Filthy Fed and Ugly Housing Data; Range Bound Gold and the Range Bound Fed

• 6/21/12
  Eco Scribbles Not so Good
  The Philly Fed Survey Collapses… 
• 
  My pronouncements on housing have been on the money. It’s not rocket science. There is a lot of delusion out there about housing coming back. I deal with numbers and facts. Existing Home Sales MISS EXPECTATIONS, Fall 1.5% To 4.55M (Exp. -1.1% To 4.57M)... 
  –
  Gold is Range Bound
  The gold struggle that I have talked about for much of the year continues. I am surprised that so many have been directionally bullish both near and longer term. Long term I see a rise for gold as a crumbling of the fiat system is 99-44/100% inevitable. However, I remind again, that so long as the dollar retains its favored status as the reserve currency of the world and a means to escape the euro, gold will remain in a trading range near term – a time-out mode, if you will.
• 
  Please READ MORE HERE: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/range-bound-gold-and-the-fed/
  
  
  
  

The Housing Mess; Europe Gets Uglier; FED Meeting; The Trillion $ Retirement Problem and More

• 
  

  6/19/12
  Housing
  Many tell me I am unreasonable in my negative outlook on housing for not only the next few years, but at least for a decade. I am willing to admit that certain hot markets like mid to lower Manhattan, or Greenwich, Connecticut do exist as the rare exceptions to an otherwise moribund housing picture. For the very wealthy who don’t need to be concerned with a 20% downpayment things are peachy, for the rest of mainstreet America it is a different story.
  The hyperster housing folks have more to work with today, or do they? Housing starts plunged from a revised 744K to 708K. Actual completions fell by a whopping 10%. Permits (promises to build at some future point) soared from 723K to an annualized rate of 780K. Let’s see first if the permits result in higher start numbers in the months ahead. June 30^th marks the 3^rd anniversary of Cramer’s proclamation that the bottom housing was in. LOL.
  Related and Supplemental: construction sector has been losing jobs for 5 months straight.. http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/USCONS
  European UnDelight
  Anyone start the day off buying 1 year Spanish bills with a record yield of 5.07? Last week’s “Spailout” of €125 billion received an underwhelming response because Spain really needs much, much more. 
  
  
  PLEASE READ MORE: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/the-housing-mess-europe-gets-uglier-fed-meeting-the-trillion-retirement-problem-and-more/

Me in the Media; Bad Signs from Europe; Awaiting the Feds

• 6/18/12
  Short Post Today
  Today is moving up day at my youngest son’s elementary school. I’m out the door shortly.
  
  
  Me In The Media
  This appears in the print edition of IBD today on whether plastic currency will ever fly in the U.S:http://news.investors.com/article/614991/201206151431/plastic-money-unlikely-in-united-states.htm?p=full
  I don’t see plastic currency coming to the U.S.
  
  
  Did something Happen in Greece over the Weekend?
  Right, the big election. Buy the rumor, sell the news. The pro bailout folks have the .... read more here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/2105-2/

The End of the World This Coming Sunday

6/14/12
I hope everyone has stocked up on some extra six packs of Ensure and withdrawn ... READ MORE: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/the-end-of-the-world-this-coming-sunday/

The On Going Gold vs Dollar Fight; It’s Greek to Me; Good Reasons to Buy Real Gold

Jobless Claims continue to hover close to the 400,000 per week mark at 386k — never mind what the economists were expecting. Picture it…. nearly 400 people a WEEK filing NEW claims for unemployment benefits – a national tragedy that is on going and glossed over by the separate monthly employment report’s headline number that pretends unemployment is below 10% when in actuality (by the governments own data) true unemployment remains near 20%.
The Wall Street reaction? A mini rally after a day of mini decline… or ZIG ZAG trading as I like to call it. Please read more here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/the-on-going-gold-vs-dollar-fight-its-greek-to-me-good-reasons-to-buy-real-gold/

Jamie Goes to Washington; Ziggy Zaggy Stocks; Stagflation Noise

6/13/12
JP Moron
Anyone expecting to learn much of anything from the Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan visit to our esteemed DC lawmakers will only receive a lesson in the cold, harsh reality of a jaded and broken system. The politicians will do their grandstanding and Jamie will claim that he has to be tight lipped and not give away proprietary information that could damage shareholders. There will be no great revelations. To some who are sanguine about JP Morgan losses, and suggest Congress has better things to do and that JPM really lost speculative bets with its OWN money — I don’t buy it. JP Morgan and associa...


PLEASE READ MORE: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/jamie-goes-to-washington-ziggy-zaggy-stocks-stagflation-noise/

Those Jiggy Euro Yields; Net Worthless; The Private Sector is “Fine”?; Turkish Gold; KORS is a Monster $$

6/12/12

The news media is pretending this morning that all is quiet in Europe with a few articles out on the web even suggesting it’s time to BUY European securities, or at least to start nibbling. However, the Adventures of Alice in Euroland (as zerohedge.com puts it) continue. If you are a pro this situation remains complicated, so I wonder how the average investor would cope with buying European paper. According to ZH about the conditions that the pros face: PLEASE READ MORE: http://bit.ly/L2NZVm

Piddling Gains After the Spailout; Rising Spain Yields? Yikes! Poli Grip; A debt Visual

6/11/12


I tweeted over the weekend that if S&P futures failed to rally sharply (eg being up 20+ handles) that the bulls had better watch out. Unfortunately for Mr. Market, pre-market has faded the gains of last night in futures and are pointing to some piddling gains when the market opens. The Spain bank rescue known as the “Spailout” is seen as just buying a little extra time.


What’s really bad is that Spanish 10 year yields are rising and back above 6.5%. Ouch! Italian yields are also rising. Double ouch – like getting a seed stuck under dentures (if you ... please read more here:


http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/piddling-gains-after-the-spailout-rising-spain-yields-yikes-poli-grip-a-debt-visual/

Spain Pain; Obama’s Funny Economics; JP Morgan’s Big Fine; Bernanke Passes the Baton

6/9/12
Spain Pain
Spain, it turns out,  is another Greece when all is said and done. The reports out today say Spain as agreed on 100-billion Euros in EU aid to shore up its banks. This is being depicted as an “unconditional” bailout.  Spain has really been flirting with a near death experience, but to suggest that this mega loan will come without conditions is the height of tomfoolery. What loan comes with no conditions? lol. If anyone can do an unconditional loan to drag me out of near insolvency due to medical bills, I’m all ears! rofl. This is akin to a TRILLION dollar bailout in the U.S. when you gauge the size of the amount of aid that the Spain banks need in relation to the size of the top TBTF banks of the U.S. Details will be forthcoming in the days ahead on what the actual terms are. Hint: Spain will be oppressed and has sold its soul making the giant error of paying off old debts and liabilities in exchange for new debt. Nothing stays swept under the rug forever. A key stumbling block to this is the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) which still needs German ratification, which may or may not happen in the days ahead. German will get to bear the brunt of funding this loan. The U.S., since the IMF is involved, is also going to be close buddies with Spain as well. 


