Oldtent Archives 2007 - 2008

……its linked under “Links”

www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data

Hawaii was first in the nation to hit $4/gal a couple weeks back over on Maui.  Neighbor islands are higher because the refinery is on Oahu, and gas has to be barged to the other islands.  Honolulu here is now $3.75 for Regular.  Been going up the past few days.

That one hasta’ just stumble on quite by accident.

Microsoft said today it will continue to sell Windows XP Home beyond its scheduled June 30 kill-date for the emerging class of “ultra-low-cost PCs,” or ULCPCs.

The operating system has been granted a reprieve until mid-2010, but only for the diminutive laptops such as the Asus Eee PC and Intel Classmate PC which lack the hardware necessary to run Windows Vista adequately.

The cut-off date for XP licenses in mainstream boxes remains the end of June, 2008. Free live support and warranty-based technical support will dry up next April. After that, customers need to pay for phone support until April 2014, when Microsoft washes its hands completely dry. XP security fixes will continue to be available for free.

Computer makers can sell XP Home on ULCPC machines through June 30, 2010, or one year after the scheduled launch of the next version of Windows. Exactly what lack of specs Microsoft is using to determine if a computer is an ULCPC remains unclear.

Microsoft was first wary of allowing anything less than Vista pre-installed on these tiny laptop computers. But when initial units started shipping with Linux, there was a rapid change of heart.

Or as Michael Dix, head of Windows client product management, tells the story, “One thing we’ve heard loud and clear, from both our customers and our partners, is the desire for Windows on this new class of devices.”

Microsoft has extended the Windows XP sales deadline once before. By its original intentions, XP would have been dead three months ago.

Microsoft also announced today it will continue to offer Windows XP Starter Edition in emerging markets until June 30, 2010.

Does the Brazilian index have a ticker number to buy into it?
Thanks for sharing the pretty charts, especially the top one.

SO!

With what many have described as a flash of monetary discipline worthy of Paul Volcker, Ben Bernanke reduced short-term interest rates this week to a mere 2%, apparently turning a deaf ear to those on Wall Street who wanted more. But now that the dollar-crushing side effects of cheap money are widely understood, there is, in reality, little pressure remaining for steely-eyed Ben to resist.

Excuse me, but I knew Paul Volcker. Paul Volcker was a friend of mine (well, not really), and Ben Bernanke is no Paul Volcker. The dominant spin that bubbled up after the Fed statement held that since no more rate cuts were hinted at, the Fed has effectively sounded the economic all clear, and that its attention would now shift to inflation and the weak dollar. As a result, the dollar rallied and gold, oil, and other commodities fell sharply.

Even if the Fed has really paused (which the statement does not necessarily suggest), a 2% Fed funds rate is still ridiculously low. Given that even the official measures of inflation are well above that level, to say nothing of the actual rate, how can anyone believe that current policy will engender a strong dollar? To restore real strength to the greenback the Fed would have to raise rates substantially, something they are very unlikely to do. Although some marvel at our economy’s resilience, given how much of this strength is a function of leverage and debt, high interest rates are the economic equivalent of kryptonite. In other words, it’s the ultimate Catch-22. Unlike when Paul Volcker came to town, there is now nothing the Fed can do to prevent the dollar from falling.

While the Fed may pay lip service to being vigilant on inflation, their actions suggest otherwise. Before the ink on their supposedly hawkish statement had dried, the Fed announced additional measures to supply even more liquidly (create more inflation) by expanding its term auction facilities and allowing bonds backed by student, auto and credit card loans to be pledged as collateral.

The Fed continues to claim that should inflation not come down as it currently forecasts, it would then stand ready to act aggressively. However, that is exactly what the Fed has been saying for at least the last five years. By emphasizing how core inflation remains controlled, the Fed continues to thumb its nose at consumers struggling with spiraling food and energy costs. Despite years of busted forecasts, its confidence in lower inflation is once again based on its belief that commodity prices have peaked. They haven’t. No matter how often the Fed cries wolf, it somehow manages to maintain credibility.

In reality, the fundamentals for the U.S. dollar have never been worse and we are as close to an outright dollar crises as we have ever been. Those looking for a reversal in the dollar’s trajectory, or like our friend Larry Ludlow states, a return to “King Dollar”, are living in a fairy tale. In fact, just yesterday the name “Goldilocks” made a number of appearances on CNBC.

