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Prison Planet.com » “I Will Never Sell My Gold,” Marc Faber Warns ...
Barclays Fined For Manipulating Price Of Gold For A Decade ...
ECB: Gold “Important” And No Plan To Sell Significant Quantity Of ...
Marc Faber – I Buy Gold Every Month – I Will Never Sell My Gold ...
Barclays Fined For Manipulating Price Of Gold For A ... - Oath Keepers

Prison Planet.com » “I Will Never Sell My Gold,” Marc Faber Warns ...

Posted: 25 May 2014 07:33 AM PDT

Zero Hedge
May 25, 2014

While the S&P 500 closed at record highs (and VIX near record lows), Marc Faber says the"momentum sell-off has caused serious internal damage to the market," with many of the most-loved and most-levered stocks down 30-50%. Interestingly Faber warns that if bond bears are correct and rates rise to 4% then stock prices "will really tumble." But it is China that worries him the most. Faber warns that Chinese growth figures are a fallacy and that "if one analyzes the data carefully" it is clear that "China is growing at most 4%" and given the"gigantic credit bubble" the outlook is not hopeful as the sharp deceleration in growth is likely to continue. Faber also has strong words for Western nations treatment of the rest of the world and "the US will have to back off.. because China is so important."

"Momentum Sell-off has caused internal market damage"

"Gigantic credit bubble in china"

Full Interview (well worth the price of admission):

Western nations don't realize "you can't treat other nations the way you treated them in the 19th Centrury… China is so large and so important to its neighbors that the US will have to back off"

"People think they know what the future holds… and what Central banks are up to.. they don't… I will never sell my gold and I buy more every month… I would not be short gold"

"Every asset in the world is over-inflated right now…"

"I like the concept of Bitcoin"

This article was posted: Sunday, May 25, 2014 at 9:33 am

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Barclays Fined For Manipulating Price Of Gold For A Decade ...

Posted: 23 May 2014 03:56 AM PDT

It was almost inevitable: a week after we wrote "From Rothschild To Koch Industries: Meet The People Who "Fix" The Price Of Gold" and days after "Barclays' Head Of Gold Trading, And Gold "Fixer", Is Leaving The Bank", earlier today the UK Financial Conduct Authority finally formalized what most in the "tin-foil" hat community had known for years, when it announced that it fined Barclays £26 million for manipulating "the setting of the price of gold in order to avoid paying out on a client order." Furthermore, the FCA confirmed that those inexplicable gold raids which come as if out of nowhere, and slam gold with a vicious force so strong sometime they halt the entire market, had a very specific source: Barclays, whose trader Daniel James Plunkett, born 1976, "sent out a burst of orders aimed at moving the price of the yellow metal."

This took place for a decade. As the FT reports:

The FCA said Barclays had failed to "adequately manage conflicts of interest between itself and its customers as well as systems and controls failings, in relation to the gold fixing" between 2004 and 2013.

Some further details on Plunkett's preferred means of manipulating the gold price.

The FCA said Mr Plunkett had manipulated the market by placing, withdrawing and re-placing a large sell order for between 40,000 oz and 60,000 oz of gold bars.

He did this in an attempt to pull off a "mini puke", which the FCA took to mean a sharp fall in the price of gold. As a result, the bank was not obliged to make a $3.9m payment to the customer under an option contract.

Which is precisely what we have shown many times here for example in "Vicious Gold Slamdown Breaks Gold Market For 20 Seconds", when a sell order so aggressive comes in it not only takes out the entire bid stack with an intent not for "best execution" but solely to reprice the market lower. Recall from September:

There was a time when, if selling a sizable amount of a security, one tried to get the best execution price and not alert the buyers comprising the bid stack that there is (substantial) volume for sale. Of course, there was and always has been a time when one tried to manipulate prices by slamming the bid until it was fully taken out, usually just before close of trading, an illegal practice known as "banging the close." It appears that when it comes to gold, the former is long gone history, and the latter is perfectly legal. As the two charts below from Nanex demonstrate, overnight just before 3 am Eastern, a block of just 2000 GC gold futures contracts slammed the price of gold, on no news as usual, sending it lower by $10/oz. However, that is not new: such slamdowns happen every day in the gold market, and the CFTC constantly turns a blind eye. What was different about last night's slam however, is that this time whoever was doing the forced, manipulation selling, just happened to also break the market. Indeed: following the hit, the entire gold market was NASDARKed for 20 seconds after a circuit breaker halted trading!

To summarize: a humble block of 2000 gold futs (GC) taking out the bid stack, and slamming the price of gold, managed to halt the gold market: one of the largest "asset" markets in the world in terms of total notional, for 20 seconds.

