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4.18.13 - Gold Remains the Buy of a Generation - Listen

Physical gold prices rose near $1,400/oz. Thursday amid bargain hunting and safe haven buying. Stocks fall on earnings. Gold last traded at $1,391 an ounce. Silver last traded at $23.26 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-More Hints Economy Stuck in Rut - FoxBusiness
-Philly Fed Disappoints; Leading Indicators Contract - CNBC
-Three Fed Presidents Say Deflation May Prompt Easing - Bloomberg
-IMF Warns Spanish Debt-Load Is Unsustainable - ZeroHedge
-Singles hit retirement with little savings - Marketwatch
-Steaming Toward the ObamaCare 'Train Wreck' - WSJ

WALL STREET ANALYSTS: GOOD AS FLIPPING A COIN - TheReformedBroker
NerdWallet investigated all 883 analyst ratings issued on the Dow Jones 30 stocks in 2012. All the recommendations were latest issued prior to 1st January 2012. Then it compared the recommendations to stock performance through 2012.

accuracy NerdWallet found that only 51 percent of the recommendations were correct. Yes, predicting stock movement is challenging, but you do expect highly paid analysts with decades of experience to at least beat the average. And 49 percent of analysts failed on that parameter. I can't believe this is still an actual business.

7 REASONS WHY GOLD REMAINS THE BUY OF A GENERATION! - Craig R. Smith
Although we live in an era of instant information and communication; true wisdom, perspective and insight have never been more scarce. Recent gold news headlines again declaring gold is "dead" ranged from absurd to laughable to downright foolish.

As the physical gold dust settles following the largest gold price correction in more than a generation, I am reminded of Proverbs 16:16, "How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!"

Here are 7 reasons why physical gold and silver coins remain the buy of a generation, as I have said they would be decades ago. 1. Forget the Price of Gold, Remember the Value of Gold. more...

FED AND BANK OF JAPAN CAUSED GOLD CRASH - Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph
It is becoming ever clearer that the roaring boom in global equities since last summer has priced in an economic recovery that does not in fact exist. The International Monetary Fund has had to nurse down its global growth forecasts yet again.

My view is that the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan "caused" the gold crash. The rest is noise. The Fed assault began in February when it published a paper warning that the longer quantitative easing continues, the harder it will be for the bank to extricate itself.

The report was co-written by former Fed governor Frederic Mishkin, often deemed Ben Bernanke's "alter ego". It said the Fed's capital base could be wiped out "several times" once borrowing costs climb.

As for the Bank of Japan, it had been assumed that the colossal monetary stimulus of Haruhiko Kuroda would revive the yen-carry trade, leaking $1 trillion into world asset markets. But the early evidence is the opposite. Japanese investors brought money home last week.

The world is still in a contained depression. Sliding commodities tell us global money is if anything too tight. "There is a threat of deflation almost everywhere. A lot of central banks will have to follow the Bank of Japan, whatever they say now," said Lars Christensen form Danske Bank

The era of money printing is young yet. Gold will have its day again.

GOLD WILL GET THE LAST LAUGH ON CENTRAL BANKS - Stephen Leeb, Forbes
In short, the West desperately wants to maintain the dollar and euro as reserve currencies. To keep the status quo, however, Western economies must also ensure that gold remain in the background. Otherwise, the central banks could no longer control commodity prices or virtually anything else in the monetary realm.

I'm not a conspiracy buff, but everything suggests that the West, in ways not necessarily illegal, hopes to kneecap gold. It may work for a while, too but eventually gold will migrate into a reserve currency basket and its price will advance many times from its current level.

Current gold and commodity trading looks to me like a liquidity-grab, similar to what occurred at the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. Selling assets for cash and bonds, regardless of fundamentals or cost, could turn a mere correction into an outright mugging, the worse for the U.S., given the near certainty that major gold buyers include the Chinese. Why not just hand them the keys to our capital?

SOMEONE HAS TO PAY - WILL IT BE YOU? - FinancialSense
The Cyprus banking kerfuffle has ignited a blogosphere storm debating the likelihood that depositors elsewhere, perhaps even "˜guaranteed' ones, may find themselves on the hook for recapitalising their domestic banks. Someone has to pay for past resource misallocations... Will it be you?

Well, behind the scenes, economic officials the world over have been busy putting together working frameworks for how to deal with future bank failures. One recent, prominent example is a joint paper by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Bank of England, in cooperation with the US Federal Reserve and the Financial Stability Board of the Bank for International Settlements, the international bank supervisory body based in Basel, Switzerland.[2] Given its international character and the prominence of the institutions involved, this paper should be understood as a working template for how large international bank failures will be addressed in future.

What this amounts to is a debt-for-equity swap arrangement for the "highest layer of surviving bailed-in creditors." While in some cases the "˜highest layer' might be that of the bondholders, in others it would include depositors, as is the case in Cyprus for example. In other words, regulators are laying the operational groundwork for a new type of banker bailout deemed politically acceptable. The last time around, they went straight to the taxpayers. The next time around, they are going straight to the depositors.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.17.13 - The Inflation Tax: Invisible, Yet Damaging - Listen

Physical gold prices held above $1,375/oz. Wednesday amid bargain hunting and profit taking. Stocks fall. Gold last traded at $1,378 an ounce. Silver last traded at $23.36 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Investors Bail Out of Stocks - CNNMoney
-Apple off 4% as tech paces steepening Wall Street skid - Marketwatch
-BofA Profit Misses Estimates - Bloomberg
-Bargain Hunters Enter Gold Market - WSJ
-Gold Gains for Second day as Equities Decline, Demand Rebounds - Bloomberg

JIM CRAMER CHARTS GOLD'S FUTURE - CNBC VIDEO
Bravo to Jim Cramer and his TheStreet.com team for their timely explanation of why gold should be in every single portfolio. He calculates gold is a good risk, with limited downside to about $70/oz. from this level ($1,305) and upside is $295/oz. ($1,670) in the short to mid-term.

YOUR TAX BURDEN DIDN'T END ON APRIL 15, SAY EXPERTS - NewsRelease
Think you're finished paying taxes because April 15 has passed?

No, the average taxpayer will have to work until "Tax Freedom Day" on April 18 just to pay his or her visible taxes. Then the average American must go on working until "Cost of Government Day" on July 15 to pay the hidden added costs imposed on us by government regulations and mandates.

"Even this does not include the sneakiest tax of all - inflation - which all by itself might tax away the equivalent of between 20 and 32 days of earnings from the average American this year," says Craig R. Smith, a monetary expert frequently interviewed by Fox's Neil Cavuto and other prominent business journalists.

"Combined, our direct and hidden taxes...that's what the government's regulations and deliberate inflation really are...will eat up at least 217 days - from January 1 until at least August 5 - of the average American's effort and income this year," says Smith, whose widely-praised latest book is The Great Debasement. "Inflation is an invisible tax," says Smith.

Widely-respected independent economist John Williams of ShadowStats reanalyzes current government data by removing the gimmicks that government has adopted since 1980 to manipulate its numbers. Williams reports that consumer inflation in March 2013 was running between 9% and 10% per year.

ARIZONA APPROVES GOLD AND SILVER AS LEGAL TENDER - YahooFinance
Last Monday, Arizona lawmakers passed a bill that makes precious metals legal tender. Arizona is the second state, after Utah, to allow gold coins created by the Fed and private mints to be used as currency.

The bill will also eliminate a capital gains tax liability associated with an increase in the value of gold. Making gold a legal tender eliminates the commodities tax at a state level.

The bill doesn't force any constituent to use or accept gold as currency and because of problems with the local revenue department, residents of Arizona won't be able to pay their taxes in bullion.

FROM STAGNATION TO PROSPERITY TO STAGNATION - WashTimes
The great tragedy of our time is that so few know economic history; thus we have been doomed to repeat the mistakes of a generation ago, and millions suffer.

Long before taking office, Thatcher and Reagan studied economics seriously. In fact, Reagan is the only U.S. president to have had a degree in economics. Thatcher was impressed with the writings of F.A. Hayek, arguably the best economist of the 20th century. She spent time absorbing lessons and insights from him, in person, before and after she was elected. Reagan, also a fan of Hayek and of Milton Friedman.

The bigger government versus smaller government experiment has been run perhaps a hundred times around the world over the past couple of centuries, and the outcome is always the same. Perhaps a new Reagan or Thatcher will reappear and save us once again, or perhaps not.

4.16.13 - Glittering Opportunity As Gold Dust Settles - Listen

Precious metal prices rebounded Tuesday following a two-day speculative sell-off. Stocks lifted by housing, upbeat earnings. Gold last traded at $1,369 an ounce. Silver last traded at $23.34 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-The Best Indicator of U.S. Health is Wage Growth (or Lack Thereof) - WSJ
-Comex Gold Volume Monday Exceeds Old Record By 54% - Kitco
-Gold's Decline: A Minor Dip In An Ongoing Rally - Peter Schiff, RCM
-The Gold Selloff Is Actually a Good Thing - Larry Kudlow, RCM
-Time to buy gold, any way you can - Cody Willard, Marketwatch
-Bargain Hunters Shore Up Gold - WSJ

gold "Gold is owned and bought by different kinds of investors. The ETFs were driving gold, and that's the tail. I didn't like that. They like to buy high, they like the momentum. When the momentum reverses, they don't like to be in it... gold coins are a good place to be," says CNBC's Jim Cramer.

"Today I am happy to report gold is alive and well! I am proud of Swiss America clients who ran to the phone to place 'buy' orders, rather than listening to media pundits advising them to run for the exits and sell!", writes Swiss America Chairman Craig Smith.

"It warms my heart to see wisdom in action. Most people understand that sound money follows sound fundamentals and owning gold follows financial wisdom," says Smith.

"IS THE GOLD BULL OVER? A glimpse into the past and future," writes Jim Carrillo, Senior Analyst at Swiss America. Jim asks, which of these ten statements is true?

1. The US Dollar is now trusted worldwide
2. The economy looks healthy again
3. Incomes are rising again
4. The stock market is a safe bet
5. Banks can be trusted
6. QE obviously won't effect the dollar's value
7. Bond yields are healthy
8. Savings rates are good
9. Wars are a thing of the past
10. The Gold bull market is over

The answer in my humble opinion to all of the above is false. What you are now being offered is a huge discount on wealth insurance. That ugly duckling that everyone is kicking to the curb will now blossom into a beautiful swan. That's right Gold is now on sale, but it is an ugly duckling according to the media and pundits. But if you clear your mind and look at the real facts you will see that a beautiful swan will emerge.

This, upon careful examination, appears to be the best buy since the 2008 collapse. We had a huge 30% decline in 2008 from $1,000.00 to $700.00, the media screamed gold's bull market was over. They cried that it wasn't a safe haven after all. Sound familiar?

I argue that this correction only put gold back on a better plane at a much more healthy angle of ascent. I believe we are now in a position to potentially see gold prices better than double from current levels, as it did after 2008.

GOLD RISES NEARLY 2% AFTER SHARP SELLOFF - Marketwatch
U.S. stocks rebounded along with gold on Tuesday, racing ahead after the previous session's selloff on Wall Street. Analysts said the latest data on consumer inflation, showing few price pressures, mean the Federal Reserve will unlikely take its foot off the gas pedal of quantitative easing any time soon.

The CME Group Inc. CME +0.60% , the parent company of the main metals and energy exchanges in the U.S., said Monday it was raising the collateral requirements for trading in benchmark gold, silver and other precious-metals futures contracts. The CME raising margin requirements will help lower short-term volatility, said Jeffrey Wright, managing director at Global Hunter Securities.

Collateral, or margin, to trade benchmark Comex 100-troy-ounce gold futures will be increased by 19%, and the margin to trade silver will rise 18%. Margin increases tend to be implemented during times of market turbulence.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.15.13 - Wise Buy Gold Dip, Ignore Media "Panic" - Listen

Precious metal prices fell to two-year lows Monday amid technical selling and short-term profit taking. Stocks fall on China slowdown. Gold last traded at $1,352 an ounce. Silver last traded at $22.69 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-China Q1 GDP Eases to 7.7% - Reuters
-Stocks Drop 2%, Dow Falls 250 - CNBC
-Fearless Investors Buy Stock Rally - Marketwatch
-Citibank's Q1 Profit Rises 30% - WSJ
-Tax Time Takes A Big Bite Out Of Gold - Trader's Almanac
-Gold Selloff on Tax Day Perhaps No Coincidence - NYTimes
-Americans' Faith in Tax Fairness Hits 10-Year Low - CNBC
-Foreign holdings of US debt rose 10% to $5.66 trillion - AP

The price of an ounce of gold, the world's most favorite precious metal, cost $124 less today, thanks to an orchestrated sell-off by speculators. But gold prices were not the only thing to bottom on the infamous 100th anniversary of IRS tax deadline day.

Reuters reports just 28 percent of Americans rate the federal government favorably, the lowest percentage ever in a Pew survey. The Dow also slid 200 points amid worries that China growth will slow world growth in 2013. AP reports, weaker-than-expected Chinese economic growth figures weighed on markets Monday.

THE WISDOM OF BUYING GOLD RIGHT NOW - SpecialAlert
Gold prices, which have been at the mercy of technical selling since 2012, are today witnessing a flood of "paper" market sell orders as short-term speculators take profits.

Swiss America CEO Dean Heskin reminds gold owners that the physical gold market is still alive and well, despite ETF liquidations from major banks, brokerages and traders.

"This flushing out of weak-handed, short-term gold speculators will prove a valuable entry point for those who have felt they missed the gold rush over the last few years," says Heskin.

"Gold's healthy price correction below $1,400/oz. should be viewed as the best buying opportunity in the last year. Market fundamentals remain solid," said author and Swiss America Chairman Craig R. Smith.

gold chart

Mr. Smith remains confident the 21st century rush toward a new gold standard and away from a debt-driven culture is far from over, "The strong fundamentals driving this flight to safety could continue to propel gold prices above $2,000/oz."

The recent price dip offered the 9th major gold buying opportunity since 2003. The average price rebound following price dips is 36%! Better yet, this was only the third time in a decade that gold prices have dipped over 20%. more...

155 TONS OF PAPER GOLD SOLD IN JUST ONE HOUR! - KingWorldNews
In one hour central banks bought an astounding 55 tons of gold here in London. I want KNW readers around the world to understand that there is massive physical offtake in these markets right now. The reason price is declining is because western governments have sanctioned leveraged paper selling by their agents, the bullion banks, in order to drive the price of gold down. What people are seeing right now has nothing to do with the physical market. In fact, the physical market is literally on fire right now.

MARC FABER "˜LOVES' GOLD PRICE DECLINE, SEES BUYING OPPORTUNITY - ValueWalk
Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, said that gold may fall to $1300 before a rebound. He appeared on Bloomberg TV"˜s "Street Smart" with Trish Regan and Adam Johnson last Thursday. Marc Faber said, "I love the fact that gold is finally breaking down. That will offer an excellent buying opportunity." On whether a deflationary environment is possible right now, Faber said, "In the economy of the cuckoo people that populate central banks, everything is possible."

GOLD TAKEDOWN: ANOTHER GLIMPSE INTO THE CENTRAL BANKING MATRIX- BMGBullion
It is best to do what central banks are doing and not what they are saying. They are buying physical bullion while they tell us the gold bull is over and it's time to return to stocks. Asian countries that have experienced the destruction, the rapidity and the surprise of currency crises hold physical bullion as the ultimate insurance policy. They pay little attention to price movement and, as coin sales and physical buying last week indicated, are wise to the Western central banker's clandestine motives and policies.

BUY A FURTHER DIP IN GOLD FOR LONG TERM PROTECTION - Tradingfloor
The breakdown in prices of spot Gold looks to have caught a large number of investors on the hop! The safe-haven status has been shaken but as a long-term investment - it is the best of a bad bunch. On a long-term basis this was well overdue but we believe this to be a corrective sequence which should see prices return to the safe haven status and lofty heights of 2011 before too long.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.12.13 - Wealth Insurance: Best Buy in Years! - Listen

Precious metal prices fell sharply Friday amid technical selling and short-term profit taking. Stocks fall on retail sales data. Gold last traded at $1,477 an ounce. Silver last traded at $25.85 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-N. KOREA SAYS NUCLEAR WAR 'UNAVOIDABLE' - DrudgeReport
-Consumer sentiment drops to 9-month low - Marketwatch
-Weak Demand for Loans Hits Banks - WSJ
-Gold Plunges to Lowest Since July 2011 - Bloomberg
-Cyprus Rescue: Goes From Bad to Worse - CNBC

On Friday bearish traders, speculators and banks sold off electronic gold holdings, sending prices down 5% for a total of a 22% decline from the 2011 high - and pushing it into technical bear market territory.

Why the sudden gold price slide? drip

First, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the profits from the sale of $523 million in gold owned by the Cypriot central bank must be used to cover losses to Cypriot commercial banks. Then add concerted efforts by major banks shorting gold prices, throw in a growing bearish attitude by the major financial pundits - and bingo, you have a 5% discount, making it the best day to buy gold in almost two years!

So, does this mark the end of the bull market? Don't count on it, says Swiss America Chairman Craig Smith.

The two previous gold sell-offs over the last decade also sent prices down by over 20%, then prices rebounded to new highs. In 2006, gold hit $725 then dropped to $560 (-22%) and in 2008 - gold topped $1002 then dropped to $746 (-25%).

