I think next to Harry Reid, Diane Feinstein has to be one of the most vile, hypocritical and power-mongering politicians not named Barack Obama. I hate to say it, but for as much as I despised Bush and his gang of Republican criminals, the Democrats in power make the previous regime look like choir boys.
I vividly remember in the early 1990's being forced to contribute to Feinstein's Congressional campaign by the guy who ran leveraged finance at Bankers Trust because Ron Burkle (who made a fortune doing grocery store leveraged buyouts) was one of BT's biggest fee-paying clients and Burkle was in the process of buying out Feinstein. I'm still bitter about that to this day.
Feinstein is leading an effort in the Senate to make it a law of the land for the NSA to listen in to every single phone call - landline or cell - that is made in this country. In her words, " People believe it's surveillance, but it's not." Then what is it, Diane? George Orwell Was Right
I shudder to think that this might actually pass both houses of congress because Obama will gleefully sign the bill. Does everyone remember that Obama, as one of the planks in his campaign platform, promised to make an effort to repeal the Executive Orders signed by Bush which enabled comprehensive cell phone surveillance of every American?
I'll bet that nearly everyone who voted for Obama does not remember. Like blind sheep following the guileful Shepherd to the slaughterhouse, Obama supporters seem to have selective memory of Obama's promises. I vividly remember because I was at one of his rallies in Denver in October 2008 and I can recall all the promises he made, none of which he has followed through on.
Although I don't think anyone really believes Obama when he expresses denial of knowing the extent of the NSA's spying on the whole world - it's truly amazing how closely the unfolding events of today reflect the vision of George Orwell's "1984," which was published back in 1949:
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/images/sp_en_6.gif)
off topic....read Hanson's post http://mhanson.com/archives/1533
ReplyDeletebut underneath in comment section guy posted this:
In Greater Boston area the Housing Inflation looks directly correlated to people taking on the highest level of Mortgage Debt in the history of Massachusetts (and yet many properties still aren’t quite hitting their 2005 highs)
Increase Debt is the major contributor to increasing values – I find few all cash buyers in any market I look at.
Here are samples of real estate transactions in the last month:
Here are a few sample transactions for Burlington-Mass (which was home to Sun Microsystems during the DotCom Boom) and here is what I found:
2 Woodcrest – Burlington – sold for $439,000 on 9/17
New Mortgage is $439,000 – No 20% downpayment
In 2004 this property sold for $423,000 – mortgages totaled approx $400K.
4 Stewart Burlington – sold for $600,000 9/16/2013
New Mortgage is $480,000 – nice to see 20% down
In 1999 this house sold for $367,000 – it was brand new – 7.4 % 30 year Mortgage rate. (the DoCom bubble was in full swing in Mass).
Money is 40% cheaper to borrow today the House sold for 38% more today than in 1999 (lower interest rates= people borrow more =houses go up)
8 Gibson Burlington sold for $480,000 on 9/9/13
New Mortgage $384,000 – great down payment
Sold in 2004 for$460,000 with a $368,000 Mortgage
Money today is 25% less expensive to borrow, yet this home only went up by 4.16%
13 Mountain Rd – Burlington sold for $385,000
New Mortgage is $371,500
5 Marret – Burlington sold for $570,000 on 9/4/13
New Mortgage is $484,4000
2002 it sold for $469,000 with a Mortgage of $270,000 (in the midst of the DotCom bust)
The Mortgage rate in 2002 was approx 6% – borrowing costs are 25% less today – the 2013 price is 21.5% higher than 04
8 Richardson Burlington sold for $410,000
New Mortgage is $369,000
sold in 2003 for $357,000 – Mortgage was $316,000
Mort rate in 2003 was approx 5.5%-borrowing today is 18% cheaper – result – todays buyer paid 14% higher price
Debt is driving Real Estate and yet it looks like the lower rates are having less impact as time rolls on.
Very few sales have any skin in game but setting prices...unreal.
Thanks Dave in Denver,
ReplyDeleteNo shortage of assholes in our gubmint! Did you see this amazing video of this jackass Mike Rogers? My question to you, do you think the sheeple are starting to catch on or are we just a few lone voices in the wilderness?
I think at least 20% of the people realize that things are fucked up and should be changed. I think people who want to do something about it don't know what to do.
DeleteI think we're going to see a lot more incidents of violence and killing like the LAX TSA shooter.
In effect this "elected" criminal is saying that the "more equal animals" can violate the law and constitution as long as they don't get caught. And they just need to be more careful that they dont get caught. He even smirked that they were pretty good at not getting caught.
DeleteAnd these are the ones that "govern"... as long as they are not "caught", ie proven to the sheeple (which is pretty hard to do because they also blackmail and brainwash the sheeple) then they are not in violation of the law.
