Sprotts Thoughts published a recap of their recent conference held in Vancouver. I want to comment on a portion of what Henry Bonner wrote:
Andy Schectman, who started the precious metals coin dealer Miles Franklin alongside his father, struck a chord: Is gold being knocked down on purpose? “Who in their right mind sells that much gold all at once?” he asked, referring to the massive dumps of gold futures into the market last year.
Doug Casey would kick up controversy by taking on this issue later on.
Doug categorically denied the notion that precious metals were being controlled in his Friday talk. The powers that be “don’t care” about gold, he said, “they don’t consider it money.” And besides, prices are manipulated anyway by market participants, as that is how markets work, but not suppressed by governments and bank cartels.
–Sprott Global.com, July 30, 2014
Within our industry there are a few people who strongly disagree with the premise that the price of gold and silver are manipulated or that there is some kind of government or Fed-led conspiracy to hold prices down. As mentioned above, Doug Casey is in this camp, and so is my friend Trader David R. I have taken heat in the past for presenting David R’s views. My response was that we like to consider both sides of the issue.
We have a strong relationship with the folks at Casey Research and respect what Doug has accomplished along the way. I have no problem with his view that gold and silver are not manipulated – I just don’t happen to agree with him. Our friends Chris Powell and Bill Murphy at LeMetropole Café tend to agree with our view. They are at the forefront of the “manipulation is real” issue. One thing I can say about both Casey and the LeMetropole Café boys – they are all sincere with no hidden agenda. They are still pro-gold, but they build their case without lending credence to manipulation.
Frankly, I am surprised that Doug Casey takes the position that he does. He has been heavily involved in the gold newsletter and investment industry since the 1980s. I spoke at a seminar in Hong Kong with Casey in the mid-80s and he was one of the “gold bugs.” But just because people like Casey and Trader David R are convinced that gold is not manipulated (or no more than any other commodity) they are still both very gold-bullish. They just believe that gold and silver are assets worth owning without relying on the “manipulation.” So I am not bothered by their views
Andy Hoffman and Bill Holter get hot under the collar when people like Casey and Trader David R express their views. How can they possibly believe that gold and silver are NOT manipulated when there is so much evidence to the contrary? A good point, and I feel the same way – but I don’t let my blood pressure rise when people who understand the importance of owning gold and silver happen to believe that the bull market in both metals will reach extraordinary heights, without using conspiracy or manipulation to build the case upon.
Our readers know all the arguments by now. I present the conspiracy/manipulation view every time I write. I find it hard to believe that any intelligent and logical person can look at the FACTS and come to another conclusion, but since when is there 100% agreement on anything? The real question is “What do YOU think?” We feel that we give you all the information you need to not only own gold and silver, but to feel comfortable that you have made the correct decision, and we are certain that you will reap the rewards of being right, while most Americans will be wrong. Just remember, Casey and Trader David R are on our side and they are bullish too. They are not the bad guys.
Speaking about manipulation – how about yesterday’s media blitz praising the strong economic numbers for the second quarter. Read what Zero Hedge has to say about this in the Featured Articles section. In the past year, over half of U.S. growth is from INVENTORY ACCUMULATION. All of our financial data is manipulated by our “no longer free and objective” press. It’s not just gold and silver, but the government’s data and the news put forth by the media. Even my wife, who is well read and very savvy said to me, “What do you think about the strong economic growth?” after reading about it in the newspaper. I had to explain it to her – and if she was unaware, I assure you, 99.9% of all Americans are unaware of what is happening.
The latest from John Williams’ www.ShadowStats.com:
- Second-Quarter GDP Surge Not Credible, Significant Downside Revisions Remain in Offing
- Actual Economic Activity Remains in Serious Trouble
- Historical GDP Revised Lower Where Better Data Were Available and Revised Higher Where Better Numbers Were Not
“No. 646: Second-Quarter 2014 GDP, GDP Benchmark Revisions, Household Income” Web-page: http://www.shadowstats.com
Can’t you go on holiday as it pertains to precious metal prices?
The constant reconstitution and regurgitation of the same BS
just makes people angry at you. They skip over your column.
Are precious metal prices and financial data manipulated? Gee, I don’t know.
Casey doesnt believe gold is manipulated, and doesnt give compelling reasons for his belief, or in anyway the overwhelming evidence for manipulation. He seems as though his mind is made up, and dont confuse him with facts.
It should be borne in mind that actual, effective control of an unstable situation is an ongoing strategic exercise. That exercise may and very likely does involve players who have undisclosed formal loyalties and who may deliberately present arguments that are consistent with those loyalties rather than with their overtly stated position.
This points along a rocky path. It would be polite to leave it at that.
I am of the opinion that gold and silver prices are not manipulated. They are decided by supply and demand.
However I do believe that supply is manipulated upwards and demand is manipulated downwards (in the West).
This can only be a temporary matter unless the FED really does engineer a deflationary depression. They might just be capable of doing this and via money printing to boot! That takes some doing.
You’ve touched on a subject I’ve been fascinated with for several years. Why do the majority of people refuse to believe anything negative about the establishment and display a blind allegience? These people also don’t seem to be interested in the truth or to view new evidence.
I suspect their toxic injury, which produces anxiety and depression is all they can handle. Doug may not fall into this group but I suspect he does. We’re all human and some are more susceptable than others.
I suspect this bias has it’s origins in toxic injury because I’ve noticed the more physically toxic one is, the more they protect established medicine and conventional institutions. They also immediately dismiss conspiracies as crazy talk.
I believe there is a poisoning agenda by the Jesuits and their Rothschild banker agents in order to disable the health of the public to minimize the threat of having their banker scams discovered and overturned. The more poisoned and disabled one becomes, the more one becomes subserviant and displays a blind loyalty to the establishment.
Neureosurgeon Dr Russell Blaylock explains this poisoning agenda:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB3xcN_eoPo