Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, Has A Nightmarish Track Record Of Incompetence

Even Ben Bernanke's mother calls him Pinocchio.

Any thought, belief, or notion that US Fed QE programs will be stopped is unequivocally wrong. If not for the fact that the entire global financial system would collapse if the Fed's money printing were to EVER end, then certainly for the undeniable fact that Bernanke has NEVER gotten it right.

Ben Bernanke is a world class buffoon, who has gotten a free pass on his always wrong predictions regarding the US and global financial system simply because he holds the post of Chairman of the US Federal Reserve...and is proclaimed to be an "expert" on the 1930s Great Depression.

Ben Bernanke has an extensive history of making statements that are patently false and inaccurate.

Bernanke downplays inflation risk of QE3
Worst thing Fed could do would be to hike rates prematurely
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday played down the fears of some more hawkish central bankers and investors that

“I don’t believe significant inflation is going to be the result of any of this,” Bernanke said in a speech at the University of Michigan.

The Fed has the tools to exit its easy policy stance before inflation appears, he said.

The Fed will watch closely to see whether the zero-interest rate policy that has been in place for four years could eventually lead investors to make unwise decisions, creating an asset bubble, he added.

Bernanke also said there is a continuing debate over whether Fed policy is a cause of asset bubbles. The Fed has an “open mind” on the issue, he remarked, and will continue to monitor markets and toughen bank supervision to guard against financial instability.

More…

Seriously?  Perhaps Mr. Bernanke's definition of "significant inflation" needs to be examined.  His track record of comments regarding his actions and beliefs as Fed Chairman certainly points to his once again being entirely wrong with his "belief" that  the Fed’s aggressive bond-buying program will not lead to higher inflation. 

From 10 Things That Every American Should Know About The Federal Reserve

The mainstream media portrays Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as a brilliant economist, but is that really the case?

Let's go to the videotape.

The following is an extended excerpt from an article that I published previously....

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In 2005, Bernanke said that we shouldn't worry because housing prices had never declined on a nationwide basis before and he said that he believed that the U.S. would continue to experience close to "full employment"....

"We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit. I don’t think it’s gonna drive the economy too far from its full employment path, though."

In 2005, Bernanke also said that he believed that derivatives were perfectly safe and posed no danger to financial markets....

"With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly."

In 2006, Bernanke said that housing prices would probably keep rising....

"Housing markets are cooling a bit. Our expectation is that the decline in activity or the slowing in activity will be moderate, that house prices will probably continue to rise."

In 2007, Bernanke insisted that there was not a problem with subprime mortgages....

"At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained. In particular, mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers continue to perform well, with low rates of delinquency."

In 2008, Bernanke said that a recession was not coming....

"The Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession."

A few months before Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed, Bernanke insisted that they were totally secure....

"The GSEs are adequately capitalized. They are in no danger of failing."

For many more examples that demonstrate the absolutely nightmarish track record of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, please see the following articles....
*"Say What? 30 Ben Bernanke Quotes That Are So Stupid That You Won’t Know Whether To Laugh Or Cry"
*"Is Ben Bernanke A Liar, A Lunatic Or Is He Just Completely And Totally Incompetent?"
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Burn in Hell Bernanke!

Petition To Audit The US Treasury Gold Supply

The Gold Anti-Trust Committee (GATA) and other advocates--who argue the quantity of Gold held by the world's central banks, international bullion banks, and future exchanges is overstated--are backing a petition demanding an assayed public audit of the US Gold Reserve published January 9 on the White House petitions website:

we petition the obama administration to:

Perform an assayed public audit of all the Treasury's claimed 8,100 tons of gold and net of swaps, loans & sales.

As of 12/31/2012 the US Treasury claims to hold 261 million ounces of gold at Denver, Fort Knox, West Point and at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This bullion was last subjected to a full physical audit in 1953. The gold bars need to be assayed and weighed. Once the gold is verified the paper trail must be audited to determine who really owns the gold; i.e. how much has been loaned to bankers and dealers and sold or swapped to non-Treasury entities including foreign governments. The audit must include professional auditors outside of the Mint, Treasury, GAO, Inspector General and Federal Reserve system.


