Do you believe in terrorists?

Westerners have a deep history of a culture of myths (see Joseph Campbell).  We love to believe in Santa Claus, "The American Dream," the Tooth Fairy, housing market always goes up, and countless others.  So it's easy for us to be 'terrorized' by a myth; that hiding behind every corner are evil 'terrorists' waiting to blow themselves up because 'they hate our freedoms.' 

Already, evidence surfaces that doesn't match our traditional image for what a terrorist act should look like, as pointed out by George Washington's article on ZH:

What do you think? False flag? Light-skinned, clean-shaven ISIS jihadis who went undercover to carry out the terrorist attack? Or local Europeans who were radicalized into jihad?

Postscript:  The Mirror also notes that the terrorists looked like professional soldiers:

“I would describe him as tall, with dark hair and also quite muscular.

“They looked like soldiers or mercenaries and carried the whole thing out like a military operation.

Military operation or not, let's take a step back how we got here, for those who can read and don't have a TV.

World War 2 and it's climax defined the modern age and the century.  It is the most significant event, historically speaking for the last 500 - 1000 years.  How this event shaped the markets and modern capitalism; specifically - global trade, Forex, emerging markets, the concept model of the nation-state, and in one word - a complete paradigm shift.  

Before WW2, nation-states waged war - these wars were all different but had several distinct characteristics.  There was always a winner, the winner basically wrote the terms of the agreement to end the war (taking various resources or land for themselves); it was usually financed through taxes or Rothschild type loans, and both sides were well defined.  Even when mercenaries participated, it was clear whose side was who.  Also it was clear, what the war was about - there was no 'false flag' events.  People mostly participated in war for survival, because they were forced to, or needed money and enlisted, or because their king told them to and they obey.  There was no TV, internet, or cameras attached to missiles.

After WW2, only one single country remained intact, with infinite industrial capacity that easily switched to the consumer economy.  The United States of America had lost millions of lives in WW2, but the US was never invaded, factories remained, cities were not burned and bombed, a baby boom quickly expanded the population.  Resources were plentiful, and for 20 years the US was basically the only industrial superpower in the world.  This eventually led to the US Dollar based global Forex & payments system as we have today.  Breton Woods certainly would not have been in New Hampshire had it not been for this post WW2 dominance.  For all its benefits, this circumstantial gift left with it a seed of destruction; the military industrial complex.  

Because now for the first time in history - war became a business.  Corporate America knew how to profit from war, in all manners.  Wall St. cozied up to Washington to form what would become the most powerful alliance of business & government in history (that ironically was a lot stronger form of Facism that these same forces destroyed in Europe a generation prior).  

The peace after WW2 presented a problem for the military industrial complex - if there was no war, how could they profit from the war machine?  Enter Vietnam and George Morrison (father of Doors singer Jim Morrison):

Daniel Ellsberg, who was on duty in the Pentagon the night of August 4, receiving messages from the ship, reported that the ship was on a secret electronic warfare support measuresmission (codenamed "DESOTO") near Northern Vietnamese territorial waters.^[12] On July 31, 1964, USS Maddox had begun its intelligence collection mission in the Gulf of Tonkin. Captain George Stephen Morrison (father ofDoors singer Jim Morrison) was in command of local American forces from his flagship USS Bon Homme Richard. Maddox was under orders not to approach closer than eight miles (13 km) from the North's coast and four miles (6 km) from Hon Nieu island.^[13] When the SOG commando raid was being carried out against Hon Nieu, the ship was 120 miles (190 km) away from the attacked area.^[13]

So now we had a nice little war, where we could sell bell helicopters, and created the modern model for making 'war business.'  After Vietnam it was easy to create an enemy.  Fast forward several conflicts and enter the ultimate enemy: Terrorists.  Terrorists are the dream of Neocons, warmongers, and anyone profiting from the war machine - because they are not connected to any 'country' - are always changing, nearly impossible to identify, have motives no one clearly understands, and can easily be bribed and manipulated to carry out the whims of Washington (in the case of Washington supported ISIS, to disrupt the Assad regime who has been on the black list since Libya.)  Who are Terrorists?  They can be anyone, operate anywhere, and always can be blamed on any mistakes made.  Plane crash, false flag - must be Terrorists!  They are the perfect enemy for the 'war machine'.  And the middle east - a perfect playground.  "Washington" now can be replaced with some proper term for 'global alliance' enter recently to this game Russia, just learning how profitable war can be.

