Newsroom

The Goldbugg Report – June 29, 2010

June 29, 2010

-Saudis Hoard Twice as Much Gold as Thought.

-silver’s 200-day moving average is now at $17.51 the ounce as of Tuesday’s close. It’s been almost 30 years since it’s been that high. The day will come when we’ll find it hard to believe that it was ever that low. Ed Steer

-Jim Rogers says buy silver.

GOLD

-As long as Gold does not circulate as money, it is sometimes an excellent form of investment but always the ultimate form of financial protection against a system which has spurned its discipline. But Gold will only have performed its real job when it does once again become money not necessarily in the US but somewhere in the world.

The longer that day is delayed, the higher Gold will go in relation to the various pieces of paper, or plastic, which do circulate as money. It’s really as simple as that. Bill Buckler, Gold This Week, 19 June 2010

-Saudis Hoard Twice as Much Gold as Thought. Saudi Arabia, the world’s fourth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, is sitting on more than twice as much gold as previously thought, according to new estimates that point to the revival of bullion as part of emerging economies’ official reserves.

The changes in Riyadh’s reserves were revealed by the World Gold Council, the industry-backed body which regularly tracks official bullion holdings. According to the WGC, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the central bank, has gold reserves of 322.9 tones, more than double the 143 tones it had previously reported.

The central bank said in a footnote of its latest quarterly report that “gold data have been modified from first quarter 2008 as a result of the adjustment of the Sama’s gold accounts”. Read more here-http://www.cnbc.com/id/37818810 and http://www.gata.org/node/8751 and http://www.zerohedge.com/article/imf-sells-385-tonnes-gold-q2-saudi-holdings-higher-180-tonnes

-Jeffrey Nichols: Looking behind the Saudi gold holdings increase. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8759

-Today’s chart provides some long-term perspective in regards to the gold market. As today’s chart illustrates, gold has been in a strong bull market since 2001. The pace of that upward trend increased beginning in mid-2005. Following the financial crisis of late 2008, gold surged once again.

While gold made another record high today, it still trades significantly below resistance (red line) of its upward sloping trend channel. In the end, with gold currently trading near $1,250 per ounce, gold has more than quadrupled in price during its nine-year bull market. Read more here-http://www.chartoftheday.com/20100618.htm?T

Source: chartoftheday.com

-James Turk: Gold Sets Another Record. Five weeks ago gold closed in London at a new record high against the British pound. That result is not surprising. The pound is generally considered to be the weakest of the world’s major currencies, so it is logical that it would fall first against the strength that gold has been displaying in recent weeks.

Surprisingly, the next currency to fall was the Swiss franc. Gold closed three weeks ago at a new record high against what used to be considered the world’s premier ’safe-haven’ currency. It no longer holds that title because the Swiss National Bank has been intervening to keep the Swiss franc from strengthening against the euro, which has been sinking because of its well-publicized problems. So the Swiss franc has been falling along with the euro, which itself has not been immune to gold’s strength. Last week gold set a new record against the euro.

Gold’s new record this week is against the US dollar. Gold closed in London at a new all-time high of $1245.40, and did even better later in the day by closing in New York at $1257.20. More records for gold are likely in the weeks ahead because central banks are destroying the purchasing power of national currencies.

The following charts also illustrate why more records are likely. Gold’s rising price trend is starting to accelerate. Note the hyperbolic pattern in each of these charts, which is normally a sign but of course, not a guarantee of higher prices.

The similarity of the pattern in the above charts is striking. Note how the pound chart doesn’t look much different from that of the euro chart or the dollar or franc. As I often say, in a world of floating currencies that bob up-and-down against each other depending on respective central bank policies, they are all sinking against gold, which leads to one last point.

As the sovereign debt crisis deepens and the debasement of national currencies at the hands of central bankers and politicians becomes increasingly recognized, more and more people are starting to understand the true nature of gold. It is not only money, but a better money than any national currency. Read more here-http://goldmoney.com/gold-sets-another-record.html

-Aden Sisters: Golden Times. Gold is amazing. It’s been very strong, hitting record highs last week. Its bullish price action means investors and governments know it’s time to be in safe assets. The result is, gold continues to benefit as the world’s #1 safe haven.

Gold is money-We’re also seeing first hand gold’s role in the monetary system. Few people understand gold’s importance over other forms of wealth but if there was ever a doubt, it’s been erased by gold’s reaction to ongoing financial developments. Gold is money. Most governments regard gold as a monetary instrument, and it has been the international currency for thousands of years.

Big picture gold is best-Considering the big picture, there’s no doubt gold is the best investment. The mega trend changed when the new century began. A clear shift away from paper assets (like stocks) and into tangibles (like gold) took place and a new era began.

It wasn’t obvious to the average investor because mega trends take lots of time for investor’s mentality to gradually change. Even though gold’s current rise is already in its tenth bullish year, the trends are still solidly in gold’s favor. These mega trends say stay the course stay with gold and gold related investments.

Mega bull markets also take time to run their course and this time will unlikely be an exception. Bull markets tend to end in euphoria, when everyone’s invested and they can’t get enough of it. Gold is far from this.

Comparing the current 10 year gold run to the 12 years leading up to the 2000 tech explosion in the stock market, and gold’s bull market in the 1970s, you can see that gold’s rise is still tame (see Chart 1). A bubble is still well into the future.

Demand growing around the world-Demand for gold and silver grew even more last month. Gold sales to Europe from the Perth Mint, for instance, soared as the Greek debt crisis triggered a flight to gold. The U.S. Mint also had a busy month, selling record amounts of gold and silver.

The Chinese and Indians were also buyers. China’s gold bar sales doubled, while India’s gold demand soared almost 700% in the first quarter. According to the World Gold Council, the outlook for gold remains strong for the rest of 2010, both from investment and jewelry demand.

