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The GoldBugg Report - July 15, 2008

July 15, 2008

-Gold charts point to $1,000. 

-Silver Prices Ready to Rocket; Four Reasons Why.

-Fed official admits inflation figures are phony.

GOLD

-Gold: the precious laggard that will hit $2,000.  Read more here-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/07/03/bcngold103.xml

-Gold charts point to $1,000.  Read more here-http://uk.reuters.com/article/fundsNews/idUKCAS74342020080707?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

-Gold's rally probably won't get a summer break. Most analysts expect gold to rise even during the off season.  Read more here-http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/golds-rally-probably-wont-get/story.aspx?guid={5DAFA28E-53A4-4EDE-82D9-3F752907C81A}&dist=TNMostRead&print=true&dist=printMidSection

-Gold has now on three consecutive days this week tested the 100 day moving average at $915 and is in a tight range between $915 and $935. This will encourage bulls who are likely to feel more confident about going long in the coming days which could see us challenge the $945-$950 level. A firm close above this level will be needed prior to retesting the psychological level of $1,000 per ounce.  Gold.ie

-Coins, bullion appeal to investors as stocks sink.  Read more here-http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2008/07/07/news/iq_22468788.txt

-Go long on gold and the Swiss franc, advises Leslie Phang, head of investments at Schroders Private Clients. He cautions investors against emerging markets currencies and the greenback. He tells CNBC's Martin Soong why.  Watch video here-http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=783523053&play=1

-UAE gold rush to continue despite soaring costs. Value of gold sales in the UAE increased by 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2008, a trend expected to continue in the next six months despite increases in the price of the precious metal.  Read more here-http://www.gulf-news.com/business/Commodities/10226966.html

-The Indian Gold Train is Leaving the Station. Indians who sold their gold in 2007 to buy stocks are now paying out the wazoo for their gross misjudgment. In January of 2008, the Bombay Stock Exchange fell by more than 4,000 points. It is now a full 8,000 points short of its January 8th peak, while gold is $70 higher than it was then.  Read more here-

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/wallenwein/wallenwein070908.html

-ETF Securities physical gold ETF holdings soar 15 pct.  Read more here-http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL0773519920080707

-A Palace of Gold Is Sold Off For Its Melt Value, but Not the Throne. At $800 an ounce, the golden bathroom sink had to go. At $1,000, say goodbye to the golden horse-drawn chariot. But don't even think about touching the golden toilet.  Read more here-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121538740506731077.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_page_one

SILVER

-Silver Prices Ready to Rocket; Four Reasons Why. Silver prices have vaulted an extraordinary 106% in the past two and a half years. More impressive, silver prices have gained 33% since mid December.

Like gold, silver is a safe haven from inflation and a weak dollar. The prices of the two metals often move parallel to one another. However, silver is poised to rocket - handing investors not only gains in our bear-market economy, but steeper gains than gold.

James Turk, founder of GoldMoney, said in his annual forecast that the U.S. economy "will get much worse in 2008, making gold the premier asset of choice, but not the best performing precious metal. That honor will go to silver, which I expect will clear $30 in 2008." From silver's current price of $18.33 an ounce, $30 an ounce would be a 63.7% gain. And here are four reasons why that's more than probable:

Supply and Demand: Silver, quite simply, has better supply and demand characteristics than gold. For 18 straight years now, we've consumed more silver above ground than we've been able to extract from below ground (compared to only four to five years for gold). That's because only a portion of silver demand comes from investors. Commercial demand for silver is growing, whether for jewellery, electrical conductors, photographic film or disinfectants. And the rate at which industry finds new, unique uses for the white metal is staggering compared to gold.

Above Ground Supply: Unlike gold, which has been hoarded by central banks for decades, there's no appreciable aboveground supply of silver. Therefore, whatever is needed must be mined. And there's very little threat of central banks selling large tranches of silver into the market, which is always an overhanging concern with gold.

Emerging Markets: Despite fears to the contrary, robust industrial demand for silver will continue even if United States slips into recession. That's because the true driver toward higher commodity prices, in general, is emerging markets like China, India, Russia and Eastern Europe. China's expansion alone can be compared to the industrial explosions that took place in Japan in the 1960s and the United States at the turn of the last millennium. 

Market Capitalization: The silver market is much less capitalized than the gold market. Fewer dollars trade daily on the silver exchange than on the gold exchange. As a result, every dollar spent on silver will have a greater impact on the silver market than dollars spent on gold will have on the gold market. To visualize this concept, consider the relative impact of a rock tossed into a pond versus the same rock being tossed into a puddle.  Mike Caggeso-Moneymorning.com

-Sean Rakhimov: "Three-Digit Silver Ahead." I try not to make short-term predictions since it is a futile exercise. Silver is too small and volatile a market with too many moving parts and relationships to base metals, economics, gold and who knows what else.

Over the longer term, however, I believe silver will do spectacularly well. I absolutely believe we will see three-digit prices, perhaps over $200, and possibly over $300 as outrageous as it may sound right now. The looming financial crisis will be much more severe and prolonged than anything we can imagine. There will be a depression of sorts, especially in the U.S. and I expect silver to be one of the stellar performers.  Read more here-http://www.theaureport.com/pub/na/1447?utm_source=streamsend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=925481&utm_campaign=The%20Gold%20Report%20-%20Semi-Weekly%20Update%20July%208,%202008

-Will Arabian investors do a Hunt to silver? The best-read article on this blog is about the selling of Hunt Petroleum for $4.2 billion recently and the possibility that some of this vast sum might be invested in the silver market, in some kind of a re-run of the Hunt Brothers' silver pool of the later 1970s. That is pure speculation, but there is nothing speculative about the outlook for silver.

