Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng berkata rakyat di negara ini
berpeluang memperoleh Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) sebanyak RM1,200
sebagaimana dijanjikan dalam manifesto Barisan Nasional (BN) Pilihan
Raya Umum ke 13 (PRU13) jika Malaysia Airlines (MAS) tidak mengalami
kerugian.
Setiausaha agung DAP itu berkata, kerugian tiga tahun berturut-turut
oleh MAS berjumlah RM4.1 bilion hampir mencukupi untuk menaikkan BR1M
daripada RM650 kepada RM1,200.
"Sekiranya (MAS) tidak mengalami kerugian besar sebanyak RM4.1 bilion
dalam tempoh 3 tahun lalu, maka penerima BR1M dapat menikmati RM1,200
seperti yang dijanjikan di bawah Manifesto PRU13 BN, dan bukannya
dikurangkan kepada RM650.
"MAS mengalami kerugian sebanyak RM1.17 bilion tahun lalu, RM433 juta
pada 2012 dan RM2.5 bilion pada 2011. Kerugian tiga tahun ini yang
berjumlah RM4.1 bilion hampir mencukupi untuk menampung perbezaan RM650
(yang berjumlah RM4.5 billion) yang diperlukan untuk menaikkan BR1M,"
katanya dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.
Beliau juga kesal apabila sehingga kini MAS masih belum mengemukakan
pelan pemulihan yang boleh dilaksanakan untuk mengekang kerugian
kewangan berterusan.
Katanya, Khazanah Nasional selaku pemilik MAS digesa mencari
penyelesaian tuntas dengan menerima hakikat syarikat penerbangan
tempatan itu sudah tidak berdaya maju dengan struktur kos semasa.
"MAS mungkin berfikir bahawa kerugian ini mampan kerana masih mempunyai baki tunai sebanyak RM3.9 bilion pada akhir tahun lalu.
"Dengan pemikiran tersebut dilihat sangat tidak bertanggungjawab dan
berbahaya untuk meneruskan perniagaan seperti biasa," katanya.
Beliau juga menyelar Kementerian Pengangkutan apabila tidak berusaha
menjalankan projek infrastrukrur secara efektif sepertimana yang
dibuktikan dengan peningkatan limpahan kos dan kelewatan dalam projek
Klia2.
Katanya, Menteri Pengangkutan, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein perlu
menerima tawaran berkerjasama dengan pengasas Air Asia, Tan Sri Tony
Fernandes.
"Masanya sudah tiba untuk menteri pengangkutan mengenepikan ego demi kepentingan negara dengan bekerjasama dengan Fernandes.
"Jika Hishammuddin enggan menerima kepakaran Fernandes, yang dengan
tajam mengingatkan bahawa Terminal Penerbangan Kos Rendah di Sepang
hanya bernilai RM250 juta berbanding Klia2 yang kini mencecah RM4
bilion, maka negara kita yang akan rugi," katanya.
Bagaimanapun, beliau mempunyai pendapat berbeza dengan Singapore
Business Times yang mencadangkan MAS diistiharkan muflis bagi
membenarkan permulaan baru memulihkan semula syarikat penerangan itu.
Katanya, DAP tidak bersetuju dengan cadangan mengisytiharkan MAS
muflis, kerana bukan sahaja memalukan tetapi memberi kesan buruk ke atas
pekerja MAS.
Sehubungan itu, katanya, Khazanah mesti menyediakan satu pelan konkrit
untuk menyelamatkan MAS, termasuk melaksanakan tender terbuka kompetitif
yang menjadi amalan antarabangsa dan penilaian berasaskan prestasi
untuk semua pekerja, termasuk pengurusan tertinggi.
Singapore Business Times sebelum ini mencadangkan MAS diistiharkan
muflis bagi membantu MAS menyelesaikan masalah lebihan kakitangan dan
kontrak perolehan berat sebelah dalam hak penyelenggaraan sehingga ke
katering makanan.
"Walaupun dengan subsidi dan geran berpuluh bilion yang diberikan oleh
pembayar cukai Malaysia, MAS menunjukkan bahawa syarikat tersebut tidak
boleh bersaing dengan Air Asia, yang merupakan kejayaan luar biasa
keusahawanan Malaysia .
"Biarpun tidak mendapat satu sen pun daripada pembayar cukai Malaysia.
Tambahan pula, syarikat tambang murah baru Malindo Air hanya akan
memburukkan lagi prestasi MAS," katanya. – 25 Februari, 2014.
But then we fast forward a little to the real deal…
Guest: Where would we be without the government?
Santelli: (begins)… We would be way better off! The problem is the government. They’re not here to help… They’re here to make healthcare more expensive, college more expensive… everything they touch is more expensive…
Global banking giant HSBC was accused
of 'soar-away boardroom greed' today as it revealed plans to swerve an
EU cap on huge bonuses. Bank boss Stuart Gulliver saw his own pay package
jump to just over £8million, from £7.5million the year before, as the
bonus pool across the bank jumped 6 per cent to £2.3billion. The bank’s revelation that 239 staff received more than £1 million also risked stoking anger over bank bonuses.
+2
HSBC caution: A 2013 profit increase of 9 per
cent on a year earlier was well below City expectations and the lender
also warned there could be greater volatility in emerging markets this
year
The firm racked up pre-tax profits of
£13.6billion for 2013, an increase of 9 per cent on a year earlier but
well below City expectations, leading its shares to fall on the news.
The row over bankers' bonuses was reignited as HSBC unveiled details of new share
windfalls for senior staff which will count as part of their fixed pay.
