I actually joked that Bernanke was mining the gold by hand to deliver to Germany! http://granitegrok.com/blog/2013/04/what-is-fractional-gold-or-risk-isnt-just-a-board-game The pressure is on. One Texas university, and some members of the Texas legislature, have passed resolutions demanding their gold be repatriated to Texas. The current fraud of fiat money has had an extraordinarily long run, and an orderly exit is becoming harder to imagine. Historical reading: "Fiat Money Inflation In France In 1789" by Andrew Dickson White.

Otherwise, the fed is stuck with printing like crazy in order to buy like crazy at the market price, which will do precisely the opposite of what their carefully orchestrated manipulation has achieved thus far.

I think the reasons the Fed is so desperate to buy back at a lower price is that: A) they have been selling, or leasing out gold since about 1999 - see Greenspan statement about central banks standing ready to do just that. B) most of the gold being mined is already being sucked up by China, Russia, and other nations which are both nervous of type current monetary order, or interested in crashing it. So the Fed can't buy enough on the open market unless they can scare joe public into selling by making it look like gold has passed its peak. They tried, they failed, they are losing.

Or at least, stiffer margin requirements in physical commodities.

I've also been studying the scene. Google GraniteGrok with "gold", "currency war", or "pushing on a string"

ZeroHedge has been out in front of this story for months. The Bunspdesbank audit attempt was around October. Some versions of the story have up to 1800 tonnes of German gold at the NY Fed, and yet we are talking about the return of 300 tonnes over 7 years. By what convoluted argument is that not theft, bordering on an act of war? For now, I agree with Scott that it is more in Germany's interests to preserve the currency markets, because they are trying to hold the EuroZone together. However, the German people are getting tired of propping up the Mediterranean nations, and the Euro fringe are getting fed up with German demands for austerity. If Germany decides to resurrect the DM, they won't care about our pain when they demand gold!

Interesting. Do you have a reference for that story?

I don't think he's pimping the bullion. There have been massive paper gold sales in an attempt to mask te effects of currency printing. As a result, metal buyers have been taking advantage of the price dip and stocking up. You are seeing the inevitable result of government price controls: demand exceeds supply. This will continue until it cannot, then the paper and physical prices of gold and silver will diverge dramatically.

I believe that veterans in general, and especially those who have fought for their country, should be entitled to lifetime healthcare. Likewise, veterans who are disabled as a result of battle, should receive an inflation proof pension. On the other hand, I believe that government employees should be in defined contribution plans, just like regular citizens. My primary reason for saying this is that it may cost them something to contribute to a 401k, but they'll own the investments, whereas a rich pension promise can blow up in their faces.

Seems to me that the paying citizens of a city should be able to act like shareholders in a company , and force it not bankruptcy.