Hugo Chavez To Nationalize Venezuela’s Entire Gold Industry

Hugo Chavez Announces He Will Nationalize Venezuela’s Entire Gold Industry (ZeroHedge, Aug 17, 2011):

The first (of many) 21st century expropriations of the only true money begins today, after Hugo Chavez just announced that he will “nationalize the gold industry, including extraction and processing, and use its output to boost the country’s international reserves.” And who can blame him: he is merely doing what FDR did so well back in 1933 with executive order 6102. Our only advice is that he should wait before he sells: with the only option for the central planners now that we are reentering the downslope of the depression, being, as always, to print more money (it can be called anything, but at the end of the day the principle is clear), there is little probability of gold declining substantially for the foreseeable future. As for foreign investors in Venezuela who opened gold mines, we can only hope they were not all that surprised: “The move follows a dispute between his government and foreign miners who say the rules limiting the amount of gold that can be exported from the South American nation hurt their efforts to secure financing and create jobs. The gold industry will be just the latest part of the economy to be put under state control by the socialist leader, who said he would issue the necessary decree in the coming days and called on the military to help control the sector.” The good news: gold may finally dip modestly which will simply provide yet another entry point for everyone (increasingly more and more) who has taken Jeremy Grantham’s advice and is now fighting the Fed.

From Reuters:

Toronto-listed Rusoro, owned by Russia’s Agapov family, is the only large gold miner operating in Venezuela. It produced 100,000 ounces last year.

“I have here the laws allowing the state to exploit gold and all related activities … we are going to nationalize the gold and we are going to convert it, among other things, into international reserves because gold continues to increase in value,” Chavez said in a phone call to state television.

Read moreHugo Chavez To Nationalize Venezuela’s Entire Gold Industry

President Hugo Chavez Pulls Venezuela’s Gold From JP Morgan (Is The Great Scramble For Physical Starting?)

As Chavez Pulls Venezuela’s Gold From JP Morgan, Is The Great Scramble For Physical Starting? (ZeroHedge, Aug 17, 2011):

In addition to the nationalization of his gold insutry, Chavez earlier also announced that he would recover virtually all gold that Venezuela hold abroad, starting with 99 tons of gold at the Bank of England.

As the WSJ reported earlier, “The Bank of England recently received a request from the Venezuelan government about transferring the 99 tons of gold Venezuela holds in the bank back to Venezuela, said a person familiar with the matter.

A spokesman from the Bank of England declined to comment whether Venezuela had any gold on deposit at the bank.” That’s great, but not really a gamechanger.

After all the BOE should have said gold. What could well be a gamechanger is that according to an update from Bloomberg, Venezuela has gold with, you guessed it, JP Morgan, Barclays, and Bank Of Nova Scotia. As most know, JPM is one of the 5 vault banks.

The fun begins if Chavez demands physical delivery of more than 10.6 tons of physical because as today’s CME update of metal depository statistics, JPM only has 338,303 ounces of registered gold in storage. Or roughly 10.6 tons.

A modest deposit of this size would cause some serious white hair at JPM as the bank scrambles to find the replacement gold, which has already been pledged about 100 times across the various paper markets.

Keep an eye on gold in the illiquid after hour market. The overdue scramble for delivery may be about to begin.

From the CME:

Hugo Chavez Critical? Adrian Salbuchi on RT: ‘Regime Change Flu Coming To Latin America’ To Establish ‘World Government’

Chavez Critical? “Regime change flu coming to Latin America”

Added: 27.06.2011

Adrian Salbuchi – Members of the Global Elite who would love to see Hugo Chavez go


Added: 26.06.2011

Chavez: Venezuela’s Oil Reserves Surpass Those of Saudi Arabia

Hmmh.



Venezuela says its oil reserves surpass Saudi Arabia’s.

Venezuela has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world leader in oil reserves with certified deposits leaping to 297 billion barrels at the end of 2010, President Hugo Chavez’s government said Saturday.

Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez told Reuters that the new reserves, which pushed the total 41 percent higher than the previous year, were booked in the South American OPEC member’s vast Orinoco extra heavy crude belt.

A jubilant Chavez told parliament that Venezuela’s reserves now surpassed those of Saudi Arabia.

“We have enough for 200 years,” the former soldier said in a speech in which he denied he was a dictator, complained that he was being unfairly “demonized” and offered to give up much-criticized decree powers a year ahead of schedule.

