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Posts Tagged ‘central bank’

The Central Banks and Gold

August 26, 2011 Comments off

caseyresearch

By Doug Hornig

If the mantra of the wise investor is “Buy low, sell high,” then those who run most of the Western world’s central banks must suffer from dyslexia.

These banks sold off their gold reserves for years, right into the teeth of a generation-long bear market. The last year before the sales began – i.e., during which central banks were net buyers of gold – was 1988, when the price of the metal fell from $485/oz. in early January to $410 at year’s end.

From then and right through the end of the century, they continued to sell as gold dropped steadily to its modern low of $250. The banks were in such haste to divest themselves of this disrespected relic – their single tangible asset – that it was deemed necessary to Read more…

Categories: Banks, GOLD Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

World Gold Council Say Demand to Rise

August 21, 2011 Comments off

ibtimes

The World Gold Council reports that demand in Asia remains high for Gold. This was seen in Q-2 where total Global Gold demand measured 919.8 tons, almost a record demand at US$44.5-B.

The Top markets were India and China, accounting for 52% of the total Bar and Coin investment and 55% of Global jewellery demand.

The Gold council is also calling for demand to be high 2-H of Y 2011.

Indian and Chinese demand grew 38% and 25% respectively during Q-2 of Y 2011 compared to the same period in Y 2010, the growth is due to increasing levels of economic prosperity, high levels of inflation and Read more…

Categories: GOLD Tags: , , , , , , ,

Why Debt Crises Destroy Banks

August 17, 2011 Comments off

wealthcycles.com

After the U.S. downgrade by S&P, many pundits simply guffawed that the downgrade was a sideshow—a simple distraction from the true issues of debt and default. And that’s true to a certain extent—but if people actually think the downgrade is an issue—it may actually become one. A nation’s debt and the state of its banking system are intimately related. When there is a problem in one, you can be pretty sure there is a problem in the other. Any old notion of a “risk-free” government bond has quickly been laid to rest.

In the wake of Standard & Poor’s downgrade, the stability of other “AAA” sovereigns like the United Kingdom and France has been called into question. This, of course, has repercussions in the financial markets, where countries may suddenly find that their costs have gone skyward.

France, with the worst financial Read more…

Categories: Banks Tags: , , ,

Central Banks Continue Buying Gold To Diversify Portfolios

August 5, 2011 Comments off

kitco

Gold purchases by South Korea and Thailand this summer continue a trend in which central banks are net purchasers of the metal as they look to diversify their foreign-exchange reserves.

“So far in 2011, central banks in the emerging markets have already bought more than double the gold they bought in all of 2010, and we’ve got almost five months to go for the rest of the year,” said Jeff Clark, senior precious-metals analyst with Casey Research.

This buying has occurred despite historically high prices. “So apparently, central banks don’t regard the gold price as too high,” Clark said.

For the year to date, net purchases by the world’s central banks are 203.5 metric tons, which already is a 168% increase from 76 tons for all of 2010, said Natalie Dempster, director, government affairs, with the World Gold Council.

Most of the data is gleamed international financial statistics released by the International Monetary Fund at the beginning of each month. Additionally, some central banks—such as Read more…

Categories: Banks Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Global Physical Gold & Silver Reserves Race is the New Nuclear Arms Race

July 21, 2011 Comments off

zerohedge

The old Cold War USA-USSR nuclear arms race has been replaced by the new East-West Central Bank battle to accumulate physical gold and physical silver reserves. While Western Central Banks and their puppet bullion banks have distracted and goaded private citizens with the invention of fraudulent bogus paper gold and paper silver derivative products, including ETFs more recently, and paper futures contracts for a much longer period of time, they themselves have been making sure to avoid the very fraudulent paper products they have invented and have been diving headfirst into real physical precious metals.

 

As Central Banks continue to significantly devalue all major global currencies through excessive creation of new supply out of thin air in a digital world where “new money” is never even printed into paper/cotton form but only is created as digital bytes that are sent across international borders, the private families that are the majority shareholders in the world’s most powerful Central Banks have engaged in heavy buying of Read more…

Categories: GOLD, Silver Tags: , , , , , ,

As The Dollar And The Euro Continue To Collapse, How High Is That Going To Push The Price Of Gold?

