Craig Hemke: Comex Silver Deliveries Surge In September

Though Comex metal "delivery" remains a sham and circle jerk where The Banks simply shuffle paper warehouse receipts and warrants, we thought the latest totals for September were noteworthy enough to bring them to your attention.

Again, we've written about this on countless occasions and this post is not meant to imply that "the Comex is about to break" or that "there is a run on The Banks". Instead, September saw the continuation of two trends of which you need to be aware. Comex "deliveries" are up dramatically in 2017 and JPM continues to stand down.

First, take a look at the historical pattern of "deliveries" during the so-called "delivery months" of March, May, July, September and December. Below is a summary of the "delivery" activity for 2015:

The one way we've always quantified "deliveries" here at TFMR is to consider the total amount of stated "deliveries" at the end of each month versus the total number of contracts that had been left open and allegedly "standing for delivery" at the beginning of the process. For 2015, it looked like this:

As you can see, the only outlier in 2015 was the month of July where nearly 1,000 additional contracts materialized requesting immediate "delivery". Other than that, it was a rather orderly process.

Now, let's look at the summaries for 2016.

Again, a rather mundane year of silver "deliveries" with one exception. This time, the month of December saw an "oversubscription". Where Jul15 had seen "deliveries" exceed standing by 938 contracts, Dec16 saw the same exception to the tune of 924 contracts. Other than that, it was another somewhat orderly year.

So let's move on to consider the "delivery" action in 2017 to see if anything unusual is taking place:

Well now. This is beginning to look a bit different, isn't it? Go back up and review the data for 2015 and 2016. Note that only one month in five ever shows a "delivery" total in excess of the amount of contracts still open before First Notice Day. And now, if we include last December, we've seen this occur in four of the past five months with the most recent "delivery month" of September seeing the largest percentage "oversubscription" yet at 160.2%

And when we look at it in absolute terms, the "deliveries" for last month get even more interesting. Note that there were 4,103 contracts still open when the contract went off the board on August 30. At 5,000 ounces per contract, that's a total potential "delivery" obligation of 20,515,000 ounces of silver or about 638 metric tonnes. By the end of the month, the Comex had actually "delivered" 6,575 contracts for 32,875,000 ounces of silver or about 1023 metric tonnes.

So, what's the deal here? Why the sudden rush in 2017 to jump the queue and take immediate "delivery" instead of simply waiting until the next "delivery month"? Could it indicate wholesale physical tightness? Could it indicate a lack of trust amongst The Banks? Could it indicate absolutely nothing?

- Source Sprott Money, Read More Here

U.S. Liberty Head (Barber) Nickels - 7 Coin Grab Bag

Gold & Silver Overnight Strength: The September Smashing Looks Over

Gold and silver have shown strength in the overnight session. Here’s what went down…

First, here’s how it looks since last Friday’s BLS Report:

Overnight, gold performed well:

And silver performed well:

Although the GSR has clung to the 50-day average:

Here’s what we said about the two metals yesterday:

Gold & silver have been under constant price smashing since September 8th. Can the smashings continue, such as the way we saw the precious metals fall until the end of the year in 2016? They could, but the pressure on price has come much earlier this year than last. The silver price was still at $19 just a year ago. Are they really going to be able to push silver down $2 from here to end the year? Not likely. Yes there is silver (and gold) on the markets at the retail level, but there’s no way there would be much if any left after the rush into the metals if they push the price down that far.

Anybody looking to buy silver under $17 may have just lost that opportunity.

And gold is poised to retest $1300, so anybody looking to buy gold with a 12-handle can do so in paper, but the premium will likely push it over.

And, the banks are back today, so we have full market action.

Grab your popcorn. This is turning out to be a good one to watch…

- Source, Silver Doctors

Clive Maund: Gold and Dollar Market Update

Clive Maund sees that the dollar may rally here along with gold which it has done in the past on rare occasion. He also sees technicals such as moving averages in bullish alignment, conditions generally favor a reversal and rally.

Please read the rest here; Gold Market Update

- Source, Clive Maund

Keiser Report: Muted Inflation

In this episode of the Keiser Report from Aspen, Colorado, Max and Stacy take a look at the trillion-dollar mystery of muted inflation. While central banks are stumped, the Keiser Report suggests that the insanely concentrated wealth and flushing euros down the toilet could have something to do with it. Max interviews cryptographer Charles Hoskinson, of IOHK.io, about dissing ICOs, banning bitcoin and the future of proof of stake over proof of work.

