One of the great mysteries of the City of London’s precious metals market over the decades has been to estimate the trading volume and open interest (standing claims) for immediate ownership of metal in this, the world’s largest cash market for precious metals.
Since more than the ANNUAL production of gold is traded DAILY, and that trades are on the basis of IMMEDIATE ownership and delivery, what would be REALLY interesting would be if you could get a view from the BoE (as the regulator of the LBMA) as to how they expect this scam to play out if say just 10% of those who have 'bought' gold turn up requesting delivery.
On a separate issue, I have written to the the UK financial regulator the FCA (as well as to my two pension providers) asking about who actually has 'ownership' of my pension assets, along the lines of:-
1. Where securities are held in pooled form (e.g. a collective securities position, rather than segregated individual positions per person), does the investor (that is to say, myself) have rights attaching to particular securities in the pool? Or is it the case that security entitlement holder (again ‘me’) has only a pro rata share of the interests in the financial asset held by its securities intermediary, and that this is true even if investor positions (my investment positions) are ‘segregated.’
2. Is the investor (me) protected against the insolvency of an intermediary and, if so, how? Or is it the case that (i) an investor is always vulnerable to a securities intermediary that does not itself have interests in a financial asset sufficient to cover all of the securities entitlements that it has created in that financial asset, and that (ii) If the secured creditor has “control” over the financial asset it will have priority over entitlement holders (me), and that (iii) If the securities intermediary is a clearing corporation, the claims of its creditors have priority over the claims of hose such as myself as mere ‘entitlement holders’.
One pension provider has replied, and the upshot (a brief summary) is that:-
• the legal ownership of the underlying assets is with the pension company, not me
• as a policyholder, whilst I have a contractual right to the benefits of the contract, I do NOT have direct or beneficial ownership of the assets
• in insolvency, while policyholder claims take precedence over MOST other claims, but secured creditors would indeed come first -which leaves a theoretical exposure if my pension provider had secured borrowing
And while they suggest Solvency II ensures policyholder priority over most claims, “most” isn’t “all” -and their own admission confirms secured creditors stand ahead.
This all stems from David Rogers Webb's book 'The Great Taking' - as the main thrust of his writing is correct, in that whilst I might have paid for and fully funded these pension invetsment assets, someone else can have a prior claim.
What is really interesting is that the FCA have failed to respond to either my initial letter sent more than a month ago, nor the follow up letter sent recently. Both were sent secured delivery and signed for, so I have evidence that both letters were delivered.
And of course it is the same BoE who is responsible for oversight of the FCA.
So much of the UK financial system appears to be little more than a fraud, with investors savings seemingly held and prioritised to protect the Big Banks - and none of this is widely known to the investing public.
Hi David, I have 1000oz bars of silver with Loomis International in Zurich, I cannot deliver as no market for silver in Ireland and vat also. Do you think PM in private vaults will be safe? Only option would be to liquidate, what do you think about private vaults storage of PM's? Just opinion only I understand. Thanks.
I read about 15 years ago about a Swiss military exercise. The scenario that they were modelling was failure of France which had broken up into half a dozen rump states operated by warlords. Several of these states had banded together and were coming for Swiss vaulted gold.
What we think crazy is modelled by the military.
The end of the fiat Ponzi is going to bring the unexpected - in some places things will be better and in some place, much worse. It is very difficult to try to accurately predict what is to come Joseph.
When governments get desperate they tend just to take things as do people.
Hi David, that is the answer I expected; thank you; it is really hard to tell what will happen but I do know the best thing is to hold it.
Unfortunately I cannot hold it, because of Vat and no silver market in Ireland. I could sell but would have high CG tax and vat rebuying coins and gold for delivery, so would incur substantial losses.
In a bit of a predicament, would like to keep in storage, but need to see if Swiss Private vaulted silver will be safe,,, need to think and see what to do.
Pity no 1000oz silver market in Ireland and Vat also... Thanks again.
Just one question, would you personally hold and PM in a Private Vault in Switzerland or other jusistiction? I know no one knows the outcome, but would you personally store any PM's in a private vault.
