February Blog Archives 2016

Gold last traded at $1,234 an ounce. Silver at $14.91 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks lost ground Monday as investors remained skittish despite rising oil prices. Precious metal price rose on safe haven buying, despite a stronger U.S. dollar, ending the month with more than a 10% gain.

This Will Continue to Lift Metal Prices Higher -ProfitConfidential
"Gold and silver prices are being driven higher by global economic weakness and the growing number of central banks implementing negative interest rates. While gold and silver prices normally have a negative relationship to a strong U.S. dollar and low interest rates, that’s not the case this time around. And until the global economy registers sustainable growth, gold and silver will continue to be one of the most attractive investments out there....In addition to the average American, the global economy may not be able to handle higher U.S. interest rates either. That’s because roughly 25% of global gross domestic product (GDP) is operating under negative interest rates....What do negative interest rates mean for investors? People and institutions are paying the banks to hold onto their money. Since it costs money to park your cash in the bank and stocks are in a tailspin, it might make more sense to invest in something - like gold and silver - that can provide you with a return on your investment."

Gold the Biggest Winner of 2016 -Bloomberg
"Gold’s comeback is dominating 2016. The precious metal is the year’s best-performing major asset. Its 16 percent gain is topping gauges of high-yield and investment grade bonds, Treasuries, all currencies and major stock indexes in developing and emerging countries....'Gold has been the biggest story of this year,' said Dan Denbow, a portfolio manager at the USAA Precious Metals & Minerals Fund in San Antonio, which oversees $600 million. 'Last summer, people were calling it a barbaric relic, and nobody could care less about gold. Now, it’s slowly generating more and more buying.' The changing economic picture has pressured some analysts to rethink their approach to gold."

Your 401K may very well be the worst investment of 2016. The markets are highly volatile and this is not the year to gamble with your retirement. Now you can roll a portion of your savings into the safe haven of precious metals. Protect your Money with a GOLD IRA from Swiss America. Watch

Buffett: We need a big mattress for money in Europe -CNBC
"Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett said Monday he concerned about negative interest rates, now seen in Europe and Japan. 'We are doing something the world has never seen,' he said. 'We do not know how this movie plays out....Berkshire Hathaway is sitting with billions of dollars of euros in an insurance company ... in Europe and they will bear a negative rate,' Buffett told CNBC 'Squawk Box'. 'We would be better off with a big mattress in Europe that we just stick all this stuff in, if I could just find a person I trusted to sleep on that mattress,' he said."

Cash in the mattress will not protect you from the “War Against Cash” - which is happening because cash has become intolerably dangerous to the giant illusion built on debt. In THE SECRET WAR, authors Craig R. Smith and Lowell Ponte explain how and why the "Too Big To Fail" megabanks have now grown 33 percent bigger than they were in 2008!

"We Are In A Recession": Dallas Fed -Zero Hedge
"For those interested in hearing some horror stories from ground zero of America's recession, look no further than Texas, where the best recap of sentiment on the ground comes straight from the Dallas Fed respondents, who have not been this depressed since the Global Financial Crisis. 'We are in a recession. Oil prices are a symptom, not the cause'....'The coming year does represent the least confidence we've had in knowing where conditions were heading since 2010.'"

Recessions are only officially announced after the fact, despite clear evidence the U.S. economy is regressing. Swiss America CEO Dean Heskin writes, "If we are indeed now entering 'The Great Regression,' we can expect investors to seek greater and greater safe haven protection from ever-weakening paper currencies across the globe by acquiring the enduring store of value of gold … the world’s first and final money." Full story

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Gold last traded at $1,220 an ounce. Silver at $14.68 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks struggled for gains Friday as investors digested an upwardly revised 1% Q4 GDP, a rising U.S. trade gap and sinking consumer confidence. Gold prices eased back on profit-taking after rising above $1,250/oz. on Wednesday.

It’s time to buy gold -CBNC
"Gold is still expensive, but rising economic risks and market turmoil mean investors should buy it for insurance, Deutsche Bank said Friday. The yellow metal, which some analysts view as a safe haven or as a protection against rising inflation, typically underperforms during periods when the economy is growing or inflation is low. However, in a note issued Friday, the German Bank said economic signs are pointing in gold's favor. Deutsche Bank added.'Buying some gold as insurance is warranted.'....The precious metal has rallied 16 percent against the euro, 17.5 percent against the U.S. dollar and some 24 percent against sterling so far this year, according to data from BNY Mellon."

Deutsche Bank, who has become the poster child for financial globalization via extreme leverage, is correct on this point. Gold should be owned primarily as wealth insurance. Swiss America has been saying this for many years. Pat Boone explains why real money insures wealth in 60 seconds

Gold: best yearly start since 1980 -Marketwatch
"Banks and pundits are singing gold’s praises as it leaps in 2016. The chart below from The Economist says gold has gotten off to its best start to a year in 35 years. The safety play is up 16% in the year to date as of Friday, helped by haven demand amid dives by stocks, crude oil and other assets....Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s latest 'Flow Show' note deploys phrases like 'gold rush' and 'gold is the new black'....Precious metal funds have seen their biggest three-week inflow of investor money since June 2009, says the note dated Thursday."

Bullish 2016 "Golden Cross", First Since 2009 -Zero Hedge
"For the first time since Gold suffered a 'death cross' in 2014, the largest 3-week inflows into gold funds since June 2009 have set up a so-called bullish 'golden cross' chart pattern in the precious metal....Gold price pressure pushed the 50-day moving-average above the 200-day moving-average, creating the so-called 'Golden Cross' bullish trend pattern. While obviously not guaranteed, the last time a 'golden cross' occurred coupled with major fund inflows was Feb 2009, which marked the start of a dramatic trend higher in the precious metal."

Is ‘Helicopter Money’ Next? -NY Sun
"It’s hard to imagine central banks getting even wilder, but never underestimate government expansionism. That’s the red flag raised by the Financial Times with its headline Wednesday: 'Helicopter drops (of money) might not be far away.' Columnist Martin Wolf argues that, if the fiscal authorities are unwilling to behave sensibly by expanding public investment, the central banks should step in: 'Give central banks the power to send money, ideally in electronic form, to every adult citizen... (generating) a permanent rise in the reserves of commercial banks at the central bank.'....The Fed and other central banks seem trapped....Keynesians contend that money causes consumption and hope that this will create production and jobs. Instead, it is the profit opportunity that causes production and jobs. That creates consumption and money, not the other way around."

Swiss America's 2016 World Money Report explains why the global community is increasingly moving away from the U.S. dollar - which could have a dramatic impact on the price of everyday goods, interest rates, financing, and investing.

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Gold last traded at $1,238 an ounce. Silver at $15.17 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks rebounded late Thursday on higher oil prices as investors shrugged off downbeat economic data and China fears. Precious metal prices were lifted by ongoing safe haven buying and a weaker U.S. dollar

The gold price shines bright again -Economist
"The price of gold has surged 16% so far in 2016, the best start to the year in over three-and-a-half decades. Some of the rise can be attributed to fundamentals, including cuts in production, increased demand from India and China, and low, or even negative interest rates which make gold more appealing as a store of value. But market psychology is likely the biggest factor contributing to gold’s rally. Such 'flights to safety' also cause safe-haven currencies like the yen, the Swiss franc, and the dollar to appreciate. Gold, for its part, may be a 'barbarous relic' as the English economist John Maynard Keynes famously said, but it remains a shiny sanctuary in the darkest times."

Do you have a 'shiny sanctuary' from the economic fallout? Gold in a portfolio serves as a hedge of protection from mispriced markets, central bank blunders, progressive political spending and the ever-rising risk of a global recession. Learn why the world is increasingly turning to gold as the ultimate form of money, read our new 2016 World Money Report.

An Escalating War On the Use of Cash -RealClearMarkets
"In early 2015, it was reported that Spain had already limited private cash transactions to 2,500 euros. Italy and France set limits of 1,000 euros. In France, all cash withdrawals in excess of 10,000 euros in a single month must be reported to government agencies. In the U.S., such limits are $10,000 per withdrawal. China, India and Sweden are among those with plans under way to eradicate cash. The war on cash unquestionably has extended from government into the private banking sector....Should negative rates fail to force funds out of banks, governments may look to limit, and even forbid, the use of cash in large transactions. This is tantamount to a war on cash as part of an effort to eliminate citizens' control over their wealth....But perhaps the most insidious of government motivations to ban cash is to increase the capability of surveillance over all spending by citizens and corporations. Soon there may be no legal place to shield legitimate wealth or spending patterns from the eyes of politicians....Investors should be aware of such possibilities and consider whether to hold cash and precious metals prudently outside the banking system."

