• Tag Archives Dollar

  • Are The ‘Toxic’ Democrats Destined To Become A Permanent Minority Party?

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    It has become exceedingly clear that the Democratic Party is in deep trouble. Close to 55 million dollars was spent on the race in Georgia’s sixth congressional district, and that shattered all kinds of records. Democrat Jon Ossoff was able to raise and spend six times as much money as Karen Handel and yet he still lost. This was supposed to be the race that would show the American people that the Democrats could take back control of Congress in 2018, and so for the Democrats this was a bitter failure. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee actually injected almost 5 million dollars into the race themselves, and Planned Parenthood threw in another $700,000. But after all of the time, effort and energy that was expended, Handel still won fairly comfortably.
    The Democrats are trying to spin this result as some sort of ‘moral victory’, but as Dan Balz of the Washington Post has pointed out, there are ‘no moral victories in politics’…

    This post was published at The Economic Collapse Blog on June 21st, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Government and tagged

  • JUNE 21/GOLD UP $2.40 BUT SILVER DOWN 4 CENTS/OPEN INTEREST IN SILVER CLIMBS 1400 CONTRACTS TO ALMOST 200,000 CONTRACTS (1 BILLION OZ)/HUGE SHAKEUP IN RIYADH AS SALMAN’S SON MOHAMMED BECOMES CROW…

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    GOLD: $1243.40 UP $2.40
    Silver: $16.36 DOWN 4 cent(s)
    Closing access prices:
    Gold $1246.50
    silver: $16.44
    SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: FIRST FIX 10 15 PM EST (2:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)
    SECOND FIX: 2:15 AM EST (6:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)
    SHANGHAI FIRST GOLD FIX: $1255.01 DOLLARS PER OZ
    NY PRICE OF GOLD AT EXACT SAME TIME: $1245.90
    PREMIUM FIRST FIX: $9.11
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    SECOND SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: $1255.90
    NY GOLD PRICE AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1245.40
    Premium of Shanghai 2nd fix/NY:$10.50
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    LONDON FIRST GOLD FIX: 5:30 am est $1247.05
    NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1246.10
    LONDON SECOND GOLD FIX 10 AM: $1242.50
    NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. $1242.80
    For comex gold:
    JUNE/
    NOTICES FILINGS TODAY FOR APRIL CONTRACT MONTH: 9 NOTICE(S) FOR 900 OZ.
    TOTAL NOTICES SO FAR: 2621 FOR 262,100 OZ (8.1524 TONNES)
    For silver:
    For silver:
    JUNE 40 NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR
    200,000 OZ/
    Total number of notices filed so far this month: 957 for 4,785,000 oz

    This post was published at Harvey Organ Blog on June 21, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Precious Metals and tagged

  • Even the Mainstream Sees the Disconnect Between Fed Rhetoric and Actual Data

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    The Fed is hawkish about jacking up interest rates, but even the mainstream is catching on to the disconnect between Fed rhetoric and actual data.
    The recent Federal Reserve rate increase and talk of more boosts in the future has sparked a rally for the dollar. This has caused the price of gold to sag. But TJM Institutional Services managing director Jim Iuorio recently said on CNBC’s Futures Now that he’s still bullish on gold because he thinks the Fed’s hawkish tone doesn’t line up with actual economic data.
    I’m a longer-term bull in gold and if you look at the long-term chart the trend is still higher. What the Fed said yesterday is disconcerting to the market, and that’s why the dollar rallied so hard. But as we start to move away from that, we start to see some data that is deteriorating, the dollar should shrink back again and gold should be fine.

    This post was published at Schiffgold on JUNE 21, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Government and tagged

  • Gold Market Morning: June-21-2017: Gold still stabilizing below $1,250

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Gold Today – New York closed at $1,243.50 yesterday after closing at $1,251.5 yesterday. London opened at $1,246.00 today.
    Overall the dollar was slightly stronger against global currencies, early today. Before London’s opening:
    – The $: was slightly stronger at $1.1145 after yesterday’s $1.1155: 1.
    – The Dollar index was stronger at 97.66 after yesterday’s 97.57.
    – The Yen was stronger at 111.14 after yesterday’s 111.39:$1.
    – The Yuan was slightly weaker at 6.8264 after yesterday’s 6.8258: $1.
    – The Pound Sterling was weaker at $1.2627 after yesterday’s $1.2659: 1.
    Yuan Gold Fix
    Despite the central Bank in Hong Kong statement of yesterday that it wanted a stable exchange rate to the dollar, the Yuan has weakened a little in the last two days. This does not mean the policy has changed, just as it will not be a fixed exchange rate.
    What is becoming clear is that Shanghai’s pricing power over the gold price is being proved this week and last, as it has been leading the way both ways.

