And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness … – King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)

Commentator Peggy Noonan has written [...]]]> thedailybell.com / By Anthony Wile / May 18, 2013

And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness … – King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)

Commentator Peggy Noonan has written a Wall Street Journal editorial entitled, “This Is No Ordinary Scandal: Political abuse of the IRS threatens the basic integrity of our government.”

Noonan is often, or at least occasionally, insightful, and in this case, I was pleased to see her sentiment conforms to an editorial I wrote last Saturday:

This is a big deal. Unlike other IRS problems throughout the years, this one features not just individual “enemies” but also a broad cross section of US citizens that are concerned about the growing unconstitutional actions of their government.

But Noonan neglects to make an important point that I will mention toward the end of this article.

Let’s look at the broader picture first. The US is supposedly engaged in something like 75 wars and skirmishes abroad and the invasions of privacy taking place on the home front are equally startling.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security orders hundreds of millions of dum-dum rounds but its officials seem to feel it is not incumbent on them to explain why. This same vast institution is building an extraordinary headquarters in Washington, DC and an equally extraordinary spy-facility in the Midwest that will supposedly scoop up every bit of communication that takes place throughout the US.

Why are these scandals afflicting the administration now? I can’t help but wonder if this sudden upsurge in indignation against the invasive use of government force is indicative of sudden shift in the arrogant invasiveness that permeates the US capitol.

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dollarvigilante.com / By Jeff Berwick / May 18, 2013

Hello from Santiago, Chile,

You usually read my weekend rants with their incredibly positive tone. And you must get sick of it.

So if you want to hear about me in an unhappy mood, this is the one to read! It’s [...]]]>

dollarvigilante.com / By Jeff Berwick / May 18, 2013

Hello from Santiago, Chile,

You usually read my weekend rants with their incredibly positive tone.  And you must get sick of it.

So if you want to hear about me in an unhappy mood, this is the one to read!  It’s nothing too terrible, but here is the story…

I was so, so happily going about my routine in Acapulco earlier this week.  You know the story, awaken to my glorious view surrounded by my beautiful family and dogs.  I was in the gym every day and was feeling incredibly productive.  You may have noticed I wrote almost every blog this week.  I actually wrote them all in a day or two.  I was just so centered and full of Vitamin D and energy from the gym and my three times daily “jugo verde” as my cook there knows it… which is all manner of vegetables blended into a nice drink that had me almost feeling euphoric by Monday of this week.

I knew I had to get to Chile sometime soon.  We’ve been doing so many things here and things have been progressing so much that I just sensed I had better get down here just to even understand the progress happening every day and, like any proprietor, just check up on everything.  But every day I’ve been putting it off.  I was just so happy for the last few weeks I didn’t want it to end.

My wonderful wife whose cheeks had almost returned to normal after her root canal then said to me, “You have to go… now.”  This is very strange because I travel so much for work that she is always angry I am not there enough.  ”Why?” I asked.  She told me, “I feel you need to be there.”  She is INTJ under Myers Briggs too (which most anarchists and libertarians are) and INTJs do a lot on feel or, “intuition” (the “N” in INTJ).  That is not to say we read tea leaves or go to psychics.  It just means we tend to put some weight in our decisions based on paying the most attention to impressions or the meaning and patterns of the information we get.

And with her also being born in southern Mexico, she just seems to be connected to things more than most.  I actually call her “Legolas” a lot, after the Lord of the Rings character who often seems to go into an almost trance as he intuitively senses things and seems to see things coming.  I can’t even count the number of times she’s told me, “it will rain tonight” in a place where it maybe rains once or twice per year in the dry season.  Or that an earthquake is coming.  There must be something to it… the animals also seem to sense these things.

In any case, I don’t read too much into it, but she’s right so often that I give it extra weight.  And so, I found myself happily on my patio in Acapulco on Monday afternoon booking a red-eye flight through Mexico City to Santiago that night, arriving at 10am on Tuesday.  That is one really great thing about what we are doing at Galt’s Gulch Chile (GGC).  I can be from my place in Mexico to Santiago in less than 12 hours.  And from there it is only about a 30 minute drive from Santiago airport to Galt’s Gulch.

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We interviewed one of our favorites today on our live show, which is broadcast every Friday at 11am (eastern) on 1590 WPSL www.wpsl.com. As usual Turd was chock full of useful insights. The movement of gold from East to West is escalating. The Shanghai Gold Exchange so far hasn’t shipped any [...]]]> from Financial Survival Network

We interviewed one of our favorites today on our live show, which is broadcast every Friday at 11am (eastern) on 1590 WPSL www.wpsl.com. As usual Turd was chock full of useful insights. The movement of gold from East to West is escalating. The Shanghai Gold Exchange so far hasn’t shipped any metal in May. Large quantities of gold are becoming less and less obtainable. Premiums on these types of purchases have gone way up. So that precious metals insurance policy you’ve been paying premiums on all these years is soon going to pay off big. Ignore the paper markets, they’re becoming less relevant by the day.

harveyorgan.blogspot.com / By Harvey Organ / Saturday, May 18, 2013

Gold closed down $22.20 to $1364.90 (comex closing time). Silver fell by 30 cents to $22.34 (comex closing time)

In the access market at 7 pm gold and silver are the following :

gold: $1360.20. silver: $22.26

The bankers showed up early ready to [...]]]>

harveyorgan.blogspot.com / By Harvey Organ / Saturday, May 18, 2013

Gold closed down $22.20 to $1364.90 (comex closing time).  Silver fell by 30 cents to $22.34  (comex closing time)

In the access market at 7 pm gold and silver are the following :

gold: $1360.20.
silver: $22.26

The bankers showed up early ready to attack gold and silver  and their attack was fierce with copious non backed gold/silver paper.  It seems that in the past 8 months,83% of Friday’s resulted in raids. The demand for physical remains off the charts as premiums in India and China remain very high.  Yet these criminals continue to drive the paper price lower much to the delight of citizens of Eastern persuasion.

At the Comex, the open interest in silver rose by 1745 contracts to 146,411 contracts despite silver’s fall on Wednesday.  The silver OI is  holding firm at elevated levels . The open interest on the gold contract  rose  by 1445 contracts to 445,251 . With gold’s big fall in price on Wednesday, one would have thought that the OI would have contracted big time.  The gold deliveries for May rose considerably today  to  9.365 tonnes and this is an off month for gold.  In silver we continue to see the total number of ounces standing rise above the quantity that stood on first day notice. The number of silver ounces, standing for delivery in May fell a tiny 180,000 oz now stands at 17.180 million oz. ( On first day notice:  14.860 million oz.)

