$795 MS62 $10 Indian NGC/PCGS

True scarcity, good value

Minted: 1907 to 1933 (dates our choice)

Content: 0.48375 oz. pure gold

Population: 98,668(PCGS + NGC, 10/13/2014

Minted from 1907 to 1933, $10 Indians were produced by the millions but almost all were heavily used as currency. Out of an original mintage of nearly 15 million, only 98,668 survivors are known in choice Mint State 62 condition (PCGS + NGC, 10/13/2014). Their surviving population is almost half of their brethren $10 Liberty in MS62, yet they cost relatively little more in today's market.

Unlike most forms of gold bullion, they are exempt from broker reporting requirements. In our opinion, they're better than bullion for bulk gold buyers.

** Only 98,668 coins survive in certified MS62. This true scarcity can mean higher premiums during periods of increased demand.

** Excellent value. Combines low prices with solid upside potential.

** Private, secure, and liquid. Unlike most forms of gold bullion, they are exempt from broker reporting requirements.

"Unbelievable Trust II"

by Alfred Adask

This week, I'll offer a few more comments on that "unbelievable trust" in the fiat dollar.

I can remember that back in the 1950s and '60s, the paper dollar was described as being "good as gold" because foreign-held dollars could still be redeemed with gold.  People trusted the paper dollar because it was "good as gold".  They'd become habituated to trusting in paper dollars because they were still backed by gold (at least, internationally).  However, it's important to recall that although people seemingly "trusted" in paper dollars, they really trusted in the gold that backed paper dollars.

America went completely off the gold standard in A.D. 1971 when President Nixon ordered that the dollar could no longer be redeemed in gold.  The dollar became intrinsically worthless and a pure fiat currency. 

Nevertheless, people had been so conditioned to trust in paper dollars over the previous 30 to 40 years while those dollars were still redeemable in gold, that they continued to trust in (now, fiat) paper dollars out of habit.

Shortly after the dollar became pure fiat, the government negotiated treaties with Saudi Arabia (and later OPEC) whereby those oil-producing nations agreed to sell their crude oil for only fiat dollars.  As a result, the intrinsically-worthless fiat dollar acquired a perceived value because you couldn't buy crude oil on the international markets without fiat dollars. 

The world's demand for crude oil implicitly backed the fiat dollar and it became the "petrodollar".  If you wanted crude oil, you had to have fiat dollars.  Insofar as we used to trust in paper dollars because they were "good as gold," we now trusted in fiat dollars because they were seemingly "good as crude".

In A.D. 2000, Saddam Hussein threatened the petrodollar's hegemony by daring to sell Iraqi crude for currencies other than fiat dollars.  The US government invaded Iraq in A.D. 2003, wrecked that nation and hanged Hussein. 

But the monetary genie was out of the bottle.  The dollar was no longer the only currency that could be used to purchase crude oil.  The world's trust in the dollar and the dollar's perceived value began to erode.  

Today, although the dollar is still the world's preferred currency for most international transactions, you can purchase crude oil with almost any national currency.  The fiat dollar remains the world's "petrocurrency," but that status is based more on tradition than requirement.  The world tends to trade in dollars because it has traded in dollars, not because it must trade in dollars.  As a result, the world still trusts the dollar, but more as a habit or convenience than as a requirement.

Given that the primary basis for the perceived value of the fiat dollar for the past 40 years has been it's standing as the "petrodollar," and given that that status is diminishing, the dollar is vulnerable to losing its role as world reserve currency and suffering a correlative loss in global trust in the dollar.

Insofar as trust in dollars die, the dollar dies.

*  Financial Trend Forecaster recently posted an article entitled "More on the PetroDollar" that asked,

"The End Of An Era: Is The US Petrodollar Under Threat?

"Recent trade deals and high-level cooperation between Russia and China have set off alarm bells in the West as policymakers and oil and gas executives watch the balance of power in global energy markets shift to the East. . . . [A] consequence of closer economic ties between Russia and China could also mean the beginning of the end of dominance for the U.S. dollar . . . .

"If Russia's 'pivot to Asia' results in Moscow and Beijing trading oil between them in a currency other than the dollar, that will represent a major change in how the global economy operates and a marked loss of power for the U.S. and its allies.  With China now the world's biggest oil importer and the U.S. increasingly stressing domestic oil production, the days of dollar-priced energy, and therefore dollar-dominance, look numbered."

