mines prices markets

all indications show that hiring’s are up, unemployment is slowly falling, and recovery is on track. In Europe both Greece and Portugal, have been handled. Spain and Italy are no longer looking as problematic as they were a few weeks ago.

Investors are no longer in need to a safety net. It was time to venture out to find riskier assets.

Gold is trading at 1637.25 down 56.95 joining most of the commodities trading lower today.

Gold should find a bit of support around the 1625 level, but will most likely break through, especially if there is a strong jobs report on Thursday.

Fed Chairman Bernanke today said again that the pace of the economic recovery has been “frustratingly slow.”

Don’t worry if you missed this trade there will be other chances.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke repeated that the job market is still far from healthy after signs of economic improvement over the past year, and he called on lawmakers to reduce the long-term budget deficit.

When Bernanke testifies to the Senate Budget Committee, economists expect no shifts in the Fed's efforts to bolster the recovery. They say Bernanke's tone might be slightly more upbeat than when he spoke Thursday to House members. But they expect him to reiterate the Fed's plan to keep a key interest rate at a record low near zero until at least late 2014.

The super-low rates are meant to encourage consumers and businesses to borrow and spend and further strengthen the economy.

Analysts also expect Bernanke to hold out the possibility that the Fed might launch another round of bond purchases later this year if the economy needs more support. Such purchases are intended to further drive down long-term rates....READ MORE

The websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and of El Al, the Israeli airline, were brought down Monday morning by an apparent hacking attack.

An internet hacker who calls himself Ox Omar sent an e-mail to the Jerusalem Post Monday in which he claims that together with a hacking group calling themselves "Nightmare" that the websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and that of El Al would be brought down.

Idit Yaaron, the spokeswoman for the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, told CNN that the main site of the stock exchange where the trading takes place was not harmed and operates on a very high level of Internet security. Trading has continued unaffected, she said. A secondary internet web site was affected for a short period of time.

According to Israeli reports today that the hacker "Oakes Omar," who claims to be a Saudi national, caused a drop in Tel Aviv Stock exchange by as much as 10 per cent, after it succeeded in penetrating the bourse, and failure to operate, before returning to work this morning. Reports also showed that the hacker penetrated the two sites as well as the two airlines were Israeli, before returning to work again.

The reports pointed out that the Tel Aviv Stock exchange officials are resentful of the very process that made the Stock market break down, but they confirmed that the circulation returned to normal quickly, and work as usual; because the computer system that manages the Stock market separately from the site.

For its part, called on hamas to continue and develop electronic warfare against the Israeli occupation, as noted by Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement, the recurrent and successful to penetrate the websites of the Israeli occupation.

Abu Zuhri confirmed that the breach of websites means opening a new arena from the yards of resistance to the occupation, and the start of what might be called electronic war against the Israeli occupation. Calling on the Palestinian and Arab peoples to continue in this electronic warfare, and developing them; to face the crimes of the Israeli occupation.

The hacker, "Oakes Omar" has recently succeeded in spreading an Israeli credit card numbers, and warned it will attack a number of other sensitive Israeli sites, including military sites.

On the other hand, demanded that a group of american companies operating in the field of e-commerce customers, who have their numbers up to tens of millions in America, the need to change the pin numbers for credit cards; fear of ******* to break through their websites and publish details of their cards.

The american companies, a number of websites Israeli had been ****** by a hacker, "Oakes Omar"; which led to the publication of details of more than 400 thousand credit card, most of the Israelis, in addition to the continuation of the war yen hacker Arabs and Israelis after the operation, where they had been beaten exchange Tel Aviv.

She explained it via their corporate interests of their clients and their interests require them to accelerate the need to change the pin numbers for their cards, stressing at the same time that their sites are still safe, is also being increased security measures by.....READ MORE

Since 1988, Iran reportedly opened as many as 10 uranium mines, including the Saghand uranium mine in Yazd province, as well otherwise unspecified locations in Khorassan, Sistan va Baluchestan, and Hormozgan Provinces, and in Bandar-e-Abbas and Badar-e-Lengeh Provinces along the Gulf. The Director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Reza Amrollahi, announced in 1989 that the expected reserves of these deposts was in excess of 5,000 tons.