Again, at the Comex,  gold is departing as investors are frightened to death of a confiscation similar to what happened at MFGlobal or Refco. Tonight, the Comex registered or dealer gold plummeted to 1.668 million oz or 51.88 tonnes.  The total of all gold at the comex fell slightly but still well below the 8 million oz at 7.966 million oz or 247.77 tonnes of gold.

The GLD  reported a huge loss in gold inventory of 5.71 tonnes which followed yesterday’s loss of 4.52 tonnes of gold. The SLV inventory of silver also lowered by 1.545 million oz. The game will end when the last ounce of gold from the GLD leaves London’s shores  for Chinese waters.

In other physical news, we are witnessing continual increase in premiums for physical bars as the physical price deviates from the paper gold price.

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RussiaToday, Published on May 18, 2013

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert examine stories about those who, using spoof trades, bogus securities and fictitious capital, steal real wealth and income. They discuss how it is that every benchmark index is rigged and introduce the concept of [...]]]>

RussiaToday, Published on May 18, 2013

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert examine stories about those who, using spoof trades, bogus securities and fictitious capital, steal real wealth and income. They discuss how it is that every benchmark index is rigged and introduce the concept of the ‘bonus benchmark.’ In the second half, Max talks to Dr. Michael Hudson, author of The Bubble and Beyond, about debt and wage deflation and about the intersection of interest rates and wages going back to David Ricardo when wages were measured against the price of bread to today when they are measured against the price of debt.

corbettreport, Published on May 18, 2013

SHOW NOTES: http://www.corbettreport.com/?p=7377

James Corbett of corbettreport.com and Broc West of apperspective.net are pleased to bring you the latest edition of their monthly video series, “The Asia-Pacific Perspective.” In this episode, we cover: the Queensland police start gearing up for next year’s G20; the Chinese [...]]]>

corbettreport, Published on May 18, 2013

RussiaToday, Published on May 18, 2013

The cyber currency, Bitcoin, has suffered another setback – after US authorities seized the accounts of its major operator. It now hampers the process of exchanging Bitcoins, which now stand at about 120 dollars per unit. So why is the US Government so worried about the [...]]]>

RussiaToday, Published on May 18, 2013

The cyber currency, Bitcoin, has suffered another setback – after US authorities seized the accounts of its major operator. It now hampers the process of exchanging Bitcoins, which now stand at about 120 dollars per unit. So why is the US Government so worried about the currency, and is the Bitcoin able to beat traditional currencies? Amir Taaki, a Bitcoin software developer, says the digital currency gives you total control of your assets, as there are no middle men involved. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/wz0s7b

It’s a story of tax evasion, disappointing Spanish investments and successful German austerity. Yes, we’re talking about soccer. In case you missed it, it’s going to be an all German final in the Champions league!

Germany’s top soccer team, Bayern Munich, finished off the Spanish champions [...]]]> dailyreckoning.com.au / By Nick Hubble / May 18, 2013

It’s a story of tax evasion, disappointing Spanish investments and successful German austerity. Yes, we’re talking about soccer. In case you missed it, it’s going to be an all German final in the Champions league!

Germany’s top soccer team, Bayern Munich, finished off the Spanish champions Barcelona in the semi finals. After two games, the score was 7-0. Two days before, Dortmund scraped by to send Real Madrid home too.

In ten days’ time the two German teams are off to Wembley stadium in London to show the English how to play Fussball. The winner will be crowned king of Europe’s club level football.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness was arrested for tax evasion. Dortmund’s Chief Executive went missing in the final minutes of his team’s semi final. Apparently he had to lock himself in the toilet to avoid a heart attack.

In the end, going to the finals is a lose/lose proposition for both German teams. They’ll have to leave England with the crowd singing ‘two world wars and one world cup‘ no matter who wins on the 26th of May.

But at least the teams have saved the world a symbolic battle between Spain and Germany in the final. In fact, you could say the German soccer dominance in Europe has settled the austerity debate once and for all.

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It could have posed as a model scheme to curtail gold imports. In order to stifle India’s appetite for gold, the government has introduced inflation index bonds. The first tranche amounting to around $364 million (R20 billion) is to be introduced on June 4.

Many Americans view a college education as a way to build a better life. College is seen as an avenue for better prosperity and the ability to pull yourself up beyond your current circumstances. In fact, after World War II programs like the G.I. Bill allowed many [...]]]> mybudget360.com / By mybudget360 / May 17, 2013

Many Americans view a college education as a way to build a better life.  College is seen as an avenue for better prosperity and the ability to pull yourself up beyond your current circumstances.  In fact, after World War II programs like the G.I. Bill allowed many Americans the opportunity to pursue a college degree.  In many cases, the United States at this time developed the largest middle class the world had come to know.  This is still the case today but the economic trends show a shrinking middle class that is largely having a tough time competing in this quickly globalizing economy.  One fact that stands out is that back in 2004, student debt was the smallest portion of all non-housing related debt in the US.  Only a short nine years later, student debt is the largest portion of debt in non-housing related debt.  What happened in this short period of time and what information can we pull from the mountains of student debt information?

Student debt and the decade of massive growth

One could argue that every segment of the economy experienced a growth in debt over the last decade.  That is not true.  Let us examine non-housing related debt carefully:

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globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com / By Mike “Mish” Shedlock / Monday, May 17, 2013, 1:44 PM

French president Francois has had enough of austerity but claims he “cannot do it alone”. The Financial Times reports François Hollande goes on ‘offensive’ over stalled EU economy.

François Hollande promised an “offensive” to bring “more growth and [...]]]>

globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com / By Mike “Mish” Shedlock / Monday, May 17, 2013, 1:44 PM

French president Francois has had enough of austerity but claims he “cannot do it alone”. The Financial Times reports François Hollande goes on ‘offensive’ over stalled EU economy.

 François Hollande promised an “offensive” to bring “more growth and less austerity” to Europe as he launched a bid to resurrect his presidency.

Mr Hollande said the first priority of his second-year “offensive” was a four-point plan to “get Europe out of its torpor” – concentrating on combating youth unemployment and a strategy of investment. “The number one objective is changing Europe’s direction to have more growth and less austerity,” he said.

