<<<There are 2 articles out today at Lemetropolecafe on the CFTC Hearings, one by Bix Weir and one by Mexico Mike [Coach]. If you have access to the cafe you can perhaps get them up here tomorrow....I have no clue how to do that. ...pic>>>

From 'Mexico Mike':

In the aftermath of the CFTC hearings

Hi Bill!

With the CFTC hearings behind us it seems that nothing has changed in the metals markets. The same old patterns that have been reported here for years continue on. I did not expect that the process was going to accomplish much, but in one respect I was dead wrong. The clueless media in North America has been held in check but the story is getting more attention overseas. How ironic that the establishment bozos were quick to dismiss the idea of position limits on the fear that it would drive liquidity and trading to other markets, when in fact it is the corruption and failure to adequately regulate the COMEX that is sure to drive traders elsewhere. I think that is the biggest revelation of the hearings. The light is starting to go on that the COMEX is rigged and manipulated, and the failure to acknowledge this in the domestic press is just another indictment of the system.

If credible evidence was presented that a small casino was running a scam and crooked bets were rigged on a monthly basis, how long does anyone think it would take for authorities to sweep in and close the doors of the joint, in the interest of preserving the integrity of the system? Yet we have a multi-billion dollar trading arena that is rotten to the core and no one wants to consider it. And the COMEX is just the latest example of this problem.

Remember when REFCO blew up and it was all quietly swept under the carpet? How about the lack of an investigation when the massive insider trading of puts immediately prior to 911 went down? And what about the conflict of interest documented by allowing Paulson to participate in the decisions to hand out the TARP program money? Geithner interfering behind the scenes in the Bank of America merger? The perjury of Benanke on national television on a number of occasions. The failure to put a stop to the fraud at Lehman despite having regulatory authorities investigating the company IN THEIR OFFICES for more than a year while it was ongoing... I mean each of the above represent clear examples of fraud and unethical behaviour that should have created a major scandal. Heads should roll! Yet none of this is ever really even discussed in the media. Why have we not heard of a single person related to the mortgage industry going to jail despite the largest fraud in financial history? It is all related. In contrast, look how the personal behaviour of one golfer in this country is a far greater scandal than any of the examples I listed above. What the hell is wrong with our priorities?

There is no accountability, no demand for ethical behaviour from senior administration officials, and no enforcement whatsoever on any of the staggering frauds that have been unveiled in recent years. So it should surprise no one that the GATA testimony at the CFTC hearings is largely ignored here. The process is a victory however since the word is getting out elsewhere, and the CFTC miscalculated when they even allowed the hearings to go forward. They figured they could just get away with another whitewash pretend investigation and then issue the usual 'all is well' declaration but instead credible evidence was presented and the failure to respond is just more evidence that something is grossly wrong with our system. And with that awareness I think GATA is winning. There was real value to your testimony Bill even though not much has been discussed about it here in North America. Hell if Gartman is reconsidering his opinion on the matter than that alone is a monumental achievement.

On another topic, when I mention investing in gold to some of my friends that are more sophisticated in financial matters, the usual response is "Yeah, but gold is a bubble and you will get crushed when it rolls over. Its too risky to buy now." It does not accomplish anything to try and explain some of the fundamental drivers for gold and why I believe it is going much higher in the future. These guys read the financial press and respect the opinions of the 'experts', most of whom are quick to say gold is a bubble and way over-priced. So that is it, case closed... Now I would point out that these same guys were not interested in gold when it was priced below $500 and some of these guys were also up to their eyeballs in real estate before the crash. They obviously do not know a bubble when they see one. The very fact that I cannot convince them to even consider gold is clear evidence that we are NOT in a bubble. But this does prove that the Cartel strategy to roll out 'experts' to trash gold is bearing fruit.

I just drove for 2 days straight through the upper midwest US on a road trip. In Canada most of the financial updates on the radio have some mention of commodity prices including gold. I listened to the radio during my entire trip and only heard gold mentioned a couple of times. Again, if gold was indeed a bubble, would we not be hearing constant references in the media about the spot price? For comparison, when oil was trading above $100 the daily price action was the main story in many market reports.

So to recap: major media stories on gold are mostly bearish, few sophisticated investors are even considering investing in gold, and the metal is largely ignored in financial commentary. A bubble?

Happy Easter Bill!

MexicoMike