Barry O Just Doesn’t Know
Switching from the ridiculous to the ridiculous. Let’s just nip something in the bud right away. Barack Obama would like us to believe, as proclaimed on the campaign trail during the past week, that the financial ills started in Europe and that Europe is to blame for the present woeful state of the financial markets, labor market, real estate etc. To set the record straight – a refresher: The Lehman collapse in 2008 which got the ball rolling in earnest was an American financial entity – not European. The 2008 debacle actually has its roots in the subprime collapse that really took off in late 20006/2007. The dominoes that continue to fall to this day started to fall in the U.S. first. I repeat, Lehman was not a European bank. Lehman, et al actually were conduits to European banks who bought U.S. AAA rated CDO paper which ultimately blew up. Certainly Euro banks are not completely blameless because they failed to use their better judgment and fell for the phony sales come on from their U.S. counterparts and some European banking entities got into the packaging of the flawed CDOs; however, the worthless, phony paper was born here and exported overseas.  And to think, the financial terrorists who propelled the market over the edge in 2008 are by and large still around today and no doubt profiting from the present market chaos. What does this say about Barry O? He is, at best, in a state of major cognitive dissonance.


JP Morgan
Speaking of chaos. Let’s talk about the King of Chaos in the markets – JP Morgue as some call it. I like to call them JP Moron. This little story passed virtually unnoticed on the Reuters Wire late Friday morning:
(Reuters) – JPMorgan executed ‘wash trades’ on 10 separate occasions in U.S. crude oil and gasoline futures in the first half of last year in an effort to manage position limits, CME Group said in a disciplinary notice on Friday.
CME, which operates the New York Mercantile Exchange, ordered JPMorgan to pay a fine of $30,000.
“On 10 separate occasions between January 1, 2011, and June 30, 2011, in an effort to manage position limits, traders employed by JPM executed block trades between separate legal entities with the same beneficial owner in WTI or Gasoline during the last three days prior to expiration of the particular contract,” the notice said, referring to West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main U.S. crude oil future.
“The (NYMEX Business Conduct Committee) Panel also found that in each of these 10 instances, the trader was the sole decision maker for both the buy and sell side of the trade.”
As part of the settlement, JPMorgan “neither admitted nor denied the rule violations,” the notice said.
Jim again: That’s actually a doozy of a little story. First, the $30,000 fine. What a joke, since JPM paid out $30 bln in comp last year we’re talking a millionth of a penny on the dollar in “fines”. Why is this a significant little story?  What JP Morgan was doing was conducting fraudulent wash trading.  As the article states, JPM “was the sole decision market for both the buy and sell side of the trade”. In other words, so much for the idea of market perfection where there is always someone else on the other side of the trade. JP Morgan was trading with itself.
And people wonder why I rail against the banking system? Some were offended that I call Dimon pond scum. Each time I write about Morgan, I regret that I called Dimon pond scum since I am offending pond scum which actually has a useful and important existence within the ecosystem.
Oh and it was pure coincidence, I’m sure, that this took place in early 2011. Far be it from moi to suggest that JPM was trying to manage losses in other markets at the time (like the exploding silver market in which JPM was massively short, lol).  Oh, the Chicago Merc (CME) by “fining” JPM 30 grand, essentially chose to look the other way. It is this pattern of wide ranging abuse that can have consequences far beyond what is seen on the surface. It is this pattern of abuse that makes me wonder if there is any real distinction between the trader/speculator and a so called investor since all are cast into a net of corrupt practices that originates from the top.
The natural tendency would be to short the daylights out of JP Moron, but if they can buy and sell stock in their own phony market where they are on both sides of the trade, why chance it?
I wonder if Jamie Dimon will remain ceo of Chase for very much longer?


Barry O Private Vs Public Sector
This is an interesting bit of Chartology…


Joe Weisenthal crunches the numbers: private-sector profits & investment ARE doing fine. Great actually. http://read.bi/LwNJOc


Weisenthal is clever, but lacks experience. In many ways the corpratists are doing fine as demonstrated by those charts. To what extent that prosperity is extended to rank and file, or to society overall is debatable.  What his series of charts fail to show is a misery index component. Are you better off now than 4 years ago, or even 8 or 12 years ago? Weisenthal could have included a chart of the record level of food stamp use, or the record level of disability aid being disbursed by the government. Oh, wait, even though those charts show parabolic growth, the severe upward slope in dependency on government benefits rates as a the wrong type of growth, or a big FAIL.
Overall, Obama sounds out of key by the talking about fine areas of the economy when the overall macro picture is messy: 


Obama Walks Back: ‘The Economy Is Not Doing Fine’ http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/06/08/Obama-Walks-Back-The-Economy-Is-Not-Doing-Fine


It didn’t take long for the Big O to reverse course, because (gratuitous political jab here) he has no real convictions that harmonize well with whatever is buzzing around in his head, or with the body politic. He’s a big thin skinned zero who remains true to one thing: the polls. Can you say narcissist – thought ya could (in my best Mr. Rogers voice).   


Ben S. Bernanke
Master of the financial universe Ben Bernanke spoke during the past week. He’s pretending to play coy with the markets – as if he has it all under control. That sent gold from a $1640 peak during the past week to a finish for the August futures contract at $1591 on Friday.  There were a few big takeaways from his remarks. To paraphrase, he told lawmakers that the Fed has done its share of the job, and now Congress needs to act in a fiscally prudent way. That means we are all screwed. Both sides of the aisle want to propagate their spending agendas which end up boiling down to Big Government just with a different emphasis between the parties. There is only one party in D.C. It is the party of BIG GOVERNMENT.  While it is all well and good that Bernanke is suggesting that CONgress do its job and tilt itself toward fiscal rectitude, Bernanke, through his modern technology known as the printing press has lulled Congress out of any sense of duty to be responsible since the printing has been there to make up for ongoing budget shortfalls. For Bernanke to be calling on our elected representatives to actually do something constructive now is coming a bit late in the game. In the end, Benny will have no choice but to turn the printing press back on.
Bernanke also uttered this quote. “No risk that JPMorgan is in danger”. This is what he said of the subprime part of the bond market when it started to collapse.  Bernanke has an uncanny track record for being wronger than wrong. But that’s what comes with economic academia. The consensus doesn’t catch on until the house is fully ablaze ignoring any sort of preceding smoke. I’ve got a box of Girl Scout cookies in the freezer for anyone who can tell me when the consensus of economists has predicted recession beforehand. Just in case my kids ate them, I have some cans of chick peas (great on salads) as an alternate prize.  


The other day I wondered aloud if Bernanke may actually have it out for Obama. The Daily Worker of Cable TV, PMS-NBC, has caught on to this suspicion.  Greenspan whether, or not by design, let George HW go down in flames in ‘92 with a cautious interest stance (yes back in the day when there were actually interest rates that savers could benefit from); though that picture is somewhat muddled by the spoiler kooky guy Ross Perot. And of course George HW didn’t come across as the brightest bulb when he marveled at supermarket scanning technology, and he was also downright weird with his New World Order talk.  But still I wonder what good Bernanke’s hand sitting will do for Barry O.


