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Guest Post: Beware The Ides Of March

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/17/2012

Submitted by Clive Hale from View From The Bridge

Beware The Ides Of March

In the past week we have seen the Banks of Japan and China join the queue for printing ink along with the Fed, the Bank of England, the ECB and the Swiss National Bank; many other minor central banks have either cut rates or are about to. Admittedly the Chinese have not actually cranked up the Hewlett Packards but PBOC Governor Zhou said that “China will continue to invest in EU countries’ government bonds, and will continue, via possible channels, including the IMF, the EFSF and the ESM, to be involved in resolving the euro-zone crisis”.

He added that he hopes Europe can offer “more attractive investment products”. I wonder what he has in mind. With the support he can muster Greek 2 year bonds on a 200% yield should do the trick surely…

It is abundantly clear that this concert party of central banks (not the collective noun I would normally use…) will do everything it can to keep the global financial system afloat when the inevitable happens in Greece. The ECB are about to go with LTRO 2 which should provide another €½ trillion to Europe’s beleaguered banks. Even the “mighty” HSBC is rumoured to be in the queue; not because they need it, but because it’s a ridiculously cheap form of finance that they can make a turn on and/or support their activities in the gold market…

LTRO is the acronym for Long Term Refinancing Operation. The cash they are providing is for a three year term. Since when did three years become “long term”? This must be the finest example of can kicking yet. Put the banking industry on life support whilst we try and contain the Greek fall out and leave off worrying about the consequences for a year or three!

Although we are being fed a stream of positive economic news, mainly from the US (where it is election year don’t forget…) there is a notable air of caution around and the main factor in the rise of equities so far this year has been the blizzard of cheap cash. What is intriguing is that in large corporate world, earnings are on the up (the new lean and mean machine) which is adding to their own cash piles, but they can’t find anything to spend it on. With the S&P having doubled since 2009 and being not that far short of its all time high that should hardly come as a surprise.

Apple, everyone’s favourite (is there a hedge fund out there that isn’t long?), succumbed to a bout of Newtonian gravity on Wednesday; again not unexpected given the euphoria post the iPhone 4S launch. We may yet see higher prices in equities as the printing presses continue to roll, but as the final act of the Greek farce plays out, it would be wise not to ignore the words of the Bard of Avon to “Beware the Ides of March”.

Read More @ SilverSeek.com

February 16th, 2012

NYSE Volume Signals Investor Disinterest

from WealthCycles:

Fewer and fewer investors are participating in the stock market after $395 billion more dollars have left equity mutual funds than have gone in (below) since the summer of 2008 to the present (data source: ICI).

NYSE volume hit a new low on Monday, the least amount of shares traded on any day in over 10 years, excluding holidays. Trade volume beginning the week was almost 16.9% below the 2012 average, which is dismal in and of itself. Trading activity denotes interest: if no one is interested there ceases to be a market.

Below shows a long-term decline in volume (millions of shares) from 2005 onward to the beginning of this week, which is marked in red. This trend of withdrawals has continued, despite the equity market rising in nominal value for over 2-½ years.

Sprott's John Embry:“The Current Financial System Will Be Totally Destroyed“

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/16/2012 17:22 -0500

Sprott strategist John Embry has never been a fan of the existing financial system. Today, he makes that once again quite clear in this interview with Egon von Grayerz' Matterhorn Asset Management in which he says: "I think that the current financial system, as we know it, will be totally destroyed, probably sooner rather than later. The next system will require gold backing to have any legitimacy. This has happened many times in history." Needless to say, he proceeds to explain why a monetary system based on gold, one in which one, gasp, lives according to one's means, is better. Logically, he also explains why the status quo, whose insolvent welfare world has nearly a third of a quadrillion in the form of unfunded future liabilities, will never let this happen. Much more inside.

