Monday, August 15, 2016

Absa’s palladium ETP may not attract same demand as platinum

September 30, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

The South African bank reckons its planned platinum ETP may not attract the same demand as its NewPlat platinum product.

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Chile’s copper output rises up 7.6% in August

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The country is struggling with dwindling ore grades in many of its ageing deposits, although new mines have helped increase output this year.

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Miners rally as Amplats strike enters fourth day

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Around 2,000 striking miners from Anglo American Platinum’s South African mine rallied on Monday to protest planned job cuts.

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Maintenance approach reduces unplanned stoppages at Jwaneng

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In the six months since implementing a maintenance contract at Debswana’s Jwaneng diamond mine in Botswana, FLSmidth states that it has reduced unplanned outages by more than 5%

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Gold ETF outflows resume – will they continue?

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Has selling resumed from the gold ETFs? The latest figures suggest it may have, but volumes are perhaps not strong enough to discern a definitive trend – yet.

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Atlas Copco Rig Control System receives renowned design award

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Atlas Copco has been named one of the winners of the International Design Excellence Award 2013 competition for the interface design of the new Rig Control System, RCS 5.

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Gold promises vigorous, probably volatile week ahead

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The tightening of gold’s trading range is centered on $1,330 and we are above that, promising a vigorous and probably volatile week, says Julian Phillips.

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DAILY COMMENTARY FOR SEPT. 30

September 30, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

By Toby Connor, Gold Scents
Click here

Toby Connor

GoldScents

A financial blog primarily focused on the analysis of the secular gold bull market.

If you would like to be added to the email list that receives notice of new posts to , or have questions, email Toby.

U.S. Extend-and-Pretend: the Zombie lives!

September 30, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

By Jeff Nielson, Bullion Bulls Canada

Most readers are familiar with the market vernacular “extend and pretend.” It’s origins are the U.S.  commercial debt market. This is yet another U.S. Ponzi-scheme and debt-bubble being kept alive solely through pretending that most/all of the massive amounts of bad-debt in this market is still viable.

It’s a game (and a massive fraud/sham) because if these corporate Deadbeat Debtors ever had their debts closely/rationally scrutinized; their debts would not simply be rolled-over (i.e. “extended”) at artificially low rates of interest. Instead, the debt would be assessed much higher rates of interest – to reflect the serious risk of non-repayment (i.e. default).

The moment these Deadbeats were faced with legitimate interest rates on their debts; they would default like the row of Ponzi-scheme dominoes that they represent. These zombie corporations are hooked-up to the equivalent of a bond-market “respirator”: kept alive only through the totally artificial means of “extend and pretend.”

But in fact, it’s a game which has been (greatly) expanded to encompass the entire U.S. economy in a bubble of denial, and it is a multi-faceted game, at that. One facet of the national game of extend-and-pretend is very similar to the massive sham/fraud in the U.S. commercial debt market – except an order of magnitude more fraudulent.

The U.S. Treasuries market is another U.S. extend-and-pretend Ponzi-scheme, in two respects – three, if we include the fact that the U.S. economy is hopelessly insolvent, making these Treasuries near-worthless.

First there is the fact that the Federal Reserve is now effectively the only buyer of U.S. debt, and at one point earlier this year was officially buying-up Treasuries faster than the U.S. government was issuing new debt. But that only equates to “monetizing debt” (i.e. a cheque-kiting economy).

What makes this a Ponzi-scheme is that all these Treasuries are being purchased with paper simply/literally conjured out of thin air – and not even borrowed into existence, like all the previous $trillions of money-printing.

Why is this so significant? When the U.S. dollar went off the “gold standard” (i.e. it was no longer backed by anything), it ceased to be a “unit of value.” Instead, with every new USD being borrowed into existence; the U.S. dollar became a “unit of obligation” (i.e. an IOU). Clearly a unit of obligation is inferior to a unit a value, but at least (as an IOU) it can claim some intrinsic value.

But that is not the case with all these “QE” dollars being conjured into existence in the U.S. and Europe. What gives this paper value? Nothing at all. These scraps of paper have gone from being an “I-owe-you” to an “I-owe-nothing”. They are neither units of value or obligation – simply “units”. No different than Monopoly Money.

One “unit” comes off a printing press owned by Hasbro. One “unit” comes off of a printing press owned by the Federal Reserve. Both are private corporations. Neither forms of paper have any, possible intrinsic value. The (near-worthless) U.S. Treasuries market is now being totally propped-up with totally worthless paper.

But that’s only one aspect of the Treasuries market Ponzi-scheme. The other half of this fraud are the artificial interest rates, where the Fed is buying all this worthless paper at the highest prices in history. Why make the Ponzi-scheme so obvious?

More articles from Bullion Bulls Canada….

J. Bradley Jansen: Indian gold as alternative currency

September 30, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

GATA

11:05p HKT Monday, September 30, 2013

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

J. Bradley Jansen, director of the Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights in Washington, notes the presumptuousness of both the Indian government and the financial news media in their considering the Indian people backward for preferring a currency that holds some value to the garbage currency thrust on them by their government. Jansen’s commentary is headlined “Indian Gold as Alternative Currency” and it’s posted at the Free Banking Internet site here:

http://www.freebanking.org/2013/09/24/indian-gold-as-alternative-currenc…

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

* * *

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