Gold Stocks Today

In Part I, I alerted readers to the problem with using Western labels and Western analysis to analyze the gold markets of other nations – especially the two titans of the gold market: China and India. More specifically, I pointed out that breaking-down demand into the categories of “retail investment� and “jewelry� demand was both arbitrary and inaccurate.

One persistent gripe I have with media analysis of economic issues is the extremely stunted perspective on news items. What I mean by this is that a news item will come out which suggests a particular trend (to greater or lesser degrees). What we will then see is a legion of media pundits jumping on this one inference – and then framing it as if it represents the only rational conclusion for this piece of news.

Regular readers know that I have a strong appetite for famous clichés, and other time-tested “pearls of wisdom�. Among such timeless pieces of wisdom is the old adage that “actions speak louder than words�. It is in that light that I listened with great interest to a BNN interview with Jason Toussaint.

Two months ago, I wrote a commentary reporting that “the second bubble had burst� in the U.S. housing market. Roughly three weeks later, I reported that the U.S. economy had resumed its “crash�. Contrary to the reports of the mainstream media, there was absolutely no “surprise� at all to any of these developments.

In Parts I and II, I presented readers with examples of obvious asset-bubbles – but in markets which were/are extremely manipulated. Given the obvious risks associated with “shorting� rigged-markets, I postulated that using (gold or silver) bullion as a “proxy� for shorting these asset-classes offered similar correlation to shorting these assets, but minus most of the risk.

In Part I, I discussed the world’s largest and most obvious asset-bubble (excluding the derivatives market): the U.S. Treasuries market. While I pointed out that this market was an obvious target for “shorting�, I also explained to readers why there were simply too many risks associated with shorting this opaque, and highly-manipulated market.

In a recent commentary, I characterized gold and silver bullion as a “superior� asset-class, versus virtually any other investment options. In this series of commentaries, I’m going to focus upon the versatility of bullion as an investment.

Old habits are hard to break, and in the United States of America, there are few “habits� as common as mortgage-fraud. In 2006, the world discovered that the U.S. housing market was the most-fraudulent market in history. However, since that time, even that level of fraud has been surpassed – by the U.S. housing market of 2010.

A recent Bloomberg article should have filled every American with rage. “Morgan Stanley’s $11 Billion Makes Chicago Taxpayers Cry�, proclaimed Bloomberg. As is often the case when these media outlets (partially) “shine a light� on the activities of the Wall Street Oligarchs, this was a case of gross understatement.