From the desk of
Bill Ramey
1/27/15
COMMENTARY &
OPINION
SPECIAL REPORT
Greetings
friends around the world,
Do we really comprehend where we stand today from
an international perspective? This is, without
a doubt, the best explanation of the American dilemma I have seen to date. It would seem we have painted ourselves into a
corner and Daniel 11:44 is about to become a reality.
Thu, Dec 25, 2014
By Dmitry KALINICHENKO
(Russia)
Accusations of the West
towards Putin are traditionally based on the fact that he worked in the KGB. And
therefore he is a cruel and immoral person. Putin is blamed for everything. But
nobody ever accused Putin of the lack of intelligence.
Any accusations against
this man only emphasize his ability for quick analytical thinking and making clear
and balanced political and economic decisions.
Often Western media compares
this ability with the ability of a grandmaster, conducting a public chess simul.
Recent developments in US economy and the West in general allow us to conclude that
in this part of the assessment of Putin’s personality Western media are absolutely
right.
Despite numerous success
reports in the style of Fox News and CNN, today, Western economy, led by the United
States is in Putin’s trap, the way out of which no one in the West can see or find.
And the more the West is trying to escape from this trap, the more stuck it becomes.
What is the truly tragic
predicament of the West and the United States, in which they find themselves? And
why all the Western media and leading Western economists are silent about this,
as a well guarded military secret? Let’s try to understand the essence of current
economic events, in the context of the economy, setting aside the factors of morality,
ethics and geopolitics.
Development of crude oil
prices.
After realizing its failure
in Ukraine, the West, led by the US set out to destroy Russian economy by lowering
oil prices, and accordingly gas prices as the main budget sources of export revenue
in Russia and the main sources of replenishment of Russian gold reserves. It
should be noted that the main failure of the West in Ukraine is not military or
political. But in the actual refusal of Putin to fund the Western project of Ukraine
at the expense of the budget of Russian Federation. What makes this Western project
not viable in the near and inevitable future.
Last time under president
Reagan, such actions of the West’s lowering of oil prices led to ‘success’ and the
collapse of USSR. But history does not repeat itself all the time. This time things
are different for the West. Putin’s response to the West resembles both chess and
judo, when the strength used by the enemy is used against him, but with minimal
costs to the strength and resources of the defender. Putin’s real policies are not
public. Therefore, Putin’s policy largely has always focused not so much
on effect, but on efficiency.
Very few people understand
what Putin is doing
at the moment. And almost no one understands what he will do in the future.
No matter how strange
it may seem, but right now, Putin is selling Russian oil and gas only for physical
gold.
Putin is not shouting
about it all over the world. And of course, he still accepts US dollars as an intermediate
means of payment. But he immediately exchanges all these dollars obtained
from the sale of oil and gas for physical gold!
To understand this, it
is enough to look at the dynamics of growth of gold reserves of Russia and to compare
this data with foreign exchange earnings of the Russia coming from the sale of oil
and gas over the same period.
Moreover, in the third
quarter the purchases by Russia of physical gold are at all-time high record levels.
In the third quarter of this year, Russia had purchased an incredible amount of
gold in the amount of 55 tons. It’s more than all the central banks of all countries
of the world combined (according to official data)!
In total, the central
banks of all countries of the world have purchased 93 tons of the precious metal
in the third quarter of 2014. It was the 15th consecutive quarter of net purchases
of gold by Central banks. Of the 93 tonnes of gold purchases by central banks
around the world during this period, the staggering volume of purchases – of 55 tons – belongs to Russia.
Not so long ago, British
scientists have successfully come to the same conclusion, as was published in the
Conclusion of the U.S. Geological survey a few years ago. Namely: Europe will
not be able to survive without energy supply from Russia. Translated from English
to any other language in the world it means: “The world will not be able to survive
if oil and gas from Russia is subtracted from the global balance of energy supply”.
Thus, the Western world,
built on the hegemony of the petrodollar, is in a catastrophic situation. In which
it cannot survive without oil and gas supplies from Russia. And Russia is now ready
to sell its oil and gas to the West only in exchange for physical gold! The twist
of Putin’s game is that the mechanism for the sale of Russian energy to the West
only for gold now works regardless of whether the West agrees to pay for Russian
oil and gas with its artificially cheap gold, or not.