Interesting implication:  The rise of fracking and US oil production necessarily means that the US will purchase less foreign oil.  Result?  The US dollar will be less spent, less received and less demanded in international oil markets.  As the global demand for fiat dollar falls, the globe's habitual use of, and trust in, fiat dollars will also fall.

If the trust dies, the dollar dies.

It's also interesting that if the global economy slows or even slides into a depression, there'll be less international trade and less demand for dollars.  Less international demand for dollars should also diminish the dollar's perceived value.  Diminished need for dollars should render trust in dollars less necessary.

As the global economy slows, so should global trust in the dollar's value.

"Beijing has been looking to promote the Yuan as an alternative reserve currency. Having that status would allow China cheap access to world capital markets and cheaper transaction costs on international trade, not to mention increased clout as an economic power commensurate with its rising proportion of world commerce.

"An article in the International Business Times pointed out that 'more than 10,000 financial institutions are doing business in Chinese Yuan, up from 900 in June 2011, while the pool of offshore Yuan, non-existent three years ago, is now near 900 billion ($143 billion).  And the proportion of China's exports and imports settled in Yuan has increased nearly sixfold in three years to nearly 12 percent."

Point One:  The growing use of China's Yuan in international trade is evidence that China's challenge to the dollar's global dominance is succeeding.

In just three years, the number of "financial institutions" (banks) using Yuan have grown by eleven times and the proportion of Chinese international trade denominated in Yuan is up sixfold. 

If the same rates of increase continued over the next five years, it's conceivable that international trade in Yuan could become predominate.  Use of dollars might be reduced to that of an "also ran".

Can global trust in the dollar survive the growing use of Yuan?

Point Two:  The fiat dollar is intrinsically vulnerable.  Like virtually all other fiat currencies, the dollar can be expected to eventually collapse under the weight of its inherent lies, false premises and unpayable debts.  But, in addition to threats posed by the dollar's inherent contradictions, there are significant forces in the world (China, Russia, the BRICS nations; some Muslim nations, etc.) that are actively working to diminish or destroy the dollar's perceived value.

More, the US government arrogance in international affairs has alienated people of many of the world's countries.  These people might cheer if the dollar's value and power were significantly diminished.

Is the inherently weak dollar still strong enough to resist these challenges? 

If not, how long can it maintain its apparent power and value?

When (like virtually all other fiat currencies) the dollar finally falls, will that fall be fairly gradual over several years-as it has in its 97% loss of value since A.D. 1971?  Or will we reach a moment when the forces aligned against the dollar overwhelm it and the dollar suffers a sudden, catastrophic loss of its remaining perceived value?

*  China's Yuan isn't the only currency vying for status as an alternative to the fiat dollar. 

Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve and reputed economic "Maestro," was recently quoted as saying,

"Gold is a currency. . . . a premier currency. No fiat currency, including the dollar, can match it."

What an extraordinary admission from a man who led the Federal Reserve for 19 years and should be one of gold's most ardent adversaries.  If Greenspan recommends gold, who will recommend the contrary?

Gold's stature as the "premier currency" is why gold is also being considered as a replacement for a failed dollar.

So, which contender is most likely to supplant or ultimately replace the fiat dollar-China's Yuan?  Or gold bullion?

Why not both?

Why not a gold-backed Yuan?

The world is losing trust in the fiat dollar but isn't yet ready to trust a fiat Yuan.  However, we're always ready to trust gold.  Thus, while we probably won't be willing to shift from a failed fiat dollar to a new-and-improved fiat Yuan, we might readily trust a Yuan that was backed by gold. 

After all, that's what got us to trust in paper dollars in the first place-they were originally backed by gold.  Therefore, it seems certain that we will not trust another paper currency-unless it's first backed by gold. Later, when we've become habituated to trusting a new paper currency, the gold backing might be removed and we might still trust in a new, purely-fiat Yuan. 

For now, however, it's at least unlikely that the world will instantly trust a new fiat currency (like the Yuan) after a previous fiat currency (the dollar) has failed.

*  The Yuan's challenge to the dollar's hegemony is not simply the result of a greedy China eager to capture and exploit the status of "world reserve currency"-or of a bunch of greedy bankers (or whoever) who figure to profit from a gold-backed currency. 