Thanks again, lets see whst unfolds and when it will unfold.
There are some good private financial managers in Switzerland who run private vaulting systems. More than 15 years ago when I was there they could see what is to come and were preparing.
IMO the best thing to do is go to Switzerland, spend the time to meet recommended advisors and inspect their facilities before choosing.
I used to sail in races against a boat in Vancouver called Poudre D'or. Gold powder. I asked the owner about the name of the boat. When he left South Africa, there were capital controls in place. So he hollowed-out a pocket in the lead keel of his sailboat, filled it with poudre and covered it over with molten lead. Replaced the keel bolts with new ones and sailed it to Vancouver.
Yes; thanks David, I will go to Switzerland and see what is safe; I currently stote through a Third Party called Goldcore.ie and use their private vault with serial numbers etc. Thanks again David. Joseph
The Platinum market is a bug looking for a windscreen. Unlike gold, there's no Central Bank holdings to lease from, and unlike silver, there isn't a vast store held in cheap jewellery, plate or silverware. So as the squeeze intensifies, these are the contracts that will default first.
What worries me is if we see a flow of money into Platinum-Backed ETFs and they cant secure supply. They may hold allocated Platinum, but a rush of fresh funds that cant get the metal may dilute current holders and lead to massive tracking error. In China we saw some minor gold backed ETFs put up gates when they couldn't obtain the gold back in March, but will ABRDN do that? Not sure....
Precious Metals Rigging (2012–2020) - JPM traders spoofed gold and silver markets for nearly a decade. Outcome: $920 million fine largest ever for spoofing (DOJ, CFTC, SEC). No executive went to jail.
FOREX Cartel Scandal (2015) - JPM admitted to manipulating global currency markets with other banks. Outcome: $550 million in criminal fines.
2. Fraud and Misrepresentation.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Fraud (2008 crisis) - JPM knowingly sold toxic mortgage bonds labelled as "AAA" to pension funds, cities, and nations. Outcome: $13 billion settlement (largest in U.S. banking history). No criminal charges.
"London Whale" Scandal (2012) - Traders hid over $6 billion in losses through deceptive accounting. Internal risk warnings were ignored. Outcome: $920 million fine. No one went to jail.
3. Criminal Enterprise Behavior.
RICO Charges for Precious Metals Desk (2019) - DOJ charged JPM's trading desk under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, RICO is typically used against organized crime. DOJ called JPM's desk a “criminal enterprise inside a bank.” Outcome: Several traders convicted. The bank itself paid fines.
Madoff Money Laundering (2008.) - JPM was Bernie Madoff’s primary banker, ignored over 100 red flags. Internal memo showed suspicions but no action taken.
Outcome: Paid $2 billion in fines to victims. Again, no jail.
4. Enabling Human Suffering.
Military Contractor Financing - JPM funded and profited from defense contractors supplying global conflict zones. Massive lobbying to protect war-based revenue streams.
Fossil Fuel Expansion - JPM is the #1 global financier of fossil fuel projects since the Paris Agreement. Financed over $317 billion in oil, gas, and coal against public climate pledges.
5. Ongoing Corruption.
Epstein Banking Relationship (2023 hearings) - JPM maintained accounts for Jeffrey Epstein after internal alerts flagged him as a high-risk client. Evidence of top-level execs knowingly continuing the relationship. Ongoing lawsuits reveal concealment and enabling.
That's some "rap sheet" David. $40B in fines and still going strong is visible proof that the financial system is rigged and rotten to the core. In some sick and perverted way you have to take your hat off to JD. He's still the most influential CEO of the world's most biggest commercial bank despite everything trailing in his wake🤷🏻♂️. Great article by the way!
That is a wonderful guided tour through the halflit realm of spoof market smoke and mirrors. Reading it, I felt that I was in some weird silent disco. A haunted space, for sure. I saw the devil set a snare then catch himself. At the end of this article we can feel the noose tightening.
But it seems to me that those personified in this comment as 'the devil' would bite through the bones of their own legs to partially escape, rather than face the consequences whole and entire, of their actions.
