Ron Paul Calls for Audit of US Gold Reserves

[Steve]

If its there then fine. The point is we don't know so why shouldn't we or at least the Congress know. Even if they don't share the details. Let me ask you this why does it have to be secret.

We are not on the gold standard so it doesn't change much if anything.

 

[chuckwoww]

If it's not there a lot of Americans will go apeshit. They may start throwing pizza at the TV.

[rchapstick]

I'm pretty sure the gold is all there. Bruce Willis stopped the bad guys from stealing it in one of those Die Hard movies.

[acockasian]

If its there then fine. The point is we don't know so why shouldn't we or at least the Congress know. Even if they don't share the details. Let me ask you this why does it have to be secret.

We are not on the gold standard so it doesn't change much if anything.

 

This would go a long way toward reassuring the countries that we depend on to invest in dollar debt to subsidize government spending.

 

The US is not in a vacuum although you might not know that from watching US news.

[Nervous God]

Thing is more gold is held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Vault.

 

Why we never hear about that place getting broken into!

[cavanami]

Since the Federal Reserve is NOT part of the US gov but a PRIVATE group of bankers...WTF, why are they holding MY gold, as a US citizen I do NOT want the (not) Federal (not) Reserve holding the US gov gold.

 

Don't agree...just send me all your money and I will hold it for you (not you ND, but those that don't agree)

[acockasian]

Some states have just started to reduce pensions of people who are already retired. Gradually these numbers will increase.

 

When the number becomes much larger than it is now and Americans realize not only do they have to give up their a big chunk of retirement but tolerate price increases due to a devalued dollar then maybe somebody will notice.

 

More of the same is not going to fix anything and the changes required are really not that radical.

[Old Hippie]

SO what are the changes? Make me work longer before I can retire? Reduce my benefits, and make me "personally responsible;e for my retirement" now that I am 1/2 way or better through my working life? Keep changing the rules so I can not plan properly? What man what? what is the magic economic bullet that will save us? I hope you have it, because so far, all the experts have been wrong it seems.

[Bangkoktraveler]

SO what are the changes? Make me work longer before I can retire? Reduce my benefits, and make me "personally responsible;e for my retirement" now that I am 1/2 way or better through my working life? Keep changing the rules so I can not plan properly? What man what? what is the magic economic bullet that will save us? I hope you have it, because so far, all the experts have been wrong it seems.

 

 

The plan that really works is the worker who receives his first Social Security check and dies before he deposits it in the bank.

[acockasian]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-30/gold-rallying-to-1-500-for-analysts-as-soros-s-bubble-inflates.html

 

Investors are accumulating enough bullion to fill Switzerland’s vaults twice over as gold’s most- accurate forecasters say the longest rally in at least nine decades has further to go no matter what the economy holds.

 

Analysts raised their 2011 forecasts more than for any other precious metal the past two months, predicting a 10th annual advance, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The most widely held option on gold futures traded in New York is for $1,500 an ounce by December, or 18 percent more than the record $1,266.50 reached June 21. Holdings through bullion-backed exchange-traded products are already at more than 2,075 metric tons, within 0.1 percent of the all-time high.

 

“Either a swift economic recovery or further dismal economic performance should bring new buyers into the market,†said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt who was the most accurate forecaster in the first quarter and expects the metal to rise as high as $1,400 next year. “A stronger economy would create more jewelry demand. If the economy stays weak or gets worse, then investors will be looking for a safe haven.â€Â

 

Investors added to their gold holdings through ETPs for three consecutive weeks, reflecting demand for assets typically favored in times of financial stress. Two-year Treasury yields fell to a record low of 0.4542 percent on Aug. 24 and the yen reached a 15-year high against the dollar the same day. Pacific Investment Management Co., Deutsche Bank AG and Citigroup Inc. have announced or are offering funds or traded instruments designed to guard against sudden market declines.