Because Russia, having
a regular flow of dollars from the sale of oil and gas, in any case, will be able
to convert them to gold with current gold prices, depressed by all means by the
West. That is, at the price of gold, which had been artificially and meticulously
lowered by the Fed and ESF many times, against artificially inflated purchasing
power of the dollar through market manipulation.
Interesting fact: the
suppression of gold prices by the special department of US Government – ESF (Exchange
Stabilization Fund) – with the aim of stabilizing the dollar has been made into
a law in the United States.
In the financial world
it is accepted as a given that gold is an antidollar.
- In 1971, US President Richard Nixon closed the ‘gold window’, ending the free exchange of dollars for gold, guaranteed by the US in 1944 at Bretton Woods.
- In 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reopened the ‘gold window’, without asking Washington’s permission.
Right now the West spends
much of its efforts and resources to suppress the prices of gold and oil. Thereby,
on the one hand to distort the existing economic reality in favor of the US dollar
and on the other hand, to destroy the Russian economy, refusing to play the role
of obedient vassal of the West.
Today assets such as gold
and oil look proportionally weakened and excessively undervalued against the US
dollar. It is a consequence of the enormous economic effort on the part of the West.
And now Putin sells Russian
energy resources in exchange for these US dollars, artificially propped by the efforts
of the West. With which he immediately buys gold, artificially devalued against the
U.S. dollar by the efforts of the West itself!
There is another interesting
element in Putin’s game. It’s Russian uranium. Every sixth light bulb in the USA
depends on its supply. Which Russia sells to the US too, for dollars.
Thus, in exchange for
Russian oil, gas and uranium, the West pays Russia with dollars, purchasing power
of which is artificially inflated against oil and gold by the efforts of the
West. But Putin uses these dollars only to withdraw physical gold from the West
in exchange, for the price denominated in US dollars, artificially lowered by the
same West.
This truly brilliant economic
combination by Putin puts the West led by the United States in a position of a snake,
aggressively and diligently devouring its own tail.
The idea of this economic
golden trap for the West, probably originated not from Putin himself. Most likely
it was the idea of Putin’s Advisor for Economic Affairs – doctor Sergey
Glazyev. Otherwise why seemingly not involved in business bureaucrat Glazyev,
along with many Russian businessmen, was personally included by Washington on the
sanction list? The idea of an economist,
doctor Glazyev was brilliantly executed by Putin, with full endorsement from his
Chinese colleague – Xi Jinping.
Especially interesting
in this context looks the November statement of the first Deputy Chairman of Central
Bank of Russia Ksenia Yudaeva, which stressed that the Central Bank of Russia can
use the gold from its reserves to pay for imports, if needed. It is obvious that
in terms of sanctions by the Western world, this statement is addressed to the BRICS
countries, and first of all China. For China, Russia’s willingness to pay for goods
with Western gold is very convenient. And here’s why:
China recently announced
that it will cease to increase its gold and currency reserves denominated in US
dollars. Considering the growing trade deficit between the US and China (the current
difference is five times in favor of China), then this statement translated from
the financial language reads: “China stops
selling their goods for dollars”. The world’s media chose not to notice
this grandest in the recent monetary history event.
The issue is not that China literally refuses to sell its goods for US dollars.
China, of course, will continue to accept US dollars as an intermediate means of
payment for its goods. But, having taken dollars, China will immediately get rid
of them and replace with something else in the structure of its gold and currency
reserves. Otherwise the statement made by the monetary authorities of China loses
its meaning: “We are stopping the increase of our gold and currency reserves, denominated
in US dollars.” That is, China will no longer buy United States Treasury bonds for
dollars earned from trade with any countries, as they did this before.
Thus, China will replace
all the dollars that it will receive for its goods not only from the US but from
all over the world with something else not to increase their gold currency reserves,
denominated in US dollars. And here is an interesting question: what will China
replace all the trade dollars with? What currency or an asset? Analysis of the
current monetary policy of China shows that most likely the dollars coming
from trade, or a substantial chunk of them, China will quietly replace and
de facto is already replacing with Gold.
Are we witnessing the
end of dollar era?
