- Investing

German Village Produces 321% More Energy Than It Needs!

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:37:10 -0600

Source: Inhabitat - August 21, 2011

Ok, those Germans are just showing off now. Not only has the nation announced plans to shut down all of its nuclear power plants and started the construction of 2,800 miles of transmission lines for its new renewable energy initiative, but now the village of Wildpoldsried is producing 321% more energy than it needs! The small agricultural village in the state of Bavaria is generating an impressive $5.7 million in annual revenue from renewable energy.

It’s no surprise that the country that has kicked butt at the Solar Decathlon competition (to produce energy positive solar houses) year after year is the home to such a productive energy-efficient village. The village’s green initiative first started in 1997 when the village council decided that it should build new industries, keep initiatives local, bring in new revenue, and create no debt. Over the past 14 years, the community has equipped nine new community buildings with solar panels, built four biogas digesters (with a fifth in construction now) and installed seven windmills with two more on the way. In the village itself, 190 private households have solar panels while the district also benefits from three small hydro power plants, ecological flood control, and a natural waste water system.

All of these green systems means that despite only having a population of 2,600, Wildpoldsried produces 321 percent more energy than it needs – and it’s generating 4.0 million Euro (US $5.7 million) in annual revenue by selling it back to the national grid. It is no surprise to learn that small businesses have developed in the village specifically to provide services to the renewable energy installations.

Over the years the village’s green goals have been so successful that they have even crafted a mission statement — WIR–2020, Wildpoldsried Innovativ Richtungsweisend (Wildpoldsried Innovative Leadership). The village council hopes that it will inspire citizens to do their part for the environment and create green jobs and businesses for the local area.

As a result of the village’s success, Wildpoldsried has received numerous national and international awards for its conservation and renewable energy initiatives known as Klimaschutz (climate protection). The council even hosts tours for other village councils on how to start their own Klimaschutz program. The Mayor has even been doing global tours ever since the Fukushima disaster.

Mayor Zengerle has gone to Romania, Berlin and the Black Sea Region to speak about how these places can transform their communities and make money in the process. Speaking to Biocycle, Mayor Zengerle said, “The mitigation of climate change in practice can only be implemented with the citizens and with the Village Council behind them 100 percent of the way. This model cannot be forced from only one side. We often spend a lot of time talking to our visitors about how to motivate the village council (and Mayor) to start thinking differently. We show them a best practices model in motion and many see the benefits immediately. From the tour we give, our guests understand how well things can operate when you have the enthusiasm and conviction of the people.”

Gold Regains Global Safe Haven Status

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:04:28 -0600

Gold Price In U.S. Dollars - August 9, 2011

Gold Price In Canadian Dollars - August 9, 2011

Gerald Celente On King World News

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:53:18 -0600

Source: King World News - August 3, 2011

Ron Paul: Let's Admit It, the Country Is Bankrupt

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:10:47 -0600

The $1 Billion Armageddon Trade Placed Against the United States

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 23:28:27 -0600

Source: Money Morning - July 25, 2011

Someone dropped a bomb on the bond market Thursday – a $1 billion Armageddon trade betting the United States will lose its AAA credit rating.

In one moment, an invisible trader placed a single trade that moved the most liquid debt market in the world.

The massive trade wasn't placed in bonds themselves; it was placed in the futures market.

The trade was for block trades of 5,370 10-year Treasury futures executed at 124-03 and 3,100 Treasury bond futures executed at 125-01.

The value of the trade was about $850 million dollars. In simple terms, if that was a direct bond buy, no one would be talking about it.

However, with the use of futures, you have to have margin capacity behind the trade. That means with a single push of a button someone was willing to commit more than $1 billion of real capital to this trade with expectations of a 10-to-1 return ratio.

You only do this if you see an edge.

This means someone is confident that the United States is either going to default or is going to lose its AAA rating. That someone is willing to bet the proverbial farm that U.S. interest rates will be going up.