Uranium resources of Iran were not considered rich. The results of the AEOI exploration activities had shown proven reserves of about 3,000 tons of Uranium so far. According to the discovered indices (more than 350 anomalies) and the results of the field discoveries, the expected resources of Iran could be at the range of 20,000-30,000 tons of U3O8, throughout the country. Therefore Iran's domestic reserves might be sufficient enough to supply the raw material for needed nuclear power plants in future.

A few groups had attempted to evaluate the potential of uranium resources in different geological environment by general reconnaissance in Iran before formal establishment of the Uranium Exploration and Mining Affairs element by the AEOI in 1974. In 1935 Dr. Mohammad Monnajemi, was the first one who tried to define radiation and uranium on different ore samples of Anarak ore district.

He reported that some ore samples of Kali-Kafi were radioactive. During 1959-1960 the Sarcia Mission from CEA, France and the Geological survey of Iran (GSI) did preliminary investigation for uranium resources in Anarak, Khorasan, Central Iran and Azarbaijan. During 1969-1971 CEA and GSI did reconnaissance for different parts of country by using of scintilometer, helicopter, and car for field surveying.

The survey was not directly oriented to study the relationship between crystalline rock units (as original uranium source, rock and associated sedimentary formations, or host rocks). Besides a general reconnaissance by helicopter, open profiles (2.5-8 km) for sedimentary and 1 km for granitic massifs were also carried out.

The final recommendation of CEA mission was emphasized on sedimentary and crystalline rock areas. UNDP advisor Dr. France R. Joubin in 1974 summarized world wide deposits and with respect to some of them he concluded that: 1) PE conglomeratic-type did not have much possibilities to be formed, 2) Sandstone-type were also not very probable to be found in Iran, and 3) vein-type dep

United Arab Emirates - Among the many alliances of convenience in the Middle East, one is so unusual that the partners can barely hint about it publicly: Israel and the Gulf Arab states linked...

In another step toward bringing George W. Bush’s two major wars to an end, the Obama administration is planning to transition the U.S. military role in Afghanistan to mostly advising and training... (photo: White House / Pete Souza)

Obama Peace Photos Washington Wikipedia: Presidency of Barack Obama

Washington, Nov 6 (ANI): Iran has dismissed a UN watchdog report on Tehran's nuclear programme, saying that its new intelligence on alleged nuclear weapons work by the regime is 'fabricated'. ... (photo: AP / Rudi Blaha, file) 


At U.N., Iran president again denounces U.S. 

Reporting from the United Nations—

With his now-familiar mix of bombast, politics and theater, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday denounced the United States and its European allies as colonialist "slave masters" intent on wrecking the world economy, prompting dozens of Western diplomats to walk out.

As in previous years, Ahmadinejad used his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly to condemn the United States and its allies, accusing them of causing centuries of misery. He charged that they were responsible for the suffering caused by slavery, world wars, nuclear attacks and the current global economic turmoil..... more

Mexico’s state owned Petroleos Mexicanos, also known as Pemex, intends to explore deep waters exploration in the Gulf of Mexico

In February 2012 Petroleos Mexicanos will begin drilling three exploratory wells on its maritime borders with the United States, in the Perdido Fold Belt in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico offshore sites.

Petroleos Mexicanos Pemex Exploracion y Produccion director Carlos Morales Gil said that any crude oil found on the Mexican side of the 12 square mile site "will be negotiated with under treaty terms on transboundary reservoirs with the U.S. to regulate the exploitation of the resources,” Mexico City’s el Universal newspaper reported.

Petroleos Mexicanos estimates that the Bicentennial and Pegasus West sites could contain up to a potential 3 billion barrels of oil, equivalent to 21 percent of Petroleos Mexicanos’ current proven oil reserves.

Morales Gil said that beyond the drilling of the exploratory wells, the work on the delimitation of the deposits will require an initial investment of $1 billion dollars and should the existence of reserves be confirmed, to exploit the site over the next five years will require up to $10 billion....READ MORE

Crude oil prices tipped lower Friday morning, dropping under $80 per barrel as equity markets continued to sputter in Asia, Europe and New York.

Equity markets dropped 1.3 percent in Hong Kong, 2 percent in Japan and 3.5 percent in Taiwan as an unraveling sell-off went to a third day.