YOU can sign the petition here:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/perform-assayed-public-audit-all-treasurys-claimed-8100-tons-gold-and-net-swaps-loans-sales/rGyFTLwD

The petition needs only 25,000 signatures for a formal response from the White House.

Sadly, the response will be one denying what the people demand, but it will be interesting to see just what excuse the White House uses to shoot down an idea that is far more worthy of people's time and attention than "minting" coins whose only real symbolism is that America is flat broke.

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It Begins: Bundesbank To Commence Repatriating Gold From New York Fed

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/14/2013 - 20:32 In what could be a watershed moment for the price, provenance, and future of physical gold, not to mention the "stability" of the entire monetary regime based on rock solid, undisputed "faith and credit" in paper money, German Handelsblatt reports in an exclusive that the long suffering German gold, all official 3,396 tons of it, is about to be moved. Specifically, it is about to be partially moved out of the New York Fed, where the majority, or 45% of it is currently stored, as well as the entirety of the 11% of German gold held with the Banque de France, and repatriated back home to Buba in Frankfurt, where just 31% of it is held as of this moment. And while it is one thing for a "crazy, lunatic" dictator such as Hugo Chavez to pull his gold out of the Bank of England, it is something entirely different, and far less dismissible, when the bank with the second most official gold reserves in the world proceeds to formally pull some of its gold from the bank with the most. In brief: this is a momentous development, one which may signify that the regime of mutual assured and very much telegraphed - because if the central banks don't have faith in one another, why should anyone else? - trust in central banks by other central banks is ending.

Gold Price Hammered As USA Heads Towards Financial Doomsday

Didn't the CME lower margins on Gold and Silver last week?

CME lowers gold, silver, copper, natgas margins | Reuters

• Nov 15, 2012 · Nov 15 (Reuters) - The CME Group on Thursday lowered margins for natural gas, gold, silver, copper, lean hog and live cattle futures, effective after …

ANY COMEX margin change, higher or lower, always manages to favor the shorts.

December is the NUMBER ONE month for Gold and Silver deliveries annually.  The "December" Gold and Silver contracts trade on the notably criminal COMEX in New York during the month of "November".  November is "seasonally", on average, the first or second most bullish month for these two Precious Metals EVERY year.

This year, from it's close on October 28, 2012 up to it's November high, the price of Gold was up 4.5%.  On one 100 ounce NY COMEX Gold contract, a trader held a $7694 unrealized profit at the November high price, if he had purchased his contract at the close in October.  The November high in Gold occurred at 11AM the morning of November 23, 2012.  The November high price for Gold at that time was $1754 per ounce.

This year, from it's close on October 28, 2012 up to it's November high, the price of Silver was up 11%.  On one 5000 ounce NY COMEX Silver contract, a trader held a $16,950 unrealized profit at the November high price, if he had purchased his contract at the close in October.  The November high in Silver occurred at 7PM October 26, 2012.  The November high price for Silver at that time was $34.28 per ounce.

With unrealized profits in the Precious Metals of this magnitude going into options expiration, it was imperative that the bullion banks do everything in their power to prevent delivery demands at great financial loss to the banks.

Nov. 27 Comex December gold options expiry

Nov. 27 Comex December silver options expiry

Let the games begin!
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CME Declares Force Majeure Due To “Operational Limitations” On NYC Gold Depository

Published in Market Update Precious Metals on 27 November 2012 

CME Group declared a force majeure at one of its New York precious metals depositories yesterday, run by bullion dealer and major coin dealer Manfra, Tordella and Brooks (MTB), due to “operational limitations” posed by Hurricane Sandy.

MTB has “operational limitations” following Hurricane Sandy and can’t load gold bullion, platinum bullion or palladium bullion, CME Group Inc., the parent of the Comex and New York Mercantile Exchange, said today in a statement.

MTB must provide holders with metal at Brinks Inc. in New York to meet current outstanding warrants in relevant delivery periods with compensation for costs, Chicago-based CME said.

The CME said that MTB will not be able to deliver metal as the lower Manhattan company deals with "operational limitations" almost a month after the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.

