February 06, 2012 12:59 PM - Shanghai shipping volumes contracted sharply in January as Europe's debt crisis curbed demand for Asian goods, stoking fresh doubts about the strength of the Chinese economy. Read the full article at the Telegraph......

The amount of evidence stacking up that…mutual funds…do not provide value for their investors is just staggering…While there are certainly signs that the public’s tolerance of excessive fees and executive pay is falling, the likelihood of significant structural change in the finance industry is still remote. Given such a backdrop the probability remains that investors in funds will, on average, continue to underperform their benchmarks. So what is an investor to do? [Read on!] Words: 830 [Read more...]

Whilst we, as staunch Austrians, would prefer less liquidity provision and more allowance for markets to naturally self-correct and deleverage… we suspect that as markets try to self-correct, the authorities generally will be forced to print more and more [as] it is the easiest course for them to take and the typically all too human option…As such we look once more at how inflationary and deflationary outcomes might affect precious metal investors. Words: 1323 [Read more...]

Bill Bonner View the original article. February 06, 2012 02:00 PM Several of the ‘Capitalism in Crisis’ thinkers — even those who should have known better — thought the government needed to invest more money in education. Kenneth Rogoff, for example, concludes that “improved education alone will not resolve the flaws inherent in today’s capitalism, but it [is an] essential first step down any path to a solution.” [Read more...]

courtesy of DailyFX.com February 06, 2012 03:33 PM Daily Bars Prepared by Jamie Saettele, CMT Gold reversed last week near the December high and has declined about 2% in the last 2 days. Price is nearing potential support from a trendline that extends off of the 12/29 and 1/25 lows. A drop below the trendline would shift focus to the January congestion zone at 1647/85. A bearish bias is valid against 1765.90. [Read more...]

The Gold Report: Byron, anyone who reads your reports knows two things: you like to tell stories and you like precious metals. The gold price has spent the last 11 years trending higher. Do you see it continuing upward? Byron King: I anticipate that gold, silver and platinum will all continue to rise in price. There are currency-driven reasons why metal prices are going to keep rising, as well as other issues with overall supply and falling production. [Read more...]

February 6, 2012 [LIST] [*]Another case of wet sidewalks causing rain: Why the “Super Bowl Indicator” is about as useful as a Ouija board [*]Patrick Cox on a fast-growing, $87 billion market... and a tiny player set to dominate [*]The next Greece deadline that really matters (hint: It’s not today) [*]610,000 customers taking action: “Bank Transfer Day” more of a success than it first appeared [*]The expensive and butt-ugly result when a government boondoggle mates with terrorism fears [/LIST] So... the New York Giants are Super Bowl champions. So it’s going to be a great year for the stock market, right? [Read more...]

Mark J. Lundeen [EMAIL="Mlundeen2@Comcast.net"]Mlundeen2@Comcast.net[/EMAIL] 03 February 2012 Monday night I sent to my free mailing list a link for a Jim Sinclair’s interview; he was anticipating that some-time this week, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) to rule foul was fair; that a proposed 70% haircut in Greek sovereign debt would not qualify as a default event. Well of course it would! It would be no different than if your home burnt down and the insurance company that sold you fire insurance refused to pay, claiming your home is not really gone; it only experienced a rapid, high-temperature oxidation process that transmuted the lumber in your house into carbon dioxide and trace minerals. [Read more...]

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