Source: www.kitco.comMonday, January 12, 2009
Gold Manipulation?
Look at how much gold dropped as soon as the NY Comex opened. This happens frequently as usually JP Morgan (the Governments banker) bombs the market. Gold is the enemy of paper money and any excitement in the gold market is dealt with swiftly.-Lou
Source: www.kitco.com
Source: www.kitco.com
Madoff's Sister Among Scammed Victims
This guy has no soul. The judge will have the opportunity to put this creep in jail today, he better do it.-Lou
Madoff's Sister Among Scammed Victims
Alleged Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff scammed millions from his sister, who is now desperately selling her Florida home, sources told the New York Post.
Sondra Wiener, 74, "has nothing," said one of her neighbors in the BallenIsles Country Club, a gated Palm Beach enclave where she and her husband, Marvin, live alongside such celebrities as Serena and Venus Williams.
"She lost millions in this whole thing," said a source who estimated her loss at $3 million.
In response to questions about their financial straits, Wiener's son, David, said, "Yes, my family's a victim. More so than anybody else. It's very painful."
Read Article Here:
UBS closing U.S. clients' offshore accounts
I hope your money isn't in a Swiss bank account, soon the IRS will be all over you. Tell me what you do with the check you get from UBS? Do you deposit it and in essence tell the government you had money offshore and did not pay taxes? Quite an interesting situation.-Lou
UBS closing U.S. clients' offshore accounts -NYT
ZURICH, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Under pressure from the U.S. tax authorities, Swiss wealth management giant UBS is closing all the offshore accounts of its rich U.S. clients, the New York Times said on Friday.
UBS, which the U.S. authorities says helped wealthy Americans hide cash in offshore bank accounts, will shut about 19,000 offshore accounts, the paper said, quoting unnamed U.S. clients.
The Swiss bank, one of the hardest-hit in the credit crisis, decided in July last year to stop offering offshore accounts to U.S. citizens after it was targeted by the U.S. tax investigation which challenges Switzerland's famous banking secrecy laws.
Read Article Here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSL952266420090109
UBS closing U.S. clients' offshore accounts -NYT
ZURICH, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Under pressure from the U.S. tax authorities, Swiss wealth management giant UBS is closing all the offshore accounts of its rich U.S. clients, the New York Times said on Friday.
UBS, which the U.S. authorities says helped wealthy Americans hide cash in offshore bank accounts, will shut about 19,000 offshore accounts, the paper said, quoting unnamed U.S. clients.
The Swiss bank, one of the hardest-hit in the credit crisis, decided in July last year to stop offering offshore accounts to U.S. citizens after it was targeted by the U.S. tax investigation which challenges Switzerland's famous banking secrecy laws.
Read Article Here:
http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSL952266420090109
Sunday, January 11, 2009
I love it when a story has a happy ending.-Lou
5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and a relative of one of the dead men said Saturday.
Pirate Daud Nure said the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday.
He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure was not part of the pirate operation but knew those involved.
Read Article Here:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090110/D95KBNE80.html
5 Somali pirates drown with ransom share
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and a relative of one of the dead men said Saturday.
Pirate Daud Nure said the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday.
He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure was not part of the pirate operation but knew those involved.
Read Article Here:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090110/D95KBNE80.html
A Little Sunday Humor
Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business.When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune.
One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $200 million.
"Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother.Women are so much better at financial planning than men.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Newstopia Explains How Central Banks Control Inflation
Check out this humorous video from our Australian friends about how central banks control interest rates and inflation.-Lou
See Video Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIfH0vY2ANA&eurl=http://whatreallyhappened.com/&feature=player_embedded
See Video Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIfH0vY2ANA&eurl=http://whatreallyhappened.com/&feature=player_embedded
A comprehensive explanation of how the financial meltdown started and who is responsible. Good Read-Lou It's so difficult to pinpoint one person or two people [for the economic meltdown]. It really was the whole system." -- Georgetown University finance professor Reena Aggarwal
Introduction
The financial markets' collapse -- broken down -- is a disgusting tale of enablers, exploitation, and ignorance...
......It's high time, then, to take a step back... and take stock of the "pointmen"... the players at the table in a trillion-dollar bet that led to the financial Collapse of the Century.
From the financial "mad scientists" who concocted the toxic instruments in the first place... to the brokers who peddled them... to the mortgage companies that baited wanna-be homeowners of all stripes... to the politicians and lawmakers who enabled the death vortex that the housing crisis would become... to the SEC, which left the door wide open.
On display below are some of the villains themselves... their crimes, abuses, mistakes, and ignorance... and their subsequent "golden parachutes...