Following Chancellor Rachel Reeves emotional breakdown in parliament recently, the term 'blood in the water' is in the news here in the UK. It has been said that she is out of her depth, that it would be an act of kindness to sack her. Is she being sacrificed to the beast in real time, as a public spectacle? I am wondering about that. If so, perhaps it is a right of passage for her boss, Sir Keir. In our Prime Minister, the human element is impaired or missing; he is the perfect adept.
If the devil is to suffer the loss of a limb, it will regenerate new parts, a new system. But there will be many mortal souls sacrificed in the collapse of this scheme, both innocent and guilty, and they will not regenerate, and the beast will feed off their suffering.
Regardless of these thoughts, we are at an inflection point, or at the beginnings of one. There is a glimmering of light ahead. In terms of the Spirit, we must know gold from fiat, that future men be free. Everything is at stake. Thank you David for lighting this beacon, it helps me to find my way.
Keir's rent boys are burning things down now when things are not yet bad.
I don't think he will last much longer - people are sick of that corrupt and inept shell of a man.
When people lose everything, which they will, they can become 'hard bit' as they say in seeking retribution. The bankers and politicians that have created this mess have a sense of what is to come - but not a full understanding IMO.
Best to stand clear as the inevitable happens and prepare to rebuild with a system that is just.
I agree. Two weeks ago today we moved from the edge of a city (soundscape: nearby motorway, a constant intrusion) to a village (soundscape: cockerel crowing, hens, geese). We have two farm shops within easy walking distance. This is not my final dwelling - I'm waiting for the bubbles to burst before I buy that - but the difference is overwhelming in a very good way. And much more tasty food.
And anyway, it takes 25 minutes to get to my further farm shop.
There is cause for concern though. A sizeable portion of the village are members of a cult. They have a poster in their front window to signal this. The poster just has a picture of a leaf. It looks like a folksy screen print but it actually represents a bureaucracy.
The County Council runs this sinecure, mainly for the benefit of Chitra Nadarajah. They need her to show that white men have been defeated and to try to make the spectacular human induced climate crisis seem like a thing. She does this very well. Such a good value for money lady, no doubt about that for sure at all. She has a pyramid of native women under her brown backside, all paid for by um white men, mostly. Hampshire County Council pumps in credit, assisted by The National Lottery Fund.
Their 'our team' page helpfully displays the hierarchy:
They have two eunuchs at the base level, obviously.
So, a sizeable chunk of the village are propaganda recyclers.
The parish magazine tells me that the church is on a ley line which is also a dragon. The vicar is female, as you might imagine.
This might seem off topic but IMO you wouldn't get this kind of sinecure for a foreigner/corruption/virtue signalling/false reality/multi-faith lady vicar without immense amounts of credit creation. The parish is a dream bubble. The propagandised villagers put up their leaf image and show what good, high status peasants they are. The lower status folks seem to be either indifferent or conspiratorially inclined. Q-rustique. You either love or do not love the message, but you are obliged to respond to it.
My 25 minute compound has proper butchery and a variety of locally produced fruit and vegetables, when in season. I am the wistful looking fellow in the corner of the Q-rustique Arms, I am already known to the barmaids. I will get through this . . .
Adept is the wrong term. This because " . . . the human element is impaired or missing . . ." You cannot betray what you do not hold. The correct term is aspirant.
Sadly you may well be correct - I will update when I (finally) hear from the FCA.
In my follow up letter to them I made the specific point that:-
''The FCA’s own public commitments (from your website) - to “enable a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy,” to “set high and clear standards for consumer protection,” and to “make sure the UK's financial markets are honest and fair”
Given what they say their aims are, it will be interesting to see if the actual truth is that investors have little protection at all....
Burn the entire thing down, raise it, a Madoff and manipulation on steroids, try it yourself and see how long you’d last walking freely… it’s such a crock, how those behind this scheme must have chortled, back and thigh slapped each other in their Pall Mall Clubs, laughing uproariously at the “con” they’d pulled off.. nothing more than a common heist … thieves and villains this lot of society toffs, common criminals…
I’m hoping the entire thing implodes.. raise it to the ground, start over.