Crude oil prices, pressured by debt issues in Europe and a recent report of slower manufacturing in China, are also caught up in the escalating talks of a second global recession.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, November delivery West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped to an overnight low of $77.55 per barrel before rebounding to $79.96 in late afternoon trading.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2011/09/23/Crude-oil-holds-under-80/UPI-50591316791222/

One of the greatest detriments to job creation in the US is the overseas income deferral law. This unbelievable gift to transnational corporations is at the heart of free trade, globalization, offshoring and outsourcing. Presently these corporations are sitting on $2.2 trillion in untaxed profits, which is costing the American taxpayer almost $800 billion in lost tax revenue if like in 2006 they are allowed to bring the funds back at 5-1/4% taxation. Those conglomerates want to bring those funds back into the US tax free, which means $1 trillion in lost taxes, taking advantage of the current financial situation in the US. Five years ago Congress passed legislation allowing $350 billion to be returned to the US at 5-1/4% taxation, not the normal 35%, because these corporations said they would use the funds to create jobs. Very few jobs were created and a large part of the funds were used to purchase company stock, which rose in value, allowing the officers of these corporations to sell stock from options and make billions of dollars in profit for themselves. These are the same corporations that have been responsible for the loss of 11.7 million jobs, the loss of good paying jobs 450,000 American companies and the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue. These corporations are responsible for the heart of American manufacturing being ripped out of America. It over time has spread as well into service and professional industries.

There was a secret meeting on December 24, 2010 with the president in the White House where these pressured Congress and the White House to exempt overseas corporate profits from taxation. It is our opinion that a continuation of such a policy would deprive the US of badly needed taxation. A cessation of present policy would as well help to stem the flow of jobs out of the country. This change would stop the flow of businesses leaving the US and would cause some companies to return to the US.

This policy in place is known as territorial taxation. US companies would be taxed only by the country where the funds are earned. Currently, offshore, almost all these companies are headquartered in tax havens, such as the Cayman Islands, which have no corporate taxation. Presently they put off taxation indefinitely. This law is unbelievable abusive to the American people and should be repealed forcing these entities to return all funds to the US for taxation. That would totally fund stimulus 3.

The present administration is in the back pocket of these conglomerates and the present president is supposedly considering a limited version of such taxation. The plan is currently a secret. The multinationals want to delay any kind of legislation indefinitely. These companies are pushing for general tax reform that might not come for years. The current enabling group, also known as the Super Committee, or the Super Congress, won’t act on it until they have cut the budget deficit and butchered Social Security and Medicare.

Today we see a stampede of American corporations moving offshore to take advantage of current law. They hope that even if the system is changed that they will get a better tax deal than they have now. As you can see they could care less about being good American corporate citizens, or good fellow Americans. Not only do these malefactors avoid taxation, but also they are responsible for worsening unemployment. Allowing such a travesty to continue is certainly un-American and detrimental to the future of America.

In coming full circle on the issue it would be most easily be settled by having these transnational conglomerates pay the same taxes, as domestic corporations and to re-impose tariffs on goods and services, a system that worked for the US for 210 years and created a level playing field. What we have experienced is absurd and is a travesty that is destroying America as we have known it.

We see no light at the end of the tunnel. All we get is lies and platitudes and more misdirection and propaganda. The beginning of the beginning of the end of the US and world banking system began three years ago. It was deliberate and presently the timetable is being stretched out, because of the many flaws in their original plans. In the European Union the failures were: failure to get a Constitution in place prior to the euro, the imposition in the Maastricht Treaty of public debt not to exceed 3% of GDP, which was obviously unattainable and one interest rate fits all. We pointed out these shortcomings 13 years ago, but as usual no one was listening. You are all familiar with the historical events that have taken place in the US. The myriad secret and public bailouts, much of which have yet to be disclosed, although the GAO has another report coming in December. Then there was two years ago the beginning of official criminal bookkeeping when the government, the BIS and the FASB approved corporations using two sets of books. If you were to do that you would go to jail. As you can see there are no rules anymore and within that legal structure there are two sets of rules. One for the insiders and one for us.

