Eric Sprott's Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) has just announced it is issuing a follow-on offering of 18 million trust units, with an overallottment option of another 2.7 million, for a total, including the greenshoe, of 20.7 million new units. The proceeds, as expected, will be used to purchase physical gold bullion to satisfy unprecedented investor demand for a safe haven away from the central bank printing press madness. At a post-announcement per unit price of $11.40, this means Sprott will buy $235 million worth of gold in the open market. At today's gold price of $1,200 this translates into 195,833 troy ounces of gold to be acquired, or roughly 6 metric tonnes. Somehow, we don't think the LBMA will be too thrilled with this extraction of physical gold out of the controlled synthetic precious metal ponzi system.
Full press release:
Sprott Physical Gold Trust Announces Follow-On Offering of 18,000,000 Trust Units
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 25, 2010) - Sprott Physical Gold Trust (the "Trust") (TSX:PHY.U)(NYSE:PHYS), a trust created to invest and hold substantially all of its assets in physical gold bullion and managed by Sprott Asset Management LP, announced today that it plans a follow-on offering to the public (the "Offering") of 18,000,000 transferable, redeemable units of the Trust ("Units"). As part of the Offering, the Trust expects to grant the underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase up to 2,700,000 additional Units.
The Trust intends to use the net proceeds of this Offering to acquire physical gold bullion in accordance with the Trust's objective and subject to the Trust's investment and operating restrictions described in the prospectus related to this Offering. Under the trust agreement governing the Trust, the net proceeds of the Offering per unit must be not less than 100% of the most recently calculated net asset value per Unit of the Trust prior to, or upon determination of, pricing of the offering.
The Units are listed on the NYSE Arca and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols "PHYS" and "PHY.U", respectively. The Offering will be made simultaneously in the United States and Canada through a syndicate of underwriters led by Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets in the United States and RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley in Canada.
Copies of the U.S. prospectus related to this Offering may be obtained by contacting Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014 Attention: Prospectus Department (telephone 866-718-1649 (toll free) or 917-606-8474) or by e-mailing prospectus@morganstanley.com, or RBC Capital Markets Corporation, Attention: Prospectus Department, Three World Financial Center, 200 Vesey Street, 8th floor, New York, New York 10281-8098 (telephone: 212-428-6670, fax: 212-428-6260).
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the Units, nor shall there be any sale of the Units in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
US Mint: Record sales for gold, silver bullion in May
WASHINGTON (Commodity Online) Gold and silver bullion sales at the United States Mint have reached record levels in May 2010. With about a week left to go, more than 200,000 ounces of gold and more than 3 million ounces of silver have already been sold to the Mint's authorized purchaser network, Coinupdate.com reported.
Authorized purchasers are able to buy bullion coins directly from the United States Mint. They subsequently resell the coins to other coin dealers, bullion dealers, or the public, and facilitate a two-way market for the coins.
For the month to date, the Mint has recorded sales of 142,500 one ounce American Gold Eagles and 61,000 one ounce American Gold Buffalo bullion coins. The combined sales of 203,500 ounces of gold already represents the highest monthly total for gold bullion sales during 2010. The previous high for the year was 117,000 ounces sold during April 2010, when the 2010 Gold Buffalo coins first went on sale.
Last year, there were only two months when the US Mint sold more than 200,000 ounces of gold. Both occasions coincided with the first availability of certain bullion offerings. In October, the US Mint first offered the 2009 Gold Buffalo bullion coins and sold 232,000 ounces of gold. In December, the Mint released fractional weight bullion coins, which helped push total gold bullion sales to 247,500 ounces.
The pace of silver bullion coin sales has also picked up this month, although sales have been strong all year. For the month to date, the Mint has sold 3,040,500 of the one ounce American Silver Eagles. This marks the third time during 2010 that monthly silver bullion sales have exceeded 3 million ounces. In January when the first 2010-dated Silver Eagles were offered, total monthly sales reached 3,592,500. In March, 3,381,000 ounces of silver were sold.