MTB is one of five depositories licensed to deliver gold against CME's benchmark 100-troy ounce gold contract, held 29,276 troy ounces of gold and 33,000 troy ounces of palladium as of Nov. 23, according to data from CME subsidiary Comex.

In a notice to customers on Monday, CME declared force majeure for the facility, a contract clause that frees parties from liability due to an event outside of their control.

CME said that individuals holding MTB warrants or certificates for a specific lot of metal stored in the depository, may receive gold delivered from Brinks Co. (BCO) in New York. MTB is responsible for any additional costs incurred by customers receiving metal from Brinks, CME said.

"This shouldn't have a material impact on the way market participants are doing business," a CME spokesman said. "They'll still contact MTB if they want to take delivery on contracts," and MTB will arrange for delivery through Brinks according to Dow Jones Newswires.

In a notice posted to its website dated Nov. 12, MTB said the firm "sustained substantial damages" following Hurricane Sandy's arrival in New York City on Oct. 29, and had curtailed its operations.

The force majeure will remain in effect until further notice from the exchange, the CME said. The delivery period for CME's December-delivery precious metals futures begins on Friday.
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Doesn't ANYBODY find it the least bit alarming that MTB has conveniently used a natural disaster to hide the fact [assumed] that it DOES NOT HAVE THE METAL AVAILABLE to meet December Gold delivery demands?  Seriously, this storm hit New York almost one month ago, and now with just two days before "first notice delivery" they have encountered “operational limitations” preventing them from making good on delivery demand of Gold via December Gold contracts sold through their depository?  Seriously?  This is OUTRAGEOUS!

Jim’s Mail Box

November 28, 2012, at 3:17 pm
by Daniel Duval in the category General Editorial | Print This Post | Email This Post

Jim
Richard outdoes himself in this report. Now they are calling it a roll over that was executed not as a spread but as an outright sale. That was such a bold manipulation that even they have to come up with an excuse.
Richard is right. That is what is called “an operation.”
Those watching the precious metals markets (this excludes the CFTC) are well aware of yesterday’s options expiry for Gold and Silver on the COMEX, and the Friday “first day notice” just ahead…and some violent ‘games’ by the Cartel in the paper markets were duly expected.
This morning Blythe apparently unleashed her heavily-caffeinated flying monkeys to ‘game’ the markets. Completely incredible paper volume in view of existing physical supply. In seconds. Good morning!
Oh, did I say ‘physical?’
– Yesterday’s Manfra ‘force majeure’ excuse (one of COMEX’s five bullion stores) for non-delivery of physical bullion should (in a regulated, unmanipulated market) have sent the spot price of Gold several hundred dollars higher, but it looks like the Banksters have discovered Bennie’s secret CTRL+P trick of creating binary electronic digits out of thin air…beats mining with a pick and shovel, eh?
These are no longer markets as price-discovery vehicles, but more resemble playing naked-twister with sociopaths and crooks.
– The MF Global and LIeBOR frauds were just a small ‘taste’ of what’s coming when it is discovered that the paper masters of the universe have hypothecated and rehypothecated physical bullion (both private and sovereign) many times over. [For CFTC regulators read: it's long gone and many are not going to get it back, ever.]

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Gold Tumbles Most in Three Weeks on Fiscal-Cliff Concerns

By Debarati Roy & Joe Richter - Nov 28, 2012 2:42 PM ET Bloomberg

Gold futures fell the most in three weeks as pessimism on a U.S. budget resolution eroded demand for commodities.

On the Comex in New York, gold futures for February delivery tumbled 1.5 percent to settle at $1,718.80 an ounce at 1:38 p.m., the biggest drop for a most-active contract since Nov. 2. In the first 30 seconds of floor trading, 7,700 contracts traded, according to PVM Futures Inc.
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In the FIRST 30 SECONDS of floor trading, 7,700 contracts traded!!!  That equates to a 770,000 ounce dump of Gold onto the market.  But was it real Gold, or merely "paper Gold"?  770,000 ounces represents 1% of global annual Gold production.  

Gold was trading at $1735.59 an ounce prior to the NY Open of the COMEX.  770,000 ounces x $1735.59 =  $1,351,034,300 !!!!!!!