"Do not be distracted by media hype over gold price corrections or talk about a new gold 'bubble'. Instead, keep your eyes on the facts and your focus on the fundamentals," says Smith.

Properly viewed, gold serves primarily as portfolio wealth insurance. Price dips should be embraced with open arms. If your auto, home or health insurance prices suddenly fell, would you be disappointed? No. Instead, you would use a temporary price dip as a buying opportunity. So it should be with this gold dip. (Read: GOLD'S BIGGER PICTURE: The Wisdom of Buying Gold Right Now!

STORIES OF THE WEEK

THE ASSAULT ON GOLD: Paul Craig Roberts - CaseyResearch
It should be apparent by now that, for the most part, the currencies are trading virtually independently of what the precious metal prices are doing, reports CaseyResearch. The dollar index fell like rock at the release of last week's jobs numbers, but someone with deep pockets was there to catch a falling knife.

In the last few weeks have they [major banks] done the dirty and smacked their prices as well in order to force technical fund long selling...but that hasn't changed a thing on the charts, as JPMorgan et al keep piling on the shorts in these two metals.

MR. OBAMA NEEDS TO VISIT BEIJING - Watch FOX Business Craig Smith Interview
Craig Smith was a guest on Fox Business Channel with Neil Cavuto last night discussing China's buying up of natural resources worldwide. Mr. Smith agrees with Donald Trump that the distraction in North Korea is welcomed by China.

According to Smith, "Mr. Obama needs to go to Beijing to tell the Chinese 'enough is enough!' - it is time for China to stop manipulating their currency, to stop stealing intellectual property and to stop with back door deals buying up the world's major commodities, like oil and copper."

GOVERNMENT SPENDING PER HOUSEHOLD EXCEEDS MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME - Terence Jeffrey, SumnerBooks
In fiscal 2010, according to numbers published by the Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), net spending by all levels of government in the United States was $5,942,988,401,000. That equaled $50,074 for each one of the 118,682,000 households in the country.

In that same year, according to the Census Bureau, the median household income was $49,445. That means total net government spending per household ($50,074) exceeded median household income (49,445) by $629.

IT CAN HAPPEN HERE: U.S./UK BANK CONFISCATION SCHEME - GlobalResearch
Confiscating the customer deposits in Cyprus banks, it seems, was not a one-off, desperate idea of a few Eurozone "troika" officials scrambling to salvage their balance sheets. A joint paper by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Bank of England dated December 10, 2012, shows that these plans have been long in the making; that they originated with the G20 Financial Stability Board in Basel, Switzerland (discussed earlier here); and that the result will be to deliver clear title to the banks of depositor funds.

Although few depositors realize it, legally the bank owns the depositor's funds as soon as they are put in the bank. Our money becomes the bank's, and we become unsecured creditors holding IOUs or promises to pay. But until now the bank has been obligated to pay the money back on demand in the form of cash. Under the FDIC-BOE plan, our IOUs will be converted into "bank equity." The bank will get the money and we will get stock in the bank.

ARIZONA HOUSE PASSES CONSTITUTIONAL TENDER BILL - Tenthamendmentcenter.com
The Arizona House passed Senate Bill 1439 by a vote of 36-22 on Monday. The Constitutional Tender bill allows businesses and the state government to accept payments in gold or silver. It specifies that legal tender in Arizona consists of all of the following:

1. Legal Tender authorized by Congress.
2. Specie (containing gold or silver) coin issued at any time by the U.S. government.
3. Any other specie that a court of competent jurisdiction rules by a final, unappealable order to be within the scope of state authority to make legal tender.

CURRENCY WARS ARE GOING NUCLEAR - NYPost
Asia's nuclear nightmare last week did not come from North Korea's Kim Jong-un, but from new Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's shock-and-awe bond-market implosion.

Central bankers across the globe have picked up Ben Bernanke's troubled policy of printing enough currency to cheapen it to the point where inflation could become a problem.

WHY CYPRUS MATTERS - New White Paper
"The crisis in Cyprus reflects how urgent it is for the euro zone to establish a means to shut down failed banks without burdening taxpayers or endangering the financial system," reports NY Times.

Mr. Smith and co-author Lowell Ponte in their latest White Paper "Why Cyprus Matters" explore President Obama's various ideas for confiscating U.S. bank deposits as well as private retirement plans such as 401(K)s and IRAs.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.11.13 - The "Chained-CPI" Inflation Deception - Listen

Precious metal prices rose Thursday on bargain hunting. Upbeat jobs data fails to boost the buck. Stocks rally. Gold last traded at $1,561 an ounce. Silver last traded at $27.67 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Dow, S&P Touch Fresh Highs - CNBC
-G-8 Nations Warn N. Korea on Tests - WSJ
-IRS believes it can read your email, says ACLU - Marketwatch
-Seeking Relief, Banks Shift Risk - NYTimes
-Bitcoin Trading Halted at Largest Trading Exchange - CNBC
-Bitcoins Are Digital Collectibles, Not Real Money - Forbes

Obama proposes a "Chained CPI". What is that, you ask? It is a way of constantly adjusting the existing baskets of goods used to calculate cost of living increases by also taking changes in consumer spending habits into consideration. The term "chained" refers to the fact that each link in the chain involves new weighting of the data, rather than assumptions of the CPI index.

Chained CPI is in reality "Changing CPI". Why does this alternative index appeal to politicians? Simply put, it allows the gov't to increase payments to Social Security and other entitlements more slowly than the official CPI calculations - which are so understated that they have become an entirely unreliable gauge of the 'real world' rising cost of living to begin with.

consumer inflation

Shadowstats.com publishes an alternative CPI illustrating the effect of "changing" CPI index over the decades. The chart shows real world inflation using 1990 index, which is over two times higher than the official 2%. And using the 1980 CPI index - it's over four times higher! The chained CPI (C-CPI) is just slightly lower than the official CPI, which is ridiculously understated.

"Beyond the damage caused by the C-CPI not reflecting out-of-pocket costs, and no longer measuring the cost of living of maintaining a constant standard of living, the C-CPI is not a practical measure for being used as a COLA or other benchmark inflation measure," reports ShadowStats.com.

Daily Reckoning adds, "Retirees are being attacked on three fronts: higher inflation, higher taxes, and lower yields, and I'm fed up. We recently conducted a survey on inflation and price increases with our friends at Casey Research, their Money Forever Reader Poll Inflation Rate is 8%."

Mr. Smith has written several books to help Americans cut through the inflation deception, including the latest "The Great Debasement". Watch The Simple Truth About Inflation.

MR. OBAMA NEEDS TO VISIT BEIJING - Watch FOX Business Craig Smith Interview
Craig Smith was a guest on Fox Business Channel with Neil Cavuto last night discussing China's buying up of natural resources worldwide. Mr. Smith agrees with Donald Trump that the distraction in North Korea is welcomed by China.

GOVERNMENT SPENDING PER HOUSEHOLD EXCEEDS MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME - Terence Jeffrey, SumnerBooks
In fiscal 2010, according to numbers published by the Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), net spending by all levels of government in the United States was $5,942,988,401,000. That equaled $50,074 for each one of the 118,682,000 households in the country.

I think the number demonstrates how completely predictable the fiscal crisis our country faces has become. A nation whose government spends more than the typical family earns is on the road to ruin.

THE BULL MARKET'S LAST STAND - MSNMoney
Amid a slowing economy and frothy markets, policymakers are waging war on cautious savers. Investors shouldn't be euphoric -- they should be terrified.

Gluskin Sheff economist David Rosenberg finds "no evidence where trying to produce higher inflation produces positive economic results." Yet that is exactly what the Fed and its cohorts are trying to do. And this is exactly the mistake the Fed made in the 1970s under Arthur Burns and George Miller, unleashing waves of inflationary pressures that damaged the economy and resulted in the "stagflation" of the early 1980s.

Only this time, Bernanke's Fed is being far more aggressive in its effort to boost the prices of assets like homes and cars as it increases the volume of credit flowing into the economy. Long-term, the focus should be on protecting against rising prices. Precious metals have been in the dumps lately, but they can be attractively accumulated down at these levels.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.10.13 - Savings Accounts: Yours or the Banks? - Listen

Gold prices dipped more than 1.5% Wednesday on profit taking following Fedspeak and bearish sentiment by speculators. Stocks reach higher. Gold last traded at $1,558 an ounce. Silver last traded at $27.63 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Obama Proposes $3.8 Trillion Budget to Revive Debt Talks - Bloomberg
-President Obama: Budget Is 'Fiscally Responsible' - CNBC
-Obama budget would cap IRAs, 401(k)s - Marketwatch
-Fed's Minutes Snafu Sparks Concern - WSJ
-Trashing The Gold Standard is Now The Stuff Of Amateurs - Forbes

"President Obama's 2014 budget outline, unveiled today, includes a proposal to place a cap on the total amount of money that an individual can keep in individual retirement accounts, 401(k)s and other tax-deferred retirement accounts," reports Marketwatch.

Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte in their latest White Paper "Why Cyprus Matters" explore President Obama's various ideas for confiscating all private retirement plans such as 401(K)s and IRAs.

stealing bank Craig Smith is a guest on Fox Business Channel with Neil Cavuto tonight discussing why China is buying up natural resources worldwide, including gold, and why the distraction in North Korea is welcomed by China. Mr. Smith says, "A single phone call from China to Kim Jung Un would stop all the nonsense. I agree with Donald Trump; China loves the North Korea distraction."

TheStreet.com reports right now some investors are dropping gold "like a hot potato" and ETF selling is popular. But Jim Cramer believes physical gold coins are the place to be because they offer more liquidity. Cramer says gold should have a place in everybody's portfolio.

Meanwhile, Cyprus officials have agreed to sell $523 million in gold reserves to contribute to the country's bailout, according to Marketwatch. [NOTE: Why Cyprus Matters free White Paper explains the new banking risks facing Americans.]

IT CAN HAPPEN HERE: U.S./UK BANK CONFISCATION SCHEME - GlobalResearch
Confiscating the customer deposits in Cyprus banks, it seems, was not a one-off, desperate idea of a few Eurozone "troika" officials scrambling to salvage their balance sheets. A joint paper by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Bank of England dated December 10, 2012, shows that these plans have been long in the making; that they originated with the G20 Financial Stability Board in Basel, Switzerland (discussed earlier here); and that the result will be to deliver clear title to the banks of depositor funds.

If our IOUs are converted to bank stock, they will no longer be subject to insurance protection but will be "at risk" and vulnerable to being wiped out, just as the Lehman Brothers shareholders were in 2008. That explains the need for the FDIC-BOE resolution. If the anticipated enabling legislation is passed, the FDIC will no longer need to protect depositor funds; it can just confiscate them.

GOLD INVENTORIES COLLAPSE BY $3B, LARGEST AMOUNT EVER ON RECORD - BullMarketThinking
A stunning piece of information was brought to my attention yesterday. Amid all the mainstream talk of the end of the gold bull market (and the end of the gold mining industry), something has been discretely happening behind the scenes.

gold chart

Over the last 90 days without any announcement, stocks of gold held at Comex warehouses plunged by the largest figure ever on record during a single quarter since eligible record keeping began in 2001 (roughly the beginning of the bull market).

Total drainage of physical inventories reached nearly 2 million oz.'s of gold, which at today's prices represent roughly $3,000,000,000 dollars.

Bottom line: While mainstream voices question whether or not gold is still in a bull market, smart money appears to be questioning something else. They appear to be asking themselves, "Do we want to continue storing our physical metal within the Comex system? How can we best whisk it away from fraud, theft, or bankruptcy (including our own)?"

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.9.13 - Americans Seek Sound Money - Listen

Gold prices rushed above $1,575/oz. Tuesday on bargain hunting, safe haven buying and a falling dollar. Dow ticks upward. Gold last traded at $1,586 an ounce. Silver last traded at $27.97 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-NKOREA 'TO LAUNCH MISSILE TOMORROW'- DrudgeReport
-Stock rally lifts Dow to record highs - Marketwatch
-Bitcoin Surges Past $200; Where to Next? - CNBC
-Fitch Cuts Rating on China Debt - WSJ
-Spooked by Uncertainty, Little Main Street Hiring - CNBC
-Will You Run Out of Money Before You Die? - Bloomberg

NEW GOLD RUSH IN A DOZEN STATES, SAY EXPERTS - NewsRelease
BEARISH ON U.S. DOLLARS, THEY CONSIDER BULLION MONEY
The U.S. Constitution 224 years ago replaced unreliable state paper currencies with one unified national currency, the U.S. Dollar.

we the people Trouble is, since the creation of the Federal Reserve 100 years ago to control America's money supply, the Fed's printing of trillions has made our dollar unreliable, too, and debased its purchasing power to less than two pennies of a 1913 dollar.

In a new gold rush, more than a dozen states are now considering whether to rein in the Fed by asserting their Constitutional right (Article I, Section 10) to mint their own money again as gold and silver coins.

"Now states such as Utah, Kansas and South Carolina are considering how to break the Fed's money monopoly by minting their own gold and silver state money," says Smith, who discusses such state efforts in depth in his recent book The Inflation Deception: Six Ways Government Tricks Us...And Seven Ways to Stop It! "The Fed has used its money monopoly as a hidden tax," says Smith. more...

ARIZONA HOUSE PASSES CONSTITUTIONAL TENDER BILL - Tenthamendmentcenter.com
The Arizona House passed Senate Bill 1439 by a vote of 36-22 on Monday. The Constitutional Tender bill allows businesses and the state government to accept payments in gold or silver. It specifies that legal tender in Arizona consists of all of the following:
1. Legal Tender authorized by Congress.
2. Specie (containing gold or silver) coin issued at any time by the U.S. government.
3. Any other specie that a court of competent jurisdiction rules by a final, unappealable order to be within the scope of state authority to make legal tender.

The bill previously passed the state senate by a vote of 17-11. Since there was a House amendment which tightened up some of the language, constitutionally, the bill will need one final vote on the floor of the State Senate before going to Jan Brewer's desk for a signature.

The United States Constitution states in Article I, Section 10, "No State shall"¦make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts." The Constitutional tender act is a big step towards that constitutional requirement which has been ignored for a long time in every state of the country. Such a tactic would achieve the desired goal of abolishing the Federal Reserve system by attacking it from the bottom up - pulling the rug out from under it by working to make its functions irrelevant at the State and local level.

THE ASSAULT ON GOLD: Paul Craig Roberts - CaseyResearch
It should be apparent by now that, for the most part, the currencies are trading virtually independently of what the precious metal prices are doing, reports CaseyResearch. The dollar index fell like rock at the release of last week's jobs numbers, but someone with deep pockets was there to catch a falling knife.

CURRENCY WARS ARE GOING NUCLEAR - NYPost
Asia's nuclear nightmare last week did not come from North Korea's Kim Jong-un, but from new Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's shock-and-awe bond-market implosion.

Central bankers across the globe have picked up Ben Bernanke's troubled policy of printing enough currency to cheapen it to the point where inflation could become a problem.

As the world banking system is flooded with cash, commodities will likely rise substantially - like they did when the Fed began its quantitative-easing plan. The Fed started this race to nowhere, and our economy is going nowhere fast.

WHAT BITCOIN IS TEACHING US - DailyReckoning
A currency that not only discourages debt, but earns enough money to pay off previous debt, plus encourages saving? It seems unthinkable to people today. That's because none of us in living memory has had experience with a currency that rises in value.

The emergence of Bitcoin - a digital currency that has grown in purchasing power over time - has changed that experience dramatically. As a free-market currency, it does what currency should do, which is increase in value over time. The dollar didn't always behave this way. During the Second Industrial Revolution, after the Civil War in the so-called Gilded Age, we had a gold standard. Prices were generally declining for everything. Another way to look at it: The dollar was growing more valuable.

The dollar bought three times as much grain in 1894 as it did in 1867. It bought nearly twice as much cotton in 1877 as it did in 1872. Farmland became more affordable. In general, the dollar gained 2% in value through the whole period. Wages were falling nominally, but rising in real terms, simply because the dollar could buy more.

Today, we celebrate 2% and get on our knees in gratitude that production isn't generally falling. But back between 1870-1890, we saw growth rates of 6% and more, and that became the new normal. Sound money was the basis of unprecedented prosperity.

THE US HOUSING RECOVERY IS A MIRAGE - BusinessInsider
At the end of March, it was announced that the 20-city Case-Shiller Index was up 8.1% year-over-year. Nearly all housing experts declared that this was further confirmation that the housing recovery was firmly in place.

I have been consistently asserting that there is no convincing data to support the view that housing markets have turned the corner. My conclusion is that the much-vaunted housing recovery is actually a mirage and that a new delinquency crisis is coming.