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marctomarket.com / By Marc Chandler / FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2013

This Great Graphic, made on Bloomberg, shows how well the dollar-yen and Nikkei have moved together in recent years. The dollar-yen rate is represented by the white line and the Nikkei by the yellow line.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that the weakening [...]]]>

marctomarket.com / By Marc Chandler / FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2013

This Great Graphic, made on Bloomberg, shows how well the dollar-yen and Nikkei have moved together in recent years. The dollar-yen rate is represented by the white line and the Nikkei by the yellow line.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that the weakening yen is good for Japanese stock prices through an increase in exports. This seems like an exaggeration.

The fact of the matter is that Japan is not nearly export-dependent as one would expect. For example, it exports about 15% of what it produces. This in line with US exports as a function of GDP and contrasts with the 40% of more that Germany, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland export.

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Stocks are now quite overbought short term.

Complacency is predominant, and momentum has a life of its own.

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The US dollar posted strong across the board gains. It is being driven by the anticipation of favorable developments in the US, in the form of a possible slowing of the Fed’s asset purchases, and less favorable developments abroad.

While it is technically poised for [...]]]> marctomarket.com / By Marc Chandler / SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2013

The US dollar posted strong across the board gains. It is being driven by the anticipation of favorable developments in the US, in the form of a possible slowing of the Fed’s asset purchases, and less favorable developments abroad.

While it is technically poised for additional gains, the biggest risk to the dollar comes from Fed Chairman Bernanke’s midweek testimony. His commitment to QE and readiness to taper purchases, as others have suggested, will be closely scrutinized. The failure to confirm these growing market ideas, spurred in part by comments from two (non-voting) regional Fed presidents, could prompt some profit-taking on long dollar positions.

While speculation that the Fed may take one of its feet off the accelerator in the next week month helped lift the dollar, other countries are easing policy. There has been even more talk about the ECB adopting a negative deposit rate. Continued sub-50 readings in the flash PMI, due midweek, will heighten the sense that the euro zone continues to contract for the seventh consecutive quarter.

The ongoing decline in the yen is meeting little official resistance. Chinese officials, for example, seem more upset by comments by the mayor of Osaka (which the US also criticized for being “outrageous”) then they about the depreciation of the yen. The US Dollar Index has risen 3.7% from the low on May 1 to its best level since 2010, and it recording its best two week run since in a year.

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jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com / By JESSE / May 17, 2013, 4:13 PM

“We looked into the abyss if the gold price rose further. A further rise would have taken down one or several trading houses, which might have taken down all the rest in their wake. Therefore at any price, at any cost, the [...]]]>

jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com / By JESSE / May 17, 2013, 4:13 PM

“We looked into the abyss if the gold price rose further. A further rise would have taken down one or several trading houses, which might have taken down all the rest in their wake. Therefore at any price, at any cost, the central banks had to quell the gold price, manage it.”

Sir Eddie George, Bank of England, September 1999

“The wicked encourage and give themselves the license to attempt and commit all manner of transgressions, seeing that the fruit which injustice yields is soon ripe, and offers itself easily to the gatherer’s hand. Whereas punishment comes late, lagging long behind the pleasure of enjoyment.”

Plutarch

I think we saw another such period of ‘staring into the abyss,’ and the Western central banks have reacted, and that reaction has continued, most likely to an excess. And this is yet another one of their many policy errors. But as Brad DeLong said, Bernanke decides what the market is. And for now it is useless to challenge the power of the central banks to set value at will.

I have some more serious thoughts on what has been happening in the markets, and what these things might imply.  I think that the official picture of what is going on is not what is happening, and that for some reason we are being misled.

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HyperReport, Published on May 18, 2013

The Chinese authorities have, for some time now, been talking about the desirability of moving their economy from being overly reliant on exports to one which has a significant domestic component of goods produced in China for consumption in China. The central authorities have wished rather [...]]]> golemxiv.co.uk / By Golem XIV / May 17, 2013

The Chinese authorities have, for some time now, been talking about the desirability of moving their economy from being overly reliant on exports to one which has a significant domestic component of goods produced in China for consumption in China. The central authorities have wished rather publicly that more investment and bank lending was going in to domestic production and consumption and less into property speculation. But wishing, however fervently, has had little effect.

So news of what, if we dare trust Chinese government’s figures, would appear to be very large wage rises, seems to me to be very significant. As the Wall Street Journal reports today,

Wages in China continued to climb at a double-digit pace last year despite slower economic growth.

In an economy which is still quite heavily, centrally – if not planned and controlled, then certainly centrally meddled with – then such large and across the board wage rises would suggest a deliberate policy.  I do not see these wage rises as the central authorities as losing control of wages but quite the opposite. I suggest that allowing wage rises is part of a policy of creating a consumer demand to be satisfied by domestic production.

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We are going to start off with one of the most eye-popping pictures of just one central bank, the privately owned corporate Federal Reserve, and its purported gold holding. Occasionally, we drop a bit of history that most people either ignore or simply do not believe, [...]]]> goldsilverworlds.com / By Michael Noonan / May 18, 2013

We are going to start off with one of the most eye-popping pictures of just one central bank, the privately owned corporate Federal Reserve, and its purported gold holding. Occasionally, we drop a bit of history that most people either ignore or simply do not believe, but this one cannot be conveniently shunted aside.

One of the provisions in the FEDERAL Constitution, the 14th Amendment, [the original, organic Constitution had only 10 provisions, aka The Bill Of Rights], a hornet’s nest for an unsuspecting public, we our focus in on the one germane to the graph below. It is found in Section 4:

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.

Now, who do you suppose created the public debt by loaning out, first money, then fiat, and now just computer entries?

Who do you suppose is responsible for it?

The question few people think to ask is, Who had it inserted? The NWO works in mysterious ways. but always lethal to the interests of the remaining 99.5%

Now, look below at the chart to get an idea of the magnitude of the outstanding debt that will never be repaid! We do not believe the gold holding claimed is accurate, [if any gold alleged to be held exists, at all], but we do believe the debt portion is accurately depicted. In fact, it has grown larger since December 2012.

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My Dear Friends,

I started to read my incoming emails on the flight to LA, but soon stopped. Popular delusions and the madness of the crowd has its grip on 90% of the incoming mail.

The equities market has forgotten that even in hyperinflationary [...]]]> jsmineset.com / By Jim Sinclair / May 13, 2013, 12:36 PM

My Dear Friends,

I started to read my incoming emails on the flight to LA, but soon stopped. Popular delusions and the madness of the crowd has its grip on 90% of the incoming mail.

