Come on Mr Bond, Well there certainly wouldn't be any democracy if Ukraine surrendered to Putin now , you cant really think that any Ukrainian election could take place at the present, I wonder would you have Putin as an observer to ensure fair play?
The Brazilian president was quite right to speak out against Benjamin Netanyahu who is trying to claim that his acts of genocide are justifiable and play the anti-semitism card whist butchering innocent people in Gaza
On the morning of 7 October, waves of Hamas gunmen stormed across Gaza's border into Israel, killing about 1,200 people. Hamas also fired thousands of rockets.
Those killed included children, the elderly and 364 young people at a music festival.
Hamas took more than 250 others to Gaza as hostages.
The BBC has also seen evidence of rape and sexual violence during the Hamas attacks.
I agree this attack was wrong and the perpetrators should be brought to justice by the right means,
But the response inflicted on innocent Palestinians by Israel is out of proportion and is little different to methods used by Nazi's of WW2,
“Israel has killed an unparalleled and unprecedented number of civilians with the full knowledge of how many civilian lives each bomb will take. More than 1,800 Palestinian families in Gaza have lost multiple family members and hundreds of multi-generational families have been wiped out with no remaining survivors and this killing is nothing short of destruction of Palestinian life.”
In addition to at least 23,570 people, mostly women and children, being killed during Israel’s offensive in Gaza, according to its health ministry the bodily and mental harm inflicted on Palestinians and the imposition of conditions intended to bring about destruction, were also evidence of genocide with the displacement of Palestinians, widespread dehydration and starvation and an assault on the healthcare system.
Thu 15 Feb, 2024 - 14:14 ET
Fitch Ratings-Warsaw/Frankfurt am Main/London-15 February 2024: Euroclear Bank SA/NV’s ratings (AA/Stable) are unaffected by a new regulation that clarifies the treatment of exceptional profit and related costs generated by assets of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), immobilised as a result of Russian sanctions, Fitch Ratings says. Euroclear Bank will continue to report profits generated from the sanctioned Russian assets, including the immobilised assets of the CBR, separately from its underlying activities, and will be able to separate the CBR assets in the future, as required by the regulation.
According to the regulation, published on 12 February 2024 by the Council of the European Union, central securities depositories (CSDs) holding immobilised Russian assets, including Euroclear Bank, must report corresponding assets and revenue separately, and are prohibited from paying out corresponding net profits. According to the Council, this measure is taken in preparation of potentially using net profits from frozen assets to financially support the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. This follows a G7 Leaders’ Statement made on 6 December 2023, which demanded “decisive progress” to direct extraordinary revenues from Russia’s immobilised sovereign assets to support Ukraine.
There s no good reason at all not to seize Putin's asserts, any civilised society has b no place for doing business with crooked dictatorships and criminals !
Quark of Deep Space Nine was one of those deluded people who thought, 'This is fine — we all get to do what we want to do,' and didn't realize that liberty was more important than creature comforts. ... Like any Everyman character in literature, Quark has to go through some turmoil before he realizes the truth.
Are these he kind of "Good faith Investors you are referring to, most would have been quite at home in Hitlers or Josef Stalin's regimes ,
British Banking the City of London have gained a reputation for being the place for money laundering and for crooked and dictatorial and oppressive regimes squireellew awaty their blood money, but its time to put a stop to turning a blind eye to this filthy type of investment
From its biggest private house to a disused tube station, London has long been an attractive place for the Russian president’s cronies to buy property. Their ill-gotten wealth permeated the capital at the expense of us all
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/mar/06/how-london-became-the-place-to-be-for-putins-oligarchs
We are exhausted. We fear we’re losing international attention, that people are tired of news about our war. At the same time, we know that what started in Ukraine will continue in the rest of Europe.
And that includes economic warfare. The cost of rebuilding Ukraine is already close to half a trillion dollars and rising every day. Who will pay that? Ukraine can’t, not ever. The people of Europe? US taxpayers? Putin’s hoping the debt drags us all down.
But what if Vladimir Putin paid his own bill?
$300 billion in frozen Russian state funds are just sitting in banks in the West. The G7 is meeting right now, discussing using it to give Ukraine a future.
That money would change everything for us. But Germany, France and Italy are dragging their feet. So please, join with me to call on European leaders to do the right thing. Sign now!