 

Swiss Reserves

 

Buyers accumulated almost 278 tons of gold in 2010 across 10 ETPs tracked by Bloomberg, worth $10.4 billion at this year’s average price. Total holdings are almost twice Switzerland’s official reserves of 1,040 tons, data compiled by the World Gold Council show. ETP holdings reached a record 2,078 tons July 19, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

 

One of the biggest buyers has been Soros Fund Management LLC, which oversees about $25 billion. George Soros, who made $1 billion breaking the Bank of England’s defense of the pound in 1992, described gold as “the ultimate asset bubble†at the World Economic Forum’s January meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Buying at the start of a bubble is “rational,†he said.

 

Soros Fund Management sold 341,250 shares of the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest ETP backed by bullion, in the second quarter, according to an Aug. 16 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. That still left a holding of 5.24 million shares, equal to almost 16 tons. Soros declined to comment on the change, through a spokesman.

 

Accurate Forecasters

 

Gold may rise as high as $1,500 next year, 21 percent more than the $1,240 traded at 1:45 p.m. in London, according to the median in a Bloomberg survey of 29 analysts, traders and investors. Dan Brebner, an analyst at Deutsche Bank in London who is the most accurate forecaster so far this year, says the metal may reach $1,550.

 

Bullion gained 13 percent since January, beating an 8.4 percent return on Treasuries, an 8 percent decline in the MSCI World Index of shares and the 10 percent slump in the S&P GSCI Total Return Index of 24 raw materials.

 

Investors are concerned the recovery is weakening. Sales of new U.S. homes fell to an all-time low in July, the Commerce Department said Aug. 25. The U.S. economy grew at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter, less than previously calculated, the department said Aug. 27. U.S. growth will slow to 2.8 percent next year, compared with 3 percent in 2010, according to the median of as many as 69 economists’ forecasts compiled by Bloomberg.

 

Bullion gained 13 percent since January, beating an 8.4 percent return on Treasuries, an 8 percent decline in the MSCI World Index of shares and the 10 percent slump in the S&P GSCI Total Return Index of 24 raw materials.

 

Investors are concerned the recovery is weakening. Sales of new U.S. homes fell to an all-time low in July, the Commerce Department said Aug. 25. The U.S. economy grew at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter, less than previously calculated, the department said Aug. 27. U.S. growth will slow to 2.8 percent next year, compared with 3 percent in 2010, according to the median of as many as 69 economists’ forecasts compiled by Bloomberg.

 

‘Fear Another Crisis’

 

People “fear another crisis and so they will diversify into gold,†said Thorsten Proettel, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany, who was also the most- accurate forecaster in the first quarter. He expects gold to trade as high as $1,350 next year. Anne-Laure Tremblay, an analyst at BNP Paribas SA in London whose forecast was also the best in the period, is estimating a 2011 high of $1,370.

 

Bullion’s four-fold rally since the end of 2000 has attracted fund managers Eric Mindich and John Paulson. Mindich’s $13 billion Eton Park Capital Management LP bought almost 6.58 million shares of the SPDR Gold Trust in the second quarter, according to an Aug. 16 SEC filing. That’s equal to about 20 tons of gold. Paulson & Co., managing $31 billion, held 31.5 million shares in the SPDR Gold Trust, making it the largest investor, an Aug. 16 SEC filing shows.

 

Astor Sells

 

Astor Asset Management LLC, with about $570 million of assets, once had as much as 10 percent of its holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, according to Bryan Novak, managing director of the Chicago-based company. The firm sold the stake at the end of last year for a profit and now owns silver, copper and a multicommodity ETP.

 

“We don’t believe we’re heading into a double-dip recession,†Novak said. “Gold carries some risk because a lot of people are piling into the trade.â€Â

 

A plunge in equities may spur investors to sell their gold holdings to raise cash, he said. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 14 percent since this year’s peak on April 26.

 

...........the story is longer but the key points are above.

 

We are in SCARY times.