• Crude Oil And Inflation Economic Crisis
  Conventional wisdom says high oil prices raise inflation and slow down economic growth. Recessions are therefore caused anytime oil prices spike, we are invited to believe. In the real world, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has lowered interest rates twice since he took over as head of the ECB in November, as oil prices went on rising, but economic and finance observers claim that keeping borrowing costs down will get harder as oil prices cruise to record levels in euro terms.
• Why U.S. Gov’t Confiscated Gold in 1933. Can it Happen Again?
  More and more investors are asking this question. Many observers and commentators have ridiculed this idea as archaic with the conditions that led to the confiscation being so different as to leave such a possibility as remote as the return of the dinosaurs.
• India’s Government Grudgingly Releases Report on Nuclear Power’s Effect on Human Health
  India is betting heavily on nuclear power to meet its surging energy needs. While India currently has six nuclear power plants (NPPs) with 20 reactors generating 4,780 megawatts, seven other reactors are under construction and are expected to generate an additional 5,300 megawatts.
• ECB makes Trillion Euro Bet, What it Means for Gold Price
  In this article Will Bancroft looks at the continuation of the ECB’s lending facility, what its impact will be in the markets, and whether the ECB is aware of the risks of its policies. The analysis looks at a rose tinted future the ECB is banking on, how the people of Southern Europe can check mate the ECB if they do not play ball. Read on for more and what this all means for the gold price.
• Markets Flat Following ECB LTRO, "Next Target for Silver" is September High
  WHOLESALE MARKET gold bullion prices hovered around $1785 an ounce Wednesday morning London time, while stocks and commodities were also broadly flat following the European Central Bank’s latest attempt to boost the liquidity held by the continent’s banks.
  Silver bullion meantime hit $37.36 per ounce, its highest level since last September.
• Silver Surges 4.5% To Over $37/Oz On “Massive Fund Buyingâ€�
  Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,788.00, EUR 1,329.96, and GBP 1,120.79 per ounce..
  Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,774.75, EUR 1,321.48, and GBP 1,120.42 per ounce.
• Gas Prices as an Indicator of Energy Costs
  The consumer does not need more reminders about the pain experienced with every fill up at the pump. The drain on your pocketbook is growing. During economic dislocation and diminished vitality any prospects of a turnaround dim as gas approaches $4.00 a gallon and beyond. Been here before and the idea that this time the economy will be less effected is unreasonable. The cost for all energy is rising but the impact of gas prices has a personal burden on everyday budgets. The Price of Fuel provides a useful synopsis.
• Why Are Gold and Silver Bulls Scared?
  Well, first of all, bull markets climb a wall of worry. But second, there are some powerful media forces trying to maintain the status quo. They are constantly disparaging Gold and talking about imminent corrections, bubbles, etc. As a recent example, Warren Buffett did a recent hit piece on Gold published in the Wall Street Journal (video talking head summary here). And, of course, there is always Jon Nadler at kitco.com to make sure you are NEVER bullish on precious metals no matter what.
• Dow Closed Above 13000: What Next?
  Kerri Shannon writes:
  he Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 13000 yesterday (Tuesday) for the first time since May 19, 2008, as investors remain optimistic amid global economic unease.
  The Dow gained 0.18%, or 23.61 points, to close just above the mark at 13005.12.