In this aspect, the solitaire
of Russian-Chinese relations is extremely successful for Moscow and Beijing. Russia
buys goods from China directly for gold at its current price. While China buys Russian
energy resources for gold at its current price. At this Russian-Chinese
festival of life there is a place for everything: Chinese goods, Russian energy
resources, and gold – as a means of mutual payment. Only US dollar has no place
at this festival of life. And this is not surprising. Because the US dollar
is not a Chinese product, nor a Russian energy resource. It is only an intermediate
financial instrument of settlement – and an unnecessary intermediary. And it is
customary to exclude unnecessary intermediaries from the interaction of two independent
business partners.
It should be noted separately
that the global market for physical gold is extremely small relative to the world
market for physical oil supplies. And especially the world market for physical gold
is microscopic compared to the entirety of world markets for physical delivery of
oil, gas, uranium and goods.
Emphasis on the phrase
“physical gold” is made because in exchange for its physical, not ‘paper’ energy
resources, Russia is now withdrawing gold from the West, but only in its physical, not
paper form. So does China, by acquiring from the West the artificially
devalued physical gold as a payment for physical delivery of real products to the
West.
The West’s hopes that
Russia and China will accept as payment for their energy resources and goods “shitcoin”
or so-called “paper gold” of various kinds also did not materialize. Russia and
China are only interested in gold and only physical metal as a final means of payment.
For reference: the turnover
of the market of paper gold, only of gold futures, is estimated at $360 billion
per month. But physical delivery of gold is only for $280 million a month. Which
makes the ratio of trade of paper gold versus physical gold: 1000 to 1.
Using the mechanism of
active withdrawal from the market of one artificially lowered by the West financial
asset (gold) in exchange for another artificially inflated by the West financial
asset (USD), Putin has thereby started the countdown to the end of the
world hegemony of petrodollar. Thus, Putin has put the West in a deadlock of the
absence of any positive economic prospects. The West can spend as much of its
efforts and resources to artificially increase the purchasing power of the dollar,
lower oil prices and artificially lower the
purchasing power of gold. The problem of the West is that the stocks of physical
gold in possession of the West are not unlimited. Therefore, the more the West devalues
oil and gold against the US dollar, the faster it loses devaluing Gold from its
not infinite reserves. In this brilliantly played by Putin economic combination
the physical gold is rapidly flowing to Russia, China, Brazil, Kazakhstan and India,
the BRICS countries, from the reserves of the West. At the current rate of reduction
of reserves of physical gold, the West simply does not have the time to do anything
against Putin’s Russia until the collapse of the entire Western petrodollar world.
In chess the situation in which Putin has put the West, led by the US, is called
“time trouble”.
The Western world has
never faced such economic events and phenomena that are happening right now.
USSR rapidly sold gold during the fall of oil prices. Russia rapidly buys gold during
the fall in oil prices. Thus, Russia poses a real threat to the American model
of petrodollar world domination.
The main principle of
world petrodollar model is allowing Western countries led by the United States to
live at the expense of the labor and resources of other countries and peoples based
on the role of the US currency, dominant in the global monetary system (GMS) . The
role of the US dollar in the GMS is that it is the ultimate means of payment. This
means that the national currency of the United States in the structure of the GMS
is the ultimate asset accumulator, to exchange which to any other asset does not
make sense. What the BRICS countries, led by Russia and China, are doing
now is actually changing the role and status of the US dollar in the global monetary
system. From the ultimate means of payment and asset accumulation, the national
currency of the USA, by the joint actions of Moscow and Beijing is turned into only
an intermediate means of payment. Intended only to exchange this interim payment
for another and the ulimate financial asset – gold. Thus, the US dollar actually
loses its role as the ultimate means of payment and asset accumulation, yielding
both of those roles to another recognized, denationalized and depoliticized monetary
asset – gold.
Traditionally, the West
has used two methods to eliminate the threat to the hegemony of petrodollar model
in the world and the consequent excessive privileges for the West.
One of these methods –
colored revolutions. The second method, which is usually applied by the West, if
the first fails – military aggression and bombing.
But in Russia’s case both
of these methods are either impossible or unacceptable for the West.