One main cause of the shrinking inventory of homes for sale is this view of most homeowners that they would be better off waiting at least a year before putting their house on the market. As I see it, homeowners have been greatly influenced by those in the media who have been asserting that the bottom has been reached and prices are clearly heading higher.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.8.13 - No Liberty Without Economic Liberty - Listen

Gold prices held near $1,575/oz. Monday after rising last week on weak jobs data and a falling dollar. Stocks cheer earnings season. Gold last traded at $1,573 an ounce. Silver last traded at $27.29 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Stocks Reverse Losses to End Higher; Alcoa Gains - CNBC
-Europe is a cauldron of uncertainty - Marketwatch
-Stock Crash Likely If Rally Continues: Marc Faber - CNBC
-The Woman Who Saved Britain With A Message of Freedom - WSJ
-New Trouble for Euro in Portugal - NYTimes
-Gold to remain in demand medium to long term - Commerzbank

Margaret Thatcher, the most dominant British prime minister since Winston Churchill and a global champion of the late 20th-century free market economic revival, has died. Here are a two inspiring quotes;

"There can be no liberty unless there is economic liberty."

"Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country."
-MARGARET THATCHER, (1925-2013)

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's budget, to be released this week, reportedly will restrict how much wealthy people can have in their IRAs and other retirement accounts.

"It's a penny-wise, pound-foolish idea that will hurt middle-class employees," says Craig R. Smith, whose latest widely-discussed book is "The Great Debasement: The 100-Year Dying of the Dollar and How to Get America's Money Back." more...

"The crisis in Cyprus reflects how urgent it is for the euro zone to establish a means to shut down failed banks without burdening taxpayers or endangering the financial system," reports NY Times.

Mr. Smith and co-author Lowell Ponte in their latest White Paper "Why Cyprus Matters" explore President Obama's various ideas for confiscating all private retirement plans such as 401(K)s and IRAs.

"China may soon allow its currency to trade directly with the Australian dollar rather than through the US dollar, according to officials from the central bank and a top government think tank," reports South China Morning News.

Lastly, "Portugal Considers Paying Public Workers In Treasury Bills Instead Of Cash" at least one month of the year, according to Zero Hedge.

MORE STATES TRUST IN GOLD NOT BERNANKE - Bloomberg
Distrust of the Federal Reserve and concern that U.S. dollars may become worthless are fueling a push in more than a dozen states to recognize gold and silver coins as legal tender.

Lawmakers in Arizona are poised to follow Utah, which authorized bullion for currency in 2011. Similar bills are advancing in Kansas, South Carolina and other states.

"The legislation is about signaling discontent with monetary policy and about what Ben Bernanke is doing," said Loren Gatch, who studies alternative currencies at the Edmond, Oklahoma-based school. "There is a fear that the government, or Bernanke in particular and the Federal Reserve, is pursuing a policy that will lead to the collapse of the dollar. That's what is behind it."

NEW BILL REQUIRES GOLD AND SILVER REGISTRATION - WND VIDEO
The slippery slope to confiscation has begun. Gold and silver buyers could soon have to register with the state of Illinois.

Rick Santelli provides an update on legislation that requires every gold and silver transaction to be registered with the State. Here are the basics. The bill, officially called SB-3341, was introduced in 2012, immediately passed the Illinois Senate and is now awaiting action by the House.

ARE THE MARKETS STARING AT A MASSIVE PLUNGE? - WallStCheatsheet
More and more signs point to a plunge for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and major indexes rather than a continued climb. Here's why:

1. Excessively bullish sentiment
2. Deteriorating economic fundamentals
3. Contrarian bullishness
4. Sell in May and Go Away
5. Bond market warnings

Bottom line: Overall, current conditions bring us a combination of deteriorating macroeconomic fundamentals, contrarian indicators, negative technical data as well as the time-honored, seasonal admonition to "sell in May and go away." Added together, it's easy to conclude that major U.S. indexes like the Dow and S&P 500 may have, indeed, reached the top of the roller coaster and are about to take a significant plunge.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.5.13 - What Jobs? What Recovery? - Listen

Gold prices closed higher after a disappointing U.S. employment report. Jobs gain lowest in 9 months. Stocks sharply lower. Gold last traded at $1,575 an ounce. Silver last traded at $27.22 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Fed won't slow bond buying - MarketWatch
-S&P 500 and Nasdaq Log Worst Week in 2013- CNBC
-Job Gains Slow Amid U.S. Unemployment at Four-Year Low- Bloomberg
-North Korea urges embassy evacuations, diplomats say - Washington Post

U.S. STOCKS TUMBLE ON SUBPAR JOBS REPORT- MarketWatch
U.S. stocks fell on Friday after the government said that far fewer Americans found jobs in March than estimated, putting them in line for their worst week this year. According to Dan Greenhaus of BTIG LLC, "We can now add the monthly employment report to a growing list of data point that simply haven't met expectations."

Both the Dow and the S&P are in line for their biggest weekly losses since the week ending Dec. 28 2012, while Nasdaq is looking at its biggest weekly drop since the period ending Nov. 9, 2012. For every two stocks rising roughly three fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 366 million shares traded and composite volume surpassed 2.1 billion.

GOLD TO REMAIN IN DEMAND MEDIUM TO LONG TERM- Mineweb
Germany's Commerzbank analysts are expecting gold to remain in strong demand in the short to medium term as India, and other central banks, continue to have strong physical gold demand. Many central banks have increased their gold reserves on the recent drop in price, which is trading 13% lower than its recent high in November of last year.

Emphasizing the connection between expansionary monetary policies and gold, specialist gold analyst Julian Phillips, comments "For so many fundamental reasons people all over the world buy gold for the very long term, not least that it is money in bad times. It is liquid in bad times. It is exchangeable all over the world. Enemies trust in it when they don't trust each other. It is said that people don't buy gold to make money, but buy gold because they have money."

GOLD'S PAPER PRICE "DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING"- 247 Bull
In this week's talk with National Numismatics' Tom Cloud, he explains why the reported price of gold is not the real price. Cloud explains that gold has serious support at $1,540 for a number of reasons: China still remains an aggressive buyer of gold, growing turmoil in the middle east, continued money printing by the U.S. Federal Reserve and seasonality.

Cyprus is also an important factor in Gold prices. The Laiki bank just announced that they will be taking 80% of their largest depositors' money, sending a message to people with uninsured deposits everywhere. A large number of investors have been moving money out of banks and into precious metals for this reason.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

OTTAWA WEIGHING PLANS FOR BANK FAILURES - CBCNews
"Ottawa is contemplating the possibility of a Canadian bank failure - and the same sort of pitiless prescription that was just imposed in Cyprus. "The government proposes to implement a bail-in regime...designed to ensure that if a systemically important bank depletes its capital, it can be recapitalized and returned to viability," says Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. "It appears the Cyprus bank contagion is already impacting North America," writes Craig Smith. "Or at least the possibility that Canadian depositors' money may also be at risk of seizure, restricted access or withdrawal."

LARGEST DUTCH BANK DEFAULTS ON PHYSICAL GOLD DELIVERIES - Examiner
Last week, a rubicon was crossed in the precious metals market as one of the largest banks in Europe defaulted on their gold contracts, and informed their customers there was no physical gold available for delivery. ABN AMRO issued a letter to their gold contract customers of failure of delivery, and instead will pay account holders in a paper currency equivalent to the current spot value of the metal.

Cyprus CYPRUS WILL HAPPEN EVERYWHERE: MARC FABER - CNBC
Growing wealth inequality means that the wealthy have nowhere to hide and that events like those in Cyprus will happen in more countries around the world, including developed nations, said Marc Faber, the contrarian investor and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report. "Basically people with money will lose part of their wealth, either through expropriation or higher taxation."

THE CORRUPTION OF CAPITALISM IN AMERICA - David Stockman, NYTimes
Over the last 13 years, the stock market has twice crashed and touched off a recession: American households lost $5 trillion in the 2000 dot-com bust and more than $7 trillion in the 2007 housing crash. Sooner or later - within a few years, I predict - this latest Wall Street bubble, inflated by an egregious flood of phony money from the Federal Reserve rather than real economic gains, will explode, too.

TURNING A BLIND EYE TO CYPRUS - MSNMoney
Markets were initially soothed this week as bulls rejoiced over Cyprus finding a "solution" to its recent problems...even if the consequences are liable to lead to plenty of trouble. The moral of the story is that - in an era when assets are levitated by central banks printing absurd amounts of money, monetizing government debts and spewing out liquidity - markets don't discount much or analyze events very well.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.4.13 - Japan Follows Failed Fed Stimulus Model - Listen

Gold prices held near 1,550/oz. Thursday amid technical selling, profit taking and dollar volatility. Stocks cheer Japan stimulus. Gold last traded at $1,553 an ounce. Silver last traded at $26.90 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Jobless Claims Surge to 385,000 - Marketwatch
-ECB says first Cyprus bailout plan 'not smart' - BBC
-Central Bank Efforts May 'End in Tears' - CNBC
-ECB's Draghi Hints at Rate Cuts - WSJ
-Top Bitcoin Site Hacked: Price Stumbles After Buying Frenzy - CNBC
-Bitcoin ATMs Are Coming Soon - CNNMoney
-Stock Market Highs Won't Benefit Americans - USAToday

"It appears the Cyprus bank contagion is already impacting North America," writes Craig Smith. "Or at least the possibility that Canadian depositors' money may also be at risk of seizure, restricted access or withdrawal."

"OTTAWA WEIGHING PLANS FOR BANK FAILURES," reports Canada's CBCNews
"Ottawa is contemplating the possibility of a Canadian bank failure - and the same sort of pitiless prescription that was just imposed in Cyprus."

"The government proposes to implement a bail-in regime...designed to ensure that, in the unlikely event that a systemically important bank depletes its capital, the bank can be recapitalized and returned to viability," says Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

"Be prepared. If you hold the wrong kind of bank accounts, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty may have your savings in his cross-hairs," adds TheStar.

BANK OF JAPAN UNLEASHES WORLD'S BIGGEST STIMULUS: $1.4 TRILLION - Reuters
The Bank of Japan unleashed the world's most intense burst of monetary stimulus on Thursday, promising to inject about $1.4 trillion into the economy in less than two years, a radical gamble that sent the yen reeling and bond yields to record lows.

flags The U.S. Federal Reserve may buy more debt under its quantitative easing, but with the Japanese economy about one-third of the size of the United States, the scope of Kuroda's "Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing" is unmatched.

Kuroda brushed aside concerns that excess money printing by the BOJ will sow the seeds of a future asset price bubble, which was repeatedly mentioned by his predecessor.

ABN AMRO, the largest Dutch bank in the Eurozone, issued a letter to their gold contract customers of failure of delivery, and instead will pay account holders in a paper currency equivalent to the current spot value of the metal.

Over the past two months, there has been a concerted effort by the major Western banks to bring down the price of gold and silver, even as countries like Russia, Iran, and China continue to accumulate the physical metal in large quantities.

HELICOPTER QE WILL NEVER BE REVERSED - DailyTelegraph
Lord Turner, head of the now defunct Financial Services Authority, said "We must tell people that if necessary, QE will turn out to be permanent," writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor of The Daily Telegraph.

Quantitative easing will never be reversed. It is not liquidity management as claimed so vehemently at the outset. It really is the same as printing money.

The Eurozone, Britain and an ever widening circle of countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans are mired in recession. Growth is expected to be just 2pc in Russia and 3pc in Brazil this year.

My fear - hopefully wrong - is that recovery will falter over the second half, leaving the developed world trapped in a quasi-slump, a sort of grey zone of zero growth that goes on and on, with debt trajectories ratcheting up.

Bondholders across the world may suspect that Britain, the US and other deadbeat states are engineering a stealth default on sovereign debts, and they may be right in a sense. But they are warned. This is the next shoe to drop in the temples of central banking.

4 REASONS PEOPLE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RECORD DOW - DailyTicker
The stock market has never been higher. So why do most people not seem to care?
1. The market's recovery story doesn't match the economic picture most see.
2. The little guy has been burned twice in a dozen years.
3. The Federal Reserve's role raises suspicions
4. There is no compelling business or technological boom story to captivate investors' imagination.

What's not yet clear is whether the disdain for stocks and unease with the economy are so strong this time that the little guy will let the whole bull market run its course without him.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.3.13 - Fed Threats vs. Nuke Threats - Listen

Gold prices dipped near 1,550/oz. Wednesday amid technical selling, profit taking and a weaker dollar. Stocks fall on jobs data. Gold last traded at $1,557 an ounce. Silver last traded at $26.97 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-QE3 could shrink this summer - Marketwatch
-Highest Poverty Spike Since the 1960s, Leaves 50M in U.S. Poor - Globe&Mail
-Stocks Drop After Economic Data; Banks Sag - CNBC
-Obama pushes banks to make home loans to people with weaker credit - WashPost
-Bank Website Attacks Reach New Highs - CNBC
-Cyprus Bailout Details Emerge After IMF Deal - WSJ
-Cyprus bank "resolution" a bad joke - Reuters

BREAKING: "The North Korean army said Thursday it had final approval to launch 'merciless' military strikes on the United States, involving the possible use of 'cutting-edge nuclear weapons,'" reports AFP.

kim jong-un "Meanwhile, today the FED announced it is going to 'taper' off purchases of MBS and Treasuries starting this summer," says Craig Smith. "That is FED-speak for they are getting ready to remove the punch bowl and sober up the stock market. The words 'irrational exuberance' have an eery echo today, much like the popping of the Dot-Com bubble over a decade ago."

"Of course a 'Black Swan' event, like a North Korea nuke strike, successful or not, would send investors scrambling. However in my opinion, shutting off the FED spigot may do far more damage. So while gold and silver prices have been pounded over the last couple of days, market stability will soon return."

GOLD: DEMAND FOR ETF "˜PAPER' FORM SHRINKS - Marketwatch
"There is a clear disconnect between the paper and physical [gold] market," said Jan Skoyles, head of research at The Real Asset Co., a precious-metals investment platform provider. Physical buying remains strong, but "those in the paper market look at this on a day-by-day basis and today gold doesn't look as attractive as other asset classes," she said.

Major U.S. bank websites have been offline a total of 249 hours in the past six weeks, reports CNBC. American companies are prime targets in an unrelenting, global cyber conflict.

"Cyprus and the International Monetary Fund reached an agreement for a â‚¬1 billion ($1.28 billion) lifeline on top of the â‚¬9 billion bailout the island will get from its euro-zone peers, the IMF said in a statement Wednesday," reports WSJ. [Get full report in WHY CYPRUS MATTERS - Free White Paper]

Marketwatch reports the U.S. dollar slipped against major rivals including the Japanese yen, as investors awaited results from the Bank of Japan's first policy meeting under new leadership.

STATE-WRECKED: THE CORRUPTION OF CAPITALISM IN AMERICA - David Stockman, NYTimes
Over the last 13 years, the stock market has twice crashed and touched off a recession: American households lost $5 trillion in the 2000 dot-com bust and more than $7 trillion in the 2007 housing crash. Sooner or later - within a few years, I predict - this latest Wall Street bubble, inflated by an egregious flood of phony money from the Federal Reserve rather than real economic gains, will explode, too.

deformation When it bursts, there will be no new round of bailouts like the ones the banks got in 2008. Instead, America will descend into an era of zero-sum austerity and virulent political conflict, extinguishing even today's feeble remnants of economic growth.

The state-wreck originated in 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt opted for fiat money (currency not fundamentally backed by gold), economic nationalism and capitalist cartels in agriculture and industry.

The United States is broke - fiscally, morally, intellectually - and the Fed has incited a global currency war (Japan just signed up, the Brazilians and Chinese are angry, and the German-dominated euro zone is crumbling) that will soon overwhelm it. When the latest bubble pops, there will be nothing to stop the collapse. If this sounds like advice to get out of the markets and hide out in cash, it is.

ARE HOUSING INVESTORS CREATING A NEW BUBBLE? - WashTimes
Housing has emerged as the brightest spot in the economy this year, but some analysts are questioning whether the market's recovery is built to last.

"The recovery in housing prices seems to be disconnected from traditional economic drivers," said Christopher Whalen, managing director at Carrington Investment Services, who estimates that about one-third of Americans who would have qualified for mortgages in 2006 can't get them today.

"The weak rate of participation by homeowners in the home price rebound is a concern, and one which is underscored by the lack of bank credit creation" since the recession. The shortages of homes for sale in the most desirable neighborhoods give the appearance of robust conditions, but appearances are deceptive.

THE CRASH OF 2015 - CNBC
January 2016 - Today's paper says we should have seen it coming. The facts were all there. Were we really that stupid?

For three years, the Federal Reserve was the largest buyer of Treasury securities, scooping up two-thirds of all U.S.securities sold at auction, driving interest rates down to practically nothing. In the process, the Fed built up a $4 trillion dollar balance sheet and no one asked where that money was going to go.

How did the Fed pay for these securities?

They "printed money." And look what they got out of thin air: Interest-paying U.S.government bonds that produced an annual profit of more than $80 billion!

If money wasn't safe in bonds, would it be safe in banks? The next run, this time against banks, soon began and lines snaked around the block.

That's when I decided to move to Grand Cayman.

My stock portfolio was decimated but my stash of gold helped me get through.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.2.13 - Cyprus Echoes U.S. Bank "Holiday" 80 Years Ago

Gold prices dipped 1.5% on Tuesday amid technical selling, profit taking and a firmer dollar. Stocks hit new "highs". Gold last traded at $1,575 an ounce. Silver last traded at $27.27 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Dow, S&P 500 Continue Hit Fresh Highs - CNNMoney
-Detroit's 'Big Three' Post Best Monthly Auto Sales in Five Years - FoxBusiness
-Stockton to Declare Bankruptcy, Setting Up Battle Over Pension - NYTimes
-Boomers' retirement confidence sinks - Marketwatch
-Cyprus finance minister resigns as blame game begins -The Guardian
-Cyprus Was Not an Exception - NYTimes

WHY CYPRUS MATTERS - NEW Swiss America White Paper
On March 15, 2013, the citizens of Cyprus lost trust in their banks.