You do not get many opportunities to make a fortune in a lifetime but buying and holding silver at these price levels over the next few years is almost guaranteed to be one of them. All it takes is a little imagination to see that all that glitters does not have to be gold. Peter J. Cooper-Read more here-http://news.silverseek.com/SilverSeek/1215438577.php

-The Gold to Silver Ratio Alternative Look. The Gold / Silver ratio is declining along with the rise in the price of metals. Sometimes silver lags and sometimes it laps gold. It tends to accelerate its rise in the last part of particular upswing, rather than at the beginning.

Since we are still early in the second stage of the bull market, silver's rather poor performance in comparison with gold is pretty natural and we expect it to change in the future. Stay alert for strong moves in the price of the white metal, especially those connected with minor changes in the price of gold. They may signal that we are on the brink of another spectacular, parabolic rise.  Read more here-http://www.kitco.com/ind/Radomski/printerfriendly/jul092008.html

-Ted Butler silver commentary. Long-term silver investors should be positioning themselves for that inevitable day when all hell does break loose. If I knew which day that was, I would tell you. What I do know is that the evidence in front of us show that day is closer than ever.  Read more here-http://news.silverseek.com/TedButler/1215537964.php

-David Morgan silver commentary. I recently read an "advertorial" suggesting silver to be a fantastic investment, and I could not agree more. However, the author was stating that all short positions have to eventually be covered with physical silver and that when this took place there would be a price explosion.  Read more here-

http://www.kitco.com/ind/morgan/printerfriendly/jul072008.html

PLATINUM-PALLADIUM-MOLY

-Platinum, Palladium Set to Skyrocket. No other precious metal has a tighter supply than platinum. Though platinum prices have remained high over the last few years, supplies are getting thinner by the day as South African production draws to a standstill. Lately, these tight supplies have helped platinum prices shoot up north of US$2,000.

In fact, platinum has climbed so high that its sister metal, palladium is becoming the new exciting speculation. Right now, palladium is sitting at 56% off its all-time high in 2001 of US$1,100 an ounce. The platinum-to-palladium differential hit its widest level in history in late May as platinum prices rocketed to new highs. So the question is: Has the price of platinum climbed so high that industries will start switching to palladium?  Read more here-http://seekingalpha.com/article/84217-platinum-palladium-set-to-skyrocket

-How New Diesel Emission Control Systems Affect Demand for Rhodium & Platinum.  Read more here-http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=44280

-Precious metals turn catalytic converters into theft targets.  Read more here-http://www.newbritainherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19836001&BRD=1641&PAG=461&dept_id=10109&rfi=6

-CPM says global molybdenum supply deficits will grow in 2009 and 2010. In its latest molybdenum market study, CPM says tight credit market s and other developments have caused molybdenum's forward supply curve to shift over the past year.  Read more here-http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page36?oid=56480&sn=Detail

DEFINITIONS-QUOTES-QUICK HITS

-Salad Oil Scandal. One of the worst corporate scandals of its time. It occurred when Allied Crude Vegetable Oil Company discovered that banks would make loans secured by its salad oil inventory. When the ships full of salad oil would arrive in the docks, inspectors would test it and confirm that the ship was full of salad oil. However, the company didn't remind anyone that oil floats on water.

They had filled salad oil tanks with water and put a few feet of oil on top, fooling everyone. The company would even transfer oil to different tanks while taking inspectors out to lunch. In 1963, the scam was busted and over $175 million worth of salad oil was missing. American Express took one of the biggest hits from the scandal, losing nearly $58 million and experiencing a 50% drop in AMEX stock as a result.  Investopedia.com

-"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it."  Andrew Carnegie

-Charles Oliver of Sprott Asset Management says that gold will reach $2000 and silver $40 in the next 4 years.  BNN July 7 2008

-"It's very possible to now see $2000 gold or more in the next 12 to 24 months. What you are about to read is the single most important commentary I've written since I first began publishing The Grandich Letter in 1984.  Peter Grandich-http://news.goldseek.com/Grandich/1215622800.php

-Many quantitative funds believe there is a 10-to-1 relationship in the price of gold to oil. If you buy this, then either gold goes to $1,400 an ounce, or oil retreats to $95.  Robert Lenzner-

Golden Opportunity In Fed's Pickle-Read more here-http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/03/gold-oil-commodities-oped-cx_rl_0707croesus_print.html

-Saxo Bank is predicting that the dollar will stay weak in the coming months and therefore maintains its bullish outlook for gold and a retest of the $1,000 level in the coming weeks. Gulf-daily-news.com

-"Gold's inverse correlation to equity and bond markets over the medium to long term has clearly been shown in recent months and this inverse correlation will likely continue in the coming months," wrote Mark O'Byrne, of Gold & Silver Investments, Ltd.  Kitco Daily Resource

-Gold will likely continue to outperform oil in the coming weeks and months as the gold to oil ratio reverts to its post World War II mean average of 15 or 15 barrels of oil to one ounce of gold. Currently it is at near an all time record low at 6.46, or one ounce of gold can only buy 6.46 barrels of oil (based on gold at $920 divided by oil at $142.20). Thus, gold remains extremely cheap vis a vis oil.  Gold.ie

-With geopolitical risk remaining high and financial risk elevated as seen with U.S. financial stocks Wednesday experiencing their largest one day fall since the start of the current financial crisis nearly a year ago meaning that the benchmark S&P 500 is officially in a bear market.

Gold is again receiving safe haven and inflation hedging investment flows which is resulting in higher prices. The S&P 500 was down by 2.3% Wednesday on further concerns regarding Fannie and Freddie the government sponsored mortgage buyers and the S&P 500 is now down by more than 20% since its record high last October.