- Source, RT

Bitcoin Surges Above $4400 As World Realizes Jamie Dimon & China Don't Matter

Bitcoin just topped $4400 for the first time since in over 3 weeks and has now erased all of the plunge losses from Jamie Dimon's "it's a fraud" and China's shuttering of all local exchanges.

It didn't take long for the world of crypto-currencies to shrug off Jamie Dimon's self-tighteous denigration of the decentralized currency that could directly 'disrupt' his cash cow businesses; and furthermore, as The South China Morning Post reports, China's bitcoin market alive and well as traders defy crackdown.

As SCMP reports, weeks after Beijing banned fundraising through token launches and ordered some bitcoin exchanges to shut, casting a chill over the cryptocurrency industry, traders say that the market is far from dead.

While several exchanges have announced that they will close by the end of this month, traders have now moved to buy and sell bitcoin directly with each other on peer-to-peer marketplaces and messenger apps.

Although the crackdown has dissuaded large swathes of less-experienced investors from participating in the trade, market participants point to the limits Chinese regulators ultimately face in controlling the industry, where many users are anonymous and difficult to track.

In the short-run, the crackdown has also created an arbitrage opportunity for investors, with the price of bitcoin in China now trading at a discount to overseas exchanges.

“They can’t set rules to stop me from investing in what I want to invest in. They say you are protecting me, but as long as I think this is good, they have no way to intervene,” said a Chinese bitcoin investor named Victor, who declined to give his full name citing current sensitivities.

“I can do over-the-counter trades or I’ll go offshore ... My wallet is my wallet. I’ve never registered my identification card.”

Over 15 exchanges, including the three largest players OkCoin, Huobi and BTCChina, have since announced that they will close their mainland businesses by the end of September.

Trading has spiked generally on peer-to-peer marketplaces, according to data website Coindance. On OTC platform LocalBitcoins, China trading volumes more than doubled in the week starting September 16 from the previous week to 74 million yuan.

It hit an all-time-high in the week starting September 23, reaching 115 million yuan in trades.

“The fact that bitcoin is still being traded is an indication that China isn’t looking to eliminate them, but reposition things in a way to have better control over them,” said Marshall Swatt, the founder of New York-based Coinsetter, a bitcoin exchange acquired by larger peer San Francisco-based Kraken in 2016.

- Source, Zero Hedge

Steve Keen on Currency, Savings, Debt and House Prices

Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis? The short answer is NO, we cannot and will not. Professor Steve Keen goes on to provide the proof needed, to prove beyond a doubt that we are heading for another massive financial crisis and that there is no avoiding it. Prepare before it is too late, don't say you weren't warned.

- Video Source

Puerto Rico: Dr. Ron Paul on How Government's Make Things Worse Not Better

"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help", should send shivers down anyone's spine. 

Natural disasters are, and will always be, difficult to prepare for and bounce back from. Unfortunately, a mistaken belief and faith in government makes both preparing and bouncing back much worse than it has to be. Ron Paul helps to dispel the fantasy of government "help."

 - Source, Ron Paul

Gordon Long: The Markets Are in A Delusional Phase

Investor Gordon Long says the stock market hitting one all-time high after another, despite all the economic headwinds, shows the public is in a “delusional phase.” 

The latest nuclear war threat from North Korea shows the extreme delusion going on, and Long contends, “This is about as clear of an example as you are going to get. This is more serious than the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the fact the market has not even blinked during this tells you we no longer know how to price risk. It’s not being priced correctly... 

It’s almost pure speculation at this point, and maybe straight out gambling.” When is it all going to come crashing down? Long predicts, “I think there is a scare coming this fall. That scare will allow central banks to start more quantitative easing and other programs. 

They will be guaranteeing the markets and guaranteeing assets because they can’t have this pension system collapse, and it’s all in the stock market. I think we are talking about the spring of next year.” (When it all totally implodes.)

- Source, USA Watchdog

China's ICO Crackdown Boosts Hong Kong's Hopes Of Becoming Blockchain Hub

China’s decision to shutter digital-currency exchanges based on the mainland, a strategy meant to extinguish the rampant fraud and abuse associated with initial coin offerings, or ICOs, is brightening Hong Kong's hopes of asserting itself as a hub for blockchain technology.

