"When misguided public opinion honors what is despicable and despises what is honorable, punishes virtue and rewards vice, encourages what is harmful and discourages what is useful, applauds falsehood and smothers truth under indifference or insult, a nation turns its back on progress and can be restored only by the terrible lessons of catastrophe." … Frederic Bastiat


Evil talks about tolerance only when it’s weak. When it gains the upper hand, its vanity always requires the destruction of the good and the innocent, because the example of good and innocent lives is an ongoing witness against it. So it always has been. So it always will be. And America has no special immunity to becoming an enemy of its own founding beliefs about human freedom, human dignity, the limited power of the state, and the sovereignty of God. – Archbishop Chaput

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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Chinese demand for gold ramping up as Beijing restricts Investment in Housing

The following report from Dow Jones is a very interesting read and provides a keen insight into another reason why Gold demand from China remains so robust.

China Property Softening Fuels Gold Demand-JPMorgan
Thu Apr 14 21:47:54 2011 EDT
0147 GMT  [Dow Jones] 
The slowdown in China's property market, being directed by Beijing to rein in housing affordability issues, is driving gold demand by the country's "mass affluent", argues JP Morgan's China equities and commodities MD Jing Ulrich. This group "has seen its investment options sharply affected by restrictive housing measures" such as property taxes, increases in down-payment requirements, and raised interest rates, "since these households possess sufficient capital to purchase investment property, but do not have the same degree of access to investment vehicles such as private equity funds and retail property" as the super-rich, she says, adding that equities, gold and alternative property investments are therefore the key beneficiaries. "Chinese demand for gold jewelry increased 13.5% (on year) in 2010, while demand for bars & coins rose 70.5%. Most market participants expect that China's gold demand could grow at a still-stronger pace in 2011," she notes. At 0137 GMT, spot gold is at $1,476.20/oz, off its earlier record peak.

(mailto:david.fickling@dowjones.com) 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Gold - 8 Hour chart update

Silver - 8 hour chart update Noon CDT

The US Senate tells us what we already knew (but at least they said it publicly and for the record)

I love the way the following headline reads:

Senate panel slams Goldman in scathing crisis report


Wed Apr 13, 2011 7:28pm EDT
* Senator Levin: Goldman Sachs misled clients, Congress* Deutsche, Moody's, S&P all criticized in new report
By Kevin Drawbaugh
WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - In the most damning official U.S. report yet produced on Wall Street's role in the financial crisis, a Senate panel accused powerhouse Goldman Sachs of misleading clients and manipulating markets, while also condemning greed, weak regulation and conflicts of interest throughout the financial system.

You can read the entire story here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/financial-regulation-report-idUSN1327563820110413