Is Ben Bernanke trying to get Mitt Romney elected president? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46979738/vp/47747774#47747774     


That wind bag guest, Peter Schiff, is half right. We certainly don’t need more funny money, but Schiff forgets that QE provides an illusory bump to the stock market which is what many people, by looking mostly at the Dow, see as a key gauge of their future wealth since a healthy Dow to the masses means that perhaps their 401ks are rising. HaHa, the joke’s on them. If No QE comes along this month, it certainly won’t be coming along in September, or October and that would mean a languishing stock market.
The S&P, Dow, etc., are managing to hold up on the notion that Bernanke’s hand may be forced. The next Fed meeting will be a week from Tuesday and then no meeting until July 31^st/Aug 1.  The June meeting comes at a remarkable time, given that Greek elections are slated for the Sunday before.
I’ve oft state in this space that going with some amount of portfolio holding in gold is a guard against the financially unthinkable happening (ie. A sudden system reset). When you look at JP Morgan and the complicity of its family and friends, or that state of Europe, or the lack of leadership in Washington (and I think Romney will be as big government as Obama and George W. not much to be happy about in terms of poll choices but we could still use a fresh face at 1600 PA Ave) I just don’t understand the aversion that people have to gold. Oh, wait, I do. The current financial Ponzi masters are doing everything that they can to sully the reputation of gold. I’m amazed that so many are so easily fooled.
–

More Bank Bailouts; Gold Trading Range; Fedex Hike; Let’s Go to Mars

• 6/7/12
  The Pain in Spain
  This morning we learn that Spain will request EU bank aid on Saturday. Does anyone get sick of banks needing aid that ultimately boils down to a taxpayer funded rescue? The latest chapter of this insanity is now focused on Europe, but you can bet it will happen again on U.S. shores if a financial emergency should arise again.
  Eu 100 bln is a likely bailout figure. Stay tuned. We’ll know more late day Saturday and... read more here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/2085-2/
  

Which Market is Right? The Unemployment Plague

Which Market is Right?
So which market is correct? The stock market has rallied on hopes for more quantitative easing; while the gold market is a bit more skeptical about near term QE prospects and weakened late yesterday and is lower this morning. Oil and copper are also weak. At some point I feel Bernanke will have no choice but to err toward what Fed watchers call “accommodation,” but it is still a wait and see situation. Remember, it’s not that the world is back to business as usual, there are still plenty unresolved serious issues. Is that worth a 2.4% Dow gain that came largely in the last 15 minutes of Wednesday session? Read more here.. http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/2083-2/

A message from Wisconsin; Rally Time; Jokesters at the CBO; Gold Glitters

Congratulations to the mainstream media for being so totally wrong yesterday. The left wing part of the media was in a feeding fest that the recall vote in Wisconsin would be tight with the implication that Gov Walker would be kicked out. However, Fox (to its discredit), also regurgitated its own version of tight race talk. So like lemmings engaged in a ‘group think’ orgy they (the media) all went over the cliff. They are... Please read more here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/a-message-from-wisconsin-rally-time-jokesters-at-the-cbo-gold-glitters/

Bob Chapman Passes Away

This is sad news for his many fans and a big blow to good alternative-news information.
The memorials are already starting. RIP, Bob. I was honored to have him on my radio show last summer.

Further details at the funeral home link: http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Robert-Chapman&lc=4345&pid=157941281&mid=5127734&locale=en_US

The Real Dollar Versus Gold Story

• .... For $1 you barely receive any gold – just a fraction of a gram. With about 100% certainty the dollar will continue to crumble due to on going printing (the Fed has boxed itself in and can only print to infinity, or see the ‘system’ implode), a dollar will buy almost no gold within a short period of time.
  As was stated yesterday, there is a 100% failure rate to fiat currencies – the dollar will not be any different.
  Remember, an ounce of gold contains 31.103 grams of gold. A dollar bill is worth less than a quarter of a gram. No attention need be paid to the dollar index unless you are gaming gold as a short term speculation. 
  
  
  Read More here.... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/the-real-dollar-versus-gold-story/

Breathe Deep the Gathering Gloom.... Yes it's Monday

Here a few things on my mind. 


Dead Cat Bounce; Euro Time Bomb; Gold Takes a Breather; Oil: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/dead-cat-bounce-gold-takes-a-breather-oil/#.T8zAObHMdI8.twitter

No Commentary Needed

This speaks for itself...

$$ Another 2008 in the Making? Be Extra Careful Out There; A New Leg Up for the Gold Bull?

I am prone to outbursts on Facebook. Last night i wrote:
"There is no housing recovery. There is no economic recovery. There is no
permanent solution to the Euro mess. Everyone finally get that with
today's data and other events? Great, now carry on. "
It seems as if everything is screwy and getting worse!
My thoughts had leaned toward believing that another full scale financial crisis would be delayed until after the elections this November. While no one can

PLEASE READ A BIT MORE HERE FREE of CHARGE.... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/another-2008-in-the-making-be-extra-careful-out-there-a-new-leg-up-for-the-gold-bull/

Ugly Jobs Data – Will the Fed React? Gold Jumps; Real Estate to See Another Slump?

6/1/2012
I may hold some views on the near term direction of gold that are different from other gold bulls, but the state of the economy has not been something that I have been bullish about for a number of years.
Many have been fooled by a veritable cacophony of datum and data sets to further the idea of economic hope – that things are not all that bad.

Please read more: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/ugly-jobs-data-will-the-react-gold-jumps-real-estate-to-see-another-slump/

Gold Thoughts; Markets Await Friday Employment Data

5/31/12
This column talks a lot about gold. For the record: #Gold up this morning but set for worst May performance in 30 years http://reut.rs/KLqfSF. If that news is not bad enough for gold… it can be measured another way: Gold set for 4th down month — biggest monthly losing streak in at least a decade http://bloom.bg/JRRl9t.




Please read more: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/gold-thoughts-markets-await-friday-employment-data/

Boilerplate Market Reporting; Euro Mess; Weak Paper Gold

Yesterday (Wednesday), the usual market boilerplate reporting was in full force within the media. Stocks did rise by 1%. The best reason that CNBC, as an example, could come up with was that stocks rose on “optimism” in Europe. As usual, very funny stuff. This morning all the “optimists” have apparently taken their “less optimistic” pills and futures are signaling a lower open. It’s the typical uninformed information that investors are regularly presented with. As JP Morgan....

Please read more here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/boilerplate-market-reporting-euro-mess-weak-paper-gold/

The Grexit Nightmare; Agnostic on Gold $GLD $EUO $JPM $HU_G

The Grexit Nightmare; Agnostic on Gold Read here: http://stks.co/3zBD $GLD $EUO $JPM $HU_G

Sick and Tired of Greece in the News?

• Blame should be aimed at the banks, though Greek culture has something to do with this, but the banks clearly took advantage of the situation for their own gain, or so they thought. They don’t want a nasty little secret to be revealed: life in Greece, where the present PM is an appointed banking technocrat, would go on without the banks. Going back to the drachma and suffering a 60% overnight drop in buying power would be tough, very tough, but life would continue. It’s called the will to live. If they can’t  READ MORE HERE.... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/2054-2/

Is the Facebook Mess Good for Gold? Greece Non Relief

Some on the web are opining that the Facebook $FB IPO bust is actually a good thing for gold $GLD $GC_F. Really? I think that’s a ... Please read more.... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/is-the-facebook-mess-good-for-gold-greece-non-relief/

A Profane Market Tirade That Makes Valid Points; Farcebook; Gold

5/21/12
A Market Tirade from the ‘The Fly’
I concur with what is below. It’s as if the guy was reading my mind, but it’s his own tirade.
“You do understand how superficial the stock market is, right? People in the real world, working 12 hours a day to pay for their inflated rents couldn’t give two sh^ts and a gay mule about Greece or the Nasdaq. (They) are the unlucky ones, who for some reason have been targeted by disease, whose only wish is for a “good day” and are totally ignorant to Facebook’s great big ipo blah. Please read more...
http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/a-profabe-market-tirade-that-makes-valid-points-farcebook-gold/

The Jim Kingsland Show with an expert on Gold and Silver

I chat with Bob Higgins of Certified Assets Management about gold and silver, Gold IRAs, Gold as collateral for loans. Interesting Stuff.

