My name is Shawn Ozbun, and our goal is to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the world of Gold and Silver by providing you with current news and precious metals pricing.
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Before I get into all that, lets have a look at this mornings precious metals pricing.
Gold - $1315.90 Down $0.82
Silver - $22.16 Up $0.20
Platinum - $1444.00 Up $1.50
Palladium - $747.00 UP $2.00
Debt Ceiling Raised -- So Why Isn't Gold Rallying?
Gold prices yawned at the news of Congress kicking the proverbial can down the road in raising the debt ceiling.
Not So Safe A Haven
The yellow metal has failed to live up to its reputation as a safe-haven asset or insurance against uncertainty and money printing. It's been steadily melting after scoring a three-month high in late August despite a government shutdown, Uncle Sam teetering on the brink of default, and the Federal Reserve continuing economic stimulus . Read More....
Lurching gold prices mystify traders
Sudden price swing in gold trading on Oct 1 and Oct 11 have puzzled Comex futures traders in New York - AFP Photo.
NEW YORK: In the early hours of the New York morning on Thursday, when scarcely a few hundred lots of gold futures are usually traded, a wave of buy orders worth over US$2.3bil surged into the market.
Prices soared 3% in just 10 minutes, setting the tone for the next 12 hours of trade – and puzzling many traders and investors who have been rattled by a series of similarly abrupt, and largely unexplained, trade surges over the past two weeks.
While sudden swings in the price of gold are nothing new, the usual causes – a shock in economic data or a "fat finger" erroneous trade – don't seem to fit. While the US dollar had also tumbled on Thursday, bullion's move was far more extreme.
"What's unusual about these moves is that the price stays at a new level so that suggests it's a natural buyer or seller," Chris Concannon, executive VP of New York-based electronic trader Virtu Financial.
"This is moving to and setting a new price level, so it can only be done by someone who's buying or selling substantial amounts and then holding." Read More....
Investigation Into Silver Market Manipulation Closed
Late last month, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission announced it was closing its 5-year investigation into silver market manipulation.
The CFTC’s Division of Enforcement, which spent an astounding 7000 hours investigating claims of market manipulation, explained in a press release on September 25 that “there is no viable basis to bring an enforcement action with respect to any firm or its employees related to our investigation of silver markets.”
In the press release announcing the decision, the CFTC explained that the staff analyzed mountains of position and transaction data, along with interviewing witnesses.
So There’s No Manipulation Going On. Right?
Well…not so fast, explains the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee. The committee was formed in 1998 to shed light on alleged gold market manipulation by central banks and other large financial institutions.
GATA also claims that the amount of gold held and traded by central banks and other large market players has been significantly overstated for nearly two decades — at least.
The group watched the CFTC investigation closely, and even testified at a hearing in March 2010.
GATA’s co-founder Chris Powell believes, as many other gold and silver observers do, that the investigation was closed because the manipulation is actually government policy being carried out by intermediaries like JP Morgan.
And the CFTC cannot levy charges against its own government. Read More...
As U.S. averts default, Japan and China brace for next dollar drama - China to push for alternative currency
“We’re glad a deal has been struck,” said a Japanese policymaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “But the uncertainty will remain and it will be the same thing all over again early next year.”
He and other Japanese officials say they have already developed contingency plans that include flooding Japan’s banking system with cash to keep markets functioning however panicked investors become. And analysts say China, whose Communist leaders are due to hold a key policy meeting next month, may step up a push for global acceptance of its currency, the yuan or renminbi, as an alternative to the U.S. dollar in international trade.
“They might actually consider accelerating the process,” said Vincent Chan, head of equity research at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong. “You strengthen the case of making the renminbi a genuine international currency, because the Americans are unreliable.” Read More...
U.S. debt jumps a record $328 billion — tops $17 trillion for first time
U.S. debt jumped a record $328 billion on Thursday, the first day the federal government was able to borrow money under the deal President Obama and Congress sealed this week.
The debt now equals $17.075 trillion, according to figures the Treasury Department posted online on Friday.
The $328 billion increase shattered the previous high of $238 billion set two years ago.
The giant jump comes because the government was replenishing its stock of “extraordinary measures” — the federal funds it borrowed from over the last five months as it tried to avoid bumping into the debt ceiling. Read More...
33 Stats That Prove That SOMETHING Desperately Needs To Be Done About The National Debt
#1 The U.S. national debt is on pace to more than double during Obama’s eight years in the White House. In other words, under Barack Obama the United States will accumulate more debt than it did under all of the other presidents in U.S. history combined.
#2 During fiscal year 2013, the U.S. Treasury paid off $7,546,726,000,000 in maturing U.S. government debt and issued $8,323,949,000,000 in new debt. In fiscal year 2014 those numbers will be even larger.
#3 In September, the average rate of interest on the government’s marketable debt was 1.981 percent. In January 2000, the average rate of interest on the government’s marketable debt was 6.620 percent. If we got back to that level today, it would collapse our entire financial system.
#4 Between 2008 and 2012, the ratio of government debt to government income increased from 4.0 to 6.6.
#5 Between 2008 and 2012, U.S. government debt grew by 60.7 percent, but U.S. GDP only grew by a total of about 8.5 percent during that entire time period.
#6 Since 2007, the U.S. debt to GDP ratio has increased from 66.6 percent to101.6 percent.
#7 A revised IMF policy paper entitled “An Analysis of U.S. Fiscal and Generational Imbalances: Who Will Pay and How?” projects that U.S. government debt will rise to about 400 percent of GDP by the year 2050.
#8 At this point, the federal government hands out money to approximately 128 million Americans every single month. In case you were wondering, that is about 41.3 percent of the population of the entire country.
#9 Back in 1980, the U.S. national debt was less than one trillion dollars. Today, it is rapidly approaching 17 trillion dollars.
#10 Since the year 2000, the size of the U.S. national debt has grown by more than 11 trillion dollars. Read More...
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[Disclaimer] Shawn Ozbun is not a licensed financial adviser, there is risk associated with all investment including gold and silver. You should seek advise from a licensed financial expert before making a purchase.