Best certainty-We’ve been watching the markets and observing their behavior every day for 34 years. It has given us a good idea as to how they interact, what moves them and when it’s the best time to buy and sell. We’ve made mistakes, but overall our record has been pretty good.

During this time, we’ve of course seen that things change and the markets change in reaction. There are many examples we could provide, but one that comes to mind was gold in the 1970s. It soared due to rising inflation, rising interest rates and a falling dollar.

Also in the mix was economic and political uncertainty like Watergate, the oil embargo, geopolitical problems with Russia invading Afghanistan and the start of the Iraq-Iran war. That 10 year period was packed full of uncertainty.

And uncertainty is again at the forefront. The current global environment is more intense and serious, which is keeping gold up. Gold is the best certainty during times of uncertainty. And the way the world is going, uncertainty will be with us for a long time.

Timing the bull market-Gold hasn’t given us much of a chance to buy on weakness (see Chart 2). When you see that gold gained nearly 25% in 2009, and it’s up 12½% so far this year, it’s a good reason why buying new positions gradually by averaging in is a good strategy.

For now, gold has been in an intermediate rise we call “C” for about 13 months. It’s lasted longer than normal but by reaching a record high gold is telling us that the bull market is very strong and it’s headed higher.

Keep an eye on-We’ll see how far gold takes us this time around, probably to near $1300 or higher. Summer months, however, tend to be seasonally slow months for gold. On the downside, watch $1170 as gold will remain in a strong 2010 rise above this level. Read more here-http://news.goldseek.com/AdenResearch/1277227276.php

-Gold to Be Best Performer in Rest of Year, Poll Finds. Gold will be the best-performing asset for the rest of the year as investors seek to protect wealth from sovereign debt risks and economic turbulence, according to about 30 percent of respondents in a UBS AG survey.

The survey was conducted last week at a UBS seminar in Wolfsberg, Switzerland, of central bank reserve managers, multilateral institutions and sovereign wealth funds, the bank said in a report dated June 18. More than 25 percent said global equities would be the best performer, followed by U.S. Treasuries. Gold was the most popular response. Representatives of some 80 institutions attended. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a.RTWvTpoodI

-Charles Oliver: Gold Headed to $2,000 in Two Years. Read more here-http://sprott.com/docs/MediaCoverage/2010/06-04-2010%20The%20Streetwise_The%20Gold%20Report.pdf

-Why Many Analysts See Gold Going As High As $10,000. Read more here-http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1277272980.php

-Gold May Advance to $1,500 by End of Year: Technical Analysis. Gold will climb to a record $1,300 an ounce in the coming weeks as investors sell the dollar, and may advance to $1,500 by the end of 2010, according to a technical analysis by Credit Suisse Group AG.

Bullion may jump to $1,500 an ounce, 19 percent more than the record $1,262.50 set on June 18, before investors see gold as a “bubble,” said Michael Macdonald, technical analyst with Credit Suisse, citing momentum indicators. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aYJUlhHeTMew

-Merrill Lynch forecasts further upside for gold, silver prices for 2010-2012. Merrill Lynch metals analysts maintain gold will hit a US$1,500 per ounce target by the end of next year as investor demand pushes gold prices higher. Read more here-http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=106655&sn=Detail&pid=102055

-Mike Kosares: The true inflation-adjusted price of gold should be $7,500. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8748

-Gold reclaims its currency status as the global system unravels. We already know that the eurozone money markets seized up violently in early May as incipient bank runs spread from Greece to Portugal and Spain, threatening the first big sovereign default of our era. Read more here-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/7841961/Gold-reclaims-its-currency-status-as-the-global-system-unravels.html

-Don Coxe: “The Oldest-Established Store of Value Moves to Center Stage”. Read more here-http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/BMO_NB_Basic_Points_June_2010.pdf and http://www.zerohedge.com/article/don-coxe-dissects-gold-oldest-established-store-value-moves-center-stage and http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page33?oid=106596&sn=Detail&pid=102055

-Precious metal remains the No. 1 overall holding, as Mr. Soros has nearly 10 per cent of his assets invested in the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD). He also owns call options, which could increase his ownership stake in the coming months.

Even though Mr. Soros has stated publicly that gold could fall prey to bubble mania, he remains invested because of his general lack of faith in the global economic recovery and efforts undertaken by the world’s largest economies to support currencies like the dollar and euro.

The large gold position is further evidence of Mr. Soros’ willingness to take a large bet in what could be a risky trade. He feels he will know when to get out, so why not make some profit on the mania before the bubble bursts? Read more here-http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/stocks-soros-is-holding/article1611956/

-Keiser Report: Gold grows on Armageddon. Watch video here-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAUCpQJZQbw&feature=email

-U.S. debt hurricane ahead. Gold should provide some protection! Storms ahead for the stock markets and perhaps it is only gold which may provide some respite against major prospective wealth decline. Read more here-http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=106748&sn=Detail&pid=102055

-Sky-high public debt, monetization fear to sustain record gold trading BMO. As commodities ride the economic global recovery over a sometimes bumpy road, BMO’s Bart Melek predicts precious metals will do very well for several years. Read more here-http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page67?oid=106705&sn=Detail&pid=102055

-Peter Grandich: The farce and the fact. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8758

-Jim Richter: Central bankers care a lot about gold, their deadly enemy. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8757

-Erste Group Bank gold report cites market manipulation. Next target price $1,600, long term price $2,300. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8756

-Jim Rickards: How the world likely will get back to gold. Listen here-http://www.gata.org/node/8755

-Brien Lundin: Gold’s (almost) free at last. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8742

-Central Banks not selling gold but some are buying. Read more here-http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page34?oid=106534&sn=Detail&pid=34

-New monetary system may use gold at much higher price, Tocqueville’s Hathaway says. Listen here-http://www.gata.org/node/8749

