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

And catch the rest of the newsletter here: BullionBuzz

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

To balance the news that the Comex is up to 'no good' as outlined in a previous post (Gold Manipulation Whistle Blower Blows Away CFTC – Biggest Fraud in History?) this article by Erik Townsend does a detailed overview of the issues involved. Perhaps we were hoodwinked by some of the GATA and King information? While I respect GATA's aims, they are not perfect and may have gone too far this time. Sadly, Mr. Townsend points out that they may have lost a 'golden' opportunity to shed light where it could actually do the most good. Here is an excerpt:

"Ever since the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) hearing on position limits in the COMEX precious metals futures markets on March 25th, the blogosphere has been on fire with talk of conspiracy, scandal and fraud. Eric King of King World News has run a series of audio interviews in which he repeatedly suggests that what’s being uncovered may actually be “The greatest fraud in history”. Meanwhile, the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) has made numerous allegations pertaining to fraud on the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which is arguably the largest marketplace in the world for sale and purchase of physical gold bullion. The story gets even more juicy – at the CFTC hearing, GATA brought forth information from a whistleblower named Andrew Maguire. Then, just days after this disclosure, Mr. Maguire and his wife were victims of a hit-and run car accident in London. In what read like a 1960s spy novel, the blogosphere immediately went wild with allegations that JP Morgan, an investment bank that trades in the precious metals market, had arranged to have Mr. Maguire assassinated for revealing their devilish plot to manipulate precious metals markets! To the casual observer, all this smacks of exactly what Eric King has called it: The greatest fraud in history!

But to the not-so-casual observer, i.e. someone who actually understands metals markets and how they function, it’s quickly apparent that most of the hype circulating in the blogosphere is utter nonsense. In fact, there appears to this author to be far more misinformation than accurate information circulating on the Internet with regard to this subject. Sadly, GATA, the watchdog organization that is urgently needed by investors to keep an eye on wrongdoing in these markets, appears to be more at fault than any other party for distorting the facts and making baseless allegations. While that organization’s chartered mission is certainly noble, the organization’s execution of that mission warrants some harsh criticism. This article will review the history of what has transpired, and will debunk the false information that has been spreading rampantly in the coverage of these events by otherwise-respectable websites including ZeroHedge and King World News."

To read the complete article go to Financial Sense Editorials.

A good article on Commodities Reporter. This from the guys at Bullion Vault. They point out again, how tenuous holdings in many precious metals ETF's are. I continue to hammer on that theme. A lot of people are going to get really hurt by the antics being pulled with their gold. Point is, most physical bullion that investors believe is there, really isn't. It's just a paper promise and another exercise in fractional banking. Here's an excerpt: "Everyone knows the concept behind a “fractional” banking system, right? You have $1 in deposits and you lend out $10. The Romans invented the concept and it is widely understood to have been one of the ingredients that led to Rome’s demise.

As per the electrifying CFTC hearings on March 26, and a fact that GATA has long understood, the Big Banks which deal in gold and silver, also known as “Bullion Banks,” apply and utilize the fractional banking system to bullion dealings.

In 2007 Morgan Stanley settled a class-action lawsuit in which Morgan Stanley was selling silver to customers and charging them for storage. It turned out that Morgan Stanley was selling and storing silver that didn’t exist.  One of MS’s defense arguments was that it was common industry practice to sell and store metal that didn’t exist. And as long as the customer buys and sells thru MS without asking for the metal to be delivered, MS can get away with it because the round-trip transaction is cash in/cash out. The scheme crumbled when some investors asked for serial numbers and weights. Details are here, if you are interested: LINK" Read the full story here: Commodities Reporter

Time to cash in your ETF shares and contact me for real bullion!

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

I received an email from an investor this morning. Basically he was concerned about an interview on King World about an empty vault at the Bank of Nova Scotia. Did it affect bullion holdings for clients of Bullion Management Group? Here is the King World release, followed by a response from Nick Barisheff of BMG (bottom line is that your gold is safe):

BOMBSHELL RELEASE – Harvey & Lenny Organ & Adrian Douglas: Drop Another Bombshell In What Could End Up Being The Largest Fraud In History – King World News was contacted again by Adrian Douglas, Board of Director for Gata with stunning new information involving the man he testified with at the CFTC meeting Harvey Organ. Harvey, who was invited by the CFTC to testify and his son Lenny describe another piece of the puzzle in what could turn out to be the largest fraud in history. This time a large international bank with almost 15 million customers in 50 countries around the world becomes part of this unfolding saga.

http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2010/4/7_Andrew_Maguire_&_Adrian_Douglas_files/Harvey%20%26%20Lenny%20Organ%20%26%20Adrian%20Douglas%204%3A7%3A2010.mp3

Response from Nick Barisheff:

I have listened to the interview and it completely lacks any credibility.  Either Harvey Organ was in something  other than the main vault or he is lying.

In conclusion, I have no concerns about the security of the bullion as my family holds most of our retirement investment in the BMG funds, my son’s RESP and my mother’s retirement funds and we own bullion bars as well.

Regards,

Nick Barisheff
President & CEO

BULLION MANAGEMENT GROUP INC
60 Renfrew Drive, Suite 280
Markham, ON L3R 0E1

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 CFTC hearing on possible manipulation in the precious metals market received a bombshell with a presentation from Bill Murphy of GATA . Bill released information provided by whistle blower Andrew Maguire, a former Goldman Sachs silver trader. Incidentally, concurrently with Mr. Maguire's revelation, he and his wife were hurt in a hit-and-run drive in London. Was this an accident? Mr. Maguire has documented evidence including phone recordings detailing his conversations with the CFTC in regard to a particular incident of silver manipulation in the London market. Incidentally, the CFTC did nothing about his revelation, when it was clearly illegal.

This news is huge. This news blows the lid off metals manipulation in a way that the CFTC cannot deny. Look out for precious metals prices to jump. More importantly, as revelations take place, the validity of 'paper' gold and silver' (ETF's) will be put into serious question. And as I have been saying for years, get out of ETF's that give no guarantee that physical gold actually backs the paper and get into real bullion. Here is a link to an interview with Andrew Maguire & Adrian Douglas (of GATA) hosted by King World News here: King World News

Here is a video of the part of the presentation done by Bill Murphy at the CFTC hearing:

Do you have real gold and silver bullion? Don't wait till prices skyrocket – contact me now. Remember, President Obama has stated that he wants more transparency in markets. This story of precious metals manipulation can not be kept quiet any longer!