Asian demand for crude to drive switch to renminbi

"The increasing demand for crude in Asian countries such as China was enough reason for the region to prepare to pay for trade in the Chinese currency renminbi (RMB), an HSBC official said.
Georges Elhedery, HSBC head, Global Banking and Markets (Mena), noted that the region was slow to adopt RMB since trade between the Middle East and China was still highly dependent on the greenback.
“The Middle East has been slow in adopting RMB but we’re starting to see a shift in the region towards the Chinese currency,” Elhedery told Gulf Times in a meeting with reporters at the HSBC offices in Doha.

He explained that minimal oil and gas exports to the West have made the region dependent on Eastern buyers such as South Korea, Japan, and China, which was critical in setting the international price of crude.
Elhedery stressed that the income of the region from energy reserves depended on China’s economic performance. “Considering how China fares would also be reflected soon in their currency as it becomes free-floating,” the HSBC official said..."

at http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/21611

U.S. army may station tanks in Eastern Europe

"The U.S. Army plans to deploy about 150 tanks and armored vehicles to NATO countries next year and some of the heavy armor may be stationed in Eastern Europe, Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, Commander of U.S. Army Europe, said on Tuesday.
The move is part of a U.S. effort dubbed “Operation Atlantic Resolve” in the Baltic states and Poland to reassure allies anxious about a resurgent Russia, with American troops deploying for several months at a time to conduct joint exercises.
Nearly 50 armored vehicles are already in place and another 100 “M1 Abrams” tanks and “Bradley” fighting vehicles will be pre-positioned in Germany and possibly elsewhere for the U.S. troops conducting drills with NATO partners, Hodges told AFP in a phone interview from Estonia.
“The troops will come over and train, and they’ll go back. The equipment will stay behind,” Hodges said..."

at http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/21662

China opens second land port in Nepal to boost trade with South Asia

"In a major boost for bilateral trade between China and Nepal, a second cross-border trading route has come into operation in Tibet, allowing the communist trading giant to expand its trade with South Asia.

China yesterday officially opened the Gyirong Port on the Rasuwagadhi border in Nepal, the second land route for bilateral trade, state-run media reported.

“It will further help both sides facilitate bilateral trade and boost tourism and cooperation,” said Zhang Hongbo, Deputy Party chief of Xigaze prefecture in the Tibetautonomous region, where the port is located.

For long, the Tatopani border served as the sole trade route between China and Nepal.

“Operation of the port means a solid foundation for China to build the South Asia trading area and it will help to promote trade between China and South Asian countries in the near future,” said Su Yuanming, director of the Port Administrative Office of Tibet..."

at  http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/21687

The Pentagon Is Considering Redeploying Nuclear Missiles In Europe To Counter Putin

"The Pentagon is considering the re-deployment of nuclear cruise missiles in Europe in response to a new Russian cruise missile that the United States has charged violates a 1987 nuclear treaty, a senior Pentagon official told Congress on Wednesday.

Brian P. McKeon, deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said US cruise missile deployments are among a range of options being considered if Russian fails to return to compliance with the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty..."

at http://freebeacon.com/national-security/pentagon-considering-deployment-of-nuclear-missiles-in-europe/#ixzz3LcT0ZnUG

These 7 Men Owned The Company Linked To CIA Torture

"Reverse-Engineering Torture

Most of the owners of Mitchell, Jessen & Associates previously worked with the military's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) program, which trains American service members to survive and resist interrogation by enemy forces. In this program, they worked with soldiers who survived being captured and abused in foreign countries. The SERE trainers studied the effects of this torture. They also engaged in role-playing scenarios in which they taught soldiers to face these techniques. 

Participation in the SERE program gave the owners of Mitchell, Jessen & Associates firsthand experience in identifying which torture techniques were most effective and the psychology behind them. The CIA later reverse-engineered these tactics to use on terrorism suspects at so-called black sites placed in foreign countries outside of US legal jurisdiction, because the practices employed during these "enhanced" interrogations were clearly prohibited by US law.

In 2011, Truthout obtained a series of handwritten notes it said were written by Dr. John Bruce Jessen, who Business Insider has learned was the president of Mitchell, Jessen & Associates. In these notes, written during his time working at the SERE program, Jessen described what he referred to as the "psychological aspects of detention."