The equities market has forgotten that even in hyperinflationary super bull equity markets there were sharp step reactions. The negative PR on gold has reached levels never before seen. A major internet based broker on Financial TV advertised it was time to sell or hedge all your gold positions immediately. That is history making when you consider no such public advertisement has been on the media before.

The pressure on gold has left us at JSMineset and our other colleagues on the internet as the only sources able to present the raw facts. Even amongst us there are employees of the Gold banks carrying on campaigns to cripple gold. I assume they are delighted today at our suffering as a rat that plays with its kill.

On the fundamental side there is no development that would suggest anything that is occurring with one exception, and that is QE, which must continue to Infinity or the West faces immediate economic collapse.

History will look back on this manipulation of every market on the planet and people’s reactions to it as not simply a bubble, but a frenzy.

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Obama wants the investigation of the IRS misconduct to be limited to a congressional inquiry and an internal IRS report. Of course he does. Here’s who that would protect:

•Obama himself

•White House assistants who improperly contacted the IRS

•High officials at IRS who acted on [...]]]> freedomoutpost.com / By William Lafferty / May 17, 2013

Obama wants the investigation of the IRS misconduct to be limited to a congressional inquiry and an internal IRS report.  Of course he does.  Here’s who that would protect:

•Obama himself

•White House assistants who improperly contacted the IRS

•High officials at IRS who acted on letters from senators

•The senators who sent those letters

At this writing there is significant evidence that the IRS misconduct was carried out in response to letters sent by at least eight Democratic senators demanding strict enforcement of laws governing tax free political organizations.  And this occurred in an environment where Obama consistently attacked “tea baggers” and “groups with harmless sounding names.” (Kimberley Strassel, “The IRS Scandal Started at the Top,” Wall St. J., 5/17/23, A13)  These attacks presumably set the presidential seal of approval on the improper action that was at least implied in the congressional letters.

What we need is a special counsel who will perform a step-by-step analysis of who wrote the letters, what they said, who they were sent to, what the receiver understood them to mean, what the receiver did with the letters, who was consulted, and what every person down the line knew, saw and did in response to the letters.  And the investigation should not be confined to Democrats.  It should consider any communication between the IRS, congress, and the White House, written or oral, Republican or Democrat.

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QUESTION: What is a cycle inversion? This reaction period of 2 to 3 years how do you know it will extend or not?

ANSWER: Cycles are turning points in time. You cannot always ascertain what the event will be a high or a [...]]]> armstrongeconomics.com / By Martin Armstrong / May 17, 2013

QUESTION: What is a cycle inversion? This reaction period of 2 to 3 years how do you know it will extend or not?

ANSWER: Cycles are turning points in time. You cannot always ascertain what the event will be a high or a low near-term. However, it is a turning point producing an event. Normally, you can predict it will be a high or low based upon the  price action going into the event. Looking ahead even decades is sometimes easier.

Reactions have nothing to do with the magnitude of the change in trend. You peaked in September 1929 and bottomed July 1932 fulfilling the 34.4 (4 * 8.6) month cycle, which also produced a 3 year reaction. Look at gold for example. Where in 1980 it appeared that at the very least there would be a bear market for 5 years, the probability of a 19 year decline was quite high given how everything was set up in the broad spectrum of markets. Still, notice that the bulk of the drop was 1980-1982, which was the 2-year reaction, but the 3rd year was a high 1983. That was the kiss of death warning that an inability to rally beyond 1984 pointed to a 5 year bear market which it did on point for 1985. Gold then rallied with the decline in the dollar, but it was not making new highs in yen or dmarks. That signaled lower lows ahead and everything pointed to 1999.

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Like the United States, the European Union relies heavily on Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for its uranium, as shown in the chart below:

Russia is projected to produce 64 million pounds per year by 2020. [...]]]> caseyresearch.com / By The Casey Research Energy Team / May 17, 2013, 7:05pm

Like the United States, the European Union relies heavily on Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for its uranium, as shown in the chart below:

Russia is projected to produce 64 million pounds per year by 2020. The majority – 40 million pounds – will come from Russia itself, and the remainder from its foreign projects in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia.

But there’s an often forgotten subsector of uranium production: the processes necessary to convert U₃O₈ into something that power plants can use.

For that purpose, yellowcake is first converted into uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) at a conversion facility, then enriched, or concentrated, at an enrichment plant. Russia’s main conversion facility is at Angarsk, with a capacity of 42 million pounds of uranium per year. A small facility near Moscow, rated at 1.54 million pounds per year, primarily converts recycled uranium.

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armstrongeconomics.com / By Martin Armstrong / May 18, 2013

Three regional Federal Reserve officials have called on the central bank to stop buying mortgage-backed bonds, citing the recent improvement in the U.S. housing market. Indeed, the US economy has improved and the rise in the stock market has the talking head talking [...]]]>

armstrongeconomics.com / By Martin Armstrong / May 18, 2013

Three regional Federal Reserve officials have called on the central bank to stop buying mortgage-backed bonds, citing the recent improvement in the U.S. housing market. Indeed, the US economy has improved and the rise in the stock market has the talking head talking to themselves in disbelief. The 800 pound monkey remains the German elections and this is not going well. Whatever the politicians in Europe can do to screw up the world they are going perfectly. We are at the edge in the middle of nowhere. Old Marxist ideas dominate the political circles and they cannot see that just as Communism collapsed, it is their turn now. The younger generation are out of work and not buying this nonsense of taxing the rich that does nothing but line the pockets of politicians. This is going to take a lot more pain before we see political reform.

The dollar MUST rise sharply OVERALL between now and 2015.75. This is what we need to reverse the economic fortunes of the US so the entire global economy then turns down 2015.75-2020.

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Rising star of the independent investment commentators Mike Swanson explains why he has just been buying gold and silver stocks. It’s a contrarian view with a recovery from the lows of the recent crash in gold and silver prices. Undervalued sectors offer the best investment opportunities, [...]]]> arabianmoney.net / By Peter Cooper / May 18, 2013

Rising star of the independent investment commentators Mike Swanson explains why he has just been buying gold and silver stocks. It’s a contrarian view with a recovery from the lows of the recent crash in gold and silver prices. Undervalued sectors offer the best investment opportunities, not chasing momentum.