I believe what happened is a debt-ceiling deal was done in Washington and leaked to a major proprietary trader. Everyone knows the debt negotiations in Washington have been an extreme game of brinksmanship between political parties, but now someone knows how that game played out.

This had the hallmarks of one of the largest bond shops in the world knowing something the rest of the market didn't.

The number of shops or even central banks that can take on this level of market risk is extremely small. Some that come to mind are hedge fund manager John Paulson, Bill Gross's PIMCO, and the U.S. and Chinese central banks.

Paulson already scored big – about $6 billion big – on a similar trade years ago when he bet against subprime mortgages, the investments that helped bring down Lehman Bros. and many other investors.

Whoever was behind it wanted a trade on ASAP, and didn't care about the ripples they would cause.

Armageddon trade

You can see how this trade caused fear to be unleashed in the market once it got out and the implications hit by looking at U.S. Treasuries. People who were long 30-year Treasuries panicked as they saw the huge short put on the futures market, and started to unwind their long exposure.

What you, as investors, should do now is look at the bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide a positive rate of return when U.S. Treasuries drop in value. Yields are going up sooner rather than later, if the person behind this Armageddon trade is correct.

Greece In 'Selective Default'

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:58:08 -0600

Source: CBC - July 22, 2011

European Union leaders end an emergency summit on the region's debt crisis with a sweeping deal that will grant Greece a massive new bailout — but likely make it the first euro zone country to default — and radically reshape the currency union's rescue fund.

The changes agreed to Thursday allow the EU to act pre-emptively when crises build up.

The euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund will give Greece a second bailout worth $153 billion Cdn., on top of the $154 billion already granted a year ago.

Banks and other private investors will contribute some $70 billion to the rescue package by either rolling over Greek bonds that they hold, swapping them for new ones with lower interest rates or selling the bonds back to Greece at a low price.

"For the first time since the beginning of this crisis, we can say that the politics and the markets are coming together," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Currency markets were encouraging, bidding the euro, which had rallied sharply on expectation of the deal, up further to gain 0.7 per cent to $1.4435 against the US dollar by late afternoon ET.

The euro zone will back up any new Greek bonds issued to the banks with guarantees if the deal is seen as a "selective default" by rating agencies, which is widely expected.

If the agencies make true on their warnings, Greece will become the first euro country to ever be in default — if likely only for a short period of time.

That agreement means Greek banks will be able to continue accessing cash from the European Central Bank. Without that support, Greek banks would quickly collapse.

Greece's economy has continued to struggle and it has been unable to raise money on international markets.
Bailout fund overhauled

The leaders also overhauled their bailout fund, giving it the power to intervene in countries before they are in full-blows crisis mode.

The changes are a big turnaround, especially for Germany, which had blocked any such move this year. They show how worried the euro zone is that its debt crisis could spill over from small countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal to big ones like Spain or Italy. Full bailouts for those countries would likely overwhelm the euro zone's financial capacity.

To avoid that they will ever be in that position, the deal provides for a "precautionary program," such as short-term credit lines, for struggling countries.

Such credit lines could be very helpful for Italy and Spain if they ever experience a funding squeeze, showing investors that support is available if things get tight.

...

Rating agencies have warned for weeks that any form of private sector involvement in a bailout, even if voluntary and without a haircut, would be seen as a "selective default" — a rating that has never been held by a country while in the euro zone.

A selective default rating implies that terms of a bond, such as the repayment deadline or interest rate, have been altered. It falls short off an outright "default" rating, which is usually triggered when the borrowing country or company doesn't pay back the whole amount it owes.

Gold Record

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:55:56 -0600

Gold and Silver in USD - July 19, 2011

Gold and Silver in CDN - July 19, 2011

If this level holds a whole new atmosphere of potential movement opens for the precious metals.

Bernanke Comedy - It's Tradition

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:54:58 -0600

I haven't laughed so hard in a while, what a hoot!