What moron would SELL $1.3 BILLION of Gold in 30 SECONDS, let alone sell it in the face of "Fiscal-Cliff Concerns"?  Selling Gold in this environment seems hugely counter-intuitive, does it not?

Dealer inventory [the MTBs of the COMEX world] is 2.528 million ounces.  770,000 equals 30% of ALL the Gold available to meet delivery demand held by the COMEX depositories.  How can 30% of all the available COMEX Gold be sold in 30 SECONDS not raise a single red flag at the CFTC?  

The question that begs to be asked is...who bought 770,000 ounces of Gold in 30 SECONDS.  There is a buyer for every seller don'tcha know?  And what if the person[s] that bought that Gold decides to demand delivery of it next month?  Mere speculation...  If I had to guess, JP Morgan's left had bought the 770,000 ounces of Gold it's right hand sold...all in the name of 1. bailing out the bullion banks that were underwater at the end of a bullish month for the price of Gold, and 2. Suppressing the price of Gold when it should obviously be rising as the USA heads for financial doomsday.

28 November 2012

Comex Open Saw 24 Tonnes of Paper Gold Dumped at Market - Sharks, with Laser Beams

I am open to more data and other possibilities, but it certainly looks like the infamous Dr. Evil strategy being employed for the Comex post-option expiration in which a large number of call options are turned into active December futures contracts, and then hit hard with a manipulative price effort the next day. I suggested that this might happen given the way in which the option market closed on Tuesday. Such phenomena are like old friends now in these markets.

Funny too how roughly the same thing happened in the Silver futures about the same time. Silver is also post option expiration today.

As you know I used to track the big price drops around key option expiration dates on the precious metal charts.

That is not the only possibility. It could also be some 'tape painting' as the big shorts knock the price down before they close the books on their losing positions for the month. But I am inclined to think it was a special post-expiration event.

And it *could have been* just an unfortunate accident that happened in two different and important global markets simultaneously. Maybe it just 'vaporized.'

Not to worry, I am sure Bart Chilton and the stalwarts at the CFTC, who are closely watching the gold and silver markets, have already identified the seller(s), and examined their selling motivations, and the size and placement of their 'fat finger.' I am sure they will let us know about it, four or five years from now.

"Gold saw a massive 24 tonne sell order (7,800 contracts) at 08:20 a.m. New York time - bang on the opening of the world's largest gold exchange - which [saw] a fall of 2.25% in the market price.

If the selling was year-end profit-taking then it was inept. Dealers try and finesse big sell orders into the market to get the best (highest) price for the biggest volume they can and thereby optimize profit - that requires stealth. If on the other hand it was a "fat finger" episode as has been suggested with a broker said to be looking to roll his December gold futures contract then it was even more inept.

More likely this could be a short play, with the seller looking to trigger stops below the market at $1730 and thus extend the move significantly lower and thus increase his profits. If so, he certainly caught the market on the hop as the move is counter-intuitive with everything else that is going on in the economy.

Rising concerns about whether Democrats and Republicans can find common ground between tax increases and entitlement spend reduction remains to be seen. More importantly, the US reaches its law-enshrined debt ceiling of $16.4 trillion early to mid February 2012. That promises fireworks again as it did in August 2011 when gold hit an all time high of $1922 as the market stares into the abyss of a possible US debt default.

Against the current economic backdrop, a short seller would have to be quite brave. In short, we will not know the identity or the reason for the sale for a while. Longer term gold investors should not however be deterred - the rationale for buying gold is as favorable as ever and a degree of patience required.

Ross Norman, CEO, Sharps Pixley, London, Flash Crash in Gold - Whodunnit?

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If the bullion bank cartel was covering their grossly underwater shorts today, it would be a MAJOR signal that prices are going higher very soon!  Only time will tell, but a clear signal that prices may be back on the rise as early as tonight's Asian market open is the simple fact that the HUI Gold Bugs Index closed up almost 1% today in spite of the beat down of the Precious Metals bullion prices over at the notoriously nefarious NY COMEX this morning.

