This is one of the articles from the Bullion Buzz Newsletter:

Unlike most fund managers, who allocate a small percentage of the portfolios they manage to gold, billionaire commodities magnate and Tigris Financial Group head Thomas Kaplan reportedly has gone all in on gold. “I've reached a point where I feel the only asset I have confidence in is gold,” Kaplan says. Reflecting his conviction that global economic instability could bring rising demand for gold, Kaplan has gone further than perhaps any other major investor, betting the majority of his wealth on gold and other precious metals. “You've got a perfect storm with no apparent solution,” he said. “If the world does well, gold will be fine. If the world doesn't do well, gold will also do fine … but a lot of other things could collapse.” Though he won't disclose how much physical gold he owns, Kaplan controls up to 30% of the shares in some junior miners, and his total holdings amount to a nearly $2-billion bet on gold. Tigris subsidiaries have taken stakes in mining companies, including tiny firms that have yet to produce an ounce. Kaplan has not only loaded up on bullion, but bought up properties in 17 countries on five continents where geologists are searching for gold. However, if investors want to stock up on gold in a hurry, Kaplan notes, it will be hard to produce enough gold to satisfy demand. Gold hit an exchange record of $1,242.70 per ounce on May 12 before experiencing a correction to $1,180 as investors opted for cash amid global uncertainty, options expiration and a struggling equity market.

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The latest Bullion Buzz is out. One of the articles focuses on inflation and the troubles ahead for the US. A video from the National Inflation Association is featured. Here is an excerpt:

National Inflation Association

The US economy is currently experiencing a “meltup”, and the NIA believes this is a prelude to a currency collapse and hyperinflation. What the US economy really needs is a meltdown, which would rebalance it; by trying to prevent a much-needed recession, the Federal Reserve has made a massive devaluation of the US dollar inevitable. American citizens have not yet felt the pain of the government bailouts, which have deceptively transferred middle-class wealth to Wall Street bankers under the ruse of ‘too big to fail’. Institutions on Wall Street needed to fail in order to have a truly healthy economy. Bailing them out and rapidly expanding the size of government sowed the seeds for a US dollar hyperinflationary death spiral, and the end of entitlement programs Americans have come to depend on. Video here: http://inflation.us/videos.html

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The latest BullionBuzz is out. A video on the history of money by Niall Ferguson is a good watch. See it here:

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The latest Bullion Buzz Newsletter has some interesting articles on issues such as debt, currency, etc. Of particular interest to me was an article by Alistair Blair on Warren Buffet and his thoughts on currency. Basically, he 'don't hold much stock in them'. Here is an excerpt: "At Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting last weekend, company Chairman Warren Buffett said that he's bearish about the ability of all currencies to hold their value over time because of massive deficits being run up by governments in the wake of the global financial crisis. He also warned that it is unclear how the Greek debt crisis will ultimately be resolved.

The financial crisis of 2008 was stemmed by massive monetary and fiscal intervention in developed economies that has shifted a private-sector debt mountain on to governments, increasing anxiety about sovereign risks. One concern is that governments will print money to pay debts, undermining the value of currencies and triggering inflation. “Events in the world over the last few years make me more bearish on all currencies in terms of holding their value over time,” Buffett said. “How the world weans itself off huge deficit financing is going to be difficult to watch.” Still, Buffett noted that as long as the US borrows in US dollars, there's no possibility of default since “you don't default when you can print your own currency.”

Sovereign debt concerns have hit Greece hardest so far because the country has one of the biggest budget deficits and debt loads of any country in the Eurozone. In addition, Greece has understated its deficit twice, shaking investor confidence. Bond yields have soared and the country's debt rating has been slashed to junk status, making it almost impossible for the country to refinance its debt mountain at realistic interest rates. Greece is promising drastic austerity measures in return for a bailout of as much as 120 billion euros over three years.

