Excerpts from today:

From MIDAS:

….Had some nice chats with Mike Ballanger at the conference. His take on one of the reasons for the dollar strength against the euro (in addition to the intervention) is compelling, as is his prognosis for what comes next…

…The "key" to the "raid" on gold and silver is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONATE to the level of U.S. "toxic waste" held by European banks. As they unwind the synthetic "short" against the USD, there remains a synthetic "bid" to the USD, because while they used to be able to offset UDS risk through LIBOR, it has gone seriously "offside". Now, with LIBOR crushing them, they are simply buying the USD and the precious metals traders are (falsely) thinking that this is a "trend change". It is not.

When „TARP" becomes effective, it will "normalize" the LIBOR and with that singular event, the USD will collapse. That is going to occur within whatever time frame you pick but trust me, when LIBOR "normalizes", gold and silver will explode, because FINALLY, Paulsen will NEED INFLATIONARY EXPECTATIONS to rescue his precious options in Goldman Sachs.

Richard Russell has always said that the "Achilles Heel" of the U.S. was the USD. We are witnessing in our unimportant lifetimes the "Fall of the U.S. Dollar", NOT because U.S. citizens have done anything wrong other than being victim to the grandest larceny of their savings in world history. As a Canadian, I was always happy that our banks were run like 18th Century bastions, where they looked at "shareholder capital" as their own. Now I don’t know how much they were "enamoured" by the Goldman Sacks’of the world, but if and when the ECU understands WHY they hooked their relative country value into a single currency (the "EURO"), then they will finally understand why The House of Rothschild exists.

European bankers OWN the U.S. Federal Reserve and now that they are in trouble, they are "pulling in their markers". This will result in a shift to gold and silver as alternative asset classes and with that, a move AWAY from the USD as the world’s "Reserve Currency".

But, then again, we have all lost money in this conflagration and it is indeed "difficult".

I bought December $15 call options on Silver today, because I think that when the LIBOR problem gets resolved, the PM’s will EXPLODE.

…the quid pro quo, for all these bailouts and liquidity injections into so many economies … especially in the US. It is almost beyond comprehension … the enormous totality of it all.

Yes, the goal at the moment by officialdoms, especially the US, is to survive the rolling tsunamis. Once the tsunamis pass, however, the wreckage will have to be dealt with. Lifestyles are going to be drastically reduced for one and staggering amounts of money will pour into gold, silver and the shares for asset protection purposes, etc.

…From Frank Veneroso’s commentary this morning…

1. On September 24, 2008 I wrote a piece stating that hedge fund redemptions and losses would be a new and grave addition to the raging financial crisis. I attributed this coming hedge fund crisis to commodity related losses, to hidden losses on toxic fixed income that would be revealed as redemptions mount, and to problems afflicting both their long and short equity positions.

2. This very crisis I predicted is now occurring and in spades.

3. It is not surfacing in the press. I can only attribute this to a concerted effort by Paulson and Bernanke to force the funds, their prime brokers, and the press to suppress all such information for fear of exacerbating the loss of confidence in the investment banks.

4. Here is an example of what I am hearing: On Friday a money manager told me that a client of his just found out that a $3 - $4 billion hedge fund he is invested in has turned out to be a fraud and his investment is completely worthless.

5. 5. When the full story that is now unfolding becomes well known, hedge fund redemptions will soar….

…I would expect a full 1% rate cut across the globe in interest rates any day now. The Fed has doubled the "TAF" amount to $900 Billion [remember this was going to save everything last December with $50 Billion]. We could collapse from here along with banking systems globally closing. I think it is more likely that a relief rally starts and lasts maybe 1- 5 days. This may start today or tomorrow. DON'T BE FOOLED! The rally will be temporary, THE bottom is still far, far off. This is clearly game over, nothing the governments now do can turn back the financial tidal wave. The only thing in question is timing.

The responses by Central banks across the globe will be incredibly inflationary. They have acted like bobsled's careening from wall to wall. Their hyperinflationary responses will only serve to harm main street's economy and destroy what remains of their fiat currencies. As I have said many times, this is a solvency problem and the Central banks are throwing liquidity at it. This clearly has not and will not work. The only way for Central banks to reliquify the global banking systems is to revalue [downward] their currencies versus Gold. This past weekend Europe followed Russia's lead in calling for a revamped financial system. Mark my words, the "revamped" system will have at its core a "Gold cover ratio". Confidence has broken in all things financial, and now the only thing that could restore confidence will be "real" backing to currencies. I do not know at what level Gold will be revalued or what percentage backing it will provide, but I do know that this will be the greatest transfer of wealth in history from those with paper to those with hard money. This is the end of living large and beyond ones means. Regards, Bill H.

Jim Willie…."just got word from highly reliable European source that a new world currency reserve has been decided upon the table included several key nations totally fed up with the US/UK villains

"whereby Chinese interests will be very much tended to no USDollar, no BPound sterling, which are now pariahs patience will be rewarded, with no guarantees, on gold & silver holders. "it will be based upon euro, ruble, yen, and dinar "

*Gold and silver are on the verge of exploding due to the surging physical market taking out the ability of The Gold Cartel to keep the price suppressed.

*This demand is rapidly spreading, due to so many obvious reasons, to more and more investors around the world who want a capital preservation investment.

*As mentioned here so often, gold and silver share plays will soon be the GO TO investment, even on Planet Wall Street.

*One day, as gold and silver are soaring, the light bulb will go off and investors around the world will want in on our tiny sector.

*Tired, veteran gold/silver share investors, totally bummed out, will have exited the market (if agreeing with the panelists I mentioned), not wanting dead money in the market … waiting to re-enter down the road (6 months to 2 years).

*Out of nowhere a 25 cent stock, say taken down from $1, will open up at 50 cents bid and close the week out up 80 cents, as momentum investors and newly interested investors pour in, buying up the quality junior/exploration plays.

*They will be huge buyers because it will soon become apparent huge amounts of gold and silver, via new mine supply, will be needed in the future to accommodate soaring demand. Needed future mine supply is not there at the moment, AND central banks (outside of the dingy US) are going to become very reluctant to part with what they have. Those who sell gold will be seen as imprudent, and central bankers hate that, being risk adverse folks.

*The stunned, veteran gold/silver investors will not pay the 50 cents to get back in, preferring to wait for a setback to re-enter, one which never comes.

*Thus, the windfall money will be made by investors who know very little about gold/silver, such as the beleaguered investors who got out. However, the newbies will CLEAN UP as that one stock goes to $2/$3 in the months and years ahead … by reacting first and asking questions later. Our veteran gold/silver investors who ran for the hills will be doubly more morose than they are now for missing the historic move of a lifetime.