Times are going to get interesting.
I am looking for the sequel to Animal Farm, what happens after a while, when the animals get sick of the pigs...
Miners turn to private equity for help
ReplyDeleteOne avenue of financing that is already becoming and will be even more prevalent in the coming months and years, she adds, is from private equity firms. “M&A activity—financed by private equity—is picking up, sensing that a bottom in equity valuations is close at hand, with the object of rolling out an IPO in about four to five years’ time,” she explains. “If a company has a deposit that looks lucrative and can be developed in a reasonable time frame, private investors might be interested in it…essentially they are taking advantage of what are really value plays.”
Many juniors that have been effectively shut out of the public debt and equity markets for the last fifteen months are feeling the pressure to raise capital before value destruction becomes even more significant, some private equity firms say, noting that their terms are more flexible than other more traditional financing options such as syndicated loans and project finance.
In January Bloomberg reported that private equity firm Apollo Global Management was setting up its first natural resources fund, while commodity trader Trafigura Beeher BV was planning to launch its first private equity deals in mining and metals, and other firms, like Denham Capital Management and Waterton Global Resource Management, were talking about spending billions of dollars in the industry.
In late September, start-up X2 Partners backed by Mick Davis, Xstrata’s former chief executive, received a substantial investment from TPG, a private equity group based in the United States. And in January, Apollo invested $300 million in NRI Management, which has a mining operations team that focuses on coal.
- See more at: http://www.northernminer.com/news/miners-turn-to-private-equity-for-help/1002692591/#sthash.BaHs9A7q.ZG5ptcs9.dpuf
LBMA Collapse To Expose US, Europe & BIS Gold
ReplyDelete“Sweden has 125 tons of gold, but of that only 12% is held in Sweden. 61% of Sweden’s gold is held by the Bank of England, 33% by the Bank of Canada, and 13% by the Fed. So, why is 88% of Swedish gold held abroad? For the simple reason that they are trading their gold within the LBMA market, and trading can mean anything from selling to leasing.
Then, on Wednesday of this week Finland announced that 96% of its gold is held outside of the country -- half in the UK, and the rest in Sweden, New York, and Switzerland. The Bank of Finland also admitted that half of the gold held in the UK is ‘invested.’ One can probably assume that half of the gold held in the other countries is also ‘invested,’ which means that 50% of Finland’s gold is either sold, or leased to the market. Either way it’s gone.
Even if it’s only leased, let’s understand what that means. To lend or lease to the market means that an LBMA bullion bank uses that gold, and lends it or sells it on to another party. It could be to an ETF such as GLD. That would be convenient because it stays in London with HSBC, where GLD holds its gold.
In that example, Finland’s gold would be owned by GLD. It could also be sold to a private entity, and if that entity holds it in the banking system, that gold is encumbered. But Finland also has a claim on this gold, which means it’s double-counted. So, that kind of transaction is convenient for the bullion banks because the gold stays within the LBMA system.
http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2013/11/2_LBMA_Collapse_To_Expose_US,_Europe_%26_BIS_Gold_Is_Gone.html
Dark Money’s New Frontier: State Judicial Elections
ReplyDeleteIn America, we expect that our courts are fair and impartial — that their primary interest is to serve justice under the law. But increasingly, state high courts are falling prey to the same out-of-control, post-Citizens United election spending that has plagued legislative and executive races during the past two election cycles.
Thirty-eight states elect their state Supreme Court justices and, despite the courts’ supposed insulation from politics, during the 2011-2012 cycle huge sums of money poured into these elections. A new report by the Brennan Center for Justice, Justice at Stake and the National Institute on Money in State Politics finds that over $56 million was spent on state high court races across the country. A significant chunk of this money came from special interests one would expect to find operating at the national level, such as the Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity and the National Rifle Association-linked Law Enforcement Alliance of America. The spending was concentrated among a small handful of interest groups and political parties — the top 10 spenders shelled out $19.6 million of the $56.4 million total.
And 2011-2012 also saw a new high for TV ad spending for state high court races — $33.6 million.
Increasingly, the courts are becoming as much of a target for well-funded groups with an agenda as the other two branches of government.
“The constitution created a court system that’s supposed to be insulated from politics because we give the courts a different job than our other government officials,” says Brandenburg. “We elect legislators and executives to make promises and keep promises — ‘I will cut your taxes, I will increase your health care’ — and then we hold them to it.