CIAA diagram showing conflicting psychological pressures on a prisoner, included in a paper written by Dr. Bruce Jessen.

Jessen's notes described how torture could be effective and gave US soldiers strategies to withstand abuse. He warned detainers would "manipulate and control your external environment almost at will." These notes outlined some of the same strategies CIA interrogators would later use on terrorism suspects at black sites, where the Senate report said detainees were subjected to loud rock music and severe cold temperatures..."

at http://www.businessinsider.com/the-company-behind-cia-torture-2014-12#ixzz3LcSSZIMv

Charts Show 28 Seriously Troubled Mega-Banks: 24 of them in Europe

"I have been saying for years that European banks are in far worse shape than US banks. We can now show that in chart form thanks to Ophir Gottlieb, CEO of Capital Market Labs.

Let's start with a visualization of the day: Worldwide Mega Cap Banks: Is Europe in Crisis? 

 If we take all of the banks in the world with market caps larger than $25 billion USD and then plot them with total assets on the x-axis and non-performing loans as a percentage of total loans, ALL of the top eleven are in Europe.

Click on any chart in this post for a sharper image.

Severe European Bank Crisis

Ophir Gottlieb expanded on the European bank crisis idea in this guest MarketWatch post yesterday: Opinion: European banks are Stuck in a Severe Crisis. 

 Big banks in Europe are riskier than anywhere else in the world.

They have higher non-performing loans, greater asset shrinkage, larger losses and higher debt-to-equity ratios. And European banks are bracing for even worse loan losses.

It’s the combination of those characteristics that lead to a crisis, and the eurozone essentially is in one today. 

Non-performing loans over total loans

There are 200 banks in the world with market values of more than $5 billion, 48 of which are in Europe. The chart below plots non-performing loans over total loans on the y-axis and market capitalization (or value) on the x-axis for that population of banks.

If we take the population of world banks greater than $5 billion in market capitalization and select those with non-performing loans over total loans that are greater than 5% (worse than the Bank of America/Countrywide/Merrill Lynch combination), we are left with 24 banks. Twenty-one of those are in Europe.

at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/12/charts-show-28-seriously-troubled-mega.html#6qF6Wyzfx8pKrdME.99

Russell Napier: This Has Never Happened Before Without A Drop In Stock Prices

"From Russell Napier, of The Solid Ground via ERIC

It Can't Happen Here, Can It?

The Solid Ground has long flagged the importance of falling inflation expectations when nominal interest rates are so low. The Fed cannot lower nominal rates, so its control over real rates of interest rests entirely with its ability to create actual inflation or manage inflation. After five and a half years of QE, inflation expectations are very near their lows. The chart below shows the break-even inflation rate of the five-year Treasury Inflation Protected security. Over the next five years investors now expect inflation to average just below 1.3%. This level of expected inflation has always previously been associated with a decline in US equity prices. There have been no exceptions until today..."

at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-11/russell-napier-has-never-happened-without-drop-stock-prices

"We Tortured Some Folks...But" Historic CIA Mea Culpa Press Conference - Live Feed

"CIA Director John Brennan is due to make a rare public statement and answer press questions with regard the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's use of torture..."

at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-11/we-tortured-some-folksbut-historic-cia-mea-culpa-press-conference-live-feed

Deutsche, Barclays FX Algos Busted For FX Rigging

"First it was humans. Now it is vacuum tubes.

Having quickly learned that letting carbon-based traders engage in FX (or stock, or bond, or Libor, but not gold, never gold) rigging usually leads to said carbon-trader ultimately being fired with the bank suffering a violent slap on the wrist, banks are getting smart, and have - as we have been claiming for about 4 years - decided to let pre-programmed algos do all the market manipulation. Only this time it is not some tinfoil blog making this accusation, but New York regulators who according to Bloomberg, have found evidence that Barclays Deutsche Bank may have used algorithms on their trading platforms to manipulate foreign-exchange rates, a person with knowledge of the investigation said.

As Bloomberg reports, the practice suggests there may be a systemic problem involving automated tools that goes beyond individuals colluding to rig currency benchmarks and take advantage of less sophisticated clients.