Our Kenyan Born President Obama vs the Birthers

So it turns out I was wrong. The birthers weren't as kooky as I thought now that the literary pamphlets have surfaced. Obama's allies are trying to assert it was a mistake by the agent - right, a mistake that went on for years. Very funny... a big LOL. The anti birthers have been checkmated, but do enough people care? I guess they care enough in Arizona. All I can say is 'good luck' to our Kenyan born president. 

Obama is perfect for the masses who will turn and look the other way. The Kenyan born president's closest supports will be able to take comfort in knowing that the Constitution, to the masses, and its requirements are words from the distant and largely forgotten past. 

Of course, there are some of us who know the story and even the rest of the story. 

Read More: Arizona official may keep Obama off ballot http://usat.ly/JXj6ON#.T7kdESNRCac.twitter via @USATODAY

The D Rating Assigned to JP Morgan; $FB Should You Buy? Gold maintains a little MOMO

5/18/12
This morning, something different - an MP3 of a Jim Kingsland Radio Show segement with... please read and listen here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/the-d-rating-assigned-to-jp-morgan-fb-should-you-buy-gold-maintains-a-little-momo/

Greece, JP Morgan and What's Really Going On; Gold Bounces

A funny thought crossed my mind the other day. ‘What if Greece exited the euro-matrix and to everyone’s surprise there was economic recovery in the style of Iceland?’ I know, silly thought – apples to oranges comparison. There are so many arguments against even a... Please read more here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/systemic-risk-thoughts-thanks-to-greece-and-the-house-of-morgan-gold-bounces/

Gold - Will it Visit $1,400? Crude Oil Drop is based on...? Facebook and GM; $JPM

Please read more here.... So far my prediction at the FUN show in Orlando of a bumpy ride for gold in 2012 is intact.

http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/gold-will-it-visit-1400-crude-oil-drop-is-based-on/

More on JP Moron; Grease, or is that Greece? Gold Now Negative Year to Date

5/14/12

please see more... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/more-on-jp-moron-grease-or-is-that-greece-gold-now-negative-year-to-date/

Rebound Attempt Thursday; Gold Glitters in the Eyes of Goldman and Rogers; Presidential Election Year Market Performance

5/10/12


Stocks are attempting to bounce off of support which as noted yesterday was looming. Gold managed to bounce off the lows yesterday and is flirting with $1600. One of the positive inputs for the market is the 1,000 (I guess they are desperate) decline in jobless claims. The trade deficit in March ballooned to over 51 billion. The significance with that figure is that it will take .4% percentage points off of GDP and knock it from 1.9% to 1.5%. Now that’s a vibrant recovery! haha. Read more... 


 http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/rebound-attempt-thursday-gold-glitters-in-the-eyes-of-goldman-and-rogers-presidential-election-year-market-performance/

The Latest Gold Beat Down. Is $1200 and then $1000 In the Cards?; Are Stocks Getting Ready for a BIG Swoon?

5/9/12

Am I throwing in the towel on gold? find out here....

http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/the-latest-gold-beat-down-is-1200-and-1000-in-the-cards-are-stocks-getting-ready-for-a-big-swoon/

Market Muddle; Tune Me in On The Radio at 10 a.m.; Errant Gold Thoughts

What’s the old nursery rhyme? I see England, I see France, I see your underpants? France is still on the minds of investors – so too Greece. There was no crash yesterday, but market sentiment is damaged. The Dow tried to end higher, but still finished the day a bit weaker with a 29 point decline. Please read more here. http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/market-muddle-tune-me-in-on-the-radio-errant-gold-thoughts/

Jim Kingsland Gold and Silver Radio, brought to you by Certified Assets Management and the Delaware Depository. Listen live at 10:10 Eastern time. Link: http://www.live365.com/stations/wrcr?site=pro

Thinking About Francis Schaeffer Tonight $$

A theologian who knew what was coming 40 years before hand.

Readers should further investigate Schaeffer. His full series is on YouTube.



There is a reason for the dignity and value of each individual. Christ is a standard for our lives. In the financial realm, gold is a standard - don't let the corrupt system of today fool you.

From a financial perspective, gold is a judge of the authoritarianism that has allowed profligate spending and money creation to go unchecked. Fortunately, the suppression of the price of gold becomes more difficult thanks to worldwide participation in the gold trade.

Gold and more than a dollars and cents proposition, it is directly connected to the social situation of society.

Election Correction; Buffett and Gold (ugh); This and That on a Monday $$

5/7/12

Election Correction

U.S. stock futures looked scary late yesterday evening in reaction to key favored agents of the banking cabal in Europe losing political contests. Sarkozy of France has been ousted by the voters and members of the Greek ruling parties aligned with the Troika failed to win a majority to form a new government... please read more: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/election-correction-buffett-and-gold-ugh-this-and-that-on-a-monday/

Election Correction or Crash Coming from Europe? $$

Election Commentary
5/6/2012 9:40p ET

U.S. stock futures have weakened as favored agents of the banking cabal in Europe - Sarkozy of France and members of the Greek ruling parties aligned with the Troika - were defeated (as was the case with Sarkozy), and neither ruling party in Greece able to win a majority to form a new government.

The overall meme is that Euro austerity government policies are falling due to an unhappy electorate. The outcome of these elections are seen, as of today, as an indicator of future elections in Europe that could be a signal of the end to the European Union, which in turn would slow global economic growth if the European system collapses.

Is this the real deal setting us up for a stock market crash?

REVISION as of 2300 ET... Not likely a crash, but it appears as if there will be a swoon at the open. QE bargain hunters will determine of early losses stick. At least, it will be an interesting day in the market. Watch gold for across the board liquidation, OR (very important) a flight to quality move. As usual treasury yields are sinking in a safe haven like move.

A Not So Wonderful Thought About $CROX

CROCS

Is there further near term shorting ahead for this stock? I noticed an informal Facebook “research poll" in the side column where the advertising is. 75% of poll respondents say they will "definitely not buy" $CROX shoes in the next 3 months. The stock broke support Friday in the 19 area. January Gap fill next in the 15 area?

An Ugly Chart:

$$ Bernanke Drives the Art Market; The Fed is the Squid of Squids

As usual, Jim Grant, of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer has spot on analysis – must watch. The Fed is the squid of squids:

$$ Berkshire Gold Assault Continues; Munger Drool

Many of you are uncivilized in the eyes of Warren Buffet’s partner: Charlie Munger: Civilized people won't buy gold http://t.co/IUwtOFGv

To boil down the Berkshire Hathaway weekend media circus, the company’s earnings were weaker than forecast by analysts (media ignored the weaker than expected aspect). The only headline that had any attention grabbing potential to it was the Munger comment about gold. I don’t hold Munger in much contempt for making such a statement. What would you do, if you were an obscure (except to the CNBC crowd) 88 year old man, closing in on the drooling stage of life? Why, I would come up with some sort of outrageous statement. Good work Charlie, you grabbed their attention and avoided being completely overshadowed by that relative youngster associate of yours – Warren Buffett.

Of course, Buffett also stuck to his claptrap about the unproductiveness of gold vs the productivity of his companies – which still couldn’t meet the earnings estimates bar.  

We Are Stupid Americans

A TV station investigation in Indiana has uncovered a massive tax loophole for illegal immigrants. Our government is so dysfunctional that the IRS has let this practice go on for "years". If an American citizen cheated the IRS out of $14k, they'd be all over that citizen like bugs on a bumper during summer...