At least China are playing with a straight bat, about time… seems they’ve learned the lesson.. and won’t do the same..
Yes, you can put a ring around that, 40,000 - 50,000 tonnes coupled with their being the largest miners and producers, a moratorium on gold leaving the country, together the recent big multi billion $80+ find discovered… given their geography I’ll bet there’s a truckload more in those alluvial plains beneath the mountains and the Himalayas their side of the border.. fact is though for years for Commercial reasons they had Western GSIBS willing to aid and abet their market manipulation of metals.. that now they know the fiat system is imploding they’ll as atypical Chinese, run a well oiled, tightly controlled legitimate gold exchange… long overdue, put another way, it certainly will not be a rerun of the great sham/scam that the London Metals Promissory Notes Metals Exchanges were… just saying
A well oiled, tightly controlled legitimate gold exchange built on the bones of 70M murdered citizens.
Corruption will blossom there as well PJT - in the short term, they recognize that to best weather fiat failure that is to come they need the virtue of uncorrupted metals as an escape vessel.
The CCP and its principles are corrupt and that which is corrupt cannot stand.
Thanks for the insightful article David. It's a shame that the "Regulators" (presumably with access to better data) see no need - (ability?) - to recognize and control the enormous (potentially catastrophic) exposure in this rigged system.
Even for Gold, since the infamous "Brown bottom" halved UK Gold reserves, the BOE alone doesn't have the ability, within any sensible risk tolerance, to be able to continue to bail out "deliveries" by leasing its own Gold? And other Central Banks with Gold deposits at BOE surely in the present "market" conditions will be at best reluctant to enter into leasing contracts again under any sensible risk profile?
So one has to wonder what will happen at the quite probable next physical delivery squeeze even for Gold? The huge recent flow of physical metal out of London to New York surely represents an important piece in this "risk management" puzzle?
And presumably also, given the impact on the Balance Sheet capacity of the large Bullion Banks in the US as a result of Basel III from July 1st, London's more opaque LBMA (and greater access to offshore Eurodollar" off Balance Sheet Ledger entries) the risk of an explosion somewhere in the PM "markets" in London has only further substantially increased?
And given its lack of implicit/explicit home Government backing, HSBC would seem to have the largest risk exposure?
I don't think any financial institution in this corrupt market will hold in the end.
There is currently an intense short squeeze in copper in London and we can see all of the strategic metals lining-up to run together.
There is not bail-out that will stop the inevitable that is to come.
A patch was put on banker gold with citizen gold but that will not endure - copper, silver, platinum, palladium are starting to buck like broncos and the corral cannot hold.
One day this whole Ponzi scheme is going to blow up and Governments are going to have to come to the rescue of the TBTF banks again. When they print enough currency to bail out the perpetrators the gold price will explode to unimaginable levels.
Another great article David.... a den of thieving scheming rats that will eventually drown hopefully weighed down by their own worthless paper....that together with Trumps BBB and we could be set for fireworks very shortly.... on top of that if Jerome Powell gets bullied out that can only be a positive across the PM complex.... second half and 2026 looking great from where I am sitting!
David,
Since more than the ANNUAL production of gold is traded DAILY, and that trades are on the basis of IMMEDIATE ownership and delivery, what would be REALLY interesting would be if you could get a view from the BoE (as the regulator of the LBMA) as to how they expect this scam to play out if say just 10% of those who have 'bought' gold turn up requesting delivery.
On a separate issue, I have written to the the UK financial regulator the FCA (as well as to my two pension providers) asking about who actually has 'ownership' of my pension assets, along the lines of:-
1. Where securities are held in pooled form (e.g. a collective securities position, rather than segregated individual positions per person), does the investor (that is to say, myself) have rights attaching to particular securities in the pool? Or is it the case that security entitlement holder (again ‘me’) has only a pro rata share of the interests in the financial asset held by its securities intermediary, and that this is true even if investor positions (my investment positions) are ‘segregated.’