“Judges are supposed to have a different job. They’re supposed to resolve disputes fairly and impartially, one case at a time, based on the facts and the law and not political pressure, not interest group spending. And in addition, they’re supposed to protect people’s rights. In a situation where the majority may not agree with a particular right, we want the courts to be able to stand up to pressure. And the more you wear away at the political insulation around the courts, the more you risk having them be accountable to interest groups and partisans instead of the law and the constitution.”
http://billmoyers.com/2013/10/31/dark-moneys-new-frontier-state-judicial-elections/
The Entire Fiat Money System is Bankrupt: Demise of the Global US Fiat Dollar Reserve Currency
ReplyDeleteMajor issues or trends do not change on a daily or even monthly basis. A trend may take a few years to run its course and unless there is a major factor that may affect the trend, there is hardly any need to comment any further on the trend or outcomes.
The events unraveling post Bernanke’s decision not to taper QE is most significant because it confirms our analysis that the banking crisis has not been resolved in any significant way after five years of money printing and massive asset inflation. The fiat money system has but one outcome – total collapse. It will also mean the demise of the global US dollar reserve currency.
There are no solutions at hand.
Bernanke is totally discredited and his continued tenure as Chair of the FED would only accelerate the realisation that the FED and all central banks have failed. Hence, the need to change the “leadership” at the FED, but the same policies would be followed with some cosmetic changes to hoodwink the ignorant masses. It is analogous to the transition from the second Bush presidency to that of Obama and all the theatrics of “change” propaganda. In fact, Obama is Bush 2 on steroids! Yellen will be Bernanke on steroids. Why are we so certain of this outcome at Future Fast-Forward?
Our reasons are as follows:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-entire-fiat-money-system-is-bankrupt-demise-of-the-global-us-fiat-dollar-reserve-currency/5356491
Off the topic. Dave, I have 2 questions.
ReplyDelete1. I remember you mentioned some time ago that silver has not created a historical high till now. That makes silver a much better investment compared with gold. However, the Hunt Brothers were trying to corner the silver market back in 1980. Do you think the high price back then was a distorted price due to the cornering attempt or still legitimate?
2. I saw you mentioned in the comment section that JPM is using SLV silver to satisfy the excess demand for silver. That's why there have been big movements in and out of Comex warehouses. However, as of Oct 31, there is only 20 million oz of silver held in JPM NY and the rest is still in London.
https://ebts.jpmorgan.com/metalicsWebApp/ebts_downloads/BONY_SLV.pdf
So this bar list is actually total bullshit?
I wouldn't trust the SLV bar list. I think Ed Steer is a complete jack-ass for promoting that guy who tracks the bars in SLV via the serial numbers of the bars. In the court of law, SLV's reports are "hear-say."
DeleteI think JPM is using silver in NY and in London to put out silver shortage fires globally. I'm not the only one with that view.
I think the price in 1980 was a lot more legitimate than the price setting mechanism now.
DeletePaul Brodsky: "The Fed Is Holding A Burning Match"
ReplyDeleteSovereign Shares
Via Paul Brodsky or Kopernik Global Investors,
A few years ago, the smart people at Pimco coined the term "new normal" to help describe the increasingly obvious need for ongoing unconventional economic policy directives in over-leveraged, finance-based economies, and the impact on global production they would have. The Firm later helped promote the concept of a "stable disequilibrium" - a tenuous economic state that, if left in place too long, could lead to deteriorating and wholly a-cyclical economic consequences. This past August, Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian seemed to publicly join his colleague, Bill Gross, in conceding the new normal had further morphed into a state in which global economies and policy makers are going to have to come face to face with the sources of this disequilibria.
In this report, I will narrow this reconciliation theme to what I see as the base source of our increasingly not-so-stable disequilibrium - unsustainable global price levels - and then take a logical next step to make the case for where global wealth will flow - towards direct ownership in resources and the corporate capital structures of businesses with sustainable pricing power.
My conclusion: claims on production and demand-inelastic global resources are now the ultimate sovereign currency, regardless of their provenance, and this is where substantial alpha resides in today's equity markets.
The fundamental disconnect today is unnatural clearing levels — prices of goods, services and assets that do not reflect societies' sustainable needs, wants and preferences.
However, a falling general price level is unacceptable to policy makers in finance-based economies where ever-rising prices are needed to service and collateralize ever-increasing debt levels. So, global monetary authorities have sought "price stability," which in practice implies the need for constant price inflation to offset what would otherwise be naturally-occurring price deflation. Indeed, "price stability" has become a bipartisan, socially acceptable euphemism for consistent policy- administered credit and price inflation — functionally the diminution of a currency's purchasing power.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-02/paul-brodsky-fed-holding-burning-match
Nanex: One or More News Organizations Leaked Fed Information to Markets
ReplyDeleteThis is from Nanex:
"On October 25, 2013, the Federal Reserve announced it would add an Internet Kill Switch (among other measures) to prevent future leaks of FOMC news announcements.