There are suggestions that countries, including Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, have exaggerated their oil reserves in the past, though the producers deny doing so.

Read moreChavez: Venezuela’s Oil Reserves Surpass Those of Saudi Arabia

Floods And Mudslides Ravage Colombia And Venezuela


BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Dozens of people have been killed and thousands have abandoned their homes as floods and mudslides ravage Colombia and Venezuela.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday urged nearly 500 people to evacuate from the vulnerable hillside of a poor Medellin suburb where a landslide killed dozens as it buried about 30 homes.

The bodies of 36 victims — at least a third of them children — have been recovered from Sunday’s disaster. Authorities say about 90 people remain missing.

Santos on Tuesday visited the stricken suburb of Bello, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) northeast of Bogota, and told reporters the landslide was a tragedy waiting to happen. He promised to build 1,000 homes for at-risk families in the town, where officials say between 80 and 100 homes are in danger.

Meanwhile, authorities in Venezuela evacuated 5,000 more people from high-risk areas, bringing the total number of Venezuelans displaced by weeks of rain to more than 106,900, Defense Minister Carlos Mata Figueroa said Tuesday. At least 35 people have been killed by flooding and mudslides.

Read moreFloods And Mudslides Ravage Colombia And Venezuela

Venezuela’s President Chavez: ‘Genocidal’ Israel will be put in its place

Related video: UK Jewish MP: Israel acting like Nazis in Gaza


president-hugo-chavez
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez speaks during a meeting with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad at Miraflores Palace in Caracas June 26, 2010. (REUTERS)

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez described Israel on Saturday as a genocidal state that acted as an assassin for the United States, predicting the Middle East nation would one day be “put in its place.”

The socialist Chavez is a harsh critic of both Israel and the United States and cut relations with Israel after accusing it of “holocaust” for its 2009 offensive in the Gaza Strip.

“It has become the assassin arm of the United States, no one can doubt it. It is a threat to all of us,” Chavez said, during a visit by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Chavez said he supported a peaceful struggle for the return to Syria of the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967.

“The territory will one day return to the Syrian hands,” Chavez said. “Of course we want it to be peaceful because we don’t want more war.”

“But one day the genocidal state of Israel will be put into its place, and let’s hope that a really democratic state emerges there, with which we can share a path and ideas.”

Read moreVenezuela’s President Chavez: ‘Genocidal’ Israel will be put in its place

Venezuela To Nationalize US Firm’s Oil Rigs


* Rigs were idled for months in PDVSA payments dispute

* Minister said idled rigs opposition ploy against Chavez

* Socialist government has nationalized many industries

* Giants Halliburton and Schlumberger also in Venezuela

CARACAS, June 23 (Reuters) – Venezuela will nationalize a fleet of oil rigs belonging to U.S. company Helmerich and Payne, the latest takeover in a push to socialism as President Hugo Chavez struggles with lower oil output and a recession.

A former soldier inspired by Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Chavez has made energy nationalization the linchpin in his ‘revolution’. He has also taken over assets in telecommunications, power, steel and banking.

The 11 drilling rigs have been idled for months following a dispute over pending payments by the OPEC member’s state oil company PDVSA. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Wednesday the rigs, the Oklahoma-based company’s entire Venezuelan fleet, were being nationalized to bring them back into production.

Read moreVenezuela To Nationalize US Firm’s Oil Rigs

California Now One Of The Top 10 Government Default Risks In The World

With the liquidity crisis surrounding the rollover of Greek debt subsiding, the probability of default for that country has plummeted from nearly even odds to just over one in three.

Last Week’s Numbers: 06 May 2010

highest-default-probabilities

Meanwhile, other state and national governments are showing continued stress. Venezuela tops the list with a CDS spread of 1049 and a risk of default now over 50%. Argentina and Pakistan are also now ahead of Greece which is now only the 4th most likely government in the world to default.

Most recent numbers: 11 May 2010

highest-default-probailities-2010-05-11

The usual suspects are on the list including Dubai, Ukraine and Latvia. The one thing to notice is that California has now cracked the top ten with a 20% default probability. For California muni bond holders, this number bears watching.

Read moreCalifornia Now One Of The Top 10 Government Default Risks In The World

President Hugo Chavez Threatens to Nationalise Gold Mines

Hugo Chavez

President Hugo Chavez threatened to nationalise gold mining concessions in Venezuela.

The socialist leader accused mining companies of destroying the environment and violating workers’ rights.