The real risk out there for investors is the bubble building in US stocks, think Nasdaq crash in 2000, not missing the US economic ‘recovery’ that is about to tank. How will gold and silver stocks fare in a crash? Well they simply do not have anything like the downside of other stocks right now, and if gold comes back as a defender against monetary inflation then the shares will deliver a multiple to the upside of the gold price, and silver will do much better…

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JGB Rallies Back to Former Support – And Turns Down

We may just have seen what is known as a ‘good-bye kiss’ among technical traders in the JGB market. The JGB contract rallied back to its former lateral support at the 143 level overnight and then [...]]]> acting-man.com / By Pater Tenebrarum / May 17, 2013

JGB Rallies Back to Former Support – And Turns Down

We may just have seen what is known as a ‘good-bye kiss’ among technical traders in the JGB market. The JGB contract rallied back to its former lateral support at the 143 level overnight and then turned back down from there. Below is a chart illustrating the action. We hasten to add that it is still too early to call this a definitive breakdown, but it is something we are watching closely. We continue to believe that the whole world should keep its eyes glued to this market – it is the most likely source of trouble for the current ‘happy consensus’:

JGB, one hour chart: a classic ‘good-bye kiss’?

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The following map (via AON) measures the risk of political violence to international business in 200 countries and territories, based on three icons indicating the forms of political violence which are likely to be encountered: Terrorism and sabotage; Strikes, riots, civil commotion and malicious [...]]]> zerohedge.com / By Tyler Durden / May 17, 2013, 21:16 -0400

The following map (via AON) measures the risk of political violence to international business in 200 countries and territories, based on three icons indicating the forms of political violence which are likely to be encountered: Terrorism and sabotage; Strikes, riots, civil commotion and malicious damage; and Political insurrection, revolution, rebellion, mutiny, coup d’etat, war and civil war.

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kingworldnews.com / Saturday, May 18, 2013

PLEASE CLICK ON PICTURE TO LISTEN TO THIS BROADCAST

Everyone knows the odds of winning in a casino are worse than 50% (often much worse depending on the game played). So who wouldn’t rush to a casino where, instead, the odds were overwhelmingly in the gambler’s favor?

That’s the promise of today’s [...]]]> peakprosperity.com / By Adam Taggart / Friday, May 17, 2013, 12:12 PM

Everyone knows the odds of winning in a casino are worse than 50% (often much worse depending on the game played). So who wouldn’t rush to a casino where, instead, the odds were overwhelmingly in the gambler’s favor?

That’s the promise of today’s stock market, which has been experiencing an aberrantly high percentage of up days all year. Toss your money into the market and on any given day, you’re much likelier to make money than not.

So far, May 2013 has been a gambler’s paradise, in which a whopping 76.9% of the trading days for the S&P 500 have been up:

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kingworldnews.com / Saturday, May 18, 2013

PLEASE CLICK ON PICTURE TO LISTEN TO THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

zerohedge.com / By Tyler Durden / May 17, 2013, 20:14 -0400

Europe’s non-performing loan problem is such an issue that there is increasing bluster that the ECB may take this garbage on to its balance sheet since policymakers realize that bad debts and non-performing loans (NPLs) reduce the capacity of banks to [...]]]>

zerohedge.com / By Tyler Durden / May 17, 2013, 20:14 -0400

Europe’s non-performing loan problem is such an issue that there is increasing bluster that the ECB may take this garbage on to its balance sheet since policymakers realize that bad debts and non-performing loans (NPLs) reduce the capacity of banks to lend, hindering the monetary policy transmission mechanism. Bad debts consume capital and make banks more risk averse, especially with respect to lending to higher risk borrowers such as SMEs. With Italy (NPLs 13.4%) now following the same dismal trajectory of Spain’s bad debts, the situation is rapidly escalating (at an average of around 2.5% increase per year).

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kingworldnews.com / May 18, 2013

Today 50-year veteran Art Cashin warned King World News that money supply is now going parabolic and may cause problems for the Fed and also create explosive inflation. Cashin, who is Director of Floor Operations at UBS ($650 billion under management), also spoke about John Paulson and [...]]]>

kingworldnews.com / May 18, 2013

I have often spoken of the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. While asset prices are inflated by continued interventions of monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, boosting Wall Street profits and widening the wealth gap between the top 20% of Americans and the [...]]]> streettalklive.com / By Lance Roberts / Friday, May 17, 2013

I have often spoken of the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street.   While asset prices are inflated by continued interventions of monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, boosting Wall Street profits and widening the wealth gap between the top 20% of Americans and the rest, “Main Street” continues to suffer a from a rising cost of living and falling wage growth.  Just recently Gallup released the following survey:

“The federal poverty threshold for a family of four is just under $24,000; however, Americans believe such a family unit living in their community needs more than double that — $58,000, on average — just to ‘get by.’ That estimate reflects 29% of Americans saying these families need up to $50,000 in annual income, 47% saying they need between $50,000 and $99,999, and 10% saying they need $100,000 or more.”

The problem is that as the cost of living rises over time due to the effects of inflation – median household incomes have fallen.  The following chart shows the seasonally adjusted median household income through March of 2013 as compared to Gallup’s poll of family living needs

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kingworldnews.com / May 18, 2013

Today whistleblower Andrew Maguire told King World News how the major bullion banks are about to exploit the gold and silver markets. Maguire, who recently appeared in the extraordinary CBC production titled, “The Secret World of Gold,” also discussed what key players such as hedge funds are [...]]]>

kingworldnews.com / May 18, 2013

Today whistleblower Andrew Maguire told King World News how the major bullion banks are about to exploit the gold and silver markets.  Maguire, who recently appeared in the extraordinary CBC production titled, “The Secret World of Gold,” also discussed what key players such as hedge funds are doing with their own trading accounts right now.  Here is what Maguire had to say in part II of an extraordinary series of interviews to be released today.

Maguire:  “I see these lines crossing against both the official and bullion bank selling, and I see it crossing very soon.  That’s why I believe they (the bullion banks) are likely net long, having taken the other side of this hot (short hedge fund) money….

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BIG PICTURE, NEWSHOUR 18/May/2013

Ryan Puplava does double duty this week, giving his technical analysis on the markets as well as his weekly Market [...]]]> Ryan Puplava: Cyclical Rotation – The “Taper Trade” Is On, Defensive Stocks Are Off

Also, Ryan with the Market Wrap-Up, Erik Townsend on Commodities, and Rob Bernard on Fixed Income

BIG PICTURE, NEWSHOUR 18/May/2013

Ryan Puplava does double duty this week, giving his technical analysis on the markets as well as his weekly Market Wrap-up. Technically, Ryan sees a cyclical rotation of stocks into what he refers to as The Taper Trade, and out of more defensive stocks such as health care and utilities. Ryan is bullish on energy and copper as they are tied to more robust economic activity. Ryan also discusses bonds, gold and currencies. In addition, Erik Townsend looks at Commodities and Rob Bernard has the Fixed Income Report.