These
lucrative quarterly payments will be made to 111 senior staff worldwide
– 49 of them in the UK - whose huge annual bonuses fall would foul of new regulations from Brussels. The EU wants to restrict banks to paying bonuses no more than one
year’s annual salary, rising to twice salary if shareholders approve. Banks
have been formulating plans to dodge the cap, which they claim will
cause them to lose staff to US and Asian rivals which do not have any
pay restrictions. The UK Treasury has also launched a legal challenge against the pay curbs. Yesterday
Gulliver, described the bonus cap as ‘unfortunate’ and confirmed it
would be applying to shareholders for the higher limit of twice annual
salary. His own package
jumped to just over £8million, confirming him as the highest paid bank boss in the UK, with bosses
at Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland both waiving their bonuses for
last year. Cathy Jamieson,
Labour's shadow Treasury minister, said: 'We're once again seeing bumper
pay-outs with bonuses up this year at Lloyds, Barclays and now HSBC. 'The
government should be repeating Labour's successful bank bonus tax this
year. This could fund a paid job for every young person out of work for
12 months or more, which they would have to take up or lose benefits.' TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the results were 'yet another example of soar-away boardroom greed'. She
added: 'It would be great if banks put the same effort into lending to
small businesses and investing in infrastructure as they do to getting
round EU rules on boardroom bonuses.' HSBC said Mr
Gulliver's base salary will remain at £1.25million for this year but
that he will receive a fixed pay allowance of £1.7million, to be awarded
in shares on a quarterly basis. Mr
Gulliver’s package will not be tied directly to performance and so
would not count as a bonus under new European rules preventing bankers
from being paid bonuses worth more than two times their salary.
+2
HSBC boss: The bank's chief executive Stuart
Gulliver saw his pay package jump to just over £8million for 2013, up
from £7.5million the year before
The
controversial new rules from Brussels came into effect in January,
meaning that 2013 was the last year in which big bonuses could be paid. Mr Gulliver's previous pay scheme offered an annual bonus worth up to
three times his salary, plus a longer-term share award that pays out as
much as six times salary. The lender also warned there could be
greater volatility in emerging markets this year as they adjust to
changing economic circumstances, helping send its shares over 4 per cent
lower in mid-morning trade, down 30.5p at 623.7p. HSBC
makes an estimated 90 per cent of its money outside Britain and has
benefited from its exposure to emerging markets in Asia. Keith
Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers said:
‘Against a backdrop of concern for slowing growth in the Emerging
Markets, cautious near term management outlook comments have impacted. ‘The
results were at the lower end of expectations, with difficulties in
Latin America taking their toll. Furthermore, some management efficiency
targets were missed, hit by ongoing UK customer redress, whilst
management’s irritation with the UK’s banking levy looks to have been
expressed. On the
upside, broad progress was made, with underlying pre-tax profit higher
in three of its four global businesses. Costs continue to be cut and
remain a firm focus, whilst expected long term trends, such as growing
trade across the Emerging Markets, appears to support underlying
management confidence.‘
The banking group, Europe’s biggest closed 20 non strategic businesses last
year as part of a drive to cut overheads and simply the business. It has also cut 41,000 staff over the last three
years, with its global headcount falling to 254,000.
But efforts to streamline the business were offset
last year by a spiralling bill for payment protection insurance and a big
increase in the bank revenue.
The bank set aside an extra £450million in the final three
months of the year to compensate customers mis-sold PPI, taking its total bill
for the scandal so far to £1.9billion.
HSBC also confirmed today that the number of millionaires on its pay roll continues to
climb. Some 239 HSBC staff received packages of £1million or more last
year, up from 204 in 2012 and 192 in 2011. Mr Gulliver took the helm in 2011 and
has led an extensive overhaul of the business.The lender was among those
that did not need a taxpayer-funded bailout in the banking crisis. ‘For
now, and having entered the credit crisis in better shape than most
rivals, the bank remains a core sector investment. A progressive
dividend policy continues to be pursued, whilst the bank’s avoidance of
government ownership leaves it free of a major distraction compared to
some rivals. In all, and despite the worry of Emerging Market exposure,
analyst opinion continues to denote a buy,’ Keith Bowman said.
What the people of Ukraine are being put
through is absolutely horrible. They are caught in the middle
of a massive tug of war between the East and the West, and they are
paying a great price for it. Ultimately, Ukraine will end up
either being dominated by Russia (a bad outcome) or by the EU and the
United States (another bad outcome). Most Ukrainians just want
to be free and want to be able to build a better future for
themselves and their families, but it is extremely unlikely that they
will be able to escape the specter of foreign domination.
Meanwhile, the violence in Ukraine is planting the seeds for a
potentially much larger conflict down the road. The days of
“friendly relations” between the United States and Russia are now
gone. Russia is absolutely furious that the U.S. has fueled a
violent revolution on its own border, and it is something that
Russian officials will not forget for a very long time. In
return, U.S. officials are taking an increasingly harsh stance toward
Russia. In the end, the seeds that are being planted right now
could ultimately blossom into a full-blown conflict between the
superpowers in the years to come.
Let
there be no mistake – the United States is heavily involved in what
is going on in Ukraine. Even the
New York Times admits this. And the U.S. Ambassador to
Ukraine and the Assistant Secretary of State have
been caught on tape discussing their next moves in getting a
new government installed in Ukraine.
In
addition, a number of non-governmental organizations inside the
United States have allegedly been assisting and organizing the
revolution in Ukraine for a long time. At least a few of these
organizations have ties to George Soros. This is something that
I discussed in a previous
article.
Some of the “progressive” NGOs that have
been accused of fueling the violent revolution in Ukraine include the
National Endowment for Democracy, Freedom House, and the Open Society
Foundations (formerly known as the Open Society Institute).
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not
taking sides. I am just pointing out that both sides in Ukraine
are controlled. If I was living in Ukraine, I would want both
Russia and the United States to go away and leave Ukraine alone.
Instead,
Ukraine is being used as a battleground to fight a proxy war between
the East and the West. Now that the opposition has gained the
upper hand, it does not appear that Russian officials are in any
mood to
recognize the new “government”…
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday
said Russiahad grave doubts about the legitimacy of those in
power in Ukraine following President Viktor Yanukovich’s ouster,
saying their recognition by some states was an “aberration”.
Medvedev also stated that he has “big doubts
about the legitimacy of a whole series of organs of power that are
now functioning there.”
Last
Friday, an agreement was signed by the two sides in Ukraine that was
supposed to bring about a peaceful resolution to all of this.
But the revolutionaries reneged on the deal and toppled the
government instead. Needless to say, Russia was
quite horrified by this…
The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the
West for turning a blind eye to what Moscow described as the
opposition reneging on its agreement signed Friday to form a unity
government and aiming to “suppress dissent in various regions of
Ukraine with dictatorial and, sometimes, even terrorist methods.”