Mr Chavez harshly condemned the holders of gold mining concessions, calling them “crazy people” driven by capitalist greed who laid waste to Venezuela’s pristine jungles and exploited employees.

He suggested mining concessions could be revoked.

Mr Chavez has nationalised businesses in the steel, telecommunications, electricity, cement and oil sectors.

Read morePresident Hugo Chavez Threatens to Nationalise Gold Mines

America’s Impending Master Class Dictatorship!

This article is a MUST-READ!

This is not a conspiracy. This is politics and economics.

Wake up America! You will lose everything, if you do not act NOW.

Prepare yourself for a complete controlled meltdown. The greatest financial collapse in world history.

A hyperinflationary depression. THE Greatest Depression.

The Fed and the US government are destroying America!

(More information at the end of the following article.)


“The people no longer have elected representatives; they have elected traitors.”

stewart-dougherty

By Stewart Dougherty

Stewart Dougherty is a specialist in inferential analysis, the practice of identifying historic and contemporary patterns and then extrapolating their likely effects upon the future. Dougherty was educated at Tufts University (B.A., magna cum laude), and Harvard Business School (M.B.A. and an academic Fellow).

FOREWORD: At certain times, focusing on the big picture is important not just for investment success, but for personal welfare, and even survival. We believe such times are here. It is estimated that 98% of Americans have never held a gold coin in their hands. Yet 100% of Americans regularly handle Federal Reserve Notes. From a contrarian standpoint, the financial message from those two statistics is clear. Even so, gold is much more than money or an investment medium; it stands for liberty and throughout history has facilitated escape and ensured freedom. Never having touched a gold coin is the monetary equivalent to never having breathed fresh air, felt the warmth of sunshine, looked up at the stars or risen from the gutter. Fiat Federal Reserve Notes are becoming nothing more than sewage decomposing in the vast, toxic septic tank of predatory Washington politics, epic Federal Reserve arrogance and error, blatant Wall Street fraud and outright Master Class plunder. Below, we outline America’s troubling and compounding predicament, and urge you to think about how to protect yourself from its consequences, both financially and personally.

Thanks to the endless barrage of feel-good propaganda that daily assaults the American mind, best epitomized a few months ago by the “green shoots,” everything’s-coming-up-roses propaganda touted by Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, the citizens have no idea how disastrous the country’s fiscal, monetary and economic problems truly are. Nor do they perceive the rapidly increasing risk of a totalitarian nightmare descending upon the American Republic.

One stark and sobering way to frame the crisis is this: if the United States government were to nationalize (in other words, steal) every penny of private wealth accumulated by America’s citizens since the nation’s founding 235 years ago, the government would remain totally bankrupt.

According to the Federal Reserve’s most recent report on wealth, America’s private net worth was $53.4 trillion as of September, 2009. But at the same time, America’s debt and unfunded liabilities totaled at least $120,000,000,000,000.00 ($120 trillion), or 225% of the citizens’ net worth. Even if the government expropriated every dollar of private wealth in the nation, it would still have a deficit of $66,600,000,000,000.00 ($66.6 trillion), equal to $214,286.00 for every man, woman and child in America and roughly 500% of GDP. If the government does not directly seize the nation’s private wealth, then it will require $389,610 from each and every citizen to balance the country’s books. State, county and municipal debts and deficits are additional, already elephantine in many states (e.g., California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York) and growing at an alarming rate nationwide. In addition to the federal government, dozens of states are already bankrupt and sinking deeper into the morass every day.

The government continues to dig a deeper and deeper fiscal grave in which to bury its citizens. This year, the federal deficit will total at least $1,600,000,000,000.00 ($1.6 trillion), which represents overspending of $4,383,561,600.00 ($4.38 billion) per day. (The deficit during October and November, 2009, the first two months of Fiscal Year 2010, totaled $296,700,000,000.00 ($297 billion), or $4,863,934,000.00 ($4.9 billion) per day, a record.) Using the GAAP accounting method (which is what corporations are required to use because it presents a far more accurate and honest picture of a company’s finances than the cash accounting method primarily and misleadingly used by the U.S. government), the nation’s fiscal year 2009 deficit was roughly $9,000,000,000,000.00 ($9 trillion), or $24,700,000,000.00 ($24.7 billion) per day, as calculated by brilliant and well-respected economist John Williams. (www.shadowstats.com) Fiscal Year 2010’s cash- and GAAP-accounting deficits will likely be worse than 2009’s, given government bailout and new program spending that is on steroids and psychotic.