-Gene Arensberg: Gold poised to make history. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8752

-Schmidt’s Gold Thoughts. Gold prices in the future. Read more here-http://www.kitco.com/ind/Schmidt/jun212010.html

-Jeff Nielson: Collapse of official gold sales heralds much higher price. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8747

-Marc Faber: “I Buy Gold, I Don’t Know What Else To Buy”. Read more here-http://www.zerohedge.com/article/marc-faber-i-buy-gold-i-dont-know-what-else-buy

-Brian Milner: The favourite ancient wealth preserver is also an excellent barometer for what’s going on the world. Read more here-http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/golds-good-times/article1610918/

-Adam Hamilton: PM Summer Doldrums 2. Read more here-http://www.321gold.com/editorials/hamilton/hamilton061810.html

-Hugo Salinas Price: The gold standard is the generator and protector of jobs. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8739

-GATA Chairman Bill Murphy is interviewed by blogger Christopher Barker at the Motley Fool. The story that’s GATA be told. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8754

SILVER

Gold to silver ratio at 80 to 1 with gold at $1,500 the silver price would be $18.75

Gold to silver ratio at 70 to 1 with gold at $1,500 the silver price would be $21.43

Gold to silver ratio at 60 to 1 with gold at $1,500 the silver price would be $25.00

Gold to silver ratio at 50 to 1 with gold at $1,500 the silver price would be $30.00

Gold to silver ratio at 40 to 1 with gold at $1,500 the silver price would be $37.50

Gold to silver ratio at 30 to 1 with gold at $1,500 the silver price would be $50.00

Gold to silver ratio at 20 to 1 with gold at $1,500 the silver price would be $75.00

Gold to silver ratio at 15 to 1 with gold at $1,500 the silver price would be $100.00

Gold to silver ratio at 80 to 1 with gold at $2,000 the silver price would be $25.00

Gold to silver ratio at 70 to 1 with gold at $2,000 the silver price would be $28.57

Gold to silver ratio at 60 to 1 with gold at $2,000 the silver price would be $33.33

Gold to silver ratio at 50 to 1 with gold at $2,000 the silver price would be $40.00

Gold to silver ratio at 40 to 1 with gold at $2,000 the silver price would be $50.00

Gold to silver ratio at 30 to 1 with gold at $2,000 the silver price would be $66.67

Gold to silver ratio at 20 to 1 with gold at $2,000 the silver price would be $100.00

Gold to silver ratio at 15 to 1 with gold at $2,000 the silver price would be $133.33

-I’d like to point out that silver’s 200-day moving average is now at $17.51 the ounce as of Tuesday’s close. It’s been almost 30 years since it’s been that high. The day will come when we’ll find it hard to believe that it was ever that low. Ed Steer-Read more here-http://www.caseyresearch.com/displayGsd.php?id=228

-Jim Cook: Opportunity Of A Lifetime. Last week I had to prepare a two page advertisement promoting silver for Forbes Magazine and U.S. News and World Report. I also spent an hour on Howard Ruff’s conference call to his subscribers talking about silver.

It caused me to review all the bullish aspects of silver. Consequently my enthusiasm for silver reached a new high. As I said on the Ruff interview, I’ve committed my personal assets to silver because I believe this is an opportunity like no other. I see it as a fortune builder. I think silver offers a way to get filthy rich.

I’ve been studying finance, reading economics, investing in stock, drilling for oil, digging for gold, putting money in start-up companies, buying krugerrands or silver coins and running a business for most of my life. My book on starting a business made it to the best seller list. My novel predicted and described the economic crisis we are going through.

My library at home is overflowing with books on how to succeed, how to invest and how to get rich. I’ve studied the lives of Carnegie, Ford, Edison, Sloan, Rockefeller, Giannini, Swift, Ogilvie, Penney, Woolworth, Wannamaker, DuPont, Templeton, Heinz and Hershey to name a few. I’ve learned how to succeed and how to make money.

I’ve persisted in the face of failure and adversity. I’ve hung on when nothing worked and fought back my fears a thousand nights. I’ve stood my ground when the government tried to crush me and outlasted them on faith alone. Napoleon Hill taught me, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.”

Andrew Carnegie taught me the quality that distinguished him from all others was persistence. Emerson taught me the laws of compensation, “honest service cannot come to loss every stroke shall be repaid. The longer the payment is withheld the better for you; for compound interest on compound interest is the rate and usage of this bank.”

By most standards I have prospered. But that was not my bargain with life. I wanted more, not just to pile it up, but to do some good. Now I believe the opportunity I have waited for is here. The astute silver analyst Butler has laid it out for us in the clearest terms.

No one that I have known has ever mastered a subject or presented a money making opportunity as clearly as Ted Butler has with silver. According to Ted the price of silver has been artificially depressed for years. The price hasn’t reflected the true state of available supply or the reality of surging demand.

If large banking and investment firms had not built up an inordinately high paper short positions, the price of silver would have been much higher. It was held down while the big boys engineered sell offs that lined their pockets. The game was rigged. As a result of the low price a lot of silver was used up.

Billions of ounces that were once counted in the above ground supply were utilized by industry and are gone forever. The U.S. government once counted as much as five billion ounces in their hoard. Now they have none. In fact they have become one of the world’s biggest buyers of silver for use in their coin programs.

Because of Ted Butler’s relentless crusading the cat is out of the bag and the silver shenanigans are under the spotlight. Government regulators have held hearings about putting limits on how much silver one firm can be long or short. The impact of these position limits would be profound.

Not only would the big banks have to buy back silver to close out their short position they would have to refrain from taking the short side in the future. This would set the price free. Ted Butler has postulated that this single event would send the price much higher. He also claims that it doesn’t matter if the government clamps down on the short sellers.