Rising challenges to the dollar by the Yuan and gold are primarily caused by the dollar's declining power and prospects.  The fiat dollar might remain functional for a few more years.  But anyone who bothers to look, knows that the dollar's days are numbered.  The world's financial system is looking for an alternative "world reserve currency" because it knows that the dollar's powers are fading and won't be restored.

So long as there's international trade, there's going to be a viable world reserve currency.  If the dollar can no longer fill that role, some other currency-even the Zimbabwe dollar, if necessary-will.  Knowing the dollar's on the way out, other currencies are driven to contend for the Number 1 position not merely by greed but also by the financial "vacuum" being created by the falling dollar.

*  Again, given that the dollar is a fiat currency, if the dollar loses it's the world's trust and therefore loses its ability to function as world reserve currency, it's unlikely that it will be instantly replaced by another fiat currency.  When the world loses confidence and trust in the fiat dollar, it will probably lose trust in all fiat currencies.   

If so, the only currency that might replace fiat dollars (which were originally deemed "good as gold") will be another currency that is also substantially backed by gold.  In the end, people don't easily trust in paper or digital dollars-but they will quickly trust in gold.

And, that is why you own gold. 

The world's fiat currencies are going to die-or at least suffer a major "reset".  All of them. 

Maybe in the next six months.  Maybe in the next six years.  But when the globe's fiat currency system fails, what'll be left that can be used as money besides gold and silver?

Yes, there are other alternatives such as "special drawing rights" that might be promoted as a viable currency for a while.  But SDRs are just a fancy form of fiat.  The powers that be might be able to sell SDR's for a while, but they won't be able to make 'em work for long.

Again, that's why you own gold. 

Not because gold is metallic, shiny or yellow in color.

You own gold as the only "currency" that the whole world almost instantly trusts.

You own gold as insurance against the inevitable failure fiat currencies in general and the US dollar, in particular. 

That failure is probably not as far off as some suppose.

Gold:  the one and only money the world has trusted for at least 3,000 years-all else is seductive, often useful, but ultimately counterfeit.

Get real.  Get gold.

ZIRP is Deflationary

by Alfred Adask

Most economists agree that lower interest rate will encourage American to borrow and spend and thereby stimulate the economy.  That rationale would certainly be true when we had physical money (gold and silver) that was effectively "trapped" in the US by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  Creditors had no choice but to accept whatever interest rate was established by the gov-co. 

But, today we live in the age of digital fiat currencies which have no physical substance or reality and can therefore cross oceans at the speed of light on the internet.

Result?  Currencies are no longer trapped in their domestic economies. 

Result?  When today's interest rates are lowered, the net result is not to make borrowing more attractive but rather to drive domestic credit out of the US-where interest rates are ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) and irrationally low-and into foreign markets that pay higher rates of interest.

Result? Today's irrationally low American interest rates (ZIRP) should push currency out of the US economy, reduce the money supply available for borrowing, and tend to cause monetary deflation (falling prices; rising purchasing power of the fiat dollar) which, in turn, push the economy toward recession or depression.

Because digital dollars are is no longer trapped in a particular economy, the assumption that lowering interest rates will stimulate the economy is no longer valid-or it's no longer as valid as it was before digital currency and the internet came to town.

*  More, I begin to suspect that interest rates may be more important than the "printing" of fiat currency. 

"Helicopter Ben" and the Federal Reserve can print an additional four trillion fiat dollars to "stimulate" economy-but there won't be much stimulation if the Fed simultaneously reduces interest rates to near zero.  No matter how much currency they print, the low interest rates will push that currency out of the US economy in search of higher interest rates. 

I believe that's why the "emerging economies" recently enjoyed two or three years of "stimulation" and impressive growth while the US economy remained stagnant.  The Fed printed an extra $4 trillion (purportedly intended to stimulate the US economy) but also lowered interest rates to near zero.  Some or all of the $4 trillion fled the US economy in search of higher interest rates, found them in emerging economies, and stimulated those foreign economies.

Implication:  In a world of fiat digital currency, the negative effects of irrationally low interest rates will be greater than the positive effects of printing trillions of more dollars. 

Yes, since A.D. 2008, the Fed has printed an extra $4 trillion to stimulate the US economy.  But, because digital dollars are no longer trapped in the US economy, the Fed's Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) pushed much of that $4 trillion out of the US and into emerging economies that paid higher interest rates.