James J Puplava CFP with Ryan Puplava CMT, Erik Townsend, and Robert Bernard
Sponsored by: PFS Group

Jim Puplava’s Big Picture: Game of Thrones – The Dollar vs. Gold

Also, “Forget a QE Exit Plan – Serial Money Printing Is the Wave of the Future”

BIG PICTURE, NEWSHOUR 18/May/2013

The first Big Picture topic this week is “Game of Thrones – the Dollar vs. Gold”. Jim looks at the massive global currency debasement among central banks, and in that current game the dollar is king. Gold is in the background and not a major player. Jim believes this will not last, but for now the dollar is winning the game. The next topic, “Forget a QE Exit Plan, Serial Money Printing is the Wave of the Future”, Jim notes that 14 central banks around the world have cut interest rates, and are printing money with no exit strategy in sight. He notes that the next Fed Chairperson, widely assumed to be Janet Yellen, will make Ben Bernanke look conservative when it comes to money printing.

James J Puplava CFP with John Loeffler
Sponsored by: PFS Group

Jim Puplava’s Big Picture: The Petro Business Cycle Equals The New Normal

The Price of Oil Is Impacting Monetary Policy

BIG PICTURE, NEWSHOUR 18/May/2013

In this segment of the Big Picture, Jim looks at how the price of oil has affected the economy and growth over the past three years, and how his concept of the Petro Business Cycle looks like it will be the “New Normal” in the years ahead. He also references recent interviews with oil experts Dr. Robert Hirsch and Dr. Oliver Inderwildi who concurred with his analysis on the Petro Business Cycle. Jim also answers your Q-calls in this segment of the program.

James J Puplava CFP with John Loeffler
Sponsored by: PFS Group

silverdoctors, Published on May 18, 2013

Not a day passes without the financial media denouncing gold as an investment option and hailing the bureaucrats heading the world’s monopolist monetary central planning agencies as superheroes. It began prior to gold’s recent breakdown, with widely cited bearish reports on gold published [...]]]> acting-man.com / By Pater Tenebrarum / May 17, 2013

Full Court Press

Not a day passes without the financial media denouncing gold as an investment option and hailing the bureaucrats heading the world’s monopolist monetary central planning agencies as superheroes. It began prior to gold’s recent breakdown, with widely cited bearish reports on gold published by Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, among others. Never mind that most of their arguments were easily unmasked as spurious. It should be no wonder though: gold’s rise was the most conspicuous evidence of faith in central banking being slowly but surely undermined. The banking cartel relies on the fiat money system remaining intact; the legal privilege of fractional reserve banking provides it with what is an essentially fraudulent profit center unparalleled by any other in the world (fraudulent in terms of traditional legal principles, but not in terms of the current law of course). Not surprisingly, ever since the completely unrestrained fiat money money system became operational in the early 1970s, the financial sector’s share of corporate profits has inexorably risen and finally eclipsed all other sectors of the economy.

The share of financial profits of total corporate profits – a direct result of the fractional reserve banking privilege and the central bank monopoly on money (via Ed Yardeni)

In other words, the banks have to protect a major franchise. It is a good bet that if gold had continued to rise in the face of money printing being accelerated all over the world, the inevitable loss of faith in central banks would have happened sooner rather than later. That it will eventually happen is unavoidable – the modern monetary system was fated to self-destruct the moment it was conceived. This is so because central planning and price controls cannot work in the long run, even though central banks are socialistic institutions adrift in a capitalist sea, so to speak. They can to some extent observe prices in the market, but the problem is that the market price most relevant to them – namely the ratio of future against present goods as expressed in interest rates on the credit markets – is not independent of their actions. There is therefore nothing that can tell them whether their administered interest rates are too high or too low. It is a system that is condemned to fail at some point (unfortunately with grave consequences for the economy at large).

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libertyblitzkrieg.com / By Michael Krieger / May 17, 2013

I’d like to say that the following is unbelievable, but it’s not. Unfortunately, it is all too believable. From ABC:

The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS [...]]]>

libertyblitzkrieg.com / By Michael Krieger / May 17, 2013

I’d like to say that the following is unbelievable, but it’s not.  Unfortunately, it is all too believable.  From ABC:

The Internal Revenue Service official in charge of the tax-exempt organizations at the time when the unit targeted tea party groups now runs the IRS office responsible for the health care legislation.

USA! USA!

Sarah Hall Ingram served as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt organizations between 2009 and 2012. But Ingram has since left that part of the IRS and is now the director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act office, the IRS confirmed to ABC News today.

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As we have frequently pointed out in past articles on Bitcoin, the biggest danger to the currency was always government. The currency challenges the State’s money monopoly, even though it does so only in a minor way so far, [...]]]> acting-man.com / By Pater Tenebrarum / May 17, 2013

It Was to Be Expected …

As we have frequently pointed out in past articles on Bitcoin, the biggest danger to the currency was always government. The currency challenges the State’s money monopoly, even though it does so only in a minor way so far, and even central banks have taken notice. As we pointed out in a previous post, the ECB for instance worries that ‘Bitcoin may undermine confidence in central banks‘ (in this article we have listed all the reasons why one should expect governments to attempt to crush the currency). In other words, Bitcoin is seen as unwanted competition by the money monopolists.

It started out with a concerted attack by the handmaidens of the State, the banking cartel, on the viability of Bitcoin exchanges (which incidentally reminds us a bit of the recent attacks on gold). Many banks simply closed down the accounts Bitcoin exchanges held with them, which linked Bitcoin trades to other currencies. As far as we’re aware, in most cases no reasons were supplied as to why these accounts were closed down – it wasn’t necessary to supply them. Everybody knows what it’s about, so making up spurious reasons would only expose the banks concerned to ridicule.

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zerohedge.com / by Tyler Durden / 05/17/2013 19:13 -0400

Those who were closely following the S&P cash in the last seconds before the close, and who were eagerly looking forward to a satanic close of 1,666, were likely disappointed when in the last 5 minutes of trading the cash index ramped from 1,665 and [...]]]>

zerohedge.com / by Tyler Durden / 05/17/2013 19:13 -0400

Those who were closely following the S&P cash in the last seconds before the close, and who were eagerly looking forward to a satanic close of 1,666, were likely disappointed when in the last 5 minutes of trading the cash index ramped from 1,665 and easily crossed in and out of 1,666, with the final print pointing to a mid-1,667 close.

