Author: Sirhc

Merrill Lynch Caught Criminally Manipulating Precious Metals Market “Thousands Of Times” Over 6 Years

Sirhc

Remember when it was pure tinfoil-hat conspiracy theory to accuse one or more banks of aggressively, compulsively and systematically manipulating the precious metals – i.e., gold and silver – market? We do, after all we made the claim over and over, while demonstrating clearly just how said manipulation was taking place, often in real time.

Well, it’s always good to be proven correct, even if it is years after the fact.

On Tuesday after the close, the CFTC announced that Merrill Lynch Commodities (MLCI), a global commodities trading business, agreed to pay $25 million to resolve the government’s investigation into a multi-year scheme by MLCI precious metals traders to mislead the market for precious metals futures contracts traded on the COMEX (Commodity Exchange Inc.). The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office. In other words, if the Merrill Lynch Commodities group was an individual, he would have gotten ye olde perp walk.

As MLCI itself admitted, beginning in 2008 and continuing through 2014, precious metals traders employed by MLCI schemed to deceive other market participants by injecting materially false and misleading information into the precious metals futures market.

They did so in the now traditional market manipulation way – by placing fraudulent orders for precious metals futures contracts that, at the time the traders placed the orders, they intended to cancel before execution.  In doing so, the traders intended to “spoof” or manipulate the market by creating the false impression of increased supply or demand and, in turn, to fraudulently induce other market participants to buy and to sell futures contracts at quantities, prices and times that they otherwise likely would not have done so. Over the relevant period, the traders placed thousands of fraudulent orders.

Of course, since we are talking about a bank, and since banks are in charge of not only the DOJ, and virtually every other branch of government, not to mention the Fed, nobody will go to jail and MLCI entered into a non-prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a combined – and measly – $25 million in criminal fines, restitution and forfeiture of trading profits.

Under the terms of the NPA, MLCI and its parent company, Bank of America, have agreed to cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation of individuals and to report to the Department evidence or allegations of violations of the wire fraud statute, securities and commodities fraud statute, and anti-spoofing provision of the Commodity Exchange Act in BAC’s Global Markets’ Commodities Business, whose function is to conduct wholesale, principal trading and sales of commodities.  Laughably, MLCI and BAC also agreed to enhance their existing compliance program and internal controls, where necessary and appropriate, to ensure they are designed to detect and deter, among other things, manipulative conduct in BAC’s Global Markets Commodities Business.

Translation: it will be much more difficult to catch them manipulating the market next time.

The Department reached this resolution based on a number of factors, including MLCI’s ongoing cooperation with the United States – which means the DOJ must have had the bank dead to rights with many traders potentially ending up in jail – and MLCI and BAC’s remedial efforts, including conducting training concerning appropriate market conduct and implementing improved transaction monitoring and communication surveillance systems and processes. Translation – no longer boasting about market manipulation on semi-public chatboards.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also announced a separate settlement with MLCI today in connection with related, parallel proceedings.  Under the terms of the resolution with the CFTC, MLCI agreed to pay a civil monetary penalty of $11.5 million, along with other remedial and cooperation obligations in connection with any CFTC investigation pertaining to the underlying conduct.

As part of the investigation, the Department obtained an indictment against Edward Bases and John Pacilio, two former MLCI precious metals traders, in July 2018.  Those charges remain pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. 

This case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office.  Trial Attorneys Ankush Khardori and Avi Perry of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.  The CFTC also provided assistance in this matter.

Oh, and for anyone asking if they will get some of their money back for having been spoofed and manipulated by Bank of America, and countless other banks, into selling to buying positions that would have eventually made money, the answer is of course not.

Courtesy of ZeroHedge by Tyler Durden from Wed, 06/26/2019

World’s Largest Hedge Fund Sees Gold Rising 30% To $2,000

Sirhc

◆ Bridgewater’s co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen told the Financial Times that gold prices could rally to $2,000 an ounce.

◆ The manager from the world’s biggest hedge fund cited increased income inequality in the U.S. and rising tensions with China and Iran as uncertainties that will prompt more safe-haven buying.