Conditions being what they are it is no surprise that gold and silver are moving higher in spite of market manipulation by the US government and others. The failure of all currencies vs. gold and silver continue in an orgy of debasement, except for the volatility caused by market manipulation the prices still move higher. Those who in the past have procrastinated have paid a dear price and have not protected their wealth. It is still not too late to join in with the world’ most sophisticated investors. We are in phase 2 of 4 or 5 stages of one of the greatest bull markets in history.

This past week in Warsaw, Poland we were treated to another bailout via loans and swaps. We know the swaps were for $500 billion. We are waiting for the details on the loans, which are supposed to be for 45 days. Europe has a dollar shortage because investors have been pulling their deposits out of European banks. We are sure more information will be forthcoming. Just prior and during this episode world stock markets were again run up as gold was hit for $135, and silver for $3.00. The manipulation by corporatist fascist governments continues. The powers that be have probably bought time through the end of the year, unless the German Bundestag votes against more loans for Greece and others. This latest act of desperation does not solve the situation; it only buys time. In the meantime austerity is hard to come by in countries where it is needed. The population is fighting back and will continue to do so indefinitely. The reaction varies from country, but it isn’t going to go away. Greece is a good example with demonstrations everyday in protest of austerity measure, increased taxes, lower wages and the sale of their country out from under them to bankers and others. The system in Europe, the US and UK is not going to improve anytime soon and gold and silver will continue to rise in price. For the past 20 years in varying degrees the ability of these nations to recover is questionable. Their industrial bases have been shipped to the second and third worlds and that asset stripping continues apace. Hurt the most is the US followed by the UK and then Europe. Most of this capacity has been shipped to Asia and a lesser part to Latin America. This shift or stripping has crippled the ability of these nations in trouble to pay back debt or to recover. What you are witnessing is an exercise in desperation and futility. It is not possible that they can recover without tariffs on goods and services.

As a result of European banking problems and forced de-leveraging the players found that the rally provided by the bank bailout by the Fed, BofE, BofJ and the SNB was a shock to those on the short side of the market. Albeit temporary contracts expired and losses had to be taken. Even those short gold and silver shares were surprised as they rallied strongly from a long oversold position. Government continues to spend billions to knock down gold, silver and the shares as soon as pressure is exhausted these irrespective of what government does investments come roaring back, thus, one should expect irrespective of what government does that these investments are in a new mode of resilience that cannot easily be dispelled. The pros know all these market mini-rallies are the result of government policies of flooding money and credit into the system, or by direct intervention. Those who have figured out what government is doing are making a fortune. Those who do not get it are paying the price. The next thing to pay attention to is the plight of sovereign nations and their debt. Yes, banks are in liquidity shortage in Europe and so are countries. That was three years ago but the plight of countries is far worse in Europe this time. They have gotten a temporary reprieve, but this does not solve the problem.

All it takes is common sense to realize financial and economic things are going to get worse. All central banks are doing is continually debasing their currencies. That does not solve the problems, leads to higher inflation and higher gold and silver prices. We got involved in gold and silver in 1959, because we could see by what the Fed and government were doing that the monetary system that holds the western world together was being broken. This meant that eventually gold and silver would have to move higher. We were correct and it has moved higher over the years. In fact, the battle has become acrimonious within countries as bailouts become larger and more numerous. Deficits are never reduced; they are just increased. Some believe gold and silver are over priced. This is the same group that said the same things about silver when it was at lower prices, as well as gold. Politicians, Wall Street and banking thought that debt extension of $16.7 trillion would carry them through the next election. They were wrong and we believe it won’t carry them through the next election. They were wrong and we believe they will need $1 to $2 trillion more before November 2012. In Europe a number of failures are just over the horizon. There is no letup in the accumulation of debt in the US, UK and Europe. The sectors are enraptured with the creation of money and credit to solve their ills. This is the only avenue left open and they fully admit it. None of the governments understand that if you have austerity an economy cannot grow. Sooner or later the world’s stock markets will fall. What will they do then? Can they have zero interest rates indefinitely? We do not think so. The real estate market is nowhere near recovery. We have banks being accused of fraud; that is novel. The crooks usually get away with it.

