Metals Capped Again, but Climbing Upward

The financial situation here in America should not rob us of hope. As we examine the world about us, we can let ourselves be fearful or we can look to and trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As joint heirs with Him, we can rest in Him amidst any storm which He brings into our lives. We know that each challenge is for our growth. Also, we know that each challenge has been experienced by men before us and that He will always provide a way of escape that we would not be tested or tried beyond that which we can endure. We must always trust in Him and know that He will not leave us.

So many are His promises and we are certain that He cannot lie. Were He to lie, He would not be God. But HE is THE GOD. Praise Him daily and be sure to join in corporate worship on the coming Lord's Day. It is our joyful duty!

Gold seems to be capped each time it moves upward. However, the upward pressure is still very strong and I would expect it to resume its upward thrust very soon. Presently gold has moved up to 853.10 and silver to 13.35 with both on up ticks. There is still a lot of buying into the metals and the mining stocks. Our trading stocks are showing signs of life. DROOY is up to 8.18; HMY is slightly lower at 12.30, and VGZ is 2.12. Both HMY and VGZ are in careful, cautious buying range for me.


From Bloomberg:

Banks Vacate Towers Pushing Empty NYC Space to Record

By David M. Levitt

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- New York’s biggest banks and securities firms may relinquish 8 million square feet of office space this year, deepening the worst commercial property slump in more than a decade as they abandon a record amount of property.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and industry rivals have vacated 4.6 million feet, a figure that may climb by another 4 million as businesses leave or sublet space they no longer need, according to CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the largest commercial property broker. Read it HERE.

From Reuters:

Swiss party wants to punish U.S. for UBS probe

Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:53am EST

ZURICH, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) called on Saturday for retaliation against the United States over a U.S. tax probe into the country's biggest bank UBS that threatens prized banking secrecy. Read it HERE.

From GATA:

Gold coin shortage as demand soars

Submitted by cpowell on Wed, 2009-02-25 20:22.

By Javier Blas
Financial Times, London
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

NEW YORK -- The rush by retail investors into bullion coins is creating shortages as mints across the world struggle to meet the surge in demand, dealers and mint officials say.

The scarcity is lifting coin premiums to as much as 5 per cent above the spot gold price, a level reached briefly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September, when coin shortages also surfaced. Read it HERE.

From The Telegraph UK:

The people say they'll keep calm and carry on. . . but for how long?

Labour has failed us – and if the Tories can't find a solution to our problems, the public mood could turn ugly, warns Simon Heffer.

Simon Heffer
Last Updated: 7:27PM GMT 25 Feb 2009

Last Saturday we went for an outing to Woodbridge, a charming and apparently prosperous market town in east Suffolk. It took but a few moments wandering along the main shopping street to note something unusual. Almost every shop (excluding the handful that have closed down) had at least one poster in the window proclaiming KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. You may have seen this poster. It was printed by the government in 1940 for use in the event of an invasion. It is a tribute to the temper of our people in those times that it would probably have been taken seriously. Read it HERE.

From MineWeb:

Gold ETFs - are these the World's best-performing securities?

Retail-style gold bullion ETFs this week hit record levels, holding 45m ounces of gold, more than China and India combined.

Author: Barry Sergeant
Posted: Thursday , 26 Feb 2009

JOHANNESBURG -

This week, the world's six largest gold ETFs (exchange traded funds) held an aggregate 44.6m ounces of gold, or 1,247 metric tons, under management, an all time record. Commodity ETFs, such as these, trade just as do listed stocks, but instead of running as operating gold diggers, the funds buy (and sometimes sell) physical gold bullion, on behalf of investors, saving them the hassles of transport, delivery, storage, security, insurance, and handling. This is real gold, with electronic convenience. Read it HERE.

This is an interesting article fairly covering the gold ETFs reporting the total holding and value of the metals held. It seems that they have been the best securities for some time. And the mining stocks are not far behind.

Below, are the graphs of GDX (Miners) and GLD (Gold ETF). Note that both are in a strong upward move. Tracing the highs with a trend line and the lows with a trend line, we would define an upward trough. For me, as the price neared the lower trend line, it would be a buy sign. Carefully, consider your portfolio and situation to see if it would be right for you.

More from MineWeb:

Witnesses testify mining law reform bill will result in more U.S. job losses

What former Interior Solicitor John Leshy called the most important task among public lands issues-mining law reform--is once again gathering momentum in a congressional subcommittee. Author: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: Friday , 27 Feb 2009

RENO, NV -

As yet another in a steady stream of mining law reform bills kicked off in its first hearing in a congressional subcommittee Thursday, a Nevada local government official warned representatives, "It would be unforgivable if-especially now in a time of economic crisis-this industry was damaged or destroyed by well meaning but misguided officials from our own government."

In testimony before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy & Mining, Elko County, Nevada, Commission Chair Sheri Eklund-Brown asked, "In my community, and maybe in yours, we often hear people wondering: why are Americas losing high-wage jobs? Why are industries that support them moving off shore?" Read it HERE.

This is just more of the intervention by the Federal Government into the market place. We must keep that bull out of the china, or the results will certainly be fewer jobs. Look at the loss of manufacturing, as well as mining industry over the last two decades. This is the result of the bull thrashing around with regulation, taxation, and what all. We need no more of this.

Best to each, Doug