And Mr. Plunkett in action:

To be sure Barclays was truly sorry, and pinky swears that having been caught manipulating the gold market for ten years it will never do it again:

The news is also a fresh blow to Barclays' chief executive Antony Jenkins as he tries to overhaul the culture of the London-based lender. Mr Jenkins took over 18 months ago after his predecessor, Bob Diamond, stepped down amid the Libor scandal.

Analysts said the fine reflected badly on the industry – as well as the hard-charging, revenue-focused business model that Barclays had previously been operating.

Mr Jenkins said in a statement on Friday: "We very much regret the situation that led to this settlement . . . These situations strengthen our resolve to improve." The bank discovered the misconduct after the client complained. It then reported the incident to the regulator, for which it received a 30 per cent discount on its fine for co-operation.

Ian Gordon, analyst at Investec, said that in pure financial terms, the fine was "utterly inconsequential, both in a group context, and in relation to the quantum of other conduct costs". He was referring specifically to the bank's provisions for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance and interest rate hedging products

So a wrist slap, we get that. One wouldn't expect more - after all the banks run the show. And yet, one wonders: is this just a case of "Fab Tourre-ing" the scandal, and redirecting all attention to just one (preferably junior) person? To be sure, this one trader made handsome profits from gold manipulation...

Mr Plunkett boosted his trading book by $1.8m at the expense of a customer, who was later compensated. He has now been banned from "performing any function in relation to any regulated activity" and fined £95,600. At the time, Barclays was one of five banks that set the price of the precious metal twice a day. Tracey McDermott, the FCA's director of enforcement and financial crime, said: "A firm's lack of controls and a trader's disregard for a customer's interests have allowed the financial services industry's reputation to be sullied again."

... but is this just an attempt by the FCA to pass this off as the proverbial "only cockroach", especially when as we reported earlier this week, none other than Barclays head of trading Marc Booker quietly left dodge?

The speculation is further heightened when one considers that Plunkett had left Barclays nearly two years ago in October 2012! According to his FCA record:

Prior to Barclays Plunkett worked as a lowly junior trader at Dresdner and RBC - and this is the a manipulation mastermind? Further, considering the FCA found failures at Barclays starting in 2004 and Plunkett only joined in 2006, can the FCA please disclose who else was the frontman for gold manipulation at Barclays in the 2004-2006 period?

This is what the FCA had to say on the matter of young master Plunkett:

Plunkett was a Director on the Precious Metals Desk at Barclays and was responsible for pricing products linked to the price of precious metals and managing Barclays' risk exposure to those products.

Plunkett was responsible for pricing and managing Barclays' risk on a digital exotic options contract (the Digital) that referenced the price of gold during the 3:00 p.m. Gold Fixing on 28 June 2012. If the price fixed above US$1,558.96 (the Barrier) during the 3:00 p.m. Gold Fixing on 28 June 2012, then Barclays would be required to make a payment to its customer. But if the price fixed below the Barrier, Barclays would not have to make that payment.

During the 3:00 p.m. Gold Fixing on 28 June 2012, Plunkett placed certain orders with the intent of increasing the likelihood that the price of gold would fix below the Barrier, which it eventually did. As a result, Barclays was not obligated to make the US$3.9m payment to its customer, and Plunkett's book profited by US$1.75m (excluding hedging), which was in addition to an initial profit that his book had received upon the sale of the Digital.

Very shortly after the conclusion of the 3:00 p.m. Gold Fixing on 28 June 2012, the customer became aware that the price had fixed just below the Barrier and sought an explanation from Barclays as to what happened in the Gold Fixing. When Barclays relayed the customer's concerns to Plunkett on 28 and 29 June 2012, he failed to disclose that he had placed orders and traded during the Gold Fixing. Further, Plunkett misled both Barclays and the FCA by providing an account of events that was untruthful.

Plunkett's misconduct is particularly serious because he preferred his interests over those of a customer and his actions had the potential to have an adverse effect on the Gold Fixing and the UK and international financial markets.

It would appear that Plunkett is indeed nothing more than another instance of "Kerviel" or "Tourre" - an irrelevant mid-level trader thrown at the wolves of public consumption just so the attention can be redirected from the real manipulation elsewhere, and much higher up.

This is hardly surprising, as we noted three days ago when we wrote about the Barclays head gold trader termination:

"Bottom line: just like the Silver Fixing which last week announced its winddown, the days of the 117-year-old Gold fix are numbered. But to preserve continuity of riggedness and manipulation, perhaps they can just outsource their job duties to the biggest manipulators of all: Bank of England, the Fed and, of course, the BIS."