Bank of Cyprus depositors with more than 100,000 euros may now lose 60% of their savings as part of the bailout, Cyprus officials say.

"This deal sets a dangerous legal precedent. It allows governments to loot private bank accounts if spendaholic politicians need the money," says Craig R. Smith, author and Swiss America Chairman.

"We are witnessing the beginning of the end of socialism," Mr. Smith told Fox News "Your World with Neil Cavuto" last week. He argues that when people lose confidence in both their government and banks, they will take their money and run for safety.

CYPRUS WILL HAPPEN EVERYWHERE: MARC FABER - CNBC
Growing wealth inequality means that the wealthy have nowhere to hide and that events like those in Cyprus will happen in more countries around the world, including developed nations, said Marc Faber, the contrarian investor and publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report.

"It will happen everywhere in the world, in Western democracies," Faber said "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday. "You have more people that vote for a living than work for a living. I think you have to be prepared to lose 20 to 30 percent. I think you're lucky if you don't lose your life."

"If you look at what happened in Cyprus, basically people with money will lose part of their wealth, either through expropriation or higher taxation," he added.

NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER'S BANK HOLIDAY - TheStreet
Eighty years ago last month, in March of 1933, Franklin Roosevelt presided over a seven-day bank holiday in the United States, designed to head off a run on U.S. banks.

banks closed Some 100 democrats, just elected to office, were determined to show resolve in attacking the nation's fiscal woes. When the banks opened again on March 13, Americans lined up at their banks to redeposit cash taken out just days earlier. A collective sigh of relief could be heard at the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and at the White House.

It almost seems quaint today. A strong, central power acts swiftly and solves a problem. Today, more sinister forces seem to be at work, and there are implications for savers and investors.

Jim Rickards, author of "Currency Wars" says savers and investors need to take what happened in Cyprus very seriously. He has two pieces of advice.

First, if you have large deposits, spread them out among several banks. If the unimaginable happens here, spreading your money out might offer some protection by keeping you, on average, below any minimums that might be imposed.

Second, he says, is to buy hard assets including gold, a sentiment with which I agree. Of course, he's not suggesting a fire sale of your assets to buy gold. Rather, the amount of gold appropriate for any one individual is a subjective figure. But that notwithstanding, a new gold rush could, or perhaps should, be on following the events in Cyprus.

THE CYPRUS CRISIS IS NOT YET OVER: EL-ERIAN - CNBC
Draconian capital controls have restored a sense of calm to a disorderly situation in Cyprus. At best, this is a short reprieve. If not followed by more fundamental (and inevitably controversial) decisions, it will just be a matter of weeks before the controls go from being a temporary solution to becoming part of an even deeper problem.

History tells us that this approach only works if controls are followed by a re-alignment of economic incentives and by offering the population a genuine hope for recovery and return to normalcy. In Cyprus, the current set of controls will choke off what little remains in terms of growth momentum and job creation:

"¢ With diminished access to bank deposits, household consumption plummets and saving rates are forced higher in a dramatic fashion;
"¢ Investment activity comes to a standstill given the enormous disruptions to aggregate demand;
"¢ The little flow of capital that occurs is reduced to one direction - out of Cyprus; and
"¢ With a portion of companies' working capital trapped, even more routine corporate activities are curbed.

THE APRIL FOOL'S ECONOMY - WashPost
The economic recovery has faked us out before. Will it fool us again this year?

The economy seems to have done an about-face over the past three months after the bad dream that was the fiscal cliff came to an end. Housing is rebounding, businesses are hiring and shoppers are, well, shopping. Even the normally reserved Federal Reserve acknowledges that the economy is experiencing "moderate growth."

But we've been to this rodeo twice already. In 2012 and 2011, seemingly strong momentum in the first half of the year gave way to summer slumps. Will the third try be the charm? Or is this just another prank - one that's getting old fast. We evaluate the evidence.

So, is the economy pulling the ultimate April Fool's prank? Looks like it's a draw for now, with the swing vote coming with the jobs report on Friday.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

4.1.13 - WHY CYPRUS MATTERS: A Savings Survival Guide - Listen

Gold prices held near $1,600/oz. Monday on bargain hunting and a weaker dollar. Stocks slip on data. Gold last traded at $1,599 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.03 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-As Stocks Move to New Highs, Evidence of a Stalling Economy - MSN
-Obama Proclaims April the Month to Teach Young People "˜How to Budget Responsibly' - CNSNews
-Jim Rogers: Taking People's Bank Accounts Is Going To Happen - CNBC
-Cyprus: 'It was not a bailout. It was a collective punishment' - RT
-Cyprus set to lift casino ban amid financial crisis - NBCNews
-7 reasons Cyprus is more important than you think - Marketwatch
-Cyprus Banking Collapse Paves the Way for More Crises - DailyBeast

CYPRUS CRISIS UPDATE - BBC
Bank of Cyprus depositors with more than 100,000 euros could lose up to 60% of their savings as part of the bailout, officials say.

cyprus matters The central bank says 37.5% of holdings over 100,000 euros will become bank shares.

Up to 22.5% will go into a fund attracting no interest and may be subject to further write-offs. The other 40% will attract interest - but this will not be paid unless the bank performs well.

[NOTE: Swiss America has just released a new 20-page White Paper on the Cyprus Crisis entitled: "WHY CYPRUS MATTERS: Could Politicians Loot Your Life Savings Account As They Did in Cyprus? -- They ALREADY HAVE...And Have Plans to Take It All -- A Savings Survival Guide". Register HERE for a free copy.]

Billionaire investor Jim Rogers told CNBC that taking people's money from their bank accounts, as we saw in Cyprus, is a certainty as both the IMF and ECB have already condoned it in their precedent.

CYPRUS RESULT IN MASSIVE SHIFT INTO GOLD & SILVER - MaxKeiser
Cyprus is the long awaited FLASH POINT the metals community has been anticipating, and it will in time invoke a great awakening as to the reality of today's Western financial system by the public, and will result in a massive shift into physical gold and silver, according to Jim Willie of The Golden Jackass.

Willie states mind-numbing hundreds of $billions have been fleeing Cyprus for Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore over the past 9 months, and that the depositor outflows will devolve into contagion and full-scale bank-runs throughout Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, & Greece.

The moral of the story is that - in an era when assets are levitated by central banks printing absurd amounts of money, monetizing government debts and spewing out liquidity - markets don't discount much or analyze events very well.

Of course, the platitudes being mouthed by U.S. stock market bulls that Cyprus was "contained" and/or immaterial were laughable from the outset, and those comments only demonstrated the bulls' complete lack of understanding of how the financial system, economies, markets and psychology are intertwined.

I would not be surprised to see the market get considerably weaker as we head into and through earnings season. I can't imagine that's going to be very pretty. And given the amount of "hope-ium" that has been consumed by so many, the potential for momentum building on the downside is quite high.

FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT CYPRUS - Forbes
You may never visit Cyprus, and you might never even look at it on a map. Like it or not though, that little island is suddenly part of your financial life.

Here are five reasons you should care about Cyprus:
1. The unthinkable is no longer unthinkable. Deposits in savings accounts - especially insured ones - are supposed to be rock-solid safe.
2. Offshore accounts just got a little scarier. Cyprus had been a favorite haven for foreign depositors.
3. It almost brought Russia to the grown-up table. Cypriot officials sought financial assistance from Russia.
4. It's a reminder to check your deposit insurance coverage. Could an unexpected seizure of deposits happen here?
5. It's the latest sign of how fragile an interconnected world is. Cyprus problems are seen as a threat to the euro.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.28.13 - The Madness of Crowds Contained (For Now) - Listen

Gold prices eased below $1,600/oz. Thursday on profit taking despite a weaker dollar as Cyprus banks reopen. Stocks rise on revised data. Gold last traded at $1,594 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.36 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-S&P 500 Breaks Closing High, Up 10% for Quarter - CNBC
-U.S. Economic Confidence Heads Back Down - Gallup
-Food Stamp Use Swells as Economy Improves -WSJ
-Unfit for Work: Startling Rise of Disability in America - NPR
-'Run for the Hills' Now, I'm Doing It: Jim Rogers - CNBC
-Default is only answer to Cyprus crisis - Marketwatch
-The Insanity of the Cyprus Crisis - CNBC

[NOTE: Swiss America will be closed on Friday, March 29th in observance of Good Friday and will reopen on Monday, April 1st. We wish all of our readers a happy Easter celebration.]

The economy grew at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the October-December quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was slightly better than the previous estimate of 0.1 percent growth.

Meanwhile, Americans' confidence in the economy stalled out last week, as the Gallup Economic Confidence Index fell. 54% say the economy is getting worse and 42% say it is getting better.

popular delusions Cyprus' banks have opened their doors after the longest enforced bank holiday in Europe's history. The Cyprus stock exchange, however, said it would remain closed for the day, less than an hour before it was due to open.

CYPRUS BANKS FINALLY REOPEN BUT ANGER LINGERS - Skynews
Lines grew outside branches across the country, with no signs of panic as employees limited the number of customers allowed in at any one time, but many residents expressed anger at the country's controversial bailout.

"They have stolen our money," Milton Loucas told Sky News. "Our money, our social insurance - they have cut them. How are we going to live?"

Another Cypriot, Stelios, came out of the bank empty handed. "I tried to get my February wages and they gave me a piece of paper only," he said.

Cash withdrawals and other transactions are subject to tough restrictions, introduced by the country's Finance Ministry in an effort to avoid a run on the banks. Large depositors face losses of as much as 40% of their savings as part of the deal, leading to fears that customers would attempt to withdraw large amounts of money when the banks reopened.

WILL THE US BE LIKE CYPRUS? IT ALREADY IS - NYPost
The economic repercussions of having people feel that their money is not safe in banks can be catastrophic.

Whether in Cyprus or in other countries, politicians tend to think in short-run terms, therefore there is always a temptation to do reckless and short-sighted things to get over some current problem, even if that creates far worse problems in the long run. Seizing money that people put in the bank is a classic example of such short-sighted policies.

The US government is unlikely to seize money wholesale from people's bank accounts, as is being done in Cyprus. But does that mean that your life savings are safe?

No. There are more sophisticated ways for governments to take what you have put aside for yourself. If they do it slowly but steadily, they can take a big chunk of what you have sacrificed for years to save, before you are even aware, much less alarmed.

That is in fact already happening...When creating more money out of thin air, as the Fed is authorized to do, part of the purchasing power of your money is transferred to the government. Is that really different from what Cyprus has done?

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

THE CASE FOR STAYING IN GOLD - Marketwatch
Over the past decade investors have poured billions into exchange-traded funds that track the price of gold. Now with gold prices falling, many are yanking some of that money back out - a move investing pros say misses the whole point of owning the shiny metal in the first place. After all, an investor who owned a small amount of gold alongside a larger portfolio of stocks would still see overall returns smoothed, just as advertised.

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: GOOD AND BAD - FoxNews/Craig Smith - Watch
Author and Swiss America Chairman Craig R. Smith told FOX News today that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of socialism - and when people lose confidence in both their government and their banks, they will take their money and run for safety. According to Smith a century of progressive socialism in European countries is finally collapsing - which is good news! In the U.S. we need to make a hard right turn away from this failed EU model or our economy will end up sinking too.

THE 1913 ORIGINS OF THE INCOME TAX - Forbes
A century back, in February 1913, the federal government first gained the power to levy an income tax. Rates were all of 1% to 7%. The threshold to pay even the 1% rate was about $75,000 in today's dollars. That was the consensus that gave us the income tax. The rich would pay it, nobody else would, and everyone else's taxes would be cut and minimized. Why is it that more than half the people in this country pay income tax?

"˜BROKEN TRUST OF MONEY' - NYSun
The best comment we've read on the collapse in Cyprus is the cartoon in the Interest Rate Observer, issued by James Grant, showing a bank teller looking out from behind her window. "Well, it was your money," she is saying with a charming smile. "Now we need it." Feature, by contrast, the theft by inflation. Since March 2009 alone, it notes, "inflation has erased 17.3% of the value of the pound, 8.3% of the value of the euro and 8.7% of the value of the U.S. dollar."

EUROPEAN DEAL PUTS BANK ACCOUNTS WORLDWIDE AT RISK - News Release
"This deal sets a dangerous legal precedent. It allows governments to loot private bank accounts if spendaholic politicians need the money," says Craig R. Smith, a monetary expert frequently interviewed by Fox's Neil Cavuto and other major business journalists. In his latest book, The Great Debasement Smith documents the deceptive ways that government confiscates private savings in the United States.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.27.13 - Unintended Consequences of the Cyprus Mess - Listen

Gold prices rose above $1,600/oz. Wednesday on safe haven buying despite a firmer dollar. Stocks slip on EU fears. Gold last traded at $1,605 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.61 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Cyprus Banks Opening: Guards Prepare for Battle - CNBC
-Cyprus to limit cash, credit-card use abroad - Reuters
-Monetary Policy Is Not Loose Enough: Fed Official - CNBC
-Healthcare to soar 62% in CA, 80% in OH, WI - WashGuardian
-Web slows under 'biggest attack ever' - Telegraph
-Wells Fargo says cyber attack disrupting website - Reuters
-Picasso Sale For $155 Million Sets Record For Art - DailyMail

FOX News Bill O'Reilly tells Americans that Cyprus crisis is "a contagion" and you must begin "protecting your hard-earned money" immediately.

"A member of the European Parliament says more private money could be seized in Italy, Spain, Portugal or other countries. It's a dire warning for everybody, including Americans, as the global economy begins to totter."

money sign UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: GOOD AND BAD - FoxNews/Craig Smith - Watch
Author and Swiss America Chairman Craig R. Smith told FOX News today that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of socialism - and when people lose confidence in both their government and their banks, they will take their money and run for safety.

According to Smith a century of progressive socialism in European countries is finally collapsing - which is good news! In the U.S. we need to make a hard right turn away from this failed EU model or our economy will end up sinking too.

If the EU falls apart it could easily drag the rest of the world down with it, because the eurozone accounts for 25% of the world's GDP and 10% of U.S exports. As Bill O'Reilly correctly stated last night, "...What is happening in Cyprus and Europe is a contagion."

Meanwhile, CNBC reports, "A British security firm that transports cash for Cypriot banks has been working around the clock, sending teams out with police protection to stock bank machines and readying guards for when the banks reopen on Thursday."

Jim Cramer of CNBC's "Mad Money" admits, "Call Me a Gold Bug - I think gold is a good bet at this level". We agree and think $1,600/oz. will soon look very reasonable.

AFTER CYPRUS, EURO ZONE WILL SLIP INTO DEPRESSION - Marketwatch
The Cyprus debacle will deepen the depression now starting to grip the European economy. This is no longer a financial crisis - it is an economic crisis. And the collapse of Cyprus will make that a whole lot worse.

The so-called rescue will push one more country into a catastrophic recession. It will provoke an outflow of global funds from the euro-zone. And it will encourage small businesses and depositors to hoard cash. A modern economy can't function without a healthy banking system. And after Cyprus, no bank in the euro zone can be regarded as safe anymore.

That was the consensus that gave us the income tax. The rich would pay it, nobody else would, and everyone else's taxes would be cut and minimized. Taxes were to be paid by the settled rich, out of their yearly surpluses. They were not to be paid by the little guy (outside of a few sin excises), and certainly not the up-and-comers.

Last fall, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney got excoriated for his remark that 47% of the nation pays no income tax. Now, to be sure, Romney had no good reason to think, as he did, that those people should not bump the unemployment-generator Barack Obama from office. Yet the question everyone forgot to ask is why that 47% number is not much higher.

Why is it that more than half the people in this country pay the income tax? The consensus that gave us the thing a hundred years ago was that the top percentiles should pay and modestly, with everybody else off the hook.

[NOTE: This subject is explained in detail in "The Great Debasement" along with the connection to the founding of the Federal Reserve in 1913.]

A COMMISSION FOR THE FED'S NEXT 100 YEARS - WSJ
As the Federal Reserve approaches its 100th anniversary in December, the focus of monetary reform centers on a bill called the Centennial Monetary Commission Act. Introduced this month in the House of Representatives by Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee Kevin Brady, the bill would "establish a commission to examine the United States monetary policy, evaluate alternative monetary regimes, and recommend a course for monetary policy going forward."

It was the collapse of the dollar in the 1970s that led to the establishment of the Gold Commission. The dollar's value had plunged by 1980 to less than an 800th of an ounce of gold from a 35th of an ounce at the start of the previous decade.

One thing is certain: The impetus to reform will not come from the Federal Reserve, which has fought an audit passed by the House last year with overwhelming bipartisan support. Congress clearly needs to step up and lead the way, and Mr. Brady is giving it the chance.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.26.13 - Broken Trust of Banks, Money Next? - Listen

Gold prices hovered near $1,600/oz. Tuesday on mild profit taking and a firmer dollar. Stocks cheer upbeat data. Gold last traded at $1,600 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.77 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Cyprus's bid to reopen banks called superhuman - Marketwatch
-The Economic Truth About Lying - WSJ
-Stocks Gain, S&P Within 2 Points of Closing Peak - CNBC
-Recovery? Many Are Still Stuck -MSNMoney
-Is the dollar as good as gold? - FT

"All Cypriot banks will remain closed until Thursday," the Cyprus central bank now tells BBC, to ensure the whole banking system functions "smoothly". Meanwhile, James Grant explains the impact of the "broken trust of money" - both via public confiscation and hidden inflationary confiscation.