Importantly, the real return on the S&P 500, the benchmark U.S. equity index, since 1998, after subtracting the underestimated consumer price inflation (CPI) is an extremely poor minus 2%. The last time this happened was in 1983. Showing that those who insist that this is not as bad as the 1980s have not realized the magnitude of the huge financial, economic and systemic risks facing the U.S. and global economy.  Gold.ie

-Peter Spina, of GoldSeek.com says confidently that, "Gold will continue to attract increasing monetary demand and the result will be a much higher price. Sub-$1,000 gold days are drawing to a close and by the end of this year, I would find it difficult to explain a sub-$1,000 gold price.  Kitco Daily Resource

-Veteran Harry Schultz says we're in 'major global upheaval.' Schultz suggestions: "Gold has in the last week given us chart signals that price will not visit the 820 support area again, and technical signs now point to a new high within a few weeks. After some to and fro around $1,000, it will likely move to $1,150, for consolidation in that area. Prices should move to $1,600 in any case."  Read more here-http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/schultz-settles-apocalyptic-mode/story.aspx?guid={CE9F808B-C32A-485E-BC35-E538C2F010CB}&dist=MostReadHome&print=true&dist=printMidSection

-After a long period of quoting land prices in Vietnamese dong, landlords are now setting prices in gold instead in order to avoid risks from the dong's devaluation. Seeking buyers for a house of 42 square meters by four storeys at No. 79 Cau Giay alley. Price 1.65 billion Vietnamese dong or 88 taels of gold.  Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/6412

-How can a US banking system survive while losing $700 billion or more in real estate loans alone when they only have $1.4 trillion of capital? Incidentally almost four years ago we projected $700 billion in losses and no one wanted to listen. This does not include the eminent collapse of the $2.6 trillion municipal bond market.

As you can see, the problems for the dollar and America are not going to go away they are systemic and it is only a matter of time before the dollar loses reserve status and gold trades several thousand dollars higher.  Bob Chapman-Read more here-http://news.goldseek.com/InternationalForecaster/1214415236.php

-China's economy to become world's biggest in 2035: study.  Read more here-http://www.breitbart.com/print.php?id=080708201459.iw1grzgd&show_article=1

-Russian Car Market Passes Germany as Europe's Biggest.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601013&sid=aFZiwVa9qCdE&refer=emergingmarkets

-Women not saving enough for retirement study. Longer lives and lower pay mean women need to save more for retirement. But a study finds a widening of the financial gender gap.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/pf/bc.apfn.womenretiringpoo.ap/index.htm

-Mutual fund pioneer, John Templeton, dies at 95. Founder of Templeton Funds and philanthropist who established $1.4B prize to promote spirituality, was knighted in 1987.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aOGiN456OwHY

RARE COLORED DIAMONDS

-"America is having a love affair with all that's natural. It started with natural beauty aids. Natural colored diamonds begin with the word natural. The affluent want natural today."

Diane Warga-Arias-jckonline

-"The US is in recession, sales in mid-quality diamonds are falling and retailers are going bankrupt. It is a very confusing situation. There is this recessional middle market where people are spending less on diamonds and luxuries in general because of rising oil and mortgage costs. But there is at the same time a rapidly expanding high end of the market driven by new wealth in China, India, Russia and the Gulf which is beyond anybody's control." Martin Rapaport-Telepgraph.co.uk

-"As wealth continues to spread to more people globally, demand is increasing for very fine quality diamonds weighing 2 carats or more, and very fine colored gems in varying sizes, but the supply of these gems is actually diminishing as existing mines are depleted."  Antoinette Matlins-Newsreleaewire.com

-Super-rich still pay dear for rare diamonds. The rapid rate of increase in wholesale prices of rare polished diamonds is unsustainable, but for now the growing number of super-rich are paying rising prices for top-tier diamond jewelry. Charles Wyndham, founder of PolishedPrices, a leading index of wholesale diamond prices, said on Friday prices of larger, rare, near-flawless gemstones had shot up by roughly 200 percent over the past 18 months.

The surge has been driven by increased interest from a growing number of multi-millionaires in emerging markets, a shortage of rough diamonds, and the dollar's slide, he said. Diamond jewelry prices have risen in tune with wholesale diamond prices, but fine jewelers like Graff and Cartier say demand is holding up well for top-tier diamond jewelry in upscale retail outlets on Bond Street in London and in New York.

The wholesale price of internally flawless 3-carat round polished diamonds has jumped to $100,000 per carat as of June 1, from $55,000 last December, according to PolishedPrices.com. The world's rarest polished gemstones have experienced staggering price rises in recent months. Wyndham estimated 13-carat perfect diamonds now to be worth in excess of $200,000 per carat wholesale, an all-time peak.

"If you have a perfect stone, you will get unbelievable prices," Wyndham said. The main PolishedPrices index, which incorporates a range of diamond categories, stood at 136.3 points this week, 6 percent above the level this time last year. "There are signs that the high prices being paid for fine qualities are beginning to trickle down into the commercial categories, with commercial one carat diamonds also setting an all-time high," PolishedPrices said in its latest market report.

"As long as you're talking about good quality diamonds, the scene has been pretty positive. However, commercial, lower end (gem-quality) diamonds have had a very rough time," he said.  Read full story here-http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL0416926920080705

-Demand for rarest diamonds outstrips supply.  Read more here-http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSL0646558820080606

-IDEX Online Research: Record Leaps in Polished Diamond Prices in June.  Read more here-http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullNews.asp?id=30689

-Diamonds Rained Down During Ice Age.  Read more here-http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/080707-canada-diamonds.html

OIL

-NBC News: Oil to $300-$400 a Barrel if Iran Attacked. Network's chief foreign correspondent warns Middle East turmoil could more than double petroleum price.  Read more here-

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080702114938.aspx

-Oil's Rapid Rise Stirs Talk of $200 a Barrel This Year.  Read more here-http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121538739112131075.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

-OPEC president blames ethanol for crude-price rise. Khelil again predicts price climbs, citing biofuels, weak dollar, tensions.  Read more here-http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/opec-president-blames-oil-prices/story.aspx?guid={E003D4C9-0739-4868-8F69-D9C51BB53CB5}&dist=TNMostRead&print=true&dist=printMidSection

-OPEC president warns no end to oil price rises. OPEC president Chakib Khelil warned Sunday that oil prices will continue to rise because of the falling dollar, in an interview in the Algeria-News.  Read more here-http://www.breitbart.com/print.php?id=080706103759.7yiaee4q&show_article=1

-Pemex Cuts Crude Supply to Shell, Valero Refineries. Petroleos Mexicanos, Mexico's state- owned oil company, reduced the amount of crude oil it supplies to Texas refineries operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Valero Energy Corp. as falling production curbs exports.

