Oldtent Archives 2007 - 2008

Let’s see if we make another break (symetrical) to 890.

Still trying to find out what is going on with gold. The HUI is up over ten too. If anyone knows what cookin, please post.

We might have something goin here. Gold up 22.80

Let’s see if we get a SHORT term phase 2 run.

Guys we have waited and waited…got our collective heads softened up along the way [even with good warnings from some of our groups good level headed chart guys]
But the time is now…we are at the point where our last extra monies should go to coins …I feel as strongly about this as I ever have…And get some of them coins outa here! wink wink

…anybody out there just notice the spike up in Comex Gold…..out of NOWHERE ??

…up 21………..silver up 18

….they were both in a low volume coma all day as expected !

Delivery has been taking place[I hope] all the way back from Nov.28 and will untill Dec. 28…DRAIN EM BABY DRAIN EM

Ohhh boy those two silver ounces could stay home instead of going to Ferret….

  Pop, pop poppin $870

  Yeah shorts just took one on the chin. Finally delivery is Dec. 28.

  No chance of default this month.

Gold taking off the last few minutes +11.80

When is delivery for Dec?

This issue starts with clever rhymes.
We don’t believe the New York Times.
Because they spread it round the town
That everything is going down.

I’m telling you, it’s no surprise.
That everything is gonna rise.
With one exception if you please.
The U.S. dollar, on its knees.

For past 9 months we wear a frown.
Cause everything was going down.
That downtrend ended, is no more.
It ended on date 10-24.

On 10-24, our gold stocks said,
“We’re turning up; it’s how we’re bred.
And since that time gold stocks are buys.
Our gold stocks once again on rise.

So jump on board and make your play.
So Fed don’t take your wealth away.
If you buy T-bills, you’ll be poor.
They don’t pay interest any more.

And those who write the New York Times
Can’t equal me in making rhymes.
So if you’re taking their advice,
You might as well be rolling dice.

…thanks guys…

www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_08/katz122208.html

 AZC might be one that bears watching - big volume today after being completely trashed this year.

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=azc

Top Stories

• AIG retires additional $16B in credit default swaps
  The Federal Reserve helped American International Group purchase underlying securities of $16 billion in credit default swaps, which allowed the company to retire the contracts. AIG said in a statement that the fund established by the company and the Fed has bought $62.1 billion in collateralized debt obligations. With these purchases, AIG is closer to winding down products that prompted the worst of its losses. Bloomberg (24 Dec.)

• Fed gives GMAC green light to become bank holding company
  GMAC Financial Services gained access to the U.S. government’s $700 billion economic rescue after it received approval to become a bank holding company. “In light of the unusual and exigent circumstances affecting the financial markets … the [Federal Reserve] Board has determined that emergency conditions exist that justify expeditious action on this proposal,” the Fed said. Financial Times (24 Dec.)

• Rates for fixed-rate mortgages keep sliding
  For the week ending Wednesday, the rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.14%. A year ago, the average was 6.17%. “Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages eased for the eighth straight week and set another record low since Freddie Mac’s survey began in 1971,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie. MarketWatch (24 Dec.)

• Chinese loans lead Americans to spend with abandon
  High levels of savings in China formed the basis for generous lending to the U.S., effectively underwriting consumption and a higher standard of living in America. But experts are starting to worry about what happens next. This cheap-and-easy money from China lured U.S. consumers and the government into complacency about their high-spending, low-savings rates, economists said. International Herald Tribune (26 Dec.)

• E-commerce a bright spot in dreary holiday for retailers
  Consumers shifted from taking trips to the mall to logging online this holiday season, boosting overall results for e-commerce. Despite massive discounts, promotional giveaways, longer hours and other efforts, stores suffered a sales decline with percentages in the double digits. Overall, holiday sales dropped to a level not seen since the 1980s, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse. CNBC (25 Dec.)

• States want to use Obama’s stimulus for roads, not rail
  U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is striving to revolutionize infrastructure through a proposed stimulus that may reach $1 trillion. States, however, seem to have other plans. Missouri, Utah and other states are planning to use the federal funds on highways rather than the environmentally friendly mass transit and rail lines that Obama envisions. Bloomberg (24 Dec.)

• Lehman’s collapse still weighs on local governments
  The bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers in September forced the termination of millions in interest-rate swaps across the country, causing municipalities and other borrowers to buy out the agreements. “One of the main risks with swaps, which is that a sudden bankruptcy of a counterparty could terminate a swap in unfavorable mark-to-market conditions, was not effectively addressed in the existing laws and agreements,” the New York State Division of the Budget wrote in its annual report. Bloomberg (24 Dec.)

