Gold and silver didn’t do a lot in early Far East trading on Tuesday. The price for both metals bottomed very early in London…and from there a solid rally in both metals ensued…which ended shortly after the Comex opened for business…and that was it for the day.

The usual NY gold commentator had the following yesterday…”News reports indicate that Turkey imported 15 tonnes of gold in November. Considering that the Turkish currency has slumped by some 30% in the last couple of months, this is actually quite remarkable. Probably it reflects the volume of Turkish imports subsequently re-exported to countries to the south…Today’s ECB (European Central Bank) weekly statement of condition reports that ‘gold and gold receivables’ dropped E115 Mm, which ‘reflected’ gold sales by two captive CBs. At 5.7 tonnes, this is somewhat higher than of late (last week’s quantum was 2.83 tonnes), but is still small even compared to

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The short-term path of gold is still unclear says David Galland. But its a good sign that demand for physical gold soars when prices tip towards $750 an ounce. And this threshold is likely to creep upwards as the US dollar loses its worth, and foreign governments convert currency reserves for the precious metal.

This from Money Morning:

Of late, I have read a number of analysts, Jim Rogers even, who have expressed the view that gold could dip to the mid- to low $600 level.

It could happen, but I think not. Already, buyers of physical gold are finding anything near $700 to be cheap and are helping to build a floor under the monetary metal. On that topic, a friend sent this item along recently:

(Gulf News, Nov. 12) Riyadh: There has been an unprecedented demand for gold in the Saudi market recently, with over 13 billion Saudi riyals ($3.47

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Two days before the chief executives of Detroit’s Big Three – General Motors Corp. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (F), and Chrysler Corp. – march back to Capitol Hill to again petition Congress for a $25 billion bailout, details about each company’s plan to scale back operations are emerging.

Each CEO – GM’s Richard Wagoner, Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally and Chrysler’s Robert “Bob” Nardelli – left Washington D.C. two weeks ago scolded, and with a clear understanding that the government is expecting each company to shed costs and present forward-looking plans that prove taxpayer money will not be wasted.

Wagoner has been fuzzy on the company’s goal to cut at least $15 billion in costs, but few options have been ruled out.

GM could further reduce its North American workforce. It could eliminate and/or sell one or more of its brands. The primary name on the table is

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Ford and Toyota Sales Crash; Triple Airline Merger in Talks; GE Ponders Job Cuts; Sears Closing Stores; Oil Prices Hit 3-year Low; Discover Says More Credit-card Write-offs Likely

U.S. sales in November fell 31% for Ford Motor Co. (F) and 34% for Toyota Motor Corp. (ADR:TM) Every line of Ford vehicle posted falling sales, and the company responded by slashing first-quarter North American output for 38% to 430,000 vehicles, Bloomberg reported. Crippled by global slowdown, British Airways plc (OTC:BAIRY) said it is in merger talks with Australian airliner Qantas Airways and Spain’s Iberia, Reuters reported. Should ...

By David Galland Editor, The Casey Report Of late, I have read a number of analysts, Jim Rogers even, who have expressed the view that gold could dip to the mid- to low $600 level. It could happen, but I think not. Already, buyers of physical gold are finding anything near $700 to be cheap and are helping to build a floor under the monetary metal. On that topic, a friend sent this item along recently: (Gulf News, Nov. 12) Riyadh: There has been an unprecedented demand for gold in the Saudi market recently, with over 13 billion Saudi riyals ($3.47 billion) being spent on the yellow metal during the prior two weeks. Demand is expected to rise still higher as more investors turn to gold as a safe haven in the midst of the global financial crisis, according to market sources. Sami Al Mohna, an ...

