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US Financial Markets Are Beyond Farce And Becoming More So



By: Bill Murphy, Le Metropole Cafe, Inc., LemetropoleCafe.com


-- Posted Thursday, 17 January 2008 | Digg This ArticleDigg It! | Source: GoldSeek.com

January 16 – Gold $880.90 down $19.70 – Silver $15.78 down 42 cents

"To prevent inquiry is among the worst of evils." --- Thomas Holcroft

GO GATA!

The ramifications of the manipulation in US financial markets are growing, as is the continued interference itself. The US stock market was trounced yesterday, as you all know. Then Intel came out with a negative bomb after the close. This was followed by another bomb by Ambac and a JP Morgan earnings disappointment. Remember what happened on Monday after IBM’s positive earnings hit the tape?…

JPMorgan Fourth-Quarter Earnings Fall, Miss Analyst Estimates

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third- biggest U.S. bank, said profit fell 34 percent, more than analysts estimated, after $1.3 billion of writedowns for subprime-mortgage investments.

Fourth-quarter net income declined to $2.97 billion, or 86 cents a share, from $4.53 billion, or $1.26, a year earlier, the New York-based company said today in a statement. Seventeen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated profit of 92 cents…

-END-

Ambac sees Q4 net loss as much as $32.83-share - MarketWatch
21 minutes ago Ambac estimates Q4 derivatives mark-to-market loss $3.5B - MarketWatch
22 minutes ago Ambac names Michael A. Callen chairman, interim CEO - MarketWatch
22 minutes ago Ambac expects to retain Fitch AAA rating - MarketWatch
23 minutes ago Ambac cuts quarterly dividend to 7c from 21c - MarketWatch
23 minutes ago Ambac CEO Genader to retire - MarketWatch
24 minutes ago Ambac to raise at least $1B capital - MarketWatch

***

After the Intel news, the S&P was nailed for 18 points last night, the DOW down about 150 points. Then more bad news hits, including an Asian stock market trouncing. So now we are 10 minutes into the NYSE trading period, and the DOW is UP 10, without not even a major sell off early. This is vintage PPT interference in an attempt to set the tone for the day and force the shorts to cover.

AGAIN, after EVERY daily market debacle, the PPT props up the market the next day in order to prevent the public from jumping in on the sell side in any kind of dumping panic. "See Dick, See Jane, Everything is fine. Look how the US financial market’s health barometer, the DOW, responds to horrendous news."

How the day will end up, after this nonsense, might be a different matter. We shall see.

Now for the other barometer, gold. The farce intensifies there too. You saw how The Gold Cartel operates yesterday as they pounded gold down after an all-time PM Fix, taking it down from $914 to right above $900, setting the tone for today. Then they bombed gold in the lightly traded Access Market for $10 to $14, even though THE DOW only closed 35 lower than where it was trading when gold was through on the Comex.

The gold takedown spooked other spec longs, a number of which pitched their positions to protect profits. This sort of action tends to feed on itself in the short term and influences the cash market too as buyers step back, waiting to see what sort of carnage develops.

Gold first fell all the way to $878. This action influenced the AM Fix, which came in at $881, or around $20 lower than the prior Comex close. Often The Gold Cartel types cover part of their shorts put on above $905 on the plunge, thereby reducing their short position losses. Most of the time they let the market come to them, as they hope the market will continue to plunge to cover losses already on the books. Lately waiting for a huge price drop has been futile, as buyers waiting in the wings compete for physical gold on the sharp price drop.

After last night’s plunge, gold rallied back close to $900, then was bombed again. Following a $16 lower call this morning, it rallied again to go only down $5. However, when the market began to lose ground after that rally, gold was drilled, as the euro began to get battered. For some reason (INTERVENTION), each time the US stock market really begins to get into trouble, the dollar goes up, which makes NO SENSE. This sort of market action occurs time and time again.