The record for highest monthly Silver Eagle bullion coin sales took place back in December 1986 when 3,696,000 ounces were sold. This was the first full month that the silver bullion coins were available for sale.
Authorized purchasers are able to buy bullion coins directly from the United States Mint. They subsequently resell the coins to other coin dealers, bullion dealers, or the public, and facilitate a two-way market for the coins.
For the month to date, the Mint has recorded sales of 142,500 one ounce American Gold Eagles and 61,000 one ounce American Gold Buffalo bullion coins. The combined sales of 203,500 ounces of gold already represents the highest monthly total for gold bullion sales during 2010. The previous high for the year was 117,000 ounces sold during April 2010, when the 2010 Gold Buffalo coins first went on sale.
Last year, there were only two months when the US Mint sold more than 200,000 ounces of gold. Both occasions coincided with the first availability of certain bullion offerings. In October, the US Mint first offered the 2009 Gold Buffalo bullion coins and sold 232,000 ounces of gold. In December, the Mint released fractional weight bullion coins, which helped push total gold bullion sales to 247,500 ounces.
The pace of silver bullion coin sales has also picked up this month, although sales have been strong all year. For the month to date, the Mint has sold 3,040,500 of the one ounce American Silver Eagles. This marks the third time during 2010 that monthly silver bullion sales have exceeded 3 million ounces. In January when the first 2010-dated Silver Eagles were offered, total monthly sales reached 3,592,500. In March, 3,381,000 ounces of silver were sold.
The record for highest monthly Silver Eagle bullion coin sales took place back in December 1986 when 3,696,000 ounces were sold. This was the first full month that the silver bullion coins were available for sale.
Derivative Manufacturers More Powerful Than Central Banks by Jim Sinclair
Dear Friends,
The power of the derivative manufacturers is clearly stronger than the combined power of world central banks.
The mockery made of the $1 trillion Shock and Awe of the euro rescue package is telling. The public relations that Monday had to be approved by the architects of what is now a joke.
The real story is that the credit default swaps derivative dealers are stronger than all central banks put together. Soon markets will see this and rush to the side of the stronger which are the currency shorts of the Western world.
Gold will be purchased for a very long time to come as currencies will offer no storehouse of value. The central banks have publicly lost the battle and no cover will serve to keep this realization away from international money.
The euro pulled back almost, but not quite, to the base line of the flat bottom triangle and is now looking at $1.10 support. The size of the fortunes which are being made by the attacking forces boggles the imagination.
Those that will make the largest profit in gold are just the same forces now attacking Western world currencies.
You must stop being driven crazy by watching the day to day action of gold which is destined only to become increasingly volatile.
Good gold shares in any category of production will at one point outperform gold 5 to 1.
The end of confidence in the fiat money system is behind us. From here on it is structure after structure that is going to fall.
The power of the derivative manufacturers is clearly stronger than the combined power of world central banks.
The power of the derivative manufacturers is clearly stronger than the combined power of world central banks.
The mockery made of the $1 trillion Shock and Awe of the euro rescue package is telling. The public relations that Monday had to be approved by the architects of what is now a joke.
The real story is that the credit default swaps derivative dealers are stronger than all central banks put together. Soon markets will see this and rush to the side of the stronger which are the currency shorts of the Western world.
Gold will be purchased for a very long time to come as currencies will offer no storehouse of value. The central banks have publicly lost the battle and no cover will serve to keep this realization away from international money.
The euro pulled back almost, but not quite, to the base line of the flat bottom triangle and is now looking at $1.10 support. The size of the fortunes which are being made by the attacking forces boggles the imagination.
Those that will make the largest profit in gold are just the same forces now attacking Western world currencies.
You must stop being driven crazy by watching the day to day action of gold which is destined only to become increasingly volatile.
Good gold shares in any category of production will at one point outperform gold 5 to 1.