"Europe could be destroyed economically by the contagious plague of fear caused by what just happened in Cyprus," says Lowell Ponte, co-author of "The Great Debasement: The 100-Year Dying of the Dollar and How to Get America's Money Back".

"The European Central Bank, Eurocrats, and the International Monetary Fund all just gave their blessing to government helping itself to the life savings in private citizen bank accounts, including accounts the government insured against loss," says Ponte.

"No wonder we could very soon see a run on European banks as people rush to get their money out... which could plunge Europe into a depression and the collapse of its currency the Euro," says Ponte. "And because Europe is 25% of the world's economy, the U.S. economy could be dragged deep into recession by Europe's financial death spiral." more...

money cartoon The issue is the "broken trust of money." The raid on bank accounts of wealthy depositors in Cyprus is, Grant's notes, at least "an explicit taking." Feature, by contrast, the theft by inflation. Since March 2009 alone, it notes, "inflation has erased 17.3% of the value of the pound, 8.3% of the value of the euro and 8.7% of the value of the U.S. dollar." What gets Grant's is that this was, by central banks, targeted.

Mistrust of the Fed was, even before the collapse at Cyprus, rising in the Congress that created the Fed in the first place. It vindicates Grant's warning that the kind of mistrust at the teller windows in Cyprus will be hard to contain.

IS A MONEY REVOLT ON THE WAY? - Forbes
Voters are beginning to sense that there is an underlying, systemic, problem causing our economic stagnation. Washington's revenue shortfall is symptom, not disease. The voters are right. The fiscal anemia is symptomatic of lack of growth. The disease causing economic stagnation is bad money.

Signs of respectful reconsideration of the gold standard are appearing in many greatly respected financial institutions, from the Bank of England, to the Bundesbank and Deutschebank, to Chinese monetary authorities , Russian officials, and the central bank of Poland. This trickle of new respect rapidly is turning into a river.

Gold's recent slump - down 4% so far this year - has turned many former gold bulls into bears. In the first two weeks of March, investors pulled $1.6 billion from gold ETFs, according to data compiled by BlackRock, the largest ETF provider.

And this year's gold slump shouldn't alter that thesis, say advisers. After all, an investor who owned a small amount of gold alongside a larger portfolio of stocks would still see overall returns smoothed, just as advertised.

CYPRIOT YOUTH PROTEST AS BANKS STAY SHUT - YahooFinance
Thousands of students and hundred of bank workers protested in the Cypriot capital Nicosia as banks stayed closed to stop a run on deposits after the island agreed to a painful bailout to avert bankruptcy. Cyprus's banks were ordered to remain closed until Thursday, and even then will impose capital controls to prevent depositors from stripping out all their funds.

BANK OF CYPRUS CHAIRMAN "˜SUBMITS RESIGNATION' AFTER DEAL - AP/Reuters
The chairman of Cyprus's biggest commercial bank has submitted his resignation following the bailout deal. Earlier Cyprus's finance minister said Cypriot depositors with more than 100,000 euro in their accounts could see up to 40 percent of their deposits converted into bank shares.

DUTCH BANK TO HALT PHYSICAL GOLD DELIVERY - ZeroHedge
Based on a letter sent out to clients over the weekends, it appears the Dutch bank ABN Amro is changing its precious metals custodian rules and "will no longer allow physical delivery." In the letter, however, the bank assures customers that they need to do nothing as their investments will still be in precious metals.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.25.13 - 'Faith-Based' Banking Faces 'Cash-Out' Confidence Crisis - Listen

Gold prices held above $1,600/oz. Monday despite profit taking, a firmer dollar and Cyprus "rescue deal". Stocks rise, then fall. Gold last traded at $1,605 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.84 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-"˜We Feel Like Crying': Cypriots Lament "˜Terrible' Deal - CNBC
-U.S. Stocks Decline as Optimism Fades After Cyprus Deal - Bloomberg
-Eurozone Still Making Up the Rules as it Goes - Fox Business
-Pain for Spanish Bank Investors -WSJ
-So when will Cyprus rally start? -Marketwatch

EUROPEAN DEAL PUTS BANK ACCOUNTS WORLDWIDE AT RISK - News Release
On Monday morning the eastern Mediterranean island nation Cyprus avoided bankruptcy by making a bailout deal with the European Central Bank and others.

jenga "This deal sets a dangerous legal precedent. It allows governments to loot private bank accounts if spendaholic politicians need the money," says Craig R. Smith, a monetary expert frequently interviewed by Fox's Neil Cavuto and other major business journalists.

"In Cyprus people woke up a week ago to find that their banks were closed, their savings accounts were inaccessible, and their government had plans to expropriate a hefty hunk of their life savings," says Smith, the lead author of a major White Paper about the Cyprus bailout being published this week. (Call 800-289-2646 to request a free copy)

"People in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Ireland are looking at the Cyprus bank accounts grab and deciding whether to withdraw their savings account from the bank before their money- hungry government does," says Smith.

In his latest book, The Great Debasement: The 100-Year Dying of the Dollar and How to Get America's Money Back, Smith documents the deceptive ways that government confiscates private savings in the United States.

SAVERS WILL BE RAIDED TO SAVE EURO IN FUTURE CRISES, SAYS EUROZONE CHIEF - Telegraph
Savings accounts in Spain, Italy and other European countries will be raided if needed to preserve Europe's single currency by propping up failing banks, a senior eurozone official has announced.

The new policy will alarm hundreds of thousands of British expatriates who live and have transferred their savings, proceeds from house sales and other assets to eurozone bank accounts in countries such as France, Spain and Italy.

The euro fell on global markets after Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch chairman of the eurozone, announced that the heavy losses inflicted on depositors in Cyprus would be the template for future banking crises across Europe.

CYPRUS TO SEIZE CITIZENS' CASH - Reuters
Cyprus clinched a last-ditch deal with international lenders to shut down its second-largest bank and inflict heavy losses on uninsured depositors, including wealthy Russians, in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout.

Deposits above 100,000 euros in both banks, which are not guaranteed under EU law, will be frozen and used to resolve Laiki's debts and recapitalize Bank of Cyprus through a deposit/equity conversion.

Cyprus government spokesman Christos Stylianides said: "We averted a disorderly bankruptcy which would have led to an exit of Cyprus from the euro zone with unforeseeable consequences. The assessment is that it will be under or around 30 percent."

SAVERS BE WARNED - YOUR MONEY'S NOT SAFE - Spiegel
Nearly half of all Germans fear for their savings -- and with good reason. At times like these, the only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain. Not even savings accounts are safe, as was recently seen in Cyprus.

Nothing is safe from being seized by the state, no savings account, but also no house or apartment. The Germans experienced this after World War II, when they were charged an extra real estate tax in the form of compulsory mortgages. Governments have even banned the possession of gold during currency crises, forcing citizens to exchange the precious metal for the national currency.

So far, people in the debt-ridden countries of the euro zone haven't had such levies imposed on them. Germans' savings are already shrinking in real terms because the European Central Bank (ECB) has flooded the market with money and lowered interest rates to nearly zero.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.22.13 - Public Trust in Banks Further Crumpled - Listen

Gold prices held near 3-week highs Friday despite profit taking and a weaker dollar. Stocks cheer earnings. Gold last traded at $1,607 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.71 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-U.S. Stocks Rise on Earnings Reports Amid Cyprus Debate - Bloomberg
-Clock Ticks on Cyprus - WSJ
-Who Will Blink First? Europe or Cyprus - CNBC
-Euro's Doomed, With or Without Cyprus - MarketWatch
-Britain set to lose second AAA credit rating - Guardian
-Health Insurers Warn on Premiums - WSJ
-FAA to Close 149 U.S. Airport Towers After Budget Cuts - Bloomberg

"Whether Cyprus manages to agree on a rescue and stay in the euro or not, this week has left a legacy that will continue to have an impact on the EU and its currency," reports Marketwatch.

crushed dollar What is that "legacy"? In three words: broken bank trust. The entire fractional banking system rests upon the confidence of the depositors that they can get to their money whenever they want AND that their deposit is "insured" against bank failure or government encroachment.

This week the citizens of Cyprus had that trust broken. Trust is like a paper dollar, once it's crumpled up, it can never be perfect again. Trust takes years to earn, but can be destroyed in seconds. Gold is trustworthy because owning it creates financial trust rather than relying on it.

S&P CUTS CYPRUS SOVEREIGN CREDIT RATING TO CCC - HuffingtonPost
Standard and Poors has cut the long-term foreign currency credit rating on Cyprus deeper into junk status on Thursday by lowering the rating to CCC from CCC-plus. The country is continuing to struggle with a banking crisis and was given til Monday to raise the billions of euros it needs to secure an international bailout.

MONEY IN THE BANK? NO THANKS - 247Bull
A contract, once agreed to, is sacred before the law and is enforced by the powers-that-be. The centrality of property rights is why Cyprus is sending shock waves through the global financial system.

We now know that in a pinch the guys in charge will come after our assets. And since black swans are lined up like jets waiting to land at Heathrow, it's a safe bet that some future crisis will be big enough to lead Congress or the ECB, or some other predator, to try to plunder broad categories of financial accounts. Trillions of dollars are sitting in US IRAs and 401(K)s, for instance, untaxed and just waiting to be converted to Treasury bonds for the greater good.

TEXAS MAY START HOARDING GOLD"¦SECESSION NEXT? - DailyTicker
A lawmaker has proposed a bill to create a Texas Bullion Depository, which would allow the state and its citizens to store gold bullion in its own facility in Texas, with the protection of the state.

If passed, the Texas bill would tell Washington to "shove off" under the 10th amendment power given the states, if we ever saw the kind of currency craziness we saw during the Great Depression when President Franklin D. Roosevelt mandated citizens hand over most of their gold.

Texas isn't the first state to think about hedging its monetary destiny with precious metals. Citing concerns over the value of the U.S. dollar, Arizona lawmakers are the latest to pursue legislation that would declare privately minted gold and silver coins legal tender.

In 2011, Utah became the first state in the country to legalize these precious metal coins as currency. Lawmakers in states including Minnesota, North Carolina, Idaho, South Carolina, and Colorado have debated similar laws.

THE GREATEST RETIREMENT CRISIS IN AMERICAN HISTORY - Forbes
We are on the precipice of the greatest retirement crisis in the history of the world. In the decades to come, we will witness millions of elderly Americans, the Baby Boomers and others, slipping into poverty. Too frail to work, too poor to retire will become the "new normal" for many elderly Americans.

Americans also know the great 401k experiment of the past 30 years has been a disaster. It is now apparent that 401ks will not provide the retirement security promised to workers.

The signs of the coming retirement crisis are all around you. Who's bagging your groceries: a young high school kid or an older "retiree" who had to go back to work to supplement his income or qualify for health insurance?

At some point, lack of savings, lack of employment possibilities and failing health will catch up with the overwhelming majority of the nation's elders. Given the certainty that a retirement crisis is headed toward our shores, you'd think that our elected officials would be hard at work preparing a response.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

THE MOUSE THAT ROARED - Cumberland
Despite the miniscule economy of Cyprus, events unfolding around its banking crisis will have broad and long-lasting effects far out of proportion to its size. The significance of last weekend's ill-conceived decision by the European summit to require confiscation of depositor funds in Cyprus banks has triggered uncertainty in European markets and generated a backlash in Cyprus and beyond.

WHERE WILL THE NEXT FINANCIAL CRISIS BEGIN? - WashTimes
Which country will serve as the trigger for the next financial crisis? Given the continuing rise in debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratios in many countries, it is apparent that a new financial crisis will occur. Most of the speculation has been about when, rather than where. The most likely candidates are heavily indebted countries with a large growth deficit.

US DEPOSITS IN PERSPECTIVE - Zero Hedge
Earlier today the American Banking Association reminded Americans that there is absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to the sanctity of US deposits. After all there is a whopping $25 billion in the FDIC insurance fund...to preserve and protect some $9.283 billion in total US deposits. A far bigger problem...there are 32 times more notional derivatives than there are total deposits, with a ratio of 11,900-to-1.

CHASE CUSTOMERS SEE ZERO BALANCES - IDGNews
Customers of JPMorgan Chase reported seeing zero balances in their accounts both online and on mobile, and speculated that the bank's systems had been hacked into. The bank however clarified late Monday that it was having a technology problem regarding customers' balance information that it was working to resolve. "Almost had a heart attack..."

OBAMA "CRAZY" MIDEAST POLICY COULD DESTABILIZE WORLD ECONOMY - NewsRelease
On Wednesday President Barack Obama lands in Jerusalem to begin four days of symbolic meetings with Israeli, West Bank Palestinian, and Jordanian leaders. "President Obama days ago warned that Iran is only 'a year or so' from acquiring nuclear weapons, which could trigger a stampede by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and perhaps Iraq to do likewise to deter Iran," warns Craig R. Smith.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.21.13 - Cyprus: "Tempest in a Teapot" Or More? - Listen

Gold prices rose to 3-week highs Thursday on safe haven buying and a flat dollar. Stocks retreat. Gold last traded at $1,614 an ounce. Silver last traded at $29.18 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Cyprus Could Be Forced Out of Eurozone - CNBC
-All Cyprus Plan Bs Look Downright Dreadful - Reuters
-Cyprus overhauls two biggest banks in bid to stave off collapse - Telegraph
-Obama Urges Israeli Public to Seek Peace - WSJ
-House passes bill to avert government shutdown - Marketwatch
-Buffett: Investors Should Bet on Market "Natural Juices" - Bloomberg

According to the Aden sisters, "Gold is coming alive, the flow for gold is still up. Gold demand remains strong as central banks continue to buy the metal. India has been the largest buyer and China is launching its first ETF backed by gold."

Meanwhile, "The European Union gave Cyprus till Monday to raise the billions of euros to secure an international bailout or face a collapse of its financial system that could push it out of the euro currency zone," reports Reuters.

ATM "Cyprus will take measures to consolidate its banking sector, including steps to avoid bankruptcy at Cyprus Popular Bank, Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades said in a statement on Thursday," adds CNBC.

"By establishing this legal framework, resolution measures will be imposed on Popular Bank so that it will be in a position to continue to offer banking services to its clients next Tuesday, when banks are due to reopen," he told reporters. The central bank governor called on the government to vote on a bank resolution plan immediately.

In a sign it was at least preparing for the worst, the Cypriot government sought powers on Thursday to impose capital controls to stem a flood of funds leaving the island if there is no deal before banks reopen following this week's shutdown.

Daily Reckoning's Doug French reports, "William Isaac, a former chairman of the FDIC, calls the idea of taxing insured deposits in the U.S. 'unthinkable.' He went on to tell American Banker, 'I can't believe the Europeans were that insensitive to the psychology of depositors throughout the world. They have a government pledge to cover these people, and they've reneged on it.'"

"The American Banking Association is quick to remind us. 'While the crisis in Cyprus is a real concern for depositors in Cypriot banks, it has no implication for depositors in U.S. institutions.' You gotta believe it because, see, the FDIC has $33 billion in reserves to handle such occasions. OK, but while $33 billion sounds like a lot of money, total domestic bank deposits in the U.S. stand at over $9.4 trillion. Of that, $7.4 trillion are insured. That means the FDIC's reserve fund provides 45 basis points (a basis point is 1/100th of 1%) worth of coverage. Only a bank trade group would characterize that coverage as "strong."

So, is Cypress a "Tempest in a Teapot" - or does it signal something much bigger ahead?

A MODERN ECONOMY SET BACK 50 YEARS - BusinessInsider
In a matter of days, a modern functioning Western economy has been transformed into a cash economy, if not quite a barter one yet. Coinage is being hoarded, stores are refusing credit cards, commercial credit has ceased.

True, that can all be quickly reversed if a compromise is conjured up now. What will never be reversed so easily is the threat of capital controls in a supposed monetary union. The Republic of Cyprus may still avoid such a draconian measure. But that's not the point. If the Cyprus economy can be sent backwards 50 years so easily, we now know the same can happen to other euro area members.

The significance of last weekend's ill-conceived decision by the European summit to require confiscation of depositor funds in Cyprus banks has triggered uncertainty in European markets and generated a backlash in Cyprus and beyond. Depositors ran on ATMs, Russia's Putin has protested the confiscation of the deposits of Russian depositors, and the streets of Cyprus are filled with protesting consumers.