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Mish Deflationista vs Current Stagflation Environment
  This article deals with the current environment of stagflation we are in that will see periods of defined inflation, followed by short but intense deflation, unlike a constant “Deflationista” environment as insinuated in the writings of blogger, Mike Shedlock. A few years back he came out with an article about legendary Strategic Investor Donald Coxe (Who is an extremely captivating writer with his vast knowledge of history and amusing ways in which words are spun together), titled “Donald Coxe Jumps the Shark”. Mike got the call on deflation of 2008 correct…KUDOS to Mike. However, the constant beating of drums about deflation deflation deflation is kind of like someone waiting for over 20 years for that 3rd of a 3rd of a 3rd down that just never really seems to materialize. The discovery I made back in July of 2011 that a Contracting Fibonacci Spiral nailed every major high since the 1934 low after much thought defines why the markets are behaving as they do. By completion, this article should explain why defining the present environment as deflationary is like only using one sense to describe an elephant when using the collective of all senses provides a much better answer and explanation.
• Silver Hits 5-Month High with Gold "In Consolidation Period"
  SPOT MARKET gold prices climbed to $1781 an ounce Tuesday lunchtime in London – 0.3% off last week’s high – while stock markets gained along with the Euro, as European leaders postponed a decision on whether to increase the size of the single currency’s bailout fund.
  Commodities were mixed, while longer-dated UK and German government bonds ticked higher.
• MF Global Crime, Comedy and the Cover-Up
  MF Global’s October 2011 bankruptcy was the eighth largest bankruptcy by assets in the United States. James Giddens, the bankruptcy trustee, issued a press release on February 6 stating that his investigation found that money from customer accounts that was supposed to be segregated was improperly used to fund MF Global’s daily activities. Improper transfers of customer money occurred regularly in amounts under $50 million before MF Global’s bankruptcy. MF Global wasn’t caught, because it put the money back before customers knew it was missing.
• Small Cap Gold Stocks Successfully Retest 2010 Breakout
  When one speaks of gold stocks they should be more specific as the sector is diverse. The term Gold stocks usually refers to the large unhedged producers. Indices such as the HUI or GDX track these stocks and are a proxy for the gold stock universe. However, most companies in the sector are much smaller. We hear the term “juniors” so often and that is what makes it inconsistent. Juniors are typically micro-cap exploration companies. Yet, GDXJ the junior ETF is comprised of companies with market caps in the $500 Million to $1 Billion range. There is nothing junior about that. We notice there is a gap in terms of terminology. If Juniors are sub- $100 Million, and large caps are over $1 Billion, then what do you call those that fit the gap?
• A Primer on the Euro Breakup: Debt Default, Exit and Devaluation as the Optimal Solution
  It’s one thing to say that peripheral eurozone countries are better off leaving the euro, but how, exactly? And how severe can we expect the consequences to be, not only for those nations but also for the entire eurozone – and for the rest of us, worldwide? To minimize fallout from the event(s), it would be helpful to have a solid foundation, based on an historical understanding of similar events, on which we could build a reasonable set of expectations.
  In the following piece, Jonathan Tepper, my Endgamecoauthor, gives us the cornerstone of just such a foundation. With his London firm, Variant Perception, he has prepared a 53-page report with the very confident title “A Primer on the Euro Breakup: Default, Exit and Devaluation as the Optimal Solution.”
• Gold and Silver Stocks Poised to Recover in 2012
  Opportunities abound across the spectrum of precious metal equities, which remain undervalued as bullion prices continue their upward trends. That’s the word according to Charles Oliver and Jamie Horvat, both senior portfolio managers at Sprott Asset Management. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, Oliver and Horvat express cautious optimism about the prospects for gold stocks in 2012.
  The Gold Report: When we talked in the wake of the debt ceiling crisis last fall, Charles, you expected volatility to be good for gold and forecast a continuing long-term bull market for precious metals. These days, the scary stories pertain to the European Union (EU). Will negative headlines continue to play a role in the price of gold and silver?
• Global ‘Oil Shock’ Could Sink Obama’s Re-Election Bid
  As the price of North Sea Brent crude oil touched $125 /barrel last week, the topic of sharply higher gasoline prices suddenly caught the attention of the Main Stream Media (MSM). Spin artists for the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama were quick to deny any responsibility for soaring oil prices, and instead blamed the upward spiral on geo-political tension with Iran. However, since the days of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, – when the OPEC cartel placed an embargo on crude oil sales and hiked oil prices by 70%, the price of gasoline has been a key variable effecting the outcome of US-presidential elections.
• When Oil Rides High The Snakeoil Flows
  The US energy department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) launched its annual Energy
  Innovation Summit, 27 February, to a backdrop of oil price fear and a ritual bout of warnings on the
  economic dangers of spiralling oil prices, from media friendly economic gurus usually peddling the
  debt-deficit-and-doom storyline.
• Will Another Round of LTRO Send Gold and Silver Higher?
  Last week, gold and silver finished at their highest levels all year. Gold settled at $1,776.40, while silver surged 6.4 percent to close at $35.34. The recent rise in precious metals has been long overdue, but the dollar’s decline against the euro certainly contributed to the move.