In THE SECRET WAR ON CASH, authors Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte explain in detail why in 2016 governments worldwide as seeking to curtain cash use by many different means.

Eliminating cash removes banking checks and balances -GoldMoney
"Having the ability to withdraw cash from is an important element in the checks and balances on banks. Banking regulation is there to protect savers by imposing limits on what banks can do with their clients’ money. But if savers lose confidence in the banks, or in the regulators thereof, something that has become far more common post-2008, the only thing they can do to protect themselves is not to lend money to a bank as deposits. One can argue that even in a world without cash, savers have the ability to move their savings from a bank they don’t trust to another....Eliminating the ability of savers to withdraw cash from a bank could create increased moral hazard among banks....Clearly, one of the aims for scraping large bills could therefore be to limit the ability of savers to withdraw cash in times of crisis. While this might help to protect balance sheets of commercial banks, this comes at the expense of savers, who, for better or worse, have to assume the default risk of at least one institution."

Risk of global recession rising -CNBC
"The risk of the global economy falling into a recession is rising as fundamentals remain poor, analysts at Citigroup said in a note Wednesday. 'We are currently in a highly precarious environment for global growth and asset markets after two to three years of relative calm,' Citigroup said, noting that global growth was 'unusually weak' in the fourth quarter at around 2.0 percent on-year. At the same time, fundamentals remain poor, including concerns about a structural and cyclical slowdown in China and its 'unsustainable' currency regime, excessive leverage and rising regional risks, such as the risk the U.K. may exit the European Union, it said."

What's the Cure for the Anemic Economy? -CBNNews
"The stock market has been in freefall, and the economy has been stagnating for years. What's the cure? It could be as simple as cutting taxes on business....Is it more government spending or programs? Or is it something else? Some economists say the taxes on American businesses are just too high. The federal corporate tax rate is 35 percent, which is one of the highest in the world. Even European countries have lower tax rates than the United States has."

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Gold last traded at $1,239 an ounce. Silver at $15.29 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks plunged Wednesday after February PMI services index fell to October 2013 lows, signaling growing recessionary pressures. Precious metal prices rose sharply on safe haven buying and a flat U.S. dollar.

Investors seek refuge in gold -CNBC
"Gold prices rose above $1,230 an ounce on Wednesday, acting as foil against risk alongside top-rated government bonds as oil's fall rippled into global equity markets. Spot gold rose 1.32 percent to $1,243.31 an ounce, after gaining 1.5 percent in the previous session, when prices benefited from strong inflows into bullion funds. The market's rediscovered role as a shelter for risk-averse investors seemed to be gaining traction, traders and analysts said, even as the dollar gained ground against a basket of major currency rivals. Under most circumstances, a strong dollar makes gold prices less attractive for non-U.S. investors."

WATCH: GATA founder Bill Murphy Explains to CNBC Why Gold Prices Will Hit $3-5k, $100 Silver

Gold the 'Superhero' May Shoot Up to $1,400 -Bloomberg
"Gold may rally to as high as $1,400 an ounce should risk aversion intensify, according to the top-ranked precious metals forecaster, who dubbed bullion a 'superhero' when raising his outlook for 2016. The metal may remain above $1,200 this quarter and possibly into next as investors seek a haven, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. economist Barnabas Gan said in an e-mail to Bloomberg. 'Gold is performing largely as a safe-haven asset given the equity doldrums and overall risk aversion,' Gan said in response to e-mailed questions, laying out his case for changing his forecasts. 'Should risk aversion dominate amid intensified global growth headwinds, gold may well rally to as high as $1,400.'"

Read Craig R. Smith's latest on gold: Gold’s Rising Role in a Global Economy

Last Chance To Save American Culture -Rush Limbaugh
"And now we're back at why Donald Trump is in the race and why Donald Trump is running away with it. You can get as deep or as shallow in the analysis as you want. But it's about a last chance, a last-gasp effort at preserving the culture that developed after the founding of this country. It's no more complicated than that, folks. The country's under siege from all quarters, and recently the Democrat Party has joined those who have put the country under siege."

Would would a President Trump mean for the Fed? -CNNMoney
"Should Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen be worried about life under a President Donald Trump? Trump is looking more and more like the potential Republican presidential nominee after his landslide victory in the Nevada caucuses on Tuesday. And just two days ago, Trump tweeted that he thinks the Fed should be audited. This is something that fellow Republican candidate Ted Cruz supports as well as former candidate Rand Paul. Trump chided Cruz in his tweet for missing a Senate vote on an "Audit the Fed" bill in January. The bill failed 53-44."

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Gold last traded at $1,222 an ounce. Silver at $15.24 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks traded lower Tuesday, weighed by declines in oil prices and a falling consumer confidence index. Precious metal prices rose over 1% on fund buying and bargain hunting despite a firmer dollar.

Gold rises on fund inflows and weaker equities -CNBC
"Gold prices rose by more than 1 percent on Tuesday as European shares fell and inflows into bullion funds continued, boosting prices. Assets in SPDR Gold Trust, the top gold-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF), rose more than 19 tons to 752.29 tons on Monday, the highest since March 2015. The fund's inflows since the beginning of the year have already surpassed outflows for the whole of 2015....Gold has gained about 15 percent since the beginning of the year, largely on the back of concerns over financial instability and economic growth that led to turmoil in international stock markets."

Gold's strength is especially visible when gold prices rise in the face of a stronger dollar, like today. Now is the time to convert falling dollars before the next crisis strikes. Learn more in Swiss America's free report, Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver.

U.S. Gold Supply Deficit: A LOT -SprottMoney
"The U.S. suffered another sizable gold supply deficit in 2015. Matter a fact, the deficit was 50% larger than in 2014. In 2015, total U.S.gold demand was 118 metric tons (mt) higher than total supply versus 77 mt in 2014. According to figures put out by the USGS, World Gold Council and Thomson Reuters GFMS,the U.S. had a total of 553 mt of gold supply compared to 671 mt of total demand… leaving a 118 mt shortfall for 2015. American gold consumption increased from 179 mt in 2014 to 193 mt in 2015. The majority of the increase was due to higher Gold Bar & Coin investment....Physical gold continues to be drained from the WEST and shipped to the EAST."

The law of supply and demand is what drives a free market - and pushes prices higher. Today gold is trading very near the price it costs to extract an ounce of gold from the earth, which represents an excellent buying opportunity. Don't wait to buy gold, buy gold and wait ... and your savings and retirement will be protected from the coming decline of all forms of fiat money - including the U.S. dollar. Read more in our new 2016 World Money Report.

Financial Time Bombs Hiding In Plain Sight -Zero Hedge
"The bear will soon be arriving in earnest, marauding through the canyons of Wall Street while red in tooth and claw. Our monetary central planners, of course, will once again - for the third time this century - be utterly shocked and unprepared. That’s because they have spent the better part of two decades deforming, distorting, denuding and destroying what were once serviceably free financial markets. Yet they remain as clueless as ever about the financial time bombs this inexorably fosters....The sum and substance of Keynesian central banking is the falsification of financial prices....The great wave of commodity and industrial deflation now sweeping through the world economy is the offspring of the debt binge that was enabled by the central banks over the last two decades. These kinds of financial time bombs are lurking everywhere in the global economy - even if the central bankers don’t see them coming."

1 in 4 Americans on verge of financial ruin -Marketwatch
"According to a survey released Tuesday by Bankrate.com of more than 1,000 adults, nearly one in four Americans have credit card debt that exceeds their emergency fund or savings. And that’s partially because many people, in addition to their debt, don’t have a dime in their emergency fund at all: another Bankrate survey released earlier this year found that 29% of Americans have no emergency savings at all. These numbers mean that many Americans are 'teetering on the edge of financial disaster,' says Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s chief financial analyst....For consumers, the ideal situation is to have no credit card debt and at least six months of savings in an emergency fund (more if you have dependents), experts say."

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Gold last traded at $1,210 an ounce. Silver at $15.18 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks rose Monday based on a nearly 7% rise in oil prices rather than solid fundamentals. Precious metal prices back-peddled amid profit-taking and a firmer dollar.

