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Many of the key figures cited in a scathing inspector general’s report this week are allies of Hillary Rodham Clinton, marking the latest in a series of stumbles for the former first lady and secretary of state that likely forced her to delay her planned presidential campaign announcement.A Democratic strategist familiar with her team’s thinking said they are scrambling to limit the damage and readjust the campaign rollout schedule after the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general revealed an apparent cronyism scandal that ensnared Mrs. Clinton’s brother, Anthony Rodham, and two of her political confidants, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and former...

Full title.....Gold Mine: Hillary Clinton’s Brother Granted Super-Rare Mining Permit from Haiti After State Dept. Sent Country Billions Hillary Rodham Clinton’s brother, Tony Rodham, sat on the board of a self-described mining company that in 2012 received one of only two “gold exploitation permits” from the Haitian government—the first issued in over 50 years. The tiny North Carolina company, VCS Mining, also included on its board Bill Clinton’s co-chair of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), former Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. The Rodham gold mine revelation is just one of dozens featured in a forthcoming bombshell investigative book by...

BLM issued a cease and desist order without a court order and without 'Coordination Authorization'....with local authorities. Federal officials acting lawlessly. Possible federal land grab to seize gold rich property on behalf of Chinese government. snip Galice Mining District, JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON-The next Bundy Ranch incident is developing in Josephine County, Oregon. The BLM has served notice to gold miners that they have until April 25, 2015 to stop gold mining….Oath Keepers are on site…Militia on the way. BLM DID NOT seek ‘Coordination Authorization’ with the local community….Sheriff Dave Daniel is NOT considered to be a Consitutional Sheriff. Josephine County...

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, this morning's futures reaction to last night's shocking start of a completely unexpected Yemen proxy war, which has seen an alliance of Gulf State launch an air, and soon land, war against Yemen's Houthi rebels, is what one would expect: down, and down big. This is surprising, because on previous occasions one would expect the NY Fed, or its pet hedge fund, Citadel, or the BOJ or ECB (via the CME's "Central Bank Incentive Program") to aggressively buy ES to prevent a slide, something has changed, and for the BTFDers, that something may...

Akin Oyedele March 23, 2015 Copper just spiked. Copper futures by more than 5% rose to as much as $2.1945 a pound after the closing bell on Monday. That's the highest its been all year. There was no immediate news related to the rapid increase. Prices had been sliding, as China's economic woes meant that it was in less demand for construction. (snip)

(Excerpt) The Minister for Finance in Ireland, Michael Noonan, sold his shares in funds that track European and US stocks and diversified his portfolio including allocating some of his personal wealth into a gold exchange traded fund (ETF) in 2014. Noonan sold out of his positions in the Lyxor Eurostoxx 50 ETF and SPDR DJIA ETF in 2014 and opted to invest in the SPDR gold shares ETF and Portuguese government bonds. He maintained his holdings in SPDR KBW Banks ETF, Ishares FTSE 100 ETF, Market Vectors Agri Business ETF, ETFS Agricultural Commodities ETF. ... Noonan is believed to...

We keep waiting for the bust, the gigantic rollover of oil companies that just plain collapse under their own weight and the $50 price that you get for West Texas Intermediate. It hasn't happened. We keep waiting for the junk bond market that is riddled with $200 billion in oil and gas paper to be crushed by defaults and restructurings. It hasn't been. In fact, the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bd, the high-yield exchange-traded fund that includes a lot of this suspect paper, is pretty much unchanged for the last three years and has enjoyed a sustained rally...

Gold pared early gains on Friday, on track to break a nine-day streak lower despite the dollar's extended rally as the precious metal market appeared reluctant to extend losses ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting next week. Spot gold traded above $1,154 an ounce in technically oversold territory on the 14-day relative strength index at 25.6.

March 2015 David Petch This article is an update of Gold’s Obituary published back at the end of October 2014. Nothing has changed since that forecast, except the passage of time to arrive at where we are today. Analysis will cover a few currencies and different markets, which should provide a flavour of where things are heading over the next 6-8 months. As a hint, being long commodities as a whole is not recommended in the slightest. I was going to start things off with the Canadian Dollar which should find support no sooner than 72 cents, but since it...

Sydney - A prospector in Australia found a gold nugget weighing 2.7kgs, and worth a whopping US$103 400, a Melbourne-based newspaper reported Tuesday. Mick Brown was scanning an area in Wedderburn, Victoria with a metal detector when he made the find several weeks ago, The Age said. He dubbed it "Fair Dinkum." The nugget is estimated to be worth 135,000 Australian dollars (approximately US$103 400). Brown told the newspaper he thought he was facing a "big molten blob of copper" when his metal detector went off. But a few centimetres below the surface parts of the nugget were visible. "I...