◆ Jensen also believes the Federal Reserve would let inflation run hot for a while, which also creates an environment for higher gold prices.

◆ Spot gold now trades at $1,551.40 per ounce, after crossing the $1,600 mark and hitting a seven-year high last week

FT via CNBC

Gold prices, which briefly topped $1,600 last week, could rally to $2,000 an ounce amid heightened political risks, Bridgewater’s co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen told the Financial Times Wednesday.

The manager from the world’s biggest hedge fund cited increased income inequality in the U.S. and rising tensions with China and Iran as uncertainties ahead that will prompt more safe-haven buying. Bridgewater manages $160 billion in assets, more than any other hedge fund.

“There is so much boiling conflict,” Jensen told the paper. “People should be prepared for a much wider range of potentially more volatile set of circumstances than we are mostly accustomed to.”

Jensen also believes the Federal Reserve would let inflation run hot for a while, which also creates an environment for higher gold prices as investors tend to use the precious metal as a hedge against inflationary forces.

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,551.40 per ounce on Wednesday, after crossing the $1,600 mark and hitting a seven-year high last week. The U.S.-China trade war and the Middle East unrest drove investors to more conservative investments for its stability during times of tumult, pushing gold prices higher.

Earlier last year, founder of Bridgewater Ray Dalio advocated putting money into gold as he saw a “paradigm shift” in investing due to global central banks’ expected moves to an easier monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for three times last year to combat a slowing economy. Jensen said it’s possible the central bank could slash rates to zero this year to avoid a recession and disinflationary pressures.

Bridgewater is not alone in recommending gold bullion. DoubleLine CEO, Jeffrey Gundlach also said last year he was a buyer of gold on expectations that the dollar would weaken.

1839 Liberty Half Eagle PCGS MS64

Sirhc

Shockingly Nice Top Pop Rarity

The first issue of Gobrecht’s Liberty Head design, appearing in 1839, is regarded among specialists as a distinct one-year type. The entire obverse portrait is a little more graceful-appearing than on subsequent issues which show a modified bust, with the chief difference being seen in the curvature of Liberty’s neck truncation; it is much more pronounced on the 1839 than on later dates. Mint State survivors are rare in any grade, with a handful of MS64 coins being the finest known. In fact, this is one of only three PCGS MS64’s with none higher!

Offered at $58,800 delivered

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(800) 257.3253
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Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
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Why is this billionaire predicting gold could hit $5,000?

Sirhc

You can add another billionaire to the bullish gold camp as Thomas Kaplan, chairman and chief investment officer of Electrum Group said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that gold is on the cusp of a new decade long bull market.

In a preview clip of the interview Kaplan, who is also chairman of Novagold Resources (NYSE: NG, TSX: NG) said that because of economic fundamentals gold prices could rally as high as $3,000 to $5,000 within a decade.

Kaplan told Rubenstein he sees two possible scenarios for the yellow metal.

In the first, gold has already broken out and, as Jeff Gundlach puts it, “is coiling like a snake for its next move to take on the old highs.”

In the second scenario, gold could take one more head-fake to the downside, “just to shake out the weak hands.”

But then I do believe gold embarks on the next leg of its bull market and goes past $1,900 and ultimately $3,000 to $5,000, if not a lot higher, depending on macro circumstances that today seem dim but I can’t really quantify.”

Rubenstein asked how long he would have to wait to see that price level. Kaplan said he usually measures these kinds of moves in decades.

The first move, the first leg in gold took gold from $250 to $1,900. For 12 consecutive years, gold was up every single year whether there were inflation fears or deflation fears, strong dollar, weak dollar, political stability, political instability. It didn’t matter. Strong oil, weak oil. Didn’t matter. Gold went up for 12 years. That to me is a bull market. We’ve now been in a correction which has taken gold from  $1,900 back to where we are today. You could easily see gold fall a couple of hundred dollars before going up a couple of thousand dollars. But each move has been a decade or more, which means that when gold embarks upon its next move, I believe that you will see that long wave take gold relatively quickly, but it will be measured in years, to the three to five thousand dollar target that I believe is fundamentally justified based on the facts that we have today.”