A move and close back above $1723.25 in Gold should put this contrived sell off in the rear view mirror.  That Gold's price closed above $1713.77, the 50% Fib retracement of the November rally, today should be considered a "buy the dip" opportunity.  Take advantage of it, and reconsider ONLY if price closes below $1713.77 in New York.

The fact that Silver BOUNCED HARD at $32.90, the 38% Fib retracement of the November rally, should be considered HUGELY BULLISH.  In fact I would not question the bullishness of Silver at this time unless price closes below $32.46 in New York.  Congratulations if you bought today's dip.  Reconsider ONLY if price should fall below $32.90.

Only a fool would believe that the US Government is going to fix, resolve, improve the nation's and/or the World's burgeoning economic morass.  And only a bigger fool would unload his Precious Metals on the cusp of Global Financial Armageddon.

THERE IS STILL TIME TO ACCUMULATE PHYSICAL GOLD AND SILVER...BUT ONLY WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

Gold and Silver At A Crossroads, But Solid Fundamentals Support A Move To New All-time Highs In 2013

Gold and Silver have performed "constructively" since the late September highs in both markets.  A 50% correction in both Precious Metals markets thru the annually weak month of October was less about manipulation, and more about "necessary", following both Precious Metals strong rallies that commenced in early August.

No market moves straight up, or straight down.  Corrections should be welcomed, and looked at as opportunities to add to positions in the direction you believe the market is moving within the "big picture".

The "correction zone" for any strong rally is between 38% and 50% of the rally [or decline].  If a market finds support within the correction zone, it is likely to soon retest its recent high, and/or extend the recent rally to new highs [or lows].

Understanding this technical aspect of any market makes it much easier to understand and take advantage of "opportunities" a market presents to ALL traders.

With that being said, please note that since I suggested "buying the dip" in my November 2nd post, both Gold and Silver have rallied and regained 50% of their respective October declines.

Gold and Silver are at a crossroads now.  Take out the respective 50% Fibonacci retracements of their October declines, and we can expect to see a retest of the late September highs in both Precious Metals going into the Christmas holidays.

[click on image to enlarge]

It can not be emphasized enough that the "fundamentals" of the Precious Metals offer MAJOR support to both these markets.  The results of the Presidential Election [as incorrect as my prediction was ;-) ] have not changed a thing in Washington.  The Status Quo survived intact, and only adds support to the bullish case for both Gold and Silver.

Consider that the "Fiscal Cliff" the mainstream financial press has suddenly "discovered" was caused by dealing with the Debt Ceiling debate in September 2011, and that its hoped for "resolution" will only conflict with yet ANOTHER Debt Ceiling debate in early 2013...how can anyone be anything but bullish on the prices of the Precious Metals?  Seriously, the President and the Congress have their backs firmly against the Fiscal Cliff's edge.  Damned if they do, double damned if they don't.  

The American public [the tax payers] are about to be sold the notion that the Debt Ceiling must be raised by $2.5 TRILLION to "prevent" the US Government for defaulting on their debt obligations.  What could be more LUDICROUS escapes me.

Look at the reaction to mere photo opps as the President and Congress try to provide confidence to the World that America will avoid the Fiscal Cliff and remain "solvent".  The recent equity rallies are little more than short squeezes.  The "business climate" going forward in America and Europe is hardly encouraging.  Hope and Hot Air are not fundamentally sound pillars of global business and equity strength.

The single biggest deterrent to a race higher in the Precious Metals would be a false strengthening in the US Dollar should the US Equity markets implode as the reality of the Fiscal Cliff and the impending Debt Ceiling debate becomes all too obvious to even the bumbling mainstream financial news media.  This deterrent will be fleeting at best as the entire World comes to the realization that the US Dollar is DOOMED.

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Foreign Buying of U.S. Assets Plunges on Europe Optimism
By Kasia Klimasinska and Meera Louis – Nov 16, 2012 11:53 AM ET

International purchases of U.S. financial assets plunged 96 percent in September as confidence grew that Europe was beginning to solve its debt crisis and investors sold Treasuries following the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing announcement.

Net buying of long-term equities, notes and bonds totaled $3.3 billion during the month, down from net purchases of $90.3 billion in August, the Treasury Department said today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected net buying of $50 billion of long-term assets, according to the median estimate.