The consensus on Wall Street seems to be that high commodity prices mainly result from speculation, much of it tied to the weak dollar. Now that the dollar is expected to strengthen, those traders naturally believe that commodities will lose their appeal. In fact, yesterday CNBC’s Erin Burnett stated that oil prices no longer trade on fundamentals, but simply on movements in the dollar. Pardon me Mrs. Burnett, but nothing is more fundamental to the price of oil, or of anything for that matter, than the value of the dollar.

For all of the talk about speculators driving commodity prices, for once Wall Street may be right. Speculators are now driving the market, but it’s the shorts that are behind the wheel. In contrast, the underlying bull market in commodities has always been driven by the fundamentals, including of course the most inflationary monetary policy in world history. Sure some speculators have gone along for the ride, but they have clearly been riding in the back seat. However, the most recent correction is being driven by speculators who, lacking any real understanding of the fundamentals, are trying to profit from what they wrongly believe to be the bursting of a bubble. However, once the shorts have piled on, look out, as the next rally will be spectacular. Not only will it be driven by real physical and investment demand, but by the mother of all short-covering.

Got gold?

by Peter Schiff
Euro Pacific Capital
May 2, 2008

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GOLD’s 300 DMA closes out the week at $771.45. Another All Time High……and still climbing.

JBI

Up another 1,490.64 points today (+2.20%) and almost 10% in just the last 2 days.

Classic breakout of an inverse head and shoulders pattern.

Longer term

~ ~ ~ ~

Dow Jones World Stock Index

JBI

PS - TQ, one down and 2 or 3 to go……. \
……..DJIA closes above 13,000.

21,528,491 . . . . . . . . . . .

talking about me.  But I bought more PNP.TO today, so maybe I’m not the puke meter you are referring to.  Cheers.  Equiz.

What’s a gallon of gas priced at on the . . . . . I s l a n d s . . . . . ?

“enforcement@cftc.gov
To Whom it May Concern:

When in the past, inquiries have been made of the CFTC requesting investigation and enforcement of short paper sales to manipulate the silver market, your response has been a bunch of meaningless mumbo jumbo salted with double talk.

Yesterday I called my local coin dealer to purchase silver coins and/or bars. He has not yet received delivery of silver he purchased over 8 weeks ago and has none in stock. Apparently the story is the same the world over; there is little or no silver inventory available. Amazingly, however, the spot price of silver in that same eight week period had gone from a high well in excess of $21 per ounce in mid March to just over $16 per ounce yesterday.

Obviously your agency is in the delusional grip of a much greater force then reality or common sense. Therefore, since you cannot function objectively, why continue to waste my taxpayer money? Just shut down and go home.

I am simply a citizen of the USA wanting to protect the erosion of the purchasing power of my fiat paper currency by holding some silver. It would appear to me that all you nameless people are committing treason, if not in legal terms…because you have a good attorney to allow you to slither out like a snake…then certainly in God’s eyes. If you do not start telling the plain simple truth, you and your entire lot will face the wrath of a much higher power for all of eternity…for that is exactly what you disserve.

By the way, don’t bother to write back with more lies. Either do the right thing or disband this agency; don’t waste your time composing another fantasy letter trying to explain to us simple citizens that all is well…
Best Regards,
xxxxxxxxxx”"

The people who wrote that about the silver deliveries are scouting for more information, but apparently this is the 3rd delivery in 10 years of this magnitude. I don’t have figures on the average, but they (the finders of the info) were awed.

I have a friend who buys Gold stocks on Margin and chases them on the way up.He is a nervous type ,kind of high strung and a good indicator of extremes in the Market place.I have found that when he starts PUKING up his stocks to make margin calls,its a good time to buy.Lately he has been making comments like “Im going to get the hell out”,”So and So said Gold is never coming back,its Morto”.

I call him the PUKE Meter…When he pukes up his stocks its time to BUY,it works every time..

I hope he dosen’t read this ,Ill lose a good indicator….

thank you ment

.

TODAY’S COMEX SILVER DELIVERIES TOTAL 21,370,000 OUNCES!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you know how that compares to previous deliveries? TIA