There is No Shortage of Gold, Shortage Developing is a Shortage of Trust!

Gold is a physical commodity. Its owners are removing it from the tradable markets, squirreling it away in nooks and crannies where they feel it’s safe. This is not merely a phenomenon of differing interest rates. Real metal is being moved in the real world, and everyone would do well to understand why, and what it means.
Trust is collapsing, and for good reason. 

The foundation of the global financial system is the US Treasury bond. It is backed by nothing more nor less than the full faith and credit of a government with exponentially rising debt, and which has neither the means nor intent to repay. If you don’t trust that the US government can pay, then you can’t trust a bank deposit because the bank uses the Treasury as their asset. If you can’t trust a bank, then you can’t trust a gold futures contract.

It is in this light that one must view gold backwardation. In wheat or any other ordinary commodity, there is sometimes a state of shortage. When that occurs, anyone with the commodity can make a risk-free profit by decarrying it.

However, there is no such thing as a shortage of gold. There is a shortage developing—a shortage of trust. Decarrying gold does incur a risk. One may be giving up good metal for bad paper, and never be able to reverse the swap.

Unfortunately, with the collapse of trust comes the collapse of coordination of economic activity. The disappearance of gold from the monetary system will have momentous consequences.

- Source, Silver Doctors:

http://www.silverdoctors.com/there-is-no-shortage-of-gold-shortage-developing-is-a-shortage-of-trust/

Jim Sinclair: Russia Can Collapse US Economy, Gold Update, Silver is Gold on Steroids & More

Gold expert Jim Sinclair is issuing a warning of a massive downside risk to U.S. sanctions against Russia. Sinclair says watch the "struggling dollar" and Russia accepting any currency for oil and natural gas. Sinclair explains, "It's struggling . . . because it smells the real teeth of retaliation for sanctions being in the simple acceptance of any currency whatsoever for payment for gas to Europe. Believe me, they will settle in other currencies. . . . It makes energy cheaper. Why in the world would anyone want to pay in dollars if they can pay in their own currency? Russia could retaliate in a way that would have phenomenal impact on the U.S. dollar. . . . Russia has the upper hand. They have it in their ability to turn the U.S. economy upside down and into collapse. There is no question whatsoever. Putin doesn't need a nuclear bomb. He has a nuclear economic bomb that he can set off at any time."

What would the price of gold be this year? Sinclair predicts, "Gold has $2,000 an ounce in its sites in 2014." On silver, Sinclair says, "Silver is gold on steroids. When gold takes off, silver goes up faster. . . . So, the idea you are going to get an old high on silver or better is a given."

- Source USA Watchdog:

http://usawatchdog.com/putin-has-nuclear-economic-bomb-jim-sinclair/

Want to Know What's in Fort Knox? Heres the Bar List

We have discovered the US’ official bar list of “Deep Storage Gold” held at Fort Knox, Denver, and West Point, buried in a PDF file on the House Financial Services website.
Updated on Sept 30th, 2010, the document provides a full bar inventory including total bars, weights, and fineness of the US Deep Storage Gold reserves.

For all those inquiring minds wondering how much if any of the US’ gold reserve remains, the official US Deep Storage Gold bar list is below:

- Source, Silver Doctors:

http://www.silverdoctors.com/want-to-know-whats-in-fort-knox-heres-the-bar-list/

Japanese Government Says Bitcoin Not a Currency, Forms Investigation Committee

Japan’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has launched an investigative committee into bitcoin, and issued a statement saying it is “not a currency, but taxable”.

In what has become a familiar refrain from authorities around the world in recent months, the government has also blocked related banks from “brokering bitcoin transactions or opening accounts holding the virtual unit”. Exactly what constitutes a ‘bitcoin account’ remains unknown, but it presumably refers to one with a known bitcoin service like Blockchain.info or Coinbase.

This is likely a reaction to the international attention Japan has received after the collapse of Mt. Gox, which had its headquarters in Tokyo. Despite its hand being forced to make a statement by the Mt. Gox crisis, the Japanese government is generally curious about bitcoin and will not make any further statements on the matter until it has discussed matters with local bitcoin interests, a government representative said.

Representatives of the recently-formed Japan Digital Money Association, an advocacy group founded by Japanese bitcoin users and cryptocurrency miners, also consulted with LDP members with lawyers on Friday to present their case.