I think the same effect would've taken place if the Fed had printed an extra $50 trillion in fiat dollars and simultaneously held interest rates near zero.  The primary "stimulus" of that $50 trillion would be felt in foreign countries that paid high interest rates.  Relatively little stimulus would be felt in the US economy locked own with ZIRP.

Implications:  1) Interest rates are more important to managing the money supply than the quantity of domestic currency being printed; 2) high interest rates actually increase the money supply, increase inflation, and thereby "stimulate" the economy; and 3) low interest rates (ZIRP) actually serve to drive currency out of the economy and thereby contribute to deflation, recession and perhaps even economic depression. 

*  Therefore, it appears that if the government wants or needs higher rates of inflation to "stimulate" the economy, the government must raise interest rates and thereby attract currency back into the US from foreign markets and increase the domestic supply of domestic dollars available for loan in the US.  

On its face, lowering the interest rates sounds like a great policy since it will encourage people to borrow currency.  In reality, ZIRP drives currency out of the country and there's less currency remaining in the domestic money supply to be loaned. 

In essence, what difference does it make if the interest rate falls to zero, if there's no money available to be loaned?  ZIRP is about as effective as stimulating the domestic economy as is advertising that I'll sell brand new Cadillacs for just $5,000 each (Wow! Whatta deal!)-when I don't actually have any Cadillacs available for sale (Wow . . . whatta bummer).

Assuming the Fed really wants to stimulate the US economy, the Fed should soon raise interest rates, attract currency back into the US markets, and thereby increase inflation and economic "stimulus".

Of course, if my assumption (that the Fed truly wants inflation and economic stimulation) is false, Janet Yellen won't raise interest rates any time soon.  If so, you should fasten your lap straps because the Fed's true object is to collapse the US economy and give us a very bumpy ride.

Our new Congress must impeach Obama - Attacks will happen anyway

BY ADMIN, ON NOVEMBER 22ND, 2014

Join me, Laurie Roth, each day on my national radio show from 7-10pm PAC. Listen at: www.ksbn.net. Or you can listen later on the archives at www.therothshow.com.

He loves me he loves me not. What do I do now? Obama did exactly what he said he would do and slammed Amnesty in our faces, completely aware that it was illegal, UN Constitutional and standing against the bold mandate of the American people. It was also a middle finger to the African American community. He found this last election that he didn't quite own them and their voice after all...so why not throw them under the bus? Fomenting the endless race wars with Holder didn't quite work fast enough so onto his next plan - Amnesty and the South of the border invasion.

Some say the GOP can't impeach - it would be too costly. Senate leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker - John Boehner have waxed lightweight on this option many times."It will give Hillary the election in 2016" "The GOP will be viewed as hating the poor, Hispanics and the needy." "We don't want Joe Biden in so we must not impeach." If Obama is thrown out and Biden is in for the last two years...he will essentially be neutered and pushed back into submission. He is a loud mouth but can be controlled. Obama is a different story...He must be dealt with very soon. The question I have for anyone in GOP leadership who is choosing 'avoidance' vs. action...what does Obama have on you and how much money is involved?   My regular guest and Commentator Sher Zieve thinks if Dictator Obama can get away with it that he plans to stay in power. She is for impeachment as well and an official blow back for the sake of our country.

Other than Obama manipulating an illegal voting block into place for the 2016 election, he also fired a glue trap at the GOP. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't respond...or are they? If the GOP stands against this Executive Action will they be endlessly lied about, bashed in the media and assaulted as minority and poor people hating bad guys?   This is the glue trap Obama has invited the GOP to walk into and believe. This is Obama's expectation and hope that the GOP acts really tough so he can crush them.  

Obama wants the GOP to impeach him, sue him and attack him in the media. He and his progressive traitors believe this response will land them the 2016 election, especially with the 'obedient zombie' illegal alien vote.   So...do we do the opposite of what Obama expects and let him write and implement the game board plans for our country? No and No. We do what is courageous and right. We get ahead of the message and throw Obama's game right off the table. We tell the American people the truth of his breaches, law breaking and assaults on our national security. We not only impeach him in the HOUSE but we boldly campaign in the SENATE and find our voices on the DEMOCRAT side who may wax a little liberal but love their country and see what has happened. We must not act like we have no power to impeach and convict because we don't quite have a super majority. How is it that we don't have the guts to get the few extra Democrat votes we need to make it happen??? We can and we must be successful in this. Remember, a ton of Democrats voted with us for this historical GOP sweep. 