From Matterhorn Asset Management

“The Current Financial System Will Be Totally Destroyed“

John Embry, the chief investment strategist at Sprott Asset Management, talks in this exclusive interview about the motives and the means of certain interests to prevent a free gold market; tells the reason why the gold price will remain high; shows the opportunities in silver; and explains: “Gold is about the furthest thing from a bubble that I can think of.“

By Lars Schall

An industry expert in precious metals, his experience as a portfolio management specialist spans more than 45 years: John Embry, the chief investment strategist at Sprott Asset Management. He began his investment career as a Stock Selection Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Great West Life. Mr. Embry then became a Vice President of Pension Investments for the entire firm. After 23 years with the firm, he became a Partner at United Bond and Share, the investment counseling firm acquired by Royal Bank in 1987. Afterwards he was named Vice-President, Equities and Portfolio Manager at RBC Global Investment Management, a $33 billion organization where he oversaw $5 billion in assets, including the Royal Canadian Equity Fund and the Royal Precious Metals Fund. In March 2003 Mr. Embry joined Sprott Asset Management with focus on the Sprott Gold and Precious Minerals Fund and the Sprott Strategic Offshore Gold Fund Ltd. He plays an instrumental role in the corporate and investment policy of the firm.

Mr. Embry, the perhaps best report I have ever read on the gold market was “Not Free, Not Fair: The Long-Term Manipulation of the Gold Price,” written by Andrew Hepburn and you. (1) I would like to talk with you at the beginning about the findings of that report. First of all, why do you think it is relevant whether the gold price is free or not?

John Embry: Thank you for the very generous compliment. It is essential that the gold market be free. It functions as the so called “canary in the coal mine” and its price should be allowed to reflect excesses in a pure fiat monetary system. The continued suppression of the gold price was a key factor in the many financial bubbles which have essentially wrecked the monetary system as we know it.

What has the evidence been that the gold market isn’t a free market?

John Embry: Our report which was written 7 ½ years ago revealed all sorts of chicanery in the gold market and we only used evidence which could be corroborated. Considerable additional evidence has piled up subsequently but two smoking guns are the repetitive counter intuitive price action and evidence of widespread clandestine leasing of western central bank gold.

Who are the ones that don’t like a free gold market and which objectives do they have in mind by preventing a free gold market?

John Embry: The western governments, their central banks and the allied bullion banks are the culprits. They view gold as a mortal enemy of the fiat currency system. Gold has been real money for centuries and every paper money system in history has ultimately collapsed. This drives them to continuously denigrate and manipulate gold.

Through which tools is the gold price “managed“?

John Embry: The worst damage occurs in the so-called paper gold market where derivatives, naked shorting, vicious margin hikes, etc. are employed to fleece the long side who don’t have as deep pockets. In addition, the western central banks have supplied the physical gold necessary to effect the plan through their leasing.

Recently, I was told by a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Paul A. Volcker, that to his best knowledge “the U.S. has not intervened in the gold market for more than 40 years.“ (2) Do you think Mr. Volcker has the truth on his side?

John Embry: Mr. Volcker admitted that the U.S. had made a mistake by not intervening at one point in the gold market some 40 years, so to think that nothing has happened subsequently is extremely naïve. Technically he might be correct in the sense that swaps could have been employed and the intervention using U.S. gold could have been conducted by another party. Recently retired Fed Governor Kevin Warsh acknowledged U.S. gold swaps in correspondence with GATA just last year. (3)

Furthermore, Mr. Volcker seemed to suggest that central banks have some interest in the price of gold because of its effect on the currency markets. (4) What kind of relationship does exist between gold and the currency markets which are much bigger than the gold market?

John Embry: Very simple. Gold is a currency. Arguably it is the ultimate currency and the central bankers are acutely aware of this fact. Gold’s role as currency is once again coming to the fore and the central bankers hate that fact.

Are gold swap arrangements between central banks a) important for the “management“ of the gold price, and b) do they represent a means of intervention in the gold market?

John Embry: They are most certainly important because it allows central bankers to technically tell the truth because it is always another central bank that is utilizing the swapped gold to intervene in the market. It is a subterfuge.

Do you think the Western central banks have as much gold as they claim they have?

John Embry: I strongly suspect that they have materially less than they try to represent. The IMF permits a one line entry on their balance sheets which aggregates physical gold with gold receivables. That’s ridiculous and it is done to deceive analysts. For example, if the Americans had the 8,161 tonnes that they say they have, they would be delighted to submit to an outside audit and shut their detractors up. However, they stonewall all requests.

