Gold, US Dollar...and the "Greater Depression" - Doug Casey

In a rundown patch of Detroit, enclosed by a cyclone fence and barbed wire, stands an unremarkable warehouse that investment bank Goldman Sachs has transformed into a money-making machine. The derelict neighbourhood off Michigan Avenue is a sharp contrast to Goldman's bustling skyscraper headquarters near Wall Street, but the two operations share one important element: management by the bank's savvy financial professionals.

This is a Reuters piece that was picked up by yahoo.com about two weeks ago...and because I was at the London conference, I didn't have time to post it until now. Roy Stephens sent me this very long in-depth article. It's certainly worth the time if you have it...and the link is here.

Here's a short speech that was posted over at ted.com. It was given in July. If you want to know the inside scoop on high frequency trading, Kevin lays it all out here.

Slavin argues that we're living in a world designed for -- and increasingly controlled by -- algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts, and architecture. And he warns that we are writing code we can't understand, with implications we can't control.

I consider this 15:23 video a must watch...and I once again thank Roy Stephens for sharing it with us. The link is here.

As I mentioned above, that TED video is from last month...and the following story was posted over at Bloomberg yesterday...and dovetails with it nicely.

“We’re seeing a tremendous amount of high-frequency trading,” said Wedbush, whose company is one of the biggest execution and clearing brokers catering to high-speed firms. “Their business is a trading business, and volatility creates far more opportunities. Some of their algorithms and automated systems are trading two, three or five times as many shares as they would have in a more normalized volatility environment.”

High-frequency trading is a technique that relies on the rapid and automated placement of orders, many of which are immediately updated or cancelled, as part of strategies such as market making and statistical arbitrage and tactics based on momentum. It accounted for about 53 percent of trading earlier this year, down from 61 percent in 2009, according to Tabb Group LLC, a New York-based financial industry research firm. In 2006 it was 26 percent of the market, Tabb said.

Wedbush estimated the firms have made up 75 percent of American equity volume in August.

This, too, is very much worth the read...and I thank reader U.D. for sending it our way. The link is here.

Here's an essay that appeared in Business Week magazine on Saturday, August 5th after I'd already posted my Saturday column before leaving for London. It's written by Roger Lowenstein, the author of the book When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management.

This essay is pretty long...but put it in the absolutely positively must read pile. I stole this piece from a GATA release. The link is here.

Here is the first of many speeches from GATA's conference at the Savoy Hotel in London that I will be posting in this column. These are GATA's secretary treasurer, Chris Powell's remarks...and if you're only going to read one speech out of the ones posted today, this is the one you should chose. The link is here.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard of the London Telegraph is a world-class financial journalist and his commentary today, appended here, analyzing the venality of the Federal Reserve is probably as incisive as anything in the financial press. But he poses and then fails to answer the question he concludes his commentary with: "How can we bring these central bankers to heel?"

This is another GATA release...this one from just a few days ago. I've already posted the story that's imbedded in this release, but Chris Powell's preamble [in the light of his London speech above] is well worth the read on its own...and the story from Wednesday's edition of The Telegraph is worth a second look as well. The link is here.

The presentation made at GATA's Gold Rush 2011 conference in London by Hugo Salinas Price, president of the Mexican Civic Association for Silver, "Dorothy's Silver Shoes -- or the Re-monetization of the Silver Currency of the United States of America," has been posted at the association's Internet site, Plata.com.

I stole the above introduction from Chris Powell, but the first one through the door on this speech was Roy 'Hawkeye' Stephens...and the link is here.

Here's a long audio interview with Ron Stoeferle that's posted over at financialsense.com. It runs for a bit over 37 minutes. Cristofer Sheridan, the senior editor over at Jim Puplava's website sent it to me...and the link is here.

