Gold in the News Blog

• Gold breaking the rules
  Posted: Sunday, February 28, 2010 | No Comments

  
  by Myra P. Saefong
  Friday, February 26, 2010 provided by MarketWatch

  Precious metal and U.S. dollar start to trade in tandem, but for how long?

  Gold’s been quite the rebel lately — and investors are giving it much more than a passing glance.

  The precious metal recently broke from its usual inverse relationship with the U.S. dollar to move more in sync with the climb in the greenback, showing off its prowess as a resilient world favorite.

  “Gold moving up with the dollar is a sign of tremendous strength in gold,” said Sam Kirtley, chief executive officer of SK Options Trading.

  Gold futures prices are up nearly 5% from this month’s low of $1,050 an ounce in New York. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, has also climbed, gaining more than 2% from its low in February.

  “Both gold and the dollar have been trending upward since early this month,” said Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter. “If gold and the dollar can decouple, [that would] hold important implications for the metal going forward.”

  And those implications are likely to be good for gold. A decoupling in the relationship would mean that “investors are not only buying gold as a U.S. dollar hedge but as a safe-haven asset too, and buying for this reason is so heavy it is outweighing the selling from U.S. dollar strength,” said Kirtley.

  But the direction of the precious metal and dollar are destined to diverge again — and when they do, gold may or may not come out a winner.

  The global markets are currently focusing on Europe’s troubles, feeding a rally in the dollar, yet gold is still trading at around $1,100, said Kirtley. “So if gold can make gains, or even just tread water whilst the U.S. dollar rallies, it will soar if the greenback was to begin to drop.”

  On the other hand, “even though gold prices have been moving up with gold over the last month, if the U.S. dollar continues rallying, this will eventually flow through to have a negative impact on gold,” he said. “In that case, “the biggest possible risk for gold at present is a strong, sustained rally in the U.S. dollar.”

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• Bernanke says more of the same, keep the rates low.
  Posted: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 | No Comments

  

  WASHINGTON (TheStreet) — There was little in the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy Report to the Congress on Wednesday that the market hasn’t heard before, as it reiterated that the weak job market and subdued inflation justify keeping interest rates low for “an extended period.”

  The semiannual report, released ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before the House Financial Services Committee this morning, painted a picture of an economy that appears to be sustaining economic expansion through improved financial conditions, global economic recovery and accommodative monetary and fiscal policies.

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• Rate Hike - Schiff
  Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010 | No Comments

  
• Armed Forces Dealing With The Cost Of Paper Money in Iraq with EFTs
  Posted: Friday, February 19, 2010 | No Comments

  

  The destruction of paper monies as we know them today coming to AMERICA soon. Protect yourself get GOLD now!
  

  Armed Forces Dealing With The Cost Of Paper Money in Iraq with EFTs
  By Capt. Randy J. Michael

  CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq - Iraq may not be ready for Paypal, but with the help of the U.S. Army, the southern Iraqi provinces of Dhi Qar, Maysan and Al Muthanna are moving closer to a cashless system in order to deal with the mounting costs of dealing with cash.

  Task Force Pathfinder is increasing its use of electronic funds transfer as a way to pay local contractors and vendors instead of stacks of Iraqi dinar. The transactions are part of the unit’s role aiding the State Department’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams as they build-up the Iraqi civilian infrastructure.

  The benefits of this change have been immediate. The Army saves money, Soldiers eliminate the security risks associated with transporting funds and confidence in the Iraqi banking system gets an added boost with every deposit.
  Today, the U.S. Army brings an estimated $42 million in currency into Iraq and Afghanistan monthly, down from $192 million per month the previous year and as much as $400 million a month in 2003. With the development of new banks, including one nearing completion at Contingency Operating Base Adder’s Iraqi-Based Industrial Zone, EFT is becoming the preferred method of payment.
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• 11 Signs the US Economy is not bouncing back
  Posted: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 | No Comments

  

  The vast majority of the talking heads on television are still speaking of the current economic collapse as if it is a temporary “recession” that will soon be over.  So far, the vast majority of the American people seem to believe this as well, although for many Americans there is a very deep gnawing in the pit of their stomachs that is telling them that there is something very, very wrong this time around.  The truth is that the foundations of the U.S. economy have been destroyed by an orgy of government, corporate and individual debt that has gone on for decades.  It was the greatest party in the history of the world, but now the party is over.

  The following are 11 signs from just this past month that show that the U.S. economy is headed into the toilet and will not be recovering….

