real or bad tick?

Hope you got a lube job and tires filled after this lengthy commute.
Don’t forget to take some snow shovels back, al Bore’s warnings are bogus……snow coming someday soon.

As far as Ireland?

Hell, I couldn’t find and place Baharain……
..and all the map was filled with correct names, uhh……
admittedly..after a bit of consternation why in hell the map guys moved countries to places they shouldn’t probably ought to be. ??

Think the Baharain thing was a smoke screen plant to fool me.
Gotta’ try the ‘learn me’ tool again.

www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html

anyone else think it strange that so many systems crash on the same date that major moves are happening? how many times in the past have these systems crashed? many people are calling for the end game now. perhaps it’s coming. perhaps this is just another step on the way down. can the central banks allow a sloping decline or will the system cascade down.

we should be ready but few of us feel comfortable. should we be in debt up to our ears and pay it off with highly inflated fiat or should we be out of debt and have three months expenses socked away? anything extremely complex is also fragile. systems built on systems can stall at any point in the pyramid. if the base layer decomposes (as i believe is happening now), most of us won’t know until it’s too late for us to react. i can assure you that many people inside the system are worried. counter party risk is unknown. swaps made to control mortgage risks may exist only in the minds of those holding the financial toxic waste. as foreclosures continue, more swaps are going to become worthless because the model used to calculate risks by the counter parties was badly flawed. this is insurance with no reserves and the hurricane is here.

the government bond market is now at all time highs. what moron would buy a 30 year bond yielding less than three per cent and the underlying fiat is losing 10 percent per week? i would suggest that the market was “massaged” so that certain holders could unload some us govt toxic waste. i predict that bond deliveries by the shorts in the bond futures will dwarf the longs demanding delivery on the gold futures. maybe some brilliant retirement fund adviser has bought some us govt bonds to dilute the cdo’s he’s holding. that may be about as reasonable as diluting gasoline with diesel to reduce the flammability. the combustion may be a little different, but the pile of ashes will be the same.

rno

I can’t find Ireland on that map…no geography quiz is complete without Ireland ! It looks like Oman but it won’t come up green…..Peter Shiff is Irish .well if he isn’t I’ll sponsor him

Financial doomsayer Schiff still grim on future

People aren’t laughing any more at the way-out-there predictions of Peter Schiff, whose long-standing pessimism about the economy and stock market has been largely borne out.

Schiff heads Euro Pacific Capital, a brokerage in Darien, Conn. with more than $1 billion in assets under management. He has silenced critics because he predicted the collapse of the housing market, the subprime crisis and the soaring of oil prices in his market commentaries before they came to pass

forbes:http://www.forbes.com//feeds/ap/2008/12/03/ap5775256.html?partner=yahoobuzzA YouTube video called “Peter Schiff Was Right” shows him being repeatedly mocked when he went on TV stock shows to make those ultimately correct calls in 2006 and 2007, including forecasting a recession 2 1/2 years ago.

Now, in the midst of what’s already the biggest financial crisis in decades, the prominent purveyor of gloom and doom still sees far tougher times ahead - including a depression and a bear market he thinks will last another five years or more.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Schiff outlined views that remain on the far side of gloomy compared with virtually all other pundits but still envision some buying opportunities for investors. He foresees grimmer prospects in the U.S. than elsewhere, perhaps a reflection of the fact his firm focuses more on international investments than domestic ones:

Q: What sectors of the economy do you expect to do well in 2009?

A: I don’t know if any sector will do well. But ultimately, whether it’s going to be 2009 or whenever the turnaround is going to be, I think the only sectors of the U.S. economy that are going to improve are going to be those that are related to exports - manufacturing, mining, energy, agriculture, commodities-related businesses. I think the slowdown in the global economy will be short-lived. But I think the U.S. depression is going to be with us for a long time.

Comment On This Story

Q: How bad do you think things will get?

A: Tens of millions of people unemployed, inflation spiraling out of control, the government instituting price controls that result in shortages and blackouts and long lines for things. I think things are going to get very bad.

From an investment point of view, investors need to stay clear, because they need to realize that it’s not just U.S. stocks and real estate that are going to lose value, but U.S. bonds. This is the last bubble yet to burst. I think we’re going to see a collapse of the bond market sometime during Obama’s first term, and interest rates are going to spiral out of control, and the dollar is going to just be destroyed.

Q: Why do you oppose bailouts of troubled companies?