The Shaky Labor Market; Farcebook IPO Reflections; Gold at a Record

5/4/12

Labor Market Friday
What a pile of steaming…. well, never mind. Headline unemployment managed to slip to 8.1% in April while in a separate report, non-farm payrolls rose by a smaller than expected 115,000. Again, you need to dig deeper to see some reality. Here’s an example in today’s labor department data dump: people not in the labor force rose by 522,000 from 87,897,000 to a record 88,419,000. How does the unemployment rate manage to fall... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/the-shaky-labor-market-farcebook-ipo-reflections-gold-at-a-record/

OT: The New Jersey Tanning 'Mom'

The results are in for those mulling a lifetime of compulsive tanning salon treatments... Tah da...

Photo courtesy: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/05/02/nutley-mom-in-court-on-charges-she-put-6-year-old-daughter-in-tanning-bed/

The tanned to a crisp mommy faces a felony charge of taking her fair skinned, six year old daughter (pictured) to a tanning salon where it is alleged she suffered a burn. Tanning mom denies saying she takes her daughter TO the tanning salon for company, but not to tan.

There is a money angle here. Tanning mom could have saved tanning salon costs by merely sticking her head into a microwave for free with the same end results! Zing!

For $1495 you can find one on these on the web to buy and have delivered for use at home...

$$ Jobs; Mint Data; Debt Trouble; Facebook and Goldman

5/2/12
Jobs


During April, ADP says private employers hired workers at roughly half the pace of February. Tomorrow’s jobless claims data will be closely watched as claims have been trending up in recent weeks and sets the stage for the monthly government jobs report on Friday.


The United States seems like a jobs paradise (basis the officially.... PLEASE READ MORE.. http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/jobs-mint-data-debt-trouble-facebook-and-goldman/

$$ Federal Debt to GDP Since the Founding of the U.S.

I was having some idle thoughts about debt and deficits and thought I'd share a chart. 
In this instance pictures are better than words. From the Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis:

A few Fed officials spoke of the potential for the country to go over a fiscal cliff at the Milken Conference today. Lol... Ya think so?

The good news here? Revolutionary War and War of 1812 debt was worked off and the country was relatively debt free until the Civil War (although I recognize that the Bank Panic of 1837 and resulting multi year depression opens the door to a broader discussion concerning debt, resurrecting an economy, etc). Of course, the 1830s was then, and then is then and now is now.

The bad news, the above chart guestimates debt to GDP holding at just above 100% through 2016. Are they kidding? The country is already at the 100% debt to GDP level now with multi-trillion dollar deficits expected  for as far as the eye can see. The brunt of Obamacare costs are yet to hit the fan, to say nothing of other profligate spending policy in Washington. Most with a clue also know that the estimates of future debt growth somehow always end up being conservative when the actual outcome of debt growth occurs in a given time frame versus what the guys with the pocket protectors forecasted 4 or 5 years beforehand.

For now, we can thank our lucky stars that debt servicing costs remain low. Should the Fed lose it's grip on keeping rates low - the denoumont of this long standing fiat drama will have arrived. Carry on for the time being.

Have a Day!

Welcome to the State of North Chinalina

This is shocking and its not some tall tale. North Carolina is now North Chinalina in  my eyes....

Blogger threatened with jail for writing on health http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/blogger-threatened-with-jail-for-writing-on-health 

I can't believe that a U.S. blogger recounting his experiences with diabetes (brittle diabetic here) would get the heavy hand from officials. 

$$ Early Morning Post - Shame on You Journal, My Radio Show

5/1/12

The picture could change markedly by the market open, but I do this early morning Tuesday 5/1 post since I will be doing radio at 10 this morning.  Listen live at: http://www.live365.com/stations/wrcr?site=pro. This show that I am hosting at a terrestrial station closer to me pulls in top ratings in this locale, or bedroom community just 20 miles northwest of NYC. BUT, the A.M. dial venue is becoming less significant (unless you’re on a 50,000 watt stick in the middle of a big city). What we’re planning to do with these broadcasts is to repurpose the interviews into web content that can be accessed from pretty much anywhere at any time.

To digress briefly, on our recent trip to the mid south, I plugged my RAZR smartphone into the auxiliary jack of the car radio and used an app to wirelessly receive traffic reports on KYW (philly), WTOP (DC) and WBAL (Balto), etc an hour before the stations would have been heard on a conventional radio. Every radio station on this app is available via smartphone. Traditional radio is going to go the way of newspapers and watching tv using those once upon a time goofy looking roof antennas.

Back to Info About My Radio Show

Today’s interviews include Robert Higgens, the co president of Certified Assets Management International (CAMI). Bob is sponsoring this broadcast venture. He is a veteran of the coin industry. There will be much to talk about.

Maurice Rosen, the longtime editor of the Rosen Numismatic Advisory newsletter will also join the program. His views and analysis of the coin industry are sought after.

Onto the Markets.

The sell in May and go away meme will no doubt grace our tv sets and browers for some time to come. Getting things off to a sour start – China: While official manufacturing is portrayed as growing in China (at odds with HSBC’s report already showing contraction), the official numbers were still short of expectations and barely above the growth line.  As I write this, they are still in REM sleep in Europe, so whatever happens there later in the morning will either enhance investor disappointment over the China data, or could serve to offset some of the Tuesday gloom that could come due to China.  Yesterday’s low volume standoff between the bulls and the bears resulted in a 14 point Dow decline – like watching cement cure.  

Miserable Monster

The takeover rumors spread by the Wall Street Journal and its media friends, family and even competitors about Coke buying Monster are a disgusting example of poor sourcing and reporting. Monster shot up from the mid 60’s into the low 80’s when the Journal report crossed the wires. I can just imagine the screaming hissy fit mode that the Fox Business newsroom must have gone into on word of the big scoop from sister publication WSJ. Blech. Who on the street bought in the 80’s when the stock spiked? Is the Wall Street Journal going to become the next Times of London (they are under the same troubled Rupert Murdoch wing) and earn a reputation for calling 7 of the last 3 takeovers? It was gratifying to see Coke quickly deny any buyout interest in Monster. Monster shares then returned to the mid 60’s. The in your face denial of the erroneous report by Coke (where most companies choose to say they don’t comment on rumors and speculation) makes me wonder if anyone at the Journal bothered to call Coca Cola in Atlanta BEFOREHAND. Yes, there is this technology called a telephone.  Doh!

Good rule of thumb: TIPS ARE FOR CABBIES AND WAITRESSES!

GOLD and Silver

Gold was down to the 1640s area for a time yesterday, but bounced back to 1665 by the NY close on Monday. That helped to limit gold’s monthly loss in April to just a half-percent. Silver was down 4.5 percent in April (ouch). I did discuss some of the factors at work in relation to silver vs gold in yesterday’s report.

--

More later!

OT: Vanilla Twilight

Even if the pause was brief, a pause for this crazy world would be beneficial, but of course that will never happen...

Sell in May and Go Away? Apple in the Dow? Gold and Silver – Key Differences in Price Movement

The last day of April is already upon us. I heard a story, recently, about a retailer typo in a coupon mailer that said, “Good Until April 31st”. That’s a neat concept – a coupon that will last for an... Please read more here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/sell-in-may-and-go-away-apple-in-the-dow-gold-and-silver-key-differences-in-price-movement/

Candid Market Thoughts: I see No Sign of an Immediate Market Crash; Bullish on Gold; Dollar Daze

Here’s a March 30 Tweet that I tweeted as @jkings1… “Bernanke not about to remove the punch bowl. Good spring setup for stocks. Now not the time for aggressive shorting via $SPY”.