Putting Fiscal Year 2009’s $9,000,000,000,000.00 ($9 trillion) deficit another way, 17% of America’s private wealth, accumulated over a period of 235 years, was wiped out by just one year’s worth of government deficit spending insanity.

Given this, is it any surprise that Treasury Secretary Geithner has announced that the release of the nation’s FY 2009 supplemental GAAP financial statements has been delayed? Remember, this is the same Secretary Geithner who bullied people to cover up the sordid details of the AIG, or more accurately, the taxpayer-funded, multi-billion dollar, Santa Claus bailout and bonus bonanza for Goldman Sachs. Do you really think this government, characterized as it is by fiscal and monetary secrecy, lies, chicanery, cronyism and stonewalling, wants the people to know what is actually happening? Obviously, it does not, so it hides from the public the inexcusable facts.

Read moreAmerica’s Impending Master Class Dictatorship!

Pentagon: US forces in Haiti to number 33,000; Hugo Chavez: US weapon test caused Haiti earthquake

33,000 US troops! Can we call it a invasion now?

Haitians Receive Little Help Despite Promises From World Leaders; US Doctors Are Desperate

French minister criticizes US aid role in Haiti: ‘This is about helping Haiti, not about occupying Haiti.’

Ex-minister warns of US ‘takeover’ of Haiti

I am not saying that Hugo Chavez is right, but I know that the US and the Russians have weapons that could easily cause such an earthquake.

Chavez: US weapon test caused Haiti earthquake


Added: 20. Januar 2010

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has once again accused the United States of playing God. But this time it’s Haiti’s disastrous earthquake that he thinks the U.S. was behind. Spanish newspaper ABC quotes Chavez as saying that the U.S. navy launched a weapon capable of inducing a powerful earthquake off the shore of Haiti. He adds that this time it was only a drill and the final target is … destroying and taking over Iran.

I also know that the elite plans to invade Iran within the next 3 years to cause WW III. The elite constantly changes their plans and adapts them to the ‘environment’ very quickly. Call me a conspiracy nutcase, I don’t care. I know it. So maybe Chavez is right.



resized_haiti_quake

A major part of the Haitian disaster operation is providing security for victims and rescuers.

About 20,000 U.S. troops are expected to support relief efforts in Haiti by next week in addition to the 13,000 American military personnel already there, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kruzel.

Those men and women to be deployed are members of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade and other units. Thousands of other troops are operating afloat off the Haitian coast and on shore, distributing provisions, assisting in medical operations and helping to maintain security. Some 2,200 Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit are slated to arrive within 48 hours, Kruzel reports.

“The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is a huge part of enabling us to extend our reach to places around the country that may need our assistance but we just haven’t been there yet,” Army Lieutenant General P.K. Keen, the top U.S. commander in Haiti, said on Thursday during a segment aired on The Pentagon Channel.

The additional forces come as international aid continues pouring into Haiti following a magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Jan. 12, creating what an official called one of the greatest humanitarian emergencies in the history of the Americas, reports Kruzel, in a statement obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police.

Read morePentagon: US forces in Haiti to number 33,000; Hugo Chavez: US weapon test caused Haiti earthquake

Venezuela Currency Devaluation: Government Inspectors And Soldiers Shut Shops Accused Of Profiteering

US Sellers Suffer Venezuela Hit (Wall Street Journal)


venezuela-soldiers-shut-shops-accused-of-profiteering State television was on hand to show the alleged rises in prices

Government inspectors backed by soldiers have shut more than 70 shops in Venezuela accused of trying to cash in on last week’s currency devaluation.

Soldiers have been on the streets to check prices as people queue to buy imports, fearing prices could rise.

Devaluing the bolivar by at least 17% will aid competition and cut reliance on imports, President Hugo Chavez says.

On Sunday he warned that businesses engaging in what he called speculation would be shut down or taken over.

As soon as trading started again after the president’s comments a series of supermarkets and other businesses across Venezuela were taken over by government tax inspectors.

State-run news agency ABN said food, car parts and other businesses were temporarily closed “for changing the price of products and for speculation”.

The National Guard stepped in at three superstores belonging to the Exito supermarket chain.

State television showed the alleged rises in prices on everything from plasma television screens to packets of cereal.

