Baltic Dry Index. 1073 +07
LIR Gold Target by 2019: $30,000. Revised due to QE programs.
"It is always the best policy to speak the truth, unless of
course, you are an exceptionally good liar."
Jerome K. Jerome.
Cometh the hour…. The came, they saw, they bickered
and dithered. Day two today of The Great Leaders’ summit in Brussels. So far, Europe
is getting a break. Nothing has been decided, so no new taxes have been imposed,
no new rubbish pettifogging regulations have been issued, no new wealth
destroying socialist policies have been accepted. Sadly no taxes have been cut
or repealed, no bureaucratic regulations abolished, no Eurocrats fired or
demoted. The Great Farce of the United States of Europe continues. Stay long physical precious metals ahead of the breakup of the ill fated monetary union.
"The first requisite of a sound monetary system is that it put the least possible power over the quantity or quality of money in the hands of the politicians."
Henry Hazlitt
EU leaders warn budget deal far off
European leaders voiced pessimism on Friday on reaching a deal on a trillion-euro EU budget, as gruelling talks pushed into a second day with little prospect of bridging bitter divisions.
6:38AM GMT 23 Nov 2012
The summit talks in Brussels were suspended overnight after less than an hour and a half, having already begun hours late on Thursday due to the vast differences on the need for cuts between the bloc's have and have-not nations.The negotiations were scheduled to resume at 11.00 on Friday once delegates from the 27 member nations have had time to examine new proposals on the 2014-2020 budget submitted by EU president Herman Van Rompuy.
But with an increasingly eurosceptic Britain threatening to wield its veto, and splits throughout the EU over the level of spending, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that any deal may have to wait.
"I think we're advancing a bit, but I doubt that we will reach a deal," Mrs Merkel said as she and her fellow leaders left the first session of talks.
French President Francois Hollande also warned that failure to reach a deal was increasingly likely.
"It's
what everyone has in mind," Mr Hollande said as he left for the night, due
back hours later to try to breach the divisions.
But
giving "time to time to reach a deal" will "most likely be the
wise choice," he said.
The first
round of talks followed a tough day of face-to-face meetings between Mr Van
Rompuy and each of the bloc's leaders, followed by a flurry of backroom
bilaterals.
"Maybe
this meeting will be long and complicated," Mr Van Rompuy said as the
two-day talks opened.
"Fortunately this issue only comes up every seven
years," he added.
More
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9697828/EU-leaders-warn-budget-deal-far-off.html
Euro zone faces deepest downturn since early 2009
LONDON |(Reuters) - The euro zone economy is on course for its weakest quarter since the dark days of early 2009, according to business surveys that showed companies toiling against shrinking order books in November.
Service sector firms like banks and hotels that comprise the bulk of the economy fared particularly badly this month, and laid off staff at a faster pace.
While the monthly rate of decline that manufacturers reported eased far more than economists anticipated, Markit's latest Purchasing Managers' Indexes (PMIs) pointed to little change overall for a recession-hit euro zone this month.
The flash service sector PMI fell to 45.7 this month, its lowest reading since July 2009, the survey showed on Thursday, failing to meet the expectations of economists who thought it would hold at October's 46.0.
It has been rooted below the 50 mark that divides growth and contraction for 10 months now, and survey compiler Markit said it was too soon to say if this marked the nadir.
With more austerity on the way, and a reminder of the festering sovereign debt crisis in this week's failure of lenders to agree more aid for Greece, prospects for next year look ominous.
"The concern about the outlook is getting worse as we move towards the end of the year," said Chris Williamson, chief economist from Markit.
He added that German companies especially have become more pessimistic about the year ahead.
"If the domestic economy of Germany, the largest euro zone nation, is weakening, then that bodes ill for the rest of the region, especially as there's little trade picking up outside the region."
Overall, the PMIs were consistent with the economy shrinking around 0.5 percent in this quarter, Markit said.
That would be the sharpest contraction since the first quarter of 2009.
More
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/22/us-eurozone-pmi-idUSBRE8AL08I20121122
Elsewhere in Europe it’s off with their heads. Socialist wealth envy surfaces in William Tell’s lawless banking Swizzerland. After encouraging millions of rich Americans and others to cheat on their taxes, John Calvin’s modern day Swizz get the bit of bolshevism. Not to worry, the Formula One millionaires, and the pop star champagne socialists can all decamp back to slum it in sunnier Monaco.
"The leaders of the French Revolution excited the poor against the rich; this made the rich poor, but it never made the poor rich."
Fisher Ames, 1758-1808.
Swiss to vote on tax rules for millionaires
Switzerland could scrap tax breaks for foreign millionaires after activists succeeded in getting a more-than-century-old law put to a popular vote.
Switzerland
could scrap tax breaks for foreign millionaires after activists succeeded in
getting a more-than-century-old law put to a popular vote.
Socialist
politicians and Swiss labour unions have collected more than 100,000 signatures
on the issue, meaning the 150-year-old rule can be put to a national vote.
At
present wealthy foreigners living in the Alpine tax haven are only required to
pay a flat fee instead of income tax.
Pop stars
such as Phil Collins, Tina Turner and Shania Twain, as well as Formula One
world champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, are among those who have
lived in Switzerland.
Four of
Switzerland’s 26 cantons have already binned the rules, which are a source of
resentment among ordinary Swiss who pay more tax than wealthy expats.
More than
5,000 foreigners, including many senior financiers, use the rules to minimise
their tax.
