Concrete Jungle

I started out wondering about houseprices, now I wonder if the UK is the place for me over the next 10 - 20 years. Houseprices seem almost trivial in comparison to the bigger picture.

I managed to add a bit more physical to my stash on the latest dip, it just turned up in the post.

Trainee QS, North West.

What area of construction and where in the UK are you?

Back to my parents house while I finish my degree if the worst comes to the worst. After that depending on the employment situation in the UK, who knows.

Sorry to hear this, CJ

Where elsewhere might you go?

Things looking grim here (construction related) hardly any work on and not much on the horizon. So much so that I have applied for a part time job working evenings / weekends in a local shop. If I get the job it should help keep the wolf from the door should the worst happen, or I can add the extra money to my savings / investments. Quite a few people I know have been made redundant / facing redundancy in 2011 and from talking to them and what I see it looks like this year will be grimmer than 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010. I don't know if I really want to buy/stay in the UK long term.

I have asked for silver for Christmas again, no one bought me any last year.

And alert the PTB to the fact that I distrust their fiat currency, fractional reserve banking and hold physical silver and possibly gold?

Gold mentioned at about 8:45 on Radio 4 this morning, the royal mint has seen sales of gold coins increase 400% on last year and silver coins are up 20% on last year. The R4 guy was at pains to point out gold is in a bubble, volatile commodity, you could lose a lot of money on gold, strange investment pays no dividend etc. If only Pravda had similarly cautioned about property in such a way.

It is looking like time someone raised the margin requirements for silver AGAIN.

I am not sure if this has been posted before. I just logged on to Tesco.co.uk and right at the bottom right hand side of the screen something caught my eye.

https://www.tescogoldexchange.com/

Tesco have started up a cash for gold operation, curiosity aroused I checked the price Tesco will pay for 1kg of 22 carat compared to Hatton Garden Metals for 1kg 22 carat. Tesco quoted online £18,030.00 plus 18030 clubcard points? Compared to HGM £24,605.39 and no clubcard points! Just over six and a half grand difference as I have no idea what clubcard points are or are 'worth'!

i've seen these sort of bars before and they are always fake - avoid stuff like this from china.

A bit of info for GEI on fake silver, ebay and China.

http://www.china-mint.info/fake-coin-images.html

http://www.china-mint.info/fakechinesecoinsellers.html

http://chinese-coins.blogspot.com/2009/01/...-with-only.html

Finally images of fake bars can be seen at

http://about.ag/LeadFilled100OunceBars.htm

Silver has clawed back about half of yesterdays smackdown already!

A couple of silver snippets.

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/fil...t%20Lawsuit.pdf

Followed by

Thanks for the Silver: An Open Letter to JPMorgan and HSBC

Ted Butler, famous silver analyst and the guy who kept up the pressure about the corruption in the silver futures market for the last 15 years, is in the InvestmentRarities.com newsletter recently talking about silver, and notes dryly that "world silver inventories are at their lowest point in 200 years."

 

Well, this kind of news is for silver very important, but for me it is overshadowed by the new report of the company's new Employee Satisfaction Survey, a stack of lies put out by the lying morons in the Human Resources Department, reportedly showing that my popularity is at its lowest point in my career, including that time when the Accounting Department burned me in effigy.

 

The report now includes an anecdote that 2 mysteriously unnamed employees now have comedic license plates on their cars emblazoned with the phrase "Go To Hell Mogambo (GTHM)."

 

Naturally, these two "unnamed employees" have to be Carl and Porky, two of the biggest nitwits in the whole company whom I have every day – every day! – told to buy silver because neo-Keynesian econometric madmen have seized control of the Federal Reserve and are creating so much money, so unbelievably much money, so impossibly much money that guaranteed inflation in prices will destroy us.

 

They never do.

 

And worse, nowadays they try to actually hide when they see me coming, making it difficult to advise them to, you know, immediately buy silver, which I am sure will prove to be the Biggest Freaking Bargain (BFB) of the next fifty years, if not more. More!

 

They are, like I said, nitwits, but they can run like deer.

 

And it is too bad, too, because they don't get to learn that Mr. Butler says, concerning silver, "Here we have a vital material, known to all men for all time, literally disappearing before our eyes, both above and below ground. It is a material upon which modern life and rising standard of living are dependent. It is beyond indispensable, it is a miracle metal."

 

Indeed, he adds that silver is used in so many industrial applications that "aside from petroleum, silver is used in more applications than any other commodity."

 

Well, it turns out that silver is, as predicted, rising, but it may not be just because people are slapping themselves on the forehead and saying, "What was I thinking? I hate to say it, but that Loud Moron Mogambo (LMM) is right: We gotta get silver, fast, and in bulk!"

 

Or it may be because the corruption in the silver futures market, that Mr. Butler has long exposed, is coming to a head, as Ed Steer of Ed Steer's Gold & Silver Daily reports that "of course" the big story of late is "news of the lawsuits filed against both JPMorgan and HSBC USA for conspiring to drive down silver prices and reaping hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal profits."

 

Incensed, I immediately want to sue somebody, too! Those bastards! Those lying, cheating bastards!