Perhaps it's because the Treasury yields collapse when the DOW tanks, which of course, is truly ludicrous.

What a farce this is. Turns out the euro was bombed due to these remarks:

REUTERS EURO ZONE INTEREST RATE FUTURES SURGE AS ECB'S MERSCH HIGHLIGHTS GROWTH RISKS

REUTERS EURO FALLS VS DOLLAR AFTER MERSCH TELLS BLOOMBERG ECB MAY REVISE DOWN 2008 GROWTH FORECAST

OK, why should gold collapse if European rates are suddenly going to drop? The lower rates, with higher inflation, should be gold friendly. Gold might correct a bit maybe, but not like this.

It gets nuttier when it comes to the US FINANCIAL MARKET MANAGEMENT. The Planet Wall Street bulls have been counting on global growth to counteract the weakening US economy. That is one of their last lynchpins. But now we find out the European economies are worsening at a rapid rate too. Then WHY does the US stock market not really go into the tank after all this horrendous news? Why does it stabilize, and go up, while gold is trounced?

Adrian has an answer (you can add PPT to this too):

Cartel in PANIC!!

Bill,
Here are the headlines from Marketwatch.com this morning:

QUOTE

Intel meltdown slams stocks

Wall Street on a downer thanks to Intel's weak outlook raises tech-implosion fears. J.P. Morgan Chase results come in for scrutiny.

• Boeing confirms 787 delay

J.P. Morgan offers some relief -Shares rise after the bank posted smaller than expected write-downs (you have to be kidding!!!)

• Wells Fargo profit falls 38%, sees challenging 2008

• Citigroup overreaction? (you mean massive losses are not a reason to sell?)U.S. ECONOMY - Odds looking long for a surprise rate cut

CPI up 0.3%, opening door for Fed

Benign core retail-level inflation gives Fed leeway to cut rates (I checked to see if it was April 1st, but no it is only Jan 16!!) Intel takes 12% pounding - Chipmaker slammed by weak outlook

• ASML shares down 10% on murky view

• Sony Ericsson market share up, profit hit

U.S. stocks strike negative tone as Intel disappoints

END

Does this look like the market scenario where the dollar would suddenly rise like it had intravenous Viagra injections and gold get taken to the wood-shed? Just when you think the manipulation can not get any more blatant …it does!

The severity of this attack on gold smacks of severe desperation. This is likely because the Open Interest on COMEX has started to rise exponentially. This must be frightening the hell out of the Cartel because this is certainly not being matched by their access to physical gold. They have failed for the last six months to shake out the longs. Is this because the longs can NOT be shaken because a large number of them want delivery? It is difficult to know but what is certain is the longs have been more tenacious than I have ever seen before. Time is running out for the shorts. Another factor is the shockingly bad financial results of Citigroup and JP Morgan. The cartel must be getting worried that a Northern Rock situation is going to be precipitated shortly. When will Americans start to panic and go to withdraw their money from these banks? The Cartel is desperate to prevent anyone from withdrawing funds to buy precious metals!

It looks like the red panic button has been pushed.

Time to baton the hatches. We have laid out for 10 years why the cartel will come unglued. It looks like it is happening now. With the economy falling apart and the FED promising large rate cuts that will trash the dollar, gold will not be held hostage for very long. The weak speculators are going to have their pockets picked yet again but my view is that the Cartel will not achieve the liquidation they are looking for….and if they don’t watch out above because the Indians will be back with a vengeance.
Cheers
Adrian

The US financial markets these days just don’t act the way they used to. Black is white. White is black. The market movements are constantly trading in counterintuitive fashion. By holding the stock market up and gold down, they are just making matters worse down the road, as both are not allowed to let off steam in different directions. That is what this Moral Hazard talk is all about.

Re our STALKER source in yesterday’s MIDAS:

"His very conservative, veteran gold dealer in London called this morning and is looking for a pullback to the $870 to $882 levels, then a run to $985 in March. We shall see."