Because, firstly, the
population of Russia, unlike people in many other countries, does not wish to exchange
their freedom and the future of their children for Western sausage. This is evident
from the record ratings of Putin, regularly published by the leading Western rating
agencies. Personal friendship of Washington protégé Navalny with Senator McCain
played for him and Washington a very negative role. Having learned this fact from
the media, 98% of the Russian population now perceive Navalny only as a vassal
of Washington and a traitor of Russia’s national interests. Therefore Western
professionals, who have not yet lost their mind, cannot dream about any colour revolution
in Russia.
As for the second traditional
Western way of direct military aggression, Russia is certainly not Yugoslavia, not
Iraq or Libya.
In any non-nuclear military operation against Russia, on the territory of Russia,
the West led by the US is doomed to defeat. And the generals in the Pentagon exercising
real leadership of NATO forces are aware of this. Similarly hopeless is a nuclear
war against Russia, including the concept of so-called “preventive disarming nuclear
strike”. NATO is simply not technically able to strike a blow that would completely
disarm the nuclear potential of Russia in all its many manifestations. A massive
nuclear retaliatory strike on the enemy or a pool of enemies would be inevitable.
And its total capacity will be enough for survivors to envy the dead. That is, an
exchange of nuclear strikes with a country like Russia is not a solution to the
looming problem of the collapse of a petrodollar world. It is in the best case,
a final chord and the last point in the history of its existence. In the worst case
– a nuclear winter and the demise of all life on the planet, except for the bacteria
mutated from radiation.
The Western economic establishment
can see and understand the essence of the situation. Leading Western economists
are certainly aware of the severity of the predicament and hopelessness of the situation
the Western world finds itself in, in Putin’s economic gold trap. After all, since
the Bretton Woods agreements, we all know the Golden rule: “Who has more gold sets
the rules.” But everyone in the West is silent about it. Silent because no one knows
now how to get out of this situation.
If you explain to the
Western public all the details of the looming economic disaster, the public will
ask the supporters of a petrodollar world the most terrible questions, which will
sound like this:
How long will the West
be able to buy oil and gas from Russia in exchange for physical gold?
And what will happen to
the US petrodollar after the West runs out of physical gold to pay for Russian oil,
gas and uranium, as well as to pay for Chinese goods?
No one in the West today
can answer these seemingly simple questions.
And this is called “Checkmate”,
ladies and gentlemen.
The game is over.
Source in Russian: Investcafe
Translated by ORIENTAL
REVIEW
Michael Snyder
January 27, 2015
Does a mystery that is 3,500 years old hold the key to what is going to happen
to global financial markets in 2015? Could
it be possible that the timing of major financial crashes is not just a matter of
coincidence? In previous articles on
my website, I have discussed some of the major economic and financial cycle
theories and their proponents. For example,
in an article entitled “If
Economic Cycle Theorists Are Correct, 2015 To 2020 Will Be Pure Hell For The United
States“, I examined a number of economic cycle theories that seem to indicate
that the second half of this decade is going to be a nightmare economically. But the cycle that I am going to discuss in this
article is a lot more controversial than any of those. In his most recent book, Jonathan
Cahn has demonstrated that almost all of the major financial crashes in U.S. history
are very closely tied to a seven year pattern that we find in the Bible known as
“the Shemitah”. Since that book was released,
I have been asked about this repeatedly during radio appearances. So in this article I am going to attempt to explain
what the Shemitah is, and what this Biblical pattern seems to indicate may happen
in 2015. If you are an atheist, an agnostic,
or are generally skeptical by nature, this article might prove quite challenging
for you. I would ask that you withhold judgment
until you have examined the evidence. When
I first heard about these things, I had to go verify the facts for myself, because
they are truly extraordinary.
So precisely what is “the Shemitah”?
In the Bible, the people of Israel were commanded to let the land lie fallow
every seven years. There would be no sowing
and no reaping, and this is something that God took very seriously. In fact, the failure to observe these Sabbath
years was one of the main reasons cited in the Scriptures for why the Jewish people
were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC.
But there was more to the Shemitah year than just letting the land lie fallow.
On the last day of the Shemitah year, the people of Israel were instructed
to perform a releasing of debts. We find
the following in Deuteronomy chapter 15…
At the end of every seven years you shall grant a relinquishing of debts. This is the manner of the relinquishing: Every creditor that has loaned
anything to his neighbor shall relinquish it. He shall not exact it of his neighbor,
or of his brother, because it is called the Lord’s relinquishment.