**The Russian government has increased online censorship.
If you live in Russia or territories occupied by Russia, we urge you to consider potential repercussions before signing and sharing this campaign.
Posted: 21 February 2024
https://rb.gy/t0lwz7
Hi Siko,
Glad you raised this because on checking on the Cenramin homepage unless I am missing something it seems that although some like BlackRock have been selling Van Eck have actuality increased their holding, which is somewhat reassuring!
Possibly then Van Eck have had a whiff of something good, lets hope so!
https://www.centamin.com/investors/regulatory-news/
Centamin's Institutional Shareholders 2023 vs 2024
August 2023
2023 Van Eck 110,273,580
2024 VanEck 111,725,659
Hi Cowichan, welcome back!
This will no doubt cause some puzzlement, or even concern amongst many shareholders as to why funds like these especially Van Eck are selling now, it would be naive to think that that funds don't have some insight into the true state of things prior to a the March annual results market update.
Retail investors should be asking questions because this doesn't usually happen without some good reason?
Tibbs
Cenatmin has already commissioned the solar farm, so possibly rather than spending money hooking up to what may be an unreliable Egyptian electricity grid that is using diesel powered generators it would be preferable to increase the Sukarli solar capacity and add some wind turbines?
Come to that Egypt has plenty of sunshine and winds so why is their national grid not making use of those rather than heavy oil?
Real gold is essential in the manufacture of the vast majority of the computers, electronics and and smartphones to enable the trading of crypto currencies
Gold is used for making electronics as precious metals conduct electricity well and do not rust/corrode. Electrical resistibility of gold is the lowest of all metals, except for silver and copper. But silver and copper readily tarnish causing contact resistance to increase. For low current, low voltage conditions and low contact force, gold is often the best choice technically and in some applications such as automotive RF connectors and MEMS switch contacts, it is the only choice.
Electrical compounds made with gold are highly reliable, we can find them in cell phones, laptops, computers, screens, GPS units, calculators, and other small and large electronics.
The biggest challenge is to recover gold from the devices. The amount of gold used for the compounds is very low and it is hard to recycle the devices and recover the gold from them. That means there is ever less gold available for easy use in the world.
Gold is used for medical purposes as well being found in many devices which are used in healthcare, gold has been used for medical treatments.
Gold is used because it is chemically inert, non-allergic, easy to mold and work with and its aesthetic appeal when used for fillings, crowns, bridges and orthodontic appliances.
Gold is also used to treat some medical conditions such as cancer, arthritis and other specific uses. such as in aerospace because when sending something into space you want to make sure to make it out of the most quality materials. so gold is used in space shuttles, the metal is used in circuitry as a connector and conductor, gold-layered polyester film is applied in spacecraft helping with temperature stabilization and infrared radiation reflection.
Gold is used in the production of glass, one of them being because of aesthetics and because of usefulness, a small quantity of gold is used in glass as it is annealed to get its beautiful ruby colour and also for making glass for climate-controlled buildings, gold also added to the visor on astronauts’ helmets, as it protects them from infrared radiation.
Emerging new uses for gold are nanotechnology, pollution reduction in air and water, fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries, and in solar cells.
Gold is too expensive to be used lightly and only when there is no possibility of finding another less expensive substitute.
Except for jewellery making, the way we use gold today was mostly developed in the last 20-30 years, although the need for gold and its qualities for making new technologies will most likely continue as there are very few substitutes, although supply is increasingly limited.
The CSIS Scholl Chair in International Business and Middle East programs break down the geopolitical underpinnings of the ongoing attacks as well as the eventuality of a protracted conflict and analyse their meaning for global trade.https://www.csis.org/analysis/global-economic-consequences-attacks-red-sea-shipping-lanes
The shipping crisis in the Red Sea affects global trade, but has not yet significantly affected the transportation of steel products
https://gmk.center/en/posts/dry-bulk-carrier-market-shows-volatility-at-the-beginning-of-the-year/
Recent attacks on several vessels by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea are limiting maritime traffic through the Suez Canal and leading to renewed disruptions to global supply chains as wait times and shipping costs increase
https://www.ey.com/en_us/strategy/macroeconomics/what-the-red-sea-crisis-could-mean-for-inflationase.