So yes: it is now a fact that gold is manipulated by various commercial banks, and that those gold "raids" one sees every morning usually around the time of the London fix aren't accidental at all but are entirely designed to reprice the market, but how deeper does the rabbit hole go?

[FCA Director Tracy] McDermott added: "Firms should be in no doubt that the spotlight will remain on wholesale conduct and we will hold them to account if they fail to meet our standards."

Alas, this is a lie - by handing Plunkett to the public on a silver platter, it simply means that the far bigger and more important players in the gold manipulation market - stretching all the way to central bank and, of course, bank of central bank level, will simply be allowed to continue business "as usual."

So for those who want the real people behind the real manipulation before they all scatter into the dust, we urge you to reread "From Rothschild To Koch Industries: Meet The People Who "Fix" The Price Of Gold." Because the gold manipulation rabbit hole goes far, far deeper than just one single, solitary trader...

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ECB: Gold “Important” And No Plan To Sell Significant Quantity Of ...

Posted: 19 May 2014 06:23 AM PDT

Today's AM fix was USD 1,301.00, EUR 948.67 and GBP 773.85 per ounce.

Friday's AM fix was USD 1,293.75, EUR 943.17 and GBP 769.72 per ounce.

Gold fell $2.50 or 0.19% Friday to $1,293.10/oz. Silver slipped $0.12 or 0.62% to $19.36/oz. Gold and silver both finished up for the week at 0.34% and 1.10% respectively.

Gold moved higher today in euros, pounds and dollars after the ECB and 21 other central banks announced a new gold agreement. The new agreement was expected but the timing was unexpected as the last agreement was not due to expire until September 27.

Gold in Euros - 5 Minutes, 1 Day (Thomson Reuters)

The crisis in Ukraine and risk of increased tensions between Russia and the west continues to provide

support for gold. A further deterioration in relations seems likely and should push gold higher.

Also supporting gold is the likelihood that the incoming government in India will relax import restrictions and duties, in the world's second largest buyer.

Over the weekend, incoming Indian leader Modi told thousands of supporters that he represents a break from past governments after winning the nation's biggest electoral mandate in 30 years. Last week, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said that the new Indian finance minister will decide on easing gold import curbs.

Gold in Euros -Monthy, 1999 to May 19, 2014 (Thomson Reuters)

Gold "Important" And ECB No Plan To Sell Significant Quantity Of Gold
The ECB, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Riksbank of Sweden announced a new gold agreement this morning. They announced they have no plans to sell significant quantities of gold and reaffirmed the importance of gold bullion as a monetary reserve.

Twenty one central banks including the ECB, the central banks of the euro area (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain), the SNB and the Riksbank announced the fourth gold agreement between the central banks for the next 5 years.

In a joint statement, the central banks confirmed their intentions with regard to their gold holdings and the participants in the gold agreement made the following declaration:

- Gold remains an important element of global monetary reserves.

- The participants in the gold agreement will continue to coordinate their gold transactions so

as to avoid market disturbances.

- The participants currently have no plans to sell any substantial quantities of gold.

The press release from the SNB can be read here.

The agreement, which applies as of 27 September 2014, following the expiry of the current

agreement, will be reviewed in five years' time. The first gold agreement was concluded in

1999 in order to coordinate planned gold sales by the different central banks. The

agreement was extended in 2004 and 2009.

Official Gold Reserves in Tonnes – Developed Countries vs Emerging Countries
Official Gold Reserves in Tonnes – Developed Countries vs Emerging Countries

The timing of the announcement was unexpected as the current agreement does not expire until September.

It is understandable that the central banks value their gold as "important element of global monetary reserves," given the still lingering economic problems in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Cyprus and continuing ultra loose monetary policies in the Eurozone - with the possibility of negative interest rates.

Thus, European central banks are likely to continue to be reluctant to sell their substantial gold reserves which total of 10,779.3 tonnes or 8,972.6 tonnes ( EU G6).

There is also the fact that while Eurozone banks balance sheets have recovered somewhat, many are far from robust and remain vulnerable. Should there be a 'Black Swan' event or economies slow down again, central banks may require their gold reserves in order to maintain confidence in the single currency and other fiat currencies.

It is believed that there is little appetite for a new gold agreement among the rest of the world and among the emerging market central banks such as China. Most of the central banks that were signatories to the Washington Agreement, clearly do not want to sell their gold reserves.