    This post was published at GoldSeek on 21 June 2017.

    This entry was posted in Economy and tagged

  • Gold Price Slips vs. Falling Dollar as Oil Bounces, Bank of England Split Boosts ‘Brexit-Hit’ Pound

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Gold prices held near 5-week lows against a falling US Dollar on Wednesday, trading at $1243 per ounce as commodities rallied but world stock markets extended Tuesday’s retreat in New York.
    As Brent crude oil rallied $1 per barrel from yesterday’s 7-month lows near $45, that pulled the EuroStoxx 50 index of major European shares more than 1% lower.
    The British Pound meantime rallied after a split emerged amongst senior Bank of England policymakers over holding or raising UK interest rates from the current all-time record low of 0.25% with 435 billion ($550bn) of quantitative easing bond purchases.
    Check out Global Liquidity Reaching a Tipping Point
    The Euro currency also rallied against the Dollar but held 1 cent below last week’s peak, the highest level since Donald Trump won the US presidential election last November.
    The gold price for Eurozone investors fell below 1115 per ounce, near its lowest level since January.

    This post was published at FinancialSense on 06/21/2017.

    This entry was posted in Politics and tagged

  • US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Still Interested In Ultralong (High Duration) Sovereign Debt As Argentina Sees strong demand for surprise 100-year bond

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    This is a syndicated repost courtesy of Confounded Interest. To view original, click here. Reposted with permission.
    US Treasury Secretary Steve ‘The Munchkin’ Mnuchin said on Bloomberg News today that Treasury is still considering issuing ultra-long sovereign debt. This comes on the news that Argentina is issuing a 100 year sovereign bond that is in hot demand. Reuters – Argentina sold $2.75 billion of a hotly demanded 100-year bond in U. S. dollars on Monday, just over a year after emerging from its latest default, according to the government.
    The South American country received $9.75 billion in orders for the bond, as investors eyed a yield of 7.9 percent in an otherwise low yielding fixed income market where pension funds need to lock in long-term returns.
    Thanks to a stronger-than-expected peso currency, the government has increased its overall 2017 foreign currency bond issuance target to $12.75 billion from its previous plan of issuing $10 billion in international bonds, Finance Minister Luis Caputo told reporters in Buenos Aires.

    This post was published at Wall Street Examiner by Anthony B Sanders ‘ June 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Government and tagged

  • Why The Wall Street Journal Is Wrong About The US Oil Export Boom

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    The lead editorial in Friday’s Wall Street Journal was pure energy nonsense.
    ‘Lessons of the Energy Export Boom’ proclaimed that the United States is becoming the oil and gas superpower of the world. This despite the uncomfortable fact that it is also the world’s biggest importer of crude oil.
    The Journal uses statistical sleight-of-hand to argue that the U. S. only imports 25% of its oil but the average is 47% for 2017. Saudi Arabia and Russia – the real oil superpowers – import no oil.
    The piece includes the standard claptrap about how the fracking revolution has pushed break-even prices to absurdly low levels. But another article in the same newspaper on the same day described how producers are losing $0.33 on every dollar in the red hot Permian basin shale plays. Oops.

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jun 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Energy and tagged

  • JUNE 20/RAIDS CONTINUE DUE TO THE HIGH OPEN INTEREST IN SILVER AS THE BANKERS JUST CANNOT GET THOSE SILVER LEAVES TO FALL/DONALD TRUMP VERY UPSET WITH THE DEATH OF WAMBIER, WHO WAS ARRESTED AND T…