A: Nobody should be bailed out. Failure is supposed to be punished and success is supposed to be rewarded, not the opposite. When companies fail, their resources, their assets, get redistributed. What happens is people who are incompetent lose their assets and people who are competent buy them, and they reorganize them. The government is propping up and rewarding bad behavior.

Q: But wouldn’t letting the auto industry fail have huge negative consequences for the economy, just as Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEHMQ - news - people )’ bankruptcy had major ripple effects?

A: Look, the only thing that the U.S. government did right was to let Lehman Brothers fail. Everything else they did wrong.

If Ford and General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) are allowed to go bankrupt, there will be adverse consequences, no doubt. But there’s going to be more adverse consequences by bailing them out. So the lesser of the evils is to let them fail.

Ultimately, I don’t think it’s going to be the end of the automobile industry in this country, I think it’s going to be the beginning of a better automobile industry. I think the new people who buy up the General Motors plants and can find a way to employ all those skilled workers in Detroit to make cars profitably. Obviously the management of GM is incapable of doing it. Look at these guys. These guys are paying themselves $20 million, $25 million salaries to run these companies into the ground.

Q: Where should investors have their money in 2009?

A: In international. You need to be in stocks that are going to benefit from this change in global leadership as the American economy collapses and the American consumer no longer reigns supreme. … So the key is to buy value around the world. Buy these viable companies that still have good businesses, good balance sheets, good income potentials. A lot of U.S. stocks are down a lot, but they’re going to keep falling. A lot of foreign stocks are down a lot but they represent good buying opportunities because they’re not going to keep falling, they’re going to snap back. And especially once the dollar turns around, then these foreign investments are really going to look good.

Q: What do you see happening with oil prices now that they’ve fallen $100 a barrel from their peak last July to under $50?

A: This pullback is an incredible buying opportunity for oil company stocks. Oil prices are going to be much, much higher as a result of this huge plunge, because this big drop is going to put on the back burner for years any alternative plans, any big exploration plans. Because when oil is back above $100 a barrel next year, nobody is going to want to spend any money on oil exploration because they’re all going to be afraid of another major collapse. That’ll give OPEC another three or four years of $150, $200-a-barrel oil where no one is doing anything about it. OPEC is probably loving this price decline, because they know it’s laying the foundation for a bigger price increase down the line.

MIDDLE EAST GEOGRAPHY QUIZ

No names will be taken, The only result will be private and personal humiliation as the result of this ’simple’ Geographic exercise.

Drag the country’s name onto the map. There is no humbling score nor time limit, but rather this exercise is a learning tool.

Don ‘t be afraid to make an error, and once you finish the puzzle, you will be far more educated about this very intense part of our world.

www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html

What a special note from one of our LOONIE Café members…

Hi Bill;
Just sending you a quick note to wish you well on your trip to meet with the CFTC. I know you will do well, none of us could ask for more dedicated “torch carriers” than you and Chris have proven to be over the years. I know I speak for my fellow Canadians as well as myself when I say we are proud to have you as our Captain. I know I will be proud to tell my grandchildren the full story when they arrive one day, of how I witnessed the biggest fraud in history being uncovered by the two greatest financial Olympians the world has ever seen. I wish you the best of luck in Washington Bill and let the CFTC know that we Canadians are sick of their blindness as to what has been going on for too long.
All the best to you,
Mr Richard White

Thanks Richard,

My hero is CP, who handles one detail after another and CRITICAL stuff that has kept GATA going for a decade, more than most any Café member could even begin to comprehend. I am only getting on an airplane to Washington to make our own luck. You know the old story about making your own luck. While I do not enjoy travelling at all, it is a pittance of effort to win the day compared to what Chris does. Besides, this is what I am here for.

I just hope the GATA ARMY will “seize the day” … to take advantage about the OUTCRY over market transparency and a yearning to learn more about how this mess all came about. Please take a few minutes and put GATA and our ad right in front of them. Pour it on.

Thanks…

Again, this is what I sent last evening to The Closing Bell:

Hi,
This is Bill Murphy, Chairman of The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, founded in January 1999 to expose the manipulation in the gold market. I have a meeting with CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton this Thursday in Washington to discuss the matter.

This came to me this a while ago….

On the closing bell Dillon Radigan (and Maria Bartiromo) called for explanations and/or investigations into the actions of Greenspan, Bernanke, and Paulson (both as Treasury Secretary and while at Goldman) as well as others to explain how we got into this mess.