Today’s low: $874.20. If it holds the next few days on a closing basis, it ought to be off to the races for $985.

Gold bullish sentiment notes:

*The Café Sentiment Indicator finally showed some signs of life, only to collapse again the past two days.

*Bill, CEF, for the first time since I’ve looked in 2002, is about to trade at a discount to NAV. It was cruising along at its normal 5-7% last week, and then out of the blue started to plummet. Now it is 0.6% and dropping again.
Andy

*Hey Bill,
Just went on Alexa.com to see the sentiment index and it has taken a hit over the last couple of days. If this is the true gauge to go on for sentiment then it seems like gold over $900 is bearish in the eyes of most investors. The last time the sentiment was this low on Alexa (around 2.4) was after the August pounding by the cartel and the investors jumping ship at the bottom. If this is an indicator for near upward momentum then we should be seeing a nice rise over the next few weeks also. Karl J. Britz -

What those sentiment numbers tell me is that this correction in gold and silver will be painful and swift, JUST LIKE the last one. The reasons to own gold and silver are too compelling.

I like Dennis Gartman personally, but he has become a jinx with his new CNBC Fast Money show fame. The other day he told the viewers he got out of half of his gold position. Gold then rallied sharply on its way to $914 and he bought in again to be fully loaded. Gold then collapses. The Gold Cartel did him in AGAIN.

While stating gold would be much higher in 6 months, Dennis went on to say that gold was being sold (it was down sharply in the Access Market) due to liquidity pressures. Investors were selling whatever they could. HUH? Then why does gold get pounded today when the DOW goes UP?

You said it Mom: "Sheesh Pinilli."

Aggravation of the THIRD KIND:

REUTERS US TREASURY PRICES SLIP BACK TOWARD SESSION LOWS AS STOCKS CUT LOSSES, CURBING SAFE HAVEN BID

Excuse me? Two days ago gold was a SAVE HAVEN with all the lousy news out there. But today it is not. Newer Café members … get the drift on all this nonsense? The GATA camp has documented it for YEARS, which is why US financial markets are in the mess that they are today.

It is important to keep in mind, this is not cry baby talk. Free markets get overbought and correct. Great bull markets are filled with crushing corrections. What is different here is the price level from which the corrections kick in. Right now gold is about $1400 per ounce under its all-time high inflation adjusted price. The reason: THE GOLD CARTEL! … which is why so many of us on Planet GATA are so ticked off so often.

The gold open interest made an all-time high yesterday at 593,953, up 1708 contracts. So did silver, up 4121 contracts to 177,544. We should see some substantial washouts of both open interests tomorrow.

Crude oil fell $1.06 per barrel to $90.84, after falling around $2.50 in the early going.

The dollar gained .62 to 76.32 and the euro fell 1.54 to 146.48.

The yield on the 10 yr T note was last at 3.72%.

More gold goodies:

Indian ex-duty premiums: AM ($5.49) PM $2.72, with world gold at $897.85 and $880.20. Deeply below, and below, legal import point. This was basis Ahmedabad: two other cities reported prices above the legal import point in the afternoon, but on a day of such dramatic world gold price movement the meaningfulness of this is questionable. The rupee closed at $1=R39.29, slightly weaker than yesterday, and the stock market lost 1.89%.

***

CARTEL CAPITULATION WATCH

Had to change my commentary. The DOW was up over 100 with less than an hour to go. Whatever the PPT tried to do all day, IT FAILED miserably. The news was just TOO BAD.

The DOW closed not far from its early lows, down 35 to 12,466. The DOG, affeced by Intel, fell 23 to 2399.

The S&P really broke down technically, closing at 1373, and is close to breaking all support.

http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/SW/X

One of the pundits on that Fast Money CNBC show said last night the worst thing for the market would be for it to open not too badly and rally early. He was rooting for an early, TOTAL debacle, and then a washout turnaround. The PPT should have listened to him. They hardly ever do.