Because practically, war is outdated.  A conventional war between any 2 nuclear powers would only create utter devastation, calculating which side would be more devastated is pointless, as the fallout would spread around the globe.  Also, countries such as Russia, the US, Germany, UK, have no real state enemies because of this, so keeping and maintaining a standing army of any kind - completely wasteful (except to keep the domestic population controlled by fear and opression, and the occasional cleansing of the genetic herd via in theater operations).  Hence the need for terrorists.

In other words, false flag or not - Terrorists are the last frontier for the war machine created (and thus the modern Forex system).  It's impossible to kill them, as they are an idea.  To end 'terrorism', we must end the war machine - dismantling this is very tricky!  Who are the real terrorists, suicide bombers, or news anchors constantly 'terrorizing' the population by making them afraid and worried around every corner a bomb will explode.  If we can overcome this huge mental challenge, we can really create a global panacea, a world without war, without currencies, without fraud.

Just like with any system, the war machine needs our support.  To stop it - we need to stop being afraid, stop believing in it! Stop participating in it!  (But that's not practical, because we like it.  It's entertainment!)  So the philosophical question of the day is:  Do you believe in Terrorists?  At least have some decency if you do - don't tell this fairy tale to your children.  Maybe they'll grow up in a better world.

Or to quote George Carlin, let's accept it as a form of entertainment:

The odds of your being killed by a terrorist are practically zero. So I say, relax and enjoy the show.

You have to be realistic about terrorism. Ya gotta be a realist: Certain groups of people – Muslim fundamentalists, Christian fundamentalists, Jewish fundamentalists, and just plain guys from Montana – are going to continue to make life in this country very interesting for a long, long time. That’s the reality. Angry men in combat fatigue talking to God on a two-way radio and muttering incoherent slogans about freedom are eventually going to provide us with a great deal of entertainment.

Especially after your stupid fuckin economy collapses all around you, and the terrorists come out of the woodwork. And you’ll have anthrax in the water supply and sarin-gas in the air conditioners; there’ll be chemical and biological suitcase bombs in every city, and I say, “Enjoy it, relax! Enjoy the show! Take a fuckin chance. Put a little fun in your life.”

To me, terrorism is exciting. It’s exciting! I think the very idea that someone might set off a bomb in Macy’s and kill several hundred people is exciting and stimulating, and I see it as a form of entertainment! Entertainment that’s all it is. Yeah! But – but I also know most Americans are soft, frightened, unimaginative they don’t realize there’s such a thing as dangerous fun. And they certainly don’t recognize good entertainment when they see it. I have always been willing to put myself at great personal risk for the sake of entertainment. And I’ve always been willing to put you at great personal risk for the same reason.

As far as I’m concerned, all of this airport security, all the searches, the screening, the cameras, the question it’s just one more way of reducing your liberty and reminding you that they can fuck with you any time they want, as long as you put up with it. As long as you put up with it. Which means, of course, any time they want. Because that’s what Americans do now. They’re always willing to trade away a little of their freedom for the feeling, the illusion–of security.   -GEORGE CARLIN

If state-sponsored armies left the middle east permanently (Now speaking of the US, UK, 'coalition of the willing' and now Russia), including the US support of Israel, 'terrorism' as we know it at least, would cease to exist.  We've been sold a load of snake oil, that somewhere lurking in the shadows of these elephant oil fields, are crazed muslims who believe in killing infidels.  Nothing could be farther from the truth!   

When a company is discovered for wrongdoing - often a boycott can succeed in getting their attention (the other alternative, being lawsuits & litigation).  It is not different with the war machine.  It feeds off our energy, our fears, which determines our need to finance and support the military through taxes and other means (and supports our local TV companies through advertisements).  The point is that there is no winning 'the war on Terrorism' - it's a paradox.  It's a genius invention by the war machine akin to "Terminator" films - now for every $1 we put into the military the profit can be $2 or $3 - because the more wars we launch in the middle east, the more terrorists are created, thus a need for even more security & war spending.  If even a small % of our tax dollars was funneled through various CIA shells to finance ISIS (even if the purpose was to overthrow Assad or other Terrorists) - technically speaking it is financed by the American taxpayer (at least in part).  Again, technically speaking - that would put the US Government on the OFAC list (which they publish) - and would be severe AML violations.  All these paradoxes are the ultimate 'fog of war' to enable the war machine to go on, now a self-replicating artificial intelligence of its own.  The ultimate paradox - this situation has made it impossible to stand up against the defense industry (literally) - ensuring it's nearly infinite survival.  