Read Article Here:
http://www.wealthdaily.com/report/culprits-of-the-financial-crisis/375
Merrill Lynch says rich turning to gold bars for safety
I recently bought gold coins for the first time in my life. As I have been saying for some time, the US dollar is a fragile currency. If the dollar collapses in the years to come, both interest rates and inflation will skyrocket-LouMerrill Lynch says rich turning to gold bars for safety
Merrill Lynch has revealed that some of its richest clients are so alarmed by the state of the financial system and signs of political instability around the world that they are now insisting on the purchase of gold bars, shunning derivatives or "paper" proxies.
Gary Dugan, the chief investment officer for the US bank, said there has been a remarkable change in sentiment. "People are genuinely worried about what the world is going to look like in 2009. It is amazing how many clients want physical gold, not ETFs," he said, referring to exchange trade funds listed in London, New York, and other bourses.
"They are so worried they want a portable asset in their house. I never thought I would be getting calls from clients saying they want a box of krugerrands," he said.
Merrill predicted that gold would soon blast through its all time-high of $1,030 an ounce, and would hit $1,150 by June.
The metal should do well whatever happens. If deflation sets in and rocks the economic system it will serve as a safe-haven, but if massive monetary stimulus gains traction and sets off inflation once again it will also come into its own as a store of value. "It's win-win either way," said Mr Dugan.
Read Article Here:
Friday, January 9, 2009
Great Website
I have been a follower of Jim Sinclair for many years. Jim is one of the most knowledgeable market and economic experts I read. He has been instrumental in educating me and motivating me to own gold.
My views on the future of the economy, gold, the coming banking system failure and demise of the US dollar have been greatly influenced by Mr. Sinclair. I visit his website multiple times per day and so should you.
Jim is also very giving of his time and goes out of his way to communicate personally with his many readers.
Check him out and bookmark him, you will be better off for it.-Lou
Unemployment Hits 7.2%, 16-Year High
Although the number of jobs lost was less than feared, the unemployment rate increased more than expected. In my 2009 Financial & Economic Forecast I said I expect the unemployment rate to hit 9% this year.-Lou
Unemployment Hits 7.2%, 16-Year High
By LOUIS UCHITELLE
With the recession in full swing, the nation’s employers shed 524,000 jobs in December, the government reported Friday, and a rapidly deteriorating economy promised more significant losses in the months ahead. December’s job losses brought the total for 2008 to 2.6 million, spanning a recession that started 12 months ago.
The unemployment rate jumped to 7.2 percent in December from 6.8 percent in November and 5 percent last April, when the recession was four months old and just beginning to bite. More than 11 million Americans are now unemployed, and their growing ranks seem likely to put pressure on President-elect Barack Obama and Congress to act quickly on a stimulus package that mixes tax cuts and public spending.
“These numbers, back to back, of more than a half million a month suggest that the U.S. economy is in a freefall,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “It’s scary, and it indicates that unless something is done and done quickly to turn this economy around, we’re looking at an awful situation this year.”
Read Article Here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/business/economy/10jobs.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
Unemployment Hits 7.2%, 16-Year High
By LOUIS UCHITELLE
With the recession in full swing, the nation’s employers shed 524,000 jobs in December, the government reported Friday, and a rapidly deteriorating economy promised more significant losses in the months ahead. December’s job losses brought the total for 2008 to 2.6 million, spanning a recession that started 12 months ago.
The unemployment rate jumped to 7.2 percent in December from 6.8 percent in November and 5 percent last April, when the recession was four months old and just beginning to bite. More than 11 million Americans are now unemployed, and their growing ranks seem likely to put pressure on President-elect Barack Obama and Congress to act quickly on a stimulus package that mixes tax cuts and public spending.
“These numbers, back to back, of more than a half million a month suggest that the U.S. economy is in a freefall,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “It’s scary, and it indicates that unless something is done and done quickly to turn this economy around, we’re looking at an awful situation this year.”
Read Article Here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/business/economy/10jobs.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
NASDAQ Creates Index To Track Bailed-Out Companies
I find this amusing for some reason-Lou
NASDAQ Creates Index To Track Bailed-Out Companies
Joe Weisenthal
This is fun. The folks over at the NASDAQ have created a new index, OMX Government Relief (^QGRI), to track firms that have been bailed out by the government. The index will track, with equal weight, companies of at least $1 billion market cap, that have come to Washington cap in hand. It's mostly TARP companies, but not necessarily all. The index, which was set at 1,000 on Monday, is already down to 941.42.
We also like this suggestion from Schaeffer research that the NASDAQ should've given the index a clever ticker, like FAIL.
NASDAQ Creates Index To Track Bailed-Out Companies
Joe Weisenthal
This is fun. The folks over at the NASDAQ have created a new index, OMX Government Relief (^QGRI), to track firms that have been bailed out by the government. The index will track, with equal weight, companies of at least $1 billion market cap, that have come to Washington cap in hand. It's mostly TARP companies, but not necessarily all. The index, which was set at 1,000 on Monday, is already down to 941.42.
We also like this suggestion from Schaeffer research that the NASDAQ should've given the index a clever ticker, like FAIL.
Stop Paying Your Mortgage?
