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Today's Market WrapUp 06.18.2007 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Kirby Archive Widely
Under Reported Last Week Last week, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan chimed in with ‘his take’ on the likelihood of China pulling the plug on their willingness to hold U.S. Treasury Debt. The good news: “There is little reason to fear a wholesale pullout by China out of U.S. government bonds, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Tuesday.” The bad news: “Greenspan said the reason such a withdrawal was unlikely was that China would not have anyone to sell the securities to.”
On that soothing note, last week we also learned that GATA has retained Constitutional scholar, writer, and lawyer Edwin Vieira, “using the federal Freedom of Information Act, and retaining a Washington-area law firm, Vieira will seek to compel the U.S. government to disclose records showing how much gold is in the government's custody; who owns it; whether it has been leased or otherwise made available to foreign governments or gold market participants; and whether the policies and practices behind the use of U.S. gold reserves have been meant to influence the price of gold.” Let’s hope Mr. Vieira has better luck getting a ‘straight line of goods’ out of the U.S. government regarding gold than the Chinese do in finding a buyer for all their U.S. debt, eh?
Bill Murphy’s GATA crew “pulling” for gold market transparency. Speaking of pulling chains, another tid-bit that snuck in under the radar of the mainstream financial press last week [June 15, 2007] was the introduction of a Bill [H.R. 2755] to the 110th U.S. Congress by none other than – Republican Presidential hopeful, Representative Ron Paul. The title of the proposed legislation: To abolish the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks, to repeal the Federal Reserve Act, and for other purposes. For those of you who feel the sudden urge to leap out of your chairs and start “uncorking” the champagne – you might want to cool your jets. This is not the first time Representative Ron Paul has introduced such legislation. Mr. Paul introduced the same piece of legislation back in July of 2003 [H.R. 2778] in the 108th U.S. Congress and the Federal Reserve is still with us. You can’t blame a guy for trying. At least Mr. Paul’s heart is in the right place, eh? Today’s Market Overseas equity markets began the week on a positive note with Japan’s Nikkei Index adding 178 points to 18,149. Meanwhile, North American markets began the week mixed with the DOW giving up 26.50 to 13,613.00, the NASDAQ off .11 to 2,626.60 and the S & P off 1.85 to 1,531.05. NYMEX crude oil futures gained 1.00 to close at 69.00 per barrel. Interest rates were virtually unchanged across the curve with the benchmark 5 yr. bond ending the day at 5.07% while the 10 yr. bond ended the day at 5.15%. On foreign exchange markets, the U.S. Dollar Index dropped .13 to 82.47. Precious metals ended the day mixed with COMEX gold futures finishing the day ahead by 1.30 to 657.30 per ounce while COMEX silver futures lost .02 to 13.27 per ounce. The XAU Index fell .54 to 140.23 while the HUI gave up .25 to 336.02. On tap for tomorrow - at 8:30 a.m. May Housing Start data is due – expected 1490K vs. prior 1528K. May Building Permit data is due at the same time – expected 1480K vs. prior 1457K. Wishing you all a very pleasant evening and a prosperous week! Rob Kirby Copyright © 2007 All rights reserved. Contact
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