Or - here's an investing idea - if you think this is all a bunch of left wing nonsense - time to go long Defense stocks!  And at least you won't have to worry about any class action lawsuits or other problems with an angry and disgruntled public (they can be disapeared by outsourced foreign sub-contractors).

Think about this next time you're listening to 'riders on the storm'.

"Riders On The Storm"

Riders on the storm

Into this house we're born

Into this world we're thrown

Like a dog without a bone

An actor out on loan

Riders on the storm

There's a killer on the road

His brain is squirmin' like a toad

Take a long holiday

Let your children play

If you give this man a ride

Sweet family will die

Killer on the road, yeah

Bitcoin and The Blockchain - Banks Must Embrace Or “Die”

Bitcoin and The Blockchain - Banks Must Embrace Or “Die”

Editors Note:

GoldCore believe that blockchain technology will revolutionize the world of finance, payments and money and may have an impact on the world on a scale of that of the internet.  Hence, the need to keep an eye on this very important evolving technology that has ramifications for us all.

If you thought the internet was disruptive, well you ain't seen nothing yet ... the blockchain cometh!

Charlie Morris is the editor of Atlas Pulse - a newsletter focusing on gold, bitcoin, blockchain and disruptive technology.. He has written an excellent article looking at bitcoin, the blockchain and the ramifications for banks and our financial system.

Symbols for Gold, Bitcoin and Silver - Atlas Pulse

by Charlie Morris

Bitcoin’s had one hell of a year.

The price of a single bitcoin recently touched $500, which is three times higher than it was in August this year. That’s one hell of a move in a short space of time and I’m going to try and put that into context.

In November 2013, there were just over 12 million bitcoins in circulation and the price touched $1,200, meaning the network was briefly worth $14.4bn. This new form of electronic money had high hopes and some felt it would genuinely catch on as it had the potential to challenge the existing system in global payments.

Bitcoin clearly got ahead of itself and the excitement about the future of money took a turn for the worse.

There were scandals such as the loss of bitcoins at the MT Gox exchange (a bitcoin trading platform), the closure of the Silk Road website (drugs and other bad things) and the banning of bitcoin wallets by Apple (users could no longer transact on their phones).

The lowest ebb came in January this year when the network value briefly dropped below $ bn, a 77% contraction. Many high profile commentators wrote off bitcoin and predicted a future value below $1.

Today the bitcoin network appears to be alive and well. It recently saw total daily transaction volumes rise above $300m. This growth in usage from $50m per day in the summer has caused the price to surge. At $500 per bitcoin, the network value recently touched $7.4bn.

This resurgence is all the more surprising because there have been so many barriers in its path. Regulators have put bitcoin businesses under heavy scrutiny and most banks have refused to deal with them, despite being legitimate and innovative enterprises. In fact, George Osborne showed public support for bitcoin and wants Britain to be a hub for these disruptive technologies.

Before we go into further detail, let’s take a step back and remind ourselves what bitcoin actually is.

In simple terms, bitcoin is electronic cash. It was created on the Internet by ‘miners’ and can be transacted with anyone else who has a bitcoin ‘wallet’. It can’t be copied, cut or pasted, nor can they be minted to infinity.

As I said, there are 14.8 million bitcoins in circulation, and each day approximately 4,000 new coins are created. In exchange for validating all of the transactions carried out by the community, the miners receive the new coins plus some transaction fees. Yesterday’s payout to the miners was roughly $2m. Yes, you read that correctly.

Given the vast rewards, this process is highly competitive and if you want to mine bitcoins, you’ll need a super computer bigger than GCHQ’s and Nasa’s combined; I’m not exaggerating.

The miners work hard for their money and their primary task is to validate a ‘block’ of transactions every ten minutes (or by my calculations, every 9 minutes and 41 seconds on average). In financial terms, they carry out the ‘settlement’ for bitcoin and perform record keeping functions.

There are roughly 153 blocks created each and every day. They stack up on top of each other and, since bitcoin’s birth on 3rd January 2009, this process has occurred over 382,000 times. Hence the phrase ‘blockchain’ as the transaction data is stored as a ‘chain of blocks’.