The guaranteed amount of Mayan oil for a Deer Park, Texas, refinery jointly operated with Shell, Europe's biggest oil company, was cut by 15 percent, the Mexico City-based company said in a regulatory filing. Pemex also lowered oil supplies by 5.8 percent to the Port Arthur, Texas, refinery of Valero, the largest U.S. refiner.  Read more here-

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=auZVwiaKyuk4&refer=energy

-Congress vs. oil prices round 2. Deadlock in Washington over oil drilling and tighter rules for speculators may end soon as voters make clear that high gas prices are their top concern.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/economy/congress_energy/index.htm?postversion=2008070914

-Pelosi calls on Bush to release reserve oil. House leader says releasing of a 'small portion' of the 700 million barrels of oil in the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve won't risk national security.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/08/news/pelosi_oil/index.htm

-Airlines: Curb oil speculation. In open letter, 12 U.S. airlines call on Congress to curb excessive speculation that they say drives up oil and fuel prices, slamming the airline industry.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/companies/airlines_speculation_letter/index.htm?postversion=2008070918

-Alberta's Fort McMurray is experiencing explosive growth as the new center of Canada's oil industry.  Watch video here-

http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/07/09/news.velshi.canada.boomtown.cnnmoney

-Pickens Sticks with $150 Oil; Could Fall to $100. Legendary oil investor Boone Pickens stood by his forecast that oil prices will hover around $150 a barrel now and told CNBC that they may fall to about $100 in two years.  Read more here-http://www.cnbc.com/id/25564736

-'Pickens Plan' promotes wind, natural gas. Billionaire pitches how to make U.S. less dependent on foreign oil.  Read more here-http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/pickens-plan-aims-lessen-us/story.aspx?guid={C4B81BD5-F01F-428B-8AC9-E83061A6D33D}&dist=TNMostRead

GASOLINE

-Utah goes to 4-day workweek to save energy. Starting next month, thousands of government employees will only work 4 days per week, in an effort aimed at reducing energy costs and commuters' gasoline expenses.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/03/news/economy/utah_work.ap/index.htm

-Nascar Hits a Wall as $4 Gas Makes Races Too Costly for Fans. Allan Peer, a Southerner, a stock-car fan and an avowed enemy of drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, has attended 11 straight Nascar races at Richmond International Raceway dating back to 2003. The streak may soon end as $4 gasoline takes a toll on fans, many of whom travel to races in fuel-guzzling recreational vehicles.

``It's pretty expensive,'' said Peer while attending a race in May. He has made the 70-mile (113-kilometer) trip to the Virginia track twice annually. ``I might just make it to one race this year,'' skipping Nascar's return to Richmond in September, he said.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=a_3wbO7weiC4&refer=home

NATURAL GAS

-Natural Gas to Converge With Oil Price, Exporters Say. Natural gas, trading at a 40 percent discount to crude, may rise to reach the record price of oil as demand for cleaner-burning fuels increases, according to energy ministers from Qatar, Algeria and Iran.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=akTqrgFhmUWY&refer=energy

-Natural Gas Panic. Much the way the United States consumes more than 24% of the world's crude oil, it also consumes more than 22% of the world's natural gas. The critical distinction between the two, however, is that at least for the time being domestic production is capable of meeting the vast majority (84%) of our natural gas needs.  Read more here-

http://www.321energy.com/editorials/karn/karn070308.html?print=on

COMMODITIES-FOOD

-G-8 Says Oil, Food Prices Pose Risk to World Economy.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aBdGt7NWCc9Y&refer=energy

-Commodities outperform equities by 40% in 2008 first half.  Read more here-http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page67?oid=56181&sn=Detail

-As food costs soar, it's back to basics for meal planners.  Read more here-http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-07-07-food-prices_N.htm

-Britons are throwing away £1 billion of food a year. As supermarket prices spiral Brown tells families: 'Stop wasting food'.  Read more here-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1032605/As-supermarket-prices-spiral-Brown-tells-families-Stop-wasting-food.html

-G8 summit: Gordon Brown has eight-course dinner before food crisis talks.  Read more here-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/2262534/G8-summit-Gordon-Brown-has-eight-course-dinner-before-food-crisis-talks.html

GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

-Deutsche Bank's Jain: Crisis is Solvency, Not Liquidity.  Read more here-http://www.housingwire.com/2008/07/03/deutsche-banks-jain-crisis-is-solvency-not-liquidity/

-U.S. Credit Crunch Is Worsening, Nomura Says: Chart of the Day.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a7qi_mdXLUz8&refer=home

-SEC Ratings Probe Reveals Conflicts in Grading Debt. A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into credit-rating companies found the firms improperly managed conflicts of interest and violated internal procedures in granting top rankings to mortgage bonds.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIewdZU2.amE&refer=home

-Bernanke Says Fed May Extend Wall Street Lending Access to 2009. The Federal Reserve may extend securities dealers' access to direct loans from the central bank into 2009 as long as emergency conditions ``continue to prevail,'' Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said.

"The Federal Reserve is strongly committed'' to financial stability and is "considering several options, including extending the duration of our facilities for primary dealers beyond year-end,'' Bernanke said in a speech to a conference in Arlington, Virginia.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSvgnK_7DdYU&refer=home

-Fannie, Freddie `Insolvent' After Losses, Poole Says. Chances are increasing that the U.S. may need to bail out Fannie Mae and the smaller Freddie Mac, former St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said in an interview. Freddie Mac owed $5.2 billion more than its assets were worth in the first quarter, making it insolvent under fair value accounting rules, he said.