Regardless of what happens, the consequences will be lose-lose for the EU and its banking system. What the politicians have done is to call into question the value of depositor guarantees throughout Europe, since depositors both large and small have no certainty that the commitments made will be honored in a time of crisis, regardless of the size of accounts involved. The immediate implications for depositors in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece are also clear.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.20.13 - FDIC: 772 "Problem" U.S. Banks - Listen

Gold prices held above $1,600/oz. Wednesday following the FOMC statement and pending Cyprus bank closures. Fedspeak boosts stocks. Gold last traded at $1,606 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.82 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Keep the Presses Rolling: Fed to Keep on Easing - CNBC
-Cyprus euro zone's Lehman Brothers moment - Marketwatch
-J.P. Morgan Bosses Hit by Bank Regulator - WSJ
-Fed's $4 Trillion Question: Where's the Exit Door? - CNBC
-Arizona Gold, Silver Currency Bill Advances - AP
-Budget Stalemate Shows the Need for Monetary Reform - Forbes

"There is a safety net called the Fed under the market now, and when that is taken away, the market could run into some white water," says a major bank analyst to Marketwatch.

Speaking of banks, Lew Rockwell, founder of the Von Mises Institute tells RT News the best possible scenario in Cyprus would be for citizens to make a run on the banks if/when they reopen on Thursday as a statement to the world that, in a free market, BAD banks should go bankrupt not be bailed out - whether BIG or small.

Veribank.com reports, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Banking Profile states that the Agency categorized 772 banks and thrifts as "problem" institutions as of March 2012.

"There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt."
-John Adams

Both swords and debt seem in full swing today, as nations of all sizes suffer from growing debt bondage. In the U.S. every new baby is born with with a staggering $53,000 debt load, before they shed their first tear. And, if they grow up to be a U.S. taxpayer, that debt load zooms to $147,500!

"The Great Debasement" by Craig R. Smith and Lowell Ponte offers a sweeping panoramic view of how and why this debt has grown so fast over the last decade and century - and how to prepare for the future. This short Introduction will get you started on the path to financial sanity and security.

WHERE WILL THE NEXT FINANCIAL CRISIS BEGIN? -WashTimes
Which country will serve as the trigger for the next financial crisis? Given the continuing rise in debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratios in many countries, it is apparent that a new financial crisis will occur. Most of the speculation has been about when, rather than where. The most likely candidates are heavily indebted countries with a large growth deficit.

Massive deficit spending has not worked, as advertised, for a number of years in the countries listed in the accompanying table. All of them are at risk of even more financial shocks and stresses, and none of them seems politically able to make the degree of necessary change to solve the mess. Thus, it is most likely that one of them will serve as the location where the next global financial crisis is triggered. (Countries such as North Korea and Iran could also trigger a global financial crisis by starting a war.)

CYPRUS CRISIS DEEPENS: BAILOUT REJECTED, BANKS MAY NOT REOPEN - NBCNews
Cypriot leaders held crisis talks on Wednesday to avert financial meltdown after rejecting the terms of a controversial European Union bailout, turning instead to Russia for help.

Banks on the Mediterranean island may never reopen, Germany warned after lawmakers late Tuesday turned down a $12.9 billion deal that would have seen Cypriots lose up to 10 per cent of their bank deposits.

Thousands of Cypriots withdrew savings over the weekend fearing the deal might pass, emptying ATMs and sending global money markets into a steep dive. Banks were ordered to remain closed after finance officials predicted a run on savings and a huge outflow of capital if they were to reopen.

The $25 billion in touted deposit insurance is supposed to preserve and protect (granted not in their entirety) some $9.283 billion in total US deposits. A far bigger problem, however, is when one considers the "asset" side of the US banks' ledger. Remember, deposits are unsecured liabilities.

The total derivative notional outstanding of the Top 25 holding companies is $297,514 billion, or nearly $300 trillion. In other words there are 32 times more notional derivatives than there are total deposits, while the ratio of gross derivatives to deposit insurance is a concerning 11,900-to-1.

"Almost had a heart attack... Haven't checked my balance in a little bit but it read zero. Gotta be an early April Fool joke or something," wrote one user on Twitter. Some others suggested that the bank's systems may have been hacked.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.19.13 - Investor Fear, Greed & Complacency - Listen

Gold prices ended at a three week high on Tuesday on safe haven buying amid uncertainty over the Cyprus' financial bailout. Stock indexes fall with Cyprus in mind. Gold last traded at $1,611 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.84 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Gold price jumps on Cyprus worries- The Telegraph
-Cyprus Disaster Is Much Bigger Than Being Reported-King World News
-Cyprus rejects bailout deal leaving eurozone facing fresh crisis- The Guardian
-S&P 500 Falls for Third Day as Euro Weakens on Cyprus- Bloomberg

Market psychologists tell us the human action cycle swings back and forth between fear, greed and apathy. Fear of the future is natural, as is greed to some extent. But when the pendulum swings too far in one direction it becomes unhealthy. Such is the case, say some experts, regarding the recent stock market run up, which is based more on greed than reality.

Likewise, apathy and complacency are hallmarks of confusion and ignorance. Owning physical gold is a healthy replacement for both fear of the future and greed, allowing you to have confidence your financial future, savings and retirement will be safe - no matter what.

CYPRUS: THE NEXT BLUNDER - VOX
All the conditions for a total disaster are in place. The really worrisome scenario is that the Cypriot bailout becomes euro-systemic - in which case the collapse of the Cypriot economy will be a sideshow. This will happen when and if depositors in troubled countries, say Italy or Spain, take notice of how fellow depositors were treated in Cyprus.

All the ingredients of a self-fulfilling crisis are now in place:
-It will be individually rational to withdraw deposits from local banks to avoid the remote probability of a confiscatory tax.
- As depositors learn what others do and proceed to withdraw funds, a bank run will occur.
- The banking system will collapse, requiring a Cyprus-style program that will tax whatever is left in deposits, thus justifying the withdrawals.

This would probably be the end of the euro.

VIX SIGNALS BIG MARKET MOVE IS COMING - Barron's
It will soon be truth-or-consequences time on Wall Street. The first-quarter earnings season starts in early April, and this will confirm or refute the 2013 stock market's strong advance.

blind money To be sure, it's increasingly fashionable to note that the negative preannouncement earnings rate among S&P 500 companies is at the highest level since 2001's third quarter.

Yet stocks keep advancing, and benchmark indexes are around record highs, even though 101 companies in the index have issued negative earnings preannouncements for the first quarter, compared with 23 positive ones, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shrugging off bad news is a hallmark of a bull market, and a potential sign of investor complacency. "The only thing we have to fear is the lack of fear itself," says Steven Sosnick, a senior trader at the Timber Hill market-making unit of Interactive Brokers Group.

"President Obama days ago warned that Iran is only 'a year or so' from acquiring nuclear weapons, which could trigger a stampede by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and perhaps Iraq to do likewise to deter Iran," warns Craig R. Smith.

In his latest book, The Great Debasement: The 100-Year Dying of the Dollar and How to Get America's Money Back, Smith explains the risks of American economic and military weakness, and of Islamist nuclear weapons, in the region in a chapter titled "America Engulfed."

Smith lays out a chilling scenario for how America's Persian Gulf fleet might be destroyed. It is as frightening and vivid as a novel, yet its details are terrifyingly plausible.

"Because key banking connections, as well as essential oil supplies, tie Europe to the Persian Gulf, the outbreak of nuclear conflict here could collapse the Euro currency within minutes."

MCAFEE: SERIOUS THREAT AGAINST U.S. FINANCIAL INDUSTRY - FoxNews
Russian cyber evildoers whose servers are based in Romania are coming closer to launching a major attack against 30 U.S. financial institutions aimed at stealing millions of dollars.

Attacks involving fraudulent transactions and targeting investment and national banks across the U.S. may launch next spring, new data from security firm McAfee show.

"McAfee Labs believes that Project Blitzkrieg is a credible threat to the financial industry and appears to be moving forward as planned," said Ryan Sherstobitoff, McAfee Labs' threat researcher.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.18.13 - Smart Savers Seek Safety in Gold - Listen

Gold prices rushed above $1,600/oz. Monday on safe haven buying. Greek bank-run fears boost the buck. Stocks fear Cyprus crisis. Gold last traded at $1,606 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.92 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Cyprus near-panic ON unprecedented levy on bank deposits - Marketwatch
-NEW EU PLAN: STEAL BANK ACCOUNTS - DrudgeReport
-Euro and shares slide, fears Cyprus may trigger bank runs - Guardian
-Cyprus Bank Tax Lit 'Two Sticks of Dynamite' - CNBC
-What Will Savers Do? - Financial Times

CYPRUS DEAL SHOCK SENDS SHARES TUMBLING, GOLD UP - Reuters
The surprise decision by euro zone leaders to part-fund a bailout of Cyprus by taxing bank deposits sent shockwaves through financial markets on Monday, with shares and the bonds of struggling euro zone governments tumbling.

The bloc struck a deal on Saturday to hand Cyprus rescue loans worth 10 billion euros ($13 billion), but defied warnings - including a levy that would see those with cash in the island's banks lose between 6.75 and 9.9 percent of their money.

bridge "If I were a saver, certainly in Spain or maybe Italy, I think I'd be looking askance at these measures and think this could yet happen to me," Peter Dixon, global financial economist at Commerzbank said.

Three of the world's biggest central banks are also expected to signal their fresh commitment to loose monetary policies this week. The Bank of Japan is likely to begin pumping huge amounts of yen into the recession-hit economy. On the same day the Bank of England may get a new pro-growth mandate in the British government's annual budget, while the Federal Reserve is expected to reaffirm its commitment to the current aggressive U.S. bond-buying program.

SMART INVESTORS RUN TO GOLD, NOT BANKS - Craig R. Smith
If investors think bank runs are not possible in the U.S. they need to think again. In 1933, under an extreme financial crisis, president Franklin D. Roosevelt confiscated 75% of Americans' savings when he demanded Americans turn in their gold coins for $20, then revalued gold at $35 within days.

The Cyprus crisis should reminds us that governments will resort to any and all means to insure their own survival. Even if it means confiscating 7-10% of their citizens' wealth overnight and, if needed, bankrupting some people.

In "The Great Debasement" we discuss the 144 currency debasements worldwide over the last 110 years, including; China, Germany, England, Russia, Argentina, Rome, Athens - in every continent of the world! My question to American savers today: "What would you do if 75% of your savings vanished overnight?"

Those citizens of Cyprus who held their savings in Gold did not suffer any loss. In fact, the value of their savings increased overnight because Gold is the ultimate safe haven. Learn from history, convert a portion of your hard-earned money into hard-OWNED money now.

WILL THE CYPRUS BAILOUT TRIGGER THE NEXT FINANCIAL CRISIS? - Truthingold
The Washington Post reports, "The European Central Bank will now be on high alert, monitoring activity in Greece, Spain and beyond for evidence that the Cyprus precedent will result in new runs on those nations' banks. Expect a flood of central bank liquidity into those nations if there is any hint that depositors across Europe seem to be thinking that Cyprus is the new normal and that their seemingly safe bank deposits could be reduced 10 percent without warning."

The "flood" of Central Bank liquidity referenced above largely refers to the Federal Reserve, which has been quietly funding a massive "ghost" bailout of the European banking system all along. For those of you who are unaware, 50% of the $1.8 trillion in the Federal Reserve bank excess reserve account is money that has been given to the U.S. subsidiaries of the European Banks who are Primary Dealers in this country (LINK). In other words, the U.S. is pretty much keeping Europe from collapsing right now.

The Cyprus situation may in fact ignite a run on the banks in Europe and - for those paying attention in this country (which isn't very many) - a small run in this country. Myself and others have been advising people to keep only a minimal amount of cash in the banking system for quite some time. The reason? Even though great pains have been taken by DC/Wall Street to ensure us that "the water is fine" in the banking system, the world is one unforeseen "small" event away from a global liquidity crisis.

The best alternative is - and has been for the last 12 years - to move as much money OUT of the banking system as possible in INTO physical gold and silver that is privately secured outside of the banking system.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.15.13 - The Smiling vs. Frowning Dollar - Listen

Gold prices climbed toward $1,600/oz. Friday on safe haven buying after inflation surged to a 3-year high. Stocks and dollar fall. Gold last traded at $1,592 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.78 an ounce

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Stocks Slide, Investors Pause After Dow Logs 10-Day Rally - CNBC
-U.S. inflation highest in three years - Marketwatch
-Gasoline Lifts Consumer Costs But Not Enough to Alarm Fed -WSJ
-US Consumer Sentiment Plummets in March - CNBC
-Greenspan: No irrational exuberance, stocks undervalued - CNNMoney

Led by an expected surge in gasoline prices, consumer prices rose in February at .7% (the same increase as wholesale prices rose in February) the fastest pace in more than three years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Meanwhile, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that even with record-high stock prices, investors don't need to worry about "irrational exuberance" this time, stocks are still "significantly undervalued."

dollar chart

"The dollar seems to have started to smile again, after being debased by the Fed in the past years," reports Chicago Tribune. But for how long? For more than a decade, good times in such markets as stocks and real estate were bad news for the greenback.

Will the dollar continue to "smile" at the currency wars and weakness of other paper currencies, OR, will it fall back into the decade-long frown under the weight of inflationary pressures. Stay tuned.

"This is the age of short-termism and immediate gratification, or at least the illusion of gratification: Never confuse unrealized gains with profits," reports Minyanville.com's Jeff Cooper.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

WHAT PHYSICISTS AND ECONOMISTS HAVE IN COMMON - Editor
After 50 years of study, top physicists now believe that a "God-particle" exists, which gives all matter in the universe its size and shape. After 50 years of study, top economists now believe the fiat dollar will soon cease to exist - unless we stop creating them out of thin air and return to a gold standard. What do physicists and economists have in common?

EMBRY - GLOBAL SILVER STOCKPILES ARE NOW EXHAUSTED - KingWorldNews
John Embry, chief investment strategist at Sprott Asset Management, told King World News he believes the US debt problem is staggering and people are going to see moves in gold that will shock them. Right now however, people are so focused on the short-term weakness they are missing the big picture. He also believes silver will jump in price soon due to the availability of the metal.

U.S. PROBES GOLD PRICING - WSJ
U.S. regulators are scrutinizing whether prices are being manipulated in the world's largest gold market, according to people familiar with the situation. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is examining the setting of prices in London, in which a handful of banks meet twice daily and set the spot price for a troy ounce of physical gold, the people said.

IT'S GOING TO END BADLY - GoldSeek
Jim Cramer from CNBC: "We all know it's going to end badly, but in the meantime we can make some money." Thank you Mr. Cramer for telling us the truth about QE and our economy. Stan Druckenmiller, Legendary Hedge Fund Manager, on CNBC 03/05/2013: "I don't know when it's going to end. But my guess is it's going to end very badly."

HOW TO GO GOLD - TheNationalInterest
Central banks have become net buyers of gold for the first time in 20 years. There is uneasiness within the United States and among its trading partners with exotic Federal Reserve policies such as QE1, QE2, QE Infinity and Operation Twist. The value of the dollar has eroded by about 85 percent since Nixon, breaking the dollar's last link to gold, declared on August 15, 1971 that "your dollar will be worth just as much tomorrow as it is today." Some argue that the Fed caused the housing bubble, the housing bust, the crash of 2008 and the Great Recession.

WHY ECONOMIC EXPERTS AREN'T HIGH ON THE NEW JOBLESS "˜LOW' - NewsRelease
While the official unemployment rate fell to 7.7% on March 8 -- its lowest since December 2008 - financial and economics experts aren't jumping for joy. "That's because the numbers buried in the government's fine print suggest the economy might be sinking, not recovering," says Craig R. Smith, a monetary expert frequently interviewed by Fox's Neil Cavuto and other prominent business journalists.

'GO AND REPAIR MY HOUSE' - WSJ
I'll tell you how it looks: like one big unexpected gift for the church and the world. Everything about Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio's election was a surprise - his age, the name he took, his mien as he was presented to the world.

The meaning of the name he chose should not be underestimated. Cardinal Bergoglio is a Jesuit and the Jesuits were founded by St. Ignatius Loyola, who said he wanted to be like St. Francis of Assisi.

One of the most famous moments in St. Francis's life is the day he was passing by the church of St. Damiano. It was old and near collapse. From St. Bonaventure's "Life of Francis of Assisi": "Inspired by the Spirit, he went inside to pray. Kneeling before an image of the Crucified, he was filled with great fervor and consolation. . . . While his tear-filled eyes were gazing at the Lord's cross, he heard with his bodily ears a voice coming from the cross, telling him three times: 'Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling into ruin.'"

Go and repair my house, which is falling into ruin. Could the new pope's intentions be any clearer?

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.14.13 - What Physicists and Economists Have in Common - Listen

Gold prices held near recent highs Thursday on bargain hunting and dollar volatility. Stocks higher. Gold last traded at $1,589 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.78 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Dow's 10th straight gain, S&P nears pinnacle -Marketwatch
-Jobless Claims Slip, Producers Prices Rise .7% - CNBC
-Housing Foreclosures Start to 'Flare-Up' Again - CNBC
-World welcomes Pope Francis as humble champion of poor - Reuters
-NEW POPE WILL BE ONE OF AMERICA'S BIGGEST EMPLOYERS - WashPost
-PHYSICISTS: WE'VE FOUND 'GOD PARTICLE'- AP

stock market The party on Wall Street rocked on today, sending the DJIA stock index above 14,500. Meanwhile, "The Labor Department said its Producer Price Index increased 0.7 percent last month," says CNBC. That equates to 8.4% annual inflation, which is exactly what the Fed policy is trying to create.

The problem? Average U.S. wages only rose 4 cents last month to $23.82, according to the BLS. 2% rising wages will not cover a faster rising cost of living at 8% real world inflation.