US economic news:

08:30 Dec CPI reported 0.3% vs. consensus 0.2%; ex-Food & Energy 0.2% vs. consensus 0.2%
Nov CPI unrevised from 0.8%; ex-Food & Energy unrevised from 0.3%. Y/y total CPI 4.1%; core 2.4%.
* * * * *

07:09 MBA mortgage purchase applications index +11.4 in 11-Jan week
Compares to +14.7% in prior week. The refi index was +43.4% vs. +53.9% in the prior week. The 30-year fixed rate (11)bp to 5.62%.
* * * * *

13:00 Jan NAHB Housing Market index reported 19 vs. consensus 19
December reading was revised to 18 from 19.
Reference Link
* * * * *


09:01 Nov total net TIC flows reported $149.9B vs. consensus $60B
Net long-term TIC flows reported $90.9B vs. consensus $50B. Prior total TIC flows revised to $92.2B from $97.8B.
* * * * *

U.S. net capital inflows surge in November

NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Net overall capital inflows into the United States surged to $149.9 billion in November, from a revised $92.2 billion in October, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

November's inflows were more than sufficient to cover the month's U.S. trade deficit of $63.1 billion.

Net long-term capital inflows totaled $90.9 billion compared with $114.0 billion in October.

-END-

14:00 Beige Book reports economic activity grew at a slower pace
Holiday spending was subdued and disappointing and that job markets remained relatively tight.
* * * * *

14:05 Follow-up: Beige Book reports slower pace of economic activity for period mid-Nov through Dec
Most districts indicated subdued holiday spending and further weakness in auto sales. The Fed made little mention of inflation, only noting that in the San Francisco district, inflation was said to be limited in general, but significant for food and energy. Both business and consumer lending activity slowed in most districts, with residential mortgage lending continuing to contract in all districts. Yielding little surprises, the market reaction in both stocks, bonds and thedollar is understandably subdued. Dow (8.5) to 12492.6; 2-yr (1/32) to2.49%; 10-yr. (5/32) to 3.69%; $/€ 1.4675
* * * * *

10:30 API reports crude inventories +3.3M vs. prior (7.05M)
Gasoline inventories +1.57M , Distillate inventories (3.28M).
* * * * *

10:30 DOE reports crude oil inventories +4.26M barrels vs. consensus +1.25M barrels
Gasoline inventories reported +2.19M barrels vs. consensus +2.5M barrels.Distillate inventories reported +1.15M barrels vs. consensus +1.25Mbarrels.
* * * * *

22:01 Lax lending standards also seen in vehicle loans - WSJ
The Journal reports that it is becoming increasingly evident that several vehicle lenders, including AmeriCredit Corp. (ACF) and Harley-Davidson (HOG), let their lending standards deteriorate in 2006 and 2007. According to S&P, 2.06% of prime auto loans made in 2006 were more than 30 days past due in November, up significantly from the 1.75% seenin 2005. The paper adds that the past-due numbers for loans made in 2007 are even worse. The article goes on to highlight the expected risein credit card delinquencies this year.
Reference Link (subscription required)
* * * * *

05:04 China raises banks' reserve ratio requirement by 50bp to 15%-- wires
Theincrease in the reserve ratio is effective 25-Jan. China says the move is aimed at slowing money and credit growth. China last announced an increase to the reserve ratio requirement on 8-Dec.
* * * * *

07:09 MBA mortgage purchase applications index +11.4 in 11-Jan week
Compares to +14.7% in prior week. The refi index was +43.4% vs. +53.9% in the prior week. The 30-year fixed rate (11)bp to 5.62%.
* * * * *

If it’s not one egregious thing coming out of Washington, it is another:

The King Report
M. Ramsey King Securities, Inc.
Wednesday January 16, 2008 – Issue 3791 "Independent View of the News"

The larger than expected 0.4% decline in retail sales roiled the markets on Wednesday. The retail sales decline is further evidence of recession. Of course, core retail sales, ex-food & energy, would be substantially lower…The markets basically ignored the dubious 0.1% decline in PPI.