Russia and the Customs Union could temporarily
limit increased-risk food imports from Ukraine, given fears of loose
safety control, said Sergei Dankvert, head of the Russian veterinary
and phytosanitary oversight service Rosselkhoznadzor.
“My Belarusian colleague and I are extremely
concerned about the situation in Ukraine. We do not rule out that
curbs could be introduced on the imports of products of high
veterinary and phytosanitary risks from Ukraine,” Dankvert told
Interfax after talks with his Belarusian counterpart Yury Pivovarchik
in Bryansk, and telephone talks with Ukraine’s Deputy Agrarian
Policy Minister Ivan Bisyuk.
Of course what the U.S. government is most
concerned about is any military action that Russia might take.
But whatever happens over the next few days,
nobody should think that the Russians are simply going to abandon
their interests in Ukraine. Russia has a very important
military base down in the Crimea, and the eastern half of the country
is very pro-Russian.
So
the struggle between East and West in Ukraine is likely to continue
for quite some time to come. The following is an excerpt from a
recent WND article…
The issue with Ukraine is whether it will join
the E.U. or Putin’s Eurasian Union. The country is roughly divided
on this issue between eastern and western Ukraine. The eastern
portion wants to remain with Russia while the western side wants to
move closer with the West.
In southern Ukraine, where the Crimea is
located, Russian influence remains strong.
Because demonstrators who want to see Ukraine
lean westward have become emboldened with their immediate success of
ousting Yanukovich, it could make it more difficult for them to come
to terms with any settlement agreement to reunify the country.
Moscow has a large naval military facility in
Sevastopol in the Crimea and recently received a 25-year lease
extension to 2042, with another five-year renewal option until 2047.
In exchange, Ukraine received a multiyear discounted contract for
much-needed natural gas.
And
the pro-Russian eastern half of the country is actually the stronger
of the two halves economically. So this will likely complicate
matters for the EU and the U.S. as they try to bring Ukraine
into their sphere of influence…
Seven of Ukraine’s 10 largest private
companies by revenue are either headquartered or maintain the
majority of their operations in eastern Ukraine. These firms are
owned by some of Ukraine’s wealthiest and most influential
individuals. Three of these 10 corporations — mining and steel
company Metinvest, energy firm DTEK and its subsidiary Donetskstal —
are based in the eastern industrial city of Donetsk and are owned by
Ukraine’s wealthiest man, Rinat Akhmetov. Interpipe, the company
that controls 10 percent of the world market share of railway wheels
and more than 11 percent of the world market share of manganese
ferroalloys, is based in Dnipropetrovsk and belongs to businessman
and politician Victor Pinchuk.
The country’s most important businessmen are
embedded in the east, where their businesses make disproportionately
high contributions to the Ukrainian economy and national budget.
In
the end, this proxy war between the East and the West has left
Ukraine with a collapsed
economy and on the brink of civil war.
And what has happened in Ukraine has caused
permanent damage in the relationship between the United States and
Russia.
It won’t happen this month or even this year,
but someday the U.S. may end up bitterly regretting antagonizing the
Russian Bear.
At least that is what I think.
So what do you think?
Please feel free to share your thoughts by
posting a comment below…
London Gold expert Alasdair Macleod joins the SD Weekly Metals & Markets this week as a special guest host, discussing:1. True Chinese gold demand in
2013 was a minimum of 2,800 tons- falsely reported by the bullion bank
apologists at under 2,000 tons
2. Why a sudden shortage of physical gold in March-April of 2013 forced essentially a gold default by 2 Dutch banks
3. Bullion & Western Central banks are out of gold & near the
end of the line- Macleod explains why the cartel can no longer manage
their retreat: We’ve got a situation where the central bankers don’t
have any idea how to get out of the situation they’ve created for
themselves
4. Gold & silver close at their highs for the week- setting up a big rally next week?
The greatness of a society and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals.
I would agree with that, as well as the obvious observation that a
society’s greatness can also be judged by how it treats its most
vulnerable members. This isn’t to romanticize homelessness or to condemn
it. It is merely to note that the homeless are fellow human beings
going through their own struggles and difficulties. You may not want to
provide them food, but some people do, and there should never be an
infringement upon such a basic human right as sharing food with someone
who needs it.
Civil rights are often lost in societies by politicians scapegoating
unpopular minorities. This happened with jews, gypsies, etc in Nazi
Germany and we must be very careful the same does not happen here. One
human being should be able to voluntarily give food to another in all
cases, without exception. The concept of a permit needed that costs $120
per week is fascist, anti-human and downright evil.
From the Examiner:
Feeding the homeless is about to get harder as a new policy is set to begin this Saturday, Feb. 15, in Columbia, SC. Charities
and non-profits well be required to pay a fee and obtain a permit 15
days in advance in order to feed the homeless in parks.
One impacted charity that was interviewed by theFree Times, Food
Not Bombs, has been serving food to the homeless in Finlay Park every
Sunday for 12 years. The group’s organizer, Judith Turnipseed, noted
that the group has an impeccable track record and always tidies up after
the meal. But with the new crackdown, Food Not Bombs will have to pay at least $120 per week for the right to feed the homeless.
Since the
Columbia City Council approved its exile plan in August, the city has
been trying to herd its homeless people to a shelter on the outskirts of
town and keep them away from downtown. If charities
continue to provide food in downtown parks, the thinking goes, it will
allow homeless people to continue to live downtown, rather than being
forced to leave.
Remember the famous warning:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.
Our
lead story: Money laundering in the age of Bitcoin. When the HSBC was
found guilty in 2012 of laundering billions for terrorist organizations,
no one spent time in jail. But Charlie Shrem, the CEO of BitInstant,
was arrested by federal authorities last week for allegedly laundering
more than $1 million worth of Bitcoin, and today he’s sitting in jail.
