GM Putin 's Golden Trap

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  • Nigel Hanrahan
    replied
    Economist Khazin on Gold

    fyi, a well known Russian Economist, with links to the Kremlin, wrote the following about the Gold situation in regard to the Russian Federation:

    Originally posted by questions to the Economist
    Distinguished Western economists have pointed out that for years naked gold short selling through manipulation of paper contracts have been used to prop up the United States Dollar and Western allied-currencies against the threat of greater depreciation versus gold. Can Russia and China break the West's gold shorting scam?

    Would this be an effective way for Russia to retaliate against the Western-Saudi economic warfare that is driving down the ruble and oil price?

    In particular, is there any serious likelihood Russia and China could coordinate to take delivery of large quantities of physical gold at the newly opened Shanghai Gold Exchange in order to create an arbitrage between the fake, naked short created paper gold price on the COMEX London market and in Shanghai, resulting in the end of the COMEX as a serious vehicle for gold price discovery that the central bankers can manipulate? (In other words, breaking the West's quasi-monopoly on 'price discovery' in the precious metals market, of which Russia and China are the world-leading producers).

    For many years gold analysts like Dr. Jim Willie and 'King World News' have suggested Russia and China have been willing to tolerate the Western manipulation of gold because this has created a fantastic buying opportunity for Russia and China to stockpile the strategic metals at a huge discount. But with the COMEX price being below the Russian if not Chinese mining cost of production at what point do Moscow and Beijing defend their long term gold mining interests (e.g., Magadan miners in Russian Far East) and corporations from predatory undercutting?

    Does the Moscow economic elite see the gold price as an Anglo-American weak spot, to hit back at the West for trying to drag down the ruble and the oil price?

    What chances are there of the BRICS nations using a debt-free or gold-backed money system?

    Will gold replace the USD as the world reserve asset and unit of settlement for international trade?
    And his answer ...

    Originally posted by Mikhail Khazin
    It had been clear to many economists for a long time that the role of gold in the world will grow and, most likely, will return to its position as a single measure of value. In particular, we wrote about the current crisis back in 2004 in our book "The decline of the dollar Empire and the end of the ‘Pax Americana’.” There's a whole Chapter devoted to the role of gold and its manipulation. However, Russian economic leaders close to the IMF ignored this position at the time. This only began to change in the last couple of years. China has been serious about gold for almost the entire last decade and is now actively preparing for a potential transition to a "gold standard," at least in economic relations between the so-called "currency zones," which, in our opinion, will emerge after the single world dollar system falls apart.

    But Russia and China cannot stop these manipulations, because the price of paper gold is determined on the speculative dollar markets. They can’t provide "leverage" that would be comparable to that of major U.S. banks that have access to an unlimited issuing resource. The only thing they can do is increase the gap between the price of "paper" and "physical" gold by constantly buying the latter on the world markets. Of course, this increases the instability in the global gold market and creates potential losses for the main "gold dealers" who work with the Federal Reserve on leasing programs, but the degree of imbalances has not reached a critical value yet. It seems to me that the sharp rise in gold prices will start after the burst of the next "bubble" in the US stock market.

    With regard to the potential price of gold, as I wrote back in the early 2000's, it is determined by a “fork,” the lower limit of which is the gold price in 1980, when it had its local peak after the dollar was decoupled from gold (USA default) in August 1971, and the upper limit of which is the purchasing power of the dollar in the early twentieth century, when gold was actual money. Today this “fork” (in current dollars) is seen somewhere at the level of $ 4,500 - $ 15,000 per Troy ounce.
    The full interview with all the questions as well as the answers, can be found over here...

    Mikhail Khazin Q&A on the Vinyard of the Saker website

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  • Ed Seedhouse
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Garland Best View Post
    Now I get it. You're a Chartalist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartalist
    Well yes, among other things. Can you supply an alternate theory to explain how it is that a pure fiat currency has any value?

    Leave a comment:


  • Ed Seedhouse
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Garland Best View Post
    Ok, now you're making my head hurt. Before I throw out everying I understand about monatory and fiscal policy and economics, please provide references. Otherwise, I'm not willing to drink this brand of Kool-aid.
    Well that's probably because you have drunk the Kool aid of so-called "neoclassical" economics. That's what they teach you in most schools these days, but that's also what brought about the "great recession" of 2008

    PS: Even if what I accepted what you wrote, it can't be true for the provincal and municipal governments. They have to follow the same rules as the rest of us. Only the level of government in control of the treasury can "create money". The other levels have to borrow, issue bonds, go bankrupt like the rest of us.
    You are correct. The facts I gave apply only to a government that is sovereign in it's own fiat currency. Also for stability it must allow it's currency to float freely against all other currencies.

    However there is nothing to stop such a government from supplying sufficient funds to the subsidiary governments to prevent that from happening.

    But the fact is that most developed countries sovereign over their currencies and issue pure fiat money and most of those allow their exchange rates to float freely. And that changes everything but they won't tell you about it in school and you're not supposed to think about it. You are supposed to keep worrying about how government will "pay" for deficits and think (you are told over and over) that they can somehow "run out of money".
    Last edited by Ed Seedhouse; Thursday, 27th November, 2014, 12:32 AM.