Whatever tipped them off: was it looking at any given Yen cross for about a minute and seeing the now surreal stop hunts that take place on a constant basis as algos outrig each other in attempts to pick the pockets of any human fools who still think they have a chance in yet another rigged, manipulated market.

The algorithms’ use is being scrutinized by the New York Department of Financial Services, said the person. The investigators are looking into the practice at each bank and it isn’t clear if there’s a link between the two, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the matter isn’t public. The algorithms were embedded in Barclays’s BARX trading platform and Deutsche Bank’s Autobahn system, according to the person.

The two services provide electronic marketplaces for the banks’ customers to trade currencies. Rather than directly matching one client’s buy order with another’s request to sell, the systems aggregate all requests from the banks’ clients to create prices that are displayed to customers. The banks profit from the spread or the difference in the price at which currency is sold and bought..."

at  http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-11/deutsche-barclays-fx-algos-busted-fx-rigging

Is This The Trigger That Will Send The World Into Crisis?

"Another Pair Of Eyes – My good friend, Peter Boockvar, over at the Lindsey Group put out a very thorough note on markets this morning.  Here's a bit on Europe:

 

European stock markets are modestly rebounding from yesterday’s sell off but Greece again is the problem due to its political concerns. After jumping by 93 bps yesterday, the Greek 5 yr CDS is spiking by another 115 bps to 950 bps, the highest since October ’13 (though remains a fraction below the default concerns in 2012). The 3 yr Greek yield was up by 182 bps yesterday and is higher by 108 bps today to 9.38%. It was 6.44% one week ago. The 10 yr yield is up by 33 bps to 8.51% after the 94 bps jump Tuesday. The Athens stock market is down another 1.7% after plunging by almost 13% yesterday. Greece in itself should be a non event for the rest of us but there is a 2nd day of selling in the peripheral debt of Italy, Spain and Portugal. Spain’s 10 yr yield is up 8 bps over the past two days while Italy’s up by 13 bps and Portugal’s 10 yr is higher by almost 20 bps.

 

You still need a microscope though to see the yields that these bonds ex Greece bring the buyer. Mario Draghi wants to buy a lot of sovereign bonds soon but we have to ask if European banks will sell their holdings to them. The Bank of Italy today said Italian banks own the most amount of Italian sovereign debt in 6 years. The question then is what will these banks do with the money that they collect on a sale to the ECB. Will they lend it out? Hopefully but only if there is demand and good credit borrowers. If not, Italian banks will have to settle for a negative interest rate if they park the money at the ECB. To avoid this penalty and if lending is not attractive, these banks may choose to hold on to their bonds. We’ll see and while Draghi will likely have plenty of support for sovereign QE, we can add ECB governing council member Ardo Hansson from Estonia who is “quite skeptical about the idea of long term, large scale purchases of sovereign assets.” He said he’s “much more comfortable with the idea of looking into the universe of corporate bonds.”

 

Lastly in Europe, French industrial production in October fell .8% m/o/m, well worse than expectations of up .2% as manufacturing production went negative. On a y/o/y basis, French IP is negative for 8 out of the last 9 months. The overall level of production is 17% below its ’08 peak. Sovereign QE from the ECB is not going to fix this when the French 10 yr yield is already trading at .97%..."

at http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2014/12/10_Is_This_The_Trigger_That_Will_Send_The_World_Into_Crisis.html

Are Gold, Silver, Oil & Mining Shares Making Historic Bottoms?

"Today KWN is putting out a special piece which features two remarkable charts revealing the greatest opportunity in the war in the gold, silver, and oil markets.  These are charts that the big banks follow closely, as well as big money and savvy professionals.  David P. out of Europe sent us the two key charts along with his commentary..."

at http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2014/12/11_Are_Gold,_Silver,_Oil_%26_Mining_Shares_Making_Historic_Bottoms.html

With Trillions Of Dollars They Are Now Shocking The World

"Oil As A Weapon – The incomparable Don Coxe, one of the very best observers and analysts of global commodities recently wrote this:

 

……. Most observers thought the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would cut its production to protect its members’ incomes and slash frackers’ profits. If these were ordinary times in the Mideast, that forecast would have been accurate.