2. Is the investor (me) protected against the insolvency of an intermediary and, if so, how? Or is it the case that (i) an investor is always vulnerable to a securities intermediary that does not itself have interests in a financial asset sufficient to cover all of the securities entitlements that it has created in that financial asset, and that (ii) If the secured creditor has “control” over the financial asset it will have priority over entitlement holders (me), and that (iii) If the securities intermediary is a clearing corporation, the claims of its creditors have priority over the claims of hose such as myself as mere ‘entitlement holders’.
One pension provider has replied, and the upshot (a brief summary) is that:-
• the legal ownership of the underlying assets is with the pension company, not me
• as a policyholder, whilst I have a contractual right to the benefits of the contract, I do NOT have direct or beneficial ownership of the assets
• in insolvency, while policyholder claims take precedence over MOST other claims, but secured creditors would indeed come first -which leaves a theoretical exposure if my pension provider had secured borrowing
And while they suggest Solvency II ensures policyholder priority over most claims, “most” isn’t “all” -and their own admission confirms secured creditors stand ahead.
This all stems from David Rogers Webb's book 'The Great Taking' - as the main thrust of his writing is correct, in that whilst I might have paid for and fully funded these pension invetsment assets, someone else can have a prior claim.
What is really interesting is that the FCA have failed to respond to either my initial letter sent more than a month ago, nor the follow up letter sent recently. Both were sent secured delivery and signed for, so I have evidence that both letters were delivered.
And of course it is the same BoE who is responsible for oversight of the FCA.
So much of the UK financial system appears to be little more than a fraud, with investors savings seemingly held and prioritised to protect the Big Banks - and none of this is widely known to the investing public.
IMO, assets in the system will be lost. Rotten to the core.
Hi David, I have 1000oz bars of silver with Loomis International in Zurich, I cannot deliver as no market for silver in Ireland and vat also. Do you think PM in private vaults will be safe? Only option would be to liquidate, what do you think about private vaults storage of PM's? Just opinion only I understand. Thanks.
I read about 15 years ago about a Swiss military exercise. The scenario that they were modelling was failure of France which had broken up into half a dozen rump states operated by warlords. Several of these states had banded together and were coming for Swiss vaulted gold.
What we think crazy is modelled by the military.
The end of the fiat Ponzi is going to bring the unexpected - in some places things will be better and in some place, much worse. It is very difficult to try to accurately predict what is to come Joseph.
When governments get desperate they tend just to take things as do people.
Sorry I can't be more specific.
Hi David, that is the answer I expected; thank you; it is really hard to tell what will happen but I do know the best thing is to hold it.
Unfortunately I cannot hold it, because of Vat and no silver market in Ireland. I could sell but would have high CG tax and vat rebuying coins and gold for delivery, so would incur substantial losses.
In a bit of a predicament, would like to keep in storage, but need to see if Swiss Private vaulted silver will be safe,,, need to think and see what to do.
Pity no 1000oz silver market in Ireland and Vat also... Thanks again.
Just one question, would you personally hold and PM in a Private Vault in Switzerland or other jusistiction? I know no one knows the outcome, but would you personally store any PM's in a private vault.
Thanks again, lets see whst unfolds and when it will unfold.
There are some good private financial managers in Switzerland who run private vaulting systems. More than 15 years ago when I was there they could see what is to come and were preparing.
IMO the best thing to do is go to Switzerland, spend the time to meet recommended advisors and inspect their facilities before choosing.
I used to sail in races against a boat in Vancouver called Poudre D'or. Gold powder. I asked the owner about the name of the boat. When he left South Africa, there were capital controls in place. So he hollowed-out a pocket in the lead keel of his sailboat, filled it with poudre and covered it over with molten lead. Replaced the keel bolts with new ones and sailed it to Vancouver.
Yes; thanks David, I will go to Switzerland and see what is safe; I currently stote through a Third Party called Goldcore.ie and use their private vault with serial numbers etc. Thanks again David. Joseph
If you don't HOLD it, you don't OWN it.