Closer Look: Toppled Statue Is No Bull for Securities Broker
How a wobbly sculpture caused a day of headaches for one
Beijing company
11.22.2012
17:38
(Beijing)
– In a bearish market, nothing could be more ominous than the collapse of a
leading securities broker's bull statue, an object meant to convey confidence
and prosperity.
But that
is what happened to Galaxy Securities on November 21. The incident set
microblogs abuzz and caused veteran traders to say the country's weak stock
markets now had a fitting symbol.
Galaxy
Securities blamed the incident outside its front door on natural wear and tear,
saying the formerly fearless beast's hind legs had simply given way. A
replacement was being built and should be ready in a week or so, the broker
said.
Perpetually
skeptical Net users dug a little deeper and came up with a different
explanation. A Sina blogger known for reporting industry gossip said the bull
broke down because someone unwisely leaned against it after its hind legs had
become detached from the statue's base.
Galaxy
then went silent. Company employees were reportedly told not to comment, as if
the firm were in a public relations crisis.
A clerk
who answered the phone at Galaxy begged a reporter to drop the matter.
"Please
don't ask anymore," he pleaded. "It just fell, for no particular
reason."
But the
clerk and his colleagues soon had more pressing problems. As word of the
incident spread, unnerved investors packed Galaxy's trading hall in Beijing's
financial district.
Investors
wanted either to reduce their holdings or close their accounts. It wasn't known
how many actually did.
Later in
the say, one analyst had a go at torturing logic, arguing that the
pronunciation of the Chinese words for "fall" and "arrive"
differed only in tone. Hence, a bull market "arrives" when a bull
"falls," he argued.
The
Shanghai Composite Index wasn't convinced. On the day of the bull's collapse,
it fell to a new low in the morning: 1995.17 points.
The index
did manage to get back up on its legs in the afternoon, closing at 2030.32.
"All of the government's monetary, economic and political power, as well as its extensive propaganda machinery, will be enlisted in a constant battle to drive down the price of gold - but in the absence of any fundamental change in the nation's monetary, fiscal, and economic direction, simply regard any major retreat in the price of gold as an unexpected buying opportunity."
Irwin A. Schiff
At the Comex silver depositories Wednesday final figures were: Registered 35.00
Moz, Eligible 106.40 Moz, Total 141.40 Moz.
Crooks and
Scoundrels Corner
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally
doubled over.
Today, the
implosion of Argentina, South America’s second largest economy. It’s not even
on the radar screen in Europe!
Argentina at risk of default after US court ruling on debt
Argentina is at risk of defaulting on $24bn (£15bn) of debt after hedge funds were awarded more than $1.3bn by a US court, a move which its economy minister called “legal colonialism”
“All we need now is for [Judge Thomas] Griesa to send us the Fifth Fleet,” said Hernán Lorenzino, Agentina's economy minister.However, New York District Court Judge Grisa was firm. “Argentina owes this and owes it now,” he said. “After 10 years of litigation this is a just result.”
A deadline for payment was set for December 15.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina’s outspoken president, had vowed that the government will not pay “one dollar” to the funds. Payment could divert money from other bondholders, tipping the nation into a technical default.
The ruling relates to the previous default cycle. Judge Griesa rejected Argentina’s request to keep a previous order halting payments to so-called “holdout” investors that did not participate in two bond exchanges in 2005 and 2010.
The
ruling effectively means that holders of defaulted debt have to be treated the
same as those investors who participated in the restructuring.
These
investors include NML Capital and Aurelius Capital Management, which have been
holding out after rejecting the terms of previous debt agreements. Economy
Minister Hernan Lorenzino called the hedge funds “vultures”.
“To pay
the vultures is not only unfair but illegal in terms of our internal rules,” he
said. “We will continue to defend the position of Argentina in all forums and
with all available legal instruments.”
The court
victory has sparked fears the country could be plunged into a default spiral
similar to the 1999-2002 crisis, which caused widespread unemployment and
rioting.
Judge
Griesa warned that US bank BNY Mellon would be acting “in active concert” with
Argentina if it failed to comply with the ruling because the bank is handling
the South American nation’s debt payments to US bondholders.
Kirchner's popularity in freefall amid new mass protest
Road and air transport delays gripped Argentina Tuesday as President Cristina Kirchner, her approval rating in free fall, faced the second mass protest in as many weeks.
After
tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on November 8 to
complain about inflation and high crime rates, unions called a 24-hour general
strike over taxes, led by a union boss once allied with Mrs Kirchner.
"There
are hundreds of road blocks across the country," said one of the strike
organisers, Oscar de Isasi, as he appealed for the government to "change
course."
Road
blocks cut off main access routes into the capital Buenos Aires, causing
traffic jams, while domestic flights were canceled at the city's Aeroparque
airport.
One full
subway line also came to a standstill.
Despite
the impact, Mrs Kirchner tried to downplay the demonstration's impact.
----Chilean airline LAN announced it scrapped flights within Argentina starting in the afternoon, as well as seven regional flights headed to and originating from Sao Paulo, Lima and the Chilean capital Santiago.
The
November 8 demonstration reflected the loss of faith among the middle class in
Mrs Kirchner, who last year won re-election with 54 percent of the vote.
Argentina's
growth rate fell from nine percent in 2011 to just 2.2 percent this year,
according to the World Bank.
Mrs
Kirchner's popularity has also dropped, from 60 percent the week of her
re-election to 34 percent now, according to the Giacobbe and Associates polling
institute.
"We are in a world of irredeemable paper money - a state of affairs unprecedented in history."
John Exter
The monthly
Coppock Indicators finished October:
DJIA: +92 Up. NASDAQ: +99 Up. SP500: +102 Up.
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