With its “QE to infinity“ program: would you say the Fed has exposed itself in a way as a hardcore goldbug entity?

John Embry: I believe they are fully aware of the extent to which they are debasing their money. We, the public, have to be the hardcore gold bugs to protect our wealth from their depredations.

It seems as if more and more gold is moving towards certain central banks and not away from them. Is this a solid assurance that the gold price will remain high?

John Embry: I believe so. The eastern central banks (China, Russia, et al) have accumulated a lot of dollars and realize they are at risk. Ergo, they buy gold. At the same time, I think the western central banks have run their inventories down to levels beyond which they won’t go. Thus, I think central banks collective gold buying will have a salutary impact on the price going forward.

In the event of another market meltdown, which seems rather likely, do you expect a sell-off in gold?

John Embry: There could be a minor sell-off just because there are so many algorhythyms influencing the market. It would be short lived because big money in the world now knows they need gold for protection.

Gold is in a bull market for ten years now. So an increasing number of people say it is in a bubble. Why would you say, in Gershwin’s words, “it ain’t necessarily so“?

John Embry: Gold’s price is directly related to the constant debasement of the currencies in which it is denominated. The creation of new paper money is dwarfing the amount of gold available. Gold is about the furthest thing from a bubble that I can think of.

What do you think in particular about Warren Buffett’s constant “Gold is in a bubble, I go for stocks“ talk? Does he serve here as an influential opinion maker in a specific role because he gets a lot of public attention? In other words: is he a fool or does he only act like a fool? (5)

John Embry: Warren Buffet sold out a long time ago. It’s too bad because he was a great stock picker once. Now he owns insurance companies, Wells Fargo and was a buyer of Goldman Sachs and G.E. in the global financial crisis. He is a member of the American establishment and has a lot to lose. He should have listened to his father Howard Buffett who was a U.S. Congressman and a true “hard money” advocate.

In your view, gold will gain in importance as a monetary asset in the years ahead, likely regaining an official role in the world’s financial system. Why do you think so?

John Embry: I think that the current financial system, as we know it, will be totally destroyed, probably sooner rather than later. The next system will require gold backing to have any legitimacy. This has happened many times in history.

The mining stocks both in gold and silver seem to me extremely undervalued. Do you agree?

John Embry: They are indeed, and they are being heavily manipulated by the same entities active in suppressing the gold price. In addition, many nefarious hedge funds now are active on the short side. The U.S. financial scene has become a total cesspool.

Are there key levels in the XAU and HUI that one should pay attention to as starting points of a mining stock rally?

John Embry: I tend to pay more attention to the HUI because it is the pure gold index. When the HUI takes out the 555 level with gusto, I think we are away to the races. However, this level is being aggressively defended by the bad guys. A higher gold price (through $2000 per oz.) will rectify this issue.

Why are you at Sprott Asset MGMT so very bullish related to silver?

John Embry: We think the supply-demand equation is ultimately better than even that of gold. New industrial and medical uses are exploding and because silver is “poor man’s gold,” investment demand for silver will go crazy when gold gets priced out of the average citizen’s capacity to buy. Given the small size of the market and very limited inventory, the price should go ballistic.

For your physical silver ETF you want to re-acquire physical silver in a big way. Do you think you could be pioneers (for other fund managers) in direct engagement with mines through direct and forward transactions, instead of going to the Comex? You certainly don’t want to “whoop” the silver price by your own buying, correct?

John Embry: I think that is a potential avenue particularly when the supply-demand equation gets progressively tighter in the future.

Is the silver market also subject of surreptitious interventions?

John Embry: Without question. In many ways it may be worse because it is a smaller market and J.P. Morgan Chase’s activities have been egregious. The fact that the CFTC has been investigating this for nearly four years without resolution is one of the great jokes of all time.

What is your information: to which extent the US silver ETFs are short and how many stocks of those have been used for covering future short contracts?

John Embry: I believe that they are but I can’t provide any information on the extent. When the very same organizations that have manipulated the market for years act as custodians for the ETF’s, it would be wise to be wary.