Excellent article.
The Platinum market is a bug looking for a windscreen. Unlike gold, there's no Central Bank holdings to lease from, and unlike silver, there isn't a vast store held in cheap jewellery, plate or silverware. So as the squeeze intensifies, these are the contracts that will default first.
What worries me is if we see a flow of money into Platinum-Backed ETFs and they cant secure supply. They may hold allocated Platinum, but a rush of fresh funds that cant get the metal may dilute current holders and lead to massive tracking error. In China we saw some minor gold backed ETFs put up gates when they couldn't obtain the gold back in March, but will ABRDN do that? Not sure....
Anything other than direct ownership of metal is in the end a derivative, Peter.
Derivatives come with a variety of counterparty risks - some of which we have not even thought of yet, I'm sure.
Nicely put.
We know that in a crisis situation, rules and laws are 'flexible' and policymakers will do anything to get themselves out of a pickle.
It's one reason why I hold both physical and financial gold and platinum.
BOOM
Crimes of SUPERBANK JP Morgan.
1. Market Manipulation.
Precious Metals Rigging (2012–2020) - JPM traders spoofed gold and silver markets for nearly a decade. Outcome: $920 million fine largest ever for spoofing (DOJ, CFTC, SEC). No executive went to jail.
FOREX Cartel Scandal (2015) - JPM admitted to manipulating global currency markets with other banks. Outcome: $550 million in criminal fines.
2. Fraud and Misrepresentation.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Fraud (2008 crisis) - JPM knowingly sold toxic mortgage bonds labelled as "AAA" to pension funds, cities, and nations. Outcome: $13 billion settlement (largest in U.S. banking history). No criminal charges.
"London Whale" Scandal (2012) - Traders hid over $6 billion in losses through deceptive accounting. Internal risk warnings were ignored. Outcome: $920 million fine. No one went to jail.
3. Criminal Enterprise Behavior.
RICO Charges for Precious Metals Desk (2019) - DOJ charged JPM's trading desk under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, RICO is typically used against organized crime. DOJ called JPM's desk a “criminal enterprise inside a bank.” Outcome: Several traders convicted. The bank itself paid fines.
Madoff Money Laundering (2008.) - JPM was Bernie Madoff’s primary banker, ignored over 100 red flags. Internal memo showed suspicions but no action taken.
Outcome: Paid $2 billion in fines to victims. Again, no jail.
4. Enabling Human Suffering.
Military Contractor Financing - JPM funded and profited from defense contractors supplying global conflict zones. Massive lobbying to protect war-based revenue streams.
Fossil Fuel Expansion - JPM is the #1 global financier of fossil fuel projects since the Paris Agreement. Financed over $317 billion in oil, gas, and coal against public climate pledges.
5. Ongoing Corruption.
Epstein Banking Relationship (2023 hearings) - JPM maintained accounts for Jeffrey Epstein after internal alerts flagged him as a high-risk client. Evidence of top-level execs knowingly continuing the relationship. Ongoing lawsuits reveal concealment and enabling.
Just saw this:
https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/jpmorgan-chase
Penalty total since 2000: $40,164,908,209
The profits must be so huge that they regard that simply as cost of doing business
They seem to be extremely proficient at breaking the law.
That's some "rap sheet" David. $40B in fines and still going strong is visible proof that the financial system is rigged and rotten to the core. In some sick and perverted way you have to take your hat off to JD. He's still the most influential CEO of the world's most biggest commercial bank despite everything trailing in his wake🤷🏻♂️. Great article by the way!
Thank you Mitch.
That is a wonderful guided tour through the halflit realm of spoof market smoke and mirrors. Reading it, I felt that I was in some weird silent disco. A haunted space, for sure. I saw the devil set a snare then catch himself. At the end of this article we can feel the noose tightening.
But it seems to me that those personified in this comment as 'the devil' would bite through the bones of their own legs to partially escape, rather than face the consequences whole and entire, of their actions.