Obligatory statement

Bitcoin “does not fall under the category of a currency” as defined by Japanese law, Friday morning’s statement noted.

“Generally speaking it is subject to taxation if it meets conditions laid out in income tax law, corporate tax law and sales tax law, among others.”

Adding that there were no Japanese laws defining bitcoin, the statement concluded that if bitcoin was used for money laundering, ”that would constitute a crime”.

“As a matter of common sense, if there are transactions and subsequent gains, it is natural… for the finance ministry to consider how it can impose taxes,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

- Source, CoinDesk, read the full article here:

http://www.coindesk.com/japanese-government-says-bitcoin-currency-forms-investigation-committee/

Satoshi Nakamoto Denies Being Creator of Bitcoin Amid Media Frenzy

The man Newsweek named as bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto has denied any involvement with cryptocurrency.

Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, a Japanese-American resident of Los Angeles, found himself thrust into the the limelight just a day ago whenNewsweek reporter Leah McGrath Goodman claimed the anonymous, or pseudonymous, man who released bitcoin on the world had been found at last.

Newsweek ran the story on the front cover of its newly-relaunched print edition, but after being pursued through the streets of LA by reporters for a day, Nakamoto said: “I got nothing to do with it”. Yesterday, Newsweek quoted Dorian Nakamoto as saying: “I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it … it’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.”

This matches closely what the ‘real’ Satoshi Nakamoto posted on the Bitcoin Talk forum in April 2011, when he claimed not to be involved in the bitcoin project any more and had “moved on to other things”. However, when Dorian went to lunch yesterday with a reporter from the Associated Press, he claimed his comments had been taken out of context:


“I’m saying I’m no longer in engineering. That’s it. And even if I was, when we get hired, you have to sign this document, contract saying you will not reveal anything we divulge during and after employment. So that’s what I implied.”

“It sounded like I was involved before with bitcoin and looked like I’m not involved now. That’s not what I meant. I want to clarify that,” he added.

- Source, CoinDesk, read the full article here:

http://www.coindesk.com/satoshi-nakamoto-denies-bitcoin-involvement/

Gold Price Rigging Goes Mainstream

The Financial Times reports this morning that global gold prices may have been manipulated on 50% of occasions between January 2010 and December 2013, according to analysis by Fideres, a consultancy.

The findings come amid a probe by German and UK regulators into alleged manipulation of the gold price. Prices are set twice a day by Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Barclays, Bank of Nova Scotia, and Societe Generale in a process known as the London gold fixing.
Fideres’ research found the gold price frequently climbs, or falls, once a twice-daily conference call between the five banks begins, peaks or troughs, almost exactly as the call ends, and then experiences a sharp reversal,a pattern it alleged may be evidence of “collusive behavior.”

Fideres concluded that this “is indicative of panel banks’ pushing the gold price upwards on the basis of a strategy that was likely predetermined before the start of the call in order to benefit their existing positions or pending orders.”

“The behavior of the gold price is very suspicious in 50% of cases. This is not something you would expect to see if you take into account normal market factors,” said Alberto Thomas, a partner at Fideres.

- Source, The Silver Doctors:

http://www.silverdoctors.com/gold-rigging-goes-mainstream-ft-reports-evidence-of-collusive-behavior-on-london-fix/

Bank-like Bitcoin Portal Neo Opens First Branch in Cyprus

The world’s first brick-and-mortar bitcoin deposit and financial services portal, Neo, opened the doors to its flagship branch in Cyprus at 10:30am local time today.

Neo is the ‘bank-like’ arm of bitcoin business twins Neo & Bee, with Bee serving as the payment processing network. Cypriot residents will have access to services “allowing them to interact with their money like they would with Euro deposits in any traditional bank”, including deposit, savings, business and merchant accounts.

If successful, Neo promises to engrave 24th February 2014 as a landmark date in bitcoin’s history. Economist, author, and bitcoin fan Tuur Demeester attended today’s launch and is hopeful it will set a precedent for similar bitcoin services everywhere:

“Bitcoin is a hero who gives financial autonomy back to the people, that’s the gist of Neo’s marketing campaign. This is a message that really speaks to the distressed population here in Cyprus, who are now realizing that not only can they use bitcoin to regain some essential personal freedoms, but also that they can turn this crisis into an opportunity.”

- As seen on CoinDesk, read more here:

http://www.coindesk.com/bank-like-bitcoin-portal-neo-opens-first-branch-cyprus/