The fair value of Fannie Mae's assets fell 66 percent to $12.2 billion, data provided by the Washington-based company show, and may be negative next quarter, Poole said.

"Congress ought to recognize that these firms are insolvent, that it is allowing these firms to continue to exist as bastions of privilege, financed by the taxpayer,'' Poole, 71, who left the Fed in March, said in the interview Wednesday.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7NPAG.LEjHQ

-The Fannie and Freddie doomsday scenario. It's time to wonder what would happen if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed. Here's a scary, and relevant, question to ponder as the housing market continues to slide: What would it take for the government to step in and help Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and how would a rescue affect the American taxpayer?  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/companies/benner_fanniefreddie.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008070914

-Fannie, Freddie Tumble on Bailout Concern, UBS Cut. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest providers of financing for U.S. home loans, tumbled to the lowest in 17 years in New York trading after a former Federal Reserve president said the companies may need a government bailout.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abre2XqlMrbg&refer=home

-McCain Says Fannie, Freddie `Vital,' Must Not Fail. John McCain said the federal government can't allow the government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to fail amid the worst housing slump since the Great Depression.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akg56Xb4UX.U&refer=home

-Lehman shares tumble on credit fears. Investment bank takes a dive after Fed chief Bernanke and Treasury secretary Paulson say more bank failures could come.  Read more here-

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/10/news/companies/bc.apfn.lehmanbrothers.m.ap/index.htm

-U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he's been assured by the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that the two government-chartered mortgage companies have enough capital. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight ``has made clear that they are adequately capitalized,'' Paulson said in prepared testimony for the House Financial Services Committee.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=amMUcmRCRhcg&refer=home

-IndyMac Blames Senator's Comments for Withdrawals. IndyMac Bancorp Inc., the U.S. mortgage company that stopped most of its lending as losses mounted and capital deteriorated, blamed Senator Charles Schumer for ``elevated levels of deposit withdrawals.''

Schumer's comments last month about the lender's reliance on deposits purchased from third parties are causing customers to pull their money and making it harder to raise funds, the company said in a regulatory filing today. Schumer responded calling IndyMac a ``junior version'' of Countrywide Financial Corp. and said bad lending practices date back several years.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aaB4cryHdFxk

U.S.-U.K. RECESSION

-It's a recession: 75% of Americans say. Vast majority of Americans believe economy is still in a recession with no signs of recovery, though negative views are dwindling, according to a recent CNN poll.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/07/news/economy/recession_poll/index.htm

-It's All Over But the Dating for U.S. Recession. The U.S. economy has been leaking jobs for six straight months, seven if you exclude government hiring. Granted, it's been a slow leak in terms of the length of time and the magnitude of the losses (an average of 73,000 jobs a month), but there's nothing to suggest an imminent about-face in the labor-market trend.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_baum&sid=aFR.kFWcXvEw

-U.S. Economy to Stall as `Perfect Storm Returns.'  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aFzG_q8oA2ls

-A cloudy forecast for the US economy. Buckle your seat belts the housing crisis has not yet run its course, and the recession will continue well into next year. This bad news will be amplified by the hundreds of billions of additional write-downs of debt associated with bad mortgages, credit card and auto loans. The fall in the dollar will lead to higher import prices, pushing inflation and long-term rates higher.

While the dollar must decline much further to bring the trade deficit into line and ultimately provide the basis for recovery the short-term effect of higher inflation and higher interest rates will not be pleasant. In short, when it comes to bad news on the US economy, we're just at the beginning.  Read more here-http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/07/useconomicgrowth.housingmarket

-Yellen warns U.S. could hit another rough patch. S.F. Fed president says central bank on watch for 'wage-price spiral.' The fragility of the U.S. housing and bank system could further throw a kink in financial markets before an anticipated recovery in 2009, said San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen on Monday, with commodities presenting their own set of troubles.

Though Yellen anticipates "market functioning" to greatly improve by next year, balance-sheet pressures on financial institutions and other problems dogging the financial system could stick around "for some time." "Things could get worse before they get better," Yellen said in remarks prepared for delivery to University of California, San Diego's Economics Roundtable.  Read more here-http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/feds-yellen-says-things-could/story.aspx?guid={26EA6B75-9915-4994-97DB-8AF2D7AC860C}&print=true&dist=printMidSection

-News Corp. Chief Rupert Murdoch Says He's `Very Bearish' on Economy.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a0z1E6gYNErU

-Economic Views-Whether the pressure on the economy might not let up so quickly, with Nouriel Roubini, RGE monitor.com.  Watch video here-http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=789413982&play=1

-Strip Mall Vacancies Spike to Levels Last Seen in 1995. For the first time since 1980, more space became available to rent at strip malls than was rented out about 3.2 million square feet more. Part of the available space came in the form of 5.7 million square feet of new development that came on the market during the quarter.  Read more here-

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/07/strip-mall-vacancies-spike-to-levels.html

-Steve & Barry's files for bankruptcy. The Port Washington, N.Y.-based low-priced fashion retailer chain said on Wednesday that it filed for Chapter 11 in the face of limited consumer spending.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/companies/bc.apfn.steve.barry.s.ba.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008070914

-Levi's profits plummet 98pc to $1m. Levi Strauss, the maker of the iconic 'shrink to fit' 501 jeans, has seen its profits shrivel down to a skinny-legged $1m, as cash-strapped Americans snub Levi's jeans amid a struggling US economy.  Read more here-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/07/09/bcnlevi109.xml

-3,200 Martial Arts Studios Went Out Of Business In May. How do studio owners - especially those with 90% kids expect parents to pay $100 per month plus testing fee's? Now they have the added expense of $4 a gallon gas. This is a no brainier for parents: Cut out the kids Karate and Dance lessons.  Read more here-

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/07/3200-martial-arts-studios-went-out-of.html

