Happy or Terrible?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 3:42 am

Let's hope for a "Happy Tuesday".

Just a few items for you to review. First, this great article from Alisdair Macleod which covers some of the same territory that Trader Dan plowed over the weekend. http://alasdairmacleod.blogspot.com/2012/07/managed-money-positions-on-us-futures.html

Speaking of Trader Dan, he was talking about the grains today: http://www.traderdannorcini.blogspot.com/2012/07/grain-index-approaching-2008-peak.html. And so was ZeroHedge: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/putting-corn-harvest-drought-and-flood-context

Santa's pal Eric has written an interesting piece where he discusses several of the CoT trends that we've been covering ad nauseam here. http://edegrootinsights.blogspot.ca/2012/07/this-major-fed-move-is-about-to-create.html

And the LIEbor scandal continues to grow. HEEHEEHAHA! Just for fun, here are two articles which mention two of the primary forces behind The Evil Empire, JPM and HBSC.

Lastly, one final bit of fun from FreedomFest. While I was strolling the floor on Thursday, I ran into Kerry Lutz of the Financial Survival Network. He asked if I could spare a few minutes and I gladly obliged. Here's the link to the 5-6 minute interview. http://financialsurvivalnetwork.com/2012/07/turd-ferguson-everyone-should-be-buying-precious-metals/

That's it for now. Regardless of paper price shenanigans, I hope you personally have a Happy Tuesday!

Login or register to post comments
20913 reads
Print
Email

Support TF Metals Report with a donation or by purchasing something from the TurdMart Store.

Comments

@billwilson

Submitted by Dagney Taggart on July 17, 2012 - 2:49pm.

I'd concede that. It's still abundantly clear that all of this falls under the ongoing collectivist propaganda campaign and that is unacceptable.

OFFICIAL: For every € the EU

Submitted by Excalibur on July 17, 2012 - 2:53pm.

OFFICIAL: For every € the EU crisis costs Berlin, it earns 12 times more in exports…

….and America isn’t doing badly out of it either

In the midst of European debt turmoil and a ClubMed economy-destroying austerity programme driven from Berlin, German exporters are pulling in €100 billion+ of extra business every year. That’s according to Nathan Sheets, Citigroup’s chief economist based in New York. And this export bonus represents almost twelve times the €8.7bn the country is contributing each year to the ESM rescue fund.

Heavily criticised by many (including me) for being inflexibly mad, the real plus for her national economy is now audited for all to see: Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal may be crippled by enormous bond yields and socio-economic scorched earth, but when it comes to German exporters, their private view will be, “the longer it goes on, the better for us”.

Germany enjoys a euro that’s 20% weaker than the Deutschmark would probably have been; and if one adds the inflow of low-cost safe-haven bond money, the benefit for Berlin is around 30%.

Of course, the high cost of borrowing in Europe based on debt doubts is also a boon for the country with the biggest debts of all, the United States of America. Its bonds too are trading at almost unprecedentedly low yields, and nobody pushes the need for continuing euro-austerity more than Christine Lagarde, head of the US-controlled IMF – and the woman Tim Geithner refers to in private as “our gal”.

I’ll say she is: almost completely Americanised, Lagarde worked for over 30 years in the States as a heavy-hitting corporate lawyer, and never forgets for a second where her loyalties lie. For the US too, a lingering austerity programme that never comes to a head (and never causes a bank failure) is the win-win solution: no Wall Street collapses, cheap US sovereign borrowing….and Europe neutered as a competitor in a shrinking world market.

This is not to suggest a conspiracy or anything approaching it. Germany is over-exposed to potential EU write-offs, and the US Fed knows perfectly well that eurobank failures are still near-inevitable.

I record these Citigroup and other facts purely for the usual purpose ofevidenced bollocks deconstruction: next time you hear Merkel complaining about the stress being put on Germany by lazy Clubmedders – or Geithner saying that the US economy and deficit were in great shape until Yerp screwed it up – remember those recorded factual realities.

While there is a lack of real brainstorming to help solve the EU’s appalling problems, blamestorming is no substitute for that.