@marco_org Apple has a patent that can reduce the gold content of their 18k gold by half. veg.gy/ZhMF2— Sumocat (@SumocatS) Mar 6 2015 1:58 PM It’s inartfully put (140 characters is a bitch), but as a practical matter he’s correct. Apple’s patent application is for a method that allows them to make 18k gold that has, on a volume basis, less gold than regular 18k gold. How can this be? It’s because Apple’s gold is a metal matrix composite, not a standard alloy. Instead of mixing the gold with silver, copper, or other metals to make it harder, Apple is...

Customs officials in Bangladesh have seized gold worth around $1.7m (£1.1m) from the hand luggage of a North Korean diplomat. Son Young-nam, first secretary at the North Korean embassy in Dhaka, landed in the city on a flight from Singapore on Thursday night. His baggage was searched and almost 27kg (59lb) of gold bars and ornaments were recovered. Authorities in Bangladesh say they plan to pursue charges against him. Mr Son initially refused to allow customs officers and police to examine his luggage.

A man was arrested in New York City's international airport with uranium destined for Iran hidden in the soles of his shoes, the US Justice Department said. Patrick Campbell, 33, who was arrested Wednesday as he arrived at the John F Kennedy airport from Paris, is accused of trying to act as an intermediary to sell Iran 1,000 tons of purified uranium, in violation of US law. The Sierra Leone-based Campbell had been under surveillance since May 2012, when he responded to an ad on the site Alibaba.com by someone looking to buy uranium 308, or yellow cake. The buyer...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Shortly after dusk along a lonely stretch of Interstate 95, armed robbers hijacked an armored truck, tied up the two guards and disappeared into the night with 275 pounds of gold bars.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Armed robbers stole $4 million in gold on Sunday from a truck traveling north along Interstate 95 from Florida to Massachusetts, authorities said Monday. The two security guards working for Transvalue Inc. of Miami reported pulling off to the side of the interstate about 6 p.m. Sunday after their vehicle began having mechanical problems in Wilson County, the sheriff’s office said. [snip] They were then approached by three armed men driving a white van who ordered the guards to lie on the ground, tied their hands behind their backs and then marched them into nearby woods....

The New Republic, in its February 8th issue, carries an article by Danny Vinik entitled Rand Paul Has the Most Dangerous Economic Views of Any 2016 Candidate. It appears that TNR’s fact checkers decamped along with its top journalists. Vinik: Speaking in front of more than 150 Iowa activists, Paul ripped into the Federal Reserve and promoted his “Audit the Fed” bill, which he introduced earlier this week. “I think there needs to be some sunshine,” he said, according to reports of the event. …Paul’s bill …would significantly damage the Fed’s independence, which exists so that politicians cannot influence the...

Nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news. Nobody wants to crush people's dreams. But in the world of investing, cold, hard facts, not dreams, are what make you money. And the fact of the matter is, historically speaking, buying gold is the worst possible investment you can make. I am very sensitive to the fact that what I just said has probably caused some readers to go apoplectic, and for that I apologize. I know that I will never convince the gold bugs, inflation hawks or doomsday preppers of this thesis, nor my own personal position that gold...

U.S. Justice Department investigates price-setting process for gold, silver, platinum and palladium U.S. officials are investigating at least 10 major banks for possible rigging of precious-metals markets, even though European regulators dropped a similar probe after finding no evidence of wrongdoing, according to people close to the inquiries. Prosecutors in the Justice Department’s antitrust division are scrutinizing the price-setting process for gold, silver, platinum and palladium in London, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has opened a civil investigation, these people said. The agencies have made initial requests for information, including a subpoena from the CFTC to HSBC Holdings PLC...

Kobi Sharvit of The Israel Antiquities Authority Fatimid period gold coins that were found in the seabed in the Mediterranean Sea near the port of Caesarea National Park in Caesarea, Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015. A group of amateur Israeli divers have stumbled upon the largest collection of medieval gold coins ever found in the country, dating back to the 11th century and likely from a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Israel on Wednesday unveiled the largest collection of medieval gold coins ever found in the country, accidentally discovered by amateur divers and dating back about a...

A group of divers in Israel has discovered almost 2,000 ancient gold coins—the largest cache in the country’s history—off the coast of the city of Caesarea, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday. The coins have been at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea for about 1,000 years, said Robert Cole, a numismaticist for the Israel Antiquities Authority. * * * The majority of the coins were forged in Egypt and North Africa and have been traced to the 10th- and 11th-century Fatimid caliphs Al-Ḥākim and Al-Ẓāhir. The coins are still in near-perfect condition because gold isn’t affected by air or...