Fed to raise the bar in bank stress tests -Financial Times
"The biggest US banks are bracing for a tougher round of stress tests from the Federal Reserve, which could crimp their plans for higher dividends and share buybacks....The 'more challenging' test means that 'capital requirements will continue to drift higher for the banking system,' said Richard Ramsden, analyst at Goldman Sachs....But a turbulent start to the year for bank stocks has reawakened fears that the biggest lenders are still not robust enough to come through another global financial crisis without support from the taxpayer....Now the Fed is between a rock and a hard place. If it raises rates further, it will suppress faltering business investment and sales of big-ticket consumer items, such as cars and appliances. But taking interest rates into negative territory in the style of the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank risks destabilizing financial markets."

"The banking headlines are warning the public of a financial crisis ahead that will be much bigger than 2008," according to author and Swiss America chairman Craig R. Smith, as he explains in DON'T BANK ON IT!

Janet Yellen Risks Another Downturn -RealClearMarkets
"Washington policymakers - and their colleagues abroad - have pursued reckless and irresponsible economic policies. The chickens are coming home to roost, and the Federal Reserve could easily push America into another recession....Right now, the U.S. economy is held up by consumer spending. Few private businesses are willing to finance new projects with credit remaining tight and Washington tagging them the villain for all of society's problems....Now the Fed is between a rock and a hard place. If it raises rates further, it will suppress faltering business investment and sales of big-ticket consumer items, such as cars and appliances. But taking interest rates into negative territory in the style of the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank risks destabilizing financial markets."

British Pound in freefall on 'Brexit' fears -Telegraph
"The pound plummeted to its lowest level against the dollar in seven years after London Mayor Boris Johnson said he will campaign for Britain to leave the European Union. Sterling fell by as much as 2.42% to $1.4058 against the dollar on Monday afternoon to its lowest level since March 2009. Experts said the influential Mayor's decision made a British exit from the bloc more likely....David Cameron, the prime minister will campaign for Britain to stay in the EU. He has described an exit as a 'leap in the dark'....Steven Saywell, global head of FX strategy at BNP Paribas, said: 'The concern to the market will be that Mr Johnson is able to provide a leader to an otherwise fragmented campaign for the UK to leave the EU. This could potentially tip the balance in the favor of a vote to leave.'"

Negative Rates Trigger Cash Hoarding -Zero Hedge
"Negative rates may not have found their way to bank deposits in most locales (yet), but that doesn’t mean the public isn’t starting to see the writing on the wall....Now that the cash ban calls have gotten sufficiently loud to be heard by the generally clueless masses and now that the likes of Jose Canseco are shouting about negative rates, savers are beginning to pull their money out of the banks. 'Look no further than Japan’s hardware stores for a worrying new sign that consumers are hoarding cash--the opposite of what the Bank of Japan had hoped when it recently introduced negative interest rates,' WSJ wrote this morning. 'Signs are emerging of higher demand for safes—a place where the interest rate on cash is always zero, no matter what the central bank does.'"

In THE SECRET WAR ON CASH, authors Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte explain how governments around the world have made it risky to carry cash, yet it remains less risky than keeping your money on deposit in banks.

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Gold last traded at $1,230 an ounce. Silver at $15.37 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks traded mostly lower Friday amid a sharp selloff in the energy sector as oil prices tumbled again. Precious metal prices rose for the day and the week as buyers sought safety from volatility and a weakening dollar.

When Cash Is Outlawed ... Only Outlaws Will Have Cash -Bill Bonner's Diary
"Harvard economist Larry Summers is a reliable source of claptrap. And a frequent spokesman for the Deep State. To bring new readers up to speed, voters don't get a say in who runs the country. Instead, a 'shadow government' of elites, cronies, lobbyists, bureaucrats, politicians, and zombies - aka the Deep State - is permanently in power....The Deep State wants you to use money it can easily control, tax, and confiscate. And paper currency is getting in its way....When cash is outlawed… only outlaws will have cash. And we intend to be among them."

Speaking of outlaws. Did you know the total currency in the U.S. financial system is about $1.36 Trillion? That's less than 1% of the total "money" in the financial system. It's true. Learn more by reading The Secret War On Cash by Craig R. Smith and Lowell Ponte.

Fed Up The Creek Without a Paddle -HedgeEye
"Where are we in the cycle? As the chart below shows, we're now in month 23 of initial jobless claims running at a sub-330k level. The last 3 cycles have seen the expansion last 24, 45 and 31 months at a sub-330k level, with an average of 33 months. Coupled with the slew of weak economic data coming from the industrial/manufacturing/energy side of the economy, we think it's a better than bad bet that economic contraction isn't far away....The Fed's average response to the past seven recessions has been a -750 bps rate cut. However, it is facing a significant shortfall in its accommodative ability with the Fed Funds rate currently sitting at around 0.36%. In other words, it's one and done to get back to zero, and then it's QE or NIRP."

Time to buy gold? -Financial Times
"After three years of outflows, gold-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs) reported record daily inflows this year as gold prices have rallied over 15 per cent amid wider market turmoil. A total of 154 tons of gold has been bought by investors, worth more than $6bn at current prices, according to Bloomberg data. More money has flowed into gold-backed ETFs than flowed out last year, according to their figures....Shares in GLD represent ownership of units in a trust, which holds the gold, and is not an investment directly in gold itself. GLD also stores its gold in vaults run by HSBC in London. That is not good enough for some gold lovers. James Rickards, who predicts in a new book, The New Case for Gold, that gold will experience a 'super-spike' in price as the financial system collapses, recommends storing gold in non-bank vaults in Switzerland as well as some closer to home.”

"When it comes to a means of trade and exchange, it seems that the world has come full circle. Since inception, the overriding goal of money is to provide a universal method of payment that transcends societies, civilizations, and peoples. In this respect, gold and silver were successful earlier forms of currency....Gold is returning to the forefront of universal value, enduring appeal, and timeless safe haven protection," writes author and Swiss America chairman Craig R. Smith.

Stockman Sees a Recession by Year-End -CNBC
"Anyone who believes that the global economy isn't crashing must be delirious, according to David Stockman. The former director of the Office of Management and Budget argues that a rapidly deteriorating economic environment is going to send stocks and oil prices spiraling even lower than they already have. Investors have been too optimistic about the U.S. economy because they are not factoring in global risk, said Stockman, who expects to see a recession by the end of the year. 'Everywhere trade is drying up, shipping rates are at all-time lows,' he said. 'There is a recession that's going to engulf the entire world economy, including the United States.'"

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Gold last traded at $1,226 an ounce. Silver at $15.42 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks traded lower Thursday despite higher oil prices and upbeat jobless claims. Meanwhile, precious metal prices bounced up over 2% on bargain-hunting and a weaker U.S. dollar.

Central bankers 'don't have a clue'-CNN
"'We're all going to pay a horrible price for the incompetence of these central bankers,' famed investor Jim Rogers said Monday in a TV interview with CNNMoney's Nina dos Santos. 'We got a bunch of academics and bureaucrats who don't have a clue what they're doing.' The Singapore-based American investor said central bankers are doing everything they can to prop up financial markets, but it's all for naught. He predicts their unconventional monetary strategies will lead to a stock market rally in the near future, but deep trouble later this year and into 2017....'This is going to be a disaster in the end,' he said. 'You should be very worried and you should be prepared.'"

Clueless central bankers worldwide have sought to usher in a new "cashless" age for decades; in addition to usurping the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. It's all detailed in our new 2016 World Money Report.

The End Of Economic Liberty: "A War On Cash Won't End Well" -Zero Hedge
"These are strange monetary times, with negative interest rates and central bankers deemed to be masters of the universe. So maybe we shouldn't be surprised that politicians and central bankers are now waging a war on cash. That's right, policy makers in Europe and the U.S. want to make it harder for the hoi polloi to hold actual currency....The real reason the war on cash is gearing up now is political: Politicians and central bankers fear that holders of currency could undermine their brave new monetary world of negative interest rates. Japan and Europe are already deep into negative territory, and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last week the U.S. should be prepared for the possibility. Translation: That's where the Fed is going in the next recession....They may go after the big bills now, but does anyone think they'd stop there? Why wouldn't they eventually ban all cash transactions much as they banned gold and silver as mediums of exchange?"

"When governments attempted to exert authority over money by decree; however, many brightly colored bank notes were left on the extinct roll calls of history. It seems the further the world has gotten away from gold, the more volatile money has become. Perhaps this is why central banks continue to hold gold like the US, Russia, and China. Even those trading in euros like Germany, Italy and France maintain hefty stockpiles of gold," writes author and Swiss America Chairman Craig R. Smith. Full story.