The true genius of bitcoin is that it has been built using a database that was designed to transact, whereas a traditional database was designed to store information.

Financial transactions use traditional databases that were invented decades ago. In order for them to transact, they dive inside the computer, find the data they are looking for, change it and then climb back out. That system has worked well, but now the world has something better.

With a blockchain, instead of finding and changing the data, the system continuously adds new layers whilst the past records remain unchanged. This has improved speed, security, transparency and record keeping whilst simultaneously slashing costs.

Crucially, the bitcoin ecosystem is operated by the ‘invisible hand’. There are no employees or maintenance staff behind it. Ask a bank how many people sit in their IT department and the answer will be in the tens of thousands. Bitcoin has survived for nearly seven years with no employees whatsoever, just an open-source community of coders who implement periodic improvements.

Crucially, the bitcoin network is ‘de-centralised’. A bank may backup its database several times, but for bitcoin, there are 5,625 copies (at the last count), known as ‘nodes’. In order to shut down bitcoin, you would need to destroy every single one. That would mean a coordinated effort from 90 different countries including Zimbabwe, Russia and Iran. Good luck with that; the bitcoin network is here to stay.

What can you do with bitcoin?

You can spend it in a growing list of places although, I readily admit, it is far from mainstream. As I said on my recent podcast, I managed to buy a glass of wine in Chamonix and a cup of coffee in Shoreditch, but little else.

That has hardly changed the face of money, but entrepreneurs have created credit cards that transact using bitcoin. That means it is potentially acceptable whenever you see the Visa or Mastercard symbol.

Wall Street has seen this blockchain technology and has taken it into the fold. The banks that intend to survive know that if they don’t take the lead, they’ll die. Those that fail to take an interest will get left behind and so there’s much at stake.

The recent surge in price from $160 in August to $500 was an explosive move. The FT has attributed this to a Russian pyramid scheme called MMM, that has taken off in China. I’m sure this explains much of the recent exuberance, but underlying that, is a self-sustaining network that enjoys underlying growth.

Speculative flurries will come and go but what I am interested in is the trend. If the real usage of bitcoin grows, the price can only rise. We should think of bitcoin like a technology stock where the value is directly related to the size of the network.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-18/bitcoin-and-blockchain-banks-must-embrace-or-%E2%80%9Cdie%E2%80%9D

BREAKING: Barclays Hit With Additional $150M NY Forex Fine

Barclays has been hit with a $150m penalty for allegedly using its foreign exchange electronic trading platform to automatically reject client orders that would have been unprofitable for the bank, and lying to those clients about why their transactions were turned down.

The New York Department of Financial Services also ordered Barclays to fire the global head of electronic fixed income, currencies, and commodities automated flow trading as part of a settlement announced Wednesday, Gina Chon reports in Washington.

The findings are another embarrassment for Barclays, which has already paid the largest fine, $2.4bn in May, out of the multiple Wall Street firms that have been investigated for manipulation of the $5.3tn forex markets.

Wednesday's settlement brings the total Barclays has paid to DFS alone for forex probes to $635m.

The Barclays probe also doesn't bode well for other banks facing similar investigations by DFS for their forex electronic trading platforms, such as Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Société Générale.

US regulators have also been increasingly targeting automated and high frequency trading, and the Barclays settlement reflects one of the first major cases involving algorithms for an electronic trading platform.

"We are pleased that Barclays worked with us to resolve this matter," said Anthony Albanese, acting superintendent of DFS. "This case highlights the need for greater oversight and action to help prevent the misuse of automated, electronic trading platforms on Wall Street, which is a wider industry issue that requires serious additional scrutiny."

In a statement, Barclays said it continues to co-operate with other ongoing investigations and to manage related litigation risks as previously disclosed.

http://www.ft.com/intl/fastft/427451/barclays-dfs

IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE ON THE BARX PLATFORM OR HAVE LOST MONEY WITH BARCLAYS FX PLEASE CONTACT ELITE E SERVICES HERE

EES: Why preppers have it all wrong

Prepping has not only gone mainstream, it's infected even the billionaire culture as referenced recently on a ZH article:

When it comes to “prepping”, many among the elite take things to an entirely different level.  As you will see below, the elite are willing to pay big money for cutting edge home security measures, luxury bomb shelters and superyacht getaway submarines. Some of the things that the elite are demanding for their own protection go beyond even what we would see in a James Bond film, and serving the prepping needs of the elite has become a multi-billion dollar business.  Meanwhile, the media outlets that the elite own continue to mock the rest of us for getting prepared.  All the time we see headlines like this one that appeared in a major American news source: “Preppers: Meet the paranoid Americans awaiting the apocalypse“.  Well, if we are paranoid for setting aside some extra food and supplies for the future, what does that make the people that you will read about in this article?