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Inverted Totalitarianism and the Corporate State
  Stricken with a terminal disease, the decline of traditional society is unavoidable. For decades, the political institutions that fostered a Republic based upon individual liberty and responsibility fade into fond memory. Defenders of all that made America a shining example of human freedom are attacked and ridiculed for holding onto a moral and ethical system that is based upon the dignity of every individual. Most will blame the failure of this decay on the politicians that willfully pander to the masses with the next generation of social welfare programs. While defining a politician as a scoundrel, deserving damnation, seems obvious; the underlying source of the decay that eats away the culture comes from various directions.
• Investing In Silver: How to Buy Silver Coins and Bars
  Larry D. Spears writes:
  For investors who want to capture the coming move in silver, buying silver bars or coins is still one of the best options.
  Here’s why…
  Like gold, investing in silver is a great hedge against inflation and financial turmoil alike. It’s why demand for silver is increasing at an astonishing rate.
• Amazon Will Get Burned by the Fire
  Jack Barnes writes:
  Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has lost its focus.
  The pioneer of clicks for sales has decided it wants to be the next Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).
• Has the U.S. Housing Market Finally Bottomed?
  Martin Hutchinson writes:
  It was the most atrocious bubble in U.S. history pushing tens of millions of Americans into financial misery.
  Even today, the last of the lawsuits have yet to be filed.
  But five years later it’s finally coming back.
• Dollar, Gold and Gasoline: Much Ado About Nothing
  U.S. regular gasoline price has spiked almost 4% in one week to $3.688 a gallon as of Feb. 26, the highest level since last September, with residents in three states–Alaska, Hawaii, California– are already seeing above $4 at the pump, based on AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
• U.S. Economy Extend and Pretend is Coming To An End
  The real world revolves around cash flow. Families across the land understand this basic concept. Cash flows in from wages, investments and these days from the government. Cash flows out for food, gasoline, utilities, cable, cell phones, real estate taxes, income taxes, payroll taxes, clothing, mortgage payments, car payments, insurance payments, medical bills, auto repairs, home repairs, appliances, electronic gadgets, education, alcohol (necessary in this economy) and a countless other everyday expenses. If the outflow exceeds the inflow a family may be able to fund the deficit with credit cards for awhile, but ultimately running a cash flow deficit will result in debt default and loss of your home and assets. Ask the millions of Americans that have experienced this exact outcome since 2008 if you believe this is only a theoretical exercise. The Federal government, Federal Reserve, Wall Street banks, regulatory agencies and commercial real estate debtors have colluded since 2008 to pretend cash flow doesn’t matter. Their plan has been to “extend and pretend”, praying for an economic recovery that would save them from their greedy and foolish risk taking during the 2003 – 2007 Caligula-like debauchery.
• Stock Market Short-term Top Forming
  Current Position of the Market
  SPX: Very Long-term trend – The very-long-term cycles are down and, if they make their lows when expected (after this bull market is over) there will be another steep and prolonged decline into late 2014. It is probable, however, that the steep correction of 2007-2009 will have curtailed the full downward pressure potential of the 120-yr cycle.
  SPX: Intermediate trend – The intermediate uptrend is still intact, but a short-term top is forming.
• Our Depraved Future of Debt Slavery (Part II)
  There have been many forms of “debt slavery” throughout history, and almost everyone is chained to the oppressive financial, corporatist system now in one way or another. Although, this fact has not even remotely sunk in for millions of people who, unfortunately, have absolutely no clue how bad it can get. The real issue here, however, is not necessarily what people will have to do to survive the upcoming storms. Rather, it is what they will be forced to do to remain a functioning part of the system under threat of excessive monetary punishment, physical confinement or violence to them and/or those close to them. So, one must be financially/coercively attached to the system to be a “debt slave”.
• 2012 & Beyond: Pain at the Pump is Here to Stay, But it Won’t Doom the Economy
  Cetin Hakimoglu writes: In  April 29, 2011 I wrote an article titled “Dyseconomics: The New Macro Econ and The Greatest Economic Boom Ever” which predicts a huge bull market combined with surging living expenses, surging commodity prices and counterintuitively tame bond market inflation. Immediatly thereafter, we entered a steep correection on European debt fears, but with the dow within striking distance of 13000, oil $109 and gas approaching $4/gallon and treasuries still remarkably strong, the original premise of Dyseconomics remains unchanged. (http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article27835.html)

