Free Republic

Now This Is A Deflationary Collapse Joe Weisenthal and Kamelia Angelova May. 17, 2010, 4:07 PM Dr. Copper's prognoses for the world economy is very grim. Even as the market managed to produce some gains, the bellwether metal got crushed today, and over the last month its taken a monster loss. How come? Well, growth fears, a surging dollar, and perhaps a real slowdown in China to name a few things. A return to recession in Europe isn't helping much.[snip]

Gold Having Another Monster Day, Threatening To Take Out $1250 Joe Weisenthal May. 14, 2010, 7:17 AM Do I hear $1300? $1500, do I hear $1500? Going once, going twice...[snip]

JP Morgan: Gold Could Now Face 'Unlimited' Demand Vincent Fernando, CFA May. 13, 2010, 6:42 AM JP Morgan's John Bridges believes the latest breakout for gold was a huge positive sign for the metal. Euro weakness fears, coupled with dollar weakness fears, could lead to an enormous amount of demand: JP Morgan: A German banker once told us that gold normally trades like a commodity. However, when investors lose confidence in currencies, because the pool of gold is so much smaller than the pool of currencies, demand for gold can effectively become unlimited. We believe the European version of “QE”...

If You Thought Gold Has Made A Big Move... Joe Weisenthal May. 12, 2010, 12:42 PM Everyone's talking gold today, but we're hearing a lot of chirping about silver today too. And indeed since the bottom the "poor man's gold" has done way better. Here's silver. Notice it's more than doubled since its lows. From Stockcharts.com:[snip]

Michael Lewitt has an interesting new book out, called "The Death of Capital". In it, Lewitt attacks speculative investment activities such as private equity buyouts. He notes that such speculation "has been a prime abuser of capital as it has diverted an inordinate amount of capital into unproductive uses while producing (at best) mediocre returns and charging unjustifiably exorbitant fees." He also cites naked credit default swaps, leveraged buyouts and quantitative stock trading strategies as cases where capital has been channeled into unproductive use. Surveying the base metals this week, his point is driven home. The aluminum price ticked up...

Gold Is Going Totally Wild, As Traders Place Big Bets Against "The House" Joe Weisenthal May. 12, 2010, 6:59 AM "The House" is central banks and paper currencies. Against the dollar, gold is up over $10/oz to over $1242. That's $40/oz higher than where it closed Monday, when Kyle Bass apparently bought in.[snip]

Gold Just Went Nuts, Surging To A Record Above $1230 Joe Weisenthal May. 11, 2010, 3:22 PM Interesting developments in gold today. It's been higher all day, but really has gone nuts in the last hour.[snip]

Gold Is On Fire, As Market Sneers At Euro Bailout Joe Weisenthal May. 11, 2010, 8:14 AM Along with the overall market malaise, the other big warning sign right now is the gold surge. The metal is now nearly $1220/oz. As Stacy Herbert puts it: The gold vigilantes are in a shootout with the ECB and the Fed.

WHOA: NYP Says Federal Agents Have Launched Civil And Criminal Probes Into JPMorgan For Silver Manipulation Joe Weisenthal May. 9, 2010, 4:43 PM The New York Post has an explosive exclusive, if true: Federal agents have launched parallel criminal and civil probes of JPMorgan Chase and its trading activity in the precious metals market, The Post has learned. The probes are centering on whether or not JPMorgan, a top derivatives holder in precious metals, acted improperly to depress the price of silver, sources said. The Commodities Futures Trade Commission is looking into civil charges, and the Department of Justice's Antitrust...

The Coming Oil Price Shock Commodities / Crude Oil May 08, 2010 - 05:20 PM By: Andrew McKillop Fatal Difference - Fatal Indifference - We need only to recap the experience of the 1970s and 1980s to understand why massive public national deficit financing of Keynesian-type spending to restore global economic growth will almost surely end with a 1970s style oil shock. That is oil price explosion, falling consumer confidence and corporate investment, falling economic growth, finance sector panic, competitive devaluation of world moneys and a catastrophic slump back into recession. Like the 1970s experience, the recession will be very...

