Here are what I think some more important topics. These first two are from Krieger.
The GLD Joke and Bob Pisani’s Famous Gold Bar
Posted on June 11, 2012
In case you don’t recall, last August CNBS had its favorite son Bob Pisani engage in a little stunt where he supposedly went to the GLD vault to prove that the gold is really there. In any event, shortly afterwards people noticed that the gold bar he held up on air actually wasn’t even on GLD’s gold bar list. But wait it gets even better. It seems that Ned Naylor-Leyland of Cheviot Asset Management has discovered that the famous Pisani GLD bar was actually owned by another gold ETF! Yes folks, fractional reserve gold investing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You’d have to be a complete fool or totally irresponsible to own GLD as a money manager or investor.
******************
Hard Data on the Death of the American Middle Class
Posted on June 12, 2012
Here is a good, brief article from the NY Times demonstrating the death of the middle class in America using new Federal Reserve data. Not that we need the Fed to tell us about the destruction of the economic and social fabric of the nation, after all, it is their policies that are most responsible for the damage. Perhaps the most telling line in the article is: “the survey illuminates problems that continue to slow the pace of the economic recovery.” Hmmmm let’s think about that. The middle class of a nation is being driven into the ground and we are calling it a “recovery.” We need to start to develop new criteria on what constitutes an economic recovery. Call me crazy but when the crony capitalist oligarchs steal from the productive middle class via government contacts and then use the same government to pay off the poor with food stamps that’s not recovery…it’s theft.
Key Quotes:
The recent economic crisis left the median American family in 2010 with no more wealth than in the early 1990s, erasing almost two decades of accumulated prosperity, the Federal Reserve said Monday.
The Fed found that middle-class families had sustained the largest percentage losses in both wealth and income during the crisis, limiting their ability and willingness to spend.
The share of families saving anything over the previous year fell to 52 percent in 2010 from 56.4 percent in 2007. Other government statistics show that total savings have increased since 2007, suggesting that a smaller group of families is saving more money, while a growing number manage to save nothing.
Families with incomes in the middle 60 percent of the population lost a larger share of their wealth over the three-year period than the wealthiest and poorest families.
******************************************************************************
These are some interesting comments from Stansberry and Sprott regarding gold and silver.
With the continued European bailouts and strong demand for precious metals, gold and silver prices should soar. But lately, prices have floundered. This leads Sprott to believe central banks are controlling the prices of precious metals. After all, the gold price is a check for central bankers… The higher the gold price, the worse they're doing at their job. Sprott said…
All of the data is incredibly positive for precious metals. I focus on gold because the silver data is so poor that we get, but when you see China buying 100 tons of gold in April, Iran's buying, Turkey's buying… Kazakhstan announces they're going to go from 12% of reserves in gold to 15% – all of the data speaks to HUGE VOLUMES OF PHYSICAL GOLD BEING CONSUMED… way beyond the ability of the miners to provide that gold. Which makes me think the central banks are continuing to lease or to supply the gold into the market somehow.
In addition to ongoing problems with Europe's financial system and growing demand for metals, there's another reason metals (in particular, silver) will soar. We covered this in the February 24, 2011 Digest:
In short, the world is out of silver. Sprott says aggregate investment demand for silver between 2000 and 2009 was 293.8 million ounces (according to the GFMS, the world's foremost precious metals consultancy). Using his own numbers, Sprott compiles the silver holdings for seven large investors, including himself, iShares Silver Trust, ZKB, GoldMoney, etc. Just those seven entities own 519.6 million ounces of silver… That's 225.8 million missing ounces. And again… That's only seven investors. It doesn't include central banks, individuals, hedge funds, etc.
It's obvious, as Sprott notes, silver data have been "very, very misstated." Sprott ends his speech saying, "There's $22 billion of silver available in the world, of which the ETFs already own half, and between you guys and us we probably own the other half… Which means there's nothing left."
In his recent interview, Sprott says the world's silver supply would be gone "in a nanosecond" once the people realize there isn't as much metal as we believe "because it's a very small amount of money." He also says there's a shortfall in the world's gold supply.
*******************************************************************************
This is from a colleague, Nick Tyburski. If you can't afford a cell phone, just get a loan...
Can't afford a cell phone, no worries, how about a loan?
I know I occasionally go off the deep end with my views of the world, and unfortunately its that time again.
Google "emerging market micro loans" and you'll find plenty of information. But basically, banks and wealthy individuals and offering POOR emerging market populations access to the modern age of technology and capitalism - this has been going on for a while. Of course, the current scheme of capitalism is working so well - just google "European Bailout". Since we have completely destroyed the developed world's economic infrastructure because of debt, the only venue left to prey upon is the undeveloped worlds.
I still wonder how exactly someone applies for a loan to buy a cell phone? Most of these places don't have running water, let alone a cell phone towers. Oh wait, this is a reason for the Mabelle to enter into another loan with the country to install cell towers. This way, their malnourished citizens can make expensive calls to other malnourished citizens and discuss how hungry they are - maybe even facebook about it! Instead of sending water, food, and medicine to these poor countries; we are sending a loan officer and fucking cell phone contract. I wonder if god in all is omniscience saw this one coming. If we don't break the cycle of our corporatacracy, the world our children will grow up in will be absolutely inhabitable. This is just one example of how these micro loans are being used and an old one at that.
If you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water he will jump out quickly to safety. If you place that frog in a cold pot of water and slowly increase the temperature he will comfortably stay put until the water is boiling and it kills him. I see no difference between the US citizens as a whole and the corporatacracy that rules this magnificent land. The coporatacracy continue to turn up the heat to our unknowing senses - making everything they do about profit. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness is nothing more than words in a museum. Today it is Profit, Profit, Profit. Just look at the jobs you currently hold. Your entire life is surrounded by spreadsheets, budgets, and making the slave owner you work for more profitable. I myself work in the most convoluted industry of all - finance. Making money with money.
I don't have any answers, but in the words of Al Pacino in the Devil's Advocate, "These people...it's no mystery where they come from. You sharpen the human appetite to the point where it can split atoms with its desire. You build egos the size of cathedrals. Fiber-optically connect the world to every eager impulse. Grease even the dullest dreams with these dollar-green, gold-plated fantasies until every human becomes an aspiring emperor...becomes his own god. There's no chance to think, to prepare.It's buy futures, sell futures when there is no future. We got a runaway train, boy. We got a billion Eddie Barzoons all jogging into the future. Every one of them is getting ready to fistfuck God's ex-planet, lick their fingers clean as they reach out toward their pristine, cybernetic keyboards to tote up their fucking billable hours. And then it hits home."
********************************************************************************
I always seem to get stuck next to this guy on airplanes.