A silver shortage will eventually drive up the price. Industrial demand along with soaring investment demand, have squeezed the supply to the point that delays are now being experienced by silver investment funds. One of Ted’s themes is that industrial users will begin to panic once they have trouble getting silver. This would send the price up in a hurry.

In the meantime more and more investors are pouring into silver as the story gets out. Other bullish factors include the numerous new industrial uses for silver, the difficulty in ramping up silver mining production, inscrutable Asian demand and the amount of silver that doesn’t exist in pool accounts that must be covered someday.

Then there’s the possibility of inflation, a dollar crisis or an economic panic that causes a stampede into precious metals. It seems clear to me. If silver does what Ted Butler says it will, then fortunes will be made by those who hold the metal. I’m a true believer and I’ve put my money into silver with the expectation of making a fortune. Now it’s a waiting game but I’m “all in.” Read more here-http://www.investmentrarities.com/best_of_jim_cook06-18-10.shtml

-Silver, ‘Gold’s Little Brother,’ May Advance to $23. Silver may surge to as much as $23 an ounce next year, the highest price since 1980, as investors seek a cheap alternative to gold and a global economic recovery boosts industrial demand, according to Commerzbank AG.

The metal may advance to as much as $21 an ounce by the end of this year, about 12 percent higher than yesterday’s close, Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research, wrote in a report, dubbing the metal “gold’s little brother.” Compared with gold, silver may be considered low priced, Weinberg wrote.

Gold surged to a record $1,265.30 an ounce Monday as investors sought to preserve their wealth against declining currencies, and China’s decision to drop the yuan’s dollar peg boosted commodity prices. There’s rising demand for silver, or “poor man’s gold,” the Perth Mint said earlier this month.

“Gold is still a priority for investors” who are looking for shelter from growing economic uncertainty, Ng Cheng Thye, a Singapore-based director at Standard Merchant Bank Ltd., said by phone today. There’s also “a good chance for silver to rally higher,” possibly to $20 an ounce, Ng said.

“As with gold, silver is also considered to exhibit stabilizing characteristics when it comes to value,” Weinberg wrote in yesterday’s report. “Silver is reasonably priced compared to gold and constitutes a low-cost alternative.” The ratio between gold and silver had risen to about 65 compared with an average of 59 over the past “several years,” the report said.

“We expect this ratio to swing back, leading to potential for silver,” Weinberg said. An ounce of gold for immediate delivery bought about 65.81 ounces of silver today, compared with the 2008 low of 47.55 ounces and the decade average of 61.99 ounces, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Silver sales would be boosted by an expected recovery of industrial demand, with the metal used in solar cells, mobile phone covers and photography, the report said. Global demand may increase by as much as 50 million ounces by 2011, it said.

Economic growth in China, already a net importer of silver, would also boost sales, Weinberg wrote. China’s import demands are likely to increase, “having a positive impact on the price,” the report said. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aQKrKMADo9o8

-Jordan Roy-Byrne: Time to Focus on Silver. It is not exactly groundbreaking analysis to say that whats good for Gold is generally good for Silver. As observers of the precious metals know, Silver tends to lag Gold but eventually catch up quickly.

In the long-term sense, Silver is still a year or two behind Gold as Gold has broken above all resistance levels. Technically speaking, we do favor Gold over the next few months, but ultimately, Silver is poised to catch up with vengeance.

This long-term chart shows $15/oz as a critical level. Silver rebounded strongly from $15 earlier this year and is soon to attempt to break $20. A clean breakout and Silver should reach $25, which is its final long-term resistance. Read more here-http://www.321gold.com/editorials/roy_byrne/roy_byrne062110.html and http://news.silverseek.com/SilverSeek/1276888904.php

-Jim Rogers says buy silver. Watch video here-http://fortune.asia/video/news/2010/06/22/n_rogers_commodities.cnnmoney/index.html and http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/06/22/n_rogers_china_euro.cnnmoney/index.html

-New demand sources to bolster silver prices. Investment demand remains a big driver but, growing, new industrial uses are expected to eat away at the current supply surplus. Demand for silver from new sources like the solar energy, medical and water purification sectors is likely to quadruple in the next 10 years.

This is one of the forecasts made in the VM Group/Fortis Bank Nederland, Silver Book. According to the research, demand for such products is likely to rise to at least 230 Moz to account for roughly 25% of world silver demand.

And, coming on the back of significant, continued inflows into silver ETFs, means that the fundamentals over the medium to long term for the metal are “more convincingly bullish that they have been for some time”. Read more here-http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=106740&sn=Detail&pid=102055

-Read report here-http://www.virtualmetals.co.uk/pdf/FBNSB0610.pdf

-Metals more bullish than COT data, Butler tells King World News. Listen here-http://www.gata.org/node/8746

-Ted Butler silver commentary. There are still credible whispers of a pending major silver lawsuit. No one knows what market impact such a suit, if it is filed, may have. We have no experience with a lawsuit being filed in an active manipulation.

Given the unprecedented circumstances of the active silver manipulation, my sense is that the market impact of a silver lawsuit could be greater than many would expect. There’s no way of knowing exactly when or what will be the specific trigger that ends the manipulation and sets off the price of silver. Just know that the manipulation will be ended and the price will be set off. Read more here-http://news.silverseek.com/SilverSeek/1277129806.php

-Jeff Nielson: 50 years of silver price suppression make default inevitable. Read more here-http://www.gata.org/node/8740 and http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page32?oid=106729&sn=Detail&pid=32

-Is Saudi Arabia Also Stocking Up On Silver As Well As Gold? Read more here-http://news.silverseek.com/SilverSeek/1277227996.php

GREENSPAN-U.S. MAY SOON REACH BORROWING LIMIT

-Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. may soon face higher borrowing costs on its swelling debt and called for a “tectonic shift” in fiscal policy to contain borrowing. “Perceptions of a large U.S. borrowing capacity are misleading,” and current long-term bond yields are masking America’s debt challenge, Greenspan wrote in an opinion piece posted on the Wall Street Journal’s website.