This happened at the end of every seven years on Elul 29 – the day right
before Rosh Hashanah on the Biblical calendar.
So what does this have to do with us today?
Well, if you go back to the last day of the Shemitah year in 2001, you will
find that there was an absolutely horrifying stock market crash.
On September 17th, 2001 (which was Elul 29 on the Jewish calendar), we witnessed
the greatest one day stock market crash in U.S. history up to that time. The Dow fell an astounding 684 points, and it was a record that held for precisely seven years
until the end of the next Shemitah year.
At the end of the next Shemitah year in 2008, another horrifying stock market
crash took place. On September 29th, 2008
the Dow plummeted 777 points, which still today remains the
greatest one day stock market crash of all time. It turns out that September 29th, 2008 corresponded
with Elul 29 on the Jewish calendar – the precise day when the Bible calls for a
releasing of debts.
So on the very last day of the last two Shemitah years, the stock market
crashed so badly that it set a brand new all-time record.
And now we are in another Shemitah year.
It began last fall, and it will end next September.
Could it be possible that we will see another historic market crash?
Author Jonathan Cahn has correctly pointed out that we should never put God
in a box. Just because something has happened
in the past does not mean that it will happen again. But we should not rule anything out either.
Perhaps God is using His calendar to make a point. Cahn believes that if we are going to see something
happen, it will probably occur as the Shemitah year comes to an end…
Cahn has pointed that, according to his research, the worst of the worst
usually happens at the end of the Shemitah year, not at the beginning. In fact,
the last day of the year, Elul 29 on the Hebrew calendar, which will occur on Sept.
13, 2015, is the most dreaded day.
The pattern revealed in “The Mystery of the Shemitah” is that the beginning
of the Shemitah’s impact is often subtle, but leads to a dramatic climax.
“The beginning may mark a change in direction, even a foreshadow of what
will come to a crescendo at the Shemitah’s end,” he said.
And this time around, far more people are paying attention. Back in 2001 and 2008, most Americans had absolutely
no idea what a “Shemitah year” was. But now
it is being talked about on some of the most prominent alternative news websites
on the Internet. For example, the following
is what Joseph Farah of WND has to say about the Shemitah year…
Farah believes the date Sept. 13, 2015 bears close watching – though he is
quick to admit he has no idea what, if anything, will happen in America.
“A clear pattern has been established,” he says. “I don’t believe it’s a
coincidence what happened in America on Elul 29 in 2001 and 2008. It would be foolish
to ignore the possibility that a greater judgment might be in the works – especially
if America continues to move away from God and His Word.”
The Shemitah year that we are in now does end on September 13th, 2015 – and
that falls on a Sunday so the markets will be closed.
But what it comes to the Shemitah, we aren’t just looking at one particular
day.
And it is very interesting to note that there will also be a solar eclipse
on September 13th, 2015. Over the past century,
there have only been two other times when a solar eclipse has corresponded with
the end of a Shemitah year. Those two times
were in 1931 and 1987, and as Jonathan Cahn has told WND, those solar eclipses
foreshadowed major financial disasters…
In 1931, a solar eclipse took place on Sept. 12 – the end of a “Shemitah”
year. Eight days later, England abandoned the gold standard, setting off market
crashes and bank failures around the world. It also ushered in the greatest month
long stock market percentage crash in Wall Street history.
In 1987, a solar eclipse took place Sept. 23 – again the end of a “Shemitah”
year. Less than 30 days later came “Black Monday” the greatest percentage crash
in Wall Street history.
Is Cahn predicting doom and gloom on Sept. 13, 2015? He’s careful to avoid
a prediction, saying, “In the past, this ushered in the worst collapses in Wall
Street history. What will it bring this time? Again, as before, the phenomenon does
not have to manifest at the next convergence. But, at the same time, and again,
it is wise to take note.”
So what is going to happen this time?
We will just have to wait and see.
But without a doubt so many of the same patterns that we witnessed just prior
to the financial crash of 2008 are happening
again right before our very eyes.
It has been said that those that do not learn from history are doomed to
repeat it.
Perhaps you believe that there is something to “the Shemitah”, or perhaps
you think that it is all a bunch of nonsense.
But at least now you know what everyone is talking about. What you choose to do with this information is
up to you.
This article was posted: Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 6:00 am
No comments:
Post a Comment