But this has been a year of major geopolitical crises in the region, and the Sunni Arab oil states have found themselves facing grim challenges.

By October, it was becoming clear to us and others that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Emirate allies could not afford to continue petro-pricing business as usual with sectarian wars exploding out of control, threatening the entire region.

In particular, they were infuriated that the Shia regime in Syria was being propped up by Iran and Russia. Moreover, Iran seemed to be getting closer to becoming a nuclear power with each month. Amid the chaos, the Islamic State terrorists had suddenly become a formidable challenge to the entire region, and they were getting increasing revenues from oil properties they had seized.

The Saudis had long since concluded that U.S. President Barack Obama was a weak reed – at best. So, we believe they felt forced to stop the cash flows to Syria, Iran and the Islamic State and deter Russia. They decided to keep pumping oil, allegedly to fight fracking, but also to weaken their regional foes.

No one knows how long this strategy will continue. The Gulf States have trillions in sovereign wealth funds to back their budgets..."

at http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2014/12/11_With_Trillions_Of_Dollars_They_Are_Now_Shocking_The_World.html

Here Is The Reason Gold & Silver Spiked After Comex Close

"James Turk:  “Today was a quiet one, Eric, with a relatively narrow trading range for both gold and silver -- until after hours when gold and silver both began to move higher. So it was constructive from a technical point of view in that both precious metals have held above their low price from Friday. Everyday is positive when the low price of the previous day is not broken. Powerful uptrends typically have many consecutive days with higher lows....

“Here in London some of the intense pressure we have seen in recent weeks as a consequence of the demand for physical deliveries has eased somewhat. If you believe the GOFO rates reported on the LBMA website, backwardation in gold has disappeared. However physical metal remains tight.

It is useful to consider whether what the LBMA reports is useful. It is another piece of the puzzle. So it is useful in that sense. But GOFO is a contrived rate. More often than not, it reflects what central banks want it to reflect. We have to keep in mind that GOFO is just a politically correct way to state the reality that gold has an interest rate, even though gold was supposedly demonetized in 1971. In other words, gold is no longer supposed to have any interest rate because the government said it is no longer money.

So the important point is not “GOFO” per se. After all, we don’t talk about DOFO or EURFO, but the dollar and the euro obviously have forward rates too. The key point is gold's interest rate (which is calculated by subtracting GOFO from LIBOR) in relation to dollar or euro interest rates.

Gold lending is not really a competitive market. The minimum loan is 30,000 oz, which is roughly one tonne, and lending deals are often done in terms of multiple tonnes. So given the sizes involved, the gold lending market is dominated by central banks. Basically, they can make gold lending rates whatever they want them to be. Gold interest rates are even more rigged than dollar or euro interest rates simply because the gold lending market is so small, and therefore easier to control, particularly when compared to that of other currencies.

However, with LIBOR rates next to zero, central bank room to maneuver is limited. Either gold goes into backwardation, meaning that gold interest rates are higher than dollar rates, or gold interest rates go negative, which would imply that central banks need to pay to get someone to borrow their gold. Both these alternatives are signs of abnormal market conditions. And conditions in pretty much every market around the world are indeed abnormal because of central bank monetary policy and their constant interventions.

Regardless of the LBMA report, there was backwardation on some quotes I saw earlier today. It is sort of fictitious reporting, just like the fictitious Comex reporting that never shows any backwardation - ever. What’s important is market action itself, not the reporting of it. Consequently, we may yet see a flurry of activity and more demands for physical metal before the slowdown that typically occurs as the yearend holidays approach. This is the most likely reason for the spike higher in gold and silver after the Comex close, and may be an indication of what’s to come.

Gold didn’t close above $1220 last week, Eric, which I thought was a reasonable target given the huge upside reversal that occurred on Monday. But I am continuing to watch this level. That’s where the central banks have drawn a line in the sand. So gold needs to hurdle that resistance level to confirm that last Monday’s key reversal did indeed mark the low of gold’s 3-year correction. Hurdling that $1220 level will also confirm that gold’s multi-decade bull market is back on track.”

at http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2014/12/8_Here_Is_The_Reason_Gold_%26_Silver_Spiked_After_Comex_Close.html

'The Chinese Century'

"Joe Stiglitz:

The Chinese Century: ...2014 was the last year in which the United States could claim to be the world’s largest economic power. China enters 2015 in the top position, where it will likely remain for a very long time, if not forever. In doing so, it returns to the position it held through most of human history. ...