Bitcoin: The Gathering

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:47:58 -0600

Catherine Austin Fitts On Wealth Destruction

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:33:02 -0600

Google To Finance Residential Solar Projects

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 22:31:25 -0600

Source: Reuters - June 15, 2011

Google Inc will finance $280 million of residential solar power systems through a deal with startup SolarCity that is the Internet search giant's largest single clean energy investment to date.

The fund will enable thousands of homeowners who do not want to make a large upfront investment in a solar system to have solar panels installed on their roofs as part of SolarCity's leasing program, the companies said on Tuesday.

SolarCity's solar lease program enables its customers to pay a monthly fee for solar panels rather than a large up-front installation price. That monthly fee is often offset by the customer's savings on electric utility bills.

Google will own the systems, and will earn a higher return than what it would earn if the cash had been sitting in the bank, SolarCity Chief Executive Lyndon Rive said, though he declined to be specific.

Through the deal with Google, Rive said he hopes other corporations will come to see financing solar systems as a good use of their cash.

"It's been mainly banks that have focused on this, and what that has done is it hasn't broadened the market," Rive said in an interview. "With Google getting into this ... hopefully it will show other corporate companies that this is a smart investment."

San Mateo, California-based SolarCity recently bought groSolar, a solar power project developer and distributor, expanding its reach into 10 states. The company is privately held.

Google said in late 2007 that it would invest hundreds of millions of dollars in solar, wind and geothermal technologies to help make renewables cost competitive with coal.

The deal with SolarCity brings Google's total investments into clean technology to $680 million.

Japan’s Richest Man Challenges Nuclear Future

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:03:56 -0600

Source: Bloomberg - June 14, 2011

Billionaire Masayoshi Son has a track record in taking on monopolies after building a business that opened up the nation’s telecommunications industry. Now he aims to shake up Japan’s power utilities after the worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Son, the 53-year-old chief executive officer of Softbank Corp. (9984), plans to build solar farms to generate electricity with support from at least 33 of Japan’s 47 prefectures. In return, he’s asking for access to transmission networks owned by the 10 regional utilities and an agreement they buy his electricity.

...

Tokyo-based Softbank plans to set up an affiliate that will use some of the company’s 3 trillion yen annual revenue to build solar power stations, Son said at a May 26 conference. One option would be to raise funds to invest about 80 billion yen into building 10 solar farms, each with about 20 megawatts of capacity, said Softbank spokeswoman Makiko Ariyama.
Solar Capacity

The combined 200 megawatts of power capacity will provide more than 10 times the 19 megawatts in total produced at eight photovoltaic power stations run in Japan by the regional utilities as of June 9. Japan produced 988 terrawatt hours of electricity in the year ended March 31.

Prime Minister Kan pledged to generate 20 percent of the nation’s electricity through renewable sources by the 2020s as the nation rewrites its energy blueprint.

“We will do everything we can to make renewable energy our base form of power, overcoming hurdles of technology and cost,” Kan said in a speech in Paris before the Group of Eight summit last month. Japan aims to cut the cost of solar power generation to one-third current levels by 2020 and one-sixth in 2030 and will install roof-top solar panels at 10 million homes, Kan said.

Jim Rogers: Politicians Will Make Things Much Worse

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 22:31:29 -0600

Eric Sprott - We’re Headed Over a Cliff, Be Wary of Paper Assets

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 22:02:32 -0600

Source: King World News - June 10, 2011

With continued gold and silver volatility, the Dow breaking below 12,000 and the US dollar on the move, today King World News interviewed billionaire Eric Sprott, Chairman of Sprott Asset Management. When asked about year over year explosions in the price of corn 118%, wheat 71%, cotton 83%, sugar 61% and coffee 96%, Sprott replied, “Well I always chuckle when people at the Fed and the Treasury suggest there are no signs of inflation. There are nothing but signs of inflation, not withstanding the Fed suggesting the CPI is up one or two percent.