“Long-term rate increases can emerge with unexpected suddenness,” such as the 4 percentage point surge over four months in 1979-80, he said. Greenspan rebutted “misplaced” concern that reducing the deficit would put the economic recovery in danger, entering a debate among global policy makers about how quickly to exit from stimulus measures adopted during the financial crisis.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said this month that while fiscal tightening is needed over the “medium term,” governments must reinforce the recovery in private demand. “The United States, and most of the rest of the developed world, is in need of a tectonic shift in fiscal policy,” said Greenspan, 84, who served at the Fed’s helm from 1987 to 2006. “Incremental change will not be adequate.” Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aga_wkgMEfDo and http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/109852/us-debt-and-the-greece-analogy?321

CHARTS OF THE WEEK-QUOTES-QUICK HITS

-Chart of the week: This is the information contained in the chart; do what you like with it. Assuming inflation averages 2% annually and that 2016 marks the end of this secular bear episode (seeing as it began in 2000) then the historical pattern would suggest a test of 5,000 on the Dow as the ultimate trough (at that point, gold will likely be 5,000 too).

This does not preclude cyclical rallies along the way, but these will be “bear market rallies” such as we saw from March 2009 to April 2010 and investors should not be tempted into any other strategy than to rent these rallies and not own them. David Rosenberg-Gluskin/Sheff

-Chart of the week: We get it. The United States is not Greece. Nor is it any European country. It is the U.S.A. We get it. Best political system. Best economy. Most ingenuity. Reserve currency. We get it. And, the U.S. is never going to default on its obligations because it is, in fact, the world’s reserve currency and as such has full control of the printing press.

And, nothing above was meant to be facetious. As hedonistic as it is, the U.S. economy is the most flexible and adaptable economy, and for a whole host of reasons. At the same time, the national balance sheet is grim.

The national debt/GDP ratio is about to pierce 100% and that does not include the state/local government morass nor the wave of off balance sheet items and underfunded liabilities, which would then take that ratio north of 500% (also see Gillian Tett’s article in today’s FT Look at State Finances for the Real U.S. Budget Squeeze). That is the grim truth.

Even with low interest rates, the massive debt bulge has become so large that interest charges on the public debt are within three years of absorbing over 30% of the revenue base, which then makes it that much tougher to reverse course.

In other words, the fiscal problem is becoming increasingly structural and we are already at the stage where even if the economy were running flat out at full employment, the deficit would still be over 7% relative to GDP. At some point, this will begin to impede economic progress.

Look at the chart below when you add up the entitlement programs, you know the ones you can’t cut back on, and interest payments on the grotesque debt load, we have 65% of total government spending that can’t be touched. In the next decade, under status quo policies, this “mandatory” share of the spending pie goes to 72%.

Tack on the defense budget, my friends, and we are up to 88% of federal government outlays that are next to impossible to reverse. So tell me we are going to reverse this seemingly intractable runup in the public debt to GDP ratio by slicing 12% of the spending pie that is discretionary? It won’t be enough, even if all that 12% remainder ‘pork and barrel’ spending were eliminated altogether.

So guess what the future holds higher taxes: very likely a national sales tax. It works in Europe. It has also worked in Canada. Japan is planning to double its national sales tax from 5% to deal with its fiscal challenge (see page A11 of the WSJ).

It stands to reason that a federal consumption tax will have to be part and parcel of any U.S. strategy to solve what is increasingly becoming an intractable budgetary deficit. The only question is when, and which politician is going to have the kahoonas and face the nation with the fiscal realities of the present and future. David Rosenberg-Gluskin/Sheff

-Chart of the week: Even Without The Obama Splurge, Your Taxes Are Heading Much Higher. Even without recent spending, the growing cost of government benefits will result in four decades of rising taxes.Thanks to ten years of rising government costs, the taxation wake-up call will be even more painful.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, estimates a $12,636 (inflation-adjusted) tax increase will be needed just to cover entitlement costs. Wealthy Americans should watch for the tax hikes to begin on January 1, when Obama lets tax cuts expire for people who earn more than 250,000. The rest may spend the rest of their life on the watch for value-added taxes, excise taxes, and more. Read more here-http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-tax-increase-2010-6

Source: chartoftheday.com

-Chart of the day: Here’s Why Politicians Are Falling Over Themselves To Skewer BP Right Now. Read more here-http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-news-coverage-june-2010-6?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CS_COTD_061810

Source: chartoftheday.com

-It is becoming clearer that housing in the U.S. is already double dipping. David Rosenberg-Gluskin/Sheff

-Double-dip risks in the U.S. have risen substantially in the past two months. While the “back end” of the economy is still performing well, as we saw in the May industrial production report, this lags the cycle. The “front end” leads the cycle and by that we mean the key guts of final sales the consumer and housing. David Rosenberg-Gluskin/Sheff

-The world is awash with debt. All levels of society, and across most countries in the industrialized world, have far too much debt and far too much debt-servicing costs in relation to income. David Rosenberg-Gluskin/Sheff

-We are at a critical juncture in the U.S. equity markets, and it could break any day. David Rosenberg-Gluskin/Sheff

-We often cite one of our favourite equity valuation metrics, the Shiller P/E ratio (we are fans of it as it uses a very long history, back to the 1880s and uses real-10-year earnings). At 20x, the Shiller P/E is pointing to a market that is 20% overvalued versus historical norms (our calculations).

