Gold und Silber... Informationen und Vermutungen I

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We might pay you back all the Dollars when the Dollar is far-far less.

Super meine Herren !!

Gnomes of Zurich clock calamity in the making

By Jeff Randall
Last Updated: 2:17am GMT 13/12/2007

Over the course of several centuries, Switzerland's banks have become used to foreigners turning up with bags of loot. Not all arrive in Zurich to buy chocolates and cuckoo clocks.

As a haven of choice for "nervous money", Swiss deposit-takers have welcomed customers who, with good reason, disliked scrutiny. In no particular order of shame, they included the Nazis, Ferdinand Marcos, Haiti's appalling Duvalier family, Joseph Mobutu, who plundered Zaire, Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and the Argentine military junta.

A tradition of financial discretion became formalised in 1934, when Switzerland introduced a banking secrecy law. That lasted until the mid-1980s, when enlightened local magistrates began helping Italian authorities to open up Mafia finances. The game changed again in 1998 with an anti-sleaze campaign and new laws to block money laundering.

advertisementOf course, not all Swiss banks are tainted by a history of dodgy dealings. And, to be fair, some have tried hard to make amends for past associations with ill-gotten gains. In 2000, UBS and Credit Suisse reached a $1.3bn out-of-court settlement with Holocaust survivors.

No amount of post hoc cleaning, however, can hide the fact that Switzerland's self-proclaimed reputation for being "the safest, most professional and prestigious banking place in the world", was built in part on the back of a willingness to regard cash as having no smell.

When super-rich foreigners had "a problem", the Gnomes of Zurich (as Harold Wilson called them in 1964) were more than willing to lend a hand.

Now, in a delicious reversal of fortune, it's Swiss banking that is desperate for help. The cash crunch, precipitated by America's mortgage crisis, has blown a hole in some hitherto rock-solid balance sheets.

As a result, the Gnomes (who in folklore live underground and guard treasure) have been forced to shove their wheelbarrows round the world's financial centres in the hope that kindly investors will chuck in some dollars.

Mighty UBS - formerly the Union Bank of Switzerland - has turned to the government of Singapore for a recapitalisation, after losing $13.5bn in the US sub-prime market.
The Singaporeans have injected nearly $10bn into the bank, with an extra $1.7bn coming from the Middle East (probably Oman).

It is another example of the extraordinary recalibration of power between Old World financial empires and state funds from emerging nations. Singapore's move comes shortly after the Chinese bought a stake in Barclays, and Abu Dhabi shored up Citigroup.

The first-aid package will be a huge blow to Switzerland's self-esteem, not least because UBS is paying 9pc interest for up to two years. This is close to a junk-bond rate. Not what you would expect from a blue-chip bank.

Switzerland cannot afford any lasting damage to its financial services industry, which represents more than 15pc of the country's output and about 200,000 jobs.

In uncertain times, Switzerland's sales message has been: we understand money, so let us look after yours. It worked. Almost one-third of the world's private banking market is thought to be controlled by Swiss institutions.

As with their watches, the Swiss like us to believe that their banking businesses perform with unrivalled precision. But how many of those professionals who have recently poured fortunes into UBS would have done so had they known their cash was being punted on trailer-trash properties in Palookaville?

Indeed, how many UBS directors really understood what the bank was buying when it waded into low-grade American mortgages? The same question might be asked of Credit Suisse, which lost $1bn on sub-prime assets.

I don't imagine for a moment a run on a Swiss bank to match the unravelling of Northern Rock, but the job of the sales team at UBS's wealth management division has just become a little more difficult. That said, with Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays all admitting to heavy sub-prime losses, it's getting harder for the risk-averse depositor to find a home.

The speed with which the turmoil in America has shaken foundations in Europe has stunned seasoned observers. Only two years ago, the BBC business website reported: "Banking boom boosts Swiss banks", after Credit Suisse had announced a 42pc jump in profits and UBS a 71pc increase.

Had you told shareholders then that UBS would wipe out an entire year's profits on collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), not only would most not have believed it, they would not have recognised the term.

Under fire from press and investors, UBS's chairman Marcel Ospel insisted on Monday that he is keeping his job in order to be "part of the solution". For those who find his obduracy surprising, there is a clue to how Swiss bankers think in an anagram of Gnomes of Zurich: Rich Sum Fog Zone.

Klasse Entwicklungshilfe Swissies, wir haben das Haus und ihr schreibt die Verluste.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR MONEY TOBLERONE !!

Bei Jim Sinclair steht heute alles drin was los ist, ich lege nur den teil rein.

Dear CIGAs,

The dollar is up and therefore gold is down. There are significant profits long of gold and short of the US dollar. This is one of the reasons for the violence in the marketplace, but the report below is NO reason for dollar strength.

When the analysis of the report is done you will see a differential in days and other factors designed to make things looks better as the balance act is between keeping the general equities up, the bond market calm for TIC purposes and fighting the greatest financial crisis in history under the cover of better times. This balance is not containable.

If you believe that the US is headed for increasing consumption I will sell you a bridge in Brooklyn, NY.

There is no firm basis for the dollar rally other than short cover to lock in profits before year end by institutions. The managers do not get paid unless the profit is booked. Since the dollar rally has no sustainability, gold has NO sustained ability on the downside. As we speak, I am getting executions on Feb gold purchases at $799.90.

The media analysts are gleefully dismissing any thought of a recession and hailing a return to the good old times. That is total madness.

There are two comments I can make:

Be calm as today is but another passing cloud you have seen a million times already as gold heads toward $1050 and on to $1650
If you have a knot in your shorts (pants) it means you cannot stand the heat. If you do get out of the kitchen and please, please do not return.

more...

http://jsmineset.com/

Metall Report:

Gute Charts, interessant auch der 18 day MA, den sollte man ebenso beobachten.

http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1197586443.php

USD:

The US Dollar

I do not see the Dollar breaking down anytime soon. In fact, I see the Dollar getting stronger against its’ European counterparts because it’s only a matter of time before European Central Banks begin a series of “regular Fed Fund Rate cuts”.

Once this begins, they will move in lock step with our Fed. In fact they may move quicker to lower their rates than our Fed has. Therefore my thought is that they will now match us cut for cut going forward, removing their opportunity to maintain effectively higher rates over the US.

What this means is that the US Dollar may have bottomed out. If so, the first main hurdle for gold is to recognize what is occurring and for investors to move their focus to inflation, not the value of the Dollar.

Employment is staying strong in the US. Retail Sales look pretty good and the PPI is simply red hot. The “hope” for deeper rate cuts, while still in play due to the credit issue is becoming muted out which adds credence to the Fed’s slow pace of lowering the interest rates that the Fed is directly in control of.

Yes, this will be bucking the short-term trend which is down. However the seasonal trend is due to start up after this washout takes place.

Therefore let’s use today’s washout to get long.

All I need is Fiat....
Jedenfalls bei ca. 1.175 SFR/USD wird der USD stark geshorted.

Sehe es so, bei $ 666+ sagte der Teufel kauft Gold, bei 777 $ sollte man den Einkauf bereits erledigt haben.
Bei 888 $ kann man wieder einige Profite bei den PM Aktien mitnehmen und bei 999 $ oder 666+ Euro drehen dann alle durch und stuerzen sich auf Gold wie die Fliegen auf die .....

@Schablonski...genau so ist es.
Man vertuscht die Inflation und Bankenkrise....bis zum neuen Jahr.