• Hedge funds set to return to roots as niche products
  Hedge funds started as niche products for select investors, then grew as managers chalked up outsized returns to their investment skills. The economic downturn has pulled down many hedge funds and prompted others to return to where they began. “Eighty percent of the hedge-fund sector will not be here in three to four months,” said Robert McAdie, a credit strategist at Barclays Capital. “Levered strategies are dead in this environment.” FinancialWeek/Reuters (25 Dec.)

• Argentine entrepreneurs find solid ground
  Argentina’s startups are still a small part of the economy, but their growing success marks a sharp departure from tradition in the nation, where starting a business long depended on government influence or inherited wealth. After the government’s default in 2001 on its sovereign debt effectively cut Argentina from global capital markets, entrepreneurs began nurturing startups through local angel investors and venture-capital funds. International Herald Tribune (26 Dec.)

Market Activity

• Exporters help boost Tokyo as most Asian markets gain
  Most Asian markets rose Friday, although trading was thin during the holiday session. Asahi Breweries and exporters, including Toyota Motor, helped Japanese stocks advance. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 Average climbed 1.6%, China’s Shanghai Composite slid 0.1% and Taiwan’s Taiex inched up 0.3%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.9%, Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained 0.6% and India’s Sensex added 0.1% Markets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong were closed for Boxing Day. MarketWatch (26 Dec.)

• Analysts warn investors to be cautious about Treasuries
  The market for U.S. government bonds has been on an epic rally this year as other asset classes plunged, but analysts are warning investors that the market could crumble in the new year. To finance its economic rescue, the government is expected to issues trillions of dollars in debt into the Treasury market, which may cause a sudden decline in prices. “As an investor in the Treasury market, I would be very careful,” said Carl Kaufman of Osterweis Capital Management. International Herald Tribune/Reuters (25 Dec.)

Economics

• Japanese industrial output posts record drop
  Japan’s government released negative data on consumer spending, unemployment and industrial output, driving home the point that the world’s second-largest economy has serious problems. Japanese Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Kaoru Yosano described the 8.1% decline in industrial output between October and November as “particularly striking.” Financial Times (26 Dec.)

• U.S. inflation slows, but no deflation expected
  In November, growth in the U.S. core consumer-price index, a key measure of inflation, slowed to 1.9%, the lowest level in more than four years. But economists said the trend is not likely to continue until the U.S. reaches Japan-style deflation. “We’re unlikely to see this pace of deceleration continue over the next few months, so I don’t think we’re going to be pushing 1% by midyear,” said Dean Maki, co-chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital. Reuters (24 Dec.)

Geopolitical/Regulatory

• FASB official: Regulators forced change to fair value
  Financial Accounting Standards Board member Lawrence Smith said U.S. bank regulators, whom he did not identify, successfully pressured the board to relax its fair-value rules because of complaints that the rules overstated banks’ losses. At the same time, the regulators refused to change their capital-reserve requirements, which would have been another way to help banks, he said. FinancialWeek (24 Dec.)

• China to support M&A, push investment in stock market
  Liu Xinhua, assistant chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the regulator plans to encourage insurers, mutual funds and pension funds to increase their investments in the country’s stock market. The regulator will also back mergers and acquisitions of listed firms. Bloomberg (26 Dec.)

• FDIC close to finding buyer for IndyMac, sources say
  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has been running IndyMac since July, but that situation is reportedly about to come to an end. The regulator is said to be closing in on a buyer for the bank’s remaining assets. The $35 billion FDIC fund would spend an estimated $8.9 billion to protect deposits of the bank’s customers, although the asset sale could decrease that figure. CNNMoney.com (24 Dec.)

Ethics

• U.K. financial watchdog levies record number of fines
  Britain’s Financial Services Authority imposed this year the biggest number of fines — 49 — in its history, a significant increase over last year’s 23. Fines for improper sales of payment-protection insurance made up the biggest category, reaching more than £10 million. Telegraph (London) (24 Dec.)

• SEC to charge firm, execs for failed money-market fund
  The Securities and Exchange Commission told Reserve Management that the agency’s staff will recommend enforcement action against the company and three of its executives because a money-market mutual fund failed. The firm, which investors are suing because of the collapse, is expected to be charged with violating securities laws. BusinessWeek/The Associated Press (24 Dec.)