Williams Sonoma cut its Q4 forecast and said weakness continued in January…Please recall that ShopperTrak reported [erroneously] December retail sales increased 4.5% due to its ‘traffic’ cameras.

The Dec. PPI decline is due to a 1.9% drop in energy prices – even though energy prices soared to alltime highs! The reason for the bogus PPI is BLS’s goofy methodology of ‘sampling’. The BLS ‘samples’ energy prices on the Tuesday of the week that contains the 13th of the month.

Ergo, BLS is taking energy prices as of Tuesday, December 11, 2007, which was near the low for December. Oil traded mostly between $88 and $90 that day. The very next day oil soared to $94 and continued to the high 90s for the remainder of the month. Gasoline had the same pattern….

-END-

SIV Bondholders See Value Fall by 47%, Moody's Says

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Bondholders in structured investment vehicles, caught in the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, suffered a 47 percent drop in the value of their investments, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The net asset value of SIVs, funds that use commercial paper and medium-term notes to buy higher-yielding debt, tumbled since July, when subprime-related losses contaminated credit markets. Investors who own the funds' lowest-ranking bonds, called capital notes, would receive 53 percent of their money should the SIVs be forced to liquidate, the ratings company said in a report today.

SIVs sold $55.6 billion of holdings between June and November because investors stopped buying their commercial paper, debt due in less than 270 days. Five of the funds have gone out of business or are winding down and total assets in these companies have dropped to $300 billion, Moody's said.

SIVs with high net asset values may ``see sharp declines as contagion spreads across different segments of the credit markets,' Moody's analysts led by Henry Tabe in London wrote in the report. ``Managers and sponsors of SIVs now acknowledge that the senior debt investor base is unlikely to return to the sector in the absence of fundamental changes to the business model.'

Banks led by Citigroup Inc. in New York, the largest manager of SIVs, and London-based HSBC Holdings Plc are bailing out their funds to avoid a fire sale of assets. Citigroup yesterday posted the biggest loss in its history after it was forced to write down the value of subprime mortgage investments by $18 billion…

-END-

From Dave in Denver:

please note how they highlight that fact that S&P issued this press release "late:"

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/01/16/10217/sp-adjusts-risk-models-a
nother-structured-finance-meltdown-ahead/

The implications are even more ominous than pointed out in the article, because if you go by a "blended" average of the price marks on the ABX index, the S&P collateral loss for the 2006 asset-back securities is significantly greater than the 19% being used S&P's newly revised model. In fact, even the triple-A rated collateral was marked at 83 cents on the dollar as of yesterday.

The subprime crisis is just starting - got gold everybody?

***

But, there is no inflation:

Steel Increasing Prices For Carbon Steels

WEST CHESTER, Ohio, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that it will increase spot market prices for its carbon steel products by $30 per ton for all new orders accepted for shipment on March 1, 2008 and later. AK Steel said that its March order book is now open for hot rolled products. The company also noted that there are limited quantities of cold rolled and galvanized products remaining for March…

-END-

Why the Fed should cut interest rates:

AP
Inflation Rate Is Worst in 17 Years
Wednesday January 16, 12:58 pm ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
Inflation Up by Largest Amount in 17 Years, Industrial Production Flat in December

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Higher costs for energy and food last year pushed inflation up by the largest amount in 17 years, even though prices generally remained tame outside of those two areas. Meanwhile, industrial output was flat in December, more evidence of a significant slowdown in the economy. Consumer prices rose by 4.1 percent for all of 2007, up sharply from a 2.5 percent increase in 2006, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Consumers felt the pain when they filled up their gas tanks or shopped for groceries. Prices for both energy and food shot up by the largest amount since 1990.

