It was Coach's request to Bill Murphy not to post any GATA rockets today because that turned out to be bad news last time. So Murphy put up the Rally Monkey that I posted earlier.

"Hi Bill!

I just wanted to add to my earlier comments. While I am convinced the scam to manipulate the metals is coming apart in real time, and there are many reasons to be happy at last, I do not believe this is the end of the Cartel as a factor in the metals markets. This is just the first phase of the retreat for the crooks, who have always had political support and access to effectively unlimited capital to play the market. What other entity on the planet could withstand paper losses in the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars? Since the same players have been net short all the way up, and increased the short leverage even as the metals are rising, the paper losses must be enormous at this stage. However paper losses are less scary when it appears there is always another bailout on the way for these connected institutions that are running the scam.

I think it will be more than a financial bailout that is coming. What if the government rules that silver is a strategic metal and all contracts must be settled in cash? The uranium spot market operates under a similar restriction. Will there be some shadowy 'rogue trader' that is blamed for the big shorts? Will holders of silver futures be forced to settle far below the fair value of these contracts? Think back to the bankruptcy process for GM and how the bond holders were effectively ordered to agree to a lower settlement by government mandate. Such measures are illegal but perfectly normal in a fascist regime. Why would the highly manipulated and corrupt COMEX be above a similar fascist settlement to the short squeeze that is building?

So I do not expect a round of criminal prosecutions to restore our markets to a free and fair playing field for all. What I expect is that the useful idiots that have covered for the market abuse while heaping ridicule on the whistleblowers may now have to acknowledge that the market is in fact manipulated. That indeed there is not a huge silver surplus or legitimate hedging activity backed by real silver. That pool accounts are probably worthless, and many ETFs compromised by derivative exposure with multiple claims on the same silver. That criminals have been able to profit from activity in the metals markets and this was ignored by the regulatory agencies entrusted with oversight. And as a result of this criminal activity the net liability that amounts to a naked short for silver and gold which cannot be delivered against has left yet another financial crisis that will require bailout funding and a settlement process that will corrupt normal market functioning.

All of the above disclosure can only put a much higher premium on real physical bullion ownership, and on those legitimate companies that are able to demonstrate they have operated legally and ethically on behalf of their investors, even while many others have behaved with a criminal conduct in this vacuum of supervision that would shame a frat party. If all of this comes to light, no sane investor or consumer will ever trust a paper bullion product again. Without the ability to issue paper bullion to control the metals prices the biggest threat to fair trading is removed. Real supply and demand will be restored.

Lets just be happy that some form of vindication is coming, and while a satisfactory resolution may be a long way away, at least the means to continue the intervention may be removed. And please restrain from posting any GATA rockets!"

cheers!

MexicoMike