The end of confidence in the fiat money system is behind us. From here on it is structure after structure that is going to fall.
The power of the derivative manufacturers is clearly stronger than the combined power of world central banks.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Silver is Inching Closer to an Upside Breakout
May 22, 2010 – Silver is inching closer to its long-awaited upside breakout. The huge accumulation pattern that silver has been building over the past three years is almost complete, as can be seen on the following chart.
I noted in my last commentary that silver looks ready to soar and more to the point, that the developing chart pattern “will manifest its bullish significance when silver climbs above the neckline around $20”. That moment is rapidly approaching. Last week’s correction in prices may perhaps be the last one before silver’s upside breakout.
Few people expect silver prices to rise during the summer, which is normally considered a quiet period for precious metal prices. Maybe the big surprise this year will be a spectacular summer rally for the precious metals. After all, that is what the silver chart is telling us. Source... FGMR.
I noted in my last commentary that silver looks ready to soar and more to the point, that the developing chart pattern “will manifest its bullish significance when silver climbs above the neckline around $20”. That moment is rapidly approaching. Last week’s correction in prices may perhaps be the last one before silver’s upside breakout.
Few people expect silver prices to rise during the summer, which is normally considered a quiet period for precious metal prices. Maybe the big surprise this year will be a spectacular summer rally for the precious metals. After all, that is what the silver chart is telling us. Source... FGMR.
Gold Is In a Classic Cup and Handle Formation Targeting 1,450
A "Cup and Handle" is a bullish continuation pattern in an uptrend.
The 'cup' is best shaped as a "U" and the broader the bottom the better. The 'handle' is a retracement when the right side of the 'cup' reaches its prior highs. The handle often resembles a bullish pennant.
The retracement usually does not exceed 1/3 of the advance of the cup to its second high, although it can go as deep as 1/2 in a volatile market.
Here is a textbook picture of a 'cup and handle formation' from Investopedia.
Here is the daily chart of Gold. It is in a classic cup and handle formation, with the handle having dropped down today near the 1/3 retracement target of 1183. A number of technicians have been watching it form. The advance to a new high, and the subsequent pullback, have made it now worth noting.
The handle has been shaping for four days from the peak at 1249.30. The handle generally takes from four days to two weeks to form before price advances again with fresh buying to retest the resistance around the prior high.
One might watch for the current Comex option expiration to pass next Tuesday, given the large concentration of calls around the 1200 level before gold can make its move higher. There is always the possibility of a counter squeeze, but it is difficult to fight paper with paper given the wide availablility of derivatives, and the laxness of regulation by the CFTC despite recent noises made about reform. Nothing has changed yet.
The 'cup' is best shaped as a "U" and the broader the bottom the better. The 'handle' is a retracement when the right side of the 'cup' reaches its prior highs. The handle often resembles a bullish pennant.
The retracement usually does not exceed 1/3 of the advance of the cup to its second high, although it can go as deep as 1/2 in a volatile market.
Here is a textbook picture of a 'cup and handle formation' from Investopedia.
Here is the daily chart of Gold. It is in a classic cup and handle formation, with the handle having dropped down today near the 1/3 retracement target of 1183. A number of technicians have been watching it form. The advance to a new high, and the subsequent pullback, have made it now worth noting.
The handle has been shaping for four days from the peak at 1249.30. The handle generally takes from four days to two weeks to form before price advances again with fresh buying to retest the resistance around the prior high.
One might watch for the current Comex option expiration to pass next Tuesday, given the large concentration of calls around the 1200 level before gold can make its move higher. There is always the possibility of a counter squeeze, but it is difficult to fight paper with paper given the wide availablility of derivatives, and the laxness of regulation by the CFTC despite recent noises made about reform. Nothing has changed yet.
There is a possibility of a triple top, although this is why it is important that the cup have a broadly tested bottom.
The target for a breakout in this cup and handle formation above would be a minimum of 1450. The breakout should be accompanied by increasing volume. The more volume the more bullish the post breakout run will be.