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• The ECB Gone Wild; Living in Interesting Times
  The historically hawkish European Central Bank (ECB) has the single mandate of ensuring price stability in the European Union. In the face of the rapidly unfolding debt deflation collapse of the European banking system in December 2011, the ECB shocked global financial markets with the December surprise of $645 billion in long-term refinancing operations (LTRO). The program provided three-year loans to strapped banks. The ECB on a lending binge to over 500 banks qualifies as interesting times by any standard.
• Taxes, Why Shouldn’t Everyone Pay Something?
  Don’t Tax You, Don’t Tax Me
  Tax that Man Behind the Tree!
  – Senator Russell Long, Democrat Louisiana (1918-2003)
  Last week’s letter on taxes drew more response than any letter I have written in years. Questions that were raised simply beg for an answer, and some of the replies were very thoughtful, well-written suggestions for alternatives. This week I am going to do something I can’t ever remember doing, and that is to use the entire letter to involve and respond to my readers. Let me begin by thanking all of those who responded, and to observe that every response I read was polite and courteous, even when aggressively disagreeing. Not every site on the internet has such a civil discourse among its readers. I appreciate that. Next week we will return to All Greece, All the Time or whatever the crisis du jour is, although I am much more interested in China of late. I will have to address the world’s largest nation at some point soon. At the end of the letter, I provide some very interesting and fun links and a note on an upcoming webinar with investment legend Israel “Izzy” Englander. Now, let’s zero in on taxes.
• Is Crude Oil About to Crash the Markets?
  Do I or Don’t I?
  I decided not to bother, what you ask? writing more of the same about the US stock markets, It don’t need a genius to write that the US stock markets are in a coma and stuck in the ICU room waiting to come back into the real world. Although nothing has really changed from the current ideas I am reluctant to post more of the same stuff when nothing really has happened.
• Stock Market Uptrend Topping
  Another quiet week in the US equity market as the entire range for the week was between SPX 1352 and 1369. While the SPX did not make a new print high, above 1371, it did make a new closing high for the bull market. Now all four major US indices are in new bull market territory. For the week the SPX/DOW were +0.3%, and the NDX/NAZ were +0.6%. Asian markets gained 0.4%, European markets lost 0.2%, and the DJ World index was +0.9%. On the economic front it was a quiet mixed week. On the uptick: consumer sentiment, new home sales, the WLEI, and the monetary base made a new high. On the downtick: existing home sales, FHFA housing prices, the M1 multiplier, and weekly jobless claims rose. Next week we’ll get a look at the first revision of Q4 GDP, the FED’s beige book, Case-Shiller and PCE prices. Best to your weekend and week!
• Financial Markets 2012: Bombs… er Government Bonds, Fiat Currencies and Gold
  The UNFOLDING destruction of the developed world’s economies and financial/currency systems continues apace. Public servants are trying to defy Mother Nature with the stroke of a pen; she will not yield to this. Radical Marxist POLITICAL solutions to practical problems are at the end of their collective ropes (double entendre intended). You CANNOT store wealth in paper, PERIOD. Those who do will get what they deserve: NOTHING. It has been and will be printed endlessly from this point forward as Socialist government policies have destroyed wealth creation and substituted Ponzi asset-backed economies in their place. Now those economic models have reached their COLLECTIVE endpoints.
• Our Depraved Future of Debt Slavery (Part II)
  “Debt” has been used as a means of slavery throughout human history, in ancient societies dating as far back as thousands of years ago, such as those in Mesopotamia, Egypt, North/South America, etc. Debtors in these societies would be forced to relinquish their crops, land, freedom and even their wives and children to satisfy unpaid debts. Such extravagant periods of debt creation often culminated in the necessity for systemic debt forgiveness (or “Jubilee”) by the decree of chiefs, emperors and kings to simply maintain some sense of social order [see Debt: The First 5000 years].
• Gold, Silver Juniors Should Shine in 2012
  After a tough 2011, Mark Raguz and his colleagues at Pinetree Capital are looking at the junior resource sector with renewed optimism. In this exclusive Gold Report interview, he names some of the plays that are fueling that sentiment, from gold names in Northern Ontario to silver names in Mexico.
  The Gold Report: Mark, what do you think will determine Pinetree Capital Ltd.’s (PNP:TSX) success in 2012, especially regarding the junior resource sector?
• U.S. January New Home Sales Moving Sideways But Record Low Number of Homes for Sale Raises Expectations of New Construction
  Sales of new homes slipped 0.9% to an annual rate of 321,000 in January. Purchases of new homes have moved around 311,000 to 324,000 for the last four months. Combined sales of new and existing homes have risen in the last three out of four months, largely due to the relatively strong performance of existing home sales.
• Stock Market Another Week Of Solid Action…And At Overbought…Risk Increasing…
  Not that the market did very much this week. It did very little. However, it did hold well considering how long the daily RSI’s on many of the major index charts have been overbought. 70 RSI’s have been normal behavior for several weeks. They went a few moments below from time to time, but overall the market has been staying overbought. Because of this reality, the majority of people are starting to act as if the market is due for a stronger pullback, but I’ll cover more on that in a bit. With a market this overbought for this long, it makes sense that each day is losing its volatility as the VIX is now well below 20 again. Things can be awfully boring with a VIX well under 20. So little movement.

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Rare Earths Investing Update
  By Jeff Clark, Casey Research We’ve received a number of inquiries from Casey Research subscribers about our opinion on the current rare earth metals market. We have covered this topic previously, but this article, we’ll take a fresh look.
  As a matter of a recap, rare earth elements (or REEs) is a generic name for 17 metals widely used mostly in high-technology devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, flat screen televisions, hybrid car batteries, lasers, optics, and military equipment. New uses for these metals are being constantly found, but more on that later.
• Metals and Mining Paradigm Shift, Exiting Easy And Cheap
  The massive growth of global prosperity over the last five centuries has been driven by easy and cheap access to critical materials:

  Food
  Fibre
  Energy
  Minerals

  However since October 2001 the CRB BLS Spot Index has reached record levels.