The German, Brussels, Frankurt ECB, and American elites bent the law to either get ClubMed into the eurozone, or flog them cheap sovereign loans they could never afford to repay. The blame should be evenly spread for this mess between all participants in banking, politics and government. The last place it should reside is with the ordinary citizens of any of those countries…almost all of whom are paying through the nose (via their taxes) for the megalomania and corrupt greed of their leaders.

http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/official-for-every-e-the-eu-crisis-costs-berlin-it-earns-12-times-more-in-exports-16/

Aerodynamics

Submitted by opticsguy on July 17, 2012 - 2:54pm.

The Prius is an example of the best aerodynamics that you can get and still meet Federal crash safety requirements. If we all rode around in lightweight aerodynamic bubbles we could save a lot of fuel, just don't get hit by a 6000 lb SUV.

To move my 200 lbs of ponderous bulk at 25 MPH on level ground on my bicycle (with no wind) takes 375W, or almost half a horsepower. Wind resistance is a bitch.

Patents & Conspiracies

Submitted by AugmentedFourth on July 17, 2012 - 2:55pm.

If the patent was ever filed or granted you can search and find it here: www.uspto.gov

Or here: http://www.google.com/advanced_patent_search

(Or using any of the other myriad IP-search tools that exist online...)

There is no mystery or conspiracy if a patent is involved because the whole point of the patent system, as originally envisioned, was to enable the release of new ideas to the world instead of keeping them as "trade secrets"! If the patents were secret then they wouldn't be worth a damn in court...which is the only thing that gives a patent value as IP.

(I don't agree with the way our whole IP system works...but it is what it is...)

Sure...Evil Gas Co. could have bought the miracle 100MPG car patent and chose not to license it. However, the design would still be in the public domain and derivative works of that original idea would be up for grabs by anyone who wanted to try...The only way this mythical conspiracy could work would be if they paid off or killed the engineers and scientists that had anything to do with it and not involve the legal system.

Money on Deposit in Credit Union

Submitted by Lady Gaugau on July 17, 2012 - 2:57pm.

Just called my CU, American First Credit Union of Orange County, Calif. Spoke with two different people there and they assure me that AFCU holds all deposits, and has no banking relationship at all. None.

I argued a bit ("Do you really understand my question?), and am convinced that they do understand and that AFCU indeed does not place any of its members' deposits with a bank.

The market has to scream first

Submitted by Rui on July 17, 2012 - 3:00pm.

... before they come out to print in broad day light. I expect some kinda Euro mess to send the market crashing in the fall like that of Lehman in 2008 that will get the public to call FED into actions. They will do it once that political over is in place.

One for the Preppers

Submitted by Dagney Taggart on July 17, 2012 - 3:03pm.

I can't remember who mentioned it here yesterday but regarding rifle scopes, many in our group swear by the Leupold VX-2 series on their 100-700m hunting rifles. Better lighting and all around the better value than any $1500-2500 glam brand like swarovski, leica, or zeiss, so they say.

yeah I've just had it with

Submitted by rckymtn on July 17, 2012 - 3:04pm.

yeah I've just had it with this socialist/communist BS and the apologists that blindly still support this guy. I worked my ass off to start my business, to keep it running for 10 years, and to support my family. Not 1 freaking person besides MYSELF is responsible for it. I took the risk, I made the effort, I used MY money to start it PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I didn't start MY business ON MY OWN, then WHY IN THE HELL DO I GET 100% of the liability that goes along with my business??????? So when someone tries to file a lawsuit against me, does someone else pay for my lawyer? Does someone else pay for my liability insurance? Does someone else share in paying anything (never happened by the way).

Just sick of this BS.

Kitco's Friday Deadline (July 20, 5:00 Montreal Time)

Submitted by Zoltan on July 17, 2012 - 3:06pm.

Perhaps one of our lawyers can comment on this.

http://www.rsmrichter.com/restructuring/KitcoMetals.aspx

See the April 20 court order.

http://www.rsmrichter.com/downloads/pdf/insolvency_files/rcaseid233/26-Corected%20Order%20approving%20a%20process%20to%20solicit%20claims.pdf

Or try the link direct to the PDF.