  #1) When even Wal-Mart is closing stores you know things are bad.  Wal-Mart announced on Monday that it will close 10 money-losing Sam’s Club stores and will cut 1,500 jobs in order to reduce costs.  So if even Wal-Mart has to shut down stores, what chance do other retailers have?

  #2) Americans are going broke at a staggering pace.  1.41 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009 – a 32 percent increase over 2008.

  #3) American workers are working harder than ever and yet making less.  After adjusting for inflation, pay for production and non-supervisory workers (80 percent of the private workforce) is 9% lower than it was in 1973.  But those Americans who do still have jobs are the fortunate ones.

  #4) Unemployment is absolutely exploding all over the United States.  Minority groups have been hit particularly hard.  For example, unemployment on many U.S. Indian reservations is over 80 percent.

  #5) Unfortunately the employment situation is showing no signs of turning around.  December was actually the worst month for U.S. unemployment since the so-called ”Great Recession” began.

  #6) So just how bad are things when compared to past recessions?  During the 2001 recession, the U.S. economy lost 2% of its jobs and it took four years to get them back. This time the U.S. economy has lost more than 5% of its jobs and there is no sign that the bleeding of jobs will stop any time soon.

  #7) Can you imagine trying to get your first job in this economic climate?  Our young men and women either can’t get work or have given up on work altogether.  The percentage of Americans 16 to 24 who have jobs is 13 percent lower than ten years ago.

  #8) So where did all the jobs go?  Over the past few decades we have allowed the corporate giants to ship mountains of American jobs overseas, and there are signs that this trend is only going to get worse.  In fact, Princeton University economist Alan S. Blinder estimates that 22% to 29% of all current U.S. jobs will be offshorable within two decades.  So get ready for even more of our jobs to be shipped off to Mexico, China and India.

  #9) All of these job losses are leading to defaults on mortgages.  Over the past couple of years we have seen the American Dream in reverse.  According to a report that was just released, delinquent home loans at government-controlled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac surged 20 percent from July through September.

  #10) But that is nothing compared to what is coming.  A massive “second wave” of mortgage defaults is getting ready to hit the U.S. economy starting in 2010.  In fact, this “second wave” is so frightening  that even 60 Minutes is reporting on it.

  #11) Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has announced that it made a record profit of $46.1 billion in 2009.  Apparently during this economic crisis it is a very good time to be a bankster.

  http://www.globalresearch.ca

  
• Small towns printing their own money as a result of the economic downturn
  Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010 | No Comments

  

  Anne Kadet for SmartMoney.

  In an echo of the Great Depression, local currencies with their own special flavors are popping up all over in attempts to give commerce and communities a lift.

  Last year, two Detroit tavern owners were sitting at the bar, sampling their beverages and bemoaning the local economy — no one in the city had cash, and when they did, they spent it in the suburbs. Then the pair hit on a solution: Print their own money.

  It is, after all, perfectly legal for anyone to issue currency, as long as it doesn’t look too much like a U.S. dollar. Thus was born the Detroit cheer, a local scrip accepted by a handful of city businesses, including a pizzeria, an electrician and a doggy day care center.

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• Ron Paul Questions Ben Bernanke
  Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | No Comments

  
• Dollar Dilution
  Posted: Monday, February 8, 2010 | No Comments

  

  
• Future Shock - National Debt
  Posted: Monday, February 8, 2010 | No Comments

  Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

  
• America’s Largest Mark-Ups
  Posted: Saturday, February 6, 2010 | No Comments

  Gold and Silver outperforms the INDUSTRY, get yours today…

  

  Are you infuriated every time you open your cell phone bill? Livid when you buy a snack at the movies? These are some of the rawest deals around.

  Text Messages — 6,500% Markup

  Text messages are short, quick and cheap to transmit. So why are they adding so much to your wireless bill?

  The messages are such a tiny piece of data that they cost carriers only about one-third of a cent to deliver, according to computer scientist Srinivasan Keshav, who testified before U.S. senators on the issue last summer.

  But on a pay-per-text plan, the 160-character messages typically cost 20 cents outgoing and 10 cents incoming. That’s a markup of as much as 6,500%. OMG!

  “It’s pretty much pure profit,” Keshav says. “Carriers would argue they put that money toward investing in new technology.”

  Even if customers sign up for an unlimited texting plan for, say, $10 a month, carriers are still cashing in considering that their overhead is basically $0. That’s a lot to pay for a few LOLs.

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