One highly interesting issue for me personally is the point in time when the Middle East countries will no longer sell their oil and natural gas for paper money. When do you think they will be paid for it with precious metals?

John Embry: I suspect this whole phenomenon could occur very quickly. When confidence in paper money is lost and I think we are rapidly approaching that moment, something like that would undoubtedly come to pass.

How do you think about the conflict around Iran viewed from a perspective of the petrodollar?

John Embry: The whole Iranian issue is very disturbing and I think the U.S ‘s motives might have more to do with the petrodollar than Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

One final question. IF the financial system goes under, one can expect massive supply shortfalls and disruptions in goods and services, particularly in the energy sector. Would you recommend to our readers to take precautions for such a scenario instead of hoping for the best outcome of the global financial crisis?

John Embry: Unfortunately yes. I am a great believer in cognitive dissonance. Most individuals don’t want to face the truth, particularly if it is very unpleasant. Those that do not suffer from this condition should take precautions because the world situation is presently very dangerous.

Thank you very much for taking your time, Mr. Embry!

SOURCES:

(1) John Embry / Andrew Hepburn: “Not Free, Not Fair: The Long-Term Manipulation of the Gold Price”, published by Sprott Asset Management in August 2004 under:

http://www.sprott.com/Docs/SpecialReports/08_2004_NotFreeNotFair.pdf.

(2) See Rob Kirby: “Manifest Destiny Derailed: Treason from Within“, published at Goldseek on January 31, 2012 under:

http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1328037291.php.

(3) Compare http://www.gata.org/files/GATAFedResponse-09-17-2009.pdf.

The relevant passage of Mr. Warsh’s letter to GATA said:

“In connection with your appeal, I have confirmed that the information withheld under Exemption 4? — that’s Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act — “consists of confidential commercial or financial information relating to the operations of the Federal Reserve Banks that was obtained within the meaning of Exemption 4. This includes information relating to swap arrangements with foreign banks on behalf of the Federal Reserve System and is not the type of information that is customarily disclosed to the public. This information was properly withheld from you.”

(4) See Rob Kirby: “Manifest Destiny Derailed: Treason from Within,“ Footnote 2.

(5) Compare for example in this context what Marshall Auerback has said in an interview about the supression of the silver price:

“It’s in contrast to the gold suppression, which is a central-bank orchestrated scheme. You’ve got a situation now where it seems to be being done amongst the banking community, but I have no doubt that it has being done with official encouragement, explicit or implicit. To give you an example, 10 years ago Warren Buffet bought a silver position, and he liquidated it a few months later. The story I heard from one of his dealers was that he basically told them, “Boys, it’s not politically correct to speculate in silver.” Now who told him that I don’t actually know; I suspect it came from government sources. More interesting to me is that he had had a significant position, and it was liquidated with a great degree of ease with a loss at time when it wasn’t easy to do. This suggests that there was an external agency involved. I have no doubt that there is some degree of government involvement as well, but the primary agents are the investment banks, the commercial banks here.”

See: http://resourceclips.com/2011/04/05/marshall-auerback-on-silver/.

Pardon The Interruption, "Debt Crisis To Resume Shortly" Says Deutsche Bank

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/16/2012

While many will point to the drop in front-end Italian bond yields as proof positive that all is well in the still-peripheral nation, we note that today saw 10Y Italian bond (BTP) spreads crack back above 400bps for the first time in 3 weeks and nervously remind readers of the stock market reaction in Eastman Kodak a week or two before its death.

Of course, Italy is perhaps not quite as imminently terminal as EK was (thanks to the ECB reacharound) but the excitement about BTP's 'optical' improvement will be starting to fade as banks are underperforming dramatically, we have exposed the sad reality of the LTRO, and now even the short-dated BTP yields are now over 40bps off their tights from last week. Why?

Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid may have the answer that Italy has now been in recession four times in the last decade and while hope is high that the new austere budget will take the nation to debt sustainability, he notes that the cumulative forecast miss since 2003 on GDP estimates is approaching an incredible 20%.

As Reid notes, "When debt sustainability arguments are finely balanced and very dependent on future growth the question we'd ask is how confident can we be that economists’ forecasts are correct that Italy will pull itself out of the perpetual weak and disappointing growth cycle seen over the last decade or so."