Erin asks, “Does this make sense? ”Afterward, Axel Merk, the
President and CIO of Merk Investments and manager of Merk Funds, joins
us to talk about Europe, currencies and emerging markets. Merk argues
that the weak euro helps German exports dramatically, despite having to
prop up peripheral countries. He also explains why he thinks that
currencies are the least volatile assets when compared to equities and
bonds.Then, Polly Boiko reports on
why so many houses sit empty on The Bishops Avenue, one of London’s most
expensive streets. In the midst of a housing shortage in Britain, this
has become a symbol for this brick-and-mortar crisis.This week’s best clips bring a
range of opinions about growth, the Fed and inflation. Warren Mosler
looks at how personal income growth has slipped and what effect that has
on growth in general. David Stockman criticizes the money-printing
policies of Larry Summers, and argues that the Fed needs to get out of
financial markets. Finally, Keith McCullough tells us to get rid of your
Keynesian economic textbook and gives us his view on inflation in the
US economy.Finally, the Big Deal looks at
the a string of recent suicides by financial professionals around the
globe, and explores the possible reasons why financial professionals
might take their lives. Erin sits down with “Breaking the Set” host Abby
Martin to discuss.
Ukraine Hopes Russian Gas Price Won't Change – Report
MOSCOW, February 24 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine hopes that the price it pays
for Russian natural gas will remain unchanged despite the ouster of
pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s acting energy minister
told Reuters on Monday.
Russia’s state gas giant Gazprom agreed
with Ukraine’s Naftogaz in December to slash the price that Ukraine had
paid since 2009 by about a third, from about $400 per 1,000 cubic meters
to $268.50.
“We hope the price will be stable,” the news agency quoted acting Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky as saying.
More
than half of the 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas consumed by
Ukraine each year comes from Russia, according to Reuters.
Stavytsky
said in January that Ukraine would discontinue relatively small
purchases of natural gas from Europe and instead only buy from Russia.
Ukraine
is on the brink of economic collapse following Yanukovych’s ouster on
Saturday and the prospect that Russia will renege on billions of dollars
in promised loans to the cash-strapped country.
Ukraine’s
interim finance minister said Monday that the country is seeking at
least $35 billion in urgent aid from Western powers, including the EU
and the United States.
Political unrest erupted in November when
Yanukovych’s government indefinitely postponed the signing of free-trade
and association deals with the European Union to instead focus on
strengthening ties with Russia.
The street protests culminated in
deadly clashes between police and protesters in Kiev last week in which
nearly 100 people were killed, prompting deputies to vote to impeach
Yanukovych over the weekend.
A new presidential election is scheduled for May 25.
Ukraine
is a major re-exporter of Russian gas to Europe, and political
wrangling between the former Soviet states has led to serious
disruptions in supplies in the past, especially in January 2006 and
January 2009 when deliveries were temporarily halted over payment
disputes.
Janet Yellen’s jokes pepper Federal Reserve members’ struggle to describe severity of financial crisis as it developed
US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen gives her first testimony to Congress. Photograph: Zhang Jun/Xinhua Press/Corbis
The Federal Reserve on Friday released transcripts
of the meetings it held in 2008 as the central bank tackled the worst
financial crisis in living memory and the US teetered on the edge of
another Great Depression.
The transcripts of 14 scheduled and
emergency policy meetings the Fed held cover only official meetings and
not the countless telephone calls and unofficial gatherings of senior
policy officials and financiers held during the crisis.
They give
some of the clearest insight yet into how officials tackled the crisis.
They also shine more light on the record and personality of Janet
Yellen, then chair of the San Francisco Fed and now the first woman to
lead the Federal Reserve, showing glimpses of humor.
Yellen has a
reputation for calling the recession ahead of her peers – one that is
borne out in the Fed’s documents. In a January 21 meeting she said “the
risk of a severe recession and credit crisis is unacceptably high, and
it is being clearly priced now into not only domestic but also global
markets.”
On September 16, the day after Lehman Brothers filed for
bankruptcy, Yellen showed her lighter side as she gave evidence of an
economic slowdown in San Francisco. “East Bay plastic surgeons and
dentists note that patients are deferring elective procedures,” she said
to laughter.
“Reservations are no longer necessary at many
high-end restaurants. And the Silicon Valley country club, with a
$250,000 entrance fee and seven- to eight-year waiting list, has seen
the number of would-be new members shrink to a mere 13,” she said.
“Sales of cheap wine are soaring,” Yellen reported to the Fed on March 8, a week before Bear Stearns collapsed.
What
is consistent in the transcripts is that the Fed appeared to be
struggling to grasp the magnitude of the crisis that was unfolding. On
21 January 2008 – well before Bear Stearns and Lehman fell into trouble –
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke admitted it had already misread the
burgeoning financial crisis. “We were seriously behind the curve in
terms of economic growth and the financial situation,” Bernanke told his
fellow economists. Two months later, Bear Stearns was near to collapse
and was forced to sell itself to JP Morgan in a government-brokered
deal.
By March, Bernanke had concluded that significant action
had to be taken. “We live in a very special time,” the Fed chairman told
colleagues on a 10 March conference call. Bernanke went on to press for
the Fed to approve his plans to act as a backstop for Wall Street.
By
June, things had calmed down slightly, but a sense of menace lingered,
particularly around Lehman Brothers, as Bernanke observed: “With respect
to financial markets, I agree certainly that the crisis atmosphere that
we saw in March has receded markedly, but I do not yet rule out the
possibility of a systemic event. We saw in the inter-meeting period that
we have considerable concerns about Lehman Brothers, for example.”
Another
Fed official cited Lehman’s shaky health after the fall of Bear Stearns
and said “the announcements about Lehman Brothers over the last month
highlight that we’re not yet safe.”
Yet those concerns did not
lead to action, and there is a sense from the conversations that Lehman
had created its own problems, which the Fed felt no pressure to solve.
In June, Timothy Geithner – then head of the powerful New York Federal
Reserve – said he wouldn’t let the central bank’s emergency lending
measures be judged by whether “they would save Lehman from itself.”
Another Fed official noted Lehman’s shrinking ability to borrow money
after the fall of Bear Stearns and observed: “It started to crack, but
it never really shattered.”