I urge courageous SENATOR Trey Gowdy to lead in this push. Obama has just raped the nation in every way. This cannot stand. We didn't invite his illegal assault just because we were running on the beach. Impeach and convict Obama for America's sake. 

Here is just part of the 'right on' response from Trey Gowdy in response to Obama's Executive Amnesty. 

...."Whether previous administrations acted outside of constitutional boundaries is not license to do the same. The President himself recognized his inability to do what he just did - 22 separate times. This action is not only detrimental to any chance in the new Congress for a sustainable, long-term solution on immigration, but also to the bedrock of our system of government - respect for the rule of law." 

"When the executive branch acts outside of constitutional boundaries the legislative branch must use all powers afforded it to respond and restore the constitutional equilibrium. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. Rather, it should hasten the resolve of all Americans to make certain her elected officials honor the foundational document they swore to protect and defend." 

The nation is counting on gutsy and real action from the new Congress in January not posers in ballerina costumes playing 'softball.' 

Impeach and Convict Obama, then boldly win on the merits, guts and message in 2016.

Dutch bring 120 tonnes of gold back to Amsterdam from New York Business November 21, 2014.

The Dutch central bank has secretly brought a large part of the national gold reserves being held in a secure depot in New York back to Amsterdam. In total, 120 tonnes of gold valued at €4bn has been brought back to the Netherland

The central bank decided to bring some of its gold reserves back to the Netherlands to ensure a better spread, the bank said in a statement. In addition, the bank hopes to boost consumer confidence by showing there is enough gold in the Netherlands to take the country through a new economic crisis.

Now 31% of the Dutch gold reserves are in Amsterdam, the same percentage as in New York. The rest is in Ottowa and London. The Netherlands has 612 tonnes of gold - worth €19bn at current gold prices, Nos said.

Read more at DutchNews.nl: Dutch bring 120 tonnes of gold back to Amsterdam from New York http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/11/dutch-bring-120-tonnes-of-gold-back-to-amsterdam-from-new-york.php/

China cuts interest rates to help growth amid global slowdown as ECB eyes more stimulus

China's central bank unexpectedly slashed interest rates on Friday to shore up the world's No. 2 economy, joining a growing list of major economies that are trying to bolster growth amid a global slowdown

The People's Bank of China said it is trying to address "financing difficulties" caused by a shortage of credit. It also said the move was not a change in monetary policy and economic conditions are within an "appropriate range."

China's economic growth fell to a five-year low of 7.3 percent in the latest quarter and manufacturing and other indicators are declining. That has prompted suggestions Beijing might intervene to prop up growth.

The president of the European Central Bank said he was ready to step up stimulus for the 18-country eurozone economy, where growth continues to disappoint.

In Europe, it is also the low inflation rate - a sign of economic weakness - that is worrying the ECB. As indicators for the eurozone and global economy disappoint, ECB President Mario Draghi was firm in his message: "''We will do what we must to raise inflation and inflation expectations as fast as possible," he said in a speech in Frankfurt.

Japan confirmed this week that it has fallen back into recession and will delay a tax increase to help consumer spending.

President Barack Obama's unilateral amnesty will quickly add as many foreign workers to the nation's legal labor force as the total number of new jobs created by his economy since 2009.

The plans, will distribute five million work permits to illegal immigrants, and also create a new inflow of foreign college graduates for prestigious salaried jobs, according to press reports.

Almost one million extra work permits to foreigners while the economy has only added six million jobs since 2009.

Up to four million undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years can apply. ... An additional one million people will get protection from deportation through other parts of the president's plan," according to a Nov. 19 report in The New York Times.

The five million total was attributed to "people briefed on his plans," the Times reports.

The five million work permits will add to Obama's prior giveaways, which have provided work permits to almost one million foreigners.

Obama's administration claims it has helped create 10 million jobs (the IMF states only 6 million.) If so, he is giving out one work permit for every two jobs created since his inauguration.

Not all the five million illegal immigrants who get permits will work, and many are already working under fake names or for cash. However, their new work permits will allow them to compete for jobs now held or sought by blue-collar Americans, including the many African-Americans and Latinos who voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Polls show that the public is hostile to the amnesty plan and want Obama to work with Congress on immigration.