Many Americans are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments but unforntunately many are months behind and at risk of losing their homes. It looks like the Obama Administration will take aggressive (if not socialist) action to prevent foreclosures and have loans "modified".
Modifying a loan actually means changing the terms of the original contract. This includes lowering the principle amount, the interest rate and increasing the number of years the loan will be paid back.
Sounds like a great idea you say? Why not do everything possible to keep fine folks who bought houses they could not afford in their home?
I'll tell you why this is bad policy. Firstly, it creates a moral hazard in that people are rewarded for taking on risk they never should have incured in the first place.
Secondly, it now will encourage those who are current on their mortgages to stop paying so they can qualify for the new and better terms. Lastly, and just as important, what about the sanctity of contract law? When two entities enter into a contract will the government be able to step in and force one party to change the terms?
If you or someone you know is struggling with mortgage payments just stop paying and wait for your bailout, I'm serious it makes no sense to make payments when you will not be foreclosed and you will get a modification of your loan. Meanwhile, you may live in your home for free for months until the loan is modified.
Lawmakers and Citigroup reach deal on mortgages
Democrats hope agreement will lead to passage of bill to avoid foreclosures
By Ronald D. Orol, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Senate Democrats have reached an agreement with Citigroup Inc. on a key bill to give bankruptcy judges the authority to eliminate some mortgage debt and help reduce foreclosures, lawmakers announced Thursday afternoon.
According to Sen. Richard Durbin, Citigroup has agreed not to oppose legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges the authority to modify mortgages that were set up prior to the enactment of the bill.
Fannie and Freddie said they will extend the suspensions until Jan. 31. In November, Fannie and Freddie said they would not foreclose on occupied homes or evict homeowners from Nov. 26 to Jan. 9 to implement a streamlined mortgage modification program.
Read Article Here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Lawmakers-Citigroup-reach-deal-mortgages/story.aspx?guid=%7B115971DA%2DDA67%2D4B2D%2DB926%2DC393D1DE0C3A%7D
Modifying a loan actually means changing the terms of the original contract. This includes lowering the principle amount, the interest rate and increasing the number of years the loan will be paid back.
Sounds like a great idea you say? Why not do everything possible to keep fine folks who bought houses they could not afford in their home?
I'll tell you why this is bad policy. Firstly, it creates a moral hazard in that people are rewarded for taking on risk they never should have incured in the first place.
Secondly, it now will encourage those who are current on their mortgages to stop paying so they can qualify for the new and better terms. Lastly, and just as important, what about the sanctity of contract law? When two entities enter into a contract will the government be able to step in and force one party to change the terms?
If you or someone you know is struggling with mortgage payments just stop paying and wait for your bailout, I'm serious it makes no sense to make payments when you will not be foreclosed and you will get a modification of your loan. Meanwhile, you may live in your home for free for months until the loan is modified.
Lawmakers and Citigroup reach deal on mortgages
Democrats hope agreement will lead to passage of bill to avoid foreclosures
By Ronald D. Orol, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Senate Democrats have reached an agreement with Citigroup Inc. on a key bill to give bankruptcy judges the authority to eliminate some mortgage debt and help reduce foreclosures, lawmakers announced Thursday afternoon.
According to Sen. Richard Durbin, Citigroup has agreed not to oppose legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges the authority to modify mortgages that were set up prior to the enactment of the bill.
Fannie and Freddie said they will extend the suspensions until Jan. 31. In November, Fannie and Freddie said they would not foreclose on occupied homes or evict homeowners from Nov. 26 to Jan. 9 to implement a streamlined mortgage modification program.
Read Article Here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Lawmakers-Citigroup-reach-deal-mortgages/story.aspx?guid=%7B115971DA%2DDA67%2D4B2D%2DB926%2DC393D1DE0C3A%7D
Porn industry seeks $5 billion federal bailout
Man, you just can't make this stuff up. “Why shouldn’t it hand some to an industry the nation could not live without?” I didn't know the nation could not live without porn. What has this country come to?-Lou
Porn industry seeks $5 billion federal bailout
By KEVIN MODESTI
LA DAILY NEWS
LOS ANGELES — In an announcement that launched a thousand unprintable puns, adult-entertainment moguls Larry Flynt and Joe Francis said Wednesday that they are asking Washington for a $5 billion federal bailout, claiming that the porn business is suffering from the soft economy.
Francis insisted in a phone interview that this is no joke or publicity stunt, though his tone suggested otherwise.
“The government’s handing out money to the auto industry,” Francis, producer of the “Girls Gone Wild” video series, said on the phone from his Santa Monica office. “Why shouldn’t it hand some to an industry the nation could not live without?”
The request, Francis said, was being made in a letter to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The $5 billion figure, he said, reflects the decline in U.S. adult-entertainment- industry revenue from $18 billion three years ago.
Read Article Here:
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2009/01/08/flynt_porn_bailout.html
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