Whether you like it or not gold will soon be over $2,000. Banks are very short both gold and silver, and are in danger of insolvency once gold and silver rise higher. Three weeks ago gold and silver shares finally came under accumulation by institutions and we see that continuing simply because the shares have been oversold for so long. We expect these shares to return to their former status, not at 20 or 30 times earnings, but at 150 times earnings.

That will happen in time. One of the really compelling conditions is the commercial net short position in silver that continues to increase. Since early July some 2-1/2 months ago the cash market in silver has been up about $8.00 or almost 24%. During that period commercial traders have increased their net contracts by some 18,000, obviously in an effort to protect previous short positions. That is about a 62% increase. At sometime in the future they have to cover and that is not going to be easy or painless. If the recent past is any example short covering will come with higher prices. As you can see there is still a titanic struggle in motion in particularly the silver market, which we see being resolved to the upside. Not only the status of monetary metals aid silver and gold, but this is the inflation factor caused by the massive usage of money and credit and also the fiscal and monetary turmoil in the US, UK and Europe. In Europe it has been two years and the Greek bailout situation has not been solved, nor has the financial aid needed to assist the other five borderline bankrupts. Later next week the German Bundestag will decide whether there will be any more bailouts, which the German voters are strongly against. A pro bailout vote by Congress could lead to demonstrations, rioting and perhaps more. In the more than 55 years we have known the German people we have never seen them more incensed. As you can see the prices in gold and silver have a lot going for them and that is why they will move higher, sweeping all opposition aside. This has been our contention since June 2000 and it will continue to be so.

Mr. Goldsmith, a former mayor of Indianapolis, was brought in by Mr. Bloomberg last year with much fanfare: a Harvard professor and expert in innovation poached from the ivory tower to reinvent city government.

But Mr. Goldsmith never seemed to master the day-to-day mechanics of New York’s sprawling government or relish the political intricacies of the job, and dissatisfaction with his performance became widespread in City Hall, according to two aides to Mr. Bloomberg who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of angering the mayor.

Mr. Goldsmith informed Mr. Bloomberg of his resignation this week. He is being replaced by Caswell F. Holloway, the commissioner of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection.

The departure is another setback for the mayor’s effort to bring fresh-faced outsiders — like Mr. Goldsmith and the publishing executive Cathleen P. Black, who briefly served as schools chancellor — into his administration to energize his third term.

In a statement, Mr. Goldsmith said he was leaving the administration to return to academic work and to pursue opportunities in the financial sector, though he has not yet lined up a job. Friends described his resignation as abrupt; he had been scheduling meetings and discussing policy proposals as recently as last week.

Mr. Goldsmith did not respond to interview requests on Thursday. “The change will provide me, at age 64, with more flexibility for me and my family and a secure foundation for our future,” he said in the statement.

Mr. Goldsmith, like Ms. Black, was seen by Mr. Bloomberg as a bold choice who could help shape what has seemed at times to be an unfocused third term. Instead, both of them clashed with those they supervised, struggled to master their jobs and became the subject of open sniping in City Hall.

Mr. Goldsmith’s position, as deputy mayor of operations, made him responsible for the city agencies by which New Yorkers measure the efficiency of their government: police, fire, transportation, sanitation and buildings.

His most visible moment on the job was also perhaps his lowest: he became the face of the city’s lackluster response to the Dec. 26 snowstorm. Many of the top city officials, including Mr. Bloomberg, were out of town during the storm. Mr. Goldsmith had been at his home in the Georgetown section of Washington, and on the evening of the snowstorm, he posted a message on his Twitter feed praising city workers, which many snowbound New Yorkers saw as out of touch. “Good snow work,” he wrote.

At a raucous City Council hearing after the blizzard, Mr. Goldsmith apologized several times and acknowledged wide-ranging mistakes.

From the day he took office in June 2010, Mr. Goldsmith, who regarded himself as a management guru but knew little about New York’s vast bureaucracy, repeatedly frustrated his colleagues, according to interviews with City Hall aides and advisers.

In his first major labor move, Mr. Goldsmith overruled the advice of some longtime city officials by announcing plans to demote 100 supervisors from the Sanitation Department and return them to the front lines.