A reader pointed us to two other metrics from Smithers & Co. They also use the cyclically-adjusted P/E (composed of Robert Shiller’s data) but by their interpretation of the data, the market is 46% overvalued. Another metric they calculate is the Tobin q (using historical data back to the 1900s and Flow of Funds data starting in the 1950s). Here this metric is saying that the market is 50% overvalued. David Rosenberg-Gluskin/Sheff

-The following is the summary of a client communication issued on June 8 by the analysts at BMO, a research team that we have found to be far more savvy about the nature of today’s crisis than most. It speaks for itself. Here’s the summary.

We advocate switching out of equity positions and going to cash. The European sovereign debt crisis appears to be nowhere near over. The global credit environment is worsening. Cost of capital is going up and availability is going down.

There are large gaps between where the credit market prices risk and where the equity market is priced. Equity is lagging the deterioration in credit conditions. Moves in currency, equity, and commodity markets are mirroring the moves in the credit market. Global growth, in a credit-constrained environment, will slow. Profits will be squeezed by the higher cost of capital. Read more here-http://www.scribd.com/doc/32708043/Go-To-Cash and http://www.caseyresearch.com/displayCdd.php?id=461

-The big news over the weekend was the move by China to end the yuan peg to the U.S. dollar. We are not sure of the inflation effects after all, the currency was revalued by 20% from 2005 to 2008 and it is totally unclear what effect that had on anything except perhaps keeping the country’s export profile less robust than was already the case.

It certainly didn’t sustain any inflation pressure nor did it manage to have an influence on what turned out to be the bigger story at the time, which was the bursting of the U.S. housing and credit bubble. However, what the de-link will achieve is that it will allow the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to pursue its own independent monetary policy.

The central bank will be able to use interest rates more effectively as a tool to cool off the property bubble and borrowing spree rather than the periodic reliance on an arcane set of administrative and regulatory measures to rein in overinvestment and real estate speculation. David Rosenberg-Gluskin/Sheff

-Euphoria cools over Chinese moves to weaken yuan. Oil prices and risky assets across the world have tumbled after China intervened to weaken the yuan, sending a clear signal to investors that the country’s shift to currency flexibility is a two-way street. Read more here-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/7846363/Euphoria-cools-over-Chinese-moves-to-weaken-yuan.html

-Fed Keeps Rate Pledge, Says Markets ‘Less Supportive’. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aH2eFJa3pAlw&pos=1

-Soros Says Europe’s Banks Haven’t Been ‘Cleansed’ After Crisis. Billionaire investor George Soros said continental European banks haven’t been “properly cleansed” after the credit crisis because they haven’t marked the value of their holdings to market prices.

“The current crisis is more a banking crisis than a fiscal one,” Soros, 79, said in remarks prepared for a speech in Berlin today. “Bad assets haven’t been marked to market, but are being held to maturity. When markets started to doubt the creditworthiness of sovereign debt it was really the solvency of the banking system that was brought into question because the banks were loaded with the bonds of the weaker countries and these are now selling below par.”

Banks are struggling to get short-term funding because the interbank lending and commercial paper markets have dried up, he said. Firms have instead turned to the European Central Bank for short-term financing and to deposit their excess cash, Soros said. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aQ7f9rC8MGwM

-Robert Kiyosaki: Think the Gulf Spill Is Bad? Wait Until the Next Disaster. Read more here-http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgetingk/article/109881/think-the-gulf-spill-is-bad-wait-until-the-next-disaster

-Profit-Margin Outlook for U.S. Is ‘Extremely Bad’: Chart of Day. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aVWkHdoaw8MQ

-Apple’s Surge May Make It ‘Too Big to Succeed’: Chart of Day. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aCrX10XUDKdY

-BP Oil Disaster Costs U.S. State Pensions $1.4 Billion in Value. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aCTrmb3sdPMc

-AccuWeather Boosts Hurricane Forecast to 18-21 Storms. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aoipH5G4HGn8

-California is weighing whether to allow advert-broadcasting digital number plates on vehicles, in a bid to raise revenue for the cash-strapped state. Read more here-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10368899.stm and http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/21/news/economy/california_budget_electronic_plates/index.htm

-Buffett Wins World Cup Bet as France Falters in Tournament. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aVdzTBS13j0U

-Wall Street Sign That Survived 1920 Bombing Fetches $116,500. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=a2vLezlxmIzo

-Now scientists read your mind better than you can. Read more here-http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2214937420100622

WWW.RARECOLOREDDIAMONDS.COM

 

-The Rare Colored Diamonds Historical Value Tracker system is the perfect tool for investors to view the potential future value of a rare colored diamond based on the current market trend of a particular type of diamond. Track the potential future value of colored diamonds here-http://www.rarecoloreddiamonds.com/HistoricalPriceTrackingsystem.html

 

-Watch BTV interview of Harold Seigel on colored diamonds and his website http://www.rarecoloreddiamonds.com/. Watch video here-http://www.rarecoloreddiamonds.com/watchnow.html and http://www.b-tv.com/features/watch-now.html?id=326

-Chinese diamond market catching up with US according to De Beers. Chinese diamond demand could reach the same level as the US, the biggest consumer, in the next decade, De Beers MD Gareth Penny said last week.

In a video interview with London’s Financial Times, he said at that stage China, including Hong Kong, would account for one-third of global demand for the precious stones as diamond engagement rings grow in popularity there.

“What we’re now seeing, with China growing as rapidly as it is, [is] annual double-digit growth compounded over a period of five years,” Penny told the Financial Times. “We think you’ll see greater China, including Hong Kong, at not dissimilar levels overall [to the US] about a third of world demand in about ten years time.”

Penny said 20 years ago, hardly any Chinese brides received diamond engagement rings, but now nearly half of the couples getting married in the eastern seaboard cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong were buying them. In 2009, the US accounted for about 40% of global consumer diamond demand, with China at around 6% to 7%.