This is consistent with the weekly chart which we posted a few days ago that shows an inverse H&S continuation pattern targeting 1350 as a minimum objective. In fact, one could draw the cup more conservatively, ignoring the intra-day spikes, and strike a target much closer to 1350.
And what makes this gold manipulation such a perfect con is that they are bullying the public using money taken from the Federal Reserve and the Congress, the public's own money.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Bianco on Gold: And Now for Something Completely Different....
Jim Bianco noted on
The reason for this is a rush from, or a revulsion towards, paper assets. Gold is now the 'anti-paper' currency, particularly in mainland Asia and Europe.
What is ironic is that I told a friend three weeks ago that if gold went to new highs with the dollar while stocks fell, then he should watch out because it would mark a growing revulsion towards paper assets that would mark a sea-change in the world economy, and the beginning of the end for the dollar reserve currency. A long end perhaps, but the endgame nonetheless.
Investors who rush for safety into the dollar will discover that Bernanke is using their confidence rather badly as he continues to expand the money supply and direct liquidity to support the toxic balance sheets of the banks, including now his own.
The move in precious metals so far has been impressive. It is commonplace, or a truism, to say that 'everyone is long gold' and to short it here because it has moved to a new high.
This is a possible trade. But it could turn out badly if this trend continues, and even moreso, if the faith in the dollar becomes wobbly. As Jesse Livermore once said, 'never short a stock simply because it has gone up. '
If the dollar wobbles we will see a move in the metals that will make what has happened in this bull market so far this year look like a bump on the charts. Source: Jesse's Cafe American
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Bloomberg
Rigged-Market Theory Scores a Perfect Quarter: Jonathan Weil
May 12, 2010, 9:20 PM EDT May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Score another triumph for the rigged- market theory.
The intrigue is high. If a too-big-to-fail bank’s traders were able to make money every day of a quarter, were they really trading in any normal sense of the word? Or would vacuuming be a more accurate term? What kinds of risks do such incredible profits entail, for the banks and the rest of us taxpayers? And are results such as these too good to be true?
There seems to be no satisfying way to answer those questions, or even the more basic inquiry: How exactly do these banks’ trading divisions make money? Reading the companies’ impenetrable financial reports is of little help. However they did it, the data suggest it was as easy last quarter as hitting the side of a barn with a baseball from three feet away.
This isn’t the way “trading” works in the real world. A simple exercise in measuring probabilities is instructive here.
Long Odds
Let’s say you manage a highly leveraged, diversified investment fund, and have become so skilled at playing the markets that you have a 70 percent probability of making money any given trading day. This would be a remarkable achievement in most markets. The odds that you would post a daily net gain 63 times in a row, though, would be about one in 5.7 billion. The formula for calculating this is: 1/(0.70 to the 63rd power).
Even if you had a 95 percent likelihood of a winning day, you would have only a 3.9 percent chance of doing it 63 trading sessions in a row. More...
Gold ATMs - First In Abu Dhabi, Soon Everywhere: Gold Is Now One Step Closer To Full Currency Status
Just in case you are worried that all those gold coins you have buried in your back yard will never be accepted as (il)legal tender, here comes Abu Dhabi with a gold ATM machine, making gold-based "currency" transactions one step closer. This is a harbinger of things to come, as people increasingly demand to transact in non-daily violatable pieces of paper. This is also the nightmare scenario for all central banks, which have to be seeing developments in the precious metal space, and finally realizing that in the absence of prudent monetary policy, the people, as we noted yesterday, will take (non-dilutable) matters into their own hands. The Fed dilemma: recognition that the fiat "race to the bottom" has to be contained (unlikely) or confiscation of precious metals (see Roosevelt executive order 6102).
From the AFP:
There's no mistaking what's in this vending machine. The well-heeled in the Gulf can now grab "gold to go" from a hotel lobby in the United Arab Emirates, when the need for a quick ingot strikes.
