Congress Members Trading stocks on inside information? - CBS 60 mins

CBS 60 mins - Congress: Trading stock on inside information? 60 minutes just blew the lid off the legal insider trading that goes on among congressmen and senators. What a way to influence whether a bill passes or fails. Steve Kroft reports that members of Congress can legally trade stock based on non-public information from Capitol Hill. Pelosi made a quick $100,000 on insider trading, she should be in jail This is one of 7 insider IPO's she took part in, watch her scramble when she is asked about it, she knows she is doing something wrong and she is clearly rattled. Note: I know this is MSM but it's fun to watch Pelosi squrm when questioned on her insider trading. Quote: "I say it's not true" and thats it! I just wonder why MSM is running this story, maybe to scare the pukes on the hill by exposing them to the flouride heads who vote these parasites into office

Here’s Why Goldman Sachs is Staying Long Gold

On Monday, banking giant Goldman Sachs announced it is staying long gold. Due to low real interest rates, slower US economic growth, and rising debt, the bank has also raised its gold forecast for 2012.

The report by Goldman states, “We expect gold prices to continue to climb in 2011 given the current low level of US real interest rates. Further, with our US economics team now forecasting slower US economic growth in 2011 and 2012, we expect US real interest rates to remain lower for longer, supporting higher gold prices through 2012.” The bank also said that the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone is “skewing the balance of risks to higher gold prices.” Ben Bernanke has already pledged to keep interest rates at all-time lows for at least mid-2013. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve recently slashed its economic growth projections for 2012. Fed officials now expect the US economy to grow by 2.5%-2.9% next year, down from previous projections of 3.3%-3.7% made in June.

What strategy is the bank employing to take advantage of the current economic situation? Goldman says, “With expiration approaching, we are rolling our outstanding long Dec-11 COMEX gold trade recommendation, entered on October 11, 2010 with an initial value of $1,364.2/toz and a current gain of $423.9/toz, into a long Dec-12 COMEX gold future position with a reference price of $1,800.5/toz.” Translation, Goldman was bullish on gold for 2011, and continues to be bullish on gold for 2012.

The report also gives a short-term price forecast. For gold, the bank increased its three-month forecast by 7.0% to $1,760 a troy ounce from $1,645/oz, its six-month forecast by 5.8% to $1,830/oz from $1,730/oz, and its 12-month forecast by 3.8% to $1,930/oz from $1,860/oz. Credit Suisse has also said that gold may climb over $1,800 in the coming days due to negative real interest rates as the key driver. However, with the Fed’s low interest rate pledge, negative real interest rates are likely to remain for a number of years. Given this, many expect gold prices to climb above $2,000 per ounce. Dr. Walter de Wet, the Head of Commodity Research at Standard Bank in London, expects gold to hit $2,200 at the end of the first quarter next year. He believes more quantitative easing is on the way for Europe and the US, and does not see the Fed stopping its expanding balance sheet for another three or four years. Standard Bank predicts that $500 billion of QE3 will add $200 to the gold price early next year.

In the middle of Goldman’s report is a very telling sentence that aligns the interests of Goldman Sachs and Standard Bank. Goldman says, “Given our US economists’ cautious economic outlook and the significant downside risks associated with the European turmoil, additional Fed easing might well be needed.” While the fundamental reasons for precious metals remain strong, Goldman going long on gold may also be a bet on QE3.

Ted Butler: Criminal Silver Manipulation

from TransferOfWealth:

http://www.butlerresearch.com/ Theodore (Ted) Butler must certainly be the foremost silver analyst of our time. Not only is he a pioneering thinker on the subject of silver, he is also way ahead of the curve with what’s happening in the silver market. Many of his ideas are original and new. It’s no exaggeration to say that almost everything you see other people write about silver today comes from Ted Butler.

Jeff Nielson (SGTreport EXCLUSIVE): MF Global, Fraud, Debased Currencies & Precious Metals

Here’s my latest interview with Jeff Nielson from Bullion Bulls Canada:



Jeff Nielson and I talk shop. The state of affairs in this country has never been more perilous, and as we’ve seen with MF Global, any paper-based investments you have in this criminal system are at risk.

4 Stocks to Own as China Makes a "Soft Lading"

Goldman Sach's issued a report in late October saying, Stop Freaking Out, China Will Have a Soft Landing. They gave several reasons to support their thesis;

1.) Inflation is easing
2.) Government looks to be loosening monetary policy
3.) More room for debt
4.) And Chinese companies are still doing well

Goldman sites that the biggest drag on China has been fiscal tightening because of inflation fears. However, that could be about to change. Inflation is slowing, and that means the government will have room to lower interest rates and allow more lending.

So which sector should benefit the most as China rebounds? One of the worst performing sectors this year...

As you can see from the chart above, basic materials have significantly out-performed the S&P 500 during the last five years. However, Basic Materials has been the second worst performing sector this year and could be a good mean reversion trade as demand for the sector picks up.

Why?

China's long-term appetite for commodities, materials and industrial consumption stems from the rapid growth in transportation, housing and infrastructure projects. This has lead to the lower and middle classes increases in wages and demand for food related goods and services. As a larger portion of the lower and middle classes income increases, so will the demand for agricultural related products. This ultimately should drive earnings power for our three favorite basic materials stocks and one industrial that has a high correlation to the sector.

1) Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt.

2) Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON), together with its subsidiaries, provides agricultural products for farmers in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Seeds and Genomics, and Agricultural Productivity. The Seeds and Genomics segment produces corn, soybean, canola, and cotton seeds, as well as vegetable seeds, including tomato, pepper, eggplant, melon, cucumber, pumpkin, squash, beans, broccoli, onions, and lettuce seeds.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) engages in the production and marketing of concentrated phosphate and potash-based crop nutrients for the agriculture industry worldwide. The company also offers phosphate-based animal feed ingredients and produces and sells potash for use as fertilizers and animal feed ingredients, as well as for use in industrial applications.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE: POT) produces and sells fertilizers and related industrial and feed products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company mines and produces potash, which is used as fertilizer. It also offers solid and liquid phosphate fertilizers; animal feed supplements; and industrial acids that are used in food products and industrial processes.

Action to Take --> Friday's rally has pushed the prices of some of these securities above our recommended "buy" levels stated in the graphs. I recommend traders wait for a pull back before jumping into these trades.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance - October 2011

Kiplinger's Personal Finance - October 2011
English | PDF | 84 pages | 31.9MB

Kiplinger's Personal Finance was written to help you do a better job of managing your personal and family financial affairs and to help you get more for your money. You get ideas on saving, investing, cutting taxes, making major purchases, advancing your career, buying a home, paying for education, health care and travel, plus much, much more.

download it here

Conference on Free Banking and Monetary Policy – Austrian Economics

The Ludwig Von Mises Institute of Canada and the Institute for Liberal Studies put on a day long conference on Austrian economics and free banking – a school of economic thought advocating liberty in monetary policy in stark contrast to failed establishment ‘Keynesian’ economics. These are a few of the highlights.