White Shoe Boys

Hedge funds selling gold ‘in a big way’

"Hedge funds and other big speculators in commodities have started selling gold in a big way, trade data showed on Friday, just a month after they had supported the precious metal amid a record tumble in its price. Money managers, including hedge funds, pulled $1.4 billion from the U.S. gold futures market for the week ended May 14 by trimming their net long positions in the metal, according to Reuters calculations of data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Open interest, a measure of market liquidity, fell more than 3 percent in the week to May 14 for gold contracts traded by money managers on the COMEX." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHedge funds selling gold ‘in a big way’

Another Amazing Fat Tuesday on Wall Street

"The Dow Jones Industrial average closed Tuesday at a new all-time high with a triple-digit surge of 123 points. And it’s fitting that the Dow hit a new high of 15,215 on a Tuesday because it’s the 18th straight Tuesday that the industrials have finished the day higher than where they began. This 18 for 18 streak started all the way back on January 15. The Dow since then is up more than 1700 points. And according to the statistical gurus at Bespoke Investment Group over 1400 of the 1700 plus points gained since then on the Dow have come on, you guessed it, Tuesday. That’s 83 percent of all the gains in stocks since then coming on this one day of the week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnother Amazing Fat Tuesday on Wall Street

Paul Craig Roberts: Gangster State America

"My explanation that the sudden appearance of an unprecedented 400 ton short sale of gold on the COMEX in April was a manipulation designed to protect the dollar from the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policy has found acceptance among gold investors and hedge fund managers. The sale was a naked short. The seller had no gold to sell. COMEX reported having gold only equal to about half of the short sale in its vaults, and not all of that was available for delivery. No one but the Federal Reserve could have placed such an order, and the order came from one of the Fed’s bullion banks, one of the entities 'too big to fail.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Gangster State America

Gold Demand In One Chart: Physical vs ETF

"China's demand for gold jumped 20% to 294 tonnes in the first quarter of 2013, while global gold demand overall slid 13% thanks to the dramatic rotation of demand from paper to physical. Central banks added 109.2 tonnes of gold to their reserves in Q1 2013, the ninth consecutive quarter of net purchases. But it was the Q1 ETF outflows of 176.9 tonnes, equating to a 7% decline in total gold ETF holdings that obscured the strong rise in investment for gold bars and coins at the retail level. In the face of the huge 'paper' gold ETF outflows, 'physical' gold demand surged to its highest in 18 months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Demand In One Chart: Physical vs ETF

Gold’s dichotomy: Investment demand plunges, but consumers keep buying

"Today’s gold market is being defined by two trends: aggressive selling by investors in North America through exchange-traded funds, and aggressive buying by consumers in Asia. But for now, the ETF investors are overwhelming everyone else. Gold prices settled below US$1,390 an ounce on Thursday, and after five rough trading days in a row, they are approaching the lows that were reached during last month’s dramatic collapse. Chinese gold imports have been going through the roof. Data released last week showed that China imported 223.5 tonnes (or 7.9 million ounces) from Hong Kong in March, crushing the previous monthly record." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold’s dichotomy: Investment demand plunges, but consumers keep buying

Soros Reports Over $239mm In Gold Positions, Buys $25mm In Junior Miner Calls

"While debate continues as to how far gold and gold equities will continue to drop, the Soros Fund is lightening up on physical gold in exchange for gold mining equities and call options on the extremely volatile junior mining stocks. There couldn’t be any stronger indication by the fund as to its beliefs about the timing of this bottom (outside of selling everything and going all-in on call options of course). It remains to be seen whether these positions will end up in the green or not, but with a forty year track record of 20% annual returns, I’ll be betting on the Soros Fund." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSoros Reports Over $239mm In Gold Positions, Buys $25mm In Junior Miner Calls

Global Central Banks Added To Their Gold Stockpiles In Q1 Even As Prices Tumbled

"Gold prices are down about 12.5% since the start of April. But global central banks have been increasing their reserves of the yellow metal. A new report from the World Gold Council shows that central banks bout 109 tonnes of gold in the first quarter. This was the seventh straight quarter in which they purchased over 100 tonnes of gold. According to the WGC, Russia and South Korea were among the biggest buyers of gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlobal Central Banks Added To Their Gold Stockpiles In Q1 Even As Prices Tumbled

Ex-BlackRock MD: US raid on Bitcoin exchange is ‘hysterical’ reaction

"Warwick Business School’s professor Jon Rushman, a former BlackRock managing director, says: 'It is a little bit of a hysterical reaction from the US authorities. There are concerns of Bitcoin being used in illegal ways, but unless there is more substantial evidence of this I don’t think there is any reason to shut down the main Bitcoin exchange. US dollars, Russian rubles and euros have all been used by criminals, but nobody is suggesting their central banks should be closed down and their governors imprisoned.' Rushman calls for more 'intelligent debate about Bitcoin and its future'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-BlackRock MD: US raid on Bitcoin exchange is ‘hysterical’ reaction

How to Spot a Market Top

"The wide array of optimistic extremes in sentiment measures includes several readings that exceed the extremes of 2007, when the Dow made its previous high. With a finishing structure that Elliott Wave Principle describes as occurring at 'the termination points of larger patterns,' the market is ripe for a decline of historic magnitude. The sudden, loud chorus of market bulls, which has grown to a full-blown crescendo, fits perfectly with the terminal stages of a major advance. This chart shows the stunning breadth of optimism extending to every class of investor." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to Spot a Market Top

U.S. Banks Buy Gold Futures in Dramatic Position Change

"Clearly the U.S. banks, presumably including U.S. bullion banks, are not positioning as though they believe there is a great deal more downside left in gold futures. If they did or do believe that gold could probe even lower than the $1,320s, they are not positioning for it in COMEX futures. That does not necessarily mean they are 'right,' but it is a window into how the largest, best funded and presumably the best informed traders of gold futures on the planet - the U.S. banks - are positioning, both for their own book and for their clients." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Banks Buy Gold Futures in Dramatic Position Change