On Thursday, a day after its inauguration, the shiny machine attracted spectators of many different nationalities who gathered to watch whenever an enthusiast was struck with the urge to splurge on a bar of the precious metal.
Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace Hotel became the first place outside Germany to install "gold to go, the world's first gold vending machine," said a statement from Ex Oriente Lux AG, the German company behind the vending machine.
"In addition to one-gram, five-gram and 10-gram bars of gold, the machine also dispenses gold coins," it added.
Gold rates are constantly updated inside the shiny machine -- itself gold-plated -- in the hotel's lobby, courtesy of a built-in computer connected to a dealer which sells gold online.
"This eliminates the risk premiums usually associated with precious metal trading," the German company said.
Hotel general manager Hans Olbertz said they wanted the hotel to be the first in the world to offer guests what he called "this golden service."
The Emirates Palace is often used by visiting foreign dignitaries, and its top floor is reserved for the rulers of the UAE federation's seven emirates, each of whom has his own suite.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Meet the world’s new currency of choice
Posted by Prieur du PlessisYes, it is gold bullion, which yesterday made a new high for the current bull market when it surpassed the December 3 interday high of $1,226. Although the yellow metal is both a commodity and currency, it has lately become the world’s currency of choice, i.e. a vote of no confidence in fiat paper. This is evident in the fact that the gold price has not only made a new high in US dollar terms, but also in strong currencies (with the exception of the Canadian dollar) and just about every other currency one cares to mention, as illustrated by the graphs below. More...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
European Banks Now Feverishly Betting Against Euro, As Bailout Fails, Gold Surges
Thought experiment: You are the head FX trader at French megabank Croc Monsieur & Cie. (HFT: CMC) For the past 5 years, your bonus has been getting paid primarily in company stock. In the last two weeks you have seen the stock of your firm plunge as the markets have finally realized that those idiots in the Fixed Income desk have loaded up to the gills with PIIGS debt which is now worth 60 cents on the dollar at best. And to top things off, the euro has plunged to multi year lows killing any chance of buying that New York Pied A Terre which seemed so cheap when the EURUSD was 1.50 a few months ago. So what do you do? Well, you short the living daylights out of the EUR, knowing full well that the EU, the IMF and the ECB will not let Europe crash. You sell, you sell on margin and then you sell some more, trying to get EURUSD all they way down to 1.20, to 1.10, even to parity if possible, to make it all that more believable that the end of Europe is coming. And, lo and behold, on May 9 your plan succeeds: Europe agrees to bail your bonus out, by flushing $1 trillion under the pretext the money will be used to stabilize the periphery and the euro. Immediately the stock of CMC, and thus the value of your accrued bonus (several million worth), surges by a record 20% in one day. So you think: "How can I get an even greater bonus appreciation? Why - I will short the euro again. At this point I know that between myself and the other FX desks at all the other French and German banks we can easily take the euro down to 1.20 if not much lower. After all we are only trading against the very central banks that are keeping us alive. And when that happens Europe will have to print another trillion, then ten trillion, then one hundred trillion, all the while the stock portion of my accrued bonus surges. Brilliant." Brilliant indeed - Zero Hedge has received confirmation that several of the largest French banks are now actively shorting the euro to take advantage of globalized moral hazard, which with every ensuing bailout does nothing but make the bonuses of French FX traders surge. In other words, the very banks that Europe is bailing out are betting more and more aggressively with each passing day against Europe's own survival! More...
JPMorgan Joins "Perfect 10" Club With Flawless Trading Quarter, Morgan Stanley Loses Money On Just 4 Days
Yesterday we discussed the statistically impossible trading desk results of Goldman Sachs, which reported in its 10Q that it lost money on exactly 0 days last quarter, and was profitable on 63 out of 63 days. Today we find that the rape and pillage of the middle class was not isolated to Goldman, and that JP Morgan also had a flawless quarter. And if the odds of Goldman making 63 out of 63 are virtually impossible in any universe in which risk goes hand in hand with return (but in those in which monopolies are encouraged and bailed out), the coincidence of the two main firms that control the world having a perfect track record is impossible2. And since things in reality tend to be zero sum, when everyone makes money, someone may be tempted to ask the question, just who is losing money? And the answer, dear taxpayers, and [Goldman|JPMorgan] clients, is you.