Gold to hit $1400 as investors lose faith in central banks -Reuters
"Jeffrey Gundlach, the co-founder and chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital, said on Thursday that gold prices are likely to reach $1400 an ounce as investors lose faith in central banks. 'The evidence that negative rates are harmful and not helpful has piled up to the point that the 'In Central Banks We Trust' mantra has finally been laid bare as a hoax,' Gundlach said. 'The market is going to humiliate the Fed. It's bizarro to have rate hike projections while at the same time, Yellen is talking about negative rates. What a mess,' Gundlach said in a telephone interview."

It is very possible gold prices could rise another 15% in 2016, given the price is already up over 15% in less than 2 months. Swiss America believes owning physical gold is vital today, regardless of price expectations, as we explain in The Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver.

Negative interest rates are a calamitous misadventure -Evans-Prichard/Telegraph
"The world's central banks should take a deep breath and step back from the calamitous misadventure of negative interest rates. Whatever theoretical profit can be mined from this thin seam, it is entirely overwhelmed by the slow ruin of the banking system....The market verdict on the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank speaks for itself. Bank equities have crashed by 32% in Japan and by 26% in the eurozone since early December....'Financial markets increasingly view these experimental moves as desperate,' said Scott Mather, from the giant bond fund Pimco."

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Gold last traded at $1,211 an ounce. Silver at $15.37 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as investors bought energy, materials and financial shares. Meanwhile precious metal prices rose on bargain-hunting and a weaker dollar.

Global Economic And Banking Collapse On Deck -SilverDoctors
"It’s nearly impossible to identify the specific root cause of the obvious banking system melt-down that is occurring. By design the use of OTC derivatives by the banks has been completely obscured and hidden from sight. As was evident from Jamie Dimon’s admissions during the 'London Whale' crisis at JPM, even the people running these banks do not have a full understanding of the magnitude and degree of risk buried in the big bank balance sheets....'Something is blowing up behind the curtain in the banking system and it has to be the derivatives.'....That fact alone should be enough to frighten anyone paying attention out of the banking system and into the relative safety of precious metals."

The financial and banking headlines are screaming a fresh warning, according to author and Swiss America chairman Craig R. Smith, who grows more concerned daily about the banking and economic risks he detailed in his blockbuster 2014 book, DON'T BANK ON IT!

Why Larry Summers wants to kill the $100 bill -Marketwatch
"Get rid of the $100 bill. Heck, maybe get rid of the $50 bill, too. So says Lawrence Summers, a former economic adviser to President Obama and ex-Treasury secretary. Summers points to research showing that corruption is aided by paper currency in larger denominations, such as Uncle Sam’s $100 bill and the 500-euro bill....Summers says the U.S. government should stop issuing new $100 bills and perhaps take the old ones out of circulation."

The “War Against Cash” is happening because cash has become intolerably dangerous to the giant illusion built on debt. In THE SECRET WAR, authors Craig R. Smith and Lowell Ponte explain how and why the "Too Big To Fail" megabanks have now grown 33 percent bigger than they were in 2008!

Higher Gold Prices Today Are Just the Start of 2016's Climb -Money Morning
"It's not hard to understand that negative rates are a central bank's way of saying paper money is worth less and now it's going to cost you to save it. That's exactly the kind of environment where gold thrives, because the opportunity cost for owning the metal, which pays no interest, has just gone away. Even measured in U.S. dollars, gold is ahead 12.90%, and all within just the last 60 days....I think it's fair to say the way gold has zigged while the rest has zagged makes it an asset class you simply cannot ignore."

Learn more about why your golden years now require a new 'golden strategy' and what's coming next for gold and silver in The Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver.

Financial panic or slow burn? -Boston Globe
"In the best-known scene of 'The Revenant,' Leonardo DiCaprio is hideously mauled by a bear. The world’s investors now know exactly how that feels. As I write, nearly every major equity index is down since the beginning of the year, with Italy as the worst performer (-23 percent) and Canada the best (-5 percent). The S&P500 is down 9 percent. With the exceptions of precious metals and safe haven sovereign bonds, it has been a rout....The question now being asked on all sides is whether we are in for a repeat of the great crisis of 2008....The things to watch are China’s currency, which some say teeters on the brink of a big depreciation, and the slow burn of cheap oil."

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Gold last traded at $1,208 an ounce. Silver at $15.33 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks traded higher Tuesday - led by gains in technology - while oil prices failed to stabilize despite a new oil producers agreement to freeze output. Precious metal prices eased back this week on a firmer dollar and short-term profit-taking after gold prices rose 18% ytd.

Saudis/Russia oil freeze agreement, Iran an obstacle -Reuters
"Top oil exporters Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed on Tuesday to freeze output levels but said the deal was contingent on other producers joining in - a major sticking point with Iran absent from the talks and determined to raise production. The Saudi, Russian, Qatari and Venezuelan oil ministers announced the proposal after a previously undisclosed meeting in Doha. It could become the first joint OPEC and non-OPEC deal in 15 years, aimed at tackling a growing oversupply of crude and helping prices recover from their lowest in over a decade....Oil prices jumped to $35.55 per barrel after the news about the secret meeting but later pared gains to trade below $30 on concerns that Iran may reject the deal."

The War On Paper Money: "Time To Kill $100 Bill" -Zero Hedge
"Yesterday we reported that the ECB has begun contemplating the death of the €500 EURO note, a fate which is now virtually assured for the one banknote which not only makes up 30% of the total European paper currency in circulation by value....Well, not even 24 hours later, and another Harvard 'scholar' and Fed chairman wannabe, Larry Summers, has just released an oped in the left-leaning Amazon Washington Post, titled 'It’s time to kill the $100 bill' in which he makes it clear that the pursuit of paper money is only just starting. Not surprisingly, just like in Europe, the argument is that killing the Benjamins would somehow eradicate crime, saying that 'a moratorium on printing new high denomination notes would make the world a better place.'"

Who is behind the “War on Cash?” Today the U.S. Government and Federal Reserve are fighting against cash on many fronts. In THE SECRET WAR, authors Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte explain why our government has made it risky to carry cash due to tougher asset forfeiture laws and why a cashless future makes it much easier for the government to rob you.

The Great Regression: The Crash of 2016 -Dean Heskin, CEO, SATC
"Is the US economy regressing? We are in the midst of the slowest and most lackluster economic recovery since the end of World War II, and it appears to be weakening....As investor concerns mount at home and abroad, US stock prices have gotten wilder and more unpredictable. There is not only a loss of confidence in the markets, there is fear … and in such a state selling begets more selling....And if we are indeed now entering 'The Great Regression,' we can expect investors to seek greater and greater safe haven protection from ever-weakening paper currencies across the globe by acquiring the enduring store of value of gold … the world’s first and final money." Full story

Can The Government "Borrow" Your Retirement Savings? -Zero Hedge
"According to financial research firm ICI, total retirement assets in the Land of the Free now exceed $23 trillion. $7.3 trillion of that is held in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). That’s an appetizing figure, especially for a government that just passed $19 trillion in debt and is in pressing need of new funding sources. Even when you account for all federal assets (like national parks and aircraft carriers), the government’s 'net financial position' according to its own accounting is negative $17.7 trillion....Bottom line, they need more money. Lots of it. And there is perhaps no easier pool of cash to ‘borrow’ than Americans’ retirement savings."

President Obama needs enormous amounts of money to pay for his unrestrained, big-spending, ever-bigger government agenda. Do any of our readers doubt the federal government is willing to use executive authority to confiscate our retirement and life savings? If so, please read this exclusive Swiss America White Paper, THE GOVERNMENTS NEXT TARGET: TAKING YOUR IRAs, 401Ks AND PRIVATE PENSIONS HOW TO SAVE YOUR LIFE SAVINGS.

Danger signs flashing for global economy -CNBC
"Eight years after the financial crisis, the world is coming to grips with an unpleasant realization: serious weaknesses still plague the global economy, and emergency help may not be on the way....Sinking stock prices, flat inflation, and the bizarre phenomenon of negative interest rates have coupled with a downturn in emerging markets to raise worries that the economy is being stalked by threats that central banks - the saviors during the crisis - may struggle to cope with....Many government bonds issued by European countries trade at yields that are negative or close to zero. That's alarming because such low and even negative rates are way out the ordinary."