Daily Reckoning adds, "A recent study confirms that overall, middle-class wealth plunged by 28% just in the past decade."

WHAT PHYSICISTS AND ECONOMISTS HAVE IN COMMON - Editor
AP reports, "The Higgs boson particle's existence helps confirm the theory that objects gain their size and shape when particles interact in an energy field with a key particle, the Higgs boson. The more they attract, so the theory goes, the bigger their mass will be."

After 50 years of study, top physicists now believe that a "God-particle" exists, which gives all matter in the universe its size and shape.

After 50 years of study, top economists now believe the fiat dollar will soon cease to exist - unless we stop creating them out of thin air and return to a gold standard.

What do physicists and economists have in common? They both confirm the obvious.

Substance is what gives symbolism true value. More substance attracts bigger mass. In investment terms, real money grows in value over time, while fiat money vaporizes.

U.S. PROBES GOLD PRICING - WSJ
U.S. regulators are scrutinizing whether prices are being manipulated in the world's largest gold market, according to people familiar with the situation.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is examining the setting of prices in London, in which a handful of banks meet twice daily and set the spot price for a troy ounce of physical gold, the people said.

The CFTC is looking at issues including whether the setting of prices for gold - and the smaller silver market - is transparent.

"The idea that pervasive manipulation, or attempted manipulation [of interest rates], is so widespread should make us all query the veracity of the other key marks," said CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton at a Feb. 26 roundtable in Washington on financial benchmarks. "What about energy, swaps, the gold and silver fixes in London and the whole litany of 'bors'?" he said, referring to Libor, Euribor and other benchmarks.

The price settings, which date to 1897 in the case of silver and 1919 for gold, now take place now via conference calls among banks. The London gold price setting involves units of five banks: Barclays, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings, Bank of Nova Scotia and SociÃ©tÃ© GÃ©nÃ©rale.

The price settings are "very much done on a demand-supply basis until a price is arrived at. It's fully transparent. It's nothing like Libor," said a spokesman for the London Bullion Market Association, which sets the standards for the quality of gold and silver traded in the London market.

[NOTE: Swiss America has, for many years, supported the work of Bill Murphy and GATA.org in seeking greater transparency in the precious metals markets.]

Stan Druckenmiller, Legendary Hedge Fund Manager, on CNBC 03/05/2013: "I don't know when it's going to end. But my guess is it's going to end very badly."

Put your savings and retirement, if possible, into investments that will benefit from "printing money," money supply increases, economic decline, currency wars, devalued paper currencies, and out-of-control government spending. Gold, silver, farmland, some real estate, diamonds, crude oil, food, and many more come to mind.

More QE will occur - it could "juice" the stock market higher and almost certainly will "juice" gold and silver, which are at significant lows and ready to rally.

NEW POPE WILL BE ONE OF AMERICA'S BIGGEST EMPLOYERS - WashPost
As it turns out, the Catholic church plays a massive role in the U.S. economy - spending some $170 billion in 2010, according to recent calculations by The Economist.

Catholic institutions themselves employ over 1 million people in the United States. That would make the church one of the nation's largest employers, behind only Walmart. It employs far more people than General Electric or McDonald's or GM or the U.S. Postal Service. The American church may account for as much as 60% of the global institution's wealth.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.12.13 - Golden 'Life Raft' Needed (Before Next Panic) - Listen

Gold prices rushed toward $1,600/oz. Tuesday amid safe haven buying, bargain hunting and a weaker dollar. Stocks adrift. Gold last traded at $1,592 an ounce. Silver last traded at $29.17 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-U.S. stock indexes retreat from record run - Marketwatch
-GOP Budget Establishes Battle Lines - WSJ
-Conclave to elect new pope begins in Rome - FoxNews
-BLACK SMOKE, NO POPE - DrudgeReport
-Cashin: Bulls 'Ready to Take a Little Break' - CNBC
-Poor Retirement Planning Causes Misery Later - FoxBusiness
-Strong Dollar Is Flashing a Warning Sign for Stocks - CNBC

"If the turbo-charged stock market rally is going to continue it likely will need help from an old ally - the weak dollar," reports CNBC.

golden preserver "Stocks may be soaring and the dollar strengthening, but gold remains 'a life raft' for anxious investors, Phillip Streible, Sr. Commodities Broker at RJO Furtures tells TheStreet.com.

THERE WILL BE PANIC INTO GOLD: DOUG CASEY - YouTube
International investment strategist Doug Casey warns that the world's economic, financial and monetary systems have passed the point of no return and a change of ownership over global resources will soon take place.

We're exiting the eye of the hurricane where we've been since 2007"¦ We're going into the trailing edge of the hurricane. It's going to last a long time and it's going to be very, very severe.

It is beyond the point of no return as far as I am concerned for Europe, and for Japan, and the U.S., and China - all the developed economies, quite frankly. Gold remains the only financial asset that's not simultaneously somebody else's liability.

SPUTTERING GLOBAL ECONOMY BELIES STOCK MARKET BOOM - Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph
Fitch Ratings says total credit has jumped from $9 trillion to $23 trillion over four years, adding as much as the entire US banking system. This is yielding even less growth. Stimulus is leaking into property and rising prices instead.

Skeptics say the global market boom has been driven by a wash of liquidity from the US, UK, Japanese and Swiss central banks, abetted by China's shadow banking system, with the Draghi pledge to save Italy and Spain icing the cake.

This has ignited asset prices as intended. Whether this method of stimulus will trickle down to the real economy or merely inflate a fresh credit bubble with all its attendant dangers is the great unanswered question.

SCHIFF: U.S. WILL WIN CURRENCY WAR, THEN "IMPLODE" - MoneyMorning
Investors should take immediate steps to protect themselves as a global currency war is about to create a massive economic "implosion" far worse than 2008.

"There is a currency war going on," Peter Schiff, the best-selling author and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital told the investors according to CNBC. "The irony of a currency war, which makes it different from other wars, is the object is to kill itself. Unfortunately, I think the U.S. is going to win the currency war."

"Anybody who believes there is no inflation isn't shopping," he said. "It's not that the stock market is gaining value... it's that our money is losing value. And so if you have a debased currency ... a devalued currency, the price of everything goes up. Stocks are no exception," he said.

"I think the US debt problem is staggering. Bernanke is throwing $85 billion each month into the market to buy both Treasuries and distressed mortgage securities from banks. This is just complete debasement of the currency. People can't seem to grasp the reality of this situation, but this is going to end in disaster."

STARING ARMAGEDDON IN THE FACE BUT HIDING IT WITH OFFICIAL LIES - PaulCraigRoberts
The official U6 unemployment measure which counts some discouraged workers shows an unemployment rate of 14.3%. Statistician John Williams' measure, which counts all discouraged workers (people who have ceased looking for a job), is 23%.

In other words, the real rate of unemployment is 2 to 3 times the reported rate.

Over the years the official measure of inflation has been altered in two ways. One is the introduction of substitution for what formerly was a constant weighted basket of goods. In the former measure, if a price of an item in the basket (index) rose, the CPI rose by the weight of that item in the basket.

In the substitution-based measure, if a price of an item in the basket goes up, the item is removed from the basket, and a cheaper item is put in its place. For example, if the price of New York strip steak rises, the new CPI will substitute the price of a cheaper cut.

In this new measure, inflation is held down by measuring not a fixed standard of living but a declining standard of living.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.11.13 - True Unemployment Portends Dollar Debasement - Listen

Gold prices steadied above $1,575/oz. Monday on bargain hunting despite a firmer dollar. Stocks open flat. Gold last traded at $1,581 an ounce. Silver last traded at $29.01 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Dow Keeps Hitting New Highs - CNNMoney
-Apple Stock Spikes: Chart 'So Bad That It's Good' - CNBC
-Friday's Jobless Report Is Not Cause For Celebration - RCM
-Gold bounces as stimulus seen to continue - Reuters
-MetLife CEO warns against Federal oversight - GARP
-Illinois hit with SEC charges over public pensions - Marketwatch

"Gold edged up on Monday, off a two-week low hit in the previous session...as the Federal Reserve is expected to continue to prop up the economy through 2013 with monetary stimulus, giving support to gold," reports Reuters.

"Subjecting large companies to federal oversight could disrupt an entire industry," reports GARP.com. "Consumers could find lack of supply, higher prices, fewer features on products across the industry," said Steve Kandarian, chief executive of Metlife, the nation's largest life insurance company.

jobless recovery "That's because the numbers buried in the government's fine print suggest the economy might be sinking, not recovering," says Craig R. Smith, a monetary expert frequently interviewed by Fox's Neil Cavuto and other prominent business journalists.

Smith and Lowell Ponte, co-authors of The Great Debasement: The 100-Year Dying of the Dollar, (greatdebasement.com), say the real numbers reveal the jobless rate remains staggeringly high, a condition that could ultimately result in serious devaluation of the dollar.

Consider the following numbers:

-We added 236,000 jobs in February, yet the number of unemployed who stopped looking for a job increased by 296,000.
-The Workforce Participation Rate in February plummeted to 63.5%, the lowest proportion of working-age Americans with jobs in 31 years.
-The number of long-term unemployed increased by 90,000 in February, surging from 38.1% to 40.2% of the total.
-The number that includes people with part-time jobs who need full-time work remains at 14.3%.

How does the true unemployment rate threaten to devalue the dollar? more...

DJIA HITS MEANINGLESS, FED INDUCED MILESTONE - MSNMoney
It is difficult for people to accept that markets do inexplicable things all the time, and that it is often just the collective twitching of hundreds of millions of participants.

However, we do know the real reason markets are levitating, and that is because the world's central bankers are printing money in a fashion never before seen or even contemplated. When all of that money meets a little bit of positive psychology, markets can go anywhere.

Of course, when you have stocks that have been buoyed by easy money and excited crowd behavior, they can also get smashed rather easily at some point, particularly when you have computers operating as they do, although none of that means the market will decline immediately.

This is another reason why I have continued to say over the past four years that it is risky to short stocks (and why owning GOLD is a preferable antidote to central bank policies), as being short would have been very, very costly over that time.

COMPLACENCY COULD SIGNAL VIOLENT SELLOFF - CNBC
The most popular way to measure market fear - the CBOE Volatility Index - fell to its lowest point of the four-year bull market, signaling to many traders a level of complacency that sets in before a powerful drop in stocks.

"The next few weeks or months could be treacherous for shorts, but the odds favor a volatility spike of fairly epic proportions off of what is a very depressed level," said Dan Nathan, co-founder of RiskReversal.com. "I think you would have to have your head checked to load up on equities here."

"Bullish opinions are rampant," said Brad Lamensdorf, who runs the Ranger Equity Bear ETF (HDGE), which specializes in finding stocks to bet against. "Sentiment gauges are flashing a warning sign: Good luck, Bulls!"

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.8.13 - "13" a lucky number for gold bugs? - Listen

Gold prices rose above $1,575/oz. Friday on bargain hunting despite a sharply stronger dollar after upbeat jobs data. Stock rally extends. Gold last traded at $1,579 an ounce. Silver last traded at $29.00 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-U.S. jobless rate shrinks to 7.7%, four-year low - Marketwatch
-89,304,000 Americans 'Not in Labor Force' - CNS
-Gold Warnings Surge as Banks Jump Off Bandwagon - CNBC
-The Two Strongest Forms Of Money On The Planet - BullMarketThinking

"It's hard to completely trust any government that reserves the right to assassinate me (or you) with a robot airplane. So it's no wonder that many people are skeptical about the government's economic data," writes Marketwatch.

"The number of Americans designated as 'not in the labor force' in February was 89,304,000, a record high, up from 89,008,000 in January, according to the Department of Labor. This means that the number of Americans not in the labor force increased 296,000 in February," reports CNSNews.

"You don't fight the stock markets when the Fed is easing, so you wouldn't want to fight the central banks when they're buying gold, because they have deep pockets," said Philip Silverman, managing director of Kingsview Management in New York to CNBC.

"Despite recent setbacks, gold and silver have been the strongest currencies on the planet for the last 13 years. Here is a chart of percentage growth returns of gold & silver vs. major world currencies:" reports BullMarketThinking.

precious bull market

Clearly precious metals are becoming the world's currency of choice. While metals have been consolidating 13 years of non-stop growth, this market offers the wise investor the perfect buying opportunity for bargain hunters. "13" may well be viewed as a lucky number for gold bugs.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2013 - Craig R. Smith, 2013 RMP
The reality is that both our Federal politicians and Federal Reserve are caught in traps of their own making. Nearly 70 percent of every tax dollar now goes for transfer payments, taking money from your pocket merely to move it to the pocket of someone the politicians deem more worthy of spending the fruits of your labor than you are.

2013 may be remembered as the year we replaced America's Declaration of Independence with a Declaration of Dependence and became again a European-style nation with permanent double- digit unemployment, stagnant growth, soaring taxes on achievers, and an expansive welfare state. It may take a larger crash to reawaken and restore what once were American values.

In the meanwhile, stimulus spending will continue the dollar's inexorable death spiral as the economy slows, productivity stalls, achievers seek shelter, and the government sinks into the quicksand of debt and debasement.

The wise will diversify their earnings and savings by transforming a portion of their dollars into solid things that the Fed and Washington politicians cannot run off a printing press. As they have for thousands of years, solid things like the Biblical standard of money that America's Framers specified in our Constitution - gold and silver - will retain purchasing power while debased, manipulated political currencies crumble. Our challenge is to become a prudent saving remnant of value and simple truth.

GROSS: FED WON'T ALTER STIMULUS AFTER JOB GAINS - MoneyNews
Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund, said the larger-than-forecast increase in U.S. employment last month won't prompt the Federal Reserve to alter the central bank's stimulus measures.

"Bernanke and Yellen, and Dudley - the three musketeers - have made it obvious that even if unemployment gets to 6.5 percent, they are going to look around," Pacific Investment Management Co.'s founder Gross said in a radio interview on Bloomberg Surveillance with Tom Keene.

"They are going to look at the participation rate, they are going to look at work rate, they are going to look at productivity, those things in combination. And if they give themselves an out, if, and here's the critical point, IF inflation is still well contained."

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK
-ECRI: WE'RE IN A RECESSION (WE JUST DON'T KNOW IT YET) - YahooFinance
-MILLIONS LEFT WITHOUT MONEY AS RBS BANK SYSTEMS CRASH - Telegraph
-CRAIG R. SMITH TELLS FOX "WALL STREET IS NOT THE ECONOMY" - WATCH-FOX
-PROOF THE FED IS JUICING THE MARKETS - FoxNews
-TWO AWFUL ANNIVERSARIES: INCOME TAX AND FEDERAL RESERVE - SteveForbes
-THE LAST TIME THE DOW WAS HERE - ZeroHedge

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3.7.13 - 2013 "recovery" technically still a recession - Listen

Gold prices held above $1,575/oz. Thursday amid profit taking and a weaker dollar. Stocks cheer jobs data. Gold last traded at $1,577 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.86 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Jobs Market Gets Better; Trade Deficit Gets Worse - CNBC
-Stocks climb as jobless claims dip - Marketwatch
-Q4 Productivity Takes a Dive - Reuters
-Consumer Comfort in U.S. Improves to Highest Level This Year - Bloomberg
-Ahead of Obamacare, The Part-Time Workforce Surges -IBD

The IndyStar reports, "The federal government is $16.5 trillion in debt. Over $10 trillion of that has been added since 2000. But congressional leaders don't seem to be overly concerned." (See link for excellent cartoon).

Meanwhile, a non-partisan D.C. think tank thinks we are still in a recession, rather than a recovery, since mid 2012. Hopes are running high for jobs report on Friday ... we shall see.

ECRI: WE'RE IN A RECESSION (WE JUST DON'T KNOW IT YET) - YahooFinance
Eighteen months ago, in September 2011, the Economic Cycle Research Institute made a startling call: "The U.S. economy is... tipping into a recession. And there's nothing that policy makers can do to head it off."

In support of this position, ECRI Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer Lakshman Achuthan points out correctly that the timing of recessions is often determined only with the benefit of hindsight - often through revisions of prior numbers that initially did not show a recession. Achuthan thinks that, when the final revisions are in, they will show a recession that began in mid-2012.

nominal GDP

Achuthan also points to several other measures that he says are consistent with recessions. This data, in his opinion, illustrates that the economy is in fact in a recession.

Above chart begins in the early 1980s. Based on the full 65 years of historical data, nominal GDP growth below 3.7%, which is marked off by the horizontal line, has always occurred in a recessionary context - without exception. This chart is consistent with a mild recession.

MILLIONS LEFT WITHOUT MONEY AS RBS BANK SYSTEMS CRASH - Telegraph
A computer meltdown caused the Royal Bank of Scotland to crash leaving millions of customers unable to withdraw cash. The banks had to extend opening hours to assist customers. Many customers stated they were considering moving to another bank in light of the fiasco.

WHEN TO BUY ... WHEN TO SELL - RudeAwakening
"I started buying gold just before it got to $300 per ounce," writes a perceptive reader. "As it pushed through $580 per ounce, I ran out of money. I only bought little bits, now and then, as continued up to $800. Then, it was 'too expensive'.