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    GOLD: $1241.00 DOWN $3.20
    Silver: $16.40 DOWN 8 cent(s)
    Closing access prices:
    Gold $1243.40
    silver: $16.45
    SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: FIRST FIX 10 15 PM EST (2:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)
    SECOND FIX: 2:15 AM EST (6:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)
    SHANGHAI FIRST GOLD FIX: $1254.94 DOLLARS PER OZ
    NY PRICE OF GOLD AT EXACT SAME TIME: $1245.60
    PREMIUM FIRST FIX: $9.34
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    SECOND SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: $1256.89
    NY GOLD PRICE AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1246.70
    Premium of Shanghai 2nd fix/NY:$10.11
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    LONDON FIRST GOLD FIX: 5:30 am est $1246.50
    NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1246.90
    LONDON SECOND GOLD FIX 10 AM: $1242.20
    NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. $1242.80
    For comex gold:
    JUNE/
    NOTICES FILINGS TODAY FOR APRIL CONTRACT MONTH: 23 NOTICE(S) FOR 2300 OZ.
    TOTAL NOTICES SO FAR: 2612 FOR 261,200 OZ (8.1244 TONNES)
    For silver:
    For silver:
    JUNE 3 NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR
    15,000 OZ/
    Total number of notices filed so far this month: 917 for 4,585,000 oz

    This post was published at Harvey Organ Blog on June 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Geopolitics and tagged

  • Hong Kong Warns: Its Housing Bubble is a ‘Dangerous Situation’

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    The HK financial system is ‘very strong’ and ‘can withstand an adjustment in the property market.’
    The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar. Hong Kong’s monetary policy is follows the Fed’s monetary policy. The Fed has embarked on a tightening cycle, raising rates four times so far. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has followed each time. Last week, it raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.5%. This will have consequences for the most expensive and ludicrously inflated housing bubble in the world.
    ‘We have to warn our people about the dangerous situation of the property market at the moment,’ Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan told Bloomberg TV.
    ‘No one can tell how deep the adjustment will be or what is the appropriate level of adjustment because it is market force,’ he said. ‘It is not up to the government to dictate, but I think it is important for people to recognize it is risky.’
    But he doesn’t expect a repeat of what happened when Hong Kong’s prior housing bubble imploded during the Asian Financial Crisis.

    This post was published at Wolf Street on Jun 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Government and tagged

  • Argentina 100 Year Bond Sale 3.5x Oversubscribed

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    When we previewed yesterday unexpected announcement that Argentina would join Mexico, Ireland and the U. K. in issuing a 100 year bond, just one year after emerging from its latest default, we said “we expected the potential yield of 8.25% to come down as the offering will likely be many times oversubscribed.” It was.
    According to Reuters, late on Monday Argentina sold $2.75 billion of a “hotly demanded” 100-year bond in U. S. dollars, and as expected the surge for yield resulted in 3.5x oversubscription: the South American country received $9.75 billion in orders for the bond, which in turn lowered the final yield to 7.9% with a 7.125% cash coupon, from the initial price talk of 8.25% in what Reuters dubbed an “otherwise low yielding fixed income market where pension funds need to lock in long-term returns.” Luckily for those same pension funds, they never have to worry about returns on capital as there is zero chance Argentina will not default again in the next 100 years.
    Meanwhile, courtesy of yield-starved investors around the globe, the Argentina government increased its overall 2017 foreign currency bond issuance target even more, to $12.75 billion from its previous plan of issuing $10 billion in international bonds, Finance Minister Luis Caputo told reporters in Buenos Aires, in large part to fund its soaring budget deficit. As Reuters notes, Argentina will tap international capital markets to finance a fiscal deficit of 4.2% of GDP. Caputo said Argentina has $2.6 billion in bonds left to be issued this year. The new paper could be denominated in euros, yen or Swiss francs. It is not clear if the remaining issues will be in 100 year or longer maturities.

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jun 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Government and tagged

  • Trader: “We Need Another 20 Basis Points For The Entire Narrative To Change”