The decision had two immediate consequences. It infuriated the head of the sanitation workers union, Harry Nespoli, who, as the leader of the powerful Municipal Labor Council, plays a crucial role in the city’s labor relations. And it angered the work force responsible for clearing snow just weeks before the blizzard.

Mr. Nespoli said Mr. Goldsmith had failed to listen to his warnings about low staffing levels and morale in the Sanitation Department. “You don’t come in and say, ‘I was in Indianapolis, and this is what we did there,’ ” he said. “That doesn’t work in New York.”

City Hall aides complained that, in meetings, Mr. Goldsmith emphasized management theory over political pragmatism. As a result, they said, conversations devolved at times into convoluted academic discussions that resolved little.

When City Hall staff members met to discuss the growing public outcry over the reconstruction of a major roadway in the Bronx, which was hurting beloved local trees, Mr. Goldsmith engaged in a discourse about eliminating risk in government. Those in the room were befuddled, according to people with knowledge of the meeting.

All eyes have been on the plummeting stock market lately. Fewer have noted that the nation’s debt problems have sent the dollar into a downward spiral against currencies like the Swiss Franc and the Japanese Yen. It’s even losing ground against the battered Euro.

Now that stocks are tumbling, too, lawmakers may be more aware of the consequences of their bickering and inaction. In the meantime, however, the buck’s slide is taking a serious toll on many investors and retirees, not to mention our collective ego.

Let’s start with the ego thing.

The Chinese, who have at times pegged their currency to the dollar, are all over this issue, bullying us like we’re wimps on a playground. The Wall Street Journal reports that:

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency published biting commentary stating that the new debt-ceiling deal “failed to defuse Washington’s time bomb for good, only delaying an immediate detonation by making the fuse an inch longer.”

A small Chinese credit-ratings company downgraded U.S. debt and gave it a negative outlook. We’re now on par with Russia, South Africa and Estonia, according to the firm.

China’s central bank chief, Zhou Xiaochuan, called us out for inadequately addressing our debt problems, which he says, “encumber the global economic recovery.” China is the U.S.’s biggest foreign creditor and is increasingly looking for non-dollar investments for its massive reserve.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is even pushing us around, calling the U.S. a “parasite” on the global economy.

This trash talk isn’t easy to stomach. So it’s become a presidential ritual to say the nation wants a strong dollar — or to say nothing at all — even as policymakers quietly embrace the weakening buck. It’s true that a weak dollar will, eventually, have salutary effects on U.S. exporters, whose goods become more competitively priced overseas — and that, eventually, will strengthen the economy. But in the meantime it’s a mixed bag for investors and retirees.

U.S. stocks have been under extreme pressure since the debt-ceiling deal, signaling worries that our increasingly limited options are shoving us toward a double-dip recession. Now, some are arguing that Treasury bonds are no longer risk free. Ouch. If such thinking spreads, interest rates are going higher.

In this environment, investors should tread cautiously in the stock market and lean toward foreign companies, U.S. and foreign multinationals, and small-to-midsized U.S. companies with a big export business. An immediate fixed annuity from a top-rated insurer along with short-term Treasury securities (rates may go up; you need instruments you can hold to maturity) is a good way to spread your risk with an income stream.

Retirees most likely to feel the effects of the weak dollar are those living on a fixed-income. As the dollar falls, foreign products get more expensive at home and a retirees’ income doesn’t go as far. Buying U.S.-made things will partly offset the markup. But just try finding a cell phone, light bulb, laptop or flat-screen TV made in the States.

Retirees who want to travel or even relocate overseas will feel the pinch. Your dollar-denominated income won’t go as far in many countries. Consider a trip (or relocation) to a place like Panama, where the currency is pegged to the dollar. That will be easier on your wallet, even if it does not suit your ego.

Read more: http://moneyland.time.com/2011/08/05/how-the-falling-dollar-and-er-stocks-changes-your-retirement/#ixzz1U9mxryEA

SAN DIEGO, CA, July 29, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Blackburn Gold & Silver Refining is expanding its reach with two websites aimed at attracting new customers across California and the Baja peninsula. As the only San Diego gold refinery that refines precious metals (gold, silver, and platinum) locally, Blackburn Gold & Silver Refining is able to offer its customers quick, convenient, and high returns for their scrap gold and scrap silver.