***

I can explain how we got into this mess. My organization, GATA, warned, as result of the manipulation of the gold price, of the coming “catastrophe” and “disaster” in this full page ad in the Wall Street Journal on January 31 of this year. It cost us $264,400 and NO ONE LISTENED.

Here it is:

www.gata.org/node/wallstreetjournal

You want a scoop, I would love to talk to you about it.
all the best
Bill Murphy

For those inclined, contact the following two CNBC shows and, in your own words (there is so much to bring their way), suggest they have Chris Powell, or myself, on one of their shows to offer an explanation to their question.

Here are two of the many CNBC addresses:

Fast money
www.cnbc.com/id/15838499/

Closing Bell
closingbell@cnbc.com

***

I know of at least TWO, out of thousands that made that effort, and they got responses.

OFF TO WASHINGTON

..they better freaking open tomorrow !…or I take back the LOL….this is NOT Funny

…I didnt hear any American Comentary on the failure of the TSX to open today….CNBC or otherwise…

….are they keeping it secret from you ?

“Thus began my career as a regulator – at the tiny, largely unknown federal agency responsible for regulating the silver and other commodity markets….”  - our new SEC chief, reflecting on the impact of the Hunts as she began her career…

It is doubtful that Mary Shapiro ever reflected on the possibility that perhaps the Hunt’s were showing what silver is truly worth -  if the manipulation overlay is briefly taken off.  Yes, many industries (as she notes) use silver, but, a) don’t the miners deserve the fruits of their labors? Or b) don’t investors deserve to understand that if a commodity is being “regulated” (by manipulation in collusion with authorities) that this is stated openly, rather than allowing complete deceit. 

Thanks for posting that. Exactly what is needed , someone who cares about the little guy/girl.

I’m sure there are many folks very happy to see Cox gone. Hopefully, she can do some good although I think she will need a ton of money to go after all the crap hitting the fans these days!

….. just lots of feelers standing up on ends.

Just look at the Yen in the last hour.  My business contacts in Japan are FREAKING about the strength of the Yen.

The fundementals all scream UP, but there are giants out there with big footprints, which I’m not sure are all going our way.  I can’t see JPM going down pretty.

I’m only thinking of my trading position here, which is fat from the last few weeks.  Christmas and all, ya know ….

Is the  TSX  going to be open tomorrow?  I saw an article somewhere that said they were not sure when they would be able to open.  

My other question - haven’t they ever heard of a back up system???  It is my understanding that NYSE has a backup system but not sure whether they have used it or not.

AuDept and Soee can probably get the thing straightened out in a couple of hours if someone wants to pass their names along! 

Bill,
On Tuesday there was major activity with the COMEX silver warehouse statistics. The main activity though was at the HSBC warehouse where 9,436,026 ounces of silver was withdrawn from the registered category. Of this amount, 132,814 ounces were withdrawn from the exchange and 9,303,212 ounces were switched to the eligible category. This is by far the largest change in categorization since September 2006. For the day total COMEX registered silver holdings dropped 9,551,447 ounces from 77,750,977 to 68,199,530. COMEX now has 12.3% fewer silver bullets to shoot at the market. Total warehouse stocks are now down to 126,972,398 ounces. Regards,
Bryant

eBay - IT’S OFFICIAL

It’s official, eBay as of today is no longer offering ANY Windows Cash Back discounts for precious metal items any more, AT ALL!

There were only a handful of such deals to start with over the last two months, and most of them gave 20%-25% discounts. Then, last week the few available deals saw the discount rate drop suddenly to 8%. Now, all of a sudden they are ALL GONE, no more discounts AT ALL.

This is an enormous signal that demand for coins/bars of all kinds is surging.
Andy

Well you see this guy came up and …well ..he told me that you save the last for best and considering Sterling is after SLw in the alphabet I I I just followed his advise and went with the last is best routine…and then Mrs. Calabash came in and Red Skelton said something nasty to her and Jimmy Durante punched him and Padre Pio yelled ..”.This is a Sterling moment ” …there were many other valid reason that you didn’t have cold dry powder today …but the most valid one was that you had a ahhh hmm a temporary cash flow interruption …..then there is that small small possibility that I just might or could have maybe given you a “BAD STINKING FREE TIP”….As they boringly say every NFL Sunday “My Bad” yeah man My Bad!
Just to make it up to you I got this other hot tip …Little AME P
Haa