The bolivar’s official exchange rate, which is set by government decree, had been held steady at 2.45 to the US dollar since the last devaluation in March 2005.

hugo-chavez-said-the-devaluation-would-limit-unnecessary-imports Chavez said the devaluation would limit unnecessary imports

But on Friday, President Chavez announced that it would now have two rates – 2.60 to dollar for “priority” imports, and 4.30 to the dollar for other items considered non-essential – a 50% devaluation.

The BBC’s Will Grant, in Venezuela, says that since the devaluation was announced long queues have formed outside outlets selling electronic goods and technology.

Customers fear that significant price rises are on their way.

Venezuela already has the highest rate of inflation in Latin America – currently at about 25%.

President Chavez says that these measures will rein it in but many economic analysts predict that it will only get worse in the short term.

Oscar Meza, director of a Venezuelan economic think tank, Cendas, predicted the move would push annual inflation above 33%.

‘Irresponsible policy’

“It’s impossible for prices not to be adjusted,” he told the Associated Press. “If they aren’t adjusted, they’ll disappear.”

President Chavez dismissed the criticism on Sunday on his weekly television and radio programme, Alo Presidente, saying there was “no reason for anybody to be raising prices”.

Read moreVenezuela Currency Devaluation: Government Inspectors And Soldiers Shut Shops Accused Of Profiteering

President Chavez: US Spy Plane in Venezuela’s Airspace

President alleges drone came from Colombia, flew over military base

hugo-chavez
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez on Sunday during his weekly radio and television show.

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez on Sunday accused the U.S. of violating Venezuela’s airspace with an unmanned spy plane, and ordered his military to be on alert and shoot down any such aircraft in the future.

Speaking during his weekly television and radio program, Chavez said the aircraft overflew a Venezuelan military base in the western state of Zulia after taking off from neighboring Colombia. He did not elaborate, but suggested the plane was being used for espionage.

“These are the Yankees. They are entering Venezuela,” he said.

“I’ve ordered them to be shot down,” Chavez said of the aircraft. “We cannot permit this.”

Chavez has accused Colombia of allowing the United States to use its military bases to prepare a possible attack against Venezuela.

Both the U.S. and Colombia have denied such allegations in the past, saying the U.S. military presence is for the sole purpose of combating drug trafficking.

Read morePresident Chavez: US Spy Plane in Venezuela’s Airspace

Latin American leaders agree on new currency, sanction Honduras

crash-dollar


alba-members-are-venezuela-bolivia-cuba-nicaragua-honduras-dominica-saint-vincent-and-antigua-and-barbuda
ALBA members are Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominica, Saint Vincent and Antigua and Barbuda

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia — Leftist Latin American leaders have agreed on the creation of a regional currency to scale back on the use of the US dollar as well as economic sanctions against Honduran coup leaders.

Nine countries of ALBA, a leftist bloc conceived by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, met Friday in Bolivia where they vowed to press ahead with a new currency for intra-regional trade to replace the US dollar.

“The document is approved,” said Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, who is hosting the summit.

The new currency, named the Sucre after Jose Antonio de Sucre, who fought for independence from Spain alongside Venezuelan hero Simon Bolivar in the early 19th century, will be rolled out beginning in 2010 in a non-paper form.

That move echoes the European Union’s introduction of the euro precursor, the ECU, an account unit designed to tie down stable exchange rates between member states before the national currencies were scraped.

ALBA’s member states are Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominica, Saint Vincent and Antigua and Barbuda.

In a resolution on Honduras, members of the group agreed “to apply economic and commercial sanctions against the regime that came to power as a result of a coup.”

Read moreLatin American leaders agree on new currency, sanction Honduras

Venezuela bans Coke Zero, cites “dangers to health”

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ECUADOR/

CARACAS, June 10 (Reuters) – The Venezuelan government of U.S.-critic President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday ordered Coca-Cola Co to withdraw its Coke Zero beverage from the South American nation, citing unspecified dangers to health.

The decision follows a wave of nationalizations and increased scrutiny of businesses in South America’s top oil exporter.

Health Minister Jesus Mantilla said the zero-calorie Coke Zero should no longer be sold and stocks of the drink removed from store shelves.

“The product should be withdrawn from circulation to preserve the health of Venezuelans,” the minister said in comments reported by the government’s news agency.

Despite Chavez’s anti-capitalist policies and rhetoric against consumerism, oil-exporting Venezuela remains one of Latin America’s most Americanized cultures, with U.S. fast-food chains, shopping malls and baseball all highly popular.