Kaplan is not the only billionaire investor to project an upcoming gold bull market. Earlier this month, SEC filings showed that Ray Dalio has increased his position in gold. During the Sohn Investment Conference, Jeff Gundlach said, “I love gold. I have owned gold since it was trading at $300.” And David Einhorn, founder of Greenlight Capital told Kitco News, “I hold gold, and I am never going to get rid of it. I hope that I never have to use it.

Kaplan is just the latest fund manager to jump on the gold bandwagon. Earlier this month, SEC filings showed that Ray Dalio’s hedge fund Bridgewater Associates increased its holdings in both SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) and iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU) in the first quarter of 2019.

This excerpt is from an original article published by Bloomberg.com on May 29, 2019

Jay Taylor: Under “Basel III” Rules, Gold Becomes Money!

Sirhc

Courtesy of ZeroHedge

In 2018, central banks added nearly 23 million ounces of gold, up 74% from 2017. This is the highest annual purchase rate increase since 1971, and the second-highest rate in history. Russia was the biggest buyer. And not surprisingly, the lion’s share of gold is flowing into central banks of countries that are in the sights of America’s killing machine—the Military Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned us about in 1958.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), located in Basal, Switzerland, is often referred to as the central bankers’ bank. Related to this issue of central bank hoarding of gold is the fact that on March 29 the BIS will permit central banks to count the physical gold it holds (marked to market) as a reserve asset just the same as it allows cash and sovereign debt instruments to be counted.

There has been a long-term view that China and other nations dishoarding dollars in favor of gold have been quite happy about western banks trashing the gold price through the synthetic paper markets. But one has to wonder if that might not change, once physical gold is marked to market for the sake of enlarging bank balance sheets.

This also raises the question with regard to how much gold the U.S. actually holds as opposed to what it claims to hold. James Sinclair has always argued that the only way the world can overcome the debt that is strangling the global economy is to remonetize gold on the balance sheets of central banks at a price in many thousands of dollars higher. This would mean a major change in the global monetary system away from the dollar, as China has been pushing for the last decade or so.

If banks own and possess gold bullion, they can use that asset as equity and thus this will enable them to print more money. It may be no coincidence that as March 29th has been approaching banks around the world have been buying huge amounts of physical gold and taking delivery. For the first time in 50 years, central banks bought over 640 tons of gold bars last year, almost twice as much as in 2017 and the highest level raised since 1971, when President Nixon closed the gold window and forced the world onto a floating rate currency system.

But as Chris Powell of GATA noted, that in itself is not news. The move toward making gold equal to cash and bonds was anticipated several years ago. However, what is news is the realization by a major Italian Newspaper, II Sole/24 Ore, that “synthetic gold,” or “paper gold,” has been used to suppress the price of gold, thus enabling countries and their central banks to continue to buy gold and build up their reserves at lower and lower prices as massive amounts of artificially-created “synthetic gold” triggers layer upon layer of artificially lower priced gold as unaware private investors panic out of their positions.

The paper concludes that,

“In recent years, but especially in 2018, a jump in the price of goldwould have been the normal order of things. On the contrary, gold closed last year with a 7-percent downturn and a negative financial return. How do you explain this? While the central banks raided “real” gold bars behind the scenes, they pushed and coordinated the offer of hundreds of tons of “synthetic gold” on the London and New York exchanges, where 90 percent of the trading of metals takes place. The excess supply of gold derivatives obviously served to knock down the price of gold, forcing investors to liquidate positions to limit large losses accumulated on futures. Thus, the more gold futures prices fell, the more investors sold “synthetic gold,” triggering bearish spirals exploited by central banks to buy physical gold at ever-lower prices”.