 

Then I remember that I was able to buy silver all along because these scumbags kept the price of silver low with their manipulations! With a sudden start, I realize I owe them a note of thanks!

 

Stunned by the revelation, I sit down to compose my thank-you note. I write:

 

Dear JP Morgan and HSBC scumbags,

 

Thank you for manipulating the price of silver so unbelievably low by your corrupt naked-shorting So Freaking Much (SFM) "paper silver," which allowed me and so many others to buy silver at low, low, bargain prices for all these years, which we did because we understand Austrian business-cycle theory and thus know that the treacherous Federal Reserve creating so much money will lead to terrifying inflation in prices, and we know that gold and silver will rise as the buying power of the dollar falls.

 

And especially silver, which is the subject of this note, and which should be selling at $90 Right Freaking Now (RFN) to maintain its historical 15:1 ratio to the price of $1,350 price of gold, which, too, is manipulated and thus destined for higher prices, dragging silver along with it.

 

And now both of these precious metals will go much, much higher from here because the treacherous Federal Reserve is literally asking banks and Treasury-debt dealers how many trillions of dollars of new money the Fed should create! Inflation will soar!

 

So, thanks again, scumbags!

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Mixed Feelings in Florida.

 

As for buying gold, silver and oil when the Federal Reserve is creating so unbelievably much new money so that the horrid Obama administration can deficit-spend it, my feelings are not mixed. They are gleeful, as in, "Whee! This investing stuff is easy!"

Thar she blows $28 breeched. Does anyone else feel slightly apprehensive or is it just me?

Marr seemed desperate to paint gold as only for feverent tin foil hat nutters and maniacs, you could say he has been perusing GEI. Not the sort of thing nice, normal, rational trusting folk buy according to Pravda.

Can we finish today above $1400?

Wow $27 just got smashed.

A new site to buy and sell silver oneoverspot, doesn't look like it will be up and running for another hour and a half.

http://www.oneoverspot.com/

Silver Stock Report

by Jason Hommel, November 4th, 2010

 

 

The Silver Market Manipulation on COMEX became so obvious two years ago, that it inspired the creation of a new silver & gold market platform, "One Over Spot", opening on November 5th at 6PM (EDT).

 

The new auction site for precious metals is called "One Over Spot" www.oneoverspot.com That's the name, because they charge listers only 1% over the final auction price for the listing.

 

Unlike any other auction site I've seen thus far (except for ebay), "One Over Spot" is open to all potential sellers.

 

But Ebay is becoming increasingly hostile to bullion transactions, given the trouble with chargebacks on credit cards, and the high transaction fees that range from 5 to 15%.

 

Who are the developers behind One Over Spot? I helped inspire it, and helped with consulting, and received shares. One Over Spot, Inc., was founded by Bob Davidson and Kurt Larson, two entrepreneurs with over 60 years of management and engineering experience between them. All of the Web site and trading platform code was written by their Senior Developer, Brian Poteat.

 

One Over Spot was developed in response to my article two years ago:

 

The World Needs a Free Market in Silver

http://silverstockreport.com/2008/freemarket.html

 

One Over Spot is offering readers of the Silver Stock Report a discount of 50% off your first transaction fee. Enter the promo code JASON at the bottom of the item information page when you create your listing and the fee will only be 0.5% when your listing closes with a winner.

 

Why Use One Over Spot?:

 

 

 

1) Lowest Auction Fees

 

There are no listing fees! Listers pay a Transaction Fee of just 1% on the winning bid or purchase.

 

2) Member Verification

 

Four separate verification systems and an Advanced Fraud Detection Suite together form a tough defense to keep out fraudsters.

 

3) Anti-Shill Technology

 

Auction Rewind ™ prevents both shill and shield bids from affecting the free-market outcome of a fair auction.

 

Stealth Proxy ™ makes it practically impossible to determine another bidder's proxy bid limit through experimental bidding.

 

4) Comprehensive Feedback

 

OOS feedback, imported eBay feedback, seller ratings, dispute statistics, account status, canceled listings, retracted bids, suspensions, policy violations, and other statistics.

 

5) Soft-Close Auctions

 

All OOS auctions have scheduled end times, but they cannot officially close until 10 minutes have passed without a bid. This ensures the most accurate final price.

 

6) Multiple Auction Types

 

English forward and reverse, Dutch forward and reverse, Buy Now and Sell Now.

 

7) Unlimited Trade Size

 

There are no account limits on the value or quantity of the items that can be traded. (Plus discounts for trades over $100,000)

 

8) Transaction Security

 

Extended Validation (EV) Certificate issued by an independently-audited Certification Authority.

 

Secure credit card transactions using Starfield Technologies 256-bit SSL encryption.

 

 

In addition to all of the above reasons, One Over Spot has several significant upgrades already in development for delivery by next year. Dealers will appreciate Variable Reserve ™, which will allow a listing reserve to track spot price plus custom premium. A language translation service will be added to assist members from foreign countries. In a related service, members who choose to disclose their country of origin can have their username appear in search results for that country. Members who want to keep up with auctions while on-the-go will be able to access One Over Spot using a mobile web access solution. Other planned enhancements include: RSS feeds, remote image hosting, automatic alerts, bulk item uploads, an online store, API service, and more.