As we (ZH) have been vociferously noting, LTRO did nothing but solve a very short-term liquidity crisis in bank funding, and the reality of insolvent sovereign and now more encumbered-bank balance sheets is starting the vicious circles up again. Deutsche's base case remains that peripheral growth will disappoint and the sovereign crisis will re-emerge shortly - we tend to agree.

Feb. 16, 2012, 9:13 a.m. EST

Bernanke defends low rates to community bankers

By Ronald D. Orol, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday told community bankers that he recognizes that the central bank’s low interest rates hurts their profitability, but he added that the policy is necessary to drive the economic recovery.

“A common complaint on the part of some community bankers is that very low interest rates hurt their profitability by squeezing net interest margins,” Bernanke told community bankers at a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. conference in Arlington, Va. “It is necessary to set the negative effects on net interest margins against the positive effects of a strengthening economic and lending environment.”

The central bank chairman also acknowledged concerns among small bankers that the Fed’s examiners have been too tough, hurting their ability to lend.

• Sign up for breaking-news alerts by email “In particular, we recognize that new regulations and supervisory requirements may impose disproportionate costs on community banks, which have smaller staffs and less-elaborate information systems than larger banking organizations,” he said.

However, Bernanke argued that Fed supervisors must insist on high standards for lending, management and governance as a means of protecting banks from a “race to the bottom” and the creation of more problems down the road. Banks can make multiple appeals of supervisory decisions, he added.

Bernanke added that despite some recent signs of improvement, the recovery has been frustratingly slow, constraining opportunities for profitable lending. He said small banks must manage concentration risk that comes from too much specialization in a particular category of lending.

Finally, the central bank chairman argued that community banks close ties to local economies is a source of strength, but it also has its drawbacks as an institution can be overly exposed to a local economy.

”The fortunes of communities and their banks tend to rise and fall together‘ he said.

Community banks must also manage concentration risks arising from their specialization in certain categories of lending

The comments come after Bernanke on Friday made a renewed push for programs to convert foreclosed homes into rental units to help revive the housing market. Read about how Bernanke renews push for foreclosed rentals

On Friday he also suggested programs to create so-called “land banks,” which have the ability to purchase and sell real estate. He said these land banks could buy and rehabilitate foreclosed homes and convert them into rentals. He added that land banks are a “promising” option but the few that exist lack the resources to keep pace with the number of low-value U.S. properties.

In that speech, the central bank chairman reiterated his concerns about so-called “underwater” homeowners who are current on their mortgages, but because they have little or no equity in their homes, they cannot refinance to current low interest rates.

Italy enters technical recession in Q4 2011

 -Italian GDP contracted 0.7% in Q4 2011…

-a trend signalled in advance by PMI data for the final 3 months of last year

-Recession likely to continue in early 2012

-Italy’s economy shrank at a quarterly rate of 0.7% in the final quarter of last year, according to the official flash estimate.

The decline in gross domestic product (GDP) was stronger than expected (consensus according to a poll conducted by Reuters was for a 0.5% decrease), and sharper than the unrevised 0.2% decline recorded for the three months to September 2011.

In addition, Italian GDP for Q4 2011 was 0.5% lower compared with Q4 2010, and grew just 0.4% over the year as a whole.

Official data followed the trend indicated in advance by the Markit/ADACI Composite PMI (measuring the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors) which pointed to an accelerated contraction of the economy in the final quarter of 2011. January PMI data have since shown further decreases in goods production and services activity and, although rates of decline were slower than Q4 averages in both cases, the Composite PMI Output Index remains at a level consistent with a further quarter-on-quarter contraction of the economy in the first three months of 2012.

PMI data covering the construction and retail sectors in Italy have meanwhile shown faster contractions in activity at the start of the year, further strengthening the prospects of an extended period of recession..............................................

.....Moody's warns may downgrade 17 global banks, securities firms

Reuters – 3 hours ago

....By Ian Chua and Soyoung Kim

(Reuters) - Moody's warned on Thursday it may cut the credit ratings of 17 global and 114 European financial institutions in another sign the impact of the euro zone government debt crisis is spreading throughout the global financial system.

