Euphoria hit the financial markets as the news was announced of a one trillion euro bailout package. The large European banks jumped by as much as 20% in a single day increasing their market caps by billions. This burst of excitement followed through to the United States where the DOW leaped forward as the banking sector lead the way to higher ground.

This deal supposedly ring fences the bankrupt sovereign nations inside the euro zone and protects them any further defaults.

Here is a quote from the European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy

the euro zone has built a "sufficient firewall against contagion, thanks to an agreement to multiply up to fivefold the firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility rescue fund. The leverage could be around EUR1 trillion under certain assumptions," Van Rompuy said.

Before you get all excited, this is a quote from a man who went to school, then university and then into civil service, he has no private sector experience whatsoever. And hes the President! No need to worry then.

We have said this before: LIQUIDITY IS NOT A CURE FOR INSOLVENCY

The act of adding more debt to those who can't support their current debt load is lunacy.

Question 1: Where is the collateral for all these the euros?

Question 2: Who is picking up the tab?

Answer: The same people who are struggling now, the southern end of this European club is sinking and the economies of the northern end are slowing, so how are they going to come up with the cash.

Bernie Madoff would be proud of this move, its a Ponzi scheme that will engulf the whole world, inflicted on us by a bunch public sector twits who should never have been trusted with such as important task in the first place.

Mark my words, give this a few weeks and we will see the gloom return when the investment community realizes that the cookie jar is well and truly empty and this party is approaching its eventual catastrophic close.

So what does this all mean to us. In a nutshell its money printing, leading to inflation and then onto hyperinflation. The euro is having a day in the sun at the expense of the US dollar which fell dramatically on this news to around 75.7 on the US Dollar Index. It is now an accepted fact that individual countries are following a policy of actively driving their currencies down in order to gain an advantage for their own exporters. Weaker currencies are being welcomed and they will continue to get weaker as we inflate the money supply.

To protect ourselves we need to loosen our grip on paper money and look to hard assets, something that you perceive is a store of value. We made our choice some years back when we decided to acquire both gold and silver, the associated stocks and of late we have looked to the options market, in an attempt to derive some leverage from the rise of both gold and silver.

So far it has worked out well for us, so it is a formula that we intend to stick with until the investment environment changes, which we don’t see happening any time soon.

Gold an silver have both reacted well to this latest move emanating from Pantomime Europe. During the last five or six trading sessions gold has risen from the $1600/0z level to close today at $1744.50/oz and silver has risen from the $30.00/oz level to close today at $35.37/oz.

Our projections for gold to trade at $2000/oz this year have taken a battering, but the year isn’t over yet, so don’t be surprised to see gold prices hit this target and whatever you do, hang on to it regardless of the buffeting that we are going through.

Volatility on steroids is the order of the day and we will have to endure wild swings in both directions as the bulls and bears strengthen their resolve and pursue their targets with even more gusto.

All of our financial futures are at stake here, so it is our responsibility to take time out and make provision for what we see coming down the line. Its not pretty and we can only do our best in terms of protecting ourselves, so we wish you well with your survival plans.

Keep your chin up and have a good one.

To stay updated on our market commentary, which gold stocks we are buying and why, please subscribe to The Gold Prices Newsletter, completely FREE of charge. Simply click here and enter your email address. (Winners of the GoldDrivers Stock Picking Competition 2007)

For those readers who are also interested in the silver bull market that is currently unfolding, you may want to subscribe to our Free Silver Prices Newsletter.

DISCLAIMER : Gold Prices makes no guarantee or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the data provided on this site. Nothing contained herein is intended or shall be deemed to be investment advice, implied or otherwise. This website represents our views and nothing more than that. Always consult your registered advisor to assist you with your investments. We accept no liability for any loss arising from the use of the data contained on this website. We may or may not hold a position in these securities at any given time and reserve the right to buy and sell as we think fit.

Bob Kirtley Archive

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in

The Market Oracle is a FREE Financial Markets Forecasting & Analysis web-site.
(c) 2005-2024 MarketOracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd) - Market Oracle Ltd asserts copyright on all articles authored by our editorial team and all comments posted. Any and all information provided within the web-site, is for general information purposes only and Market Oracle Ltd do not warrant the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of any information provided on this site. nor is or shall be deemed to constitute, financial or any other advice or recommendation by us. and are also not meant to be investment advice or solicitation or recommendation to establish market positions. We do not give investment advice and our comments are an expression of opinion only and should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as recommendations to enter into a market position either stock, option, futures contract, bonds, commodity or any other financial instrument at any time. We recommend that independent professional advice is obtained before you make any investment or trading decisions. By using this site you agree to this sites Terms of Use. From time to time we promote or endorse certain products / services that we believe are worthy of your time and attention. In return for that endorsement and only in the cases where you purchase directly though us may we be compensated by the producers of those products.