Major stuff going on between US & RU over Ukraine

[VRS]

Biggest withdrawal of US Treasuries in one week on record - USD$106Bn - just happened...

Confrontation over Ukraine hots up, resulting in:

RU (and along with China who have an excellent opportunity to cash in a bunch of chips under cover of the UA 'crisis' - smart...) dump US TBills

RU threatens to insist on payments for exports in nothing other than tangible non-US currency - likely gold?

Massive capital flight of foreign investment from RU - German, US & UK money has flown out of RU - and is ramping up - stock market and Rouble dive sharply:

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2014/03/20140314_EUEOD2.png

(RU stock market graph)

RU is scrambling to get as much of its global assets out of reach of the US SEC and EU/G7 (because they know that sanctions similar to those imposed on Iran in recent years are coming - and fast) - possibly by end next week

(Putin isn't going to back down on Crimea imho - and d'you know what - it serves The West bloody well right for entertaining him and the massively corrupt mafia-driven system of 'New Russia' for so long. Idiots. What did they expect?)

Meanwhile Russian nationalists are whipping-up a frenzy of support for 'hard man' Putin off the back of this at home and wherever they say it's needed - inside UA particularly in the east & south.

FT says 'climate of fear' ahead of Crimea referendum - guns standing over the ballot boxes - and they aren't Ukrainian guns.

RU has in the last couple of days begun to block certain western news sites in addition to news feeds, blogs etc not only to RU but to UA as well - looks like a 'blanket' over online media is the objective, at least internally - restricting info to anyone who wants to monitor what's going on.

There is no military option for US (obviously) so he can only wait & watch as Putin rubber stamps a UA referendum to justify Crimea returning to RU permanently. Then what?

China sitting on the sidelines, won't be drawn in, but the Yuan flexes it's future muscle as primary World reserve currency, and very convenient for them too as talk of the petrodollar diverts to 'hard' assets and possible gold-backed currency in the near term...

No surprise then gold & silver are up eh?

BIG trouble ahead in the next few wks for USD imho...

http://qz.com/188160/and-now-it-looks-like-russia-may-be-messing-with-the-fed/

(T-Bill Dump Graphic)

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/financ...s-a-warning-of-acute-stress-across-the-world/

"Russia's central bank is undoubtedly liquidating reserves at a breakneck pace to prevent a collapse of the rouble, as foreign companies scramble to get all their spare cash out of Russian accounts before the G7 guillotine comes down on the Putin clan next week. It is certainly trying to remove its assets beyond the jurisdiction of the US authorities though that will not be easy.

The SEC takes no prisoners. In the end, the world is more frightened of US regulators than it is of Putin's tanks or his polonium. Soft power can trump hard power. One investor told me that clients in Russia are literally loading up cars with computers, machinery, and anything that will fit, and rushing them out of the country for fear that assets will nationalised.

Whatever happens, nobody will forget this in a hurry."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...ures-pace-u-s-stock-drop-on-stronger-yen.html

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov failed to defuse the standoff over Ukraine in six hours of talks in London, as the Crimea peninsula prepared to vote on joining Russia.

The U.S. and the European Union are threatening sanctions against Russia if it doesn't back down from annexing Crimea. Ukraine's Kiev-based cabinet says Russia has taken over the southern region and is massing troops on its border."

 

[Old Codger]

You do not "withdraw" a US Treasury, at maturity you cash it in, and if not then you sell it on the Bond Market.

If things look bad the buyer will ALWAYS be the Fed!

....and Russia only has about US$138 Billion in US Bonds, very few would be past maturity date.

OC

 

[VRS]

You do not "withdraw" a US Treasury, at maturity you cash it in, and if not then you sell it on the Bond Market.

If things look bad the buyer will ALWAYS be the Fed!

....and Russia only has about US$138 Billion in US Bonds, very few would be past maturity date.

OC

When I spend cash from my pocket I withdraw it from my cash pile. TBills are no different. It is a withdrawal of supposed stored value in (bonds as) cash currency. I don't think we're discussing semantics here - you get the general picture. RU investment, legitimate or otherwise isn't restricted to bonds buddy - what are you saying? Or do you think if it was RU removing $106Bn out of a total $138Bn in less than a week that isn't significant? I do. It's the other 'investments' RU has around the World and it's petrogas assets, particularly to Europe, that you need to watch. Imagine the scenario - G7, Merkel & Obama say 'sanction', Putin says 'gonna get cold in Europe come wintertime'... after annexing Crimea.

 

[Old Codger]

"buddy",


"When I spend cash from my pocket I withdraw it from my cash pile. TBills are no different."



I suggest you re-read my first line. And if needed the US Fed could and will 'print' and buy in an instant.


OC

 

[VRS]

Yes, admittedly when you're printing $80Bn of 'free print' fiat per month I guess in that context it is small beans. I still think the next winter will be cold for Mrs Merkel though somehow. Also when you see given the backdrop the amount of physical gold CN are buying no wonder Angela might get edgy - she could only get seven tons out of The Fed in the last 12 mths eh lol?!

