jaycey

Total Rating:
0 / 0

3 Comments

    • Tue Feb 5th 16:59 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      WSJ's One-Two Gold Punch
      Anybody interested in the gold market needs to read Sterling and Peggy Seagrave's <i>Gold Warriors</i>. Nobody knows how much gold there is in the world and there seems to be a lot of "black" gold floating around out there (and I don't mean oil). Here's a short exerpt:

      "Official records maintain that Asia, with more than 75% of the world's population, holds less than 5% of the total world supply of gold, a statistic that is ridiculous on the face of it. ... nobody really knows how much gold there is. We do not know how much was looted by Spain from the New World, because once it reached Europe most of it was passed on to the great European banking families, the Fuggers and Welsers, who had financed the conquest of Mexico and Peru. Whatever the Fuggers and the Welsers did with that gold they kept very secret. We also have no way of knowing the actual wealth of families like the Krupps, Rothschilds, Oppenheimers, Warburgs, or Rockefellers, except that they have been very rich for a very long time and their wealth is dispersed in a multitude of clever ways. A trillion dollars sounds like a lot, but economists tell us that today there is some $23-trillion in the hands of the well-heeled, much of it sleeping in offshore private accounts where banking secrecy and local laws keep these assets hidden from the tax-man, spouses, and clients. We know even less about the gold holdings of the great Asian and Middle Eastern dynastic families, trading networks, and underworld syndicates. Western tycoons may own banks and oil companies, and influence or control governments, but wealthy Asians never trusted governments or banks, preferring to keep their wealth in small gold or platinum bars, and gems. In China this absolute distrust goes back thousands of years. We can be sure that what was tucked under the rug in Asia over 2,000 years is far more than what has been deposited in U.S. and European banks since Western banking (and the gold market as we know it) came into existence barely three centuries ago. The U.S. Government refuses to disclose how much gold it holds, and the last public audit of Ft. Knox was in the early 1950's. In short, gold is one of the world's biggest secrets." [p 9-10]

      An excellent read and a real eye opener!
      View article »
    • Fri Nov 23rd 17:06 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Yen Carry Trade: Dire Threat or Poltergeist?
      Is there something somewhere on the net that explains in a schematic fashion just how Japan deals with these surpluses? It is my view that despite the fact that they've been running surpluses for decades the old saw that "Things that can't go on forever, don't go on forever" must eventually blow up the currency pressure cooker that is the yen.

      I've read a lot of "revisionist"... history about Japan and it seems to me that "smoke and mirrors" is a way of life for government officials over there. It also appears that deflationary policies are a deliberate means of dealing with a yen that wants to go up because of economic forces and foreign pressure while still maintaining their sacred surplus.

      Your thoughts? Links?
      View article »
    • Fri Nov 23rd 14:42 PM | Rating: 0 0
      Commented on:
      Charlie Munger's Lollapalooza Effect and This Credit Fiasco
      The cycle of financial scandal:

      After the horse is stolen, lock the barn door.

      A few years later, after everybody's forgotten the theft, remove the lock.

      Repeat.

      All the recent scandals (S&L, Enron, Subprime) involve repealing or circumventing regulations designed to prevent them--usually politicians responding to special interest cash but sometimes financial innovation provides a way around existing regulations. These things don't have to happen, they are all variations on themes that go back into the mists of history.

      The ratings agencies conflict of interest deserves more attention in the media. Maybe litigation can accomplish what public opinion can't?
      View article »
Loading...
Symbols:
Authors:
Quick Links:
Contribute an Article Become a Seeking Alpha Contributor

Transcripts

More Transcripts»