Adding to the impression that the Fed
believed it held the upper hand in discussion of the bailouts, one
official observed that the Fed’s imprimatur was one of the few things
providing credibility to the banking sector at the time. “We have
considerable leverage over these institutions at this time.” Kevin Warsh
wrote. “No matter what they and their lobbyists say, they want us to be
their regulator more than they can possibly contain themselves – mostly
for our credibility and mostly for our balance sheet.”
The
transparency of the emergency measures also came up, as officials
encouraged Bernanke to share the Fed’s thinking about potential bailouts
with Congress and the Treasury.
“It is going to be a tough act
because you don’t want to take anything off the table, but you want to
keep a lot open and not show your hand … You are going to have to show
some leg during that speech,” Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher
encouraged Bernanke.
Yet, if anything, the Fed seemed to become
more opaque, at least when it came to the biggest crisis it would yet
face: Lehman Brothers. In the two Fed meetings in July and August –
before Lehman Brothers failed in September – the transcripts showed that
none of the Fed members mentioned the firm’s name even once.
Lehman’s
collapse was greeted with little fanfare by the Fed officials. Two days
after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, an event that triggered stock
market crashes around the world, Bernanke told his colleagues: “I think
that our policy is looking actually pretty good.
“Our quick move early this year [to cut interest rates], which was obviously very controversial and uncertain, was appropriate.”
As
the crisis unfolded, Fed officials initially were more concerned about
rising inflation than unemployment. The Fed decided to keep interest
rates pat at 2%, not showing any action. In a debate about wording of
the Fed’s statement, one of the governors, Kevin Warsh, explained the
Fed’s decision to stand pat by telling his fellow officials: “I think
the sentiment we are trying to suggest is watchful waiting. We are not
indifferent, we are not clueless. We are paying attention, but we are
not predisposed.”
Others actively argued against action. Richmond
Fed president Jeffrey Lacker, for instance, opposed intervention and
said the fall of Lehman would have a “silver lining” in that other banks
would read it as a decisive signal that the government would not
intervene in a financial collapse.
“Overall, I don’t take what’s
happened in the last few days as changing much,” Lacker said the day
after Lehman filed for bankruptcy. The fall of Lehman, coming as a shock
to the markets, later led several other banks to struggle, including
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Federal Reserve governor
Elizabeth Duke summed up the situation it had to fix: the lack of
participation of banks in the economy. “The banks feel as though they
have done everything they can do in terms of capital management,” she
said, noting that banks could not buy or sell stock in the markets. “The
markets are fragile to dead. So what are they going to do? The only
thing they can do is contract the balance sheet and not lend.” The Fed
subsequently introduced a battery of stimulus measures convincing banks
to lend.
However, once the scale of the event unfolding became
clear, the transcripts show the Fed and Bernanke acting swiftly and
decisively to contain it, despite some internal disagreement.
The
documents show a Fed struggling to even over how to describe the
meltdown as it took hold. At a meeting on March 18, Frederic Mishkin, an
Federal open markets committee (FOMC) member, said: “I will not use
‘financial crisis’ in public. ‘Financial disruption’ is still a good
phrase to use in public, but I really do think that this is a financial
crisis. It is surely going to be called that in the next edition of my
textbook.
Participant: When is it coming out?
Mishkin: Wouldn’t you like to know!
Mishkin
also compared the FOMC to Monty Python’s Life of Brian where “they all
on the cross, and they start singing ‘Look on the Bright Side of Life.’” • This story will be updated as we work through the documents.
Markets Are Still Loving The Economy’s
Increasing Problems
The economic reports turn ever uglier, and the
stock market loves it.
Something seems wrong with that picture.
In recent months, it has been the unexpected
widening of the U.S. trade gap, as exports decline and imports rise.
It has been unexpected plunges in retail sales, home sales, auto
sales, durable goods orders, and factory orders. It has been downward
revisions of previous reports for December.
This week’s reports have been more of the
same.
The Empire State (NY) Mfg Index plunged from
12.5 in January to 4.5 in February, considerably worse than the
consensus forecast of a weather-related decline to 9.0. The Fed’s
Phila Mfg Index plunged from a positive reading of +9.4 in January to
-6.3 in February. The consensus forecast was that it would decline
due to weather but remain positive at +7.3. Its new-orders component,
an indicator for future manufacturing, plunged from + 5.1 to -5.2.
From the important housing industry, this
week’s reports were that the Housing Market Index, which measures
the confidence of national homebuilders, plunged from 56 in January
to 46 in February, its lowest level in 9 months, more than 50% of
homebuilders now pessimistic about the future. New housing starts
plunged 16% in January and permits for future starts declined 5%.
While weather was again blamed, housing starts in the
weather-hammered northeast were actually up in January, and down
sharply in the rest of the country, including the balmy south.
Friday’s report was that ‘existing home’
sales nationally fell 5.1% in January, as sales continue the
downtrend that began last May when mortgage rates began to rise.
Sales fell 7.3% in Western states, the region less affected by winter
storms, a significantly larger decline than in the Northeast and
Midwest. Meanwhile, mortgage rates rose again last week, the 30-year
mortgage rate, at 4.33%, now 21% higher than a year ago.
Wall
Street firms and major banks continue to slash their forecasts for
the economy quite dramatically, not only for this quarter, but also
for the fourth quarter of last year.
World’s biggest companies pay out $1 trillion
in dividends
Dividend
pay-outs from companies in emerging markets have doubled between 2009
and 2011, but growth in the region has since “slowed to a crawl”
as the commodity cycle ended and currencies fell.
Stocks
set for a big fall, thanks to the Fed: Grant
Besides
artificially increases stocks, Grant said that Fed intervention has
been counterproductive to economic growth. “We have been living through a
very persuasive demonstration of futility of intervention to solve a
recession.”“It is now year six of this ‘monetary improv’ … [and] we’re making it up as we go along,” he added.Using a baseball metaphor,
Grant said: “We don’t know exactly day-to-day where the strike zone is …
how many strikes you get … nor what the distance is from home plate to
first.”“Sometimes they change the rules after the game is over,” he added.
Monetarism,
Abenomics, QE, and Minimum Wage Proposals: One Bad Idea Leads to
Another, and Another
Maybe money can’t buy happiness, but it can sure buy a person a
get-out-of-jail-free card.