Financial prepping has been the mantra of the 'hedge' fund community since it started to exist.  Instead of just blindly buying stocks and hoping the market always goes up, 'hedge funds' provided a 'hedge' in case the market actually didn't go straight up.  Of course, this is now just for lazy investors, now it's possible to buy options for almost any situation, and insurance companies will sell insurance for anything - even being abducted by aliens (over 30,000 policies sold in Europe according to Geico).

Description of the prepper & background

So let's take the average prepper, metaphorically speaking.  You have your safe house, stockpile of supplies, food, ammo, tools, toilet paper, shortwave radios and other electronics powered by cranks, etc. etc. etc. (depending on how deep your infection).

Financially speaking, you keep your savings in a combination of cash (US Dollars, Euros, and Swiss Francs), gold, silver, bitcoin, and bearer bonds.  If you are really savvy, you're holding the paper on several nearby farms in a fair deal whereby they pay down their principle in cash and interest & fees in milk, beef, and in the summer vegetables.

You own several properties in the names of charities you've setup just for this purpose... ok you get the idea.  Take it to the extreme.  The estute prepper has done all this and more - he's ready for anything!

The problem

Now the calamity comes - whether it be a global pandemic, alien invasion, terrorists, the United Nations with foreign troop invasion - take your pick.  It's really bad, but you survive - because you are ready for anything!  So now you've survived - NOW WHAT?  

Do you come out of your bunker after the smoke has cleared?  What will you do all day?  What will other survivors do?  Will you try to communicate with other preppers?  What if in the process of that communication - you discover that you are a little more prepared than they, and they trick you into a meet whereby they kidnap you and force you at gunpoint to give up your safe location and supplies?  

What if there is a secret group of 'anti-preppers' who are right now preparing for ways to steal from preppers, based on their security flaws and lack of planning?  

What if there is a group right now setup by the government, who is monitoring preppers, that within 24 hours of said 'calamity' will be taken into custody (or otherwise dealt with).

What is to stop the military from seizing your supplies, and forcing you to join their chain gang?  

The problem is that in order to really be 'prepared' - one must strive to be a stronger fighting force than the strongest army in the world (be it whatever you think in your opinion) because in a real crisis, the only currencies are 1) intelligence and 2) accelerated lead.  Accelerated lead is a quickly depleting resource whereas intelligence can grow and be self-replicating.  

Prepping generally speaking is a good thing, to use example of global pandemic - if everyone in the world is prepared and follows WHO guidelines, the pandemic will not exist!  Probably the same could be true with financial markets.

The point here is to realize that like with anything - the popularization of 'prepping' has warped the purity of the concept.  

The idea itself - very noble.  But in practicality, in reality, if there is an apocalypse, where are you going to go shopping with your gold and silver coins?  

Especially in America where we like to do things to extremes (like eating for example) - we've taken prepping to a new fangled art form.  But it's this 'new level' that is the snake oil - not the concept of prepping.

Just in case

Mossberg sells a package "Just in Case" that includes survival kit, shotgun, all neatly packaged in a waterproof tube (that also can double as a flotation device).  It's a great analogy for the prepping movement.  It's a great thing to have - JUST IN CASE.  99% of buyers of this will never use it.  

But - IT'S BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT, THAN TO NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT!  -The Avid Prepper

Financial Prepping

What can one do to financial prepare themselves?  This completely depends on the situation, and depends on the extent you want to prepare for.  As a general rule, you just want to be more prepared than your neighbor, but only a little.  That means - forget about the kevlar suit that can withstand 1,000F burns, or the bitcoin wallet that can only be opened with one time pad; each hidden in 2 secure locations in Europe.

Also, forget this naive idea about hoarding physical gold or cash - as if it will help you.  You're just painting a target on your back!  Where will you spend this cash?

