Another Chinese Resource Grab

The stakes just got higher in the 3-D chess game China’s playing for natural resources. On one dimension, the Middle Kingdom is on the offensive. But on another, it’s playing strictly defense…

Beijing is ordering state-owned businesses to explore a bid for PotashCorp (POT), the Canadian fertilizer giant that’s already fending off a hostile bid from BHP Billiton, the Anglo-Australian mining giant.

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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NYSE:GMCR) — CFRA Roasts Vermont’s Green Mountain

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NYSE:GMCR), the Vermont-based specialty coffee and coffee maker company, last week received a fairly negative research opinion from the Center for Financial Research and Analysis. How it’s impacted the stock is the issue that Dan Amoss, Agora Financial’s editor of the Strategic Short Report, has investigated.

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How to Invest in Junior Gold and Silver Companies

The various large-cap gold stock indices are readying for a major breakout. As we’ve noted, this isn’t just a breakout through 2008 highs but a breakout through highs dating back to 1980. Yes, there are some gold stock indices like the Barron’s Gold Mining Index and others, which show a 30-year base dating back to 1980. This will be a historic breakout for the gold stocks. [Read more...]

Bernanke to World: We’re Going to Fiddle While Rome Burns

In Jackson Hole, Wyoming today Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the risk of an “undesirable rise in inflation or of significant further disinflation seems low.” Yup, can’t argue with that.

If you are operating a bank, and you had lost your depositors’ funds by making bad real estate loans, normally you would be sweating bullets by now, or among the 14.6 million pounding the pavement looking for work. But you need not worry. You got $1.3 trillion of reserves to tide you over while your bad loans continue to deteriorate.

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Food and Drink Prices to Soar

Today’s report begins with an abominable horror: The world’s most valuable commodity has soared to its highest price in a generation.

Record High for Coffee Futures

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Figuring out the Real Importance of Gold

Gold remains in high demand among individual investors, hedge funds, and central banks all swapping cash for the yellow metal. This past weekend, an FT reportage looked into what the latest money flows into gold can tell us about it’s real importance.

Among others, the Financial Times spoke with Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul:

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Policy Solutions, Part Four of Four

The elites who are above the grip of the gluttonous taxes on ordinary income and estates in the United States have a huge vested interest in continuance of the fiat money system operated at the hands of a central bank, for it enables profit to uniquely accrue through appreciation rather than through income.

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Policy Solutions, Part Three of Four

The printing of money used to replenish the financial system may cause inflation — whether or not this series of radical measures is adopted. It will monetize public and private debt, and the key to not letting the surge in inflation become embedded permanently will be the taking of a credible stance to redraw our system with reduced liability going forward. While we are printing money, our government should quietly (if possible) buy gold with which it would promise to redeem dollars beginning at some point when our economic recovery is certain. No doubt this would be at a price that might shock the world today: perhaps $5,000, $10,000, or higher. Let the market bracket the possibilities; perhaps gold ETFs or digital gold accounts such as those at goldmoney.com would be our new private currency, and we could get out of the money-printing business once and for all.

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How Much Gold is Enough?

“Should I buy gold now, or wait for a pullback?�

I get that question a lot…and it’s a valid question. For nearly two years, gold hasn’t had a serious decline. There have been pullbacks, of course, but nothing assumption-challenging. In fact, since October 2008, gold’s largest price drop is 10.6% (based on London PM fix prices), and yet the average of all declines since 2001 is 13% (of those greater than 5%). The biggest pullback we’ve seen this summer is 8.2%. Technically the summer’s not over, but I’ll admit I’m surprised we haven’t had a better buying opportunity.

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