Even with the turmoil in today's markets, Louis James, chief metals and mining investment strategist at Casey Research and the senior editor of International Speculator, Casey Investment Alert and Conversations with Casey, says business really does go on. He stresses that even in the face of what he calls "truly economically suicidal behavior on the parts of world governments," he remains very bullish on precious metals. In this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, James discusses what we can expect for the rest of 2011 and 2012.

This is a longish must read, but I have all the time in the world for whatever Louis has to say. The interview is posted over at theaureport.com...and the link is here.

Here is the presentation of economist and former banker Alasdair Macleod to GATA's Gold Rush 2011 conference in London, titled "Beyond the Tipping Point".

I had the pleasure of meeting Alasdair for the first time at this conference...and he's a real straight-up guy. His speech [which is first rate] has been posted at his Internet site, financeandeconomics.org...and the link is here.

With tremendous volatility in gold, silver and stocks, the Godfather of newsletter writers Richard Russell had this to say in his commentary this week, “I think what I'm most interested in now is whether and to what effect the fading market has on the US economy. I honestly don't think most people are taking this market decline seriously. After all, we "have the marvelous Fed" and the Fed has always come through in an emergency. Besides, probably 90% of living Americans have never seen or lived through what I call really "hard times."

“But a collapsing market within a fading economy is a dangerous situation. This is exactly what happened after April 1930. Once the big upwards correction topped out, the market headed down in earnest, and it was the start of the Great Depression."

Eric King of King World News fame sent me this Richard Russell blog yesterday afternoon...and the link is here.

Here's a 25-minute video interview with our very own Doug Casey. Doug's 'Greater Depression' is now on our doorstep...and, as usual, he doesn't take any prisoners...nor suffer fools gladly. This is another must watch/listen. It's from The Money and Wealth Show...and is posted over at talkdigitalnetwork.com. The link is here.

In a week in which market jitters about debt risks hit France and its banking sector, growing demand was apparent on rue Vivienne, close to the old Paris stock exchange and home to Paris' gold brokers where shops reported a wave of new customers.

"It's the first time I have seen people queuing, there's never been that," said Romain, a collector who regularly visits the gold merchants' district.

Among gold converts, Rachid, a barman working in the French capital, said he had bought over 2,000 euros in mini gold bars.

"I'm anticipating a future crisis and I think gold can go higher," he said.

This is a Reuters story posted from Paris yesterday...and I thank reader Thorsten Winkler for sending it along...and the link is here.

Here's a story that was posted over at the irishtimes.com website yesterday...and it was sent to me by reader Roy Stephens.

Gold’s diversification properties are not only apparent through a secular bear market in stocks, but also in the face of periodic crises that lead to substantial declines in equity values. As Jill Leyland remarks: “Men and women have turned to gold in times of distress, whether political, economic or personal.” Indeed, the verdict of history shows that gold has gained in value during each of the most savage downturns in stock prices of the past 50 years, including 1973-74, 1987, 2000-2002 and 2007-2009.

Gold is the ultimate hedge against instability and uncertainty. Given a return to price stability is unlikely any time soon, while tail-risk in the form of inflation or deflation is high, the environment is near-perfect for gold to shine. The recent parabolic upward move however, suggests that it would not be advisable to initiate positions at current levels. Nevertheless, far-sighted investors should raise strategic weightings on weakness.

The link to the story is here.

The name John Brimelow may not mean a lot to you, but he's been a gold analyst for a very long time...and there are few people in the gold world he's not plugged into.

Kevin Michael Grace of Resource Clips has done a wonderful interview with John, who spoke at GATA's Gold Rush 2011 conference in London last weekend. Brimelow discusses the observations offered at the conference by geopolitical analyst James G. Rickards and reviews ways of buying gold. The interview is headlined "Brimelow on How to Buy Gold".

I stole the above introduction...and the story...from a GATA release...and the link is here.

Eric King slid this audio interview into my in-box in the wee hours of this morning. Along with most of the other audio and video interviews posted in this column...I've had no time to listen to this, but I'm sure it will be more than worth your while. The link is here.