• South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Will Labour Choose the Best Man for the Job?
  The coalition government’s reform of England and Wale’s Police forces will soon kick into gear in the run up to the November 15th elections for Police and Crime Commissioners to replace Police Authorities, who will be tasked with holding police forces to account including the power to hire and fire chief constables as well as set force priorities in response to the populations needs.

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• FBI and Mainstream Media Silencing the Critics
  In 2010 the FBI invaded the homes of peace activists in several states and seized personal possessions in what the FBI–the lead orchestrator of fake “terrorist plots”–called an investigation of “activities concerning the material support of terrorism.”

  Subpoenas were issued to compel antiwar protestors to testify before grand juries as prosecutors set about building their case that opposing Washington’s wars of aggression constitutes giving aid and comfort to terrorists. The purpose of the raids and grand jury subpoenas was to chill the anti-war movement into inaction.

• How Greece Could Take Down Wall Street
  In an article titled “Still No End to ‘Too Big to Fail,’” William Greider wrote in The Nation on February 15th:
  Financial market cynics have assumed all along that Dodd-Frank did not end “too big to fail” but instead created a charmed circle of protected banks labeled “systemically important” that will not be allowed to fail, no matter how badly they behave.
• Stock Market and 2012 Presidential Elections
  With the 2012 elections looming, politics are increasingly dominating newsflow.  And it is only going to get worse, news will be all politics all the time by summer.  Speculators and investors will be watching with great interest, as these elections’ outcome will impact the markets for years.  But provocatively, the fortunes of the stock markets will heavily influence voters’ psychology and therefore the results.
• Greek Debt Nightmare and a Macro-View for Investor Profit and Protection
  “A “strictly confidential” report on Greece’s debt projections prepared for Eurozone finance ministers reveals Athens’ rescue programme is way off track and suggests the Greek government may need another bail-out .. 
  “The 10-page debt sustainability analysis, distributed to Eurozone officials last week but obtained by the Financial Times on Monday night, found that even under the most optimistic scenario, the austerity measures being imposed on Athens risk a recession so deep that Greece will not be able to climb out of the debt hold over the course of a new three-year, €170billion bail-out 
• Fatally Flawed Approaches to the U.S. Budget Deficit and Taxes…
  … Debt Will Swell Under 3 of 4 Republican Hopefuls’ Tax Plans
  A number of proposals on taxes and the budget have come out recently, one by President Obama, one by Mitt Romney, and one by a friend, John Mauldin.
  Every one of the proposals are fatally flawed, most of the for multiple reasons. Before one can fix a problem one must understand it.
• Inflation Means Less Cluck for Your Buck
  An important trend for many years has been the rising preference of consumers for chicken. Apparently those boneless, skinless, tasteless, chicken breasts are quite popular. In the U.S., production of broilers, table chicken, exceeds by ~50% the production of either pork or beef, when measured by weight. And those “clucks” are now costing more bucks.
• Silver Price Could Challenge $50
  Silver is currently trading at key resistance levels. See below, a six-year silver chart (all charts generated at fxstreet.com):
• Fed Conflates Inflation with Growth
  It is a sad situation when everything the man in charge of our central bank professes to understand about inflation is wrong. Mr. Bernanke does not know what causes inflation, how to accurately measure inflation or the real damage inflation does to an economy. He, like most central bankers around the globe, persists in conflating inflation with growth. The sad truth is that our Federal Reserve believes growth can be engendered from creating more inflation.
• Silver & Gold Looking at Gains on Week Despite Dull Markets
  U.S. DOLLAR gold bullion prices held steady around $1780 an ounce Friday morning London time, having fallen slightly from yesterday’s 3-month high.
  Silver bullion meantime hit its highest level since September, rising to $35.74 per ounce just after London opened.

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Greek Bailout Keeps ‘United States Of Europe’ Dream Intact…for Now!
  Arnold Bock with Lorimer Wilson write: Underlying much of what we see and don’t see regarding the modern-day tragedy that is Greece, is all about preserving the dream of a pan European nation state, a United States of Europe if you will. Only secondarily is it about the solvency of the Greek nation and about bailing out the foreign bank holders of Greek sovereign debt. Let me explain my perspective.
• Gold Jumps to 3-Month High on Options Expiry
  The PRICE of PRECIOUS METALS rose further Thursday morning in London, pushing higher from last night’s sharp jump in New York, with Dollar-priced gold trading at its highest level since mid-November above $1780 per ounce.

  Physical gold holdings backing the giant SPDR Gold Trust last night remained unchanged, however, both from Tuesday’s finish and one week ago.