As Bloomberg reports, while China has at least nominally embraced blockchain technology - even building a prototype digital yuan – Hong Kong’s city government has gone a step further by encouraging blockchain startups to set up shop in the city. One firm run by Johnson Leung, who has found success in finance and shipping, and now runs a blockchain startup, is focusing on applications for container ship operators.

The city’s embrace of blockchain is its latest attempt to nurture a domestic technology industry that could compliment the city’s dominance in banking and shipping. But as Bloomberg notes, betting on blockchain, a technology that has generated a ludicrous amount of hype, much of it undeserved, could be a risky proposition. Despite Hong Kong’s status as a financial hub, the city, one of the most expensive in the world for average working families, has zero “unicorns” – a term for startups valued at over $1 billion.

Skeptics say it’s a risky bet on an unproven technology - one with more than its fair share of hype and, in some cases, fraud. But a growing number of Hong Kong entrepreneurs and policy makers are convinced the online ledger system that underlies cryptocurrencies like bitcoin will eventually reshape everything from financial services to supply chains. They say the city’s laissez faire approach toward regulation, along with its expertise in finance and logistics, make it a natural hub for blockchain startups.

“I don’t see why Hong Kong can’t be a leader of blockchain technology,” said Leung, who co-founded 300cubits.tech after more than a decade in the financial industry that included stints as a research analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Jefferies Group LLC. “It’s so new that it’s not like any country has a huge advantage compared to us.”

As Bloomberg explains, the city’s government has been throwing resources at the technology, developing its own digital currency and testing different blockchain use-cases.

The city’s monetary authority is developing its own digital currency and is testing blockchains for trade finance, mortgage applications and e-check tracking. Hong Kong’s securities regulator has joined R3, a global consortium that develops blockchain technology for financial transactions, while a government-backed research institute has worked on a blockchain-based system for tracking property valuations, among other initiatives. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., the city’s publicly-traded exchange monopoly, plans to start a blockchain platform for early-stage companies and their investors next year.

“Blockchain is a very high priority for us,” said Charles d’Haussy, head of fintech at InvestHK, a government economic development agency...

- Source, Zero Hedge, read more here.

The Evil Plan By The Elites To Control Humanity

With continued uncertainty around the globe, today the man who has become legendary for his predictions on QE, historic moves in currencies, spoke with King World News about the evil plan by the elites to control humanity and $15,500 gold.

The Evil Plan By The Elite

Egon von Greyerz: “For news to be read and understood by a great number of people, it must be simple, sensational and forgettable. Most individuals are not interested in “heavy” news or complicated issues. Just compare television and newspapers today to say 50 years ago. At that time, newspapers had very few pictures. Instead, newspapers covered serious matters with in depth analysis. The same was true with television…

In Volatile Markets, Is Wealth Preservation King?

In a King World News interview I spoke with the man who predicted the Swiss National Bank would experience staggering losses and that the Fed would also experience massive losses that will destabilize the global financial system! His company is the only one in the world offering a precious metals investment service outside the banking system, with direct ownership and full control by the investor. He has also become legendary for his predictions on QE, historic moves in currencies, and major global events.

Egon von Greyerz continues: 

“In the 1960s there was serious news and many programs which raised important issues in society or politics, which many people listened to and grasped. But today everything must be dumbed down to the lowest common denominator of readers or viewers. For a paper to sell or a television station to receive advertising revenue, any news must be superficial and short. Most content must have an entertainment or gossip value. Same with television. All serious matters are either left out or covered very briefly. We are now in the age of instant gratification. People’s attention can only be kept by short, superficial language, lots of big images and constant change of focus. On television, no camera position must remain on one subject for more than a few seconds because people’s attention span only lasts for a brief moment.

Purposeful Dumbing Down Of The Masses…

This has led to most people either becoming ignorant or misinformed. The political correctness contributes to the misinformation since, to a great extent, a small group of individuals determine what is politically correct...

- Source, King World News, Read More Here

China and Russia Have a Long Term Plan and Its Gold

China and Russia’s geopolitical strategy has been evolving long enough for observers to understand it and the implications for the West. We can assume the strategic thinkers and intelligence agencies of all the major players have a reasonable grasp of the implications, including America, which is determined not to lose in this Great Game. That was the point behind Steve Bannon’s candid interview with Politico.

Bannon was deluded about the extent of America’s economic and financial power. He is now out. We are back to geopolitics being decided by the military. Meanwhile, China’s interests have almost certainly moved firmly towards dumping the dollar. This can only be done successfully by linking the yuan to the characteristics of physical gold, the market which China has effectively cornered.