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  • Garland Best
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Now I get it. You're a Chartalist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartalist

    Leave a comment:


  • Garland Best
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Ed Seedhouse View Post
    governments do not actually spend any tax money. They always and only spend newly created money. Taxes have another purpose entirely, one of them being to withdraw money from the private sector for the control of inflation, and another being to give the fiat money value by creating a tax obligation denominated in that government's currency.
    Ok, now you're making my head hurt. Before I throw out everying I understand about monatory and fiscal policy and economics, please provide references. Otherwise, I'm not willing to drink this brand of Kool-aid.

    PS: Even if what I accepted what you wrote, it can't be true for the provincal and municipal governments. They have to follow the same rules as the rest of us. Only the level of government in control of the treasury can "create money". The other levels have to borrow, issue bonds, go bankrupt like the rest of us.

    Leave a comment:


  • Ed Seedhouse
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
    A question? I thought you were writing humour. In case you didn't notice, the U.S. is going after every tax dollar they can get and you're dreaming of governments not taxing.
    Argument by insult. How logical!

    Increasing taxation and reducing the deficit in a time of high unemployment are damaging to the U.S. economy.

    I never said that governments should not tax, of course, that's merely your attempt at spin. Governments should tax, but a government with a fiat currency does not need to spend taxes, and in fact operationally such governments do not actually spend any tax money. They always and only spend newly created money. Taxes have another purpose entirely, one of them being to withdraw money from the private sector for the control of inflation, and another being to give the fiat money value by creating a tax obligation denominated in that government's currency. Also there may be, for policy reasons, taxes meant to discourage some forms of economic activity and encourage others, including income redistribution.

    They do not, however, in a modern monetary regime, fund government spending.

    Leave a comment:


  • Gary Ruben
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Garland Best View Post
    Apologies. I confused Exchanged Traded Receipts with Exchange Traded Funds.
    Exchange Traded Funds in commodities can be volatile. Particularly when you're getting into double or triple leveraged funds. Many contain futures contracts which must be rolled over and that sort of thing. You can bet the right way and still lose if you're not quick enough.

    Leave a comment:


  • Gary Ruben
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Ed Seedhouse View Post
    Nor you long to avoid a question I see.
    A question? I thought you were writing humour. In case you didn't notice, the U.S. is going after every tax dollar they can get and you're dreaming of governments not taxing.

    Leave a comment:


  • Ed Seedhouse
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
    It sure doesn't take you long to start splitting hairs.
    Nor you long to avoid a question I see.

    Leave a comment:


  • Garland Best
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Apologies. I confused Exchanged Traded Receipts with Exchange Traded Funds.

    http://etf.about.com/od/commodityetf..._Gold_Etfs.htm

    Leave a comment:


  • Gary Ruben
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    You are probably also aware current Canadian bank notes are made of Polymer.

    It sure doesn't take you long to start splitting hairs.

    Leave a comment:


  • Gary Ruben
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Garland Best View Post
    Actually the "Exchange Traded Receipts " aren't 100% backed by actual gold. If everyone actually tried to exchange all the open receipts for physical gold, they would run out of gold first.
    Of course you can give a source for this claim. It is not accordance with their statements of commitment. I understand not everyone would try to make the exchange because of the logistics but still, I'd like to see what backs up your claim. Here's theirs.

    "The gold bullion will be beneficially owned by the ETR Holders and not by the Mint. The net proceeds of the Offering will be applied to the purchase of gold bullion from third party suppliers on behalf of the initial purchasers of ETRs. Such gold bullion will to be delivered to the Mint's facilities on or before the closing date of the Offering. The Mint will act as custodian of the gold bullion on behalf of the ETR Holders and will hold the gold bullion in its facilities in Ottawa, Ontario. Beneficial ownership of the gold bullion will at all times remain with the ETR Holders. In the ordinary course of its business of gold refining and coin manufacturing, the Mint uses gold bullion held on an unallocated basis for third parties and expects to do the same with some or all of the gold bullion underlying the ETRs. The Mint will, at all times, maintain in its facilities gold bullion in an amount that is equal to or exceeds the amount owned in aggregate by ETR Holders."

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  • Ed Seedhouse
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Garland Best View Post
    Actually the "Exchange Traded Receipts " aren't 100% backed by actual gold. If everyone actually tried to exchange all the open receipts for physical gold, they would run out of gold first.
    Most modern money systems are not backed up by gold at all. The USA, Canada, Brittan, the Euro and most other countries run pure fiat money systems. And since gold has no more inherent monetary value than paper this is a good thing, not a bad one.

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  • Garland Best
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Actually the "Exchange Traded Receipts " aren't 100% backed by actual gold. If everyone actually tried to exchange all the open receipts for physical gold, they would run out of gold first.

    Leave a comment:


  • Ed Seedhouse
    replied
    Re: GM Putin 's Golden Trap

    Originally posted by Gerry Litchfield View Post
    Hi Ed,
    Term “Print” is simply used as tradition.
    And a bad tradition it is. Maybe we should change it to reflect current reality? The mint doesn't print "money" anyway, it prints banknotes, which are simply a record testifying that the bearer has access to real money in the denomination shown on the note.
    Similarly coins are not 'money" but simply transaction records.

    Leave a comment:

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