Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
And then there were four closed banks.
Canyon National Bank, Palm Springs, CA
Badger State Bank, Cassville, WI
Peoples State Bank, Hamtramck, MI
Sunshine State Community Bank, Port Orange, FL
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
Will the growing vacuum in power be filled by the Brotherhood? I think so.
Algeria shuts down internet and Facebook as protest mounts
Internet providers were shut down and Facebook accounts deleted across Algeria on Saturday as thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators were arrested in violent street demonstrations.
By Nabila Ramdani 7:25PM GMT 12 Feb 2011
Plastic bullets and tear gas were used to try and disperse large crowds in major cities and towns, with 30,000 riot police taking to the streets in Algiers alone.
There were also reports of journalists being targeted by state-sponsored thugs to stop reports of the disturbances being broadcast to the outside world.
But it was the government attack on the internet which was of particular significance to those calling for an end to President Abdelaziz Boutifleka’s repressive regime.
Protesters mobilising through the internet were largely credited with bringing about revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.
"The government doesn’t want us forming crowds through the internet," said Rachid Salem, of Co-ordination for Democratic Change in Algeria.
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
You think these guys are going to produce a durable democracy? What are you smoking?
This story is far from over.
Egypt’s army clashes with protesters
Sun Feb 13, 2011 7:47AM
Egypt’s army has clashed with protesters that refuse to leave Cairo’s Liberation Square two days after the US-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power.
Soldiers on Sunday scuffled with thousands of protesters camping out in the Square, the focal point of massive rallies that brought down Mubarak on Friday, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Shouting slogans, protesters fought street battles with soldiers forcing them to back away, the report added.
The protesters, remaining in Cairo’s central Liberation Square on Saturday night, warned of holding further rallies if the military fails to fulfill its promise of a peaceful transition of power to a democratic civilian system.
Eighteen days of revolution across Egypt forced the embattled Mubarak to leave office on Friday, handing over power to a military council.
The military promised "a peaceful transition of power" to an elected civilian government on Saturday in order to build "a free democratic state."
Jim Sinclair’s Commentary
There will come a day soon when paper will no longer command price.
Chinese Demand For Gold Surges To Around 25% Global Production
Feb. 12 2011 – 7:31 am
It’s hard to believe that ordinary Chinese citizens are responsible for an increase in gold imports to China– some 5 times larger than in the recent past. But, that is what the Financial Times of London reported this past week.
For one thing China is already the globe’s largest producer. So, it has its own domestic supply of gold. Also, it suggests that possibly the Chinese are utilizing far greater amounts of their savings to purchase gold, rather than increase domestic consumption. Or that official figures of Chinese wealth are being under-stated.
Gold prices have been in a consolidation phase, trading between $1325 an ounce and $1375 an ounce for the past few months, as the dollar has been somewhat stronger in reaction to improving statistics on the US economy.
Another positive for gold is last week’s recommendation from the IMF that $2 trillion in the form of a new international currency be created out of a weighted average of several currencies to begin the replacement of the dollar as the globe’s chief reserve currency.
Gold experts point out that the recent weakness in gold has hit the price of the small mining company shares worse than the majors as speculation in gold has quieted down. The speculative interests in gold futures on the Comex has been substantially reduced. And net redemptions in the ETF GLD, has reduced its gold holdings by $2 billion or almost 4%.