Following Chancellor Rachel Reeves emotional breakdown in parliament recently, the term 'blood in the water' is in the news here in the UK. It has been said that she is out of her depth, that it would be an act of kindness to sack her. Is she being sacrificed to the beast in real time, as a public spectacle? I am wondering about that. If so, perhaps it is a right of passage for her boss, Sir Keir. In our Prime Minister, the human element is impaired or missing; he is the perfect adept.
If the devil is to suffer the loss of a limb, it will regenerate new parts, a new system. But there will be many mortal souls sacrificed in the collapse of this scheme, both innocent and guilty, and they will not regenerate, and the beast will feed off their suffering.
Regardless of these thoughts, we are at an inflection point, or at the beginnings of one. There is a glimmering of light ahead. In terms of the Spirit, we must know gold from fiat, that future men be free. Everything is at stake. Thank you David for lighting this beacon, it helps me to find my way.
Thank you LS.
Keir's rent boys are burning things down now when things are not yet bad.
I don't think he will last much longer - people are sick of that corrupt and inept shell of a man.
When people lose everything, which they will, they can become 'hard bit' as they say in seeking retribution. The bankers and politicians that have created this mess have a sense of what is to come - but not a full understanding IMO.
Best to stand clear as the inevitable happens and prepare to rebuild with a system that is just.
Seek quiet places with good people.
I agree. Two weeks ago today we moved from the edge of a city (soundscape: nearby motorway, a constant intrusion) to a village (soundscape: cockerel crowing, hens, geese). We have two farm shops within easy walking distance. This is not my final dwelling - I'm waiting for the bubbles to burst before I buy that - but the difference is overwhelming in a very good way. And much more tasty food.
The 15 minute village - perfect.
You are a very wicked man.
And anyway, it takes 25 minutes to get to my further farm shop.
There is cause for concern though. A sizeable portion of the village are members of a cult. They have a poster in their front window to signal this. The poster just has a picture of a leaf. It looks like a folksy screen print but it actually represents a bureaucracy.
The County Council runs this sinecure, mainly for the benefit of Chitra Nadarajah. They need her to show that white men have been defeated and to try to make the spectacular human induced climate crisis seem like a thing. She does this very well. Such a good value for money lady, no doubt about that for sure at all. She has a pyramid of native women under her brown backside, all paid for by um white men, mostly. Hampshire County Council pumps in credit, assisted by The National Lottery Fund.
Their 'our team' page helpfully displays the hierarchy:
https://greening-campaign.org/our-team/
They have two eunuchs at the base level, obviously.
So, a sizeable chunk of the village are propaganda recyclers.
The parish magazine tells me that the church is on a ley line which is also a dragon. The vicar is female, as you might imagine.
This might seem off topic but IMO you wouldn't get this kind of sinecure for a foreigner/corruption/virtue signalling/false reality/multi-faith lady vicar without immense amounts of credit creation. The parish is a dream bubble. The propagandised villagers put up their leaf image and show what good, high status peasants they are. The lower status folks seem to be either indifferent or conspiratorially inclined. Q-rustique. You either love or do not love the message, but you are obliged to respond to it.
My 25 minute compound has proper butchery and a variety of locally produced fruit and vegetables, when in season. I am the wistful looking fellow in the corner of the Q-rustique Arms, I am already known to the barmaids. I will get through this . . .
Adept is the wrong term. This because " . . . the human element is impaired or missing . . ." You cannot betray what you do not hold. The correct term is aspirant.
Sadly you may well be correct - I will update when I (finally) hear from the FCA.
In my follow up letter to them I made the specific point that:-
''The FCA’s own public commitments (from your website) - to “enable a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy,” to “set high and clear standards for consumer protection,” and to “make sure the UK's financial markets are honest and fair”
Given what they say their aims are, it will be interesting to see if the actual truth is that investors have little protection at all....
Can't wait to see their reply. It'll go down as the best joke of 2025
The first word in FCA is fecal.
Likely the letter will be worth as much as their burning fiat.
That is the answer IMO Jonathan. Little protection at all. If any.