Obama's comments go both ways

Submitted by OrangeAlert on July 17, 2012 - 3:12pm.

Madoff didn't get there on his own either. There were a lot of dupes that helped him and his family run a successful ponzi scheme for many years. It takes many idiots to make that work, and just as many to make it fail. It takes many idiots to make our current system work too. Success and failure both include teamwork. If you've failed, you need to share that failure with everyone else (AIG, GM, banks) . We're all in this together, whether your dumb or smart. It'll all go down just the same as Madoff's ponzi scheme.

Keep stackin' and Keep preppin'.

@Dagney

Submitted by Bohemian on July 17, 2012 - 3:18pm.

"What is the difference between a bank that pays you nothing to hold your money and you holding your money and paying yourself nothing? I hope that helps."

Sure, I know. And I know what majority of Turdites think about banks like Bank of America. For now, however, I have no complain, even though I am "monitoring" the situation. I am banking with one BofA branch for over 25 years. They know me, I get the best service available. What do I get? Well, I get free safety deposit box. I pay no account maintenance fee, for my corporate checking and personal checking accounts. They do my Payroll for $21 per month, with all the forms, taxes, paychecks, state filing, everything. Online bill pay is free, the corporate and personal. Money transfer from one BofA account to another one, in another state (my daughter's) is instant and free. Money transfer to my brokerage house and back to my bank accounts, is free, too. Money transfer to another linked bank, free. Sometimes I don't pay for some services, or I pay less, like sending money to my bank account in another country, for a cashier check, or for my signature validation. It depends... One just has to ask. I get many offers from them and others, like credit money transfers, for many years. Zero interest, often zero transaction fees, for 12-15 months. I had no problem with refinancing, even though I was taking cash out. I have their credit card, for example, with no foreign transaction fee, but it pays me back 2% for everything I buy abroad. I mean, I keep cash, of course, but I don't see any reason to leave the system right now. I keep a low balance in my personal checking, but as for the corporate, there are some money, but if they close, I will write off everything, including all the associated expenses and fees, and I will think about declaring some corporate losses, but that would be a question for lawyers.

To rckymtn

Submitted by balz on July 17, 2012 - 3:19pm.

You don't get it. At all.

No man is an island.

You need to realize that it's not only about YOU paying taxes for roads, but also about roads paid by OTHERS that allow people to get to your business.

It's not about YOU paying property taxes for school, but also about school paid by OTHERS that allow people to be educated enough not to shoot themselves on the streets for food.

Stop looking at yourself and learn to appreciate what is a COLLECTIVITY.

If we applied your ideas, we would be back to the Darkest Ages.

rckymtn

Submitted by murphy on July 17, 2012 - 3:24pm.

Very timely,

Yesterday I was going through a book of old letters I kept from my now deceased boss. He wrote on November 9th 1992 just after the presidential election.

My wife is a staunch repub and she told me, "now you are going to have trouble with Clinton's election. Our business has been good and now it will change for the worse". His reply:

George Bush didn't come to our sales meetings, he didn't design the product. He didn't price it competitively.He didn't sell the product. He didn't okay any of the credit approvals when the banks turned the customers down and we carried them on our books.

I don't think Bill Clinton will either.

If you give them the right product at the right price they will buy it as long as we are not in a depression.

Unfortunately, Rickards and I both think we are and have been in a depression since 2007.

@billwilson re business not yours

Submitted by TJeffson on July 17, 2012 - 3:32pm.

"And if that was his intended meaning, he is correct. If you did not roads to take your product to market, or schools to educate employees, or parents to raise kids, or electricity being invented, or a banking system, or the internet, it is pretty tough to build a business .... We live in a society that benefits from the efforts and contributions of many. To ignore these and say you did everything totally on your own is pretty darn selfish, wrong, and ignorant."

I have to say this is incorrect. Roads were around before govt. Businesses would collaborate to get roads, bridges, rails, etc built so they could get their products to market efficiently. Same goes for education, people pay to have their kids educated. The problem is the Govt has stepped in and created monopolies in all those areas thus requiring we all pay more and more taxes. If there was no public education system, there would be private schools all could afford (because we wouldn't be paying property taxes etc). If there wasn't a monopoly on roads, businesses would pay for them to be built, it's in their own best interest. (one caveat is the gas tax, it's one tax I will agree with because it's intended use is to upkeep the roads as we use them).