• Forex Market Trading Insight: EUR/USD Rallies…Why?
  On February 16, EUR/USD, the euro-dollar exchange rate and the most actively traded forex pair, surged over 170 pips, from below $1.30 to above $1.3150.
  The explanations for the strong rally boiled down to “hopes” that the Greek bond-swap deal would be reached.
• Greece’s Lenders Have The Right To Seize National Gold Reserves
  Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,776.50, EUR 1,334.41, and GBP 1,130.45 per ounce.
  Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,754.75, EUR 1,325.04, and GBP 1,116.32 per ounce.
  Spot gold hit a 3 month high of $1,781.40/oz yesterday rising for the third day in a row. Gold has consolidated on those gains in Asia and Europe.
• Global Gas Set To Wreak Havoc For The Energy Majors
  US energy sector corporations are set to report a major slide in profits – probably the biggest fall since the financial meltdown of 2008-09. This time it wasnt a crash into deep economic recession that cut their earnings, but producing too much gas. The single word "fracking" explains all, as the drilling technique known as fracking implodes US natural gas prices and a frenetic bidding war for shale gas leases and other gas assets locks in producers, even the biggest energy majors into a no-win low price future. Spilling out from the gas subsector, the gas supply bulge’s impacts across the energy space are only just compensated by high and firm oil prices. When or if oil prices faltered, the financial situation for the energy majors will not be comfortable.
• UK Savings and Morthage Products Picks of the Week
  The Moneyfacts Pick of the Week showcases the best of the latest products to hit the consumer finance market.
  Brief product details together with independent Moneyfacts analysis can be used with confidence in your finance sections. You can select one or two products to sit beside a relevant story or use them all as a general feature.
• Greece Debt Bailout: Why I’m Mostly Bullish about the Eurozone
  Martin Hutchinson writes:
  Last week’s news that Eurozone GDP declined by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011 set all the usual pundits moaning about the inevitable decline of Europe.
  Even Andrew Roberts, a wonderful historian with whom I almost always agree, wrote in the Financial Times that "Europe’s fire has gone out."
• Five Savvy Ways Investors Can Conquer the Wall of Worry
  Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
  If you like extreme risk and consider living on the edge to be "normal," today’s column isn’t for you.
  Today I’m writing to the millions of investors who are completely terrified by the prospect of what’s next and who simply want their faith restored – not to mention their investments.
• Miners Saving the Silver Price?
  In another look at the silver market, Will Bancroft takes a look at Eric Sprott’s call to silver miners in November 2011. Have the suppliers of silver bullion to the market taken heed? Are the miners reclaiming the silver price? Read on to see how Mr Sprott’s call has been received, whether the miners are rethinking their precious product.