Monday, May 10, 2010
ECB to Buy Bonds In Secondary Market to 'Address Severe Tensions In Certain Market Segments'
The limit to the ability of a central bank to create money is the acceptability of the underlying bonds and currency.When a central bank turns to buying the bonds in order to support their price, or more properly the interest rate paid, this is the beginning of the end, the point at which the national currency becomes little more than a Ponzi scheme, creating more money to pay the interest on the old money.
Now both the US Federal Reserve the Bank of England, and the ECB have fallen into this. We are seeing the controlled demolition of the fiat currencies of the developed world. This will resolve itself no later than 2018, and probably before that. For that is the outer bound of when the US will be unable to service its debt without at least a selective default, a draconian diktat, or resort to hyperinflation. Source: Jesse's Cross Roads Cafe.
Bloomberg
ECB to Intervene in Bond Market to Fight Euro Crisis
By Gabi Thesing, Jana Randow and Simon Kennedy
May 10 (Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank said it will buy government and private bonds as part of an historic bid to stave off a sovereign-debt crisis that threatens to destroy the euro.
The ECB wants “to address severe tensions in certain market segments which are hampering the monetary policy transmission mechanism and thereby the effective conduct of monetary policy,” the central bank said in a statement today, minutes after European finance ministers announced a loan package worth almost $1 trillion to staunch the market turmoil.
The central bank said it will intervene in “those market segments which are dysfunctional,” signaling it views the recent surge in some of the region’s bond yields as unjustified. Policy makers are seeking to restore confidence in markets and protect the economy from a double-dip recession. The bank said the moves won’t affect monetary policy and the resulting liquidity will be reabsorbed.
“They are not cranking up the printing presses,” said James Nixon, co-chief European economist at Societe Generale SA in London. “This is a much more targeted, surgical approach. They buy the duff stuff that no one in the market will touch...”
...While the ECB cannot buy bonds directly from governments, the euro’s founding treaty doesn’t ban it from doing so in the secondary market, providing the bank with some room to execute today’s plan. The bank’s council will decide the scope of the intervention.
Bundesbank President Axel Weber said May 5 that the threat of contagion from Greece’s fiscal crisis didn’t merit “using every means.” Without referring specifically to bond buying, he said “measures that damage the fundamental principles of the currency union and the trust of the people would be mistaken and more expensive for the economy in the longer term...”
Sunday, May 9, 2010
NY Post: Feds Launch Criminal and Civil Probes Into JP Morgan’s Silver Trades
Fiat justitia ruat caelum.
Let justice be done, though the heaven's fall.
Feds Probe JP Morgan’s Silver Trades
By Michael Gray
Deputy Sunday Business Editor, NY Post
Federal regulators have launched both a criminal and civil investigation against JP Morgan Chase for its trading activity in precious metals market.
The Commodities Futures Trade Commission is looking into civil charges and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division are handling the criminal probe, according to sources who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information.
See More information in tomorrow's New York Post Sunday Business section
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Source: Der Spiegel
The Mother of All Bubbles - Huge National Debts Could Push Euro Zone into Bankruptcy
Greece is only the beginning. The world’s leading economies have long lived beyond their means, and the financial crisis caused government debt to swell dramatically. Now the bill is coming due, but not all countries will be able to pay it.
Savvas Robolis is one of Greece’s most distinguished economics professors. He advises cabinet ministers and union bosses. He is also a successful author and a frequent guest on the country’s highest-rated talk shows. But for several days now, it has been clear to Robolis, 64, the elder statesman of Greece’s left-wing academia, that he no longer has any influence.