The areas where the United States remains competitive with China are not always ones we’d most want to call attention to. The two countries have comparable levels of inequality. ... China outpaces America in the number of people executed every year, but the U.S. is far ahead when it comes to the proportion of the population in prison... China overtook the U.S. in 2007 as the world’s largest polluter, by total volume, though on a per capita basis we continue to hold the lead. The United States remains the largest military power... (not that we have always used our military power wisely). But the bedrock strength of the U.S. has always rested less on hard military power than on “soft power,” most notably its economic influence. That is an essential point to remember. ...

The economic interests of China and the U.S. are intricately intertwined. We both have an interest in seeing a stable and well-functioning global political and economic order. Given historical memories and its own sense of dignity, China won’t be able to accept the global system simply as it is, with rules that have been set by the West, to benefit the West and its corporate interests, and that reflect the West’s perspectives. We will have to cooperate, like it or not—and we should want to. In the meantime, the most important thing America can do to maintain the value of its soft power is to address its own systemic deficiencies—economic and political practices that are corrupt, to put the matter baldly, and skewed toward the rich and powerful. ...

[There's quite a bit more in the article.]"

at http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2014/12/the-chinese-century.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EconomistsView+%28Economist%27s+View%29

The $9 TRILLION Crash Your Broker Doesn't Even Know About

"The financial world focuses far too much on stocks. The stock market, despite being at record highs (meaning record market capitalizations) remains one of the smallest, and least sophisticated markets on the planet.

Consider that stocks, even at current lofty levels, have a global market capitalization of slightly over $60 trillion.

In contrast, the global bond market is well over $100 trillion.

And the global currency market trades OVER $5.3 trillion per day.

It is currencies, not stocks, where the most significant moves occur. The currency markets are the largest, most liquid markets in the world. They are always first to move when things change. Stocks are the DUMB money compared to currencies.

So who cares?

Everyone should care, because, globally, the world is awash in borrowed money… most of it in US Dollars.

When you BORROW in US Dollars you are effectively SHORTING the US Dollar. So when the US Dollar rallies… you have to cover your SHORT or you blow up.

I’ve written before about this problem. Last month I projected that the US Dollar carry trade (borrowing in US Dollars to finance other investments) was the largest carry trade in the world. At that time I believed the US Dollar carry trade is believed to be north of $3 trillion.

I was WRONG… WAY, WAY WRONG. It’s MANY MULTIPLES LARGER THAN THAT.

Off-shore lending in US dollars has soared to $9 trillion and poses a growing risk to both emerging markets and the world's financial stability, the Bank for International Settlements has warned.

SOURCE: the TELEGRAPH.

The US Dollar carry trade is north of $9 trillion… literally larger than the economies of Germany and Japan COMBINED.

And the US Dollar is rallying… HARD.

The fact that Oil is imploding at the same time this happens is not coincidence. Oil producers and explorers were financing their projects using what? BORROWED DOLLARS.

This is going to begin seeping into emerging markets and other assets soon. Imagine what the world would look like it $9 trillion worth of shorted Dollars had to be covered? Imagine the SELL PRESSURE this would induce in all other assets.

Just like 2008.

If you’ve yet to take action to prepare for the second round of the financial crisis, we offer a FREE investment report Financial Crisis "Round Two" Survival Guide that outlines easy, simple to follow strategies you can use to not only protect your portfolio from a market downturn, but actually produce profits.

You can pick up a FREE copy at:

http://www.phoenixcapitalmarketing.com/roundtwo.html

Best Regards

Phoenix Capital Research"

at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-08/9-trillion-crash-your-broker-doesnt-even-know-about

World in a Box

"Of all the problems with fiat currency, the most basic is that it empowers the dark side of human nature. We’re potentially good but infinitely corruptible, and giving an unlimited monetary printing press to a government or group of banks is guaranteed to produce a dystopia of ever-greater debt and more centralized control, until the only remaining choice is between deflationary collapse or runaway inflation. The people in charge at that point are in a box with no painless exit.