Here's Why Copper Is Now Flashing A Huge Warning Sign For Stocks Joe Weisenthal May. 9, 2010, 10:33 AM Good observation here from PragCap... Copper has now dipped below its 200-day moving average, a clear signal of a market in bear-market territory. Note it didn't quite do this during February's Scott Brown selloff. Copper of course has a great reputation for being predictive. So, basically, watch out.[snip]

Gold Shortage Rumors Abound By Addison Wiggin 05/06/10 Baltimore, Maryland – “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed!” reads the Gospel according to Mark. “These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come.” We seldom cite the Bible, but the passage came to mind this morning as we reflected on an e-mail chain among several of our business partners and acquaintances. Only instead of “wars,” the word that came to mind was “fraud.” Fraud and rumors of fraud abound in the gold market. “I’ve heard these rumors for a while,” says...

Investors Run to Gold and Silver ...World Economy Going Nowhere For Many Years Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 May 06, 2010 - 06:41 AM By: Hubert Moolman The worst part of the world’s current financial crisis is still on its way. The enormous debt levels present in our financial system is central to this crisis. This huge debt levels could cause the world’s monetary system to collapse, starting with the weaker currencies and quickly making its way to the major ones. Day by day the premier signal (gold price) of this collapse is getting clearer and should encourage more...

Gold Just Tanked Big-Time, As Everyone's Scrambling For Cash Joe Weisenthal May. 4, 2010, 11:10 AM Check out what's happening with gold. People only want greenbacks today.[snip]

Gold Going Nuts Again, Threatening To Take Out All-Time Highs Joe Weisenthal May 3, 2010, 8:00 AM Just a heads up, Gold is going nuts again this morning, perhaps on news that the ECB will begin accepting any grade of Greek collateral. The old high, right in the beginning of the year, was just over $1200. KITCO:[snip]

Silver Surges to $18.68/oz Breakout Could Lead to March 2008 Record High of $20.88/oz Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Apr 30, 2010 - 08:21 AM By: GoldCore Gold reached new 2010 high in dollars (over $1,175 per ounce) in Asian trading overnight and again Europe this morning (over $1,177 per ounce) as investors continue to allocate funds to gold in order to hedge sovereign debt contagion risk. Gold was marginally lower in dollar terms yesterday but rose sharply in Asian trading with unusually strong Japanese buying and this buying has continued in early European trade. Concerns of a meltdown...

The Bull Gets Slaughtered, Here's What You Need To Know Vince Veneziani Apr. 27, 2010, 4:02 PM DJIA: Down 213 points to 10,991. NASDAQ: Down 51 points to 2471. S&P 500: Down 28 points to 1183. Commodities: Oil: Down 2.5% or $2.09 to $82.11 a barrel. Gold: Up 1.5% or $17.00 to $1171 an ounce. Silver: Down 0.8% or $0.15 to $18.22 an ounce. And the big shocker: Goldman sachs was up! Now here's what you need to know as you leave work today: Today, Goldman Sachs spent hours testifying for a Senate subcommittee about its CDO deals. Standard &...

Metal$ are in the pits Posted: 2:10 AM, April 11, 2010 There is no silver lining to the activities of JPMorgan Chase and HSBC in the precious-metals market here and in London, says a 40-year veteran of the metal pits. The banks, which do the Federal Reserve's bidding in the metals markets, have long been the government's lead actors in keeping down the prices of gold and silver, according to a former Goldman Sachs trader working at the London Bullion Market Association. Maguire was scheduled to testify last week before the Commodities Futures Trade Commission, which is looking into the...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures found firmer footing Friday, touching a four-month high as a downgrade for Greece refreshed concerns about European debt and the global economic recovery. Gold for June delivery, the most-active contract, rose $8.70 to $1,161.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract earlier touched a four-month intraday high, trading at $1,166.20 an ounce, the highest intraday for that contract since Dec. 4. For the week, gold was posting an impressive 3.1% gain. Gold for June delivery ended at $1,126.10 an ounce on April 1. Markets were closed April...

Something has changed these last few weeks. Yesterday I was struck by how many indicators have suddenly broken trend over the last few months. It appears that the economic landscape has shifted. Last week, I mentioned that outstanding loans at U.S. commercial banks have flattened for the first time in over a year. The value of banks' loan portfolios had been steadily falling since the financial crisis (with some interruptions caused only by statistical anomalies). Indicating a draining of credit from the economy. Not good for a nation trying to stimulate growth. But this week outstanding loan value held steady,...