The World Gold Council released data showing that global official gold reserves totalled 31,890.7 tons as of February, 2014. Of this total figure, the euro area held a total of 10,779.3 tons making it the largest holder of gold reserves in the world with 36.6% of the total global gold reserves.

The second largest holder of gold reserves is the U.S. with 8,133.5 tonnes.

China's central bank gold reserves data has remained at 1,054 tons since the beginning of 2009. No change has occurred in 4 and a half years, despite most market participants believing that China is quietly accumulating gold reserves. China is likely to announce a sharp increase in their reserves to over 3,000 or 4,000 tonnes in the coming months.

The previous European gold agreement, agreed in August 2009, committed the central banks to sell no more than 400 tonnes per year and no more than 2,000 tonnes in the five-year period.

Sales under the current pact have only totalled around 200 tonnes, 10 times less than was permissible. The global and Eurozone debt crisis created a new found awareness of gold as a safe haven monetary asset.

This reluctance to sell gold is likely to continue. Indeed, many central banks are already under pressure to repatriate their gold reserves from the UK and the U.S.

Official Gold Reserves as a Percentage of Total Foreign Currency Reserves
Official Gold Reserves as a Percentage of Total Foreign Currency Reserves

Gold reserves and the price of gold are closely watched on financial and foreign exchange markets - as a barometer of inflation expectations, of systemic risk and of confidence in fiat currencies.

The central banks at the time of the first agreement, the Washington agreement, affirmed that gold remained an important part of the global monetary system, setting the basis for a long and upward trend for the gold price.

The initial statement does not mention the sales ceiling for the pact and some market participants are surprised they did not reaffirm the sales ceiling. The European Central Bank has told Reuters that there is indeed no formal ceiling included in the new CBGA.

There was no mention of gold leasing and the use of futures and options by central banks in the agreement. There was in 1999 and 2004 but not in 2009 and again now.

The Bank of England did not sign the agreement. The Bank of England signed the first Washington Agreement in 1999 but opted out in 2004 and 2009.

The opt out may be because the UK gold reserves are now insubstantial. By signing the agreement, the BOE might again draw attention to Gordon Brown's controversial decision to sell gold.

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Marc Faber – I Buy Gold Every Month – I Will Never Sell My Gold ...

Posted: 23 May 2014 09:21 AM PDT

May 22 (Bloomberg) –- Marc Faber, managing director and founder of Marc Faber Ltd., and Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, discuss Gold,Assets, Bitcoin, the state of the Chinese economy and the outlook for the U.S. stock market with Trish Regan on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)

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Barclays Fined For Manipulating Price Of Gold For A ... - Oath Keepers

Posted: 23 May 2014 11:35 AM PDT

gold

If you haven't yet realized that ALL financial markets are rigged, it is time you opened your eyes. – Shorty Dawkins, Associate Editor

This article comes from ZeroHedge.com

by Tyler Durden

This took place for a decade. As the FT reports:

The FCA said Barclays had failed to "adequately manage conflicts of interest between itself and its customers as well as systems and controls failings, in relation to the gold fixing" between 2004 and 2013.

Some further details on Plunkett's preferred means of manipulating the gold price.

The FCA said Mr Plunkett had manipulated the market by placing, withdrawing and re-placing a large sell order for between 40,000 oz and 60,000 oz of gold bars.

He did this in an attempt to pull off a "mini puke", which the FCA took to mean a sharp fall in the price of gold. As a result, the bank was not obliged to make a $3.9m payment to the customer under an option contract.

"There was a time when, if selling a sizable amount of a security, one tried to get the best execution price and not alert the buyers comprising the bid stack that there is (substantial) volume for sale. Of course, there was and always has been a time when one tried to manipulate prices by slamming the bid until it was fully taken out, usually just before close of trading, an illegal practice known as "banging the close." It appears that when it comes to gold, the former is long gone history, and the latter is perfectly legal. As the two charts below from Nanex demonstrate, overnight just before 3 am Eastern, a block of just 2000 GC gold futures contracts slammed the price of gold, on no news as usual, sending it lower by $10/oz. However, that is not new: such slamdowns happen every day in the gold market, and the CFTC constantly turns a blind eye. What was different about last night's slam however, is that this time whoever was doing the forced, manipulation selling, just happened to also break the market. Indeed: following the hit, the entire gold market was NASDARKed for 20 seconds after a circuit breaker halted trading!
"To summarize: a humble block of 2000 gold futs (GC) taking out the bid stack, and slamming the price of gold, managed to halt the gold market: one of the largest "asset" markets in the world in terms of total notional, for 20 seconds."

Sell gold | Prison Planet.com » “I Will Never Sell My Gold,” Marc Faber Warns ...

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