If gold crosses the $1300 Rubicon, it may be taken as an early sign that China’s long-term plan of monetising her gold is progressing towards the next stage. The oil-for-yuan futures contract is due to be launched very shortly, allowing countries like Iran to buy gold freely, paid for by oil sales.

Alternatively, if China defers securing the yuan to gold, the dollar still looks like weakening against other currencies, reflecting a US economy isolated from the positive Asian story. The pace of the rise in the gold price might be slower, but the direction seems equally certain.

Eventually, gold will need to rise to a level where the Chinese are prepared to set a conversion rate. Expect China to use its control over physical gold markets to achieve it at a time of its own choosing. Leaving the $1300 price behind could well be the start of the move towards this objective.

- Source, Alasdair Macleod via Gold Money

Bitcoin, Sour Grapes and Jamie Dimon

If I had a bitcoin for every time some pundit declared bitcoin is a bubble, I’d be a billionaire. There are three problems with opining that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are bubblicious:

Everything is in a bubble now: stocks, bonds, housing, heck, even bat guano is bubblicious. Exactly what insight is being added by yet another guru repeating the BTC is a bubble meme?
What’s the value proposition in declaring BTC is in a bubble? Spotting bubbles is like shooting fish in a barrel; the value proposition is in identifying the price/time tipping point at which bubbles pop.

Declaring bitcoin is a bubble is starting to sound like sour grapes. Sour grapes defined: those who missed the 10-bagger (never mind the 100-bagger) feel better by dismissing the whole thing as a fad and a bubble, but as BTC continues marching higher, it looks like they missed the boat but are too proud to admit they didn’t grasp the significance of cryptocurrencies and BTC in particular.

Take J.P. Morgan CEO and President, Jamie Dimon.

He came out recently and called Bitcoin a fraud.

Well, here’s a quick question for you, Mr. Dimon: which words/phrases are associated with you and your employer, J.P. Morgan?

Looting, pillage, rapacious, exploitive, only saved from collapse by massive intervention by the Federal Reserve, the source of rising wealth inequality, crony capitalism, privatized profits-socialized losses, low interest rates = gift from savers to banks, bloviating overpaid C.E.O., propaganda favoring the financial elite, tool of the top .01%, destroyer of democracy, financial fraud goes unpunished, free money for financiers, debt-serfdom, produces nothing of value to society or the bottom 99.5%.

Jamie, if you answered “all of them,” you’re correct.

The only reason you have a soapbox from which you can bloviate is the Federal Reserve saved you and your looting machine (bank) from well-deserved oblivion in 2008-09. That, and the unprecedented, coordinated campaign by global central banks to buy trillions of dollars of bonds and stocks.

J.P Morgan would have done very well in the past eight years if they’d replaced you with a crash-test dummy. In fact, the shareholders would have done much, much better if the crash-test dummy had a Post-It note on its chest reading “buy bitcoin.”

Compare the return for an investor who “bought the dip” in J.P. Morgan stock (JPM) at $57 in early February 2016 and the investor who bought bitcoin (BTC) at $376 at the same time.

The buyer of JPM has certainly done well, earning a return of around 77% over the 19 months (JPM has risen from $57 to $91, a gain of $44, not counting dividends). But the buyer of bitcoin has earned about a 10-fold increase, gaining $3,200 per bitcoin at the current price around $3,560. (A few weeks ago, an owner of BTC could have skimmed an additional $1,000 per coin.)

The buyer of 1,000 shares of JPM for $57,000 gained $44,000 plus dividends, yielding a total of around $93,000, while the buyer of $57,000 worth of bitcoin at $376 (roughly 150 BTC) gained $478,000 and has a total of $534,000.

The buyer of JPM could sell his shares, pay the capital gains tax and buy a modest mid-sized car with the gains. The buyer of bitcoin could sell his bitcoins, pay the capital gains tax and buy a very nice house or flat in all but the most overvalued markets with his gain, and buy a brand-new vehicle with whatever cash is left.

Some initial coin offerings have made gains that make this mere 10-bagger look like small change.

And a lot of institutional fund managers are angry that they’ve missed out.

This might look like a speculative side-game, but for institutional money managers, it’s getting serious. As we all know, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to manage money such that the returns on the managed money exceed the return of an S&P 500 index fund.

If a passive index fund does better over five years than an actively managed fund, then what the heck are we paying the fund managers big bucks for?

- Source, The Daily Reckoning, Read More Here