Mantilla did not say what health risks Coke Zero, which contains artificial sweeteners, posed to the population.

Read moreVenezuela bans Coke Zero, cites “dangers to health”

Oil price weakness pressures Iran, Venezuela – CIA

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Weak global oil prices threaten to destabilize major oil producers Iran and Venezuela, but Russia is better able to manage because of its sovereign investments, CIA Director Michael Hayden said on Thursday.

Related article:
Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund Loss May Be $125 Billion, Saudi Overtakes, Says CFR

“It’s destabilizing, but it could be positive,” Hayden told reporters. He said global prices hovering around $40 per barrel could increase the bite of sanctions aimed at persuading Iran to give up its nuclear program, and could spell “real trouble” for the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has been an irritant to U.S. policy in Latin America. (Reporting by Randall Mikkelsen, editing by Jackie Frank)

Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:50pm GMT

Source: Reuters

Russian warships set sail for manoeuvres near US waters

MOSCOW (AFP) – A fleet of Russian warships led by a massive missile cruiser set sail from their Arctic base on Monday for naval exercises off Venezuela near US waters that have not been seen since the Cold War.

“They left at 10:00 am (0600 GMT). It’s the nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser Peter the Great, the anti-submarine warship Admiral Chebanenko and other accompanying ships,” Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told AFP.

Dygalo said he could not reveal how many ships were involved in the deployment or when they would arrive. The exercises in the Caribbean Sea are expected to take place in November or December, officials said.

The deployment follows the arrival of two Russian Tu-160 nuclear bombers in Venezuela earlier this month also for exercises, an event that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez branded a “warning” to the US “empire.”

Read moreRussian warships set sail for manoeuvres near US waters

Gold Soars Most Since 1999 as Investors Seek Haven From Turmoil

Gold up 10%, Silver up 12%
___________________________________________________________________________

Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — Gold surged the most in nine years as investors sought the safety of precious metals on concern that the credit crisis will deepen, leading more financial institutions to fail. Silver soared the most since 1995.

Equities tumbled even after the Federal Reserve took over the biggest U.S. insurer. The cost of borrowing dollars for three months jumped the most since 1999 as banks hoarded cash. Central banks in the Philippines and Venezuela said they may buy gold. In March, the metal reached a record as the government steered JPMorgan Chase & Co. to buy Bear Stearns Cos.

“With paper assets in question, gold represents the textbook storehouse of value,” said Ron Goodis, the futures trading director at Equidex Brokerage Inc. in Closter, New Jersey.

Read moreGold Soars Most Since 1999 as Investors Seek Haven From Turmoil

Bolivia’s President Morales declares martial law in rebellious state


Supporters of Bolivia’s President Evo Morales burn dolls representing Leopoldo Fernandez, governor of the opposition state of Pando, in La Paz, Monday, Sept. 15, 2008. Several opposition provinces are seeking greater autonomy from Morales’ government and insist on the cancellation of a Jan. 25, 2008 referendum on a new constitution that would help him centralize power, run for a second consecutive term and transfer fallow terrain to landless peasants. At least 30 people have been killed in clashes this week, according to authorities (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – South America’s presidents converged on Chile for an emergency summit Monday aimed at preventing the collapse of Bolivia, whose leftist president has lost control of about half the country and said bloody unrest there amounts to an attempted coup.

Evo Morales said he would explain to his fellow presidents how his political foes in Bolivia’s rich eastern lowlands have mounted a “civic coup,” inciting “crimes against humanity by groups massacring the poorest of my country.”

At least 30 people were killed in political violence last week, prompting Bolivia’s first indigenous president to declare martial law in the rebellious state of Pando – where Morales says thugs used machine guns against his supporters – and seek the arrest of its governor.

Gov. Leopoldo Fernandez denied any responsibility for the deaths, calling it an armed clash between rival groups and accusing Morales of “mounting a farce.”

Morales has lost control over most of eastern Bolivia, where protests have blocked highways and closed border crossings and pipeline sabotage has forced a cutoff of nearly half his nation’s natural gas exports to Brazil.

Read moreBolivia’s President Morales declares martial law in rebellious state

Venezuela’s Chavez says US ambassador must leave

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez said the U.S. ambassador has 72 hours to leave Venezuela and that he’s recalling his ambassador from Washington.

Chavez said Thursday night that he is asking U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy to leave in part to show solidarity with Bolivian President Evo Morales, who expelled Washington’s envoy in La Paz.

“They’re trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia,” Chavez said.