In a second report, the Federal Reserve said that output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities showed no growth in December, adding to a string of weak economic reports showing that the economy was slowing at the end of last year.

That weakness has shown up in the biggest one-month jump in unemployment since the 2001 terrorist attacks and billions of dollars in losses at many of the country's biggest financial institutions. Citigroup Inc. reported Tuesday it had suffered a $10 billion loss for the last three months of 2007, reflecting bad bets on investments backed by subprime mortgages….

-END-

McKinsey warns US may lose financial leadership

By Gillian Tett in London

Tue Jan 15 16:15:19 EST 2008 The US looks poised to lose its mantle as the world's dominant financial market because of a rapid rise in the depth and maturity of markets in Europe, a study suggests.

http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto011520081631430246

-END-

Hi Bill,
This link has just been published and the main TV news is carrying the same story. It seems that nationalisation of the Rock is getting closer.
Best wishes,
Bob

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7190726.stm

U.K. Housing Market Was Worst Since 1992 in December

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. real-estate professionals said December was the worst month for the housing market since the aftermath of Britain's last recession in 1992.

The number of real-estate agents and surveyors saying prices fell exceeded those reporting gains by 49.1 percentage points, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said today in London. That compares with 40.6 points the previous month. In the capital, confidence in prices fell to the lowest since 2003.

An end to the U.K.'s decade-long housing boom may threaten economic growth as falling home values discourage consumers from spending. Economists forecast the Bank of England will cut the benchmark interest rate for a second time next month after a reduction in December to guard against fallout from the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market.

``The housing market is clearly feeling the pinch from the credit crunch and the round of interest rate hikes in 2007,' Ian Perry, a spokesman for RICS, said in a statement. ``The Bank of England may have to cut rates further if the market is to remain in a stable condition.'

A measure of expected prices slid to minus 62 from minus 47 in November, both the lowest since RICS started collecting data on the outlook in Oct. 1998, the report showed…

-END-

TOCOM

Ladies and Gentlemen:
On January 15th the seven large gold shorts increased their net short position by 7,080 standard contracts to 93,077 contracts.

STDJ also increased their net short position by 3,185 standard contracts to 22,813 contracts.

http://www.tocom.or.jp/souba/gold/torikumi.html

In silver they increased their net short position by 153 contracts to 779.50 contracts (60kg deliverable equivalent).

http://www.tocom.or.jp/souba/silver/torikumi.html

Best Wishes,
Scott

06:34 Goldman Sachs raises forecasts on gold prices for '08, '09 and '10
Firm raises forecast for average '08 gold prices to $915/oz from $800/oz. '08 exit price is raised to $850/oz from $825/oz. '09 forecast for average gold prices is raised to $870/oz from $852/oz. '10 forecast for average gold prices is raised to $940/oz from $907/0z.
* * * * *

Possible SLV Inventory Swap Explanation

Hi Bill -
I think the 20,000,000 oz SLV inventory shell game that transpired on 12/31/07 can be easily explained IF we examine who is involved and what their motivation is.

First of all the "Custodian" of SLV is JP Morgan (I could probably stop here for folks at GATA). JP Morgan provides all the info to the iShares Trustee on the silver stored by themselves and the "Sub-Suctodians" for the "Authorized Participants" (note that no SLV share holders own any silver). This silver can be stored anywhere in the world and has only "limited audit" requirements. The silver can also be swapped, pledged, leased and loaned without violating the prospectus. It is more than likely that most of the SLV silver is held in COMEX warehouses. That would give the perception of much more physical silver than is truly available.

It is obvious that the 20M oz deposit and withdrawal was clear maneuver to "paint the tape" on the Year End physical silver held at SLV...but why? Since SLV is only a derivative of the price of silver there would be no reason to bump the amount held for the SEC or other regulators. The prospectus clearly points out that the amount of silver held and the price of silver have no real relevance to each other in SLV. There are no requirements to increase or decrease the amount held in trust...it is a perception issue that enforces the "value" attributed to the shares of SLV.