We proved with market data that the September 18, 2013 Fed (FOMC no-taper) news release must have been secreted out of the Treasury Department and placed on computers in New York and Chicago trading centers sometime before the official 2 PM release from Washington, D.C...
We have since learned, from people familiar with the matter, that one or more news organizations secreted the Fed news out of the Treasury Department before 2 PM and loaded it onto servers in trading centers in New York and Chicago. This has not yet been disclosed publicly..."
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2013/11/nanex-one-or-more-news-organizations.html
So what would Obama have to do to turn his supporters against him? Seriously. Would he have to be unmasked as a cannibal? A necrophiliac? A child molester? A supplier of crack cocaine to expectant African-American mothers? All of the preceding? Really, I believe there's nothing this guy could not do, and get away with it (while somehow blaming Bush), because of the protection afforded him by his pigment and by his calling himself a Democrat. Unbelievable. Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm the one who's out of touch with reality. The suppression of gold is a myth, the Federal Reserve (blessed be that name) is safeguarding and promoting the economy, and government surveillance is necessary to keep us safe from those who mean us harm. Yes, it could very well be that I'm the one who has his head turned upside down and should, at the least, get professional help and learn to love, truly love with all my heart, Barack Hussein Obama.
ReplyDeleteHow do you know he isn't any of those things? LOL
DeleteDon't forget the black thing. Funny cuz I was talking to someone today who recently read a biography about Viet Nam that chronicles the atrocities committed by Colin Powell back then. He was really first African-American "front" for the White House. Then Condaleeza Rice.
You can't disagree with Powell or Rice or Obama or you are labelled a "racist." I disagree with their very existence as politicians and there's not once ounce of racist in me.
I disagree with the existence of 99% of the politicians, be they black, white, purple, blue or green. They're all the same color to me, if shit brown is a color (which perhaps it should be, right between Shamrock and Shocking Pink......sorry Crayola).
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Crayola_crayon_colors
Dave, I have a serious question. How long do you think the price suppression to continue? It seems that TPTB has endless fire powder. China and India vacuumed up thousands of tonnes of gold in the past 6 months but the price doesn't budge. Many of my friends have already lost patience.
ReplyDeleteYep. This may keep up until most people have lost patience. I don't know the answer to your question because I don't know what other sources of gold there are besides GLD. It peaked at 1350 tonnes of gold in late 2012 and its down to 866 tonnes. I don't think they can deplete to zero. In fact, maybe at most they can cut it in half one more time but may be not because it will lose any semblance of "validity."
DeleteMaybe at most this can go on another year but, in case you haven't noticed, shit's melting down beneath the surface pretty quickly in this country. The U.S. political stature in the world is collapsing, along with the economy.
Very few people people really believe the rigged economic reports anymore and even less believe in the message being given by the stock market. If anything, the undlesslessly rising stock market is a symbol of just how broken our system really is.
Look at your gold right now as an insurance policy. Because when China eventually does what we know they are going to do, the price of gold will go up 10x in a very short period.
One more point about that. Don't dismiss the rising number of violent incidences that we're seeing. That shooting at the LAX airport reflected complete frustration and disgust with the oppressive Government "security" operations. We're starting to see people snap. It's going to get worse - probably quickly - especially now that Obama has reduced the amount of the food stamp wealth transfer program. It could start to get really ugly by Christmas.
DeleteNot only that, but I assume you saw that Germany has agree to let Snowden testify against the U.S. from Russia now. That will be a another stake in the heart of the U.S. global credibility image...
Does this worry you? Are the Chinese co-opted, too?
DeleteChina prepares to liberalise finance as hedge funds and estate agents salivate Beijing is making prepartions to let its money off the leash, and the repercussions will be felt everywhere
In the light of what is going to be discussed later this week, such fears look overblown. That's not just because such a move would be a pyrrhic victory for China, since it would destroy the value of its assets. It's also because bit by bit, China's economy – if not its political structure – is being reshaped along the lines sought by Wall Street and by American-owned transnational corporations.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2013/nov/03/china-liberalise-finance-hedge-funds-estate-agents
The spying and surveillance will contiue until we finally defeat Eurasia, and Emmanual Goldstein is apprehended and indefintely detained at Gitmo, and please remember this is all being done for our own well being and safety. Just deal with it already Dave!
ReplyDeleteKen
Bonus Wall Street Code: who made money from Flash Crash
ReplyDeletePublished on Oct 30, 2013
Watch this bonus video for the documentary the Wall Street Code with Dave Lauer and Eric Hunsader about who made a killing from the 2010 Flash Crash.
http://youtu.be/_HB5Gfo6ouQ