Lot's of people the world over care Steve, apart from those who are self centred and selfish.
The surge in the crypto market is comparable to the gold rush. Yet, this exciting market has a hidden dark side. Mining cryptocurrencies can have major environmental impacts on climate, water, and land, according to new research by United Nations scientists.
Bitcoin is the most renowned and popular cryptocurrency. This motivated the UN scientists to evaluate the environmental impacts of Bitcoin across the world by looking at the activities of 76 Bitcoin mining nations during the 2020–2021 period. The results are shocking. In addition to a substantial carbon footprint, global Bitcoin mining activities have significant water and land footprints.
https://unu.edu/press-release/un-study-reveals-hidden-environmental-impacts-bitcoin-carbon-not-only-harmful-product
Cryptocurrency mining is an extremely energy-intensive process that threatens the ability of governments across the globe to reduce our dependence on climate-warming fossil fuels.
If we do not take action to limit this growing industry now, we will not meet the goals set forth by the Paris Agreement and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to limit warning to 2°C.
https://earthjustice.org/feature/cryptocurrency-mining-environmental-impacts
Gold has intrinsic value. Ductility, conductivity, corrosion resistance, or appearance. The properties of gold give it value, we need it in a lot of applications. BTC having no intrinsic value is the same as stocks or paper money: they don't have any.
Comparison of the similarities and differences between gold and bitcoin.
Similarities:
Liquidity: Both have liquid markets where fiat money can be exchanged for them.
Divisibility: Both are divisible into smaller quantities.
Scarcity: Both have limited supply thus they act as a hedge against inflation.
Correlation with other financial markets: Both offer a hedge against equities due to their low correlation with the stock market.
No interest: Bitcoin and gold pays no interest. Instead, they can be valued based on the opportunity cost for cash interest.
Retrieving method: Gold and Bitcoin come into existence through the processes of mining, in contrast to paper currency which can be freely printed.
Differences:
Intrinsic value: Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, its value is dependent on market forces. Gold has historically been used as jewellery or for industrial applications.
Scarcity: Bitcoin’s supply is halved every 4 years (ends at 2140), gold is being mined every year. To date, 18.6 million Bitcoin has been mined out of 21 million total supply.
Security & control: Bitcoin is not controlled by anyone including the government. however there are security issues as the infrastructure to ensure its safety is not yet in place.
Storage: Bitcoin does not need storage and insurance thus enabling investors to save on these costs, unlike gold.
Transport: Bitcoin is portable and near frictionless to send and receive. It can be sent from anywhere to anywhere in just seconds as long as you have your keys.
Market value: Total market value of gold supply > Total market value of Bitcoin supply
Volatility: Bitcoin is more volatile as compared to gold.
Market liquidity: Gold’s daily trading volume is much higher than that of Bitcoin.
Hi Paul,
Had Basel 3 not been implemented then quite possibly the POG would have been lower than its present lever, so yes it has helped to some extent in stabilising/supporting the POG, albeit not as much as may have been hoped for.
The establishment tried to suppress the rise of the so called peoples crypto curries and when that failed those that control the markets have simply taken most of it over anyway by creating ETC crypto/trading funds enabling them to take back control and will be making even more profit out of something that doesn't have any intrinsic value.
So why trade in real gold when the alternatives without any intrinsic value are easier to control and offer even bigger profits in the short term
Then the unexpected world events such as a 2 year pandemic lockdown followed by escalating wars/ conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen,and other West African States, higher inflation Nigeria & Argentina now around 250% and rising brought about because of a world reserve currency that is sustained by artificially high by FED manipulation and Wall Streets and London's unfettered paper trading on the futures commodities markets with the additional increased transportation costs due to excessively high oil prices and transportation cost's due to conflicts making basic commodity prices higher, even unaffordable to some
Also issues such as this
"It would also allow the Kremlin to consolidate control of Wagner’s business network in Africa, including potentially lucrative mining interests, following the death last year of the group’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin," the publication writes.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/30/7439536/
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3250377/russia-hires-its-own-africa-army-succeed-wagners-mercenaries
https://ctc.westpoint.edu/after-prigozhin-the-future-of-the-wagner-model-in-africa/
Try listening to the BBC World Service,it was set up for times like this and there's coverage that you don't hear on the daily mainstream channels, or even see covered in most mainstream media.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p016tl04/episodes/player
Keep Well
Tibbs
I feel much the same Rebess,
it's pretty dam obvious despite the claimed market regulation and the introduction of new banking rules such as Basel 3 the FED and it's have just carried on with their policy of financial non committal innuendo in support of the press releases of fudged figures.