You may recall the outrage back
in December when the term “affluenza” was used by the
defense during the case of a Texas teenager who, according to
the courts, couldn’t be held accountable for his deadly actions
because he was just too darned rich. Then 16 year-old, Ethan Couch,
from a wealthy Texas family, was driving drunk when he crashed into
four people standing at the side of the road with a disabled
vehicle. Four of his own passengers were thrown from the
vehicle, one of whom suffered a brain injury and can no longer move
or speak.
Three hours after the accident, the boy’s blood alcohol level
was .24 – more than triple the legal limit – and there were
traces of Valium in his system. In other words, he was so drunk and
high, it was a wonder he could even stand up.
Despite the fact that Couch pleaded guilty to drunk driving and
manslaughter, he received no jail time. Instead, the boy was sent to
a
posh rehab center to ride horses, lift weights, and swim while he
was being “rehabilitated” under the terms of a 10 year
probationary period.
The families of the victims were justifiably irate.
This week, sentencing (if you want to call it that) occurred for
the additional charges filed against Couch. Prosecutors asked for a
20 year sentence for the two intoxication assault charges for
Sergio Molina and Solaiman Mohman, the boys who were riding in
the truck bed at the time of the crash. Molina was so severely
injured that he can only communicate by blinking and smiling, and
Mohman suffered broken bones and internal injuries.
The families were left angry and disappointed again when State
District Judge Jean Boyd made a mockery of the term “justice” yet
again, after being sure to clear the court of media.
Before the hearing, Boyd ordered everyone except the
immediate families of Couch and his victims to leave the courtroom.
Attorneys representing the Star-Telegram and five other
media outlets had asked her to let them make a case to stay in the
courtroom before closing proceedings regarding Couch. On Tuesday,
Boyd denied that request without explanation.
She ordered Couch, 16, to enter a “lock down”
addiction treatment facility and to not drive or use alcohol or drugs
for 10 years, according to a news release from the Tarrant County
district attorney’s office. She ordered his parents to pay for his
treatment.
Boyd’s probation conditions set no minimum time that
Couch must stay in rehab…
When Couch completes treatment, which will be determined
by the court and the professional staff at the facility, he will be
released under the other terms of his probation. (source)
Here’s a photo of the very disappointing Judge Boyd.
Prosecutors for the case were stunned and disappointed at this
second travesty of justice. Prosecutor Richard Alpert said:
“This has been a very frustrating experience for me.
I’m used to a system where the victims have a voice and their needs
are strongly considered. The way the system down here is currently
handled, the way the law is, almost all the focus is on the
offender.” (source)
Just a quick reminder, lest it sound as though Couch will be
locked up in this rehab facility for an extended period of time, it’s
important to note that the “judge” did not set a minimum amount
of time he must be there. As soon as the experts at the facility say
he’s rehabilitated, he’s good to go. Then under the terms of his
probation, he is not allowed to consume alcohol or drive a vehicle
for the next 10 years.
Asking Boyd to give Couch jail time for intoxication
assault was a last-ditch effort by prosecutors, who have said they
have almost no way to appeal the judge’s sentence in the case.
Alpert said he hoped the Couch case would lead the Texas
Legislature to allow juries to sentence some juvenile defendants. The
case has already spurred calls for potential changes. Texas Lt. Gov.
David Dewhurst, who serves as president of the Senate, has asked for
a study of sentencing guidelines in intoxication manslaughter cases.
(source)
The only hope for any type of justice whatsoever now rests in the
hands of civil courts, which we must hope are less swayed by the
“poor little rich boy” defense than Judge Jean Boyd.
Six civil lawsuits that have been filed against Couch,
his parents, Fred and Tonya Couch, and the family’s company,
Cleburne Metal Works, have been consolidated and transferred into
96th state District Court, presided over by Judge R. H.
Wallace. (source)
Hopefully, the lawsuits will be decided in such a manner that the
Couch family never ever has to worry about being considered “too
rich” again. Perhaps true justice would not be incarceration, but
impoverishment.
Please feel free to share any information from this site in
part or in full, giving credit to the author and including a link to
this website and the following bio. Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor. Her
website, The
Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping,
including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech
solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook
and Twitter,
and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca
If the economy is really “getting better”, then why have
millions upon millions of formerly middle class Americans been pushed
to the point of utter despair? The stories that you are about
to read are absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how anyone
can read them without getting chills. In America today, if you
lose a good job, there is a good chance that you will get back on
your feet before too long. But there is also a good chance that
you won’t be able to find a decent job and will plunge into the
abyss of depression and desperation that so many millions of other
Americans have fallen into. As I wrote about earlier
this month, the U.S. economy is definitely not getting any
better. For example, if you assume that the percentage of
Americans that want to work is about at the long term average, then
the official unemployment rate in the United States would be above
11 percent. And compared to six years ago, 1,154,000
fewer Americans are working today even though our population
has gotten significantly larger since then. Behind all of these
numbers are real flesh and blood people, and you are about to hear
from some of them. The following are 10 stories from the cold,
hard streets of America that will break your heart… #1 A 34-year-old man named Rocco…
“While my wife goes to work, I’ve been staying at
home to conserve fuel. I’ve been losing weight from eating less, so
my family has more on their plates. It feels like the government and
big business expect more and more while trying to give back as little
as possible. Soon my internet connection will be shut off and since
most companies don’t offer paper applications, how will I find work
then? Walking around for miles a day, asking for an application that
may or may not be available?”
#2 Homeless people wasting away
in “Obamavilles” on
the outskirts of Baltimore, Maryland…
A sheet of plastic laid over a clothesline. A
mini-fortress of milk crates stacked under a tree. A thin mattress on
a flimsy crate lying in a dark tunnel.
On the edge of Baltimore’s woodlands, dozens of the
city’s transients live in makeshift homes which they consider safer
than homeless shelters.