-Cruellest summer for teen jobs since 1958. June employment for teenagers drops nearly 40% below 2007 levels as companies cut extra positions. Summer hiring for teens at lowest pace in 50 years.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/10/news/economy/teen_jobs/index.htm

-U.S. Loses 62,000 Jobs, Jobless Rate Holds at 5.5%. U.S. employers cut jobs in June for a sixth consecutive month as soaring fuel prices and a slowing economy forced companies to reduce costs.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=ar679VAkm9T0&refer=home

-Down and out in Las Vegas. The good-time capital of the US has hit a losing streak. Guy Adams reports on an epidemic of bankruptcies, foreclosures and mass lay-offs.  Read more here-

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/down-and-out-in-las-vegas-860513.html

-King's Hands `Tied' as U.K. Economy Edges Closer to a Recession.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=abtKsHT.J5UU

-U.K. Economy Faces `Serious' Recession Risks, BCC Survey Shows. Sales of services and manufactured goods in the U.K. fell in the second quarter, posing ``serious risks'' that the economy will tumble into a recession, the British Chambers of Commerce said.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=ac95eRDekqOo

-Goodhart Says U.K. Faces `Quite a Recession,' Forcing Rate Cut. Former Bank of England policy maker Charles Goodhart said the U.K. economy faces ``quite a recession,'' which will force the central bank to cut the benchmark interest rate. "Output is going to fall, unemployment is going to rise, possibly quite sharply,'' Goodhart, a policy maker at the bank from 1997 until 2000, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. "It's a horrible situation.''  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aGARHtHCn23w&refer=home

INFLATION

-Fed official admits inflation figures are phony. The Federal Reserve's use of core inflation measures is harming its credibility, the new president of the St. Louis Fed wrote in an editorial released on Thursday. James Bullard, who took over from William Poole in April, said focusing on inflation indices that exclude food and energy work well when those prices are rising at rates similar to those of other prices, "but that is not what is happening today.

"It is hurting Fed credibility to say that we are trying to keep inflation low and stable, but at the same time we are not counting some of the prices that are going up at the most rapid pace," Bullard wrote in the bank's magazine, "The Regional Economist."  Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/6405

-Global Inflation: The Next Major Obstacle. It's still to be seen how this will end.  But so far, this inflation rise is coinciding almost perfectly with the 200 year commodity cycle we've often shown. If this continues, and we believe that it will, then there's a lot more inflation to come in the years ahead.

What's currently happening also strongly favors the outlook for gold and the other commodities. It's going to boost demand for gold as a safe haven during inflationary times and these ongoing developments are telling us to stay with our gold and precious metals positions. In fact, gold's been telling us this all along. Now we're starting to see why. Mary Anne & Pamela Aden-Read more here-http://www.kitco.com/ind/Aden/aden_jul022008.html

-India's Inflation Accelerates to Fastest in 13 Years.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601013&sid=aB6nlVyDOG5o&refer=emergingmarkets

-Iran's inflation rate over 26 percent.  Read more here-http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/05/content_8495680.htm

-Egypt Inflation Rate Rises to 20.2% Fastest in Decade.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=ayZopaD_zIAQ&refer=africa

-Inflation too high Fed official. Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker says central bank should focus on combating 'unacceptably high' inflation.  Read more here-

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/08/news/economy/bc.us.fedofficial.inflat.ap/index.htm

-Head of ECB says inflation 'worrying'. President Trichet warned Wednesday that euro nations are seeing the first signs of a price spiral, calling on governments to take care not to fuel further price rises.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/09/news/international/bc.apfn.eu.economy.ap/index.htm

-U.S. sees 9.8% spike in '09 electric bills. Electricity forecast for 2009 is up sharply from last month; increase in price of natural gas a factor.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/08/news/economy/electricity_prices/index.htm

-TIPS flunk inflation test as fuel, food overtake CPI.  Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/6408

INTEREST RATES

-Fed's Loans to Wall Street May Prevent Raising Rates. The Federal Reserve may hold off on its first interest-rate increase since 2006 until policy makers judge that financial markets are stable enough to allow the central bank to withdraw its lending backstop for Wall Street.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6FNi6VzqGjk&refer=home

-Bank of England Keeps Benchmark Interest Rate at 5%. The Bank of England kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged as policy makers weighed the threat of Britain's first recession in a generation against the risk of accelerating inflation.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a8QjNjUJtJok

-Bank of Korea Maintains Key Rate at 5% as Inflation Accelerates. The Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at the highest level in seven years amid signs the economy is cooling and inflation is accelerating.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGuaZ9w.nTlk&refer=home

-Trichet Says ECB Rate Increase Will Help Bring Down Inflation. European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet said today's interest-rate increase will help the bank bring inflation back below 2 percent.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2AI5UBxO.yY&refer=home

-Spain, Ireland `Thrown to the Wolves' After ECB Rate Move.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a_PqhUStacAg

U.S. DOLLAR

-The Buck Doesn't Stop Here; It Just Keeps Falling. Things in the United States sure are tough. Brother, can you spare a euro? Signs saying "We accept euros" are cropping up in the windows of some Manhattan retailers. A Belgium company is trying to gobble up St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, the nation's largest brewer and iconic Super Bowl advertiser.  Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/6407

-The dollar stuck in a funk. The weak dollar is driving up prices for American consumers. None of the fixes will be easy.  Read more here-

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/06/news/economy/dollar_doldrums.ap/index.htm

-Dollar's Doomsday. Once the US Dollar index drops to a new low below 70, events will probably happen quickly. That will be the signal that the dollar's doomsday will not be far away.

Alf Field-Read more here-http://www.321gold.com/editorials/field/field070808.html

ADEN SISTERS-DOW 10,000 OR LOWER

-Adens see the bear necessities. They project Dow declining to 10,000 level or lower. They write: "The U.S. stock market took a turn for the worst this month, falling sharply, and it pulled the global markets down with it. A bear market took hold and while a rebound rise is probable, the risk of holding stocks is high." "The Dow could eventually decline to around the 10,000 level as a downside target. Interestingly, the average bear market decline over the past 50 years has been 29.2% on the S&P 500.