I said essentially the same thing in this space on April 10, and now on April 28 I am still saying the same thing, though I would add a dose more of caution may be in order since the market is now becoming a bit overbought. As I stated April 10, at that time, I saw no signs of an imminent market crash. My indicators are still telling me that likely through the summer and fall, there shall not be a crash. The crash callers are too soon. They have a better chance of seeing market trouble after the election.

If you look back at my Financial Balderdash blog, I did call the subprime meltdown in late 2006 and stuck to a very bearish view of the stock market from late 2007 through 2008. I was working at Fox Business at the time as an editor where I would prepare the news plan (agenda as it’s called in the business) for the network each morning, but I still think they thought I was a crazy perma bear.  I was a non-mainstream media person, or a square peg in a round hole while I was at Fox. I shunned anything the smelled of market cheerleading.  So there were times when the News Director would add something to the Agenda akin to being either fluff, or overly optimistic at the time.  That was a source of conflict. The funniest irony of the experience, was the launch of the channel coincided with the peak of the market (Dow 14,000).

I dredge up my past calls, not to toot my own horn, but to demonstrate that I am quite capable of making bearish macro market calls when I see them, however, unlike many of my counterparts who blog and do bearish YouTube videos, etc., I am not stuck in a permanent bearish viewpoint, nor am I ever married to any permanent bullish outlook (although gold may be the exception).  I just simply think the agenda of the Fed comes down on the side of the market bulls for the time being.

I look at the fundamentals.  I have prioritized understanding the fundamentals MORE than charts of the overall market in the last few years as I have seen and heard dire predictions of the chartists and the fundamental people come and go. While I realize there are literally dozens of negative fundamentals, here we are still are going about our daily lives and the forces who control the game, the same Powers That Be who have been around for ages and who have become more powerful than ever, remain (for now) in control.

The point being, the markets are not going to collapse unless the PTB somehow loses control, or wishes to see the markets unravel. Many still underestimate the resolve of the PTB to keep the system going – even after the near meltdown in ’08, which miraculously turned into at least a stock melt up in mid 2009. In the world of finance, the biggest poster child for the PTB is the Federal Reserve. And it’s quite clear that at the end of the day, the Fed’s operatives are not going to be sleeping at the switch in an election year.  Ben works for the Banks who own the Fed, Ben works indirectly for the POTUS. He will not cross either one, or so it seems so far.

You’ll recall, when Greeny (Alan Greenspan) was in the driver’s seat he did make life miserable for Bush 1 with a higher interest rate policy that kept everyone thinking the U.S. was in official recession, until we found out some months later that the recession had ended six months before Bush 1 was defeated. “It’s the economy, stupid!” resonated loudly with the body politic and the elder Bush was out. Bernanke must have the song, "I've Got The Power" loaded into his iPod, but it's unlikely he will use it against Obummer and with it being a certainly that banks would be pulverized by higher rates, Benster is not going to raise the discount rate, but may lower it further should GDP growth move even lower.

Anyway, this time things are completely different as if we moved from Earth to Uranus. The NBER says we are not in a recession and the full court press is on from the daily White House press briefings to the corporatist broadcasters that things are picking up. The Fed will do everything to ensure that message can continue to be broadcast for the benefit of the present POTUS. The Fed will also dare not raise interest rates this year (Ben already covered by saying it won’t be until late 2014 before we see an end to near zero interest rate policy). For those of us who know the real score, it’s frustrating that Fed is such a tool of malevolent forces, but that’s the way things are.  

As John P Morgan once stated (at least is said to have stated): “markets will fluctuate.” I am not saying every day will be an up day for the stock market, but the 2% and 3% declines that have peppered the market record over the last few years have been more often than not been followed by rebounds which have taken us from the 2009 lows to the present approach to all time highs.  Retail may be dead on Wall Street, but the PTB have a vested interest in goosing market higher. A few institutional buy programs involving SPX futures and it’s off to the races. In the PTB view who needs the smaller retail investor. In other words, the weaker volume in this latest move up isn’t a great concern to me and in my opinion is causing market pundits to wrongly conclude that the uptrend is not real.  Let me tell you something, the uptrend is a real slap in the face to market bears and slaps are real, indeed. Al Einstein, it has been said, slapped a guy in the face for questioning reality and asked if the slap was real, or not.  A market gain, or loss is just that. It's real and any number of variable into the why of the market move cannot be used to condemn a trend in the market. 

The opportunity remains for those who “play” the markets, that they can convert their fiat profits to tangible assets. This won’t be the case forever. I will try to let you know in the coming months when the you-know-what is about to hit the fan just as was done by your writer in late 2006.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the fan is eventually going to get hit and will fall over and be destroyed.  Those are going to be perilous times, but for now the corrupt status quo is managing to hold things up. Anyway, to those who constantly harp on the coming end, I ask ‘why in such a rush for anarchy?’ All the gold standard people of the turn of the last century are dead.  All of today's society raised on the fiat regime have no idea about money backed by metals and how such a system would work. I even find it to be a perplexing set of thoughts. Fiscal rectitude is scoffed at and ignored by those who control the spending in Washington today.  Surely an end to our profligate paradigm shall eventually arrive, but the timing doesn’t seem right for it to happen as early as May, or June as I’ve been noticing on the Twitter feed.  Don’t fall in love with this bullish phase, hedging is always a wise thing to do, especially for larger counts, but those who have been staying away from the market have erred to the point of missing out on making a fortune that again can be converted into real, tangible assets.

If Wall Street wasn't viewed with such negativity by the general public, Obama could seize on the stupendous gains Wall Street has experienced since the '09 lows. We know, however, that would backfire since the gains have come due to the biggest corporate welfare schemes ever - such as TARP, the creation of reserves for banks know as QE, along with the Fed taking debt with zero value on to its balance sheet as face value. 

Gold

My bullish long term gold views have not changed. It’s been a tough slog only for those who have been looking to make the quick “killing” with dreams of $10,000+ per ounce gold, or for those who play GLD and its options. I think the day shall eventually come when we see huge spikes up in gold. One will be pleased to have something of such value, but the overall world – especially for the U.S. and the end of dollar hegemony – is not going in a happy place.  The best mindset, as I have noted in the past is to see gold in the light of human history – as a store of value, or insurance for the time when fiat currencies fail (which has happened time and time again). Gold gained acceptance as a currency eons ago -- all that I can say, is that many are arrogant in this day and age to condemn gold t the trash heap of history. Gold is an exception of the cover your ass mentality of 'past performance is no guarantee of future results'. Gold has withstood the test of time, thousands of years worth of time.

This blog noted the other day, the arrangements going on between China and Iran to conduct petro business in gold.  This is a wild card situation for the dollar and has the potential to do more damage to the buck. The trading of Iranian oil for Chinese gold is slated to start at the end of June. The gold bears had better be praying that China does not spark a short squeeze in gold since it has plenty of funny money from the West to make gold purchases in order to keep up with payments to Iran, or anyone for oil. Jim Sinclair of JS Mineset has also spread speculation in the last few days that China and Russia are considering making the Euro their reserve currency.  Should that happen, the dollar will be in imminent peril and the bull market for stocks would end. Keep that in mind as a must watch situation.