You can see some incredible photos of how these homeless people
are living right
here. #3 A 50-year-old woman in Pennsylvania
named Karen…
“My husband only makes 10 dollars an hour and drives 30
miles round trip, so it’s taking all we have just to keep the Jeep
filled with gas. We stopped going to church and all to save gas. We
are homebodies now, afraid to use what gas we have. We save two kids
from getting put in foster care just to be hit like this. It’s just
a constant trap they try to keep you from receiving any help! I’m
so disgusted when my 12-year-old asks me why we don’t have snacks
anymore, or why are we eating so much rice, etc.”
#4 The following is an excerpt from a
comment that was recently left by
one of my readers…
“I live right at ground zero. South West Virginia and
let me tell you things are bad and getting worse by the day. We don’t
do drugs but have family members hooked on meth and or pills or both.
Many of these pills are prescribed by local doctors either Suboxone
to get you off the opiates, a total joke by the way and tons of Xanax
why would anyone need 120 Xanax a month how can you even be expected
to function. These pills get traded for cash sex and other items,
same goes for the SNAP cards. We have family members going to jail
repeatedly for the same crimes making meth, selling pills and
stealing anything that’s not nailed down. People who are 30 years
old look like they are 55 years old. The jobs here are awful walmat,
gas stations, fast food etc. Most of our whole county is on the
government dole.”
#5 A 55-year-old man from California
named Randy
Carpadus…
“I was working as a firefighter for the state of
California and was laid off in April 2012, right at the beginning of
fire season. At my age, I’m not going to be picked up by another
fire department. They want younger guys.
I’ve applied for everything from truck driver, to
sales, to nonprofit work. I’ve sent out almost 400 resumes, and
I’ve gotten nothing. I’ve done whatever I could to make ends
meet.
Through some connections, I got a temp job as a truck
driver in Napa Valley — a 3-hour commute from where I live. I lived
in my car and worked during grape harvest.”
#6 In this tough economic environment, debt
collectors are becoming even more aggressive. Just check out
the kind of harassment that one woman named Jennifer
Posey has been put through…
“This is Jimmy Lee calling from CheckCare. Just letting
you know we’re in full force,” he said. The man had a thick
Southern accent that stretched the word “you” into a two-syllable
accusation. “We’re going to have warrants out for your arrest in
Columbus, Ga.,” the man threatened. “We know you have an
apartment on the canal in Clearwater.”
It was when he mentioned her home in Florida that Posey
began to feel anxious. “We’re hurting you,” he continued.
“We’re hurting your family, your son’s family, your cousin’s
family. Whatever we can do to get you to pay.”
Forty minutes later, her phone rang again. “What about
that 12-, 13-year-old child you’re trying to raise?” the voice
sneered.
#7 A 50-year-old woman from New York
named Sharon
Ritchie…
“I am constantly told I am ‘overqualified.’ I’ve
also been told to dumb down my resume, but I can’t just erase 30
years of experience.
You can only stand the word ‘no’ so many times. There
are times that I cry at night wondering what happened, and at times I
have thought about suicide.
But, I keep on going, hoping the cycle will break.”
#8 In response to my recent article
about Appalachia,
a reader named Rob shared the following…
“I am from rural south central KY (Brodhead, Rockcastle
County) and I can tell you that most of the things described above
are exactly how it is here. There are so many people on drugs it’s
crazy. First it was the meth, which was more of a problem back in
2002-2007, then the pain pills really started becoming a huge
problem, OxyContin and perc 30′s (roxicet) obtained from Florida
and Georgia doctors. The pain pills are something that you can’t
just walk away from after doing them for a while; they cause people
to steal from family, sell everything they own, and/or prostitute
themselves in order to avoid opiate withdrawal.”
#9 A 30-year-old man from California
named Alejandro…
“I need to provide for my son who is diagnosed with
autism and my baby girl. I’ve sold a bunch of my belongings to try
and put food on the table, to buy clothes for my kids, to pay rent
and utilities and to put gas in my vehicle to go job hunting. Not
having money for necessities takes a toll on my mind. Depression has
kicked in. It really takes a toll on one’s self-esteem and
confidence to move forward.I’ve applied to countless amounts of
jobs, only to not even get a call back. I’ve gone from construction
site to construction site, only to be told they are not hiring.
Finally, I got at least a positive call back from a company telling
me they will call me to work in a couple of weeks. I am crossing my
fingers and praying. There are millions of people in my situation or
even worse.”
#10 An excerpt from a heartbreaking
letter that an unemployed woman named Paula Bray sent to
Barack Obama…
Dear Mr. President,
I write to you today because I have nowhere else to turn.
I lost my full time job in September 2012. I have only been able to
find part-time employment — 16 hours each week at $12 per hour —
but I don’t work that every week. For the month of December, my net
pay was $365. My husband and I now live in an RV at a campground
because of my job loss. Our monthly rent is $455 and that doesn’t
include utilities. We were given this 27-ft. 1983 RV when I lost my
job.
This is America today. We have no running water; we use a
hose to fill jugs. We have no shower but the campground does. We have
a toilet but it only works when the sewer line doesn’t freeze —
if it freezes, we use the campground’s restrooms. At night, in my
bed, when it’s cold out, my blanket can freeze to the wall of the
RV. We don’t have a stove or an oven, just a microwave, so
regular-food cooking is out. Recently we found a small toaster oven
on sale so we can bake a little now because eating only microwaved
food just wasn’t working for us. We don’t have a refrigerator,
just an icebox (a block of ice cost about $1.89). It keeps things
relatively cold. If it’s freezing outside, we just put things on
the picnic table.
Sadly, this is just the beginning.
The economic despair that we are witnessing right now is just a
taste of the horrible economic nightmare that is going to unfold in
the United States during the coming years.
And already there are signs that things are starting to take
another turn for the worse. In recent months, we have seen a
whole host of retail chains announce store closings. In fact,
one of my readers wrote to me the other day and told me about a home
appliance chain known as “American
TV” that is going out of business in the Midwest. When
these stores shut down, close to another 1000 Americans will
soon be out of work…
“While this is a sad moment it is also a proud moment.
It’s a moment to be proud of our efforts and to be proud of what we
have delivered to the community”, said Doug Reuhl, President and
CEO of American since 1988. “Words cannot adequately express how
grateful we are to our millions of loyal customers, and to the
incredible, dedicated family of employees that we have been blessed
with over our 60 years of business”. Advanced notice of the
business closing has been given to the 989 employees affected in
eleven locations. Employees will be compensated, with benefits,
through the notification period, and the majority will continue
employment through the closing process.