Extending this average decline to the Dow Industrials and using its 2007 peak at 14,164, gives us a downside target of 10,000 as well... this could quite possibly be the Dow's next downside target. If the Dow were to close below 10,725 it would be a bad sign, and especially below 10,000." How bad? The Adens point to a semi-log chart of the Dow since 1982. They write: "Note that it's been in a solid uptrend since then, but now the Dow is breaking below this 26-year uptrend the Dow's percentage growth is changing.

That is, the booming stock market days since 1982 are over and if the Dow were to eventually retrace 50% of its huge bull market rise from 1982 to 2007, then it could theoretically drop to near the 7,500 level, which would be similar to the bear market drop in 1974. The Adens' macro view: "Stagflation is becoming more dominant and the Fed is in a tight spot.

That's why it's keeping interest rates low because it'll help the economy, despite higher inflation." The Adens are bearish oh the dollar, bearish on bonds longer term. They expect gold to continue its "mega-bull market" after possibly building a base below $1,000 for the rest of the summer.  Read full story here-http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/adens-see-bear-necessities/story.aspx?guid={19466369-BC32-4129-872E-A42C41661F20}&dist=TNMostRead

STOCK MARKET-RETIREMENT

-Wall Street: Three cheers for the bear. Stocks, on average, have risen in the one, two, three, six and 12 months following bear markets since the 1950s.  Read more here-

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/08/markets/markets_bear/index.htm?postversion=2008070811

-S&P 500 May Lose Another 12% Before Bear Market Ends.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=aOEdesvrleuY&refer=home

-Similarities between 1929 and 2008 terrifying.  Read more here-http://www.sltrib.com/Opinion/ci_9794754

-The Decade of No Returns, Part I. What a difference a decade can make! Over the last 10 years of the 20th century, anyone buying and holding US stocks made a total return approaching 18% per year. Their initial stake, as a 2002 research paper noted, increased five times over. Now that's real money! But roll forward ten years, and the total return on the S&P500 was actually negative for the decade ending on 30th June 2008.

Yes, you read that right. For the 10 years to last Monday, the S&P index delivered less than zero. That's even after accounting for dividends (good) as well as inflation (bad). US equity buyers just suffered a "Decade of No Returns" in short. Looking back to the late Nineties from the late Noughties, it barely seems possible.

The S&P enjoyed two strong bull markets during that time. The first added nearly 50% in the 18 months following July '98; the second delivered more than 87% in the five years to Sept. '07. All told, the S&P rose in 69 months out of 120 and yet anyone holding the 500 stocks included in Standard & Poor's index just wound up with a total return of sweet fanny Adams.  Read more here-http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1215619440.php

-Hedge Funds Fell 0.75%, Worst First-Half Performance. Hedge funds turned in their worst first-half performance in almost two decades as the collapse of subprime-mortgage bonds and rising commodity prices pushed stocks to the brink of a bear market.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUiEVk4fW2q4&refer=home

-Hedge Fund Manager Describes Rock Bottom. One by one, John Devaney sold his treasures, hoping to forestall what was in the end inevitable. He sold his Renoir and his Gulfstream, his home and his helicopter. Even his cherished yacht gone.

But on Wednesday Mr. Devaney, who made and then lost a fortune trading mortgage investments, finally called it quits. He shut his hedge fund, and told his investors that all their money was gone too. "I'm devastated, I'm totally devastated," Mr. Devaney said by telephone from Aspen, Colo. "I feel horrible that I've lost my own money and that so many people who saw the skills I have and trusted in us have now been hurt."

It is a stunning downfall for Mr. Devaney, whose brash bets in the markets and equally brash public pronouncements on the perils and promises of subprime mortgages made him something of a Wall Street celebrity.  Read more here-http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/business/10fund.html?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

-Pension plans suffer huge losses. Report says weak markets, credit crunch have drained $280 billion from plans of largest U.S. companies.  Read more here-

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/07/pf/retirement/pension_losses/index.htm

-Investors' anxiety builds as retirement nest eggs show cracks. The bad news is in the mail.  Read more here-http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/07/06/investors_anxiety_builds_as_retirement_nest_eggs_show_cracks/

-No skin in the game. With most funds, managers have none of their own funds at stake.  Read more here-http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/most-funds-managers-have-none/story.aspx?guid={907D8FC0-A948-415A-8133-F57A365CC367}&print=true&dist=printMidSection

REAL ESTATE

-Home Prices Fall in 23 of 25 U.S. Metropolitan Areas. Home values fell in 23 of 25 U.S. metropolitan areas in April, according to Radar Logic Inc., as sales of a record number of foreclosed homes pushed prices down.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUKNXKCNLhGA&refer=home

-Pending U.S. Home Resales Drop 4.7% in May, More Than Forecast. Americans signed fewer contracts to buy previously owned homes in May for a third month in four, a sign house prices have yet to touch bottom. The index of pending home resales fell 4.7 percent, a bigger decline than forecast, after a revised 7.1 percent gain in April, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atfgtqYBZpeY&refer=home

-Brooklyn Apartment Sales Drop 44% as Banks Tighten Loan Terms.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=a9aZXkvf.GqM&refer=home

-Manhattan Second-Quarter Apartment Sales Fall by 22%.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afobk1xd14tI&refer=home

-Housing market seen getting worse. An even gloomier scenario may be in store for an already ailing U.S. housing market if the overall economy slips into a recession, according to UBS Securities analysts. Foreclosures, which have been building over recent months as borrowers default on risky subprime home loans, are not expected to peak until late 2008 to mid-2009.

"It's kind of interesting that this subprime disaster that started a year or so ago just keeps spreading, spreading and spreading," said Tom Zimmerman, head of ABS, mortgage research at UBS Securities. He noted how securities backed by home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, have moved to the forefront amid surging defaults.

