Inquiries On Gold

“I don’t think markets are going down because of Greece,” our old friend Marc Faber offered as an alternative explanation for the market’s recent malaise to CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday.

“I don’t think the markets are going down because of the ‘fiscal cliff,’” he added, “because there won’t be a ‘fiscal cliff.

“The market is going down because corporate profits will begin to disappoint,” Mr. Faber dolefully explains, “the global economy will hardly grow next year or even contract, and that is the reason why stocks, from the highs of September of 1,470 on the S&P, will drop at least 20%, in my view.”

“Dr. Doom’s” gloominess stands in stark contrast our resident tech traders Jonas Elmerraji and Greg Guenthner.

“Stocks are flailing again,” Jonas Elmerraji reports, “threatening to plunge lower in this morning’s early action after moving sideways since the end of last week.

“It’s not just us,” Jonas goes on, “all markets are off today. But that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. The media will probably blame selling on the latest news from Greece (even though they were giving a Greek debt deal credit for moving futures higher much earlier this morning).

“Greece, the fiscal cliff, doomsday on Dec. 21, 2012… Whatever news is getting the blame for the most recent rally or the latest drop, it all comes down to buyers and sellers. Right now, with the S&P pushing just below 1,400, the weak hands are getting squeezed out and fear is the biggest factor affecting stocks.

“Relying on the news cycle won’t make you rich — but identifying those pockets of buyers and sellers can.”

[Ed. Note: Jonas and Gunner want a chance to prove that assertion to you in what they call the “Trading Experiment.” Their mission is to show at least 75 of our readers the ropes on how to be better traders in a mere five days…

They claim they can teach anyone how to turn $1,000 into $5,240 in any market. We’re skeptical. Hence the wager. We’re eager to see what takes shape during the experiment. If you want to take part…

It’s free. Won’t cost you a nickel. But be mindful… today is your last day to sign up.]

“Why do we not switch, then, to a monetary unit such as gold,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked openly to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the U.N. yesterday, “which is at the very least an international constant and indicator that has maintained its honor throughout history?

“This is something to think about.”

Indeed. Why don’t they…

Erdogan’s questions and criticisms were the highlight of the fifth Bali Democracy Forum in Indonesia last week. (Iranian president Ahmadinejad’s mockery of the U.S. elections took second place, dubbing them a “battleground for capitalists and an excuse for hasty spending.”)

“It is thought-provoking,” Erdogan goes on, “that the IMF is not using gold as a global currency rather than any currency, and it only gives aid on a where and what basis.”

His tartness most likely stems from a raw deal with the IMF sticking Turkey with over $23.5 billion of debt. But the challenge remains… if the rest of the world’s financial community can, as they have been trying to do for years, agree on a viable alternative to the dollar as a “reserve currency,” holders of dollar assets will get crushed.

Turkey’s Erdogan has been a busy man… He has systematically ended Turkey’s half-century “Era of Coups,” sliced the country’s IMF debt down to $1.3 billion (with plans to wipe it out next April), and has stealthily crept Turkey away from dependence on the U.S. dollar.

Cheers,
Addison Wiggin

The preceding article was excerpted from Agora Finacial’s 5 Min. Forecast. To read the entire episode, please feel free to do so here.