Earlier doubts about Germany's commitment to helping Greece triggered a surge in sovereign bond yields that cut all but the most creditworthy countries out of the market. Buffett said that Europe's monetary union has created an interesting situation, since Greece is a sovereign country in terms of its own budget but cannot print its own currency. “You may be seeing a test case play out there,” said Buffett. “A country not using its own currency and yet it is sovereign in terms of making its own promises to its citizens. I don't know how this movie ends,” he added. “I try not to go to movies like that.” Read more here: Bullion Buzz

The latest BullionBuzz Newsletter is here: bullionbuzz
Articles include topics on hyperinflation, Goldman Sachs, platinum and the economy. Here is a picture of gold backing and the US monetary base that can be found in the newsletter…

In this week's BullionBuzz articles address topics like Greek's debt, and the "Debunking the Post-CFTC Precious Metals Fear Mongering Campaign" by Erik Townsend. Read more here: BullionBuzz

The latest BullionBuzz magazine is available. One of the articles quotes Congressman Ron Paul as he comments on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. Here is an excerpt: "The US government’s Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has been holding hearings as part of their investigation into the causes of 2008’s economic breakdown. Things aren’t going well; everybody interviewed seems to want to blame the fiasco on someone else. No one has any insights as to the cause of the crisis. Naturally, the Commission will avoid calling witnesses who might indict the government for its role in the crisis, or suggest solutions that will reduce the government’s power. In fact, this Commission will likely grant more power to the SEC, when that institution should be abolished as an embarrassing farce. Of course, the reality is that the Fed relentlessly expanded the money supply through artificially low interest rates for over two decades, and this expansion of easy money caused a wholly predictable bubble. While there will always be demand for cheap money, central banks should not be allowed to debase currencies and create bubbles of false prosperity to satisfy that demand. The Commission needs experts who understand free market economics, but it has none of these and has called no true free market witnesses. It will bemoan the complexity and inscrutability of America’s economic problems, but the solution is simple: allow freedom to operate in the markets. Allow financial, labour and housing markets to normalize without political interference. The solution is simple and obvious, although not easy or painless. It would require admitting that fiat money is a failure, and allowing Americans to choose a system of sound money, one where money supply and interest rates are set by market forces rather than centralized economic planners" Read more of this and the other articles at BullionBuzz

The latest BullionBuzz Magazine is out. A featured article by Matt Taibbi discusses how high finance is really low finance in America. Here is an excerpt: "Taibbi tells the shocking story of how America’s biggest banks are ripping off US cities with the same type of predatory deals that crippled Greece. In particular, he chronicles how Birmingham, Alabama has been brought to its knees through the building of an elaborate new sewer system financed by financial wizards like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. In essence, a mob of corrupt local officials and morally absent financiers got together to build the “Taj Mahal of sewer-treatment plants”, a monstrosity that resulted in billions of dollars of profit for Wall Street and misery for the people of Alabama." Read the Buzz here: BullionBuzz

The latest BullionBuzz Newsletter is available. This issue re-publishes some of the best articles of past years by authors like Jim Puplava and Richard Russell. Here is an excerpt from on by Jim Puplava: "In April of 1779, Benjamin Franklin said: "This currency, as we manage it, is a wonderful machine. It performs its office when we issue it; it pays and clothes troops, and provides victuals and ammunition; and when we are obliged to issue a quantity excessive, it pays itself off by depreciation."

Fast forward 230 years and we find Ben Bernanke poised to take charge of America's money, with a philosophy remarkably similar to his predecessor's: "Like gold, US dollars have value only to the extent that they are strictly limited in supply. But the US government has a technology, called a printing press, which allows it to produce as many US dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost. By increasing the number of dollars in circulation, or even credibly threatening to do so, the US government can also reduce the value of a dollar in terms of goods and services, which is the equivalent to raising the prices in dollars of those goods and services. We conclude that, under a paper-money system, a determined government can always generate higher spending and hence positive inflation."

For the most part, inflation is a poorly understood phenomenon. Many believe it results from OPEC raising oil prices, businesses seeking higher profits, or unions looking to enhance union work benefits and pay. The truth is that government is the source of all inflation – an increase in the quantity of money stands behind rising prices. Today, inflation, not deflation, is inevitable, and the link between the past and the present is in the shared philosophies of the two Bens: both are enamoured of the printing press." Read more here: BullionBuzz

The new edition of the BullionBuzz newsletter is out. One article by Peter Schiff talks about the Dow and gold. Here is an excerpt: "Last week, the Dow Jones closed above 11,000 for the first time in four-and-a-half years, leading many to predict that an all-time high is imminent. Schiff advises against succumbing to the hype. Six years' worth of inflation has rendered any direct US dollar comparisons meaningless, he writes; for a more accurate assessment, the Index must be measured in something other than depreciating dollars, and historically the best comparison is relative to gold."  For more and other articles go here: BullionBuzz