In April, De Beers forecast China would account for 16% of global diamond demand by 2016. Diamond prices last week vaulted to their highest levels since November 2008, according to Polished Prices figures. The index is now 9% above its starting level for the year, and is 11,4% higher, compared with the same time last year.

Penny, meanwhile, said diamond supply would decline in the future. “These great mines that were discovered ten, 20, 30 years ago are not being replaced today. According to the data that is out there, we’re going to see some significant declines in diamonds.” Read more here-http://www.miningweekly.com/article/chinese-diamond-market-catching-up-with-us-de-beers-2010-06-23

-Auction results for Christies New York Jewels Sale, June 15 2010 New York, Rockefeller Plaza. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/searchresults.aspx?intSaleID=22632#action=refine&intSaleID=22632&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6&selectedids=55215

-Lot 26-Lot description-A colored diamond ring set with a modified square-cut fancy yellow diamond, weighing approximately 6.88 carats, flanked on either side by a trapeze-cut diamond, mounted in platinum and gold with report 5111453256 dated 9 December 2009 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy yellow, natural color, VS2 clarity.

Estimate $50,000-$70,000. Price Realized $74,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330220&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 51-Lot description-A fine colored diamond ring set with a modified pear-shaped light pink diamond, weighing approximately 12.50 carats, within a circular-cut pink diamond surround, mounted in 18k rose gold with report 2115724753 dated 22 February 2010 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is light pink, natural color, internally flawless clarity.

Estimate $800,000-$1,200,000. Price Realized $1,482,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330245&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 55-Lot description-A colored diamond ring set with a modified rectangular-cut fancy yellow diamond, weighing approximately 12.12 carats, flanked on either side by a modified bullet-cut diamond, mounted in platinum and 18k gold with report 2115074620 dated 27 August 2009 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy yellow, natural color, SI1 clarity. Estimate $90,000-$120,000. Price Realized $110,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330249&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 71-Lot description-An important colored diamond ring set with a cut-cornered modified square-cut fancy intense orangy pink diamond, weighing approximately 10.19 carats, flanked on either side by a shield-shaped diamond, to the circular-cut diamond prongs, gallery and hoop, mounted in platinum and 18k rose gold, ring size 6 with report 14887695 dated 21 March 2006 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy intense orangy pink, natural color, VS1 clarity. Estimate $1,000,000-$1,500,000. Price Realized $2,322,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330265&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 99-Lot description-A colored diamond ring set with a modified hexagonal fancy intense pink diamond, weighing approximately 3.01 carats, to the pavé-set pink diamond bifurcated knife-edge shoulders and hoop, mounted in 18k rose gold, ring size 6 with report 1102557652 dated 11 February 2009 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy intense pink, natural color, SI1 clarity. Estimate $550,000-$700,000. Price Realized $662,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330293&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 102-Lot description-A superb colored diamond ring set with a rectangular-cut fancy vivid yellow diamond, weighing approximately 6.36 carats, flanked on either side by a half moon diamond, mounted in gold and platinum with report 2115743948 dated 24 February 2010 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy vivid yellow, natural color, VS1 clarity. Estimate $250,000-$350,000. Price Realized $374,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330296&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 135-Lot description-A colored diamond ring set with a modified square-cut fancy yellow diamond, weighing approximately 7.02 carats, to the graduated circular-cut diamond shoulders, mounted in 18k gold and platinum with report 5111295516 dated 23 October 2009 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy yellow, natural color, VS2 clarity.

Estimate $30,000-$50,000. Price Realized $86,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330328&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 147-Lot description-A colored diamond ring set with a cut-cornered modified square-cut fancy dark greenish gray diamond, weighing approximately 4.06 carats, to the circular-cut pink diamond prongs, gallery and half hoop, mounted in 18k rose gold, ring size 6 with report 5111019067 dated 11 August 2009 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy dark greenish gray, natural color, SI2 clarity. Estimate $50,000-$70,000. Price Realized $62,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330340&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 153-Lot description-A colored diamond ring set with a cut-cornered rectangular-cut fancy greenish yellow diamond, weighing approximately 5.75 carats, within a pavé-set pink diamond surround, to the bifurcated pink diamond shoulders, mounted in 18k rose gold with report 10217537 dated 26 September 1997 from the Gemological Institute of America stating that the diamond is fancy greenish yellow, natural color, VS2 clarity. Estimate $40,000-$60,000. Price Realized $52,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330346&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

-Lot 174-Lot description-A colored diamond ring set with a light yellow old European-cut diamond, weighing approximately 14.26 carats, flanked on either side by two baguette-cut diamonds, mounted in platinum. Estimate $70,000-$100,000. Price Realized $158,500. Read more here-http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5330367&sid=fc159319-30a5-45db-b9e5-49b3d1d095b6

U.S. BANKING CRISIS

-Regulators on Friday shut down a Nevada bank, raising to 83 the number of U.S. bank failures this year. The 83 closures so far this year is more than double the pace set in all of 2009, which was itself a brisk year for shutdowns. By this time last year, regulators had closed 40 banks. The pace has accelerated as banks’ losses mount on loans made for commercial property and development.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over Nevada Security Bank, based in Reno, with $480.3 million in assets and $479.8 million in deposits. Umpqua Bank, based in Roseburg, Ore., agreed to assume the assets and deposits of the failed bank. Read more here-http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2010-06-19-bank-failure-pace-tops-2009_N.htm and http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aAFn0Rs8pnrc

-Bank Failures Through 2014 Will Cost $60 Billion, FDIC Says. U.S. bank failures through 2014 will drain $60 billion from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. fund that protects customer accounts in the event of a collapse, the agency said today. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a2P24ynonq8A&pos=4

-Fed Finds ‘Deficient’ Pay Practices at Large Banks. The Federal Reserve said a review of pay practices found many big banks to be “deficient” in curbing the excessive risk-taking that helped fuel the financial crisis. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aW0jAcjwC.h0

REAL ESTATE

-Sales of U.S. New Homes Plunged to Record Low in May. Purchases of U.S. new homes fell in May to the lowest level on record after a tax credit expired, showing the market remains dependent on government support.

