Apple conveys an important message. Despite five major corrections, over ten years, shares of Apple, nevertheless, rose 70 fold. If you were shaken out on any of those corrections, you would have missed one of greatest bull moves in history.”
James Turk continues:
“So that readers globally can get a visual of how violent some of the corrections in Apple have been, I am including a long-term chart of AAPL below. As was mentioned in your October 18th piece, there were five major corrections in Apple, ranging from 27% to 82%, which long-term investors had to endure in order to make 70 times their money.
James Turk continues:
“So that readers globally can get a visual of how violent some of the corrections in Apple have been, I am including a long-term chart of AAPL below. As was mentioned in your October 18th piece, there were five major corrections in Apple, ranging from 27% to 82%, which long-term investors had to endure in order to make 70 times their money.
Gold: Don't let the selling depress you
By Jeff Clark
Depite a few short-term fixes, there remains no real resolution to the sovereign debt issues in many European countries. We're certainly not spending less money here in the US, and now we're bailing out Europe via currency swaps with the European Central Bank. So shouldn't Gold Prices be rising?
Yes, but nothing happens in a vacuum. There are some simple explanations as to why Gold Prices remain in a funk.
-The MF Global bankruptcy, the seventh-largest in US history, forced a high degree of liquidation of commodities futures contracts, including gold. Many institutional investors had to sell whether they wanted to or not. This is similar to why big declines in the stock market can force funds and other large investors to sell some gold to raise cash for margin calls or meet redemption requests.
Depite a few short-term fixes, there remains no real resolution to the sovereign debt issues in many European countries. We're certainly not spending less money here in the US, and now we're bailing out Europe via currency swaps with the European Central Bank. So shouldn't Gold Prices be rising?
Yes, but nothing happens in a vacuum. There are some simple explanations as to why Gold Prices remain in a funk.
-The MF Global bankruptcy, the seventh-largest in US history, forced a high degree of liquidation of commodities futures contracts, including gold. Many institutional investors had to sell whether they wanted to or not. This is similar to why big declines in the stock market can force funds and other large investors to sell some gold to raise cash for margin calls or meet redemption requests.
SilverDoctors: LBMA Gold Trading Volume Would Have Been "Unthinka...
SilverDoctors: LBMA Gold Trading Volume Would Have Been "Unthinka...: £10 trillion worth of paper gold was traded on the LBMA in 2011, an average of £157 billion a day! What do you think will happen when £10...
SilverDoctors: Ron Paul Polling at 35% in New Hampshire
SilverDoctors: Ron Paul Polling at 35% in New Hampshire: -According to some 2nd grade arithmetic. CBS just happened to neglect reporting the 2nd place candidate however. Do they think no one will...
08 January 2012
Iran crosses another nuclear red line. Fordo soon on stream
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 8, 2012, 10:15 AM (GMT+02:00)
Tehran media trumpeted the news Sunday, Jan. 8 that Iran's deep underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo near Qom goes stream soon, thereby crossing another line in its faceoff with the West on its weapons program. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Fereydoun Abbasi Davani told the Kayhan daily: ... 20 percent, 3.5 percent and four percent enriched uranium can be produced at this site." debkafile's military sources report that 60 percent is equally feasible, just one step before weapons grade.
Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned in a number of interviews to US media that once the Fordo plant becomes operational, Iran's nuclear bomb program will become immune to military attack and be able to operate out of the sight of Israeli and Western surveillance.
Tehran media trumpeted the news Sunday, Jan. 8 that Iran's deep underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo near Qom goes stream soon, thereby crossing another line in its faceoff with the West on its weapons program. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Fereydoun Abbasi Davani told the Kayhan daily: ... 20 percent, 3.5 percent and four percent enriched uranium can be produced at this site." debkafile's military sources report that 60 percent is equally feasible, just one step before weapons grade.
Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned in a number of interviews to US media that once the Fordo plant becomes operational, Iran's nuclear bomb program will become immune to military attack and be able to operate out of the sight of Israeli and Western surveillance.
American, British, Israeli and Iranian Warships Sailing Towards Confrontation
The U.S. and Israel are conducting their largest-ever joint warfare exercises near Iran. And see this.
England is sending its most advanced ship – the HMS Daring – to the region.
Only days after finishing its last wargames in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has announced another set of wargames in February.
US fed money printing may start sooner than expected
By Bill Bonner
We have a feeling that 2012 is not going to be a great year for money you get from the ground. Oddly, it will probably be a better year for the money you get from trees.
How is that possible? We all know paper money is going to be worthless. Yes...dear reader...but not necessarily in 2012. It's just part of the curious way Mr. Market does business...and a feature of his nasty habit of ruining as many investors as possible.
Look, it's pretty simple. The private sector debt bubble blew up in 2008. The public sector debt bubble will blow up too. Maybe in 2012. Most likely not for a while longer. But when US debt begins to blow up, the feds will come in with everything they've got trying to stop it.
And all they've got is a printing press. Ben Bernanke:
..the US government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many US Dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost...
We have a feeling that 2012 is not going to be a great year for money you get from the ground. Oddly, it will probably be a better year for the money you get from trees.
How is that possible? We all know paper money is going to be worthless. Yes...dear reader...but not necessarily in 2012. It's just part of the curious way Mr. Market does business...and a feature of his nasty habit of ruining as many investors as possible.
Look, it's pretty simple. The private sector debt bubble blew up in 2008. The public sector debt bubble will blow up too. Maybe in 2012. Most likely not for a while longer. But when US debt begins to blow up, the feds will come in with everything they've got trying to stop it.
And all they've got is a printing press. Ben Bernanke:
..the US government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many US Dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost...
'Reasons why silver to hit $50 in April 2012'
By Ted Butler
I believe the short squeeze that took Silver to $49.73 in April has taught the commercials how tight the physical silver market actually is, and that the commercials "appear to have no interest in massively shorting silver again". As a result, I look for silver to make massive gains in the near futures, as the commercials turn and go net long, resulting in $50 silver appearing "cheap" in the near future.
The big commercial silver shorts had a near death experience when the price approached $50 in April. They were at the end of their rope and needed to do something in a hurry. That’s why they rigged prices lower; so that they could buy and save themselves.
I believe the short squeeze that took Silver to $49.73 in April has taught the commercials how tight the physical silver market actually is, and that the commercials "appear to have no interest in massively shorting silver again". As a result, I look for silver to make massive gains in the near futures, as the commercials turn and go net long, resulting in $50 silver appearing "cheap" in the near future.
The big commercial silver shorts had a near death experience when the price approached $50 in April. They were at the end of their rope and needed to do something in a hurry. That’s why they rigged prices lower; so that they could buy and save themselves.
SilverDoctors: 6 Month Gold Lease Rate Plunges to Bull Market Low...
SilverDoctors: 6 Month Gold Lease Rate Plunges to Bull Market Low...: In September and December, plunging gold lease rates foresaw big smashes in gold and silver. While gold's 1 month and 3 month lease rates h...
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