It was reviewing the long-term ratings and standalone credit assessments of a range of banks, Moody's added. Markets were unaffected by the Moody's announcement.

"Capital markets firms are confronting evolving challenges, such as more fragile funding conditions, wider credit spreads, increased regulatory burdens and more difficult operating conditions," the ratings agency said in a statement.

It said among 17 banks and securities firms with global capital markets operations, it might cut the long-term credit rating of UBS, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley by as much as three notches following the review. It said the guidance was indicative.

Among the banks that might be downgraded by two notches are Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Holdings, and Goldman Sachs.

Bank of America and Nomura were included in those that might be downgraded by one notch...........................................

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/moodys-may-downgrade-17-banks-003723628.html

Kyle Bass has remained generally bearish amid mounting concern driven by government deficits.

He told overseers of Texas’sstate university endowment on Feb. 2 that “as every day goes by, I see deflation in the things you own and inflation in the things you need.”

Iran Cuts Oil Exports To 6 EU Countries

Joe Weisenthal and Robert Johnson 

Another interesting Iran development.It has just cut oil exports to six EU countries. They are The Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, Italy, France, and Spain, according to FT.

Also according to the FARS news agency (via Bloomberg) envoys to several of these countries have been brought home.

European sales account for only 18 percent of Iran's total oil revenue and it has insisted the new sanctions would have minimal effect on the local economy.

The move comes days after Iranian oil minister Rostam Qassemi announced his country would cut of oil export to "hostile" European countrie

http://www.businessinsider.com/iran-cuts-oil-exports-to-6-eu-countries-envoys-summoned-home-2012-2#ixzz1mXeeplXM

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 4:09 PM

Ceridian Fuel Index Down 1.7% from December, Down 2.2% from Year Ago; Delay in Trucking Activity or Global Trade Slowdown?

In a video, Ed Leamer, Chief PCI® economist hypothesizes "delay in trucking activity".

Chief PCI® economist, Ed Leamer, explains the disappointing month-over-month and year-over-year numbers for the January PCI in the face of other indicators that suggest that the economy is turning around. In this month’s report, Ed explores several hypotheses for the disconnect and concludes that trucking activity is delayed, expecting to see a surge in the coming months.

Ceridian Index vs. Industrial Production

Ceridian Index vs. GDP

Ceridian Index vs. Retail Sales, Inventory, Industrial Production

Year-Over-Year Diesel Sales

For more charts and commentary please see Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index®

Global Trade Slowdown

I do not buy the economy is turning around and the falloff in diesel demand represents "trucking delayed" any more than I believe the overall plunge in petroleum is "driving delayed".

Instead I propose something far more serious has started - a global trade slowdown. For details, please see

Petroleum 3-Month Rolling Average Turns Sharply Lower; Negative Shipping Rates; Collapse in Global Trade

Mike "Mish" Shedlock

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Chris Whalen: JPM and the Banks Have the MF Global Money And the Status Quo Is Protecting Them

"But please, to our friends in the Big Media, could we stop saying that we don't know the location of the missing $1.6 billion of client funds from MF Global? The money is safe and sound at JPM and other counterparties. As with Goldman Sachs et al and American International Group, the banks have been bailed out at the cost of somebody else. And the various agencies of the federal government are complicit in the fraud...

The effort by former New Jersey governor and MF Global CEO Jon Corzine to save his firm by stealing customer funds seems to warrant further discussion, yet instead we have silence...

So why is it that the Large Media have such trouble reporting this story? The fact seems to be that the political powers that be in Washington are protecting JPM CEO Jamie Dimon from a possible career ending kind of stumble with respect to MF Global."

Chris Whalen, Institutional Risk Analyst

Chris Whalen at The Institutional Risk Analyst lays out the entire MF Global scandal in a few plain words, taking the Wall Street demimonde to task in the process.

It is nice to see that someone who occasionally appears on the mainstream media can tell the truth on this. Usually one has to look for sources overseas, small cafes, and the occasional economic maverick to hear what really happened.

But in quiet whispers, the Street knows the truth, that the money was stolen, not once but twice.   And even these hard cases are shocked.  The first time by MF Global and from the very top, and then afterwards in the courts and the regulatory bodies that used the bankruptcy to take the funds from the customers and give them to the creditors.