July 19, 2011 Comments off

endoftheamericandream

Right now, the global financial system is facing a crisis that is really unprecedented.  The reserve currency of the world (the U.S. dollar) is collapsing and the second most powerful currency on the planet (the euro) is also collapsing.  As the major paper currencies of the globe crumble, the hunger that investors around the world have for gold continues to grow.  Today, the price of gold hit an all-time record of $1607.90 an ounce.  But that record surely will not live for long.  The truth is that gold has been steadily climbing for quite some time now.  A year ago, the price of gold was hovering around $1200 an ounce and and many “mainstream economists” scoffed at the idea that the price of gold could go significantly higher.  Well, nobody is laughing now.  As colossal debt loads continue to crush both Europe and the United States, the euro and the dollar are Read more…

Categories: GOLD, World Events Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

If Central Banks Believe in Paper Money Why Are They Loading Up On Gold?

July 8, 2011 Comments off

zerohedge.com

I’ve been warning for years that an inflationary storm was coming. I’ve recently tailored my forecast to allow for a resurgence in deflation based on QE 2 ending and the economy diving, but my long-term forecast remains the same: inflation WILL be exploding in the years to come.

Indeed, even the biggest proponents of paper money (central banks) have begun to realize that their grand experiment is coming to an end. Central banks officially became net buyers of Gold last year. And we now find that they have acquired the most Gold in over a decade.

The Financial Times reports:

Central banks have pulled 635 tonnes of gold from the Bank for International Settlements in the past year, the largest withdrawal in more than a decade.

 The move, disclosed in the BIS’s annual report, marks a sharp reversal from the previous year, when central banks added to deposits of gold at the Read more…

Categories: Banks, GOLD Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Russia, China Will Trade In Rubles,Yuan

June 24, 2011 Comments off

rian

Russian Central Bank

Russian Central Bank

Russia and China will switch to trade in rubles and yuan to boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation, following an agreement signed between the central banks of both countries, Russian Central Bank Deputy Chairman Viktor Melnikov said on Thursday.

“This agreement allows for settlements through Russian and Chinese banks not only in the freely convertible currencies but also in the yuan and the ruble,” Melnikov said.

Russia and China have also agreed to boost bilateral trade from $60 billiion in 2010 to $100 billion by 2015 and to $200 billion by 2020, Melnikov said.

People’s Bank of China Deputy Chairman Ma Delun said the agreement would give the two nations the opportunity to increase the value of deals in their national currencies and “help bring them closer to international reserve currencies.”

The deal will also help Russia and China reduce foreign exchange risks and currency conversion costs, Ma and Melnikov said

Categories: China, Russia Tags: , , , ,

Bailout plan roils Greece’s leaders

June 17, 2011 2 comments

boston

Greece was wracked by political turmoil yesterday as the embattled prime minister faced down a party revolt over new austerity measures — a bitter dispute that forced the EU to hint at new loans so Greece can fend off a summer default.

Prime Minister George Papandreou has struggled to garner support for a new package of $39.5 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which last year granted his debt-ridden nation $155 billion in bailout loans.

But the measures have sparked riots on the streets of Athens and open criticism from his own Socialist lawmakers. Papandreou’s desperate efforts to form a coalition government with the opposition conservatives collapsed Wednesday, and the Read more…

Categories: Greece Tags: , , , , ,

NIA Releases U.S. Economic and Inflation Update

June 6, 2011 Comments off

inflation.us

The official U.S. unemployment rate rose during the month of May to 9.1%, up from 9% in April, with only 54,000 non-farm jobs being created for the month. The real unemployment rate including short and long-term discouraged workers is now 22.3%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) used the birth/death model to produce a positive monthly bias during the month of May of 206,000 jobs, up from 175,000 in April, 117,000 in March, and 112,000 in February. Without the birth/death model, 152,000 jobs were lost during the month of May.

 

By utilizing the birth/death model, the BLS is assuming that during the month of May, the number of new jobs created by start-up businesses were 206,000 greater than the number of jobs lost from companies going out of business. NIA finds this assumption to be Read more…

Categories: Inflation, unemployment, United States Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,