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Currency Market Forecasts, Forex FreeWeek is Here!
  Now through NOON Eastern time Wednesday, Feb. 29, you can have complete access to EWI’s most popular service for currency traders — for FREE!
  FreeWeek is absolutely free to anyone with a Club EWI user ID and password. There’s no obligation to buy, and no credit card information is required.
• Don’t Buy Government Bonds
  Lee Cooperman, the billionaire chief executive officer of Omega Advisors Inc., spoke to Bloomberg TV’s Erik Schatzker this morning about his hedge fund’s investments. Cooperman said investing in U.S. Treasuries “makes no sense,” he considers stocks the best investment today and that he likes gold, the S&P and Apple.
• Understanding the Basic Language of Option Trading
  “Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy.”          ~ Lao Tzu ~
  The peculiar vocabulary and concepts inhabiting an options trader’s thoughts are often the source of confusion to visitors to my world. I have often pondered that learning to understand options is a lot like learning a foreign language. When you arrive in the country whose language you seek to learn, you need a functional vocabulary immediately.
• Oracle in Early Stages of Next Advance
  Based on my intermediate work, Oracle (ORCL) ended a major bear phase at its Dec 21 low of 24.91 off of its 33.81 high from last October 27. The upmove from 24.91 to the Feb 2 high at 29.25 completed the first upmove in a major recovery rally period.
  The minor pullback to the Feb 15 low at 27.90 ended the correction of the prior upmove, which if accurate means that since the Feb 15 low at 27.90 ORCL should be in the early stages of a second major recovery advance that will hurdle key Feb resistance at 29.07-29.25 on the way to 30.80-31.20 thereafter.
• Herding Greek Cats From Bondage, Gold and Silver Battleground
  Listen to the empty words of the last bailout for Greece. Credibility with the Jackass was lost back on the third bailout, well over a year ago, out of the six bailouts in total. Perhaps it is seven comprehensive final bailouts. The pattern is clear. The politicians, without popular support, forge agreements on debt coverage with the Greek officials. The deals fall through, hit the ground, and expose the lack of support even from the European bankers, led by the Germans. The pattern has been vividly clear for over a year, enough for my dismissal of new accords right away on the basis that the German bankers will not conform and agree to the deals struck. The political leaders in France (Sarkozy) and Germany (Merkel) are due to lose their offices, yet they continue to march around at useless summits attempting to cut last ditch agreements that mean nothing. The people are not willing in Germany to hand over any more than the $3 trillion to date, from the start of the common Euro currency experiment. The bankers, like at the Bundesbank, should attend the summits, but that would be too obvious on where the majority of power is held. What is unfolding is a comprehensive Greek Govt debt default from the inability to contain the situation, the impracticality of the austerity budgets put in place, the wreckage that has come to the Greek Economy, and the intractable solution.
• New Greek Crisis is Biggest Risk for Gold
  U.S. DOLLAR gold prices held steady just off $1760 an ounce during Wednesday morning trading in London, after a rally in Tuesday’s US session saw gold climb 1.3%.
  Silver prices softened slightly but held above $34 per ounce – having through that level on Tuesday following the Greek bailout announcement. Stocks and commodities edged lower this morning, while government bond prices gained.
• 18 Ways Government Wastes Your Money
  David Zeiler writes: Never mind the $15 trillion national debt; the government blew $592,000 on a study last year to figure out why chimpanzees throw poop. That’s just one example of government waste described in a recent book by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK. His “Wastebook 2011″ features 100 examples of needless or ill-advised government spending. It adds up to $6.9 billion that America can’t afford. And while such waste is just a fraction of the federal government’s $3.8 trillion budget, a country that needs to borrow 36 cents of every dollar it spends should not be throwing money away on non-essential research. Like why chimps throw poop. Here are 17 other things the government wasted tax dollars on last year:
• Apple’s Meteoric Rise is Distorting the Stock Market Indices
  Shah Gilani writes:
  It happened almost a year ago, and it’s happening again.
  The meteoric rise in Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) stock price is distorting the major benchmark indexes, including the Nasdaq-100, the Nasdaq Composite, and the S&P 500.
• Commodities have Broken Out to the Upside
  With Greece in the rearview mirror, investors turned their attention to the risk on trades. The CRB index painted a clear breakout from its consolidation over the past few weeks. This breakout has been confirmed in silver, gold, oil and copper.

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Opportunity of a Decade in Japan’s Overlooked Stock Market
  Japanese stocks have long tempted value-oriented investors who hope to capitalize on the sclerotic Japanese market’s eventual turnaround. Unfortunately, those gains have proved largely elusive due to the global economy as well as reasons endemic to Japan.

  Last year, Japan suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March that led to power shortages that further impaired economic activity. At the same time, the yen’s appreciation and the EU’s sovereign-debt crisis weakened demand for Japanese exports, while flooding in Thailand disrupted the supply chain for global technology companies, including those in Japan.

• Ben Graham’s Curse on Gold
  This week we have a shorter Outside the Box, from my friend David Galland at Casey Research, with an interesting insight into why gold can be considered as a poor investment by some rather influential investors (like Warren Buffett) while others may see it as the core of a diversified portfolio. As usual when I use someone’s material for an OTB, I include a link at the end, if you want to look deeper. The rather large team at Casey Research specializes in gold, natural resources, and energy-related investments, for those with such an investing bent.
• Will the Greek Bailout Make Gold, Silver Rise or Fall?
  Some investors may feel that the Eurozone debt crisis has been resolved by the bailout from the other E.U. members. Whether it has or has not, is irrelevant to the price of gold, or is it?
  There are still hurdles in the way, such as the acceptance by private Greek Bondholders of the 53% haircut and low interest rates they will get until 2015. But let’s assume the best and believe they’ll accept the terms. The first market reactions were to move up and hold new levels without any effervescence in any market. The moves had largely been discounted already. Yes, we’re seeing a shift of money from the U.S. Treasury market to the euro but not in large amounts yet. In this piece we look at the overall prospects for the precious metals.
• U.S. Inflation Expectations Forecast No More QE
  If you study the difference between real or inflation adjusted treasury yields as measured by TIPS and nominal or non inflation adjusted yields you come up with inflation expectations. The Fed has specifically referenced this analysis leading up to QE2. In fact the deflationary trend as measured by TIPS in the summer of 2010 was the basis for expanding their balance sheet.
• Inflation Held in Check by Fear
  History has shown us time and again that out of control money supply expansion creates inflation. In light of the trillions of synthetic dollars that have been injected into the economy by the Federal Reserve over the past five years, most observers (this one included) had expected prices to spiral upward. But in making these determinations, many of us forgot to factor in the supply side of the supply/demand equation. Inflation remains low now because of game changing events that have reduced the demand for money.
• Facebook and Leveraged Populists
  The recent offering of Facebook stock was the biggest news since a man landed on the Moon. The story was everywhere. Someone said the company is worth $100 billion and that was repeated one-hundred billion times. It is the saturation of noise, more than the supposed price, that should warn investors. This too, shall pass.
• Gold Rises on Continuing Greece Default Threat Despite Greece Bailout Agreement
  U.S. DOLLAR gold bullion prices spiked to $1747 an ounce Tuesday lunchtime in London – a 1.3% gain on last week’s close – as US Markets re-opened to the news that European finance leaders have agreed to bail out Greece.
  Silver bullion also spiked, hitting $33.97 per ounce – 1.9% up on the start of the week.
• Android@Home and Project X, Google’s Secret Plans Revealed
  Lately, Google Inc.’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Mountain View, CA-based headquarters have looked more like the clandestine lair of a Bond villain than a business center.
  The company has poured more than $120 million dollars into construction projects that are fit to house testing labs and top-secret initiatives with names like "Project X."
• Apple, When to Buy the World’s Hottest Stock
  Keith Fitz-Gerald writes:
  Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) are taking a breather, leaving many investors wondering if they’ve made an iBoo-Boo.
  The hottest stock on the Nasdaq has fallen more than 4.6% as I write this since hitting a new intraday high of $526.29 on February 15, 2012.

