Austria defies US, EU over South Stream during Putin visit

Austria's OMV and Russia's Gazprom have signed a deal for the Austrian section of the controversial South Stream gas pipeline that bypasses Ukraine. Austria's president, Heinz Fischer, has rejected US and EU criticism.

Austrian energy company OMV and Russia's Gazprom signed a contract on Tuesday for the construction of the South Stream pipeline's Austrian section.
It came just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Vienna for a one-day visit.
While OMV general director Gerhard Roiss said the South Stream pipeline would "ensure energy security for Europe, particularly for Austria," the US embassy in Vienna launched a thinly veiled attack on the move.
In a statement, it said that trans-Atlantic unity had been essential in "discouraging further Russian aggression" and that the Austrians "should consider carefully whether today's events contribute to that effort."
In a meeting with Austrian president Heinz Fischer, Putin slammed the criticism by saying that "our American friends... want to supply Europe with gas themselves. They do everything to derail this contract..."
Fischer also defended the project, stating that "no one can tell me why... a gas pipeline that crosses NATO and EU states can't touch 50 kilometers (31 miles) of Austrian territory."

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30 Reasons The Bear Phase In Gold Ends This Summer

www.jsmineset.com

Here are the 30 reasons, 23 new and 7 set in cement, of why the Bear phase in the bull market for gold ends this summer without any new lows.

1. The New definition of warfare is economic. Sanctions against Russia and the implications for the Petrodollar

2. FACTA and the universal long arm of the US government via any transaction internationally that passes even momentarily through the dollar as a contract settlement mechanism. The negative implications for the dollar’s future as a contract settlement mechanism internationally.

3. EU split over sanctions due to Russian energy demand and Russian business interests.

4. Middle East Western Hegemony and Arab Spring is defunct.

5. Iran to assist in Iraq if asked, which is the failure of "Misssion Accomplished."

6. Iraq oil production challenged by ISEL.

7. Kurds emboldened by ISEL.

8. US relationship with Saudi Arabia and Qatar is strained.

9. BRICs uniting economically and politically as a standalone force.

10. China expands Yuan/Renminbi as an international currency.

11. China’s China Sea energy tensions with Japan and Vietnam.

12. USA’s position on the China Sea crisis where Japan is concerned.

13. The militarization of Japan.

14. The distinct scent of inflation.

15. General dissatisfaction with answers to questions to Chair Yellen regarding FOMC meeting last week

16. IMF reduced expectations of US economic recovery.

17. US Zombie Banks as defined by banks leveraged generally 30 to 35 times the size of their capital of total OTC derivative exposure.

18. Condition of the flooded municipal bond market.

19. Decline in volume with rise in value of equities, making equity price shadows our reality.

20. Totally irrational exuberance driven by hyper liquidity.

21. Hyper liquidity can become hyper inflation via the velocity of money in a crisis of confidence of the dollar. Therefore hyperinflation will be a currency motivated event.

22. Reaction in the momentum equity leaders of the last 2 years burning a public.

23. Strength of the utilities group which has historical attachment to tops in equity markets.

Old problems:

24. The one quadrillion, one hundred and forty four trillion dollars real size of the OTC derivatives market.

25. Economic underpinning of the dollar in jeopardy as recovery sputters globally

26. Absurd size of the Fed balance sheet and lack of marketability of significant size legacy derivative positions.

27. Taper of QE and little Belgium to the QE rescue.

28. China and Russia on the sell side of the US treasuries.

29. MY RA exposes consideration of invasion of retirement accounts, and GOTS (Get out of the system) as a defense strategy.

30. The huge drop out of the labor pool in the US, making employment figures sketchy at best.

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Anti Private Federal Reserve Banking System Opposition Growing in Germany

 In Germany, if you don’t support Central Banking, this apparently means you are a Nazi. Is the major media lying by not offering an opposing view?  Take a look at the video, judge for your yourself, do we get the opposing view in the U.S.?

Shanghai to Start International Gold Trading in 4Q

China definitely wants to increase it's presence in gold trading, with the probable announcement of QE 4 the prices of gold and silver will really start to move up. - Gary

By Bloomberg News Jun 20, 2014

China, the world’s biggest gold user, will start international gold trading in Shanghai’s free-trade zone in the final quarter of this year, according to a city government official.

“We will aim to commence trading in the fourth quarter,” Zheng Yang, head of Shanghai’s financial services office, said today in a conference in the city. The nation’s central bank earlier this week approved the trading platform to be included in the zone’s banking system.

China, also the world’s largest bullion producer, is seeking to step up its presence in the global gold market at a time when the industry is discussing changes to the century-old fixing benchmark in London used to trade and value the metal. The country overtook India as the largest user last year as the biggest price drop in more than three decades spurred purchases, the World Gold Council said in February.

“The new platform is to attract foreign investors and to get China more influence in the global bullion market,” said Liu Xu, an analyst at Capital Futures Co. in Beijing.

Qualified investors can open accounts with the four designated banks including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. to trade gold in the area, the People’s Bank of China’s Shanghai head office said June 18.

The free-trade zone is a testing ground for liberalizing interest rates and currency usage. The Shanghai Gold Exchange, the country’s biggest physical bourse for the precious metal, is considering allowing the use of offshore yuan in gold trading in the zone, Bloomberg News reported on June 4.

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China to start direct trade between yuan and British pound

www.dw.de/

China has announced it will allow the direct trade between its yuan national currency and the British pound later this week. Analysts said the move was designed to further internationalize the unit.

China's Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) said Wednesday the Asian nation would start direct trade between the renminbi and the British pound on Thursday.
Sterling and yuan would be directly swapped without using the US dollar as an intermediary, the trade platform noted.
"The move will promote the bilateral trade and investment between China and the United Kingdom and facilitate the use of renminbi and pound in the cross-border trade settlement," CFETS commented.
Perfect timing

China has long had direct currency trade with the US and has recently added Japan's yen, the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars, Russia's ruble and the Malaysian ringgit to its options.
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