“That’s enough … from you, Yankees,” he said, using an expletive.

Read moreVenezuela’s Chavez says US ambassador must leave

Russia confirms sending warships to the Atlantic, Caribbean

MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian naval task force from the Northern Fleet will go on a tour of duty in the Atlantic Ocean and participate in joint naval drills with the Venezuelan navy in November, a Navy spokesman said on Monday. (Russian Navy modernized – Image gallery)

“In line with the 2008 training program and in order to expand military cooperation with foreign navies Russia will send in November a naval task force from the Northern Fleet, comprising nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy and support ships, to the Atlantic Ocean,” Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.

During the tour of duty, the Russian warships will participate in joint naval exercises with the Venezuelan navy.

Related article: Russia to send naval squadron, planes to Venezuela

Read moreRussia confirms sending warships to the Atlantic, Caribbean

Russia to send naval squadron, planes to Venezuela

MOSCOW – Russia said Monday it will send a naval squadron and long-range patrol planes to Venezuela this year for a joint military exercise in the Caribbean, an announcement made at a time of increasingly tense relations with the United States.

The apparently retaliatory move follows the U.S. deployment of warships to deliver aid to the former Soviet nation of Georgia, barely a month after Russian armor and aircraft crushed the Georgian military in a five-day war.

Read moreRussia to send naval squadron, planes to Venezuela

South America considers common currency

BRASILIA: South America is thinking of creating a common currency and a central bank along the lines of those in the European Union’s eurozone, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said yesterday.

The idea is a logical next step following the signing last Friday of a treaty creating a Union of South American States that aims to promote joint regional customs and defense policies, Lula said during his weekly radio broadcast.

“Many things still haven’t been realised. We are now going to create a Bank of South America. We are going to move forward so in the future we’ll have a single central bank, a common currency,” he said.

But, he added: “This is a process. It won’t be something that happens quickly.”
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela all signed up to the Unasur treaty creating the regional union during a ceremony in Brasilia last Friday.

Read moreSouth America considers common currency

IEA inquiry into whether oil supplies will run dry by 2012

The International Energy Agency has ordered an inquiry into whether the world could run out of oil in four years’ time, it was reported yesterday.

The IEA has concerns about what might happen in 2012, when demand for oil, boosted by the rapid growth of the Chinese and Indian economies, is expected to have reached 95 million barrels a day. Global supply at that point is projected at only 96 million barrels a day. Such a thin margin would be vulnerable to any sudden supply crisis in volatile countries such as Nigeria, Venezuela or Iraq, now estimated to have overtaken Saudi Arabia as the biggest oil nation.

The IEA said its inquiries would form part of short and long-term forecasts to be published in July and again in November. Its energy research chief, Lawrence Eagles, said: “Up to now we have believed that supply can cope with demand. One caveat is that we don’t know for certain whether estimates of reserves in countries such as Saudi Arabia are entirely accurate.”

John Waterlow, analyst at oil research consultancy Wood Mackenzie, commented: “Many oil-producing countries are closed, secretive societies where it can be difficult to pinpoint the level of provable reserves.”

The IEA’s inquiry follows last week’s new record high for black gold at $135 a barrel, fuelling inflation and possible world recession.

Read moreIEA inquiry into whether oil supplies will run dry by 2012

The food crisis begins to bite

Rioting in Haiti. Rationing in America. Queues in Egypt. Protests in Afghanistan. As the price of food continues to soar, the impact is being felt by people around the globe

CHINA

The roaring economy and an ever expanding middle class have had a particularly profound effect on food prices, particularly rice and wheat. Because of industrialisation, rice planting fell from 33 million hectares in 1983 to 29 million by 2006 and China now imports more than ever, placing a major strain on international supplies. Despite freezing prices, rampant inflation means the cost of food has risen by 21 per cent this year.

USA

In a land where supposedly the rich are thin and the poor are overweight, one of the largest cash and carry stores, Sam’s Club, announced this week it would limit customers to take home a maximum of four bags of rice. The move came a day after Costco Wholesale Corp, the biggest US warehouse-club operator, limited bulk rice purchases in some stores and warned that customers had begun stockpiling certain goods.

NORTH KOREA

Even during times of relative stability, North Korea has shown itself to be inept at feeding its population. During the 1990s a famine caused by poor harvests killed an estimated two to three million people. On Wednesday the World Food Programme warned that the country could again be plunged into famine because of the spiralling cost of rice and there was an estimated shortfall of 1.6 million tons of rice and wheat.

