Golden Minerals Company

Steve Kroft reports that members of Congress can legally trade stock based on non-public information from Capitol Hill. Why am I not surprised.

This 15:20 minute story was on the CBS News program 60-Minutes on Sunday. I thank reader Brad Robertson for sending me this video...and the link is here.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said regulators should break up so- called too-big-to-fail financial institutions to curtail the risk they pose to financial stability.

“I believe that too-big-to-fail banks are too-dangerous- to-permit,” Fisher said in the text of remarks given in New York today. “Downsizing the behemoths over time into institutions that can be prudently managed and regulated across borders is the appropriate policy response. Then, creative destruction can work its wonders in the financial sector, just as it does elsewhere in our economy.”

I'll believe it when I see it.

This Bloomberg story is courtesy of West Virginia reader Elliot Simon...and the link is here.

Kyle Bass is a hedge fund founder who saw the financial crisis coming and made a fortune from it - first from America's sub-prime mortgage crisis and then from betting that Greece would default.

Mr. Bass told the BBC's Sarah Montague that Germany cannot be expected to bail out the PIIGS countries - Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, and that only a massive write-down in those countries' debts will solve the crisis.

This short 2:50 minute BBC video clip is a must watch. As usual, Kyle takes no prisoners. I thank Washington state reader S.A. for sharing it with us...and the link is here.

For years many Internet sites have attributed to the economist Alan Blinder, now a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey, a provocative comment reportedly made on a Public Broadcasting System program in 1994 during his service as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

"The last duty of a central banker is to tell the public the truth."

Alan Binder sets the record straight in this GATA release from yesterday evening. This is well worth reading...and the link is here.

Jens Weidmann, the new president of Germany's Bundesbank, is strongly opposed to making the European Central Bank the lender of last resort in efforts to prop up the common currency. It's a lonely fight, however, and the pressure from Germany's European partners is intense. Some warn that Weidmann's course could end up destroying the euro.

This very important 3-page essay was posted over at the German website spiegel.de yesterday...and it's well worth your time if you have it. I thank Roy Stephens for sending it along...and the link is here.

Many EU countries are unhappy about Germany's growing dominance in the euro crisis. Some in Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, however, seem unaware of such concerns. Volker Kauder, a senior member of the Christian Democrats, declared in no uncertain terms on Tuesday that Germany should be a model for Europe.

"Britain also carries a responsibility for the success of Europe, " he said.

"Just looking for their own advantage and not being prepared to contribute -- that cannot be the message we accept from the British," Kauder said, referring to Britain's opposition to the financial transaction tax that Germany has been lobbying for in order to raise revenue for future bank bailouts.

This is the second of four stories in a row from spiegel.de that are courtesy of Roy Stephens...and the link to this one is here.

In the best-case scenario, the Standard & Poor's analysts just made a stupid error [last] Thursday when they sent out an e-mail downgrading France's credit rating. In the worst-case scenario, they did it on purpose. But regardless of the motivation behind the email, the Standard & Poor's analysts may be simply anticipating reality.

The recent downgrade by Standard & Poor's may have been an error, but France is unlikely to be able to hold on to its top credit rating for much longer. The country's financial data indicates a loss of its AAA mark is likely in the not-too-distant future -- something that would spell yet more bad news for Europe.

The link to this third spiegel.de story is here.

The situation on the European bond market worsened on Tuesday, with yields on 10-year French and Belgian government bonds rising to record levels. Risk premiums for Spanish and Italian securities also rose. The countries must now pay higher interest in order to refinance old debts.

With the situation already critical in Italy, investor doubts about France and Belgium are also increasing. Yields for new borrowing from the countries rose to record-high levels on Tuesday, with a sharp uptick on interest rates for Spanish government bonds too. Deutsche Bank is calling for the European Central Bank to take radical steps to reduce dangerously high bond yields.

This last spiegel.de story from Roy is linked here.

Argentines withdrew $645 million in U.S. dollar-denominated deposits from private-sector banks in the first week after the government made it harder for individuals and companies to buy dollars.

The numbers, published by the Central Bank of Argentina late Friday, seem to confirm that the new currency controls have made Argentines nervous and led many to do what they typically do during times of crisis -- buy dollars or withdraw them from the banking system.

This story was posted in The Wall Street Journal on Saturday...and is posted in the clear in this GATA release...and the link is here.

Here's an interesting video clip from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday that was sent to me by reader 'David in California'.

I ran it by Australian reader Wesley Legrand to find out if this was the real deal or not...and it is. As Wesley said in his e-mail to me..."It was Goldman Sachs et al that advised PIIGS how to hide debt and borrow more...therefore we are now seeing planned debt bombs by U.S. Inc. across Europe to make the Euro look worse than the USD."

You can view this 1:34 video by clicking on the "Play video [flash broadband]"...just above the spot where it says ALAN KOHLER, PRESENTER...or you can read the text at the linked page. This is an absolute must watch...and the video is posted over at the abc.net.au website here.

Hedge fund manager and long-time gold bull John Paulson's move to slash ETF bullion holdings by a third does not appear to be a sign that he is abandoning his upbeat view of the metal, industry sources and analysts said.

The move is likely a combination of two unrelated factors: end-of-year client redemptions equalling about 8 percent of his total holdings; and a desire to reduce his exposure to the regulated U.S. ETF in favor of less visible swaps, forwards or physical holdings that are not reported in quarterly 13-F filings, a person familiar with his thinking said.

This Reuters story, filed from London yesterday, was sent to me by Elliot Simon...and the link is here.

China has cut exports of silver by 283 tonnes [about 9.1 million ounces] from the 5,670 tonnes exported in 2011, traders suggest that less exports mean tighter markets that could eventually bolster prices.

Roughly 70% of China's silver demand comes from the industrial sector. Analysts say shipments are also set to decline with customs data showing a drop in exports. Chinese customs data showed export growth falling more than expected in September, while import growth also declined.

Silver imports into China fell by 39% year on year and 16% month on month to 264.7 tonnes in September, the lowest level since February. Silver exports too declined by 44% year on year to 83.5 tonnes, keeping China a net importer of the metal for two consecutive years on a monthly basis, data showed.

This story was filed from Mumbai yesterday...and is posted over at the mineweb.com website. I thank reader Matthew Nel for sharing it with us...and the link is here.

Gerald Celente founder and director at Trends Research Institute and publisher of the Trends Journal tells us how he has become a casualty of MF Global's bankruptcy to the tune of six figures! And while MF Global went belly up due to bad bets on European sovereign debt, Celente says the eurozone is next to go. This interview is rated 'M'...for mature audiences only!

This Russia Today interview runs 5:56...and is posted over at youtube.com. I thank Edmonton reader B.E.O. for sending it to me...and the link is here.

Agnico-Eagle Mines CEO Sean Boyd told King World News last night that elected officials have no will to solve the problems of the world financial system, that investors generally have committed little of their money to gold and, as a result, gold's bull market has a long way to run and the metal's price could rise to unimaginable levels.

I thank Chris Powell for wordsmithing the introduction...and the link to the KWN blog is here.