Currently, less than one percent of the nation's population of 12 million illegal immigrants are repatriated each year. Obama's policy will likely shrink the repatriations, while providing millions with work permits.

Obama's total of six million extra work permits does not include the normal inflow of legal immigrants.

Each year, the nation accepts one million new immigrants, or roughly five million since 2009. That total includes roughly 3.5 million working-age immigrants, which is slightly less than the number of Americans - 4.3 million - who turn 18 each year.

Also, companies annually hire roughly 450,000 blue-collar guest workers and roughly 200,000 white-collar guest workers. Most of these guest workers stay for less than a year, but many stay for six years.

That current population of roughly 600,000 foreign graduates is expected to increase, if, as reported, Obama's plan allows American universities to offer green cards to foreign tuition-paying students who will then compete for  the well-paying jobs or the prestigious jobs sought by the offspring of the nation's influential upper middle class.

Overall U.S. unemployment has fallen steeply in the past year (from 7.2% in October 2013 to 5.8% in October 2014), but too many people can only find part-time positions.

The number of people working part-time involuntarily is more than 50% higher than when the recession began.

Some states have seen an increase during the recovery in people languishing in part-time jobs who want something more.

Almost 30% of involuntary part-time workers are unemployed for three months or longer in a year.

While these people are often glad to have a job, the reality is that involuntary part-time is "hidden unemployment," says Chris Tilly, a professor at UCLA. For instance, if a person works 20 hours a week, but wants 40 hours, that unfulfilled time is spent unemployed.

"It is unemployment, but it is hidden unemployment that doesn't get counted by the official figure," Tilly says.

Longer visas for Chinese visitors seen as boon to US that could bring $85B by 2021

NEW YORK (AP) - A rule change allowing Chinese visitors to return to the U.S. multiple times over a 10-year period is being hailed as a boon to American tourism, with the federal government predicting the economic impact could be $85 billion by 2021. Chinese visitors are already familiar faces in major U.S. destinations such as New York City, San Francisco and Las Vegas, but other parts of the country could also see some a boost. "One simple decision like this ... is going to reap tremendous benefits to the country," said Chris Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, the public-private partnership responsible for marketing the United States as a travel destination. The U.S. and China jointly announced the change last week at a conference of world leaders in Beijing, and it has already gone into effect. Business and short-term visas that currently expire after one year will now be valid for 10 years, while student and cultural exchange visas will last for five.

Former Deutsche bank chief Ackermann elected board chairman of Cyprus' biggest bank

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - Former Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann has been named the new chairman of bailed-out Cyprus' biggest bank. The shareholders' and board votes Thursday come after the Bank of Cyprus passed a European in-depth review of its finances last month. The bank had earlier bolstered its capital base by raising 1 billion euros ($1.25 billion). U.S. billionaire Wilbur Ross, who led a group of investors in pouring tens of millions into the bank, was elected vice chairman. Russian Vladimir Strzhalkovskiy stays on also as vice chairman. Bank of Cyprus still faces major hurdles - half of all its loans are bad. Police thwarted several dozen angry bondholders who lost money in Cyprus' multibillion euro international rescue deal last year from forcing their way into the bank's headquarters.

.....For Wednesday November 19, 2014

The big economic report of the day in the U.S. was the minutes of the latest meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), out in early afternoon. The minutes this time contained no elements that surprised the market place and markets moved little in the aftermath. Fed meetings and minutes of those meetings have been markets-movers the past many months.

A late-morning steep sell off in gold Wednesday coincided with a new poll showing the Swiss "Save Our Gold" initiative had only 38% of the voters in favor of the Swiss government increasing its gold holdings to 20% of its assets. The Swiss will vote on the measure on November 30. Gold prices quickly recovered most of those losses by midday.

The Bank of Japan announced it would keep its very easy monetary policy steady, despite a grim Japanese GDP report issued earlier in the week. The BOJ governor said the latest monetary policy easing moves implemented last month were the right path to take.

There was also more weak economic data coming out of the European Union Wednesday, as EU construction spending across the region declined 1.8% in September, year-on-year

Americans are in a more generous mood this holiday season, but they're off to a slower start when it comes to shopping.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 34% of American Adults have started their holiday shopping already. That's down slightly from 37% a year ago at this time but a bit better than the 32% who had already begun shopping in mid-November 2012. Sixty-three percent (63%) haven't got started yet.

Symptom Overlap

 by Herbalist Wendy Wilson