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Gold last traded at $1,239 an ounce. Silver at $15.79 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stock markets rallied Friday - after sustaining sharp losses in the prior four trading days - as oil prices surged. Precious metal prices consolidated recent gains which lifted gold prices up nearly $100 an ounce this week.

What negative rates mean for average investors -CNBC
"Despite the Federal Reserve raising its overnight rate in December, an increasing number of people are now calling for the Fed Fund rate to go negative. The chatter around negative rates has become so loud that Janet Yellen addressed the issue on Wednesday saying that while there may be legal issues with lowering rates below zero, the central bank can likely do it if it wanted to. The hope is that negative rates will force banks, which store money at the Federal Reserve, to spend their cash rather than pay the central bank to keep it. That would in turn spur the economy. But what often gets lost in this discussion is what happens to the average investor — and the outcome isn't pretty."

The link between falling markets, falling political establishments and rising gold -Lowell Ponte
"We may be witnessing a revolution to restore integrity to both our money and our politics. Stock prices since the start of 2016 have been plummeting, and gold is soaring, as people lose faith in the powers that conjured a fake prosperity based on paper money, politicized markets, and zero interest rates. Voters in the U.S. are rejecting candidates of the old ruling elites in both major political parties. Candidates who promise to overthrow these elites, such as businessman Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, are winning big. Even democratic socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is winning against a “Progressive” opponent who has pocketed more than $20 Million from crony capitalist Wall Street entities. Sanders' policies may be wrongheaded, but at least he is honest about his far-left ideology and what he would do if elected. Full story

Austrians Need Constitutional Right to Pay in Cash -Bloomberg
"Austrians should have the constitutional right to use cash to protect their privacy, Deputy Economy Minister Harald Mahrer said, as the European Union considers curbing the use of banknotes and coins....'We don’t want someone to be able to track digitally what we buy, eat and drink, what books we read and what movies we watch,' Mahrer said on Austrian public radio station Oe1. 'We will fight everywhere against rules' including caps on cash purchases, he said. EU finance ministers vowed at a meeting in Brussels on Friday to crack down on 'illicit cash movements.'"

According to Swiss America's White Paper, THE SECRET WAR (ON CASH), capital controls on cash deposits and withdrawals are already under way in the U.S. Did you know that under threat of regulatory punishment, banks must now spy on you for the government and report any suspicious cash activity? It's true, financial privacy is fast becoming a thing of the past.

1981 Movie "Rollover" Predicts 2016 -You Tube
"This is how a fiat currency collapses. It is a sudden awakening that societies have when they realize that their currency is nothing more than a government promise on a piece of paper, and it is worthless. Beat the panic and dump your dollars for gold and silver."

Saint Valentines Day economics -Real Money Perspectives
1 + 1 = 4 ?! - CNBC reports, "Couples who get and stay married can have as much as four times the wealth of their single or divorced peers." So it looks like old Mark Twain was right; "To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with." Happy Valentines Day!

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Gold last traded at $1,247 an ounce. Silver at $15.79 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Stock markets worldwide tumbled Thursday amid rising fears over the health of the global economy, sending panicked investors running to the safety of precious metals. Gold prices spiked over 4% as the U.S. dollar sunk lower. In the first six weeks of 2016 gold prices have risen 18% and silver prices are up 14% - pushing them both into bull market territory.

Global market rout spurs safe-haven gold buying -Marketwatch
"Gold prices surged on Thursday as investors tried to escape the global market rout by hiding in safe-haven assets. Gold for April delivery jumped $58.00, or 4.85%, to $1,252 an ounce, setting it on track for the highest close in about a year. The move came as equities tanked in Asia and Europe and U.S. stock futures pointed to a sharply lower open on the back of uncertainty over growth in the global economy....'Gold’s sudden waking from its slumber has caught many people by surprise, myself included,' said Fawad Razaqzada at FOREX.com, in a note. 'Likewise, the stock market plunge has lasted a lot longer than what most people had probably envisaged when it first started to descend. Clearly, gold’s status as the ultimate safe haven asset has well and truly been confirmed, yet again,' he added."

Today's gold price spike comes as no surprise to our regular readers. As economic reality descends upon the world in 2016, ownership of precious metals is destined to be the very best wealth insurance on earth. Learn more about what's to come next for gold and silver in The Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver.

Gold’s Rising Role in a Global Economy -Craig R. Smith
"When it comes to a means of trade and exchange, it seems that the world has come full circle. In ancient times men bartered with grain and livestock as a method of payment. The intrinsic value of barley, spelt, millet … and pigs, goats and oxen was quite evident. There were 'sellers' with ample supply - and 'buyers' with tangible demand. Above all, there was a physical medium of exchange, and the universal value of a hog or a sheep was clearly understood....The first coins, struck in gold and silver, are attributed to the Lydians in Asia Minor or what is now Turkey in about 640-630 BC. It does not become a familiar currency, however, until the Song dynasty, an era of marked Chinese prosperity. With advances in printing, it’s no surprise that paper money first appeared in China as early as 740 BC....Since the invention of paper money, countless kingdoms, empires and nations have gone on to adopt local and/or state currencies. Some thrived but many failed as a result of war, subjugation and/or liberation, depreciation, default, hyper-inflation, societal collapse and most recently globalization....In this new era of globalization, gold’s role as a single, unifying force of value is perhaps more critical than ever before. Gold continues to be the foremost physical asset in an interconnected, electronic marketplace desperately in need of fundamental and intrinsic worth." FULL STORY

Financial crash could destroy capitalism -Telegraph
"They bounce back after terrorist attacks, pick themselves up after earthquakes and cope with pandemics such as Zika. They can even handle years of economic uncertainty, stagnant wages and sky-high unemployment. But no developed nation today could possibly tolerate another wholesale banking crisis and proper, blood and guts recession. We are too fragile, fiscally as well as psychologically. Our economies, cultures and polities are still paying a heavy price for the Great Recession; another collapse, especially were it to be accompanied by a fresh banking bailout by the taxpayer, would trigger a cataclysmic, uncontrollable backlash. The public, whose faith in elites and the private sector was rattled after 2007-09, would simply not wear it. Its anger would be so explosive, so-all encompassing that it would threaten the very survival of free trade, of globalization and of the market-based economy."

China's massive gold buying spree -CNN
"China's government doesn't share exact figures, but the vast majority of gold heading into mainland China passes through Hong Kong, which does make its records public. Gold imports to China have surged over 700% since 2010, according to the latest data from Hong Kong. Exactly what China is doing with all that gold remains somewhat of a mystery. The increasingly wealthy Chinese are buying, but that doesn't explain all the jump in demand. The government says its gold reserves have grown only a little in recent years. Experts question whether China is telling the whole truth."

Obviously CNN is unaware of China's outspoken ambitions to replace the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. China's plans are explained in detail in our new 2016 World Money Report.

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Gold last traded at $1,194 an ounce. Silver at $15.28 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks drifted lower Wednesday after Fed Chairman Janet Yellen testified the slowing global economy will effect 2016 rate hike plans. Precious metal prices extended gains on safe haven buying as the dollar weakened following Fedspeak.

Best Investment When the Fed Turns to Negative Interest Rates -Money Morning
"European Central Bank (ECB) was the first major central bank to institute sub-zero deposit rates – a year and a half ago. You don't have to listen all that hard to hear the ever louder and increasingly frequent warnings that NIRP is headed for the United States. The evidence is becoming more compelling by the day....The world is headed down a path of exploding debt, fiat money, and negative interest rates for which there's simply no historical precedent. In this scenario, your best line of defense is to own some gold and silver as both insurance and for the serious upside potential."

We agree! In fact, as Craig Smith and Lowell Ponte have written in their last two books, the U.S. already has defacto negative interest rates, when rates are adjusted for inflation. In their latest book, WE HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE AND IT LOOKS LIKE BALTIMORE: AMERICAN DREAM VS. PROGRESSIVE DREAM they write, "The Fed and many other central banks around the world have an odd solution that brings us back to cash: let the interest rates fall below zero. Fall through the looking glass with Alice in Wonderland, many neo Keynesians now promise, and somehow even more negative interest rates will cause amazing new economic stimulus....Never having lived under the stability of America’s historic gold standard, many simply do not understand that far more reliable wealth preservers exist than paper money."

Recession Just Ahead, Part 1 -DavidStockmansContraCorner
"The wise guys keep buying the dips owing to the simple proposition that there is never a lasting bear market without a recession. So after today’s blow-out we are likely to get another call to scoop up the 'bargains' because the correction has run its course and the US economy is still chugging along notwithstanding the contretemps in China and other places of purportedly limited moment. Indeed, on the basis of Wall Street’s muscle memory alone there is surely another dead cat bounce on its way any day. But here’s the memo. BTFDs (Buy the Failed Dip) is not working any more and, more crucially, there is a recession coming and soon. And then the bear will maul, not simply paw as today."

Negative rates 'new toy' around world -CNBC
"BlackRock's Rick Rieder said Wednesday he does not believe the Federal Reserve is contemplating negative interest rates, which have become all the rage in the euro zone and Japan. 'The new toy in the world of monetary policy is we're going to negative rates,' Rieder told CNBC's 'Squawk Box' ahead of day one of Fed Chair Janet Yellen's semiannual congressional testimony on the economy. 'I don't think the Federal Reserve is in a thought process of negative rates today.' 'The U.S. economy is slowing,' said Rieder, BlackRock's global fixed income CIO. 'Clearly the global economy is slowing. I think it's going to be hard for the Fed to go many times this year, if at all.'"

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Gold last traded at $1,198 an ounce. Silver at $15.44 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stock markets resumed their downward momentum Tuesday as global growth fears continued to plague sentiment. Precious metal prices were supported by growing bullishness and a weaker dollar.

Nervousness About Global Banking Giants Intensifies -NY Times
"An unsettling trend has emerged from the heavy selling that sent global markets tumbling this year: Investors are getting nervous about the world’s biggest banks. The concerns about the banks are clearly reflected in the stock markets, where shares in banking giants are plunging. But there are also ominous signs in markets that investors use to bet on the perceived creditworthiness of large financial firms....Analysts noted that the declines in bank shares had occurred as other traditional indicators of fear flashed more brightly. 'The fear trades are becoming more obvious - and one of those is dumping financial stocks,' said James W. Paulsen of Wells Capital Management."

Author and Swiss America chairman Craig R. Smith, detailed his growing concern over the major banking risks everyone now faces in his blockbuster 2014 book, DON'T BANK ON IT! If you have not read this book, please call or visit online to request an e-version.

Gold Up 12%, Silver Up 11% YTD As Stocks Crash ... Again -Zero Hedge
"Gold jumped 2 percent to a 7-1/2-month high yesterday, briefly touching the psychological level of $1,200 an ounce. Falling bank shares and stock markets and worries over global economic growth and a new financial crisis prompted investors to seek the safety of gold. After surging over 5% last week, gold and silver continue to move higher as concerns about the U.S. and global economy saw more sharp stock market falls and reduced expectations of the Fed increasing interest rates....Technically, gold is looking better and better and the gains last week were the third consecutive week of gains....Momentum buyers and trend following funds are again making the 'trend their friend.'"

Precious metal prices are rising this year in response to the dramatic shift in the global financial and currency markets. All of this change and volatility is about to affect the dollar's value and every asset you own. Swiss America's new 2016 World Money Report outlines the rising global risks and the implications for your money.

The public's confidence in banks is eroding -Business Insider
"European institutions can’t find an answer as to whether and how to protect deposits in Italian banks. So Italy adopted new EU-mandated policies regarding bail-ins in January. The rules for these bail-ins require a bank’s shareholders and debt holders to absorb losses before taxpayer money can be used to assist a bank....As a result, individuals and small businesses that hold what they believe to be relatively low-risk investments are actually put in danger....For the middle class in Euro-American culture, banks are a secure place to store their lifetime assets. Once they are seen as insecure, various ploys emerge. People buy homes, gold, foreign currencies, or try, to get the money out of the country."

Gold Returns As Financial Markets Shudder -Forbes
"Gold is back on the radar screen of some risk-averse U.S. investors but it’s rating much higher in several other countries were a modern-day gold rush appears to have started. In South Africa, once home to the world’s biggest gold-mining industry, the price of gold has hit an all-time high of more than 19,300 rand, the local currency....Interest in gold as the global financial system comes under renewed pressure can also be seen in a sharp increase in the flow of funds into exchange-traded gold funds with the biggest fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, enjoying a 4% increase in funds last week, its biggest weekly gain since March, 2009."

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Gold last traded at $1,197 an ounce. Silver at $15.42 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks fell sharply Monday as lower oil prices and global growth concerns weighed on investors. Meanwhile, gold prices neared $1,200 an ounce amid heightened safe haven buying and a weaker dollar.

World economy shaky, ‘funny money’ won’t fix it -Telegraph
"Since the start of the year, over £4 trillion has been wiped off the value of global equities – that’s four, followed by 12 zeroes.US stocks endured a steeper first-week decline in 2016 than in any year since before the First World War....With US money-printing now on hold and rates seemingly on the up, many financial assets - from equities to bonds - look overvalued, not just in America but across the world. That’s the single most important reason global markets are so jumpy – because investors know, in their bones, that the strong gains of recent years have been built on debt and QE."

The 2016 World Money Report outlines which 'funny money' currencies are rising and which are falling and which countries are working together to secretly undermine the dollar. This special report also offers some keen insights into strategic wealth preservation during the potentially volatile times to come!

Haven buying spurs gold to 8-month high -Financial Times
"Gold climbed to an eight-month high as a weaker dollar and lower oil prices spurred haven buying and inflows from exchange traded funds. The precious metal rallied to $1,190.70 a troy ounce, the highest level since June last year. Gold has risen more than 11 per cent since the start of the year, making it one of the top commodity performers so far in 2016....Gold analysts believe investors will continue to seek a financial haven in the precious metal as long as uncertainty about global financial markets and economy remain."

Read The Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver for a BIG-picture overview of the seven timeless truths about what is driving precious metal prices higher, such as; why "money" either builds or destroys civilizations and how politicians from both parties have damaged our economy and destroyed savings.

Selloff in European banks 'ominous' -Marketwatch
"European banks have been caught in a perfect storm of market turmoil, lately. Lackluster profits and negative interest rates, have prompted investors to dump shares in the sector that was touted as one of the best investment ideas just a few months ago."

Author and Swiss America chairman Craig R. Smith, detailed his growing concern over the major banking risks everyone now faces in his blockbuster 2014 book, DON'T BANK ON IT! If you have not read this book, please call or visit online to request an e-version.

U.S. bank investors have suffered two lost decades -CNBC
"After an awful start to 2016, the S&P 500 bank index is at the same level as in the fall of 1996. Not that it hasn't been a rocky road: The banks doubled over the next 10 years, then crashed amid the financial crisis, before running right back to where they started. And bank investors did enjoy dividends over the years."

Russian Hackers Moved Ruble Rate 15% -Bloomberg
"Hackers used malware to penetrate the defenses of a Russian regional bank and move the ruble-dollar rate more than 15 percent in minutes, according to a Moscow-based cyber-security firm hired to investigate the attack....Russian-language hackers deployed a virus known as the Corkow Trojan to infect Kazan-based Energobank and place more than $500 million in orders at non-market rates in February 2015, Group-IB told Bloomberg, without identifying individuals behind the attack....The virus was also used in an attack on a Russian bank card system that resulted in hundreds of millions of rubles being stolen via ATMs in August, Group-IB said."

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Gold last traded at $1,157 an ounce. Silver at $14.77 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks fell on Friday as mixed U.S. employment data raised concerns the Fed may be unable to raise rates this year. Meanwhile, precious metal prices shot up nearly 5% this week, despite a firmer dollar.

Is the REAL unemployment rate 4.9% or 9.9%? -CNBC
"The Labor Department said Friday that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent in January, the lowest since February 2008. But does that tell the whole story? Most economists look past the main unemployment number (also known as the "U-3") to other metrics that provide more perspectives on the economy. While the U-3 rate measures all unemployed workers as a percent of the civilian labor force, the U-6 includes more. It's defined as all unemployed as well as 'persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons' plus all marginally attached workers, as a percentage of the labor force. That means the rate for the unemployed, the underemployed and the discouraged remains stubbornly above pre-recession levels. The U-6 rate remained unchanged at 9.9 percent in January."

Year of the Monkey: Another Stellar New Year for Gold? -Forbes
"Since the start of the year, gold prices have managed to jump back to multi-month highs as investors looked for a safe haven from tumbling equity and oil prices, and as concerns over the Chinese economy mounted....The unexpected rally seen in gold has propelled retail demand higher, with market participants expecting the trend to continue. Celebrated annually, the Chinese New Year is traditionally a time for exchanging tokens and gifts of money in red envelopes, which is also why gold demand tends to rise during this time of year. However, China’s affinity for gold doesn’t seem like it is going to fade anytime soon, especially as investors continue to seek safe havens and as the country’s central bank looks to increase its gold reserves."

Futurist and author Lowell Ponte will be a guest on Coast to Coast with George Noory Monday, Feb. 8th (midnight-2am PST) discussing the economic implications of the Chinese new year. Lowell writes, "The Year of the Monkey in Chinese astrology is a metal sign connected to gold. 2016 might be a prudently lucky year to diversify and balance your investment portfolio with gold to hedge against what politicians here and abroad are doing to devalue our paper currency."

Citi: World economy trapped in ‘death spiral’ -CNBC
"The global economy seems trapped in a 'death spiral' that could lead to further weakness in oil prices, recession and a serious equity bear market, Citi strategists have warned. Some analysts - including those at Citi - have turned bearish on the world economy this year, following an equity rout in January and weaker economic data out of China and the U.S. 'The world appears to be trapped in a circular reference death spiral,' Citi strategists led by Jonathan Stubbs said in a report on Thursday....Stubbs said that macro strategists at Citi forecast that the dollar would weaken in 2016 and that oil prices were likely bottoming, potentially providing some light at the end of the tunnel."

Right now is the perfect time to take some stock market profits off the table and convert them into physical gold - before a 'death spiral' drags down your portfolio further. Get the BIG picture for the year ahead in our 2016 newsletter, RIGHT ON THE MONEY.

Chicago Stock Exchange Being Sold to Chinese -Bloomberg
"The Chicago Stock Exchange said a Chinese investor group agreed to acquire it, giving the buyer entry into the intensely competitive U.S. equity market. Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company, according to a statement Friday, which didn’t give financial terms. The exchange said the deal is expected to close in the second half of the year, though that will require regulatory approval....The acquisition would be the first of a U.S. exchange by a Chinese company. The 134-year-old bourse, which handles about 0.5 percent of U.S. stock trading, would give the buyer a beachhead in the $22 trillion American equity market, where regulations require trades to be routed to whichever exchange has the best price for a stock at a given moment."

The Chinese have big plans to dethrone the U.S. as the world's economic leader - which includes replacing the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency! Read this shocking new report, The 2016 World Money Report for the full story.

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Gold last traded at $1,157 an ounce. Silver at $14.85 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks struggled Thursday amid gyrating oil prices and downbeat economic and jobs data. Meanwhile, precious metal prices rushed to fresh 3-month highs as the U.S. dollar fell sharply for a second day amid fading Fed credibility.

Gold hits three-month peak -Reuters
"Gold built on the previous day's gains on Thursday, edging to a three-month high as global economic and financial headwinds continue to present obstacles to a U.S. interest rate rise in the near term. Commodities rallied across the board on Wednesday as the dollar tumbled after William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said that financial conditions have tightened considerably and the weakening global outlook could have 'significant consequences' for the U.S. economy. Gold has now gained nearly 8 percent since the start of the year as global economic uncertainty has led to volatility in financial markets and pushed investors towards safer assets."

2016 Economic Outlook From Craig R. Smith -Worldview Weekend TV
"Worldview Weekend-TV Presents: Financial News Report For February 2016: Craig Smith joins us to discuss what the drastic drop in oil prices means for the trillions of dollars in derivatives being held by world banks. In 1988 the Economist Magazine ran article about the death of world currencies and the rise of a global currency by 2018. Is the next financial crisis going to see that come to pass? Why are central banks doing that should have us all concerned? These topics and much more is covered in this must see financial report." WATCH NOW

US dollar dives, helping boost oil -Sky News
"The US dollar has tumbled after comments from a Federal Reserve official and a soft services sector report suggested a slowing pace of rate rises, sparking a rally in oil prices that also boosted US equities. 'We're getting the rally in crude oil from the pounding that the dollar is taking,' said Robert Yawger, senior vice president of energy futures at Mizuho Securities USA....The US dollar fell 1.7 per cent against a basket of currencies - its biggest single session loss in two months - while also touching a three-month low."

Since World War II, the U.S. dollar has been viewed as a stable and resilient currency and the preferred exchange of foreign traders and investors alike. But today we are no longer living in an international community solely dominated by a single currency. A world without a 'privileged' dollar is going to be a very different place indeed. Some claim the greenback’s value could plunge as much as 70%. The dethroning of the dollar has the potential to trigger massive inflation, skyrocketing prices of staple goods, higher interest rates, and impossible financing terms for houses, cars, loans, etc. The fallout, fear and contagion could very well dwarf the financial crisis of 2008. To read the full story request our newest Special Report The 2016 World Money Report

Market now predicts ZERO Fed hikes in 2016 -CNN
"Janet Yellen and the Federal Reserve are on another planet. That's the message from global investors who are sending the Fed a big distress call to come back to earth. The Fed is still predicting four interest rate hikes this year, but the market now forecasts zero hikes in 2016. The closely watched Fed Futures market now has a nearly 60% probability of no rate hikes at all this year. It's a dramatic U-turn from only a month ago when the market was pricing in a 75% probability the Fed would increase rates at least once in 2016."

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Gold last traded at $1,141 an ounce. Silver at $14.73 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks rebounded Wednesday after oil prices shot up over 8% on rising inventories, despite renewed fears of slowing economic growth. Meanwhile, precious metal prices rushed to fresh 3-month highs on safe haven buying and a sharply weaker dollar.

Germany considers cash transaction limits -Associated Press
"The German government is considering introducing a limit of 5,000 euros ($5,450) on cash transactions in an effort to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. Deputy finance minister Michael Meister said Wednesday that Germany would like to see a European solution, but could introduce a national limit if none is achieved, news agency dpa reported. He said 'we can imagine a level of 5,000 euros.'....Opposition Green Party lawmaker Konstantin von Notz tweeted that trying to limit cash payments 'is a new fundamental attack on data protection and privacy.'"

According to a German news website, Handelsblatt.com, "The Death of Cash" is fast approaching. "John Cryan, the co-chief executive of Deutsche Bank, last week predicted that cash would disappear as a method of payment within 10 years." According to THE SECRET WAR, capital controls on cash deposits and withdrawals are already under way in the U.S. Did you know that under threat of regulatory punishment, banks must now spy on you for the government and report any suspicious cash activity? It's true, financial privacy is fast becoming a thing of the past.

Gold: 2016's most beloved asset -CNN
"Gold bugs are among the only smiling investors these days. Prices have jumped 6% this year to $1,127 an ounce. That makes gold the best performing commodity and one of the only major assets to post a sizable gain in 2016. The precious metal is viewed as a reliable store of value for investors to turn to when they're worried about economic doom. And right now, there's no shortage of exactly that kind of anxiety. Whether it's falling oil prices, trouble in China or geopolitical uncertainty, Wall Street has a long list of worries steering money towards safe havens like gold. 'As we have seen stock markets around the world tumble dramatically, the need to protect capital has increased -- and gold has benefited from that,' said Juan Carlos, director of investment research at the World Gold Council."

2016 marked a major turning point in the U.S. and global financial markets. Amid today's growing financial darkness, gold stands out as the financial light of the world. Gold offers both wealth protection and growth potential. Every day more central bankers are resorting to negative interest rates, which makes gold shine all the brighter. Read The Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver for a BIG-picture overview of the seven timeless truths about gold.

The surprising new case for gold -CNBC
"It is typically argued that rising inflation is necessary for gold prices to rise. However, there's another tantalizing possibility for gold bugs: Perhaps ultra-low inflation could actually send gold prices higher, through the mechanism of negative central bank policy rates. In a continuing battle to combat long-stagnant inflation and economic growth, the Bank of Japan has cut interest rates to negative 0.1 percent. This follows similar moves by Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland....According to currency strategist Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management, 'Negative interest rates have provided a fundamental reason to own gold.'"

Fed Testing How Banks Would Handle Negative Rates -Bloomberg
"As interest rates turn negative around the world, the Federal Reserve is asking banks to consider the possibility of the same happening in the U.S. In its annual stress test for 2016, the Fed said it will assess the resilience of big banks to a number of possible situations, including one where the rate on the three-month U.S. Treasury bill stays below zero for a prolonged period. Three-month bill rates have slipped slightly below zero several times in recent years, including in September after the Fed delayed rate liftoff amid global financial market turmoil, touching a low of minus 0.05 percent on Oct. 2."

European banks near 'terrifying' crisis -CNBC
"With European banks sitting at multiyear lows, one widely followed market watcher said some of the biggest ones could go bankrupt. Former hedge fund manager and Goldman Sachs alumnus Raoul Pal said his scenario is one most investors aren't looking at right now. Pal said the banking issues have the potential to overtake risks associated with China's growth slowdown and cheap oil....For Pal, negative interest rates are the chief reason why the bank stocks are in trouble."

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Gold last traded at $1,127 an ounce. Silver at $14.89 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday as big losses in oil and global equity markets weighed on sentiment. Precious metal prices steadied near 3-month highs on a flat U.S. dollar

HEADLINES WARN: "The financial and banking headlines are screaming a fresh warning," according to author and Swiss America chairman Craig R. Smith, who is growing more concerned daily about the banking and economic risks he detailed in his blockbuster 2014 book, DON'T BANK ON IT! "Secret summits" ... "Rich investors withdraw money" ... "Robo-advisers try to calm investors" - all in the financial headlines today. It is worth noting the last time the world's top bankers met together was back in 2008 - just before the financial crisis erupted. Our readers are able to draw their own conclusions and then take action accordingly.

Top financial groups hold secret summits -CNBC
"The world’s largest asset managers have held secret summit meetings to hammer out proposals for improving public company governance to encourage longer-term investment and reduce friction with shareholders. Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, and Warren Buffett convened the sessions with the heads of BlackRock, Fidelity, Vanguard and Capital Group to work on a new statement of best practice that would cover the relationship between U.S. companies and their investors. The unusual collaboration comes at a time of rising shareholder activism and a raging debate about whether public markets demand short-term profits at the expense of long-term investment."

UBS bank shares plunge as rich investors withdraw money -AP
"Swiss bank UBS saw its shares slide on Tuesday on news that investors had pulled billions out of its division serving wealthy clients - a token of the market turbulence that has shaken the world in the past few months. The Zurich-based bank, which nevertheless booked higher fourth quarter profits, cited 'very low levels of client activity and pronounced risk aversion' as it reported $3.3 billion had flowed out of its wealth management arm, which handles money from rich people outside the U.S....Markets for everything from stocks to oil have been marked by turmoil over fears that China will not be able to support global growth as before, that emerging markets face troubles with debt and capital outflows and that low oil prices mean weakening demand in the economy."

'Robo-advisers' try to calm investors -Financial Times
"The biggest 'robo-advisers' are relying on old-school call centers and blog posts to calm anxious investors, trying to persuade them that there is no need to abandon the algorithms in times of heightened volatility....Robo-advisers require customers to complete an online questionnaire on their goals and risk appetite. The software then selects a portfolio, often focusing on cheap exchange traded funds, and periodically rebalances to optimize profits and taxes. Most of the worried callers to Schwab’s Intelligent Portfolios service did not do anything with their accounts after hanging up, said Mr McDaniel, noting that less than 1 per cent of about 63,000 accounts changed their risk profile or portfolio composition in the first three weeks of 2016."

Bank of Japan, negative interest rates and the risks of monetary alchemy -AFR
"It is what one analyst has called the 'turning point … in the greatest monetary experiment ever.' The Bank of Japan's negative interest rates have been applauded by global investors....Yet that just shows how addicted financial markets have become to the stimulus of cheap money. So cheap that you have to pay someone to hold it for you. Like most mind-altering addictions, that may provide the temporary appearance of brilliance. But over time, the inevitable distortions it causes will likely be dissolute. The BoJ's sub-zero rates policy follows two-and-a-half decades of attempts to kick-start its economy, mostly through the biggest printing press operation of any of the quantitative easing central banks. Twenty-five 'lost years' later, the arsenal is so exhausted that it has followed the European Central Bank in resorting to a pay-to-save strategy."

Rewardless Risk -Salient Partners
"Negative rates are an intentional effort to weaken your own country's banks. Negative rates are a punitive command: go out there and make more bad loans where risk is entirely uncompensated, or we will, in effect, fine you. The more bad loans you don't make, the bigger the fine....There's a reason that the Fed kept paying interest on bank reserves even in the darkest, most deflationary days of the Great Recession. Yes, it's the Fed's job to support full employment. Yes it's the Fed's job to maintain price stability. But the Fed's job #1 - the reason the Federal Reserve was created in the first place - is to maintain the stability of the banking system....You know what negative rates are? They are the final stripping away of the illusion that central bankers somehow exist above and separately from domestic politics, that they are wise and able stewards of financial stability."

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Gold last traded at $1,128 an ounce. Silver at $14.34 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: U.S. stocks ended a volatile trading day mixed Monday following a 6% drop in oil prices. Meanwhile, precious metal prices rose over 1% on safe haven buying as the U.S. dollar fell on declining Fed credibility.

Dollar weakens on views of dovish Fed -CNBC
"The U.S. dollar fell against a basket of major currencies on Monday on the view that the Federal Reserve would not be able to hike interest rates as quickly as forecast this year given weak U.S. economic data and continued easing from the Bank of Japan....'The market has come to the realization that the Fed will not be as aggressive in 2016 as it indicated at the end of last year, and that in itself is making people question their long dollar positions,' said Douglas Borthwick, managing director at Chapdelaine Foreign Exchange in New York....Analysts said that the BOJ's move on Friday was another event that could forestall the Fed from hiking rates as quickly as they initially forecast."

Swiss America chairman and author Craig R. Smith warned readers in 2015 of rising dollar risks in 2016. Request his latest Special Report, What's Next For The Dollar?

Hello, Ben? ... Now What? -New York Sun
"We love that cartoon on the front page of the latest Grant’s Interest Rate Observer...It manages to say in four words what the Financial Times takes an entire editorial in this mornings edition to say, which is that the Fed and the central banks don’t seem to know how to get out of the morass into which Ben Bernanke beckoned them with all his forward guidance....'Credibility problems' is what the FT lays to the Federal Reserve. It cites the Fed’s failure to back off the idea that America’s labor market is 'tightening' and that 'inflationary pressures' are building up. It reckons investors 'clearly do not believe' Fed officials when they forecast for this year another four quarter-point rises in interest rates....Grant’s itself suggests it’s time to repeal the Fed’s employment mandate and establish a rule, 'First do no harm.' Almost an entire presidency has passed since the Great Recession began, and growth is now running at 0.7%. Unemployment has been brought down by people ceasing to look for work. The Fed balance sheet is still bloated by trillions."

In RIGHT ON THE MONEY Swiss America chairman Craig R. Smith explains why the Federal Reserve is to blame for today's stagnant US economy, trillions in new debt, a stock market bubble and our unsafe banking system.

Gold Strong Like Bull -Seeking Alpha
"I love gold. I love to hold coins or bars in my hands and feel the weight and the density of the precious metal. I love the history of gold. I love that every ounce ever produced in the history of the world still exists. I love the fact that this store of value has remained deeply ingrained in the psyche of humankind for thousands of years, if not more. I love its shine, its unique luster....So far, in the first weeks of 2016, gold is doing better than it did last year. Gold traded to highs of $1128.70 per ounce last Wednesday, January 27 -- $65 per ounce higher than the December 31, 2015 price....In 2016, we face a battle - gold versus the dollar. Both are likely to be volatile. Since 2014, the greenback, a paper currency, has been winning the most recent battle. However, if gold breaks above the $1200 per ounce level, it will turn the page on a new chapter in an ongoing war."

For our take on why gold's future is so bright in 2016, read The Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver.

Is Congress Declaring War On ISIS... Or On You (& Your Cash)? -Zero Hedge
"Passage of Senator Mitch McConnell’s authorization for war against ISIS will not only lead to perpetual US wars across the globe, it will also endanger our civil and economic liberties....If Senator McConnell’s declaration of perpetual war passes, presidents could use the war on ISIS as a justification to impose new restrictions on our use of cash and our financial privacy via executive action. After all, they will say, the government needs to make sure cash is not being used to support ISIS. The only way to protect both liberty and security is to stop trying to impose our will on other countries by military force. The resentment created by America's militaristic foreign policy is ISIS’ most effective recruiting tool."

To better understand why governments worldwide have declared a "war on cash" read THE SECRET WAR ON CASH.

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