The Private sector will invent things, build things and educate people in the absence of govt because it's for the good of everyone and everyone realizes it. The problem is that govt is always getting in the way. The whole argument that govt provides things that help your business is a misnomer because govt does it by force via taxes when the private sector would do it via investment.

@balz

Submitted by heyJoe on July 17, 2012 - 3:47pm.

You are a useful idiot of progressivism.

That is all!

@Bohemian

Submitted by Dagney Taggart on July 17, 2012 - 3:51pm.

Glad that you are aware of the big picture, know your recourse, and your branch has defied it's executives' mentality.

Infrastructure

Submitted by OrangeAlert on July 17, 2012 - 3:54pm.

The great Keynesian argument for spending more money without having to look at a cost/benefit analysis. Because why do you need to be able to justify and make money on a project when all you have to do is print and spend to make the economy look better?

I would classify all of this talk about how many people paid previously for infrastructure as a sunk cost. We can't get it back. It's already been paid and has no bearing on the future costs of any new project. Whether I start a business is dependent on my personal cost/benefit analysis and the risk I am willing to take to start that business. If there is no infrastructure, the business has to pay for that infrastructure to make the business succeed.

When a builder goes to build a new subdivision, and put in new roads and water and sewer, do you think the gov't pays for that? Hell no, the builder does. When you want to hook up a well and septic home to the public water system, does the gov't pay for that. Hell no, you do. If you don't have sidewalks on your street, does the gov't pay for that, no. So where is it that the gov't actually is looking at the benefit of all like these people are claiming?

So I'm not really sure where all of this new argument about how previous people gave helping hands to lead to any new business came from. Sounds like a bunch of BS to me. But those that want to believe it, go right ahead, but I don't see the logical link, or the observable reality. At best, I could see a claim that there are productivity increases, which could save money, lives, etc.

If someone can show me some cost/benefit analysis on these infrastructure projects that the gov't does and where it pays off, I may consider changing my opinion.

@murphy

Submitted by Dagney Taggart on July 17, 2012 - 4:00pm.

Sounds like political parties are something people embrace when they don't understand business.

@balz

Submitted by Dagney Taggart on July 17, 2012 - 4:05pm.

I hope the "collectivity" you are referring to is when prosperous merchants get together to design a more efficient system that they can take advantage of and they will pay for at no cost to the public and will let the public use at no or minimal charge after their needs are met, not when the unproductive get together and vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.

@rekymtn

Submitted by Keg on July 17, 2012 - 4:05pm.

I with you. How about the times I had to borrow money from the bank to make payroll and could not pay myself. I pay to city, county, state and feds. Privilege licenses, sales taxes, property taxes, franchise tax, income tax, payroll taxes. All I have seen is hands out to collect money, there were no hands up.

Off Topic

Submitted by Mariposa de Oro on July 17, 2012 - 4:12pm.

My slowly awaking sister sent me this link. I've never heard of this man before but he makes some interesting comments about technology. I think he's on to something. That said, this community would never have come about without technology but were it not for technology, would there even have been a need for it?

http://www.johnzerzan.net/

Man, it stinks..

Submitted by Big Buffalo on July 17, 2012 - 4:13pm.

peeehewi

@Keg

Submitted by TJeffson on July 17, 2012 - 4:18pm.

"All I have seen is hands out to collect money, there were no hands up."

Well, your hands were up, as they robbed you blind of all your hard earned income.....

Last comment, then I'm done

Submitted by OrangeAlert on July 17, 2012 - 4:21pm.

Last comment, then I'm done with this. Not directly at balz, just the thoughts, as this is not the first time I've heard a comment just like this before.

"It's not about YOU paying property taxes for school, but also about school paid by OTHERS that allow people to be educated enough not to shoot themselves on the streets for food."

Oh, you mean the forced taxes paid for those that don't actually benefit from the taxes they are forced to pay? Now there's care that those forced taxes have to mean something for those people? Those people weren't thought of when they were forced to pay the taxes at the beginning, why care now?