But if you listen to the mainstream media, you would think that
happy days are here again for America. Just check out some of
the bizarre headlines that I have collected in recent weeks…
CNBC: “Stop
whining! The US economy is in good shape”
USA Today: “Economists:
U.S. will see better growth in ’14”
Newsday: “Why
the economy isn’t doomed”
Most Americans will buy into this propaganda and will never see
the next major economic crisis coming until it is too late to do
anything about it.
So what do you think about all of this?
Do you have a personal story to share?
Delivered by The
Daily Sheeple
Looking for some good economic news today? Then you’ve come to the wrong blog.
Data released Monday morning signaled that an underperforming U.S.
economy got worse in January, hit by production-related weakness.
According to a gauge of the national economy from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago,
activity in January posted below-average growth for a second month,
hitting negative 0.39, the lowest result in six months. The gauge takes
85 economic indicators into account, covering areas such as production,
jobs and consumer spending. Negative values signal a below-average rate
of economic growth, a zero reading means that the economy is growing at
its historical trend rate, and positive values signal
faster-than-average growth.
While the monthly data can be volatile, a trend for the Chicago Fed’s
gauge also shows weakening. The three-month moving average was 0.1 in
January, the lowest result in four months. But don’t worry about a
contracting economy yet. The average in January was above a key reading
of negative 0.7. Once the average drops below negative 0.7 following a
period of growth, then the chances are higher that a recession has
started, according to the Chicago Fed.
News of a faltering economy will sound familiar to those who followed reports in recent weeks that signaled a sputtering housing market, and weakness for retail sales and manufacturing. Elsewhere Monday, a February gauge of the U.S. service sector hit the lowest level in four months, with slower growth for jobs.
An unusually tough winter may be behind some of the recent economic
weakness, but there could be other factors as well. Take the housing
market, for example, which has also faced new mortgage rules, weak jobs
growth and dropping affordability.
But there may be a silver lining for those feeling overwhelmed by a
flurry of weak reports: Chunks of activity delayed by the cold weather
could show up in coming months. Indeed, a recent report forecasting
national growth indicated that the economy may be resilient in early 2014.
–Ruth Mantell
This week:
-Gold up 9%, Silver up 12%, Gold Stock up 23% YTD
-U.S. destabilizing along with the rest of the world
-Trophy Headquarters portend a top in tech
Today’s AM fix was USD 1,333.00, EUR 968.54
and GBP 800.46 per ounce. Friday’s AM fix was USD 1,320.75, EUR
963.63 and GBP 792.20 per ounce.
Gold fell $0.20 or 0.02% Friday to
$1,323.50/oz. Silver lost $0.02 or 0.09% at $21.81/oz. Gold and
silver were both up for the week at 0.37% and 1.68%.
Gold has risen 0.8% in London and reached
$1,334.60/oz, its highest level since October 31. After last years
28% decline, gold is now 11% higher this year.
Gold
in U.S. Dollars, 5 Year – (Bloomberg)
Gold may post its fourth week of gains as
concern of prolonged political unrest in Ukraine raises fears of a
sovereign default and contagion. This is adding to safe haven demand
for gold – particularly in Eastern Europe and Russia.
A breakthrough peace deal for Ukraine has
halted days of violence and may bring sweeping political
change, meeting many of the demands of the pro-European opposition.
However, there are considerable financial and economic challenges
facing Ukrainian banks, the Ukrainian pension system and the wider
economy. There remains the risk of a default that could lead to
contagion.
Bullion for immediate delivery traded at
$1,325.10 an ounce at 2:23 p.m. in Singapore from $1,324.28 on
February 21, when prices capped a third weekly gain.
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.
Pension funds, hedge funds, commodity trading
advisers and futures traders are most likely to have suffered losses
as a result, according to Mr Thomas. He said that many of these
groups were “definitely ready” to file lawsuits.
Daniel Brockett, a partner at law firm Quinn
Emanuel, also said he had spoken to several investors concerned about
potential losses.
Matt Johnson, head of distribution at ETF
Securities, one of the largest providers of exchange-traded products,
said that if gold price collusion is proven, “investors in products
with an expiry price based around the fixing could have been badly
impacted.”
Gregory Asciolla, a partner at Labaton
Sucharow, a U.S. law firm, added: “There are certainly good reasons
for investors to be concerned. They are paying close attention to
this and if the investigations go somewhere, it would not surprise me
if there were lawsuits filed around the world.”
All five banks declined to comment on the
findings, which come amid growing regulatory scrutiny of gold and
precious metal benchmarks.
BaFin, the German regulator, has launched an
investigation into gold-price manipulation and demanded documents
from Deutsche Bank. The bank last month decided to end its role in
gold and silver pricing. The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority is
also examining how the price of gold and other precious metals is set
as part of a wider probe into benchmark manipulation following
finding of wrongdoing with respect to LIBOR and similar allegations
with respect the foreign exchange market.
The
Financial Times article, ‘Gold
price rigging fears put investors on alert’,can
not be accessed this morning, but the Gold Anti Trust Action
Committee (GATA) covered the Financial Times story in their
dispatches and it can be read here.
The
7 Key Allocated Gold Storage Must Haves
1.
Ability to take delivery: Ensure
that can you take delivery of your bullion when you want and where
you want2.
Bullion authenticity: Ensure
your gold bullion is produced and stored within the LBMA chain of
integrity3.
Gold bullion audits: Ensure
your bullion is audited daily, and annually by internationally
recognised auditors4.
On-Line storage inventory: Ensure
that you can log-on to view your bullion item description for bars or
coins, quantity, gross weight, fineness and item value5.
Being able to visit and view holdings:Ensure
that you can arrange to visit and view your physical gold coins and
bars6.
Insurance of bullion at storage facilities: Ensure
that your bullion provider and its storage partners have adequate
insurance cover7.
Guarantee of bailment:Ensure
that the legal ownership of the bullion remains with you
Owning gold directly and in a fully allocated
and fully segregated account remains vital.