EGYPT

Up to 50 million Egyptians rely on subsidised bread and this year Cairo has estimated it will cost $2.5bn. But with the price of wheat rocketing in the past year there are fears the country has plunged into a “bread crisis”. Queues are now double the length they were a year ago. Inflation hit 12.1 per cent in February with prices for dairy goods up 20 per cent and cooking oils 40 per cent

VENEZUELA

Latin American countries were some of the first nations to voice their concern at rising wheat prices, particularly after thousands of people in Mexico took to the streets at the beginning of 2007 to take part in the so-called “Tortilla Protests”. This week the presidents of Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba’s vice-president flew to Caracas to announce a joint $100m scheme to combat the impact of rising food prices on the region’s poor.

BRAZIL

On Wednesday Brazil became the latest major rice producer to temporarily suspend exports because of soaring costs and domestic shortages. In recent weeks Latin American countries and African nations have asked for up to 500,000 tons of rice from Brazil which will now not be delivered. Brazil’s agricultural ministry has said it has to ensure that the country has at least enough rice reserves to last the next six to eight months.

IVORY COAST

Some of the worst instability resulting from high food prices has been felt in West Africa. One person was killed and dozens were injured last month as riots tore through Ivory Coast after the prices of meat and wheat increased by 50 per cent within a week. Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo was forced to cut taxes to halt the disorder. Violent protests have also broken out in Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

AFGHANISTAN

There have been street protests about the soaring cost of food in a country almost entirely reliant on imports of wheat. Already utterly impoverished, the plight of Afghans has worsened because Pakistan has cut its regular flour supply. The government has sought to assure citizens that there is sufficient food and has set aside $50m for additional imports. The price of wheat has risen by around 60 per cent in the last year.

THAILAND

The price of rice in the world’s largest exporter rose to $1,000 a ton yesterday and experts warned that it will continue to rise. This is because of the massive demand from the Philippines which is struggling to secure supplies after India and several other producers halted exports. The government has said it can meet the export requests. Indonesia has said it is withholding purchases for a year because prices are so high.

EAST AFRICA

Hundreds of thousands of poor Africans in Uganda and Sudan are to lose out on a vital source of food after one of the world’s largest humanitarian organisations said it was cutting aid to 1.5m people. Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada, blamed soaring costs and countries failing to live up to aid commitments for the fact that the number of people the charity can help will fall by almost a quarter.

INDIA

The country as added to the problems facing many countries in the region by halting its export of rice, except for its premium basmati product. This has left countries normally reliant on Indian exports, such as the Philippines, searching for alternative supplies. India has more than half of the world’s hungriest people and its priority is to safeguard domestic supply. But it too has watched as the cost of food has soared, not just rice but cooking oil, pulses and even vegetables. India has this year forecast a record grain harvest but experts warned farm productivity will have to rise much faster if the nation is to feed its 1.1bn people and avoid a food security crisis. Around two-thirds of India’s population are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods but agriculture is growing much more slowly than the overall economy.

HAITI

The poorest country in the Western hemisphere has seen a three to four-fold increase in the number of so-called boat people trying to leave because of food shortages. Already gripped by wretched poverty, the food crisis triggered riots that led to the death of six people. Haiti’s wretched food security situation is a result of “liberalisation measures” forced on the country after former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was returned to power.

THE PHILIPPINES

The government has been desperately trying to secure alternative sources of rice to counteract the decision of a number of nations to halt rice exports. The country’s National Food Authority, which handles rice imports for the government, has now said it plans to increase imports 42 per cent to 2.7m tons this year. This could cost $1.3bn if it does not increase the price of the subsidised rice it is selling to people. But the Philippines is responsible for producing 85 per cent of its own food and international experts believe the country will handle this crisis. The government has also been encouraging consumers and even fast food restaurants to be more frugal and be careful not to waste food. The government is confident it will be able to source sufficient supplies from Vietnam and Thailand.

EUROPE

Less vulnerable to food price fluctuations than emerging nations, but food prices across Europe have nonetheless increased. In Britain wholesale prices of food have increased by 7.4 per cent over the past 12 months, roughly three times the headline rate of inflation. According to the government’s own statistics grocery bills have gone up by an average of £750 over the same period, the equivalent of a 12 per cent rise.

By Jerome Taylor and Andrew Buncombe
Friday, 25 April 2008

Source: The Independent