And if they don't pay the taxes, then people will just go around shooting themselves (or others) for food?

Really? Do those that make arguments like this really, truly believe that? Suicide or murder is what people will do if not educated and given free food? I would think the logical response would be work hard to get a job, go to a shelter, or find those that would help. That's what most of the unemployed are doing now, right?

The circular logic just baffles me.

Straight down from 1:35.. USD down too.

Submitted by Groaner on July 17, 2012 - 4:23pm.

They will never stop messing with the metals until they are all in jail.. which is when hell freezes over.

Really?

Submitted by billwilson on July 17, 2012 - 4:24pm.

I think you have never lived in a country with very little government, or cooperative spirit. I have. Often it is hard to breathe the air, the water is unfit to drink, the roads suck, a good education is only available to the well off, and often most houses have bars on the windows and the biggest form of employment seems to be security guards. The rich stay rich, but they also stay gated into specific areas ... cause otherwise they would get robbed/killed.

I will take a progressive, well run government over private sector mayhem ANYDAY. And I am willing to pay higher taxes to get it.

A small example. In the US various school boards have varying degrees of money to spend on education. As a result you get a very wide variety in the quality of education for district to district. Eventually this feeds into wider and wider income inequality as the quality of education in early years has a huge impact on later employability. Up in socialist Canada (Ontario as an example) property taxes are now collected at the provincial level and distributed according to the number of students (with some adjustments for ESL needs etc). This basically ensures that each student is funded equally. While not perfect you have a much better chance at a more consistent education that is not dependent upon which zipcode you were born into. Perhaps as a result you will find less income inequality in Canada and less violent crime and fewer bars on windows. In addition from talking to people in post secondary education on both sides of the border the conclusion seems consistent. The best US universities are the best around (fantastic), but the average quality of a US university/college is quite horrible. In contrast in Canada you won't find the same discrepancy. The best may not be as good as the US best, but on average you will get a far better education at a Canadian school, and for a lot less $$$.

Ugly Tuesday

Submitted by Beastly Stack on July 17, 2012 - 4:28pm.

That was a great rejection off the lows today but a quiet smash down here late in the day.

The dollar looks uglier by the day and oil is on a tear but here we are stuck with this game.

Pisses me off,all the energy I waste.But I feel it will be well worth it,sooner than lately.

Days like this are why Turd needed a break!

Hope you really are relaxing and not watching this crap!

Ugly Tuesday

Submitted by Beastly Stack on July 17, 2012 - 4:28pm.

That was a great rejection off the lows today but a quiet smash down here late in the day.

The dollar looks uglier by the day and oil is on a tear but here we are stuck with this game.

Pisses me off,all the energy I waste.But I feel it will be well worth it,sooner than lately.

Days like this are why Turd needed a break!

Hope you really are relaxing and not watching this crap!

TOTUS VS. MITT

Submitted by Dolomite on July 17, 2012 - 4:41pm.

Dolomite might be late to the party but I did bring more booze and bacon

As a true reflection of his narcissism, I suspect the "you didn't do it on your own" epiphany from TOTUS was directed squarely at Mittens.

Btw good to see xty milling about again.

"I think you have never lived

Submitted by OrangeAlert on July 17, 2012 - 4:42pm.

"I think you have never lived in a country with very little government, or cooperative spirit. I have. Often it is hard to breathe the air, the water is unfit to drink, the roads suck, a good education is only available to the well off, and often most houses have bars on the windows and the biggest form of employment seems to be security guards. The rich stay rich, but they also stay gated into specific areas ... cause otherwise they would get robbed/killed."

I think you have nailed it. The rich (those that bring money into those countries) do have it better. They have the better education, water, roads, and protection because they pay for it themselves. If they didn't, they would get robbed or killed. I agree 100%.

So the solution is to have the gov't rob them through taxes, to give to those that would have robbed or killed them to get their stuff anyhow. Only this way, nobody has to get killed. The gov't facilitates as the perfect middleman, and gets to skim off the top for themselves. Sounds about right. You have perfectly described our current crony capitalist system which is crap.

+100 hat tips to you sir.