By: Elizabeth Kraus

The most dangerous of that is Oil, its rising and will rise much further, which means, that Gas prices and Food will be even more expensive. But, the Chinese are the cleverest these days – they are not buying movie studios like Japanese in 80’s yet, but Copper, Gold and Lithium for Electric Cars. Comex gold futures at midday Tuesday hit the major psychological level of $1,500.00 an ounce, after flirting with that key price for much of the morning. Tuesday’s new all-time record high in June gold futures now stands at $1,500.50 an ounce. Meantime, silver futures notched a fresh 31-year high near $44.00 an ounce Tuesday. A weaker U.S. dollar index and firmer crude oil prices helped to support the higher precious metals prices Tuesday. June Comex gold last traded up $4.30 an ounce at $1,497.20. Spot gold last traded up $1.00 at $1,497.50. Read More→

By: Elizabeth Kraus

While Paul Ryan’s proposal will do nothing to reduce health care cost but do the opposite, where individuals will have to carry a heavier burden, is not a “path to prosperity”, as the Ryan plan was titled. To summon up the words of the dean of progressive social policy, FDR who was asked his opinion of the platform of the American liberty League in 1935, which like the Ryan’s cabal, aimed to dismantle the New Deal under the guise of preserving individual rights and free enterprise, he told reporters, “say you shall love God and then forget your neighbor. For people who want to keep themselves free from starvation, keep a roof over their heads, lead decent lives, have proper educational standards, those are the concerns of the government.” Those are still the concerns of the government today, and to say we can’t afford them is an affront to the working people who built America today. Read More→

By: Elizabeth Kraus

Let’s keep this relatively simple. Two things happened just recently that are of note. In a more public venue, President Obama finally woke up to the fact that the Republicans have long been “graciously” ceding to him a populist argument he’s avoided since the day after his inaugural, and daring him to take it up. And now, while congress gave final approval to legislation cutting government spending by $38.5 billion as lawmakers’ first major battle this year over the federal budget drawing to a close, investors put over $3 billion into global commodity exchange- as they were returning to the safety of precious metals according to data from BlackRock. Read More→

By: Elizabeth Kraus

As long as the markets continue to whipsaw, time to put some words down on paper as this usually serves to clarify perceptions, the main question is, “What is going to happen to gold and silver in the near term?” Thanks to CNBC for pointing out, that when Bernanke’s speech hit the wire, apparently because he said that he’s not worried about inflation still, gold went nuts! The headlines were screaming at the top of every financial media outlet that night: The Dow Closes Above 12,000 For the First Time in Two Years! Read More→

By: Elizabeth Kraus

Commodity prices have faltered in the last couple of weeks, and much of the “smart money” is saying the boom is over. Don’t believe it. As long as the world’s central banks keep interest rates at these very low levels, the speculative interest in commodities will be strong, and so will their prices. Since only minor central banks yet show signs of moving rates, the commodities bull market has further to run. The three catalysts why commodity prices have been rising, and they’re all still true: China and India continue their torrid growth. Global stimulus plans are bullish for gold prices. Speculative investors are big commodities players. If we examine each of these in more detail, we find that while the rest of the world has been mired in recession, China has had a pretty good year, and so has India. China’s third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) rose 9.5% from the same period last year and India is expected to post an increase of at least 6%. Read More→

By: Elizabeth Kraus

In a move that provides a glimpse of the future of US dollar and gold, China has allowed its currency to be traded for the first time in the United States. This is a bullish sign for gold investors. It is an important step in the country’s plan to make the renminbi an international currency. The explicit move is an endorsement by Beijing since the state-controlled Bank of China Ltd is at the forefront of this development. Although a floating currency allows price moves in both directions, it is general consensus that the renminbi will strengthen against the US dollar due to trade imbalances between the two countries. The impact on commodity markets, including gold, will depend on the extent and speed to which China allows its currency to rise. Read More→

By: Elizabeth Kraus

A strange start to the year and a strange end to a volatile week, so we take a whiz across the air waves in order to get a ‘feel’ of what’s going on, so this will be a mixed bag of data. The first eye catcher is this: Eric Sprott: Expects $50 for Silver, and for gold possibly $2,150 by Spring 2012. Read More→

By: Elizabeth Kraus

Despite the recent fall back in the gold price all the structural imbalances in the global economic system remain in place and ever-growing Chinese and Indian demand could turn supply/demand forecasts on their head. Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust remained unchanged. While holdings in the iShares Silver Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell further to 10,526.70 tonnes, its lowest since November, spot gold gained 0.2 percent to $1,348.25 an ounce by 0341 GMT, but was on course for a third consecutive week of falls. U.S. gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,347.8. Read More→

By: Elizabeth Kraus

Since the European debt crisis first emerged in early 2010, it has dominated headlines, roiled the world financial markets, and has kept investors in a perpetual state of alert as they wait for the next shoe to drop. But, the most disturbing news today is the manipulation of the gold market by JPMorgan Chase and HSBC…. “JPMorgan Chase is the nation’s second-largest bank. Anything and everything can involve them,” said Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund who now teaches at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management. Johnson, who’s been critical of the selection — warns that “Bill Daley now controls how information is presented to and decisions are made by the president.” Read More→