G0ldfinger

Good article.

Hmm, everyone and their dogs seem to be calling for a major USD bounce. I am not sure what to make of it. Maybe the creamy filling comes along with a stronger Dollar. However, longer term (5y), I see 'black' for most fiat. The Boomers start retiring, this will drag everything down. Deficits will explode.

Yes, that's a good one.

The grown-up version of Serin Casey. Oh man. We are 1.5 years behind in the UK. What a mess.

Could need a few more of these days. Although, the day is not over yet. Money Markets Signal Worst of Credit Crisis Is Over as TED Spread Narrows http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home Seems the 'creamy filling' has finally arrived (Puplava's Oreo cookie theory). EDIT: BTW, I had quite a few of these cookies lately. Too sweet for me. Stocks in U.S. Rise as Oil Price Drop Helps Retailers; Europe, Asia Climb http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home WHAT are they smoking at Bloomberg? Stocks advancing because oil is ONLY at $125???? EDIT: I am looking forward to their cheers at the drop from $200 to $180 in a few months.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home Congrats everyone. Especially to the BoE. Well done!

Good question. I am not entirely sure. Their FAQ is very good and surely has the answer.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtm...cambrose112.xml Let's hope all their bonds are insured, at MBIA and Ambac and such. Because surely otherwise a few pension funds will go belly-up. Ah, let me guess, in the end the Fed will just print it up. Very good! Pretty bearish those people at Societe Generale.

Yes. Have written back now.

Extremely good chart. See also: http://www.goldensextant.com/GATAWash.html#anchor1100

French curves I tried to do some research about the mathematical properties of French curves. It seems gazillions of shapes are out there, hence you can retrospectively always find a curve that 'belongs' to whatever chart you wish. I therefore think that the usefulness of French curves is limited. They are as limited as channels, that often need retrospective adjustments as well. IMO it's as simple as this: you can not really make short term (or even precise long term) predictions except sometimes for self-fulfilling prophecies: round figures and certain technical things (like MAs or so). But even this does not always work out. In the end, the fundamentals and irrationality rule. French curves are useful if you want to find a 'curved' trend line. But as with linear trends as well, they can be totally subjective and in this sense 'useless' to other investors. E.g., in the chart below, which trend line is the most important or most distinguished one?

What will the US do about this? Can they 'allow' it? http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

The spread between Brent and WTI seems to be narrowing. Or do I get this wrong? What could be the reason? Gold seemed to do very well, despite of all the weekend-selling in NY.

I love it when the Americans in the NY session start selling their gold because oil has just hit $125 and higher. But, hey, it seems to be a sell-it-all situation right now.

It could be that oil will outperform gold for a while. However, everyone knows that oil runs out and alternatives will have to be used/developed. And alternatives are known. There is no reason for city traffic not to be completely electric (buses, cars, trams), except for the fact that more powerplants would be needed (nuclear?). Gold and silver however have no known alternatives for their monetary functions. That's why they're still around after so many thousands of years. EDIT: Puplava's price target of $125 has been reached today. I am sure he will cheer tonight on FSN radio.

Gold will catch up.

The reason is that gold is REAL money.

Only 3 out of 7 days. The other 4 days - where would they invest it? In 'high-yielding' Dollar-denominated paper possibly? US subprime anyone? http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews...tes-.3739567.jp HBoS stands for Halifax-Turd of Scotland, that was created through the merger of Halifax and the Turd of Scotland (BoS). EDIT: Scottish Sterling: 3 out of 7 days backed by Northern Rock subprime, the rest of the week backed by US subprime. Now, tell me again, why is the value of Sterling sinking? -- OK, I can't prove my claims. But think about it, it totally makes sense. All this money was/is in AAA-securities, I am pretty sure. And by now we know what that means - no wonder the BoE/Fed/ECB buys/swaps this stuff now like crazy.

I don't see actual evidence that it was a scam/fraud. As long as people know how much gold they get for their Dollars, I don't see much of a problem. The whole alternative currency issue is a different, rather political issue. What is the US government afraid of anyway? Allow free markets in currencies. Heck, where has capitalism gone? This is monetary socialism/communism. It's just not good. Free those currencies!

Why is issuing 1 oz gold rounds a scam?

If anyone is interested in a Nobel Laureate's opinion on currencies, inflation and gold, I would recommend Hayek's famous paper on competing currencies. It is very readable, and there are some interesting historic notes (US, Weimar hyperinflation etc.) at the end. I strongly support Hayek's thesis that it would be best to have freely competing currencies issued by private and non-private institutions in order to keep inflation in check. http://www.anc.org.za/books/hayek.pdf

I read some time ago that Scottish notes (issued by banks like RBS, HBoS and Clydesdale) only need to be covered by BoE notes 4 out of 7 days a week, or so. After the credit crunch had hit, they wanted to increase the number of days. In any case, Scottish money is not as good as the English one, which does NOT mean that the English is good. It's all just paper (backed by Northern Rock subprime), but the Scottish one is IMHO even worse. Just as a side note: RBS is one of the most highly leveraged bank turds in Europe. HBoS is through Halifax one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the UK. IMO, both are massive turds, and these are the guys issuing most of the Scottish money. Good luck!

Funny, isn't it? Some people are so concerned about gold, but they buy virtually everything else, with most of it being much riskier. For myself, I try to minimize the amount of Sterling I am holding. I try to have a sufficient emergency fund of coins and notes, but I only hoard English notes, since Scottish ones etc. can't really be trusted. All in all, apart from this small emergency stash, I try to get rid off Sterling as soon as I get hold of it. And I wouldn't trust any bank too much either.

With WTI at $124, gold could trade at $1,825 today without being particularly expensive.

Any stock broker has exactly the same problems.