ECB President Mario Draghi has called the euro “irreversible” and said the new government bond purchasing program will have effective conditionality attached. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

The Federal Open Market Committee said Sept. 13 that it would undertake a third round of quantitative easing by purchasing mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month until labor markets improve substantially.

“QE3 certainly played its role in basically encouraging people to take risk and to some extent to short the dollar,” Sebastien Galy, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at Societe Generale SA in New York, said. “The risk appetite was pretty strong overall, there were better places to park your money than the dollar,” and “there was a big rise in optimism regarding the euro zone.”

More…

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Asian economies turn to yuan
Updated: 2012-10-24 00:57
By Gao Changxin ( China Daily)

A “renminbi bloc” has been formed in East Asia, as nations in the region abandon the US dollar and peg their currency to the Chinese yuan — a major signal of China’s successful bid to internationalize its currency, a research report has said.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics, or PIIE, said in its latest research that China has moved closer to its long-term goal for the renminbi to become a global reserve currency.

Since the global financial crisis, the report said, more and more nations, especially emerging economies, see the yuan as the main reference currency when setting their exchange rate.

And now seven out of 10 economies in the region — including South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand — track the renminbi more closely than they do the US dollar. Only three economies in the group — Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Mongolia — still have currencies following the dollar more closely than the renminbi, said the report, posted on the institute’s website.

The South Korean won, for example, has appreciated in sync with the renminbi against the dollar since mid-2010.

China has long vowed to raise its currency’s global sway, along with the rise of its economy, which became the world’s second-biggest last year.

More…

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U.S. Companies Cut Spending Plans Amid Fiscal and Economic Uncertainty
By SUDEEP REDDY and SCOTT THURM

U.S. companies are scaling back investment plans at the fastest pace since the recession, signaling more trouble for the economic recovery.

Half of the nation’s 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders have announced plans to curtail capital expenditures this year or next, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of securities filings and conference calls.

Nationwide, business investment in equipment and software—a measure of economic vitality in the corporate sector—stalled in the third quarter for the first time since early 2009. Corporate investment in new buildings has declined.

At the same time, exports are slowing or falling to such critical markets as China and the euro zone as the global economy downshifts, creating another drag on firms’ expansion plans.

Corporate executives say they are slowing or delaying big projects to protect profits amid easing demand and rising uncertainty. Uncertainty around the U.S. elections and federal budget policies also appear among the factors driving the investment pullback since midyear. It is unclear whether Washington will avert the so-called fiscal cliff, tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to begin Jan. 2.

More…

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Treasury Secretary Geithner: Lift Debt Limit to Infinity

(CNSNews.com) – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday that Congress should stop placing legal limits on the amount of money the government can borrow and effectively lift the debt limit to infinity.

On Bloomberg TV, “Political Capital” host Al Hunt asked Geithner if he believes “we ought to just eliminate the debt ceiling.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Geithner said.

“You do? Will you propose that?” Hunt asked.

More…

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Central Banks’ Gold Likely Gone-Eric Sprott

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Money manager Eric Sprott says, “The central banks’ gold is likely gone with no realistic chance of getting it back.” Don’t expect this revelation to get any coverage by the mainstream media. In an interview last week, Sprott’s analysis was met with words such as “gold bug” and “conspiracy theory.” Sprott answers that sort of disrespect by saying, “We’ve had so many conspiracies, I don’t know why anyone would think this was unusual.” To back up his point, he named “LIBOR, electricity markets in California and the Madoff” scandals. Sprott’s analysis shows a “flat supply” and at least a “2,500 ton net increase in gold demand” since 2000. “Where’s all the gold coming from?” asks Sprott. He says Western central banks “. . . keep supplying this market with product in order to keep the price down so nobody knows how vulnerable the situation is.” Sprott, who manages nearly $10 billion in assets, boldly proclaims, “We have a shortage of gold.” Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with Eric Sprott of Sprott Asset Management.

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Jeff Clark: So How Many Ounces of Gold (or Silver) Should You Own?

by Adam Taggart

Saturday, November 17, 2012, 2:00 PM

You want to focus on how many ounces you own, not necessarily looking at whether the price is $5 higher today than it was yesterday. How many ounces do you own? That is really the question you want to ask yourself, so you can focus on how much you are really going to need, and the amount really comes down to this.