Dollar Collar

The developing and ongoing factors positive for gold (like heavy Central Bank demand to name just one) keep me in the long term mode of being a long term bear on the dollar. Sadly, the dollar benchmark measurement is the flawed dollar index which leaves out developing economies in South America and Asia.  There is already more damage to the dollar than realized. But having said that, a delicate balance has been maintained in the dollar index and the key euro overweighting in the index.  Why the euro remains fairly firm on a relative basis (relative to all of the European problems) is a mystery at least to me. While many argue the Fed’s is on a mission to keep the dollar weak to enhance our trade advantage which aids in keeping some modicum of economic growth and bring with it the potential to monetize debt, the exception seems to be the euro being effectively pegged in the $1.30 area. Is that an accident, and a true depiction of the state of the not so mighty Euroland, or are other strange things going on behind closed doors as Sinclar has suggested? It’s all speculation for now, but a link up of Russia and China to the Euro would not be such a good thing for the dollar, I write in an understated sort of way.

See You Monday!

Have a ___ rest of the weekend – only you can decide what sort of weekend you are going to have!  

OT: Owl City

We have a hoot owl of some sort in the backyard woods... this song came to mind from Owl City, which is a band that I happen to like.

Ghana Gold; Spending Gold; Bernanke; Spain Woes; U.S. GDP

4/27/12
Everyone loves the gold trade. Take Ghana as an
example. Its central bank, not surprisingly called the Bank of Ghana, says it
exported $1.5 bln in gold in the first quarter of this year. According to my
calculator, that’s 909... please read more here...
http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/ghana-gold-spending-gold-bernanke-spain-woes-gdp/

Debtors Prison is Back in a New and Exciting Way in Some States?

If you have unpaid debts, you might not want to move to Minnesota, Arkansas, Illinois, Washington, or Ohio. Debt collectors can manipulate the so called "justice systems" of those states to get people thrown into jail for technicalities in the debt collection process. Of course, you should pay your debt unless one seeks bankruptcy, a federal process that super cedes the state kangaroo courts; though there are cases where errors have been made by debt collectors (fancy that) and the innocent end up spending a night in the clink. That is not good.

Read more...

Owe $280? Return of debtor prisons in the United States: http://bit.ly/I0DyQF

And here you thought debtors' prison was abolished in this country in 1833. haha. This is technically not the return of the debtors' prison of the pre 19th century era since debtors in the modern day are running into trouble due to receiving a judgement for being MIA in a debt related court proceeding, though the modern day incarceration of people due to issues tied to debt are horrible none the less horrible. As I have stated in the past, the lending class has almost unprecedented power over society, so it's not surprising to see stories of this nature popping up.

Is Earth Moving South?

Amazing what's on the web. This is thought provoking... also good fodder for an SEO test. Thanks!



BTW, I am not in the Mayan believing Dec 21 camp. I am also not in the camp who believes you need to live 675 feet above present sea level anytime soon because the oceans are about to go nuts. Seeds and provisions have a better chance of being useful should the financial system collapse in the near term, though I am of the opinion that there are still several months to 18 months to go before the fiat money system breaks under its own weight. Why is everyone in such a rush to see society fall apart, as flawed, evil and sick as it is? I can understanding the desire to see the bad guys lose, but that sort of outcome, me guesses, will come at a considerable cost measured in tens of thousands of gallons of spilled blood. My guess is also that post collapse is not going to be a walk in the park for a while - to say the least. End games are coalescing as more people (but far from enough) wake up to injustices, but this has been decades in the making - much longer than expected by folks looking for the end.

Silver Surge Coming?; France Credit Risk; The World Gold Council

4/19/12
Is it time for silver to rise at the cost of stocks? From Mineweb: “Hubert Moolman maintains that both gold and silver are close to entering the mania phase of the bull market but, in order to get there (sic) value needs to be diverted from somewhere... PLEASE READ MORE HERE... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/silver-surge-coming-france-credit-risk-the-world-gold-council/

Apple – Where to Next? Gold Manipulation; Things Calm in Spain – for Now

My brief commentary on Apple. The 50 day moving average at about $560 could be self fulfilling prophecy in the making. That’s where I will jump in long, IF I can get a price in that area, though my final decision will rest with what short term momentum indicators are telling me should the price reach the 50 day. Fundamentals have not changed for Apple thus far. If fundamentals were to... Read more here... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/apple-where-to-nex-gold-manipulation-things-calm-in-spain-for-now/

From 10 to 11 TODAY we will be doing a commercial free pilot test run of Gold and Silver radio at: http://www.live365.com/stations/wrcr?site=pro from 10 to 11 Eastern time. Scott Travers, Coin Collector's Survival Manual author, will join me. The Show will be sponsored starting next week by Certified  Assets Management and the Delaware Depository starting next week.  This live show will be repackaged and put on the web.  The radio station venue is mainly being used as a studio and the goal is to attract a worldwide audience on the web.

No Market Crash for Now

Why I am not looking for a market crash for now $SPX $DXY $C $FXE LTRO QE $AAPL $TGT $GS Read for free... no sign up... http://stks.co/3MNy

Bernanke Turns Markets Upside Down Again; TLT, Negative Yields & Gold, ADP, MF and A Smoking Gun at JP Morgan

• The area near the $1650 range has been a decent support area for paper gold futures. This morning it’s trading at $1625. It’s there due to yesterday’s Fed minutes. At the time of this meeting the Fed appeared not to be interested in easing U.S rates further. You will recall last week (after the Fed meeting in question), Bernanke made very dovish comments and stocks and gold advanced. This week, by way of the Fed minutes, the Fed appears to not be ready to do much of anything. I see this as part of the Fed’s open communications strategy.. read more here.... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/1941-2/

Banks and Their On Going Ailments; Ignore Dimon; Media Troubles;Eco Data

“Some of Wall Street’s biggest banks are bracing for fallout from a possible cut in their credit ratings. Moody’s Investors Service, one of the two big ratings agencies, has said it will decide in mid-May whether to lower its ratings for 17 global financial companies. Morgan Stanley, which was hit hard in the financial... Please read more for free at... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/banks-and-their-on-going-ailments-ignore-dimon-media-troubleseco-data/

No Charges, No Trial, No Lawyer, No Jury: Straight to Execution

A very good read. Know what you're going to be up against. Sorry folks, not the best of news.
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/03/no-charges-no-trial-no-lawyer-no-jury.html

Internet Shutdown This Weekend?

Rumors are starting to go around, thanks to a Paste Bin post by someone claiming to be part of a larger group under the name Anonymous. That this Saturday, they’ll “crash” the net.

To protest SOPA, Wallstreet, our irresponsible leaders and the beloved bankers who are starving the world for their own selfish needs out of sheer sadistic fun, on March 31, anonymous will shut the Internet down. We’ll look to shut down the Internet by disabling its core DNS servers, thus making websites inaccessible

“The greatest enemy of freedom is a happy slave.”

To protest SOPA, Wallstreet, our irresponsible leaders and the beloved
bankers who are starving the world for their own selfish needs out of
sheer sadistic fun, On March 31, anonymous will shut the Internet down. 