 

Please take a look at www.oneoverspot.com, and sign up.

 

 

=====

 

I strongly advise you to take possession of real gold and silver, at anywhere near today's price, while you still can. The fundamentals indicate rising prices for decades to come.

Might be of interest to anyone looking to buy / sell physical silver.

The £17.99 rounds had all run out yesterday when I fancied a bit more physical, the price for the other rounds in tens looked a bit steep even considering the recent slip into the VATable band.

Yes but it's still £23.80 an ounce, when spot is £15.50. That's a huge difference.

 

I bought a first majestic round off Sarnia on Friday for £17.99, arrived today. Keep looking they are there sometimes.

Realist Bear = Edwin Trueman. That screen shot of RB gold threads is fantastic!

I have just been researching the author of the article and reading some of the comments below it. Someone is certainly spooked at the current gold price. While the article is generally laughable, perhaps we can gleam that the opposite of what it purports to be the way forward is actually the way forward.

America should open its vaults and sell gold

Published: October 12 2010 14:01 | Last updated: October 12 2010 14:01

 

Gold is back in the news. Its price is soaring in what some analysts say is a reflection of a weak economy and a lack of confidence in government policies. Naturally, investors are looking at a new sure thing in the expectation that prices will continue upward. My advice to the US government, however, is that this may be the best time – to sell. Doing so would help President Barack Obama and Congress reduce indebtedness, at little cost.

 

It is an article of faith in bullion markets that the US will be the last country to dispose of its gold stock. For 30 years it has had a no-net-sales policy for reasons ranging from resistance by US gold-producing interests to concerns about the international monetary system. That assumption may remain plausible. Yet the administration has an obligation to re-examine its policy.

 

The market price of gold has risen for more than a decade propelled by low interest rates, the hype of the bullion dealers (holding large inventories) and no doubt the normal amount of fraud and misinformation accompanying asset price bubbles. The Financial Times has reported that the precious metals industry expects the price to increase by a further 11 per cent over the next year.</H4>Meanwhile, the US Treasury holds 261.5m fine troy ounces of gold. The government has been sitting on it since the Great Depression, receiving no return. At the current market price of $1,300 per ounce, the US gold stock is worth $340bn. The Treasury secretary, with the approval of the president, has the power to sell (and buy) gold on terms that the secretary considers most beneficial to the public interest. Revenues from sales must be used to reduce the national debt.

 

If the US were to sell its entire gold stock at the current market price, it would reduce the gross government debt by 2¼ per cent of gross domestic product. (US net government debt would decline by essentially the same amount because the US gold stock, listed as an asset on the balance sheet, is valued at only $42.22 an ounce.) Based on the average interest cost from 2005 to 2008, this reduction in debt would trim the budget deficit by $15bn annually. Thus, the Obama administration would be doing something about the US fiscal debt and deficit without reducing near-term support for the ailing economy.

 

This proposal has other benefits too. First, the US would be obeying the maxim to buy low and sell high. Second, it would be performing a socially useful function. Demand for gold exceeds normal production, driving up the price. To the extent that the gold craze is being fed by concern (rational or irrational) about government policies, public welfare would be enhanced by giving citizens something tangible to hang around their necks or place in safe deposit boxes. Third, if the price is a bubble, as seems likely, the sooner it is burst the better for the average investor.

 

Some people point to possible costs. Aside from political pressures from those who want to protect the value of their holdings, above or below ground, two principal arguments are made against US gold sales. The first is that they would disrupt the market. But the US can be cautious in its sales, avoiding disruption of the sales programmes of other countries, as it has in the past. There is little risk. In recent years, sales under the Central Bank Gold Agreement have dwindled, and some other central banks are buying gold. (The US is not a party to the agreement.) Also the International Monetary Fund has completed more than three-quarters of its own planned sales of 403.3 metric tons.

 

Another counter argument is that the US should hold on to its stock in anticipation of a return – by itself alone or with other nations – to a monetary system based on gold. But returning to the gold standard would reinstate a system associated with unstable prices, wages, output and employment. It has not existed for a century; and will not make a comeback. Official discussions of the reform of the international monetary system do not include any advocates of a return to gold, and the IMF articles of agreement prohibit it. The sooner thoughts of such a return are laid to rest, the better. A related argument is to keep the US gold stock as a "rainy day" precaution. But after the recent economic and financial crisis and with the prospect of misery for several more years, how much more rain must pour before the US acts?

 

The writer is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington

A fence to keep out wild boar needs to be very strong a determined large boar will get through standard cattle / sheep and deer fencing either by going through or under it. To stop boar digging under your fence bury it a foot under ground, snout wires will also help prevent boar going under your fence. Do you know what species of deer are raiding your garden? The height of the fence depends on what

species of deer you are trying to keep out.

Ive lost my runner beans, potatoes and beetroot to deer and wild boaar. Any suggestions?

Does anyone know how he is taking the news?

It must have been the RBCI at work again!