And it does stink to high heaven. But the clean up men are giving the evidence a thorough scrubbing while justice waits, Chicago-style.

It has placed a chill on those trading in the US markets. Even they are frightened of such lawlessness. They can't help but wonder, who's next?   And how far will they go?

Please distribute this as widely as possible.

"Where is the lost customer money? At JP Morgan Chase and other banks, or course. See, "How JP Morgan and George Soros Ended Up with MF Global Customer Money", www.clearingandsettlement.com.

So why is it that the Large Media have such trouble reporting this story? The fact seems to be that the political powers that be in Washington are protecting JPM CEO Jamie Dimon from a possible career ending kind of stumble with respect to MF Global. By stuffing the commodity customers of the broker dealer via an equity bankruptcy resolution supervised dutifully by SIPIC, JPM and Soros apparently get to benefit at the expense of the commodity customers of MF Global. This situation stinks to high heaven and everyone on the Street we've spoken to about the matter knows it. As the article above notes:

"Rather than being treated as a bankruptcy of a commodities brokerage firm under sub-chapter IV of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy law, MF Global was treated as an equities firm (sub-chapter III) for the purposes of its bankruptcy, and this is why the MF Global customer money in so-called segregated accounts "disappeared".The effort by former New Jersey governor and MF Global CEO Jon Corzine to save his firm by stealing customer funds seems to warrant further discussion, yet instead we have silence.

Here's a question: When is Corzine going to be indicted for securities fraud and other high crimes and misdemenors? The answer seemingly is that the Obama Justice Department is afraid to go there. Thus the fraud at MF Global continues and Washington does nothing to inconvenience the banksters as customer funds are expropriated.

But please, to our friends in the Big Media, could we stop saying that we don't know the location of the missing $1.6 billion of client funds from MF Global? The money is safe and sound at JPM and other counterparties. As with Goldman Sachs et al and American International Group, the banks have been bailed out at the cost of somebody else. And the various agencies of the federal government are complicit in the fraud."

Chris Whalen, The Institutional Risk Analyst

"But where says some is the king of America? I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter...that in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other."

Thomas Paine, Common Sense

"And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that."

Lord Acton

Tuesday, February 14, 20122:41 PM

Time For Some Honesty: No One Gives a Rat's Ass About Greece

It's high time for some honesty. No one cares about Greece, at least economically. Greece is a mere 2% of Eurozone GDP..

All this fantasyland talk of a disaster if Greece exits the euro is total nonsense. The world will not end when Greece defaults. Indeed, the world might breathe a sigh of relief.

So Why the Fear-Mongering?

That answer is easy. Bureaucrats have said for too long and in too many ways that "no one can leave the euro".

This is not about what is best for Greece. Is is about "face saving" of bureaucrats whose collective faces deserve to be dipped in mud if not indeed something far more smelly.

Rather than let Greece default gracefully, all the nanny-zone Eurocrats cling to false hopes, while Merkel blatantly lies about wanting to keep Greece in the nanny-zone.

It was in the best interest of Greece to not let them in the Eurozone in the first place. Then it was in the best interest of them to default 2 years ago, 1 year ago, and 6 months ago.

Instead, because Merkel does not want to take the blame for kicking Greece out of the Eurozone, we see all the extra impossible-to-meet demands that have Greek technocrats jumping through hoops backwards to meet.

It is a travesty of justice what Merkel, the technocrats, and the nanny-zone supporters have done to Greece.

If you are going to default anyway, and anyone with any common sense knew Greece would default, then the earlier the default the better. Both Greece and the eurozone would be better. off. But in the name of stubborn face-saving Greece was destroyed.

Portugal and Spain better pay attention because they are on deck for the same treatment. As soon as Germans have to pay up, patience with those countries will wear thin as well.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

kingworldnews.com - Today, 8:50 PM

Jim Sinclair - CB’s Trying to Keep Gold from Rising Violently

Jim Sinclair said to King World News:

"I am not a member of the school that believes central banks are trying to keep the price of gold from rising. Central banks are trying to keep the price from rising violently. Volatility is the key. Price is secondary to the volatility of the gold market as it challenges currency markets and creates an imperative to action.

