Comments on Tom Szabo's articles RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/author/tom-szabo/articles http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-317869 317869 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:42:05 -0500 Big desperate finacial players short a major amount (40%) of the SLV counting on market manipulation for big gain, manipulation fails, short term silver moves from $10 to $11. SLV figures $1 gain on every ounce shorted but the finacial institution(s) go bankrupt leaving each share short 40% of its silver and worth .59 oz.of silver.
Could this happen? I own SLV/GLD]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-237340 237340 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:51:57 -0400
When "secmaven" approves of what he says, I consider it a valid piece worth re-reading. Thanks to both of you.

Dave]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-236780 236780 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:19:11 -0400
The splitting of SLV shares makes it unnecessary for naked shorting of shares in order to build up a basket size for redemption. Think of it this way: before, 50,000 shares representing 500,000 oz. of silver were issued in each batch or basket. It could take days for a single Authorized Participant (AP) to sell these shares, especially since there are multiple APs out there not to mention funds that try to lead them. That put them at risk of not only earning the arbitrage profit but actually taking a loss on the trade. So what the APs did was sell shares ahead of time which allowed them to lock in a price and acquire an equivalent amount of silver with no further hedging required, and then once they had sold 50,000 shares they could deliver the silver to the Trust and the shares to the buyers. Of course, if this was not done in T+3 and the shares were not borrowed (it can be difficult if not impossible to borrow ETF shares), then the AP had a fail to delivery. If this persisted for more than a few days, the failed trades would show up on the Reg SHO report. Note the AP is not actually naked short because it has been incrementally acquiring silver as it sells the shares. In any case, reduction of the basket size from 500,000 oz. to 50,000 oz. allows the AP to avoid this altogether because it can transact in smaller quantities and more often. One other thing that I did not mention in the article but is important to consider is that the basket size reduction is probably reflective of a re-assessment by Barclays about the liquidity of the physical silver market itself. In other words, whatever liquidity that the physical silver market had in their view when they launched SLV in early 2006, that liquidity has gotten more viscous.

Regarding Ted Butler, trust me he knows who I am as he or his associates are usually among the first to read the comments on my website.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-236720 236720 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:58:07 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-236705 236705 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:37:37 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-236588 236588 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:32:20 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-236506 236506 Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:12:55 -0400
Will someone please educate me on the meaning and significance of this phrase. Thx in advance for your assistance.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-235494 235494 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:57:41 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/91974-on-slv-s-10-for-1-split-it-s-all-about-liquidity?source=feed#comment-235468 235468 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:42:04 -0400 Since this has not (yet) happened, I wonder if the trust actually holds and real silver. Perhaps it will turn out a bogus investment and it will be "ENRON" all over again.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/90281-will-the-georgia-conflict-affect-gold-and-silver-prices?source=feed#comment-228880 228880 Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:12:13 -0400