The FED really doesn't care a jot and is all the more ever blatant in the manipulation and price suppression on the Comex which the market is quite happy to go along with as long as it it creates some uncertainty and plenty of reasons to trade!
With the conflict in Gaza, Yemen, the Red sea shipping attacks and a full blown war in Ukraine in the FED knows it can do what it likes !
Meanwhile, China continues to assert its dominance in the gold market. According to a report from the World Gold Council, China’s gold market set all-time highs in several sectors in January. The WGC noted that 271 tonnes of gold was withdrawn from the Shanghai Gold Exchange last month, the busiest January on record and the third-biggest in the exchange’s entire history. Total holdings in Chinese-listed gold ETFs hit a record high last month At the same time, the People’s Bank of China continued to buy gold for the 15th consecutive month.
https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2024-02-16/are-investors-swapping-their-gold-bitcoin-inflation-fears-rise
Millman said that with U.S. markets closed for the President’s Day holiday on Monday while China’s markets reopen again after the Lunar New Year holiday, traders may be positioning themselves for a higher move in the short term.
“China will be trading for basically a whole session before US markets reopen on Tuesday,” he said. “Maybe the thinking behind this move is they don't want to get caught on the wrong side of it.”
Turning to next week’s economic news, Millman said that with the FOMC minutes the only significant release, he believes gold prices are more likely to decline than to rally.
https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2024-02-16/analysts-doubt-golds-strength-next-week-retail-traders-dont-stop-believing
Reading these articles tt would seem even convicted murderers in Eygpt are issued with a "Get out of jail free card" if they are rich enough and friends of Sisi, but if that were not enough then they are allowed to acquire formerly state owned assets that will make them even richer whilst the ordinary Eygptian people get even poorer and the Eygptian economy goes down the lavatory!
Kaldas pointed out that selling hotels will ultimately prove counterproductive in the state’s efforts to raise funds, as the desperately needed foreign currency that hotels bring in will now flow elsewhere.
Friend of Sisi Moustafa was convicted in 2009 for paying $2m to a former policeman to kill the Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim, cutting her throat in her Dubai apartment.
After a retrial where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Moustafa served half that time before he was pardoned by Sisi, and his former conviction appeared little impediment to his newfound role as a broker for Emirati cash injections into the Egyptian economy
Egyptian billionaire convicted of killing pop star lover spared death penalty
Hisham Talaat Moustafa, sentenced to hang over death of Lebanese star Suzanne Tamim (( Moustafa was convicted in 2009 for paying $2m to a former policeman to kill the Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim, cutting her throat in her Dubai apartment.)) ---->> https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/28/egyptian-billionaire-spared-death-penalty
Sat 17 Feb 2024 16.00 GMT
Moustafa is Egypt’s largest real estate developer, whose business empire has witnessed a rebirth since his release from prison in 2017, after President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi pardoned him of a murder conviction. His portfolio includes properties across Egypt’s new capital, the crown jewel of Sisi’s megaprojects, in addition to his hospitality arm, Icon, which owns several luxury hotels in Cairo.
His Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) has now acquired seven heritage hotels across Egypt, including Mena House. This includes others that serve as monuments to Egypt’s recent past, including the Sofitel Winter Palace in Luxor, the Old Cataract in Aswan and the Steigenberger Cecil on the Alexandria coastline. International hotel chains continue to run the hotels, but Icon bought a majority stake in the Egyptian government company which owned them.
The Egyptian prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, celebrated the $800m sale to Moustafa, who lauded the acquisition for bringing in foreign currency. He added that the sale was financed by “a well-known international strategic investor”.
Weeks later, the mystery buyers were revealed as the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), a sovereign wealth fund based in the Emirati capital along with its subsidiary the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec Group), owners of the ExCel centre in London.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/17/desperate-egypt-sells-off-historic-hotels-as-it-dives-deeper-into-debt