"The 2008 financial crisis took the price of gold down, and I started buying again as it fell below $840. I bought too soon, since it bottomed out in the mid-$600's. Later, when the price topped $1,900, the 'too soon' didn't seem to matter that much anymore.

"I have not added to my gold position in over four years. I would certainly enjoy it if the price would fall sometime in the next year or two. If it does, I will most likely scrounge up every dollar I can get my hands on, back up the pick-up, and load it with both hands as fast as I can. I do realize how much it will pain the investors who bought recently above $1,600, but it is up to them to hold on, just like I held on through 2008, if indeed they think precious metal prices will be better after they are worse."

There's not much I can add here. As a long-term investor, I think you have it all figured out.

THE SEQUESTER: MORE OPPORTUNITY THAN DANGER -Barron's
Does the sequester that took effect Friday mean the federal government is really downsizing? If Uncle Sam Inc. were a publicly traded stock, Wall Street would probably react to the news with a mixture of scorn and indifference.

There will be cutbacks in certain operations, especially in defense. But the cuts will be more than offset by an increase in entitlement spending. Total outlays will still show a small increase, to a record $3.553 trillion in fiscal year 2013, versus $3.538 trillion in fiscal 2012.

And over the next decade, the sequester will barely make a dent in the Congressional Budget Office's projections that debt as a share of GDP is inexorably climbing toward 200% from its current 76%.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.6.13 - Sell Dow's High, Buy Gold's Low - Listen

Gold prices bounced over $1,575/oz. Wednesday on Fedspeak and bargain hunting despite a stronger dollar. Dow fresh nominal high (yawn). Gold last traded at $1,583 an ounce. Silver last traded at $29.04 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Bull market or bull trap? - Marketwatch
-Say Goodbye to 4% Rule for Retirement - WSJ
-Fed Beige Book: Government policy slowing growth - Marketwatch
-House Passes Bill to Keep Government Funded - CNBC
-Rosenberg sees gold at $3,000 - Marketwatch

"Government fiscal and health-care policies are holding back private spending and hiring, according to a Federal Reserve survey of business contacts compiled in its Beige Book report released on Wednesday," reports Marketwatch.

"Forget the Dow. If you really want to make some money, buy gold," says David Rosenberg. "Gold is heading to $3,000 an ounce," the chief economist & strategist at investment firm Gluskin Sheff + Associates said Tuesday in a speech at a CFA Institute of Chicago conference.

FED ACTION TO PROMPT RETURN TO GOLD STANDARD - GoldStandardNow
James Grant, founder & editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, predicts that the result of recent Federal Reserve action will prompt a return to the gold standard for the United States. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Surveillance."

CRAIG R. SMITH TELLS FOX "WALL STREET IS NOT THE ECONOMY" - WATCH-FOX
With the DOW at a "new high", is America in for another financial meltdown? That's what happened a few months after the last stock market rally. But this time the FED has been stimulating the economy at a record pace. Will President Obama make the cuts he needs to make? Or will he instead play politics to the great detriment of the American people.

PROOF THE FED IS JUICING THE MARKETS - FoxNews
Charles Brady, senior editor of the FOX Business Network, has put together a remarkable chart that clearly shows the Federal Reserve's monetary easing policies are not going into the U.S. economy, but instead into the stock market.

monetary base vs dow

The chart here compares the Dow Jones Industrial Average with the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank's adjusted monetary base. It shows the effect of Fed purchases of mortgage-backed and Treasury securities from Fed dealers, whereby the Federal Reserve buys $85 billion total every month from the big banks, hastening the growth in the Fed's balance sheet to more than $3 trillion.

The central bank has been creating bank reserves out of thin air since September 2008, making it an official enabler to the federal government's massive fiscal expenditures that now has the federal deficit at more than $16 trillion, with about $6 trillion added since the president took office, more than any other U.S. president combined.

TWO AWFUL ANNIVERSARIES: INCOME TAX AND FEDERAL RESERVE - SteveForbes
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the federal income tax (February) and the Federal Reserve System (December), both of which today are doing immeasurable harm. And, thankfully, both will be undergoing enormous changes.

So why is there hope for major change? Research by Art Laffer and other economists has demonstrated that over time states that have no income tax perform better than states with high income taxes. Before the enactment of the 16th Amendment, which permitted Washington to impose an income tax, states were in the vanguard of putting taxes on income. Today they are doing just the opposite.

The harm the Federal Reserve does is less appreciated but no less real. Amazingly, our central bank has no concept of the proper role for such an institution, which is to give us a stable currency and deal with financial panics quickly and decisively. Since the late 1990s the Federal Reserve's actions have been unhinged. Its deliberate policy of weakening the dollar was the prime cause of the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Why should the dollar be linked to gold? Because more than any other thing on earth, gold keeps its intrinsic value. It's like the North Star, always constant. Thus it's a handy measuring rod for keeping the value of money steady.

[NOTE: The Great Debasement discusses the connection between the Federal Reserve, income tax and "Donkey Drag", which slows the economy by 25%, according to authors Craig R. Smith and Lowell Ponte.]

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.5.13 - Dow Fails to Reach 'Real' High - Listen

Gold prices rebounded above $1,575/oz. Tuesday amid bargain hunting and a weaker dollar. Dow hits "new high". Gold last traded at $1,576 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.70 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Dow hits record high but may be facing new ceiling - Marketwatch
-Venezuela Expels U.S. Diplomats - WSJ
-Dow Rallies Past 2007's All-Time High, S&P 500 Touches 5-1/2 Year High - CNBC
-The Dow Isn't Really At A Record High (And It Wouldn't Matter If It Were) - NPR

NPR reminds savvy investors, "After adjusting for inflation, the Dow was higher in 2000 than it is today. It was also higher in 2007. It would need to rise another 10 percent or so to hit an all time high in real (i.e. inflation-adjusted) terms."

the real dow Author and Swiss America Chairman Craig R. Smith will be a guest on FOX "Your World with Neil Cavuto" today to discuss what is really going on in the financial markets. Did the Dow really hit a new "all-time" high? What is the bigger picture? Will the Fed balance sheet expansion lead to the debasement of the dollar?

THE LAST TIME THE DOW WAS HERE - ZeroHedge
"Mission Accomplished" - With CNBC now lost for countdown-able targets (though 20,000 is so close), we leave it to none other than Jim Cramer, quoting Stanley Druckenmiller, to sum up where we stand (oh and the following list of remarkable then-and-now macro, micro, and market variables), namely that "we all know it's going to end badly, but in the meantime we can make some money" - ZH translation: "just make sure to sell ahead of everyone else."

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Then 14164.5; Now 14164.5
Regular Gas Price: Then $2.75; Now $3.73
GDP Growth: Then +2.5%; Now +1.6%
Americans Unemployed (in Labor Force): Then 6.7 million; Now 13.2 million
Americans On Food Stamps: Then 26.9 million; Now 47.69 million
Size of Fed's Balance Sheet: Then $0.89 trillion; Now $3.01 trillion
US Debt as a Percentage of GDP: Then ~38%; Now 74.2%
US Deficit (LTM): Then $97 billion; Now $975.6 billion
Total US Debt Outstanding: Then $9.008 trillion; Now $16.43 trillion
US Household Debt: Then $13.5 trillion; Now 12.87 trillion
Labor Force Participation Rate: Then 65.8%; Now 63.6%
Consumer Confidence: Then 99.5; Now 69.6
S&P Rating of the US: Then AAA; Now AA+
VIX: Then 17.5%; Now 14%
10 Year Treasury Yield: Then 4.64%; Now 1.89%
EURUSD: Then 1.4145; Now 1.3050
Gold: Then $748; Now $1583
NYSE Average LTM Volume (per day): Then 1.3 billion shares; Now 545 million

CHINA'S $3.3 TRILLION FX RESERVES COULD BUY ALL WORLD'S GOLD TWICE - ZeroHedge
Gold inched higher in all currencies today supported by physical buying in Asia. Concerns about the global economy and the outlook for riskier assets have led to renewed physical buying interest in Asia, particularly in China.

China's foreign currency reserves have surged more than 700% since 2004 and are now enough to buy every central bank's official gold supply -- twice.

Continuing diversification into gold from the huge foreign exchange reserves by the People's Bank of China and other central banks is a primary pillar which will support gold and should contribute to higher prices in the coming years.

DOW JONES HIGH ON FED STEROIDS - USAToday
The best indication that the Fed's bond-buying purchases are pushing stocks up artificially is that investors run for cover whenever there is a hint that the Fed might change course, as happened recently. On Monday, billionaire superinvestor Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett told CNBC that markets are on a "hair trigger" waiting for signs of change from the Fed. The market is "hooked on the drug" of easy money, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Reuters.

Fisher's comparison of Fed policies to a drug is apt. Markets might not like the idea of the drug being withdrawn now, when the Fed holds a portfolio of $3 trillion. But the withdrawal symptoms will be a lot worse once the portfolio grows to $4 trillion, or more.

No one has a clear idea how the Fed plans to unload such staggering sums. As it sells off its hoard, the value of all bonds could plunge, more than wiping out the small returns bond investors are getting. But holding onto the bonds as the economy stabilizes would set off inflation, which the Fed is required to combat. That's a good reason to start thinking about an endgame sooner rather than later.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.4.13 - Simple, Compelling Facts About Gold - Listen

Gold prices eased below $1,575/oz. Monday amid profit taking and a firmer dollar. Stocks eke out gain. Gold last traded at $1,572 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.54 an ounce.

MARKET NEWS HEADLINES
-Buffett Still Sees 'Good Value' in Stocks - CNBC
-China's Property Stocks Plummet - WSJ
-Oil falls to new year low as China stirs demand fear - Marketwatch
-Obama, Congress Take Wait-and-Blame Approach on Budget - Bloomberg
-Michelle Obama: Dogs need balanced diets, exercise too - WashExaminer
-New Qualified Mortgage rule set up for another meltdown - WashTimes

The Simple Truth ... today's investment world is very distracting. Markets and metal prices fluctuate along with daily trends and speculation. The Simple Truth newsletter focuses on the fundamentals behind the 21st century gold rush - for wealth preservation first, as well as long-term capital growth potential.

GOLD - THE SIMPLE FACTS - Pimco
When it comes to investing in gold, investors often see the world in black and white. Some people have a deep, almost religious conviction that gold is a useless, barbarous relic with no yield; it's an asset no rational investor would ever want. Others love it, seeing it as the only asset that can offer protection from the coming financial catastrophe, which is always just around the corner.

Our views are more nuanced and, we believe, provide a balanced framework for assessing value. Our bottom line: given current valuations and central bank policies, we see gold as a compelling inflation hedge and store of value that is potentially superior to fiat currencies.

gold chart

Of course, investors must also consider valuation, especially since some believe gold is overpriced. Figure 1 shows the inflation-adjusted value of gold since 1970. There is no doubt that gold prices, which averaged $1,630 in August, are high. However, in inflation-adjusted terms, gold is 12% below its 1980 peak.

We believe investors should consider allocating gold and other precious metals to a diversified investment portfolio. The supply of gold is constrained, and we see demand increasing consistent with global economic growth on a per capita basis. Regarding inflation in particular, we feel that the Federal Reserve's decision to begin a third round of quantitative easing makes gold even more attractive.

[ED. NOTE: Using a credible alternative inflation source, such as Shadowstats.com - rather than the official CPI - at today's price of $1,575/oz. gold remains 37% below its inflation-adjusted price of $2,515 - which is the number of today's dollar's that would be needed to buy gold at $850/oz. back in 1980.]

CHINA'S REAL ESTATE BUBBLE - CBSNews
The biggest housing bubble in history created by China's rapid growth and the massive investment in real estate by its burgeoning middle class may be about to burst. One of the country's leading commercial real estate moguls, Zhang Xin, tells Lesley Stahl that residential property development has reached the end of the road.

The Chinese government is aware of this problem. To slow down the bubble's growth, the government made it hard for investors to buy more than one apartment in major cities, leading to a plunge in prices.

The government is in a Catch-22 now: propping up the industry with more money may prevent social upheaval, but only make the bubble bigger, maybe too big for even China to control.

THE ECONOMY'S BIGGEST PROBLEM: POLITICIANS - WeeklyStandard
Poor kids to go without lunches and vaccinations, meat sold without being inspected, firemen and cops laid off, illegal aliens released from prison, 17,200 teachers fired, airports closed, long lines at airports, and 700,000 workers laid off. Egypt in ferment? Syria at war? Austerity-ridden Greece? Nope. The United States of America as described by President Obama now that the sequester, an across-the-board cut in some domestic and military spending, is in effect.

All in all, there are signs that the economy continues to grow, and that it is only policymakers who stand between it and a really good year. One example of the cost of uncertainty: a major oil pipeline company is reluctant to lay pipe from the new Western oil fields because it can't be certain that the administration will allow continued development of those resources. Uncertainty trumps the incentive provided by the new oil discoveries.

More: Swiss America Gold Market News

3.1.13 - Life, Liberty & Happiness ... At Risk - Listen

Gold prices held near $1,575/oz. Friday amid profit taking, bargain hunting and a stronger dollar. Stocks looking toppy. Gold last traded at $1,575 an ounce. Silver last traded at $28.57 an ounce.

A TAX INCREASE BY ANY OTHER NAME - NewsRelease
"The Sequester does not shrink government at all," says author and Swiss America Chairman Craig R. Smith, "because even if Sequester cuts kick in, Federal spending in 2013 will increase by at least $15 Billion."

"The Federal Government uses a form of 'baseline budgeting' that assumes its budget will automatically grow each year, typically by as much as 7 percent," says Smith.

"All that the Sequester does is reduce this automatic rate of government spending increase," says Smith. "The government will still be spending more money in 2013 than it did in 2012, no matter what happens."

jefferson GOLD'S BULL RUN NOT OVER, IT'S JUST TAKING A BREAK - Marketwatch
After five months of declines in gold prices, it's still not time to call an end to gold's bull run. After all...central-bank monetary-policy cues, economic data, currency fluctuations, asset relocation, and emerging markets - are generally the same as they've been for gold's more-than-decade-long bull run.

"The gold bull run is not over, it just doesn't need to rush to wherever it's climbing to," said Jan Skoyles, head of research at The Real Asset Co., a precious-metals investment platform provider.

James Turk, founder and chairman of online bullion dealer GoldMoney, said gold "remains in the correction that began after the record high it made back in 2011. No one can predict when this correction will end but when it does, I expect this bull market will take gold to a new record high above $2,000 per ounce," he said.

OBAMA'S SEQUESTER MATH: $300 BILLION IN NEW REVENUES CALLED 'SPENDING CUTS' - Investors
Obama's "balanced" plan actually counts hundreds of billions of new revenues from taxes, fees and rebates as "spending reductions." Examples:

His plan to "strengthen" unemployment insurance is labeled as a cut, but it's really a $50 billion tax hike.
The $35 billion from the federal worker retirement programs involves boosting worker contributions.
Most of the $35 billion in Medicare savings comes from charging wealthy seniors more.
The $140 billion in "reduced payments to drug companies" are in fact rebates Obama wants drugmakers to pay Uncle Sam for selling drugs to poor seniors.
Then there's the $45 billion in spectrum fees and asset sales that Obama lists as spending reductions.

TRICKLE DOWN STAGNATION - DailyReckoning
America's economy just can't get going despite trillions in stimulus from the Federal Reserve and Washington D.C. President Obama said in his State of the Union address, "After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over 6 million new jobs." Of course fact checkers have torn this assertion to shreds. The number is really, maybe 1.2 million.

But let's take the President at his word. Four years of zero interest and a $2.1 trillion increase in the Fed's balance sheet hasn't provided much bang for the buck. That $2.1 trillion divided by 6 million jobs is $350,000 per job. The federal government has run deficits of $1.4 trillion, $1.3 trillion, $1.3 trillion, and $1.1 trillion the last four years. The total of the deficits - $5.1 trillion - divided by the 6 million jobs is $850,000 per job. All this stimulus hasn't been so stimulating.

Surely Ben Bernanke is scratching his head. However, a couple of "smaller fries" in the Fed food chain put their fingers on part of the problem a decade ago, in a paper published in, of all places, the Cato Journal. It's important to remember that along with all that liquidity came government bailouts, guarantees, and finance support.

John R. Walter and John A. Weinberg, who toil for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, wrote an article in 2002 entitled "How Large Is The Federal Financial Safety Net?"

THE FED'S MARKET FARCE - MSNMoney
The market farce has reached new heights this week -- with the Dow Jones Industrial Average zooming to new post-recession highs -- as concerns surrounding the Italian election and the growing risks of the Federal Reserve's extreme monetary policy stimulus were salved by congressional testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The truth is, there are deep structural problems with the economy that cannot be solved by more cheap money. Wall Street knows this. Washington knows this. And above all, Bernanke knows this.

But he can't admit that. And he feels he can't stop flooding the financial system with cheap cash until higher inflation -- via energy and food prices -- forces him to.

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK
-SEQUESTER SECRETS AND SURPRISES -NewsRelease
-What Happens When the Fed Really Does Run Out of Ammunition? - TIME
-Bill Fleckenstein: Debt Represents a "˜Cancer' for US - Money News
-3 Rising Fears That Could Spark a Stock Sell-Off - The Fiscal Times
-Stimulus Isn't Leading to Higher Inflation: Bernanke - CNBC
-Sequester The Fed - Alhambra Partners

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