And then something happened: instead of a closing print of 1,667.50, over one point of the cash S&P suddenly was wiped out for no reason, in turn leading to the satisfactory 1,666 closing print or exactly 1,000 points higher than the “generational” lows of 2009. Yet, refreshing the settlement of the S&P500 an hour later, showed that the final closing price was, indeed, 1667.47.

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shtfplan.com / By Mac Slavo / May 17th, 2013

Were you to look at official government statistics that calculate our rate of price inflation for food, energy, clothing, and other consumer goods, you’d think that prices were as stable today as they were under the gold standard.

According to the Bureau [...]]]>

shtfplan.com / By Mac Slavo / May 17th, 2013

Were you to look at official government statistics that calculate our rate of price inflation for food, energy, clothing, and other consumer goods, you’d think that prices were as stable today as they were under the gold standard.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation rate remains well below the Federal Reserve’s 2.5% threshold. Insofar as the government is concerned America’s core inflation rate is just 1.7%, a testament to the economic prowess of our central bank and Chairman Ben Bernanke.

And because there is no significant price rise being realized in consumer goods based on the government’s calculations, the millions of Americans dependent on disbursements like social security, disability assistance and nutritional food support will see no adjustments to their monthly stipend. And why would they? Prices aren’t rising!

Or are they?

According to Peter Schiff, who is well known for his dire economic warnings leading up to the crash of 2008, the government is involved in a wide array of manipulations and fuzzy-math in an effort to convince us that the price increases we’ve seen in stores, restaurants and gas stations over the last decade are merely a figment of our imagination.

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libertyblitzkrieg.com / By Michael Krieger / May 17, 2013

Nothing says recovery like citizens in debt setting themselves on fire due to economic hardship. In this tragic case, Antony Breeze self-immolated after being preyed upon by payday lending companies that began to harass his father. Similar stories are sure to reach U.S. shores before [...]]]>

libertyblitzkrieg.com / By Michael Krieger / May 17, 2013

Antony Breeze, 36, died after setting himself alight, telling passers-by who tried to extinguish the flames: ‘I’ve had enough.’

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therealasset.co.uk / By Jan Skoyles / May 17, 2013

On the 12th and 15th April gold fell victim to a price smash.

Why this happened is something which is open to much analysis and theorising. For the mainstream media it was down to an improving global economy and the need to hold gold no [...]]]>

therealasset.co.uk / By Jan Skoyles / May 17, 2013

On the 12^th and 15^th April gold fell victim to a price smash.

Why this happened is something which is open to much analysis and theorising. For the mainstream media it was down to an improving global economy and the need to hold gold no longer existed, for those in the world of gold investment this was perhaps down to more of the politics behind the gold-market than the economics.

On April 12^th 3.4 million ounces (100 tonnes) of gold was sold in the US futures markets. This was just for starters, the main, side and dessert appeared over the following hours and the next session on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (COMEX).

Reacting to the gold price smash

As those in the West holding paper gold stood frozen watching the price tick further downwards, those in the East and others looking to buy physical gold, went on a shopping spree. Premiums on physical gold in China, India, Vietnam and across Asia hit highs associated with economic and geopolitical crises. Dealers struggled to keep up with demand.

In the four weeks to April 24^th reported inventories of ETFs, funds, and futures market depositories collapsed by over 5.5 million ounces ($7 billion).

The largest physical removals were reported by the COMEX of 1.4 million ounces and the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which reported total inventory removal of nearly 4 million ounces.

In their Q1 report, the World Gold Council referred to the ‘dichotomous nature’ of the gold market – this is clear as the paper gold market continues to tell a different story to the physical market.

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sunshineprofits.com / By Przemyslaw Radomski / May 17, 2013

The latest World Gold Council Gold Demand Trends report shows that the gold market is driven by diverse global demand, and the appetite for owning gold jewelry, bars and coins continues to grow.

“The price drop in April, fuelled by non-physical moves in [...]]]>

sunshineprofits.com / By Przemyslaw Radomski / May 17, 2013

The latest World Gold Council Gold Demand Trends report shows that the gold market is driven by diverse global demand, and the appetite for owning gold jewelry, bars and coins continues to grow.

“The price drop in April, fuelled by non-physical moves in the market, proved to be the catalyst for a surge of buying that has left many retailers short of stock and refineries introducing waiting lists for deliveries,” said Marcus Grubb, Managing Director of Investment at the World Gold Council. “What these figures show is that even before the events of April, the fundamentals of the gold market remain robust with; growing demand in India and China, central banks consistently adding gold to their reserves and strong buying of investment products such as gold bars and coins.”

The report, for the period between January-March 2013, shows that total jewelry demand was up 12% year-on-year in Q1 2013, driven mainly by Asian markets. For example, jewelry demand in China was up 19% on the same period last year and stood at a record 185 tons. Demand in both India and the Middle East was up 15% respectively and in the US, demand showed a significant increase, 6%, for the first time since 2005.

Demand for gold in China and India was also fuelled by an increase in bar and coin sales – up 22% year-on-year in China and a whopping 52% in India. The US also saw a growing hunger for bars and coins– up 43% compared with the same quarter in 2012.

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Gold has come off of one horrific week in terms of price action. As noted on the price chart, the metal pushed into the region where it recently had its LOWEST CLOSE in some time. You might recall that after the spike down towards $1320, [...]]]> traderdannorcini.blogspot.ca / By Dan Norcini / Friday, May 17, 2013

Gold has come off of one horrific week in terms of price action. As noted on the price chart, the metal pushed into the region where it recently had its LOWEST CLOSE in some time. You might recall that after the spike down towards $1320, physical demand was unleashed in what can only be described as a torrent. That demand spooked bears and resulted in a wave of short covering that took price nearly $160 off that low. It was at that point that the big selling re-entered.

The resistance at $1485 – $1475 proved to be a bridge too far and down went the metal. It encountered some decent buying near $1440 but once that gave way, especially once $1420 collapsed, sell stops did the rest. Once it lost its “14″ handle, many buyers stepped back, expecting that downside momentum would enable them to acquire the metal even cheaper.