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Disability Fraud Holds Down U.S. Unemployment Rate
  Looking for another reason for an artificially low unemployment rate?
  Consider disability fraud, people claiming disabilities they do not have such as mental illness. Prior to the great recession 33% of applicants claimed mental illness. The number is 43% now.
• China’s "Mystery" Gold Buyer
  Was the People’s Bank of China really buying gold at the rate of 1 ounce in every 8 sold worldwide last quarter…?
  SO THOSE MILITANT crazies known to the mainstream media as "gold bugs" – and to the FBI as subversives – got the headline they’ve been longing for, apparently, last week.
• In Search of Silver
  In this article about the silver price, Will Bancroft takes a look at what the last year has delivered for silver investors, and what the future of silver investment might hold. Read on for more on what Professor Roy Jastram called “the restless metal”.
• Gold, Silver and the U.S. National Bird
  Benjamin Franklin originally recommended the turkey as the national bird for the U.S. Today, we imagine that after considering the situation being created by the current regime in Washington he might recommend the ostrich as a more appropriate national symbol. With its head buried in the sand to avoid facing critical issues, the U.S. may be ignoring the vulnerabilities in today’s world. For those that are not familiar with the old story of the ostrich with its head in the sand, we submit the following picture of the proposed new U.S. national bird.
• Gold’s Consolidation Phase Continues, Time to Deliver for Euro Leaders
  WHOLESALE MARKET gold bullion prices held above $1730 an ounce in Monday morning’s London trading – roughly in line with where gold has been for much of February – while European stocks and commodities edged higher amid hopes that policymakers might finally approve Greece’s second bailout. US markets are closed for a holiday.
  Silver bullion prices were also fairly flat this morning around $33.50 per ounce.
• Flexible Pension Drawdown Choice Widens
  Less than a year after its introduction, flexible drawdown is available on around three quarters of SIPP plans, research by Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts has revealed.

  When the April 2011 start date for the facility was confirmed, providers wanting to offer the option at the earliest opportunity had just four months in which to prepare, leading to predictions that only the more fleet of foot specialist SIPP providers might be able to prepare in time.

• Crude Oil and Gold Surge On Likely Iran Military Action
  Gold’s London AM fix this morning was USD 1,729.50, EUR 1,307.36, and GBP 1,090.82 per ounce.
  Friday’s AM fix was USD 1,732, EUR 1,316.51, and GBP 1,093.09 per ounce.
• From Riches to Rags, the U.S. Housing Market Crash and Bankruptcy
  Brad C writes: My experience with a tax audit, real estate crash, rental house woes, foreclosures, layoff and bankruptcy:
  In a nutshell, we went from a 4,000 square foot home, worth more than $1 million, a vacation home, new RV, Mercedes convertible, Jeep, $50,000 SUV, 20 rental properties, a property management company and a great full time job… To living in a modest rental house in the middle of nowhere.
• Taxes, Pay Up or Die!
  Laurence M. Vance writes: Because I don’t like to pay taxes, I was intrigued by the title of the article by Stephen Foster that I was directed to titled: "102 Things NOT To Do If You Hate Taxes." The article is a liberal defense of the legitimacy of the government (usually federal, but sometimes state or local) confiscating a portion of Americans’ incomes and redistributing and reallocating the incomes because the government provides certain services. Implied throughout the article is the myth that none of the 102 things listed "NOT to do" would exist without the government. The above Holmes quote appears at the end of the article.

Digest powered by RSS Digest