Some reasonable prepping steps to be a 'pure prepper' 

• Have a healthy options portfolio
• Take the other side (even if you don't agree with it)
• Invest in some really crazy ideas - if everyone you know says 'don't do it - it's crazy' - DO IT!
• Invest and trade LOCALLY, at least a little.
• Keep multiple accounts open with different TYPES of brokerage firms/banks - not only the same institution where your 401k is.  Not all of them will die.
• Participate in some class action lawsuits for securities or similar cases - even if you won't get a big payout.  When the dollar bubble really pops, you'll have a friend who can help you get 20 cents on the dollar from Bank of America.
• Make some foreign connections, who may not be in the same predicament as most in America
• As much as possible, try to do things for yourself.  Having your deck resurfaced?  Do it yourself!  Do your own research - don't rely on a service (and certainly not your broker!)  
• Educate yourself!  Learn a foreign language, or study that course in wreath making you've been putting off for so long.  Remember, although the world is a large place - the majority of nuclear fuel rods are made by hand by Samurais in Japan:

Although Japan Steel Works is a major corporation with 5,000 employees, it also maintains a samurai sword blacksmith, in a small shack on a hill above the factory in Muroran, where a single craftsman still hammers steel into broadswords, as the company has done since 1917.

Just remember.  For those who think the apocalypse is coming - there are just as many who believe it's already here.  Just ask some Detroit residents.  

Looks like the Zombies have already invaded and destroyed our cities.  

 http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-12/why-preppers-have-it-all-wrong

Banks’ Civil Forex Settlements Near $2 Billion

The total amount paid by banks to settle a civil lawsuit tied to allegations traders manipulated the currency market has now reached almost $2 billion following a recent round of settlement agreements.

HSBC Holdings PLC, Barclays PLC, BNP Paribas SA and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have recently signed agreements to settle the case, according to people familiar with the matter.

HSBC agreed to pay $285 million and Barclays $375 million, some of the people said. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Goldman Sachs Group was in advanced settlement discussions for $129.5 million. It was unclear how much BNP has agreed to pay.

The four banks are among a dozen lenders named as defendants in the suit filed in late 2013 by law firms Scott+Scott LLP and Hausfeld LLP on behalf of a group of claimants including several U.S. state pension funds, which alleged bank traders improperly shared confidential information about their clients’ orders through electronic chat rooms to unfairly manipulate the $5.3 trillion currency market.

Five other banks reached settlements with the claimants earlier this year totaling roughly $1 billion, according to public statements from the banks and law firms involved in the case.

The civil settlements follow $10 billion in bank fines after a yearslong investigation into the foreign-exchange market by many global regulators including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. While regulatory settlements in the U.K. last November and in the U.S. in May largely closed the book on the official investigation, problems related to the currency market continue to rumble on. Banks are likely to face similar civil claims in other jurisdictions such as London, where both plaintiff firms have an office, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Plaintiffs accused the banks’ traders of conspiring in instant messages and chat rooms with names such as “the Cartel,” and “the Dream Team” to manipulate foreign-exchange markets. “[Banks] participated in an unlawful conspiracy to restrain trade,” the filing said.

Three of the banks—Deutsche Bank AG, Credit Suisse AG, and Morgan Stanley—have still not agreed a civil settlement, according to people familiar with the matter.

None of the banks that have settled the suit have admitted to any wrongdoing, according to settlement agreements seen by the Journal.

The civil suit is pending in New York. U.S. district court judge Lorna G. Schofield is due to talk with lawyers and some of the defendants on Thursday, according to court filings.

A person familiar with the civil case said negotiations with other banks accelerated after J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in January became the first bank to agree to a settlement. The U.S. bank agreed to pay out $99.5 million and disclose to the plaintiffs’ lawyers documentation it had already shared with U.S. and European regulators and trading data related to the alleged manipulation, according to documents reviewed by the Journal.

The agreements signed by other banks include similar clauses, according to people familiar with the matter.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/banks-civil-forex-settlements-near-2-billion-1434541324

OPEN A FOREX ACCOUNT

Venezuela Default Countdown Begins: After Selling Billions In Gold, Caracas Raids $467 Million In IMF Reserves

In late October, when describing Venezuela's desperate steps to keep itself afloat for a few more months, we reported that in order to fund $3.5 billion bond payments in early November, Maduro's government had engaged in something that is the very definition of insanity: selling the country's sovereign (and pateiently repatriated by his deceased predecessor) gold to repay creditors.

Specifically, in the past several months, Caracas has quietly parted with 19% of its gold holdings: "Central bank financial statements posted this week on its website show monetary gold totaled 91.41 billion bolivars in January and 74.14 billion bolivars in May.  At the strongest official exchange rate of 6.3 bolivars per U.S. dollar, which the bank uses for its financial statements, that decline would be equivalent to $2.74 billion."