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    As noted yesterday, Bloomberg trading commentator Richard Breslow refuses to jump on the bandwagon that the Fed is hiking right into the next policy mistake. In fact, he is pretty much convinced that Yellen did the right thing… she just needs some help from future inflationary print (which will be difficult, more on that shortly), from the dollar (which needs to rise), and from the yield curve. Discussing the rapidly flattening yield curve, Breslow writes that “the 2s10s spread can bear-flatten through last year’s low to accomplish the break, but I don’t think you get the dollar motoring unless the yield curve holds these levels and bear- steepens. Traders will set the bar kind of low and start getting excited if 10-year yields can breach 2.23%. But at the end of the day we need another 20 basis points for the entire narrative to change.”
    To be sure, hawkish commentary from FOMC members on Monday (with the semi-exception of Charles Evans) and earlier this morning from Rosengren, is doing everything whatever it can to achieve this. Here are the highlights from the Boston Fed president.
    ROSENGREN SAYS LOW INTEREST RATES DO POSE FINANCIAL STABILITY ISSUES ROSENGREN: LOW RATES MAKE FIGHTING FUTURE RECESSIONS TOUGHER ROSENGREN SAYS REACH-FOR-YIELD BEHAVIOR IN LOW INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT CAN MAKE FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES, ECONOMY MORE RISKY

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jun 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Banking and tagged

  • Argentina (!) Sells 100-Year Dollar-Denominated Junk Bonds

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Yield-desperate investors stop before nothing. What have central banks wrought? Junk-rated, deficit-plagued, inflation-whacked Argentina just sold $2.75 billion of 100-year dollar-denominated bonds. This was the first time ever that a junk-rated country was able to sell 100-year bonds denominated in a foreign currency, or any currency.
    Argentina sports a ‘B’ credit rating from Standard & Poor’s. Five notches below investment grade. Deep junk.
    And 100 years is a very, very long time for Argentina and its regularly beaten-up creditors: Just over the past 65 years, it has defaulted six times – in 1951, 1956, 1982, 1989, 2001, and its ‘selective default’ in 2014. Its default in 2001 on $80 billion of dollar-denominated debt was the largest sovereign default at the time.
    And yet, yield-desperate investors don’t seem to care. According to The Wall Street Journal, demand for the private-placement offering was such that Argentina could sell those ‘century’ bonds at a yield of 7.9%, down from the initial price talk of 8.25%.

    This post was published at Wolf Street on Jun 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Economy and tagged

  • Amid Dreary Landscape, Event Funds Stage A Comeback

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    The US hedge fund industry is in rough shape as the Federal Reserve’s lift-all-boats monetary policy has made it increasingly difficult to beat the market. US hedge funds endured nearly $100 billion in redemptions last year, as only 30% of US equity funds beat their benchmarks. But as confidence in traditional stock pickers dwindles, so-called ‘event-driven’ funds are attracting renewed interest in investors, particularly in Europe, where near-zero rates and relatively attractive valuations are expected to stoke a boom in M&A activity, Bloomberg reports.

    After these funds experienced some high-profile stumbles in recent years – one such fund managed by John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. posted a 49% loss and endured billions of dollars in redemptions – some Europe-based funds are seeing billions in inflows. Kite Lake Capital Management, Everett Capital Advisors and Melqart Asset Management have garnered billions in fresh investor capital over the past two years.
    ‘Kite Lake Capital Management almost doubled client assets this year, while Everett Capital Advisors nearly tripled its funds since launching in January 2016. The money overseen by Melqart Asset Management has grown 12-fold since the firm started less than two years ago. The three event-driven funds have $1.5 billion in combined assets and invest across Europe, where an increasingly buoyant economy and record-low interest rates are boosting dealmaking. Their resurgence is part of a comeback effort by a hedge-fund industry that’s only now starting to recover from a wave of investor redemptions and years of disappointing returns.

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jun 20, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Banking and tagged

  • Root Monetary Behavior

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    This is a syndicated repost courtesy of Alhambra Investments. To view original, click here. Reposted with permission.
    Capitalism has always featured feedback mechanisms. They never were perfect, as nothing is going to ever be. Instead, market discipline was always a messy affair as it more often throughout history included periods of undisciplined behavior followed closely by mass exodus, crash, and then depression. Economists after 1929 thought of themselves as a replacement mechanism for self-correction.
    Regulators had until the aftermath of 2008 believed macruprudential policies and the like might be substituted for what was really a survival instinct. It was widely thought authorities could regulate self-control while at the same time unleashing the worst aspects attainable without it (TBTF was an implicit doctrine long before Bear, LTCM, and many others). Afterward, however, the idea has been rethought at least in the more extreme cases.
    In the mortgage market as well as for securitization as a process, it was pretty obvious that volume overflowed all other considerations. One of chief reasons for that was simple risk; mortgage originators were nothing but an initial warehouse. After selling into a securitization, the only ‘skin’ the originator had left was the various present value calculations on the whole future history of the deal whose full gains had already been bookedlong before a single dollar of cash flow exchanged hands. It wasn’t really much to govern prudent action.