For me, I am probably going to use some of this gold if we get high inflation. How are you going to protect your standard of living if we get some kind of runaway inflation? And let’s say it's not runaway hyperinflation; let’s just say it's high inflation, 10%, 15%. Remember it was 14% in 1980, so the odds of us getting high inflation are realistic. So if I am going to use that gold to cover my standard of living, you are going to need about two thirds of an ounce of gold for every thousand dollars of monthly expenses. If you want to protect your standard of living and not have your house be ravaged by inflation, so to speak, so that is a good guideline to follow.

So if inflation lasts a couple years, well, you are going to need 15 ounces of gold for every thousand dollars of monthly expenses. That is a good guideline to think about. And if your expenses are more per month, you are going to need more gold than that. If inflation lasts longer than two years, you are going to need more than that, but you can actually use the sales of gold and silver to protect your standard of living. You sell some gold and silver, you are going to get U.S. dollars or Canadian dollars with it and you can use the increase in the gold and silver price to offset the increase in the goods and services you are buying.
So I think that is the way to view it, to look at how you are going to use it. And so the focus again comes back to how many ounces do you own? So if you do not have any, you need to obviously start buying. 

More...

Gold's October Slump Is NO SURPRISE - Buy The Dip!

A number of "things" have kept me away from my blog posts.  Not the least of which were fears that I would turn this site into a biased political rant during the height of this election cycle.

 For what it is worth, I would like to go on the record here and predict the outcome of next week's Presidential election...Despite what our clueless mainstream media would like you to believe...the outcome will not even be close.  I promise that more than once you will here references to the 1980 Reagan vs Carter throw down as the election results come in next Tuesday evening.  The White House will get cleaned out soon...

But I'm here to talk about Gold!

This headline today caught my attention and drew me back to my beloved blog.

Gold Falls 2% After Strong U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Reuters
Gold slid 2% in heavy trade on Friday, breaking below $1,690 an ounce for the first time in about two months on lowered expectations for economic stimulus provided by global central banks.

This is absolute BULLSHIT!!!  Lowered expectations for economic stimulus provided by global central banks?  Yeah right...if central banks lowered their present "economic stimulus expectations" the global economy would implode immediately!  Who writes this garbage?

Gold is down today for ONE SIMPLE REASON...the US Dollar was up strongly today as the US Equity markets collapsed on the back of what was genuinely a VERY POOR jobs report...despite what the mainstream liberal loving media would have you believe. [I'm sorry.  See what I mean about politicizing my blog.]

In fact, much of Gold's "recent" weakness could be directly related to the "strong dollar" we have seen since October 16, 2012.

Observe the chart below.  The price of the US Dollar is overlayed on the price of Gold.  It's pretty clear from this snapshot of Gold that the value of the US Dollar is a major factor in the "ups and downs" of the Gold price.  [click to enlarge]

Much of Gold's recent weakness has been attributed to "manipulation" in the futures markets.  And though I will ALWAYS believe that Gold, and Silver, are not allowed to trade freely...I can not lay a lot of blame on this "excuse" here and now.

There are many legitimate "technical" reasons for Gold's recent fall from $1725 to today's lows.  As well as Gold's failure at $1800 in early October.

Do you know that "seasonally" October is one of the weakest months of the entire year for the price of Gold?  [click to enlarge]

The fall in today's price of Gold therefore has NOTHING to do with today's jobs report signalling ANY lowered expectations for economic stimulus provided by global central banks.  The notion that the central banks are going to stop printing money is LUDICROUS!  No matter the outcome of any election anywhere, the banks will continue to print money.  And because ALL MONEY IS DEBT, the only way to pay for today's debt is to print more money...It's called a circle jerk people!

I'd be buying Gold and Silver here with every extra filthy US Dollar I had in my possession.  As soon as this election is over, and the looming US Debt limit returns to the headlines, Gold and Silver are going to lift-off all over again.

I hope to return to regular blog posts soon.

Thanks!

-greg