Dr. Paul Craig Roberts sent me an article by Catherine Austin Fitts and asked if I had read it. The article is titled, "The State of America's Pension Funds." The article is worth reading, though I believe Ms. Fitts underestimates significantly the degree to which political and Wall Street criminality - along with money management incompetence - has infected and destroyed the U.S. pension system...Read More
Lithium Chile (LITH.V) is now in the final stages of raising C$4M in a private placement priced at C$1 per unit which each unit consisting of one share and half a share purchase warrant. Each full warrant authorizes the warrant owner to acquire an additional share of Lithium Chile at C$1.50 within 24 months after the placement closes.Lithium Chile is also moving ahead with the creation of Kairos M...Read More
Do you think you are smart enough to know what things to ban? Can you foresee all the unintended consequences of using government might to moralize society?Some people think they are that smart. Or for some reason, they think restricting people’s freedom will have no larger effect than in the targeted area.One recent New York Times article wants a porn ban to be an option on the table. The a...Read More
Demanding More DebtConsumer debt, corporate debt, and government debt are all going up. But that's not all. Margin debt - debt that investors borrow against their portfolio to buy more stocks - has hit a record of $642.8 billion. What in the world are people thinking? A blow-off in margin debt mirroring the blow-off in stock prices. Since February of 2016 alone it has soared by ~$170 billi...Read More
Serenely Grows the DebtbergWe mentioned in a recent post that we would soon return to the topic of credit spreads and exotic structured products. One reason for doing so are the many surprises investors faced in the 2008 crisis. Readers may e.g. remember auction rate securities. These bonds were often listed as "cash equivalents" on the balance sheets of assorted companies investing in them, but i...Read More
US Federal District Court Judge Richard J. Leon has stayed Rusoro's $966.5-million International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes Expropriation award against Venezuela registered in the US. Following the World Bank agency's decision to grant the award on August 22, 2016, Rusoro took that judgment to the US Federal Court in Washington, D.C. on October 10, 2016. The idea was to regis...Read More
Vancouver-based Trevali Mining (TSX: TV) and Quebec-based Puma Exploration (TSX-V:PUMA) have entered into a Letter of Intent for the acquisition by the former of an option to acquire an interest in the Murray Brook Deposit and to form a proposed Strategic Exploration Alliance in the northern portion of the Bathurst Mining Camp in New Brunswick, Canada.Under the terms of the LOI, Trevali, at its op...Read More
https://uk.reuters.com/LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) – The London Metal Exchange (LME) copper price has risen 26 percent since the start of January 2016. That month saw a five-year downtrend bottom out at $4,318 per tonne. Three-month copper on Friday was trading above $6,900.The lift in price has been part of a broader revaluation of the base metals complex but also reflects specific concerns a...Read More
Normally the action in the gold and silver futures markets tends to be pretty similar, since the same general forces affect both precious metals. When inflation or some other source of anxiety is ascendant, both metals rise, and vice versa.But lately - perhaps in a sign of how confused the world is becoming - gold and silver traders have diverged. Taking gold first, the speculators - who tend to b...Read More
Despite a global economic upswing, which has been a powerful tailwind for stocks, gold remains firm and is trading well above the psychologically important US$1,300-per-ounce mark. There are signs that gold will remain firm over the course of 2018, because of a range of economic and geopolitical risks that could trigger the next market correction. One of the best means of earning outsized returns...Read More
The stock market took a sharp downturn to begin the new month of March. Usually, we see the stock market bid up on the last day of the month and the first few days of the new month, as institutions place optimistic bets.That is not the case now due to a far different, almost ominous, tone gripping the market place.On Thursday, President Trump announced the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on steel a...Read More
Do you think you are smart enough to know what things to ban? Can you foresee all the unintended consequences of using government might to moralize society?Some people think they are that smart. Or for some reason, they think restricting people’s freedom will have no larger effect than in the targeted area.One recent New York Times article wants a porn ban to be an option on the table. The a...Read More
Do you think you are smart enough to know what things to ban? Can you foresee all the unintended consequences of using government might to moralize society?Some people think they are that smart. Or for some reason, they think restricting people’s freedom will have no larger effect than in the targeted area.One recent New York Times article wants a porn ban to be an option on the table. The a...Read More
CloseGain/LossOn WeekGold $1321.90+$6.60-0.56%Silver$16.51+$0.02-0.06%XAU78.75-0.23%-2.21%HUI172.99-0.16%-2.11%GDM601.93+0.02%-1.94%JSE Gold1107.57+41.26+1.65%USD89.94-0.33+0.02%Euro123.28+0.62+0.24%Yen94.66+0.42+0.95%Oil$61.25+$0.26-3.62%10-Year2.860%+0.053-0.24%Bond144.3125-1.03125+0.13%Dow24538.06-0.29%-3.05%Nasdaq7257.87+1.08%-1.08%S&P2691.25+0.51%-2.04% The Metals: Gold rose $10 to $1...Read More
Gold COT Report - FuturesLarge SpeculatorsCommercialTotalLongShortSpreadingLongShortLongShort251,98173,26372,017161,527361,323485,525506,603Change from Prior Reporting Period -5,2246,9804,3816,614-8,4685,7712,893Traders17378834658255187 Small Speculators LongShortOpen Interest 47,33526,257532,860 -1,0651,8134,706 non reportable positionsChange from the previous reporting...Read More
- Global stocks slump as Trump risks trade wars- Gold prices little changed despite dollar weakness after tariff news- Trump announced plans to impose heavy tariffs on imported metals- China likely to retaliate with heavy tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports- Geo-political tensions with EU and of course China and Russia to escalate- Trade, currency wars and competitive currency devaluations tend...Read More
US Federal District Court Judge Richard J. Leon has stayed Rusoro's $966.5-million International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes Expropriation award against Venezuela registered in the US. Following the World Bank agency's decision to grant the award on August 22, 2016, Rusoro took that judgment to the US Federal Court in Washington, D.C. on October 10, 2016. The idea was to regis...Read More
FTSE 100 down 106 points at 7,069GKN tumbles as it considers Dana Inc offer for its Driveline unitPM May's Brexit speech offers nothing newThe Footsie suffered a triple-digit fall as investors fretted over the prospect of a trade war sParked by president Trump.The FTSE 100 closed at 7,069, down 106 points on the day.Miners were out in the cold after Trump's bombshell, with Rio Tinto PLC,...Read More
Centenera Mining Corporation (TSXV:CT; OTC:CTMIF) was recently featured in an article by Streetwise Reports, following the company's announcement on February 21 that significant new mineralization at surface was exposed at its Esperanza copper-gold project in San Juan province in Argentina.Read full newsRead More
Tom Fedolak from Graphenea tells Proactive Investors they are looking for a strategic partner in the future, as the interest in graphene continues to grow.Fedolak says they will want to work those who are interested in working with graphene in their own products. Meet Scancell Holdings Plc, Advanced Blast & Ballistic Systems Ltd and TokenCommunities Plc at our event, London, 08 March 2018.Re...Read More