I am now watching to see whether or not this market can hold support down at the shaded rectangle I have marked on the chart. Personally, I am welcoming this move back to that recent low because I want to see how it now responds. I do not like buying into markets with spike lows or selling spike tops mainly because the risk/reward can be too great based on the entry point and the exit point that tells you that the trade has soured. A test of a low, that holds is a much better entry point with lower risk. The flip side to this is that if $1320 fails to hold, it will confirm that bearish flag formation noted on the chart with a potential price projection down closer to $1100. Yikes!

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kingworldnews.com / May 17, 2013

Today 50-year veteran Art Cashin warned King World News that the shorts are now being squeezed in the stock market. Cashin, who is Director of Floor Operations at UBS, also warned that the stock market may now see a parabolic move to the upside.

Cashin: “What we [...]]]>

kingworldnews.com / May 17, 2013

Today 50-year veteran Art Cashin warned King World News that the shorts are now being squeezed in the stock market.  Cashin, who is Director of Floor Operations at UBS, also warned that the stock market may now see a parabolic move to the upside.

Cashin:  “What we are seeing (in the stock market) is people who are short are hurt, and people who are underinvested are being punished.  You can almost feel the pain in the buying … So whether you call it, ‘Hold your nose and buy them,’ or ‘Have a gun to your head and buy them,’ that’s what’s been going on.”

Eric King:  “Jeffrey Saut spoke to KWN about this being one of the greatest buying stampedes ever, saying he’s never seen anything like this in his 43 years.”

Cashin:  “Well, I think he’s quite right on it.  We’ve taken the market to areas that used to be considered extreme.  The S&P is selling at a 25% premium to its 200 week moving average.  That is very rarified air.

You can look at the number of stocks that have reached new 52 week highs, they are at a 35 year high going back into the 1980s.  So you see things that ordinarily people would say, ‘The air is far too rarified here.’  Yet because of the concept that ‘I must buy the dip,’ they really don’t get a chance to dip.

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Sometimes pictures tell more than words; so I’m going to show you some graphics that prove TPTB may have won the recent “battle”; but are MASSIVELY losing their “war” against REAL MONEY – a war, I might add, they have ALWAYS lost…

Research shows ALL Paper [...]]]> blog.milesfranklin.com / By Andrew Hoffman / May 17th, 2013

Sometimes pictures tell more than words; so I’m going to show you some graphics that prove TPTB may have won the recent “battle”; but are MASSIVELY losing their “war” against REAL MONEY – a war, I might add, they have ALWAYS lost…

Research shows ALL Paper Money Systems Failed

Whilst PAPER PM prices were violently attacked during mid-April’s “ALTERNATIVE CURRENCIES DESTRUCTION”…

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Whoever orchestrated the last two hour closing ramp sure has a satanic sense of humor, opting to close the S&P at 1666 or exactly 1000 points above the “generational” low. A late-day desperation to buy-buy-buy, triggered by an avalanche of stops being triggered in the DAX [...]]]> zerohedge.com / by Tyler Durden / 05/17/2013 16:08 -0400

Whoever orchestrated the last two hour closing ramp sure has a satanic sense of humor, opting to close the S&P at 1666 or exactly 1000 points above the “generational” low. A late-day desperation to buy-buy-buy, triggered by an avalanche of stops being triggered in the DAX futures market (as it broke all time highs), sent stocks soaring. Treasuries had been weak all day (giving back yesterday’s gains and more). The equity spurt was not accompanied by VIX or Credit or Oil or Copper but JPY’s break of 103 was another trigger supporting the rise. But that doesn’t matter. The release of weak IP and in-line CPI data on Wednesday seemed to trigger the ‘change’ as gold and silver diverged lower from copper and oil’s surge, Treasuries rallied, and stocks and the USD surged thereafter. WTI crude ends the week unchanged (against a USD gain of 1.37%) with PMs down 6-7%. Volume was light today but that doesn’t matter either.

It’s been quite a ride…

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sovereignman.com / By Simon Black / May 17, 2013

Well, you have to admit one thing– the United States Senate certainly has its priorities straight.

Early last week they passed S.743, the Marketplace Fairness Act. This bill requires US-based online merchants to charge, collect, report, and pay sales tax to the roughly 9,646 jurisdictions [...]]]>

sovereignman.com / By Simon Black / May 17, 2013

Well, you have to admit one thing– the United States Senate certainly has its priorities straight.

Early last week they passed S.743, the Marketplace Fairness Act. This bill requires US-based online merchants to charge, collect, report, and pay sales tax to the roughly 9,646 jurisdictions within the Land of the Free which levy such a tax.

And while grounded in well-intended socialist dogma as a means to ‘level the playing field’, all the bill will really do is stick consumers with a higher price tag on the products they currently purchase online.

Curiously, though, the Senate then introduced S.958 this week. This bill actually aims to DECREASE certain taxes that are currently charged… on beer.

Not to be outdone by such wisdom, though, the government of Spain announced a plan this week to seize homes that have been foreclosed on by banks and developers.

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traderdannorcini.blogspot.ca / By Dan Norcini / Friday, May 17, 2013

This past Wednesday I posted a chart of the US Dollar detailing its strength from a technical chart perspective. Based on today’s price action, in response to a surprisingly strong Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, the Dollar has cleared a major chart resistance [...]]]>

traderdannorcini.blogspot.ca / By Dan Norcini / Friday, May 17, 2013

This past Wednesday I posted a chart of the US Dollar detailing its strength from a technical chart perspective. Based on today’s price action, in response to a surprisingly strong Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, the Dollar has cleared  a major chart resistance level and now looks to be on target to challenge the 85 level, which is the last major block preventing it from returning to its former double top up near the 89 level. I would refer you to that chart in the previous post from Wednesday to see for yourself the remarkable strength currently being exhibited by the US currency.

I should also note here the continued extremely weak showing by the Australian Dollar, a currency whose fortunes typically tend to parallel the overall commodity sector. After falling below par with the US Dollar last Friday, May 10, it has continued moving lower dropping a further 3% against the greenback this week. A falling Aussie does not bode well for the overall commodity sector in general.

With the US Dollar soaring higher, with consumer sentiment ramping up towards the economy (no doubt the precisely desired outcome by the Central Banks when they created the perfect conditions for a bubble in the equity markets), consumers are feeling the wealth effect which comes from seeing their 401K’s, pensions and other retirement plans increasing nearly every single day, while at the same time poor demand for unleaded gasoline has sent prices dropping at the pump. Hey, what could be better than this?  My investments are soaring, my costs are the gas pump are dropping and my food bills are even going lower, is the thinking of the average consumer out there right now. Smile, relax, enjoy life, be happy, – there isn’t a care in the world.

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