The flagship website for the California precious metals refinery is located at SanDiegoGoldRefinery.com, where potential customers can learn about the refining and gold buying services that the company offers to the public and area businesses. Jewelry stores, pawn shops, and gold buyers can both refine and sell gold and silver to the San Diego refinery. The public can also sell gold and sell silver to Blackburn Gold & Silver Refining, cutting out the middle man and getting more cash for gold and cash for silver.

The company's subsidiary website targeting businesses and individual silver and gold sellers in Baja California, Mexico is TijuanaGoldRefinery.com. "We have a number of large pawn shops and gold buyers in Mexico who visit us regularly. They enjoy being able to sit with us in a secure, private buy room, and working with one of our Spanish speaking buyers who go through their items one by one with them over a period of 3-4 hours," says Carl Blackburn, owner of Blackburn Gold & Silver Refining, which is a division of Blackburn's company SDJB, Southern California's premier estate jewelry buyer and luxury pawn shop.

Blackburn adds that it is more convenient for most Southern California jewelry stores, gold buyers, and pawn shops to sell gold, sell silver, or sell platinum with his refinery, than it is to ship their scrap gold and other precious metals to a distant precious metals refiner and deal with the packing, shipping, waiting for a check, etc. In addition, there are no minimum amounts required for immediate cash for gold customers, be they B2B customers or individual gold sellers.

Business customers who don't want immediate cash for gold from Blackburn Gold & Silver Refining can have their scrap gold refined and returned to them as pure gold. These customers must have at least 20 ounces of actual gold to be refined, which usually turns out to be about a 30 ounce lot of mixed karat (14K, 18K, 22K, etc.) jewelry. Blackburn's San Diego gold refinery will then provide the customer a 97.5% pure gold return on the amount of gold that exists after the melting and refining process in complete. A precious gemstone recovery service is also provided.

Southern & Baja California jewellers, pawn shops, and gold buyers, as well as individual gold sellers, are encouraged to visit SanDiegoGoldRefinery.com for more information on how to Sell Gold the Smart Way and get more cash for gold. To schedule a free verbal market appraisal of your gold jewelry, scrap gold, gold bullion coins, and other gold merchandise please call 619-550-4540.

Free parking is provided with a confirmed appointment. Their San Diego gold refinery offices are conveniently located inside SDJB in the San Diego Gaslamp Quarter and open from 9am - 6pm weekdays and 10am - 5pm on Saturdays. Special appointment outside regular business hours can also be arranged for large B2B gold sellers.

Located in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego, Blackburn Gold & Silver refining is the San Diego gold refinery division of SDJB, Southern California's favorite buyer and seller of pre-owned precious metal assets, fine jewelry, and luxury fashion accessories.

Website: http://sandiegogoldrefinery.com

Someone dropped a bomb on the bond market Thursday – a $1 billion Armageddon trade betting the United States will lose its AAA credit rating.

In one moment, an invisible trader placed a single trade that moved the most liquid debt market in the world.

The massive trade wasn't placed in bonds themselves; it was placed in the futures market.

The trade was for block trades of 5,370 10-year Treasury futures executed at 124-03 and 3,100 Treasury bond futures executed at 125-01.

The value of the trade was about $850 million dollars. In simple terms, if that was a direct bond buy, no one would be talking about it.

However, with the use of futures, you have to have margin capacity behind the trade. That means with a single push of a button someone was willing to commit more than $1 billion of real capital to this trade with expectations of a 10-to-1 return ratio.

You only do this if you see an edge.

This means someone is confident that the United States is either going to default or is going to lose its AAA rating. That someone is willing to bet the proverbial farm that U.S. interest rates will be going up.

I believe what happened is a debt-ceiling deal was done in Washington and leaked to a major proprietary trader. Everyone knows the debt negotiations in Washington have been an extreme game of brinksmanship between political parties, but now someone knows how that game played out.

This had the hallmarks of one of the largest bond shops in the world knowing something the rest of the market didn't.

The number of shops or even central banks that can take on this level of market risk is extremely small. Some that come to mind are hedge fund manager John Paulson, Bill Gross's PIMCO, and the U.S. and Chinese central banks.

Paulson already scored big – about $6 billion big – on a similar trade years ago when he bet against subprime mortgages, the investments that helped bring down Lehman Bros. and many other investors.