Burn the entire thing down, raise it, a Madoff and manipulation on steroids, try it yourself and see how long you’d last walking freely… it’s such a crock, how those behind this scheme must have chortled, back and thigh slapped each other in their Pall Mall Clubs, laughing uproariously at the “con” they’d pulled off.. nothing more than a common heist … thieves and villains this lot of society toffs, common criminals…
I’m hoping the entire thing implodes.. raise it to the ground, start over.
At least China are playing with a straight bat, about time… seems they’ve learned the lesson.. and won’t do the same..
China has been stockpiling gold for many decades. They are ready. Not good news for the West that has run off the cliff.
Excellent David, and all of the fine comments! An education!
Thank you David,
Yes, you can put a ring around that, 40,000 - 50,000 tonnes coupled with their being the largest miners and producers, a moratorium on gold leaving the country, together the recent big multi billion $80+ find discovered… given their geography I’ll bet there’s a truckload more in those alluvial plains beneath the mountains and the Himalayas their side of the border.. fact is though for years for Commercial reasons they had Western GSIBS willing to aid and abet their market manipulation of metals.. that now they know the fiat system is imploding they’ll as atypical Chinese, run a well oiled, tightly controlled legitimate gold exchange… long overdue, put another way, it certainly will not be a rerun of the great sham/scam that the London Metals Promissory Notes Metals Exchanges were… just saying
Kia Kaha (stay strong) from New Zealand
A well oiled, tightly controlled legitimate gold exchange built on the bones of 70M murdered citizens.
Corruption will blossom there as well PJT - in the short term, they recognize that to best weather fiat failure that is to come they need the virtue of uncorrupted metals as an escape vessel.
The CCP and its principles are corrupt and that which is corrupt cannot stand.
Thanks for the insightful article David. It's a shame that the "Regulators" (presumably with access to better data) see no need - (ability?) - to recognize and control the enormous (potentially catastrophic) exposure in this rigged system.
Even for Gold, since the infamous "Brown bottom" halved UK Gold reserves, the BOE alone doesn't have the ability, within any sensible risk tolerance, to be able to continue to bail out "deliveries" by leasing its own Gold? And other Central Banks with Gold deposits at BOE surely in the present "market" conditions will be at best reluctant to enter into leasing contracts again under any sensible risk profile?
So one has to wonder what will happen at the quite probable next physical delivery squeeze even for Gold? The huge recent flow of physical metal out of London to New York surely represents an important piece in this "risk management" puzzle?
And presumably also, given the impact on the Balance Sheet capacity of the large Bullion Banks in the US as a result of Basel III from July 1st, London's more opaque LBMA (and greater access to offshore Eurodollar" off Balance Sheet Ledger entries) the risk of an explosion somewhere in the PM "markets" in London has only further substantially increased?
And given its lack of implicit/explicit home Government backing, HSBC would seem to have the largest risk exposure?
To paraphrase GW Bush, this sucker will go down.
I don't think any financial institution in this corrupt market will hold in the end.
There is currently an intense short squeeze in copper in London and we can see all of the strategic metals lining-up to run together.
There is not bail-out that will stop the inevitable that is to come.
A patch was put on banker gold with citizen gold but that will not endure - copper, silver, platinum, palladium are starting to buck like broncos and the corral cannot hold.
"When people lose everything, and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it." -- Gerald Celente
One day this whole Ponzi scheme is going to blow up and Governments are going to have to come to the rescue of the TBTF banks again. When they print enough currency to bail out the perpetrators the gold price will explode to unimaginable levels.
The scheme will collapse and so will the bond market.
Printing will not help and it will be obvious then.
Another great article David.... a den of thieving scheming rats that will eventually drown hopefully weighed down by their own worthless paper....that together with Trumps BBB and we could be set for fireworks very shortly.... on top of that if Jerome Powell gets bullied out that can only be a positive across the PM complex.... second half and 2026 looking great from where I am sitting!
Thanks Jonathan.
Appears to me the BBB is going to cause a rapid acceleration of the collapse.
Then Build Back Better with totalitarianism.
I see a tsunami of scale similar to that in Interstellar coming.