But while ridiculous, Venezuela's decision to liquidate some of its gold is perhaps understandable under the circumstances: Venezulea relies on crude oil for 95% of its export revenue, and with prices refusing to rebound, the only question is when do all those CDS which price in a Venezuela default finally get paid.

What is even more understandable is what Venezuela should have done in the first place before dumping a fifth of its gold, but got to do eventually, namely raiding all of the IMF capital held under its name in a special SDR reserve account.

Recall that this is precisely what Greece did in July when everyone was speculating when it would default. Now its Venezuela's turn.

The details: Reuters reports that Venezuela withdrew some $467 million from an IMF holding account in October, according to information posted on the fund's web-site, as the OPEC nation seeks to improve the liquidity of its reserves amid low oil prices and a severe recession.

Venezuela holds part of its reserves with the International Monetary Fund in an instrument called Special Drawing Rights (SDR), a basket of international currencies made up of the euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling and U.S. dollar.

The withdrawal will allow Venezuela to use the funds for imports or debt service, but does not change its total reserve holdings as SDRs are already accounted for.

Needless to say, it is far wiser to use up all paper "assets" to repay "paper" liabilities, before resorting to hart money. By then, it is usually game over anyway, so our advise to Mr. Maduro: just default now, and save your gold.

Referentially, the country's international reserves as of Thursday stood at $14.819 billion: and dropping fast.  At this rate of depletion, we give Venezuela a few more months before the army takes over.

Finally, the central bank's most recent financial statements as of May, showed that 58% of reserves were held in gold.  It is unclear how much, if any, were held in "toilet paper".

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-09/venezuela-default-countdown-begins-after-selling-billions-gold-caracas-raids-467-mil

This post sponsored by Elite E Services Forex

Shares Of World's Largest Miner Plunge To Seven-Year Low After Massive Toxic Mudslide Engulfs Brazilian Village

Ok, so if you’re the world’s largest mining company, one thing you don’t want is a global deflationary supply glut brought on by depressed demand from China and a worldwide excess capacity problem. 

Another thing you don’t want is for a tailings dam to burst, sending a river of toxic mud into a nearby village in South America.

Well, BHP Billiton is now dealing with both of those issues and the market is punishing the stock, which hit a seven-year low on Monday as analysts and investors alike attempt to figure out how the company intends to clean up a spectacular (in a bad way) mess in Minas Gerais. 

Here’s what happened, in BHP’s words: 

The Samarco operations include a three tiered tailings dam complex. Within this complex, the Fundão dam failed and the downstream Santarém dam has been affected. This resulted in a significant release of mine tailings, flooding the community of Bento Rodrigues and impacting other communities downstream.The third dam in the complex, the Germano dam, is being monitored by Samarco. At this time, there is no confirmation of the causes of the tailings release.

Samarco is jointly operated with Brazilian giant Vale and BHP has been keen to note that the joint venture is “responsible for the entirety” of the Minas Gerais operations. After the company's operating license was revoked on Monday, its debt plunged, with some $2.2 billion in paper due 2022, 2023, and 2024 hitting record lows.

For those who might have missed it, the following images will tell you pretty much all you need to know about what happened:

(via WSJ)

And here's Deutsche Bank's take, which underscores the significance:

BHP and Vale's 30Mtpa Samarco iron ore mine in Southern Brazil (50/50 JV) has suffered a catastrophic tailings dam failure. The mine represents c. 10% of our BHP earnings and 3% of NPV, we now assume the mine is shut until FY19. Pellet production was recently expanded to 30Mtpa at a cost of US$3.2b. Media reports have stated that there is a significant and tragic loss of life. Based on public images of the failure we estimate that the dam contained over 300Mt or 150Mm3 of tailings and Samarco could be down for years while the clean-up costs may exceed US$1b. This accident will add further pressure to BHP's cash flow, growth and safeguarding of the progressive dividend

At around 0530am AEST on Nov 6, Samarco’s largest tailings facility failed causing slurry to race through the open pit and down the valley into the local village of Bento Rodrigues and into local waterways. The media is reporting that between 15 and 17 people have died and 45 others are missing. Samarco states in its FY14 sustainability report that it employs a management system referred to as “Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) system” to control tailings dam failure risks. It could be months before Vale, BHP, State and Federal governments complete their assessment of the incident. The clean-up, community support, litigation and rebuilding of the tailings dam (if approved and deemed feasible) could mean that Samarco is shut for years. The mine employs 3,100 people and is one of the largest employers in the region. Samarco contributed US$369m to BHP earnings in FY15 and before this incident we estimated it would contribute US$308m in FY16. We have assumed the mine is shut until FY19, the workforce remains employed, and BHP’s share of the clean-up and dam rebuild costs US$500m. We have excluded any recouping of costs from insurance at this stage. 