The only way governments can manage the levels of debt that threaten the financial survival of the Western world is to inflate (debase) their currencies. The ability to count gold as a reserve from which banks can create monetary inflation is not only to allow gold to become a reserve on the balance sheet of banks but to have a much, much higher, gold price to build up equity in line with the massive debt in the system.

by Tyler Durden Sun, 03/17/2019 – 11:29

Excepted from Jay Taylor’s latest newsletter


1907-S Liberty Double Eagle NGC MS65

Sirhc

Rare Gem, Last-Year-Of-Issue

This San Francisco issue is a significant condition rarity in the Liberty Head series. Although more than 2.1 million pieces were minted, fewer than 40 survivors are certified in Gem condition, between NGC and PCGS, combined. As a final-year issue in the Liberty Head series, it’s possible the San Francisco Mint turned its attentions elsewhere and used little care in releasing the freshly minted coins into commerce or storage. Regardless of the reason, most survivors are heavily bag-marked. The NGC population is only 19 with none higher. Listed at $20,000 in the CDN CPG and $21,000 in the NGC price guide.

Offered at $16,875 delivered

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you.

(800) 257.3253
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST M-F
Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

Friday Afternoon Special

Sirhc

$10 Indians MS63

We are offering up to 100 certified MS63 $10 Indians at just $950 per coin. Buy 20 or more coins at just $940. Or, buy 50 or more coins for just $935 per coin. These are cheap!

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you.

(800) 257.3253
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST M-F
Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

Minimum order is just 5 coins and dates and certification service (PCGS or NGC) are our choice.

Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject change and availability.

1876 Liberty Eagle NGC AU55

Sirhc

A Rare 76’er

The overall rarity of the 1876 ten dollar rivals that of almost all other dates in the Liberty eagle series, with only the 1873 and the prohibitively rare 1875 being decisively rarer. The 1876 eagle also had a mintage of only 687 pieces, the second-lowest production total of the series, behind only the 1875 (at a paltry 100 coins). Survivors are rare in all grades, with fewer than 60 pieces believed to be extant. The sole finest known is an NGC MS61 Prooflike example. While not apparent in our images, this is a flashy, highly lustrous representative. The NGC population is a mere 5 with 6 higher.

Offered at $26,400 delivered

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you.

(800) 257.3253
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST M-F
Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject to availability.

Modern Special

Sirhc

2019 American Liberty High Relief – OGP

We are offering up to (100) 2019 American Liberty High Relief gold coins with original piano black wood boxes and authentication papers, at just $1,950 per coin. Buy 15 or more at just $1,900 per coin. Or, buy 30 or more at just $1,850 per coin.

  • Features modern, breathtaking rendition of iconic Liberty
  • Contains .9999 fine 24-karat gold with high relief enhanced uncirculated finish
  • Minted at the West Point Mint
  • Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity

We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you.

(800) 257.3253
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM CST M-F
Private, Portable, Divisible Wealth Storage

Minimum order is just 1 coin(s)

Price is based on payment via ACH, Bank Wire Transfer or Personal Check.
Major Credit Cards Accepted, add 3.5%
Offer subject change and availability.

Gold Strategy

Sirhc

Investors continue to find the Equity markets attractive even with no end in sight to the China and Brexit negotiations.

With investors feeling confident that their investments are in good shape, safe haven investments like Gold and Bonds can be overlooked at this time.

But let us not forget that in 2018 market sentiment flipflopped back and forth daily between “Risk-On” and “Risk-Off” ideology. Every day we continue to see risk in the headlines, whether geopolitical or economic, anything can happen in a moment that will turn markets around. Not to mention the continued ongoing political rumor mill here in the States.

These headlines can take a toll on a trader and investors’ emotions, but can also provide opportunities.

That’s where a Dollar Gold cost averaging strategy can make a lot of sense. When the price of Gold declines, many smart Gold investors see it as a buying opportunity to create a truly balanced portfolio.

At the time of this report, Equity markets are called up over two hundred points. So, when the price of Gold is most ignored by investors that might be the best time to, so to speak, “put your toe in the water” and put in place your dollar cost averaging strategy.

Palladium

Palladium prices have experienced a much-needed correction in the past week and may be vulnerable to further declines in the short term. Despite this continued tightness in supply the market is likely to see prices test higher across the medium to longer term.

To back up that philosophy, Johnson Matthey estimates that the Palladium supply deficit could reach one million ounces in 2019. So maybe there still significant room to the upside in the price.

Today’s Palladium EFP is quoted by some dealers at Minus 40 minus 20. If the EFP stays in negative territory higher prices are always a possibility.

Originally published April 1, 2019