British Israelism Myths

Soros Buying Gold as Record Prices Seen on Stimulus

They say: You should not have gold, everything it's fine".... but they are buying it at record amount!!!



Gold’s 12-year rally, the longest in at least nine decades, is poised to continue in 2013 as central bank stimulus spurs investors from John Paulson to George Soros to accumulate the highest combined bullion holdings ever.

The metal will rise every quarter next year and average $1,925 an ounce in the final three months, or 11 percent more than now, according to the median of 16 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Paulson & Co. has a $3.66 billion bet through the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest gold-backed exchange- traded product, and Soros Fund Management LLC increased its holdings by 49 percent in the third quarter, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show.

Central banks from Europe to China are pledging more steps to boost growth, raising concern about inflation and currency devaluation. Investors bought 247.5 metric tons through ETPs this year, exceeding annual U.S. mine output. While both sides said talks Nov. 16 between President Barack Obama and Congress over the so-called fiscal cliff were “constructive,” the Congressional Budget Office has warned the U.S. risks a recession if spending cuts and tax rises aren’t resolved.

“We see gold as a hedge against the follies of politicians,” said Michael Mullaney, who helps manage $9.5 billion of assets as chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust in Boston. “It’s a good time to garner some protection in portfolios by having some real asset like gold.”

Bloomberg

Greece: Lack of deal 'threatens euro'

The failure of eurozone ministers to reach a deal to give Greece its latest bailout payment threatens the whole bloc, leaders have said.

Following nearly 12 hours of talks in Brussels, the Eurogroup said it needed more time for technical work.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said: "It's not only the future of our country, but the stability of the entire eurozone [that is at stake]."

France's finance minister insisted they were a "whisker" away from a deal.

The chairman of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, said ministers would meet again next week.

"Greece did what it had to do, and what it had pledged to do... whatever technical difficulties in finding a technical solution do not justify any negligence or delay," Mr Samaras said.

Greece needs the next tranche of its second bailout worth 130bn euros ($166bn; £104bn) to avoid insolvency.

The eurozone "would be threatened if we did not reach" a deal, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said, before adding that "we are very close to a deal."

"We have observed that Greece had made considerable efforts," he told Europe 1 radio.

The eurozone finance ministers have been considering ways of reducing Greece's public debt, which is projected to rise to 189% of gross domestic product (GDP) by next year.

"We believe that, eventually, eurozone leaders will agree on a deal to cut Greek debt substantially," said Martin Koehring of the Economist Intelligence Unit.

"It is not in their interest to push Greece out of the eurozone over technical disagreements. A much more likely cause for a Greek disorderly default and euro exit would be domestic political developments in Greece, highlighted by rising political instability and social unrest.

"However, our assessment remains that there is a 40% probability that Greece leaves the eurozone within the next five years."

Disagreement

The country's bailout programme aims to get debt down to 120% of GDP by 2020.

There has been disagreement among the ministers and the International Monetary Fund, Greece's other bailout creditor, on how to make the country's debt manageable.

"The Eurogroup has had an extensive discussion and made progress in identifying a consistent package of credible initiatives aimed at making a further substantial contribution to the sustainability of Greek government debt," Jean-
Schroders economist Virginie Maisonneuve: "Clearly we'll have more negotiation"

The eurozone ministers favour giving Greece an extra two years, to 2022, to bring its debt to 120% of GDP, but the IMF has resisted that extension.

Although the meeting wrapped up in the early hours of Wednesday morning in Brussels without a conclusion, earlier on Tuesday night there had been optimism a deal would be reached.

The French finance minister Pierre Moscovici said: "I have the impression that a political agreement is within reach."

The managing director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, insisted: "We're going to work very constructively to see if we can find a solution for Greece. That's what really is our goal, our purpose and our mission."

So far, Greece has received nearly 149bn euros (£119bn; $191bn) from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund, out of 240bn euros that has been approved in two bailout loans.

BBC

NEW ZEALAND'S MT. TONGARIRO VOLCANO ERUPTS

Russia Seeks Closer Military Ties With China

BEIJING, November 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday indicated Russia’s continuing interest in cooperation with China on defence sector issues.

Shoigu told top Chinese officials during a visit to Beijing for the 17th Sino-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Technological Cooperation that joint work between the two powers would enhance stability across the region.

“The closer the cooperation is between our two countries, including in the military-technological area, the more peaceful our region will be,” he said.

This was Shoigu's first official foreign trip since replacing Anatoly Serdyukov as defense minister earlier this month.

Senior Chinese military officials in turn indicated their support for closer cooperation with Moscow.

“We see our relationship with Russia as a priority in the field of international military cooperation,” said Xu Qiliang, deputy head of the Communist Party of China’s Central Military Commission.

He added that Beijing wishes to "bring the relationship to a higher level."

As China's economy and influence have continued to grow, the country has become increasingly attractive to Moscow as a regional partner. The two powers already have alligned interests in foreign policy - from batting down Western criticism of human rights abuses to their joint stance against foreign intervention in the Syrian civil war.

RIA Novosti

Morgan Stanley’s Scenario: Major Recession in 2013

The global economy is likely to be stuck in the “twilight zone” of sluggish growth in 2013, Morgan Stanley has warned, but if policymakers fail to act, it could get a lot worse.

The bank’s economics team forecasts a full-blown recession next year, under a pessimistic scenario, with global gross domestic product (GDP) likely to plunge 2 percent.

“More than ever, the economic outlook hinges upon the actions taken or not taken by governments and central banks,” Morgan Stanley said in a report.

Under the bank’s more gloomy scenario, the U.S. would go over the “fiscal cliff” leading to a contraction in U.S. GDP for the first three quarters of 2013. In Europe, the bank’s pessimistic scenario assumes a failure of the European Central Bank (ECB) in cutting rates and a delay of its bond-buying program.

But the bank says investors should also be nimble, in case policy action is “convincing and decisive,” leading to a big uptick in growth.

“Importantly, investors should keep an open mind and be prepared to switch between the scenarios as policy developments unfold.”

The bank’s most optimistic scenario forecasts GDP growth of 4 percent in 2012 compared to around 3.1 percent this year.

Morgan Stanley isn’t alone in warning about a recession next year. Noted bear, Nouriel Roubini warned on Monday that certain key developments would exacerbate the downside risks to global growth in 2013.

“Until now, the recessionary fiscal drag has been concentrated in the euro zone periphery and the U.K.. But now it is permeating the euro zone’s core,” Roubini wrote. “And in the U.S., even if President Barack Obama and the Republicans in Congress agree on a budget plan that avoids the looming “fiscal cliff,” spending cuts and tax increases will invariably lead to some drag on growth in 2013 – at least 1 percent of GDP.”

Roubini said the rally in global markets that begun in July was now running out of steam as global growth slows and valuations look stretched.

“Price/earnings ratios are now high, while growth in earnings per share is slackening, and will be subject to further negative surprises as growth and inflation remain low. With uncertainty, volatility, and tail risks on the rise again, the correction could accelerate quickly.”


CNBC

The Dead Hand of Bureaucracy (Second-round speech, 21.11.2012)