"The attempts and activities of the central banks, in gold, is not by any matter of means to control price, as it is to control volatility. (This is being done so they don’t have to) unmask the mechanism of what is bringing to you a new monetary system. The mechanism is called liquidity. Gold is liquidity."

A Shift In European Sentiment - Is Germany Prepared To Let Greece Default?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/06/2012 07:28 -0500

Something quite notable has shifted in recent weeks in Europe, and it originates at the European paymaster - Germany. While in the past it was of utmost importance to define any Greek default as voluntary (if one even dared whisper about it), and that the money allocated to keep the Eurozone whole would be virtually limitless, this is no longer the case. In fact, reading between the headlines in the past week, it becomes increasingly obvious that Greece will very soon become a new Lehman, i.e., a case study where the leaders are overly confident they can predict the outcomes of letting a critical entity default, and manage the consequences. Alas, this only proves they have learned nothing from the Lehman case, and the aftermath is still not only unpredictable but uncontrollable. But that's a bridge that Europe will cross very shortly. And what is truly frightening is that this crossing may happen even before the next LTRO hits the banks' balance sheets, thus not affording Euro banks with sufficient capital to withstand the capital outflow and funds the unexpected. In the meantime, here is UBS summarizing the palpable change in European outlook over Greece, and over the entire "Firewall" protocol.

The German government seems uneasy about the firewall discussion. Some German media recently carried stories that a 'super rescue umbrella' would be agreed at the next summit on 1 March, amounting to €1.5 trillion, a number arrived at by adding up the €500bn of the ESM, the €440bn of the EFSF (though only about €250bn remain available) and the $500bn that managing director Lagarde has been seeking in additional financing for the IMF. There is a sense that trying to impress the market with a large number may once again backfire as analysts would quickly shoot down in any such attempt, for example by arguing that the IMF money would not actually be earmarked for the Eurozone, or more seriously maybe, that countries such as Spain and quite possibly France may come to be seen as unable to contribute ever more rescue funds. Instead, it is felt that the preferable option may be to point out that the ESM will be a much better designed and effective instrument than the EFSF, and that €500bn is enough for the problems at hand.

One gets the sense that the German government is not a priori unwilling to commit more financing to crisis management, but not now and only if it becomes clear that really the existing funds are insufficient. Also, there is a view that the government may at times have listened too much to advice from market sides, which then led to initial positions that subsequently needed to be revised. For example, bank recapitalisation was mentioned as something that ultimately seems to have done more harm than good and is now widely criticised for accelerating deleveraging. Also, the insistence that any Greek restructuring had to be 'voluntary' initially stemmed from fear of upsetting markets, but has now come to be criticised as having serious adverse implications such as undermining the sovereign CDS market. As a result, the German government may now be more inclined to stay firm on the firewall discussion and insist that €500bn for the ESM is sufficient for now.

While this step was inevitable from the beginning, what also was inevitable was the fact that leaders would be forced to exude confidence over what happens next. The truth is that they have no idea. Because if Paulson was proven 100% wrong in under 5 days following the Lehman default, when the money markets broke and the Fed has to literally force a bailout of the global financial system, what can one say about two bit second tier politicians from Europe, who have never even seen a DCF model?

Feb. 14, 2012, 5:18 a.m. EST

German Feb. ZEW index turns positive at 5.4

By William L. Watts

FRANKFURT -- A gauge of German investor sentiment rose more sharply than expected in February to post its first positive reading since May, the Mannheim-based Center for European Economic Research, or ZEW, reported Tuesday.

The ZEW expectations index rose to 5.4 from minus 21.6 in January.

Economists had forecast a February reading of minus 11.6. "From the perspective of the financial market experts, there is a good chance that the German economy will experience a slight uplift in the second half of 2012," said ZEW President Wolfgang Franz.

"Since consumers do not have to fear for their jobs due to the low unemployment rate, domestic demand will continue to support economic growth. Still, the solution of the crisis in the euro zone remains an important task," he said. The February index is based on a survey of 284 analysts