    This post was published at Wall Street Examiner by Jeffrey P. Snider ‘ June 19, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Economy and tagged

  • ‘When I say cut taxes, I don’t mean fiddle with the code. I mean abolish the income tax and the IRS, and replace them with nothing’

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    The quote in the headline comes from Ron Paul, and it should be the goal of every conservative lawmaker in the entire country. When professional politicians tell you that they are in favor of reforming the tax code or reducing taxes a little bit, essentially what they are telling you is that they are perfectly fine with the status quo. They may want to tweak things slightly, but in general they are content with big taxes, big spending and big government. I spent an entire year getting a Master of Laws in Taxation at the University of Florida Law School, and in my opinion the best thing that Congress could do to the tax code would be to run it through a shredder and put it in a dumpster. As I noted the other day, the tax code is now more than four million words long and it takes Americans about six billion dollars a year to comply with it. Those that believe that they are offering the American people a ‘solution’ by proposing to tinker with this abominable mess are just fooling themselves.
    The only long-term solution that is going to work is to get rid of the entire steaming pile of garbage. Ron Paul understood this, and we would be very wise to take his advice. The following is the full version of the quote from the headline above…
    ‘By the way, when I say cut taxes, I don’t mean fiddle with the code. I mean abolish the income tax and the IRS, and replace them with nothing.’

    This post was published at The Economic Collapse Blog on June 19th, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Government and tagged

  • JUNE 19/USA LED COALITION SHOOTS DOWN SYRIAN MIG IN RUSSIAN AIRSPACE/RUSSIA EXTREMELY ANGRY AND ISSUES STATEMENT THAT IT WILL SHOOT DOWN ANY PLANE OVER ITS AIRSPACE: USA RESPONDS LIKEWISE/CANADA …

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    GOLD: $1244.20 DOWN $9.80
    Silver: $16.48 DOWN 15 cent(s)
    Closing access prices:
    Gold $1244.20
    silver: $16.53
    SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: FIRST FIX 10 15 PM EST (2:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)
    SECOND FIX: 2:15 AM EST (6:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)
    SHANGHAI FIRST GOLD FIX: $1261.77 DOLLARS PER OZ
    NY PRICE OF GOLD AT EXACT SAME TIME: $1252.70
    PREMIUM FIRST FIX: $9.07
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    SECOND SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: $1260.02
    NY GOLD PRICE AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1251.80
    Premium of Shanghai 2nd fix/NY:$8.22
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    LONDON FIRST GOLD FIX: 5:30 am est $1251.10
    NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1251.60
    LONDON SECOND GOLD FIX 10 AM: $1255.40
    NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. $1254.50
    For comex gold:
    JUNE/
    NOTICES FILINGS TODAY FOR APRIL CONTRACT MONTH: 45 NOTICE(S) FOR 4500 OZ.
    TOTAL NOTICES SO FAR: 2589 FOR 258,900 OZ (8.0528 TONNES)
    For silver:
    For silver:
    JUNE 3 NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR
    15,000 OZ/
    Total number of notices filed so far this month: 914 for 4,570,000 oz

    This post was published at Harvey Organ Blog on June 19, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Geopolitics and tagged

  • Gold’s Pricing Power Moving East – Part 2

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    China excluded from the global gold price or arbitrage includes it?
    China is unhappy that gold prices should be driven by U. S. and dollar concerns. But many state that because there is no free flow of gold in and out of China, China will remain a parochial market, not integrated into the global gold market. Nothing is now further from the truth.
    The author has worked with successful arbitrageurs in London in the past, so we can clearly see that through the London and Shanghai Gold Exchanges via bullion banks such as ICBC/Standard, HSBC and many others, arbitrage in gold is not just feasible but practiced.
    Any overweight London gold stocks can easily be sent to Shanghai from, in particular the ICBC/Standard branch in London that control two warehouses capable of holding 3,500 tonnes of physical gold. With this bank being a ‘market maker’ in London and a member of the LBMA price setting body, such a trading activity would be consistent with its normal functions.
    As to gold leaving China, it is not permitted, but the export of Yuan is. So a sale in Shanghai of gold receives Yuan which can be exported to buy gold in London. This is, in essence, giving arbitrageurs the ability to lower prices in Shanghai and raising them in London.
    Capital Controls in China do not pose a hurdle for this business. We believe that while capital exiting China is now heavily restricted, it is not withheld for the purchase and import of gold bullion.
    What this trade does do, is to smooth out price differentials between Shanghai and London. With Shanghai’s physical gold prices being more representative of physical gold demand and supply [due to volumes of gold traded] it is inevitable that Shanghai becomes the leading gold Benchmark pricer in the future.