Read more here... http://nibletz.com/2012/03/rumor-anonymous-to-take-down-internet-this-saturday/

The End of the World is Coming

Time to short $SPY? lol. http://stks.co/2zWI

Mortgage Apps Fall; Bernanke Poo Poos a Gold Standard as Central Banks Buy More Gold; Prechter Wrong as Usual

Get those rates down NOW. Regular readers know of my skepticism of the housing recovery that’s supposed to come any day now. MBA mortgage apps collapsed 7.4%, 6th consecutive weekly drop; refis plunged 9.3%. This morning’s MBA numbers come a day after supposedly rosier building permit numbers. While certain markets may be seeing some...
Please read more here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/mortgage-rates-rise-bernanke-poo-poos-a-gold-standard-as-central-banks-buy-more-gold/

Stock Market Record Highs in View; Bonds, Gold, Apple and Bank of America

3/19/2012
A very important stock market milestone may soon be tested. All time highs.I speak of the SPY level at 157, the 2007 market peak. I remember that peak well.... Please Read More here: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/stock-market-record-highs-in-view-bonds-gold-apple-and-bank-of-america/

Energy Prices Do Matter; Apple; The Rails, Gold Bounces off the Lows; More QE Ahead

I waited until 10 ET today to put this post together so that I could see the latest Consumer Sentiment figures. No surprise. The rise in gasoline prices has dampened the spirits of consumers whose spending activities account for about 2/3rds of Gross Domestic Product. Yes.... Please read more here... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/1911-2/

Gold Due for a Bounce; Bullion Outperforms MS Rare Coins Since 2009

I will let today's headline speak for itself. Gold Due for a Bounce; Bullion Outperforms MS Rare Coins Index Since 2009.

Please read more at: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/gold-due-for-a-bounce-bullion-outperforms-ms-rare-coins-since-2009/

Ultimately, I think either rare gold coins and/or bullion are a 'Buy'. It depends on your preference.

More Euro Gold Selling? 1900 Gold Standard Anniversary; Stocks Add to Gains

3/14/12

Another day, another 3%, $50 down day in gold. Silver is down a little more than 2%. As I warned at the start of the year and commented at a FUN show educational seminar in January, I see $2,000 gold in 2012, but a rough path to that reality. I suspect that this latest... Please Read more here... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/more-euro-gold-selling-1900-gold-standard-anniversary-stocks-add-to-gains/

Fed Tuesday – Another Knee Jerk Day for the Markets?

3/13/12

“U.S. Dollar Hits an 11 Month High”

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a long term dollar bull, nor am I a long term gold bear. The above little headline, however, of the present, short term reality does get my attention. While the talking heads may disagree on what a stronger dollar means for stocks, bonds, gold, etc, the picture is so distorted by what the Fed has done and what it ultimately must do (more pumping of the system), that anything could happen in terms of a reaction from various asset classes. Please read more... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/fed-tuesday-another-knee-jerk-day-for-the-markets/

Labor Dept Serves Up More Baloney; Weak Trade Numbers; Uh Oh Timmy Speaks

I won’t belabor the labor market data from today’s first-Friday of the month Labor Department report. The government’s 227,000 jobs creation figure was better than economists expected. The number should be considered in this light: total job losses fell from 5.553 million to only... PLEASE READ MORE HERE:
http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/labor-dept-serves-up-more-baloney-weak-trade-numbers-uh-oh-timmy-speaks/

Greek Deadline Looms AGAIN; The Truth About Jobs; Gold and Stocks Attempt to Further Recover

Greece remains a front and center issue over the next couple of trading days. It’s almost do or die time – either a disorderly default is coming, or there shall be a miracle and everyone jumps into the pool. 7 a.m. NY time is the big deadline on Friday morning, according to this report, though the tally on who accepts the Greek bond swap may take a little time to be fully known.... PLEASE CONTINUE READING at my blog sponsor's site: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/greek-deadline-looms-again-the-truth-about-jobs-gold-and-stocks-attempt-to-further-recover/

Pandora, Gold, Eco Noise, Apple, China, FHFA

3/07/12
Some get impatient with gold. They feel a 5% drop in gold is too much. Have those people looked at the stock market? It’s not a completely good comparison; gold is far superior to paper equity which can go to an unthinkable zero even with the biggest brand name printed on the certificate. There has always been value to gold during the annals of recorded human history. And certainly Johnny-come-lately... PLEASE READ MORE at: http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/pandora-gold-eco-noise-apple-china-fhfa/

Weak Markets. Is Bernanke Really Finished with QE in 2012?

• 3/6/12
  Stocks have fallen out of bed.
  
  Gold has fallen out of bed. At $1680, gold is about back to where we saw the February break out gain traction thanks to the moves of Fed led Ben Bernankster. Operation twist continues in perpetuity to keep rates low and the Fed has also provided multi trillion dollar swap lines to keep the Euro banks operating. What many seem to miss is that QE3 is actually underway though the Fed has figured out that it is better... Please Read More Here.... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/1881-2/
  
  
  
  

The Gold Bulls at Citi and the Problem with Picking Numbers Out of Hat

• Zerohedge.com reports Citi is telling its clients that gold will reach $2400 dollars an ounce this year and “3,400 in future years”. The Citi report goes on to warn of short term weakness that could take gold back to $1,600 which Citi says would be an even better opportunity. This, of course, is picking numbers out of a hat, but it comes from the hat of a well known brand name in the financial industry, even if that brand name also qualifies to be in the ultra club of too-big-to-fail-Zombe banks.
  
  The only bit of newsworthiness that I see in this is that a mainstream financial entity has something positive to say about gold, but then again, these analysts from the ‘street’ have for years missed the gold rally so since it’s Monday I view Citi’s gold dispatch in a curmudgeon like way.  Please read more... 
  http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/the-gold-bulls-at-citi-and-the-problem-with-picking-numbers-out-of-hat/
  
  

Prices for Stuff

Source: http://www.aier.org/article/7545-everyday-price-index

Click image to enlarge. As we've said all along, prices for many (as in a majority of) goods have skyrocketed, though a small number of items have declined in price like clocks, televisions, cameras and suits. Also, not every cost of living is included on the list like lawn maintenance, insurance, professional fees... and list just goes on and on. The Fed chairman's recent testimony to Congress of little inflation is laughable and everyone knows it aside from Congress and the Bernankster.

Very Simple Post: Is Gold in a Bubble? Told in Pictures.

3/2/12

As I’ve said in the past, telling it in pictures can be far more effective than my 1,000 word a day missives. A long infographic following Wednesday’s gold mini meltdown (some are calling it a flash crash).  Courtesy of GBI: PLEASE READ MORE HERE:  http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/very-simple-post-is-gold-in-a-bubble-told-in-pictures/

This is chart and picture porn for gold fans! This is dollar blasphemy!!

The Gold/Stock Market Disconnect; Greece; 2012 Asset Performance… The Winner So Far is……

• In my best Porky Pig voice, “oh my, they are so powerful.” That’s my response to the latest takedown in in the price of gold which came on the day of the largest liquidity injection to date by the European monetary authorities. We all know gold was down as much as $100 an ounce in late post COMEX trading on Wednesday evening, $100 bucks an ounce, or 5%. That would be equal to a Dow drop of over 600 points (and I know the Dow and gold are two different animals, but it is a way of using size and scope to describe the size of the gold move on Wednesday). Plus, the Dow and gold have been beneficiaries of .... PLEASE READ MORE:  http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/1873-2/
  
  

Free Money! Metals Get Hammered ; Silver-Rama; Apple; Beer Shower

2/29/12
Happy Leap Day! Statistically, a baby has a 1 in 1,461 chance of being born on a Leap Day, according to today’s Wall Street Journal.

FREE MONEY!

How can you get your share of FREE money – and we’re talking millions in free money? Become a European bank. The Long Term Refinancing Operation, or... http://www.certifiedassets.com/inv/news/free-money-metals-drift-silver-rama-apple-beer/