PKey Newsbr•nbsp;Russia’s central bank probably doubled spending of foreign reserves to defend the ruble from its biggest weekly plunge against the euro in more than four years. (Bloomberg)brimg alt= src=http://local.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/7e88b461-578b-47f3-88ec-038e212ad053/a56c87c5-8253-45b7-aa80-26c89da2fa75/120208-1.JPG _width=75 _height=75brnbsp;br•nbsp;The Canadian dollar recovered some ground versus the U.S. dollar on Tuesday but remained range-bound and at risk of pressure from falling oil prices and political uncertainty in Canada. (Reuters)/P PQuotable brThe great question is whether the government will succeed in reinstilling the inflationary spirit of reckless abandon in American lenders and borrowers.nbsp; Debasement is what the authorities are driving toward.nbsp; It’s why they keep inventing new [lending] facilities.”br Jim Grant/P PFX Trading – Can you say 1% Treasury Bond Yield?nbsp; brThe Fed’s announcement that it will start buying Treasury bonds, along with everyone else in the world it seems, pushes the Fed into official Quantitative Easing (QE) territory.nbsp; /P Pnbsp;img alt= src=http://local.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/7e88b461-578b-47f3-88ec-038e212ad053/a56c87c5-8253-45b7-aa80-26c89da2fa75/120208-2.JPG _width=75 _height=75/P PbrA recent article, dated October 10th, carried in the ...

Almost from the moment that trading began in the Far East on Monday morning, there was someone there to sell the gold and silver market down. This pressure really began to accelerate to the down side at one of the usual times of day…2:00 a.m. New York time…which is early Monday evening in Sydney, late afternoon in Hong Kong…and first thing in the morning (7:00 a.m.) in London.

Then, the moment the Comex opened for business, the bullion bank(s) pulled their bids and both metals sank like stones…particularly silver. For style points in silver, I give da boyz a 9.5/10. Any bets that it was mostly JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM)? After that pounding, the metals did nothing for the rest of the day. The shares got creamed.

Ted Butler had this to say about it yesterday…”While I certainly didn’t expect it, explaining Monday’s sell-off is pretty easy. It was a dealer-engineered drop

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Almost from the moment that trading began in the Far East on Monday morning, there was someone there to sell the gold and silver market down. This pressure really began to accelerate to the down side at one of the usual times of day…2:00 a.m. New York time…which is early Monday evening in Sydney, late afternoon in Hong Kong…and first thing in the morning (7:00 a.m.) in London.

Then, the moment the Comex opened for business, the bullion bank(s) pulled their bids and both metals sank like stones…particularly silver. For style points in silver, I give da boyz a 9.5/10. Any bets that it was mostly JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM)? After that pounding, the metals did nothing for the rest of the day. The shares got creamed.

Ted Butler had this to say about it yesterday…”While I certainly didn’t expect it, explaining Monday’s sell-off is pretty easy. It was a dealer-engineered drop

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NBER: U.S. in Recession Since Dec. 2007; Fed Reserve Could Buy T-Bills; JP Morgan Sees 0% Interest Rates; Pilgrim’s Pride Files for Bankruptcy Protection; Consumer Credit Crunch in the Making; Crude Slides on Recession Outlook; J&J to Buy Mentor

It’s official: The United States has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said yesterday (Monday). Already 12 months into it, this recession is longer than eight of the 10 recessions the U.S. has experienced since World War II, CNNMoney reported. Should it continue past the June 2009, it will be the longest. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could buy long-term Treasury securities to help revive the economy. “This approach might influence the yields ...

GM is essentially already bankrupt, says Horacio Marquez. And it has been for years. This clearly makes the company one to avoid for investors. But Horacio says there are still some ways for those with a big risk appetite to make big profits with the giant automaker.

This from Money Morning:

With America’s “Big Three” automakers all due to submit turnaround plans to Congress today (Tuesday) – a requirement if General Motor Corp. (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), and Chrysler Corp., are to receive $25 billion in government loans – I couldn’t help but recall the moment eight years ago when I realized the U.S. auto industry was skidding toward a financial collapse.

I’ve been thinking about that market call of mine a lot of late, particularly after recently reading that JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) credit analysts had

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