Silver Crash Not a Correction But a 'Drive-by Shooting'

Goldman Sachs expects to be served subpoenas from U.S. prosecutors seeking more information about the firm's mortgage-related business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Goldman's executives expect the Justice Department will ask for documents and other information within days, the Journal said.

This is a Reuters piece from late last night that Washington state reader S.A. sent my way. Two of the three paragraphs contained in this story are posted above...and the last one is not worth your time. But, if you just have to read it, the link is here.

Well, so much for this much ballyhooed economic recovery. Here's a story that I ripped from yesterday's edition of the King Report.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank may keep its monetary-policy unchanged until late this year, and that declining inflation expectations have curbed the need to begin withdrawing record stimulus.

"It does take some pressure off the Fed,” Bullard, 50, said in an interview at Bloomberg News headquarters in New York. “I take it seriously that market indicators of inflation have come down. The data has been softer, and these global uncertainties have weighed on markets.”

This is a Bloomberg story that's posted over at businessweek.com...and the link is here.

Here's a story out of yesterday's edition of Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto that was sent to me by reader Richard Murphy.

Mark Carney gave a few members of the public an unusually candid glimpse into his thinking at a private dinner Wednesday night, during which he said people should not judge how well Canada emerged from the recession for years, because the financial crisis is not really over.

Speaking at a fundraising event held by the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto, Mr. Carney, the Bank of Canada Governor, painted a stark picture of the global rebound. He also suggested that America's deficit troubles – which he warned this week could threaten Canada's economy – would probably not be addressed until after next year's presidential election.

This story is definitely worth your time...and the link is here.

Here's a CNBC video out of Hong Kong that's courtesy of Florida reader Donna Badach. It's an interview with Puru Saxena...and he says that QE3 is pretty much baked in the cake...and once the process begins, it will be bad news for the dollar and great news for the precious metals. This is a must watch video...and the link is here.

Young people in Madrid have occupied the city's Puerta del Sol square in protest against high unemployment and the political establishment. They are calling for a boycott of the main parties in weekend elections -- and some have begun comparing them to protesters in Egypt earlier this year.

They have been dubbed the "lost generation" with many of them unable to find jobs and forced to live at home as a result of the economic crisis. But now Spain's young people appear to have found their voice -- and they are taking their anger out on their country's politicians.

I thank Roy Stephens for digging this story up yesterday over at the German website spiegel.de...and the link is here.

The eurozone's central bank has played its "last card" in an attempt to prevent the debt restructuring it fears, said analysts. The cost of insuring Greek sovereign debt rose to more than €1.33m to protect every €10m of bonds as the threat laid bare the divisions in Europe over how to resolve the crisis.

The European Central Bank has threatened to stop lending to banks using Greek government bonds as collateral if Athens changes the terms of the debt, a move which could bring down the country's banking system.

It's absolutely no surprise to me, nor should it be for you, that the ugly threats are starting to fly, as the European financial system [along with its currency] come unglued. This is another Roy Stephens offering from last night's edition of The Telegraph that's well worth reading...and the link is here.

Here's another story that I 'borrowed' from yesterday's King Report. This one was posted over at marketwatch.com.

Japan’s economy shrank by almost double the margin economists had expected in the first three months of 2011, as the March disaster pushed the country back into recession.

Gross domestic product contracted by 0.9% during the January-March quarter, marking a 3.7% annualized drop, the Cabinet Office reported Thursday.

This is not an overly long story...and the link is here.

This zerohedge.com story from Tuesday came from Washington state reader Bruce Guthrie. Start reading below the second graph for the information that pertains to the above headline. It's not a big read...and it's well worth it. The link is here.

Here's a Richard Russell blog that Eric King sent me late last night. The 'R' man has a few things to say about the silver market...and the link to this short, must read blog, is here.

Here's another interview that was done with John Embry. It was obviously done over at Goldmoney.com...because their logo appears on the video throughout...but the interviewer is neither seen nor heard...and the question are posted in text form.

The video runs 7:55...and is well worth listening to...and I thank Alberta reader B.E.O. for sharing it with us. The interview is posted over at the investmentpostcards.com website...and the link is here.

Since 2001, gold's bull market has been driven principally by systemic risks, not by inflation -- a circumstance that should give us all pause. Add rampant inflation to the mix, and you have the impetus for even stronger demand in the months and years to come. Mexico and the University of Texas are not alone in hoping to shore up their balance sheets with gold. The list in fact grows longer by the day.

Reader U.D. was kind enough to send me this story yesterday that's posted over at Mike's site...usagold.com. It's a longish read...but well worth your time if you have it...and the link is here.

MineWeb's Lawrence Williams summarizes a discussion of silver conducted last Saturday by Silver-Investor.com's Dave Morgan and including GATA Chairman Bill Murphy, Eric Sprott of Sprott Asset Management, GATA consultant Rob Kirby of Kirby Analytics in Toronto, and James Anderson of GoldSilver.com. The MineWeb story is headlined "Silver Crash Not a Correction but a 'Drive-by Shooting' and 'Criminal Act,' it includes a link to the YouTube audio of the discussion.

I stole 'all of the above' from a GATA release last night. The four videos in question run about fourty-five minutes in total...so I hope you have some on your hands just now...and the link is here.