Whoever was behind it wanted a trade on ASAP, and didn't care about the ripples they would cause.

America’s fate is in our hands and time is running out.

July 27, 2011 – Once again both gold and silver soared in early trading – gold shot past $1,626 and silver climbed well over $41. The prices will likely moderate if the recent pattern holds, but something is definitely in the air. Maybe investors sense that something much bigger than default is looming over America.

In the Daily Reckoning Bill Bonner presents a compelling argument that we stand at a crucial fork in the road: Straight ahead lies the end of the American Empire, while the path to the right leads back to the American Republic. While the politicians crack their whips herding us forward the markets urge us to take the other course.

Politics is all about control. In the 19th century our government extended its control westward to the Pacific in the righteous name of manifest destiny. Still not satiated, our government perverted its constitutional duty to protect its citizens to mean “making the world safe for democracy,” thereby extending its influence into every corner of the globe.

“Trouble is,” Bonner says, “politics is expensive and unproductive. The more of it you have – either at home or abroad – the poorer you become... until you can no longer afford it. That's the situation we're in now.”

It happened without the slightest debate. Nobody was called on to justify the ruinous course they had set us on. You see, we the people were also drunk on power. We were calling the shots, we liked how it felt, and we were determined to never back down. “In all the many examples of empires,” Bonner says, “none...not one...ever backed up. None ever renounced its imperial destiny. None ever thought better of it.” And none ever survived.

Americans are a proud people and we need a source for our pride, something to believe in. Nowadays, about all we have left is our military. In one way or another every one of our other cherished institutions has stabbed us in the back. So you go along with the imperial agenda, “even when it brings you close to extinction.”

Politics has gone to great lengths to demonize the alternative – the markets. Left to their own devices markets survive by bringing people together in mutually equitable agreement. It is political meddling in the markets – not the markets themselves – that has left a bitter taste in our mouths.

We hold America’s fate in our hands. Although most of those we put in office in 2010 have been swept up in the imperial agenda, “some people in the Tea Party...and even in the Republican Party...see what has happened.” We need many more like them, those who will heed the markets’ warnings and lead America back to greatness.

mines,gold,silver,oil,gazz,coal,prices,market,asia, europa,america,africa

Commodities were mixed Friday with silver and oil prices declining while gold advanced (see commodities charts below). In Asia, energy was higher but precious metals were lower.

Gold, platinum, palladium and copper were higher on Friday, but silver declined again (see survey #2 settle price chart below). Silver has fallen three days straight.

August gold on the COMEX jumped $9.70 (+0.63%) to $1,542.40 a troy ounce. For the week, the golden metal is up 1.29 percent.

The ratio between gold and silver continues to grow. The ratio was 43 on Friday. Silver for July delivery fell 0.01 (-0.03%) to $36.19 an ounce.

In Tokyo, gold and silver closed the week lower (see Tokyo Commodity Exchange Chart below). Silver was down 4.49 percent over the last 5-day period. The precious metal fell 3 yen (-3.21%) to 93.5 yen per gram on Friday. That works out to $35.97 an ounce.

Gold fell only slightly on TOCOM. Platinum and palladium were lower on Friday but were higher for the week. Both of those metals were higher in the United States.

Poor economic news this week may have helped push gold futures higher in the U.S.

Energy Prices

Light sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell 0.18 (-0.18%) to $100.22 a barrel.

Negative economic news could put downward pressure on oil prices. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the unemployment rate increased from 9 percent to 9.1 percent.

Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) was higher Friday, up $1.31 (+1.14%) to $11.84 a barrel.

In Tokyo, oil and gasoline prices were higher Friday (see TOCOM chart below). For the week, both were down.

Agricultural Commodities

Agriculture futures were mixed Friday (see survey #1 chart below). Cocoa, corn and cotton were lower. Cocoa was down 4.46 percent for the week and cotton was down 8.16 percent.

Soybean, sugar and coffee were higher. Over the last week sugar was up 4.67 percent. Ports in Brazil have been congested and this could lead to higher sugar prices, according to Bloomberg.

Lean hogs were down 0.28 to 87.93 cents per pound. Live cattle futures were higher.