Prudent Bear’s Doug Noland describes the shape of today’s box in his latest Credit Bubble Bulletin:

Right here we can identify a key systemic weak link: Market pricing and bullish perceptions have diverged profoundly both from underlying risk (i.e. Credit, liquidity, market pricing, policymaking, etc.) and diminishing Real Economy prospects. And now, with a full-fledged securities market mania inflating the Financial Sphere, it has become impossible for central banks to narrow the gap between the financial Bubbles and (disinflationary) real economies. More stimulus measures only feed the Bubble and prolong parabolic (“Terminal Phase”) increases in systemic risk. In short, central bankers these days are trapped in policies that primarily inflate risk. The old reflation game no longer works."

at  http://dollarcollapse.com/the-economy/world-in-a-box/

Bankers, Media, Governments & Anti-Gold Propaganda

"On the heels of continued volatility in global markets, today one of the top economists in the world sent King World News a powerful piece discussing the increased anti-gold propaganda emanating from banks, media, and Western governments.  Below is the fantastic piece from Michael Pento.

December 6 (King World News) - Bankers, Media, Governments & Anti-Gold Propaganda

Gold is hated more than ever by both governments and the financial services community. This is because it has now become imperative to keep the illusion of confidence in sovereign debt and paper currencies. To that end, a gentleman by the name of Willem Buiter, Citigroup’s chief economist, shot into the media spotlight by writing a note on the day before Thanksgiving stating his belief that gold is in a 6,000 year-old bubble...."

at http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/KWN_DailyWeb/Entries/2014/12/8_NWO_Gangs_Pushing_The_World_To_The_Brink.html

US Treasury Warns Investors Underestimate "Potential For A Market Reversal", Take "Low Volatility For Granted"

"It was about a year ago when, in its inaugural annual report, the Treasury's Office of Financial Research issued its first tentative warning about the lack of market liquidity. To wit: "Impaired trading liquidity — the inability to execute large trades without having a significant impact on market prices — could aggravate some of the threats already discussed... Liquidity has become increasingly concentrated, with large, investment-grade bonds showing the strongest liquidity, while some smaller, high-yield issues have become less liquid... The growth in exchange-traded funds within the corporate bond market increases the potential to weaken market liquidity during periods of market stress."..."

at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-04/us-treasury-warns-investors-underestimate-potential-market-reversal-take-low-volatil

It's All Coming To An End, Bill Gross Warns

"Say what you want about Bill Gross, but the legendary bond investor is absolutely spot on in the following paragraph from his latest, December, investment outlook:

How could they? How could policymakers have allowed so much debt to be created in the first place, and then failed to regulate their own system accordingly? How could they have thought that money printing and debt creation could create wealth instead of just more and more debt? How could fiscal authorities have stood by and attempted to balance budgets as opposed to borrowing cheaply and investing the proceeds in infrastructure and innovation? It has been a nursery rhyme experience for sure, but more than likely without a fairytale ending.

Here is the full letter (link):..."

at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-04/its-all-coming-end-bill-gross-warns

Draghi: We Have Nothing To Fear But Gold-Buying Itself

"ECB head Mario Draghi made it clear where the real battle is taking place in the world this morning. When asked what form QE would take, his response was to the point... "On what sorts of assets should be included in QE... we discussed all assets BUT gold" and gold dropped, right on cue.

Not really sure which assets we discussed but definitley not gold!!

And the result...

*  *  *

So to summarize, the ECB will willingly take on Greek bank CDOs, Italian 3rd lien espresso shop loans, Spanish condo HELOCs, and Portuguese Used-Car ABS... but not - never - gold.

*  *  *

It appears we now know who the enemy really is... not deflation but the dreaded barbarous relic, gold.

Perhaps this is why, as Kyle Bass so eloquently noted:

"Buying gold is just buying a put against the idiocy of the political cycle. It's That Simple"

Q.E.D."

at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-04/draghi-we-have-nothing-fear-gold-buying-itself