    This post was published at GoldSeek

    This entry was posted in Precious Metals and tagged

  • Argentina Unexpectedly Announces Sale Of 100-Year Bonds

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    One year after Argentina emerged from its latest sovereign bankruptcy, and at a time when the Latin American nation grapples with a surging budget deficit, Argentina surprised markets by announcing (on Twitter) its intention to sell its first 100-year bond, taking advantage of a world starved for yield.
    The issuance, expected to price on Monday with a potential yield of 8.25% according to Reuters IFR – we expect this number to come down as the offering will likely be many times oversubscribed – came as a surprise, as Finance Minister Luis Caputo has said Argentina would meet the rest of its financing needs in non-dollar currencies after selling $7 billion in dollar bonds in January. According to Reuters, Citi and HSBC are acting as lead book runners on the deal, while Nomura Securities and Banco Santander are co-managers.

    This post was published at Zero Hedge on Jun 19, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Economy and tagged

  • Gold and Silver Market Morning: June 19 2017 – Gold stabilizing around $1,250!

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Gold Today – New York closed at $1,256.50 Friday after closing at$1,254.60 Thursday. London opened at $1,250.20 today.
    Overall the dollar was slightly weaker against global currencies, early today. Before London’s opening:
    – The $: was slightly weaker at $1.1188 after Friday’s $1.1174: 1.
    – The Dollar index was slightly weaker at 97.24 after Friday’s97.34.
    – The Yen was stronger at 111.18 after Friday’s 111.31:$1.
    – The Yuan was almost unchanged at 6.8154 after yesterday’s6.8152: $1.
    – The Pound Sterling was stronger at $1.2780 after yesterday’s $1.2774: 1.
    Yuan Gold Fix
    New York closed at almost the same level as Shanghai did on Friday. This morning see Shanghai $3 higher, but London ahead of its open was trying to pull the price down a few dollars to $1,250, trying to guess the opening mood in London.
    Hong Kong’s central bank has stated that it prefers a stable exchange rate against the dollar. It is not independent of Shanghai and, judging by today’s exchange rate the People’s Bank of China agrees as we see the Yuan virtually unchanged today. This will allow us to see more clearly the differences between the Shanghai gold Exchange prices and London and New York.

    This post was published at GoldSeek on 19 June 2017.

    This entry was posted in Economy and tagged

  • The Worst Financial Nightmare In Illinois History Erupts As State Comptroller Declares ‘We Are In Massive Crisis Mode’

    Posted on by Jon Comment

    Margaret Thatcher once said that the big problem with socialist governments is that ‘they always run out of other people’s money’, and unfortunately we are witnessing this play out in a major way in the state of Illinois right now. At this point, the Illinois state government has more than 15 billion dollars of unpaid bills. Yes, you read that correctly. They are already 15 billion dollars behind on their bills, and they are on pace to take in 6 billion dollars less than they are scheduled to spend in 2017. It is the worst financial crisis in the history of Illinois, and State Comptroller Susana Mendoza sounds like she is about ready to tear her hair out in frustration…
    ‘I don’t know what part of ‘We are in massive crisis mode’ the General Assembly and the governor don’t understand. This is not a false alarm,’ said Mendoza, a Chicago Democrat. ‘The magic tricks run out after a while, and that’s where we’re at.’
    It’s a new low, even for a state that’s seen its financial situation grow increasingly desperate amid a standoff between the Democrat-led Legislature and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Illinois already has $15 billion in overdue bills and the lowest credit rating of any state, and some ratings agencies have warned they will downgrade the rating to ‘junk’ if there’s no budget before the next fiscal year begins July 1.

    This post was published at The Economic Collapse Blog on June 18th, 2017.

    This entry was posted in Government and tagged