We all know that the average guy on the street, his food costs are skyrocketing, his energy costs are skyrocketing, his tax bill is skyrocketing, his insurance, everything is going up and they are basically getting modest to zero wage increases. So that’s why some of these consumer confidence numbers are just falling right off the table here, and that’s why most of the data we’ve seen recently on the economic front has been incredibly weak.”

Sprott continues:

When asked about another financial crisis being around the corner Sprott stated, “Well I’ve always believed the fundamental problem with the capitalist system if you will, is the fact that the banks are over-levered. There is only one way to get rid of over-leverage and that is to shrink your balance sheet.

I always find it interesting that every time a bank fails we find out exactly what the losses were and typically not only did the bank lose their capital, but they lost their capital six times over. That’s the average cost, which really means that your dollar of assets was undervalued by about 30 cents on the dollar and I think that’s the case almost throughout the banking system. So if we ever marked things to market, we would be in big trouble.”

When asked the discontinuation of QE Sprott said, “I think it’s becoming obvious to any thinking person as to what has to happen...I’m almost tired of hearing the word bailout all the time. I mean it’s been on the radar screen for the last three years, it never goes away, it just goes from one country to another. Throughout this whole mess that we’ve been in governments and central banks have attempted to extend and pretend the problem.

Sooner or later there comes a point where the funding for these things is not going to be available unless it’s just printed. So far the ECB, the Fed, Bank of Japan have all chosen the printing route. It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens come June 30th when QE2 ends. I sort of think of us all as lemmings just heading over the cliff, and if we don’t know what’s going to happen on July 1st, if you don’t think there is going to be any printing going on then you better be very wary of being in any paper assets.”

When asked about Jim Sinclair’s comments regarding $12,500 gold Sprott had this to say, “Nothing surprises me as to where gold can go. I mean you just simply look at the printing of money and the way we’ve attempted to deal with things and the stresses in the banking system, and my ultimate end for gold is when people realize they are probably better off not having their money in a bank. They get paid nothing, they take all of the risk of the bank balance sheet which is incredible, and in my mind why wouldn’t you own gold and silver that are going to maintain their purchasing power in almost any circumstance? You are way better off owning physical metal than owning a piece of paper at a bank.”

Scotia Mocatta Loses 60% Of Its Physical Silver In One Month To "Reclassification"

nospam@example.com (Harvest Dream) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:16:18 -0600

Source: ZeroHedge - June 1, 2011

About a month ago we indicated that Comex depository Scotia Mocatta "lost" 25% of its Registered (aka Physical) silver after the vault encountered a "reporting reclassification" which saw 5,287,142 ounces of silver moved from Registered to Eligible status, dropping the vault's true holdings from 11.8 million ounces to 6.5 million. Naturally, the response from the peanut gallery was that this was a tempest in a teacup and it was "temporary" and a-ha, any minute it would reverse, and all shall be well, everyone would live happily ever after, and the Comex would actually have silver available for delivery purposes. We decided to not hold our breath. Which after pulling today's most recent Comex warehouse data appears to have been a prudent decision, because for the first time ever total registered silver has dropped below 30 million ounces, after experiencing a 5% overnight drop across the board, primarily driven by yet another 1,456,488 ounce "adjustment" of warehoused silver from Registered To Eligible at Scotia Mocatta. As of last night, total Scotia physical silver was now 4,740,447 ounces, a 24% drop overnight, and a massive 60% drop from the total which we captured on April 20. Still think it's temporary?

Oh, and Scotia was not alone: there were comparable reclassifications at both HSBC and Delaware. But the kicker: total silver at Scotia Mocatta has barely budged. The only thing that has changed is the shift from real silver to "Eligible", or that which has no warehouse receipt issued against it, or as was described previously "a private arrangement" which has nothing to do with the Comex. This is non-deliverable silver! Thus, starting with a ratio of 11.8MM to 8.8MM ounces of Registered/Eligible (or 57%/43%) a little over a month ago (on April 19), the most recent Scotia Moccata physical silver now just 23.4% of the "total."