Of course this is the sellside penguin brigade so naturally, all of that somehow translates to a "Hold":

As WSJ notes: 

Brazilian officials on Sunday raised the death toll to three people, two of whom were found in the path of the mud flow, and a third who died while receiving medical treatment. That number is expected to rise, as at least 28 people are now confirmed missing.

“BHP Billiton will continue to work with Samarco, Vale, the local communities, local authorities, regulators and insurers to assess the full impact of this tragic incident,” BHP said.

The shutdown will reduce BHP’s iron-ore production this fiscal year—cutting into profit when falling commodity prices already are already making it more difficult for the company to keep its promise to maintain or lift shareholder dividends. Samarco last year accounted for roughly 3% of BHP’s underlying earnings.

Right, so in other words, this is an unmitigated disaster. 

On the "bright" side, the fallout could take some excess supply offline, and could impact prices. Here's more, via Bloomberg:

• Deactivation of production at Samarco Mineracao mine, a JV between BHP Billiton and Vale, is likely to pressure iron-ore prices, Christopher Tuck, mineral commodity specialist at U.S. Geological Survey’s National Minerals Information Center, says in interview in Rio.
  • "Any deactivation, on this scale, will have an impact on seaborne trade. The varying factor that would affect prices is the length of time this mine remains inoperable. The larger time it remains idled, the greater the likelihood it will have an impact on prices’’
  • Potential impact on price of pellets much more significant than effect on overall market
  • Short-term idling could level off prices through end of 2015; if output is halted long-term, prices could increase slightly

We suppose the takeaway here is that an already abysmal backdrop for BHP just got a lot worse, which means you may want to brace yourself if you're a shareholder and if you're a Brazilian villager, just hold your breath and wait for your compensatory check from Samarco - we're sure it's in the mail.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-09/shares-worlds-largest-miner-plunge-seven-year-low-after-massive-toxic-mudslide-engul

The Most Surprising Thing About Today's Jobs Report

After several months of weak and deteriorating payrolls prints, perhaps the biggest tell today's job number would surprise massively to the upside came yesterday from Goldman, which as we noted earlier, just yesterday hiked its forecast from 175K to 190K. And while as Brown Brothers said after the reported that it is "difficult to find the cloud in the silver lining" one clear cloud emerges when looking just a little deeper below the surface.

That cloud emerges when looking at the age breakdown of the October job gains as released by the BLS' Household Survey. What it shows is that while total jobs soared, that was certainly not the case in the most important for wage growth purposes age group, those aged 25-54.

As the chart below shows, in October the age group that accounted for virtually all total job gains was workers aged 55 and over. They added some 378K jobs in the past month, representing virtually the entire increase in payrolls. And more troubling: workers aged 25-54 actually declined by 35,000, with males in this age group tumbling by 119,000!

Little wonder then why there is no wage growth as employers continue hiring mostly those toward the twilight of their careers: the workers who have little leverage to demand wage hikes now and in the future, something employers are well aware of.

The next chart shows the break down the cumulative job gains since December 2007 and while workers aged 55 and older have gained over 7.5 million jobs in the past 8 years, workers aged 55 and under, have lost a cumulative total of 4.6 million jobs.

The same chart as above showing the full breakdown by age group - once again the 25-54 age group sticks out.

But young workers' loss is old workers' gain, as the following chart of total jobs held by those aged 55 and over shows. As of October, there was a record 33.8 million workers in the oldest age group tracked by the BLS - the same workers who, as noted above, also have the poorest wage negotiating leverage.

Finally, the most disappointing data point in today's report is that while overall labor growth was solid, the participation rate for workers 25-54, was 80.7%, far below is peak of just under 85%, and below the 80.8% at the end of 2014.

Time for a rate hike?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-06/most-surprising-thing-about-todays-jobs-report