As more and more homeowners slip into negative amortization situations, HELOCs will continue to erode, the analysts said. "Certain banks own enormous numbers of these things (HELOCs) and certain monolines wrapped them. You never know where this crisis is going to go next," said Zimmerman.  Read more here-http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080703/bs_nm/subprime_mortgage_ubs_dc&printer=1;_ylt=AvuNrUxNH8FRb7jRR3zY42Ob.HQA

-The Home-Equity Door Slams Shut. Some 122,000 borrowers with Countrywide home-equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, received letters in January informing them that they could no longer withdraw funds from their lines.

A few months later, thousands of customers of other major lenders including Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank, SunTrust, USAA, Wachovia, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo also received notice that their lines had been frozen or reduced. It's a jolt to borrowers who have relied on their home-equity line as an emergency fund or an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Read more here-http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/04/AR2008070400061.html

-New York's Chrysler Building Bought by Abu Dhabi Fund.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aACZuFPo8cf8&refer=home

FORECLOSURES-MORTGAGES

-Six months, 343,000 lost homes. foreclosures Rose 53% in June, Bank Seizures Triple. U.S. foreclosure filings rose 53 percent in June from a year earlier and bank repossessions increased the most since RealtyTrac Inc. began collecting data in January 2005 as deteriorating property values forced more people to give up their homes.

One in every 501 U.S. households either lost the home to foreclosure, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction, RealtyTrac, an Irvine, California-based seller of default data, said today in a statement. Bank seizures rose 171 percent.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avi3kQ.t.fFw&refer=home

-Paulson: Many foreclosures can't be helped. Treasury secretary says many who bought homes they couldn't afford may lose them; praises industry group for helping some homeowners hang on.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/08/news/economy/foreclosures_prevention.ap/index.htm

-Arson Surges for Foreclosed Homes Lost to Subprime.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aelStm0.FmYo&refer=home

-Life after losing your home. The nation's housing meltdown is disrupting lives and devastating families. One New York grandmother is trying to put the pieces back together.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/10/news/economy/rios/index.htm?postversion=2008071014

-Foreclosures' financial strains take toll on kids.  Read more here-http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-07-08-children-foreclosure-homeless_N.htm

GEOPOLITICAL NEWS

-Iran tests more missiles as U.S. vows to defend allies.  Read more here-http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL0925390620080710

-Israel hints at readiness to strike Iran.  Read more here-http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91R2K500&show_article=1

-Rice warns Iran that US will defend Israel.  Read more here-http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080710/D91QSRLO0.html

-Israel and U.S. Condemn Iranian Missile Test, Call for Halt. Iran's test-firing of a long-range missile capable of reaching Israel violates United Nations Security Council resolutions and further isolates it from the rest of the world, U.S. officials said.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atRm8OSF2qHo&refer=home

-Israel successfully tests missile interceptor: report.  Read more here-http://www.breitbart.com/print.php?id=080706073431.n5hjpfq6&show_article=1

-Gov't officials: US fears Israel gearing up for Iran strike.  Read more here-http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1214726206803&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

-Iran has resumed A-bomb project, says West. Iran has resumed work on constructing highly sophisticated equipment that nuclear experts say is primarily used for building atomic weapons, according to the latest intelligence reports received by Western diplomats.  Read more here-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/2259578/Iran-has-resumed-A-bomb-project,-says-West.html

-Iran to "hit Tel Aviv, U.S. ships" if attacked.  Read more here-http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080708/wl_nm/iran_attack_usa_dc

-OPEC warns against military conflict with Iran. The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned Thursday that oil prices would see an "unlimited" increase in the case of a military conflict involving Iran, because the group's members would be unable to make up the lost production.

"We really cannot replace Iran's production it's not feasible to replace it," Abdalla Salem El-Badri, the OPEC secretary general, said during an interview.  Read more here-

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/10/business/opec.php

-Sizing up Iran's oil threat. The country can strangle nearly 30% of the world's oil output and could send prices to $250 a barrel, but some say all the tough talk is still just that.  Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/10/news/international/iran_oil/index.htm?postversion=2008071017

-Ahmadinejad Says `There Won't Be a War,' Pledges Peace Effort.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arHGFJjk_QIY&refer=home

-Ahmadinejad target of 'Rome X-ray plot', diplomat says.  Read more here-http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080707101035.4mn1xrqi&show_article=1

-U.S. is in no shape to give advice, Medvedev says. Russia's new president, Dmitri Medvedev, less swaggering than his predecessor but as touchy about criticism from abroad, said in an interview that an America in "essentially a depression" was in no position to lecture other countries on how to conduct their affairs.  Read more here-

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/03/europe/03medvedev.php?WT.mc_id=newsalert

-Putin, Ahmadinejad discuss military-technical and energy cooperation.  Read more here-http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12848337&PageNum=0

-‘Germ warfare' fear over African monkeys taken to Iran. Hundreds of endangered monkeys are being taken from the African bush and sent to a "secretive" laboratory in Iran for scientific experiments.  Read more here-http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article4276460.ece

-Iraqis lead final purge of Al-Qaeda.  Read more here-http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4276486.ece

-Iraq insists on withdrawal timetable for US troops.  Read more here-http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080708/D91PN8C80.html

-US removes uranium from Iraq.  Read more here-http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080706/D91O8E100.html

-India's Kabul Embassy Hit By Suicide Bomb; 34 Die, 141 Injured. A suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives near the Indian embassy in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, killing 34 people and injuring 141 today, a government spokesman said.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFPJhyUhlzkw&refer=home

-India Probes Afghan Bombing as Pakistan Denies Role.  Read more here-http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amT7qYGfBls0

© 2008, Worldwide Precious Metals.
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The GoldBugg Report - July 15, 2008
Posted by Worldwide Precious Metals on Tuesday, July 15, 2008