So who would want (or need) a quarterly or annual official verification of real Physical Silver being held by a party?

Only one group that I can think of....THE CFTC!

The first "pertinent surveillance question" the CFTC must address in their oversight of the silver market is "Are the positions held by the largest long trader(s) greater in size than deliverable supplies not already owned by such trader(s)?" It's their main concern.

http://www.cftc.gov/opa/backgrounder/opasurveill.htm?from=home&page=mktsurveilcontent

"Physical-delivery commodities. Futures contracts that require the delivery of a physical commodity are most susceptible to manipulation when the deliverable supply on such contracts is small relative to the size of positions held by traders, individually or in related groups, as the contract approaches expiration. The more difficult and costly it is to augment deliverable supplies within the time constraints of the expiring futures contract's delivery terms, the more susceptible to manipulation the contract becomes."

Pertinent surveillance questions for such markets include:

  • Are the positions held by the largest long trader(s) greater in size than deliverable supplies not already owned by such trader(s)?
  • Are the long traders likely to demand delivery?
  • Is taking delivery the least costly means of acquiring the commodity?
  • To what extent are the largest short traders capable of making delivery?
  • Is making futures delivery a better alternative than selling the commodity in the cash market?
  • Is the futures price, as the contract approaches expiration, reflecting the cash market value of the deliverable commodity?
  • Is the price spread between the expiring future and the next delivery month reflective of underlying supply and demand conditions in the cash market?

By adding 20M oz on Dec. 31st JP Morgan and the other "Sub-Custodians" were proving to the CFTC, by way of the SEC end of year filings from SLV, that they had access to 170M oz of physical silver that could be delivered against their net short position on the COMEX if delivery were required. Once the end of year silver amount for SLV was officially recorded the silver was "withdrawn" and apparently put to use somewhere else (delivery, loan, lease, etc.)

The good news is that the fact that this maneuver was needed by the silver manipulators tells me 2 things:

1) The CFTC is finally examining the large traders for rule violations.

2) The fact that silver manipulators only borrowed the silver for a day means they needed that 20M to patch another hole in the dyke.

Anyway you slice it, the unprecedented, decades long silver manipulation is on it's last legs.

The silver ROCKET will truly be a sight to behold!
Bix

From one of GATA’s significant supporters, Eric LeMaire in France:

Dear Bill,
We have built a brand new feature for people on the move and I would be honoured if you would present it to your readers.

Quotes, charts, commodities, markets, news and more for PDA and other blackberries. We have tried to pack as much useful information possible in the smallest and fastest format.

I hope you will find it useful if you use one of these little electronic assistants.

You can find it at :

http://www.24hgold.mobi/

All the very best
Eric

Bill;
Not sure whether you have noticed this or not – right now as I write this to you, the futures price of gold is down 22.20 and the futures price of silver is down .46 and HUI has been fire bombed for 20 points BUT the price of Central Fund of Canada CEF.A – TSX is up .13 on good volume. I guess they forgot to naked short it.

What a charade the criminals Bernanke and Paulson are pulling here.
Best,
Rob Kirby

Suddenly, courtesy of the cabal, the world is gold bearish. Gold and silver share investors can't exit fast enough. The XAU lost 9.49 to 181.01 and the HUI gave up 20.96 to 441.33.

Disgust at what happened today is too gentle a way of describing my emotions. Perhaps revolting gets closer to them.

To wind up this MIDAS at least 4 people, whose opinions I respect, have floated their opinion that gold was trashed because an emergency Fed rate cut is imminent. THEY don’t want gold in a technical position to go soaring on the news. Instead of taking off for $1,000, it will have to climb back through $900.

Yes, the manipulation of US financial markets is beyond farce … and will lead to catastrophe down the road.

GATA BE IN IT TO WIN IT!

MIDAS


-- Posted Thursday, 17 January 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com




 



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