His opposite number, Poul Thomsen, the Danish chief negotiator for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is currently something of a chief debt inspector in the virtually bankrupt Mediterranean country. He recently took three-quarters of an hour to meet with Robolis and Giannis Panagopoulos, the president of the powerful trade union confederation GSEE. At 9 a.m. on Tuesday of last week, the men met behind closed doors in a conference room in the basement of the Grande Bretagne, a luxury hotel in Athens. The mood, says Robolis, was "icy."
Robolis told the IMF negotiator that radical wage cuts would be toxic for Greece’s already comatose economy. He said that the Greeks, given their weak competitive position, primarily needed innovation and investment, and that a one-sided fixation on cleaning up the national budget would destroy the last vestiges of economic strength in Greece. The IMF, according to Robolis, could not make the same mistake as it did in Argentina in the early 1990s. "Don’t put Greece on ice!" the professor warned.
But the tall Dane was not very impressed. He has negotiated aid packages with Iceland, Ukraine and Romania in the past, and when he and his 20-member delegation landed in Athens on April 18, they had come to impose a rigorous austerity program on the Greeks, not to devise long-term growth programs.
Thomsen’s mandate is to save the euro zone. And any Greek resistance is futile.
The Mother of All Bubbles - Huge National Debts Could Push Euro Zone into Bankruptcy
Greece is only the beginning. The world’s leading economies have long lived beyond their means, and the financial crisis caused government debt to swell dramatically. Now the bill is coming due, but not all countries will be able to pay it.
Savvas Robolis is one of Greece’s most distinguished economics professors. He advises cabinet ministers and union bosses. He is also a successful author and a frequent guest on the country’s highest-rated talk shows. But for several days now, it has been clear to Robolis, 64, the elder statesman of Greece’s left-wing academia, that he no longer has any influence.
His opposite number, Poul Thomsen, the Danish chief negotiator for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is currently something of a chief debt inspector in the virtually bankrupt Mediterranean country. He recently took three-quarters of an hour to meet with Robolis and Giannis Panagopoulos, the president of the powerful trade union confederation GSEE. At 9 a.m. on Tuesday of last week, the men met behind closed doors in a conference room in the basement of the Grande Bretagne, a luxury hotel in Athens. The mood, says Robolis, was "icy."
Robolis told the IMF negotiator that radical wage cuts would be toxic for Greece’s already comatose economy. He said that the Greeks, given their weak competitive position, primarily needed innovation and investment, and that a one-sided fixation on cleaning up the national budget would destroy the last vestiges of economic strength in Greece. The IMF, according to Robolis, could not make the same mistake as it did in Argentina in the early 1990s. "Don’t put Greece on ice!" the professor warned.
But the tall Dane was not very impressed. He has negotiated aid packages with Iceland, Ukraine and Romania in the past, and when he and his 20-member delegation landed in Athens on April 18, they had come to impose a rigorous austerity program on the Greeks, not to devise long-term growth programs.
Thomsen’s mandate is to save the euro zone. And any Greek resistance is futile.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Breaking Interview: On a day when the DOW closed down 430 points after falling 1,000 points and gold closed up $33 to roughly $1,210, Jim Sinclair was kind enough to spend some time making sense out of what is happening in the gold and equity markets for King World News listeners.
Legendary Jim Sinclair known as Mr. Gold for his remarkably accurate timing regarding the gold bull market of the 70’s is the Founder of JSMineset.com.
Click here to listen to the interview…
Regards,
Eric King
www.KingWorldNews.com
Legendary Jim Sinclair known as Mr. Gold for his remarkably accurate timing regarding the gold bull market of the 70’s is the Founder of JSMineset.com.
Click here to listen to the interview…
Regards,
Eric King
www.KingWorldNews.com
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Planned Economy 1934
This cartoon was in the
The Abundance Engineer April 2010 - Become A Farmer
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