InformedTrades

Though it fell back the latest reporting week, MZM has still increased sharply lately, being up 14.5% at an annualized rate the latest 3 months (13 weeks), up 13.3% the latest 6 months (26 weeks) and up 9.2% the latest year. For M2 the increases were even greater (13 weeks 24.9%, 26 weeks 14.8%, 52 weeks 10.2%) and for M1 greater still (44.9%/27.2%/20.5%).

Central banks are topping up their gold reserves, quadrupling their total purchases from the market in the last quarter as they seek to reduce their dependence on traditional reserve currencies

European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said the EU may draft legislation on joint issuance of euro bonds and present it along with a report on the feasibility of common bonds. "The commission has offered to present a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the setting up of a system of common issuance of European sovereign bonds (euro securities) under joint and several liability," Rehn said in a written response dated Aug. 12 to a question from the parliament. "The report will, if appropriate, be accompanied by legislative proposals." He gave no timetable for the report or the potential draft legislation.

India's benchmark stock index completed the longest weekly losing streak since 2008 on concern the U.S. economy is faltering and Europe's debt crisis may spread, hurting corporate profits already threatened by inflation and rising interest rates.

Has Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) turned the House Oversight Committee into a bank lobbying firm with the power to subpoena and pressure government regulators? ThinkProgress has found that a Goldman Sachs vice president changed his name, then quietly went to work for Issa to coordinate his effort to thwart regulations that affect Goldman Sachs' bottom line.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement regarding the attacks: "This is a serious terrorist attack in a number of locations. The event reflects the weakening of Egyptian control over Sinai and the expansion of the activity of terrorist forces.  The origin of these acts of terror is in Gaza and we will act against them in our full force and determination."

More than $1,000bn was laundered last year, the equivalent of nearly 2 per cent of global gross domestic product, according to United Nations estimates. Much of this comes from classic narcotics trafficking, but in recent years the counterfeit prescription drug markets in Asia are taking an ever-larger slice of the pie.

Twenty years after the Soviet Union collapsed, Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, may not, as is sometimes alleged, be trying to recreate it. But he is pursuing a different project - to build a "quasi-European Union" out of former Soviet states.

For the first time ever, more of the corn crop may go into gas tanks than into the stomachs of cattle and poultry destined for kitchen tables.

Some big news from the Merkozy press conference happening right now. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has expressed plans to introduce a "Tobin tax" in Europe: This means taxes on financial transactions, which is something the banks will hate. Obviously we need details, but this is not minor news if it's carried forth

President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for billions of dollars in fresh spending to boost the economy and reduce unemployment, with a new focus on helping the long-term unemployed, an administration official said.

Hugo Chavez has ordered billions of dollars in cash and hundreds of tons of gold to be relocated. According to The Wall Street Journal, Venezuela will move the cash from Swiss and English banks to Russia, China, and Brazil while moving hundred of tons of bullion from abroad into its own central bank vaults.

The Swiss franc jumped on Wednesday after the Swiss National Bank announced fresh measures to drive down money market rates to stem the franc's strength, but refrained from direct intervention or pegging the currency as some had speculated.

Earlier today technical analyst Chris Kimble sent me an email asking if I had an overlay of the Dow during the Panic of 1907 and the Financial Crisis of 2008. I didn't when I received his email, but I do now. The first chart is a nominal view of the two periods showing the percentage declines over time from their peaks in 1906 and 2007

As the Bank of England considers unleashing a fresh round of QE, Dhaval Joshi, of BCA Research, argues the approach of creating electronic money pushes up share prices and profits without feeding through to wages. "The evidence suggests that QE cash ends up overwhelmingly in profits, thereby exacerbating already extreme income inequality and the consequent social tensions that arise from it," Joshi says in a new report.

Commission begins asking preliminary questions Rumours of decision to drop U.S. to AA+ were abound S&P director hints Tea Party rhetoric played a part Spokesman for agency denies any wrongdoing

The German government no longer rules out agreeing to the issuance of euro zone bonds as a measure of last resort to save the single currency, conservative newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday. Even though Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and Economy Minister Philipp Roesler again spoke out against euro zone bonds and debt collectivization, Welt am Sonntag reported the German government is nevertheless considering that and other measures.

Syrian forces, backed by tanks and fire from warships, killed at least 20 people as they pressed forward with their assault on the port city of Latakia, according to an activist, as the U.S., U.K. and Saudi Arabia called for a halt to the violence. The attack on the Mediterranean city, which began yesterday, also left 70 people injured, Mahmoud Merhi, head of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, said in a telephone interview from Damascus today.

The Swiss government and the central bank are in "intense" talks over setting a possible target for the franc, SonntagsZeitung newspaper reported, citing unidentified people close to the situation. The plans are "ready," and the Swiss National Bank may set such a target in "coming days," the newspaper reported. The talks are focusing on the role of the government and an "appropriate plan" may be adopted on Aug. 17, it said.

VP and General Manager Earl Zmijewsk wrote us today from Renesys, the Internet intelligence company, to let us know that, after a long, stable summer of nothing much to report, Libya's Internet has now started to fail, probably as a result of infrastructure degradation due to war and neglect. "Much of the country's Internet routing has started to show evidence of sporadic failures this week, which have gone unreported in the media," James Cowie remarked on the Renesys blog.