Sales collapsed an unprecedented 33 percent from April to an annual pace of 300,000, less than the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the fewest in data going back to 1963, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Demand in prior months was revised down. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1YELQsDcXzs&pos=1 and http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/23/real_estate/new_home_sales/index.htm?hpt=T2

-Purchases of U.S. Existing Homes Fall. Sales of U.S. previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in May as demand began to slip even before a government tax credit expires. Purchases of existing houses, which are tabulated when a contract closes, decreased 2.2 percent to a 5.66 million annual rate, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington.

To receive a government incentive worth as much as $8,000, buyers must have signed contracts by the end of April and need to complete deals by the end of this month. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aFrqvbZJB_Ag

-Whitney Says She Sees ‘Double Dip’ in Housing Market. The U.S. housing market will experience a second recession, forcing banks to post additional loan-loss reserves, analyst Meredith Whitney said. “Most investors are not baking in a double-dip in housing,” Whitney, founder of New York-based Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, said today in an interview on CNBC.

“You’re going to see banks post additional reserves associated with this double-dip in housing, and that means weak performance going forward.” Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aKSosM7S6EXc

-Why It’s Different This Time for Housing. Even with sharply lower home prices and mortgage rates, excess household debt will constrain new borrowing and spending. Read more here-http://online.barrons.com/article/SB127664370927906231.html

-Five states hit hard by the mortgage crisis will soon share $1.5 billion in federal funds to help the unemployed and the underwater who owe more than their homes are worth. The Treasury Department on Wednesday approved proposals by Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada.

The states will use the money primarily to subsidize homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments and to reduce their principal. Some of the funds will also go to paying off second liens or facilitating short sales. Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/23/news/economy/hardest_hit_fund_mortgages/index.htm

-IRS Blocks 10% of First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credits After Audits. The Internal Revenue Service blocked almost 10 percent of U.S. claims for the first-time homebuyer tax credit after receiving erroneous or fraudulent filings, according to a report today.

About $1.22 billion of the $12.6 billion in tax credits claimed through February were denied or frozen after audits, the report from the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration said. The IRS estimated that about 1.8 million taxpayers sought the benefit, which totals as much as $8,000, from the inception in April 2008.

The claims in question included about $9.1 million from 1,295 prison inmates, $18.8 million from people who bought homes before the law took effect and $134 million from situations where more than one filer said they bought the same house, the report said. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aTAnYvUhvCNA

-75% of modified home loans will re-default. Most borrowers who have had their mortgages modified through a government-sponsored program will re-default within 12 months, according to a report released Wednesday.

Between 65% and 75% of loans that are modified through the Home Affordable Modification Program but not backed by the federal government are likely to go bad, according to the report released by Fitch Ratings, a N.Y.-based credit-rating agency. Read more here-http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/16/real_estate/failing_HAMP_mods/index.htm

-Borrowers exit troubled Obama mortgage program. The Obama administration’s flagship effort to help people in danger of losing their homes is falling flat. More than a third of the 1.24 million borrowers who have enrolled in the $75 billion mortgage modification program have dropped out.

That exceeds the number of people who have managed to have their loan payments reduced to help them keep their homes. Last month alone,155,000 borrowers left the program bringing the total to 436,000 who have dropped out since it began in March 2009. About 340,000 homeowners have received permanent loan modifications and are making payments on time. Read more here-http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Borrowers-exit-troubled-Obama-apf-887634101.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=3&asset=&ccode

GEOPOLITICAL NEWS

-Al-Qaida warns of new attacks deadlier than before. Read more here-http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100620/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_al_qaida_spokesman

-Former Israeli top spy calls for strike on Iran. Read more here-http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.55c404631db4c5730039a59e14575531.121&show_article=1

-A History of Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions. Read more here-http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,701109,00.html

-Iran raises stakes by announcing four new nuclear reactors. Iran has raised the stakes in its confrontation with the West by declaring it intends to build four new nuclear reactors. Read more here-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/7833524/Iran-raises-stakes-by-announcing-four-new-nuclear-reactors.html

-Iran Says It Triples Stockpile of 20 Percent Uranium. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=asflOTVWthlE

-Iran bans two UN nuclear inspectors from country. Iran has banned two UN nuclear inspectors from entering the country risking further anger from the West over its nuclear programme. Read more here-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/7842876/Iran-bans-two-UN-nuclear-inspectors-from-country.html

-Iran to send blockade-busting ship to Gaza. Read more here-http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100622/ap_on_re_mi_ea/gaza_blockade_13

-12 American Warships, Including One Aircraft Carrier, And One Israeli Corvette, Cross Suez Canal On Way To Red Sea And Beyond. Read more here-http://www.zerohedge.com/article/12-american-warships-including-one-aircraft-carrier-and-one-israeli-corvette-cross-suez-cana

-US, Israel Warships in Suez May Be Prelude to Faceoff with Iran. Read more here-http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138164

-Israel launches new spy satellite. Read more here-http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=179206

 

-President Barack Obama ousted U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal for belittling remarks about administration officials just over a year after he was entrusted with salvaging a losing war in Afghanistan.

 

McChrystal will be replaced by General David Petraeus, the president said. Petraeus is commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia and the architect of the counterinsurgency strategy the U.S. is pursuing in Afghanistan. Read more here-http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=azWxIY6KrT7A&pos=8

 

© 2010, Worldwide Precious Metals.
www.wwpmc.com

The Goldbugg Report – June 29, 2010
Posted by Worldwide Precious Metals on Tuesday, June 29, 2010

As featured on: