China top bank sees explosive growth in gold demand and voracious appetite for silver
SHANGHAI (Reuters) –
Demand in China for physical gold and gold-related investments is growing at an “explosive” pace and its appetite for the yellow metal is poised to remain robust amid inflation concerns, said an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) executive.
ICBC, the world’s largest bank by market value, sold about 7 tonnes of physical gold in January this year, nearly half the 15 tonnes of bullion sold in the whole of 2010, said Zhou Ming, deputy head of the bank’s precious metals department on Wednesday.
“We are seeing explosive demand for gold. As Chinese get wealthy, they look to diversify their investments and gold stands out as a good hedge against inflation,” Zhou told Reuters.
“There is also frantic demand for non-physical gold investments. We issued 1 billion yuan worth of Read more…
Argentina accuses US of trying to smuggle weapons into country
Diplomatic row over cargo US claims was intended for training program further sours already poor relationship
Relations between the US and Argentina have deteriorated after Buenos Aires lodged a formal complaint over a US military plane that landed late last week carrying guns, drugs and satellite phones.
The Argentinian government claimed the US was trying to sneak the weapons into the country, though it didn’t offer an explanation of why Washington might want to do this.
The US state department said the consignment was intended for a police training program in Argentina.
Officials from Argentina and the state department have been in talks aimed at resolving the row.
The relationship between the two countries has been poor since Barack Obama released details of a Latin American tour next month that includes Brazil, Chile and El Salvador but not Argentina.
The Argentinian foreign ministry, in a statement on Sunday night, said “sensitive material” had been seized that had not been declared on the inventory submitted by the US embassy, including weapons, GPS equipment and drugs such as morphine. Read more…
Solar Flare Causes Problems for China’s Radio Communications
A solar flare—the strongest one in four years—messed with China’s communications in the southern portion of the country over the past several days, according to media reports.
The recent, massive solar flare that was emitted by the sun on Tuesday caused a Read more…
Riot police storm square in Bahrain
Hassan Ammar/AP
MANAMA—Riot police stormed a square occupied by anti-government protesters Thursday, driving them out with tear gas and rubber bullets and destroying a makeshift encampment that had become the demonstrators’ rallying point.
At least two people were killed in the pre-dawn assault on Pearl Square, the main opposition group Al Wefaq said. There was no official word on deaths or injuries.
After riot police regained control of the plaza, they chased protesters through sidestreets just as the dawn call for prayers rang out.
Protesters described police swarming in through a cloud of tear gas.
“They attacked our tents, beating us with batons,” Jafar Jafar, 17, told Associated Press. “The police were Read more…
Chances up for federal shutdown
By Alexander Bolton
The chances of a government shutdown are on the rise.
With less than three weeks to strike a deal before government funding for the year is scheduled to expire, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are moving in opposite directions.
Lawmakers from both parties stress they want to avoid a rerun of the stalemate that led to a shutdown in late 1995 and early 1996. But the rhetoric on spending has escalated, and Democratic and GOP officials are already prepping for the blame game.
Positions have hardened after a revolt last week by House conservatives, who forced GOP leaders to nearly double their proposed spending cuts for 2011.
If the cuts pass the House, Senate Democrats say they are dead on arrival in the upper chamber.
“I think the direction of last week is the wrong direction and puts us closer on the path to a Read more…
Two Iranian Warships May Pass Through Suez Canal, Israel’s Lieberman Says
By Gwen Ackerman
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that two Iranian gunboats are planning to sail late today to Syria through Egypt’s Suez Canal in what he called a “provocation.”
“Regretfully, the international community isn’t showing readiness to deal with the recurring Iranian provocations,” Lieberman said today in a speech to U.S. Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. “The international community must understand that Israel can’t ignore forever these kinds of provocations.”
The Israeli statement comes five days after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down and unrest in North Africa spread to the Persian Gulf, where Bahrain and Iran have seen anti-government protests since Feb. 14. Israeli leaders have voiced concern that Iran may exploit Read more…
Hundreds of Libyans demand the government’s ouster
Hundreds of Libyans calling for the government’s ouster took to the streets Wednesday in the country’s second-largest city as Egypt-inspired unrest spread to the country long ruled by Moammar Kadafi.
Ashur Shamis, a Libyan opposition activist in London, said the protests began Tuesday in the port city of Benghazi, with demonstrators chanting, “No God but Allah, Moammar is the enemy of Allah” and “Down, down to corruption and to the corrupt.”
But police and armed government backers quickly clamped down on the protesters, firing rubber bullets, he said.
Witnesses and videos posted on the Internet showed protesters calling for a Libyan uprising and chanting slogans against Kadafi, who has held virtually unchecked power for more than four decades, as well as Read more…
FIRST X-CLASS FLARE OF THE NEW SOLAR CYCLE:
Sunspot 1158 has unleashed the strongest solar flare in more than four years. The eruption, which peaked at 0156 UT on Feb. 15th, registered X2 on the Richter scale of solar flares. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded an intense flash of extreme ultraviolet radiation, circled below:
movie formats: 5 MB gif, 1.3 MB iPad, 0.6 MB iPhone
X-flares are the strongest type of solar flare, and this is the first such eruption of new Solar Cycle 24. In addition to flashing Earth with UV radiation, the explosion also hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) in our direction. The expanding cloud may be seen in this movie from NASA’s STEREO-B spacecraft. Geomagnetic storms are possible when Read more…
All children to be registered in national biometric records
By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2011 WorldNetDaily
Below the radar of public opinion, Mexico has started to assemble the type of biometric national identity database that could be used to document names for a North American Trusted Traveler border pass card, a plan already being developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for Mexican citizens.
It apparently would be similar to the program that has become commonplace in the European Union to allow free transit for EU citizens to move, live and work wherever they choose within the EU, disregarding nation-of-origin and national border restrictions.
On Jan. 19, 2011, Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon signed an executive order requiring within the next five years all Mexicans 17 years old and younger have a biometric national identity card that would include a facial photograph, all 10 fingerprints, and an iris scan.
To carry out the presidential executive order, the Mexican Directorate General of the National Population Register plans to go to all Read more…
Confiscation of Gold and Silver by the U.S. Government
I received an email with the words “RED ALERT”. I received this from someone heavily involved and an expert in the metals and mining. I highly respect both men involved, as they know and always telling the truth about what is happening in the world of metals.
David Morgan of Silver-Investor, an absolute expert in silver and the mining field and has a wonderful and very insightful news letter. I am a member and get the newsletter due to the amount of his knowledge of silver/gold and mining. In fact, David Morgan has given me the green light to post bits of information from his paid subscription newsletter. I am thankful he is allowing that, as there is information in it that is not found any where else on the internet. His newsletter gives investment information of metals and mining as no other person I have read. I believe many benefit from the newsletter and I hope what small blurbs I reproduce here will also help others in keeping the value of their money as it is (but it is dropping fast every day – so action needs to be taken by all – in my opinion). I will start doing some postings with his insight within days. But I encourage Read more…
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