 

[worldbubble]

russians expectations about conflict in Crimea :lol:

P.S. yellow is a Crimea in 2015

 

[Court Jester]

Yes, admittedly when you're printing $80Bn of 'free print' fiat per month I guess in that context it is small beans. I still think the next winter will be cold for Mrs Merkel though somehow. Also when you see given the backdrop the amount of physical gold CN are buying no wonder Angela might get edgy - she could only get seven tons out of The Fed in the last 12 mths eh lol?!

I think you are wayyy off the mark with just about everything you have said

 

[VRS]

Yes, admittedly when you're printing $80Bn of 'free print' fiat per month I guess in that context it is small beans. I still think the next winter will be cold for Mrs Merkel though somehow. Also when you see given the backdrop the amount of physical gold CN are buying no wonder Angela might get edgy - she could only get seven tons out of The Fed in the last 12 mths eh lol?!

I think you are wayyy off the mark with just about everything you have said

Thanks for your considered opinion...

I stand corrected - make that FIVE tons of German gold repatriated, not seven - you should do some research on German MP's requests to test gold held on Germany's behalf to the US btw - which was refused FYI:
http://www.mining.com/the-fed-only-gave-germany-back-5-tonnes-of-gold-in-over-a-year-82989/

http://business.time.com/2014/01/29...en-bernanke-cut-quantitative-easing-stimulus/
(Plus an undisclosed amount to mortgage 'subsidy, interest & servicing existing property debt' of $10-15Bn)

I make that $80-85Bn per month.

Who knows anyway - official figures are designed to be opaque.

A picture's worth a thousand words, isn't it? Yup - everything sure looks rosy:
http://abcnews.go.com/news/t/blogEntry?id=22911349

US Senate's already voted on it, in case you hadn't heard:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/t/story/senate-bill-proposes-tough-sanctions-russia-22872651

And of course the G7 don't mind at all what's happening do they?:
http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/12/g7-tells-russia-to-cease-crimea-actions/

See - the EU don't mind either... obviously (!):
http://www.dw.de/eu-and-russia-on-the-brink-of-sanctions-war/a-17496791

And RU isn't going to try to retaliate via their own economic measures?:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/0...ons-over-ukraine-would-hit-us-like-boomerang/

Oh, an and there's the small matter of UA nuclear weapons, and the teensy-weensy matter of START inspections - and ALL other aspects of international military compliance:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...1261d0-a6c3-11e3-9cff-b1406de784f0_story.html

Russia wouldn't cut off supply to ANYONE now would they lol?!?:
http://www.examiner.com/article/central-europe-worried-that-russia-will-cut-natural-gas-supply
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/ukraine-crisis-gas-norway-idUKL6N0M93T520140312

And moreover the EU wouldn't be stupid enough to restrict flow of RU gas to Europe now would it?!?! Nah... course not - that's why they've just put the brakes on these 2 pipelines FYI:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579435402008140372

China's always pragmatic whether you want to talk about the rise of the a Yuan or their own territorial aspirations aren't they? Opportunist and taking the longEST term view possibly of all the potential outcomes:
http://qz.com/183657/chinas-support-for-russias-ukraine-incursion-is-half-hearted-at-best/

The RU also wouldn't dream of shipping MORE troops in now, on top of all of this, having everyone wagging their finger at them would they? Noooooooo... of course not lol!:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/russia-...repeating-invasion-threat-20140314-hviya.html

This is how history is written - and there are some of us whose memories are LONG, not short.

I guess the UA referendum will be totally transparent won't it

Yup - I must be WAYYYYY off the mark.

 

[Court Jester]

Yes, admittedly when you're printing $80Bn of 'free print' fiat per month I guess in that context it is small beans. I still think the next winter will be cold for Mrs Merkel though somehow. Also when you see given the backdrop the amount of physical gold CN are buying no wonder Angela might get edgy - she could only get seven tons out of The Fed in the last 12 mths eh lol?!

I think you are wayyy off the mark with just about everything you have said

Thanks for your considered opinion...

I stand corrected - make that FIVE tons of German gold repatriated, not seven - you should do some research on German MP's requests to test gold held on Germany's behalf to the US btw - which was refused FYI:
http://www.mining.com/the-fed-only-gave-germany-back-5-tonnes-of-gold-in-over-a-year-82989/

http://business.time.com/2014/01/29...en-bernanke-cut-quantitative-easing-stimulus/
(Plus an undisclosed amount to mortgage 'subsidy, interest & servicing existing property debt' of $10-15Bn)

I make that $80-85Bn per month.

Who knows anyway - official figures are designed to be opaque.

A picture's worth a thousand words, isn't it? Yup - everything sure looks rosy:
http://abcnews.go.com/news/t/blogEntry?id=22911349

US Senate's already voted on it, in case you hadn't heard:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/t/story/senate-bill-proposes-tough-sanctions-russia-22872651

And of course the G7 don't mind at all what's happening do they?:
http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/12/g7-tells-russia-to-cease-crimea-actions/

See - the EU don't mind either... obviously (!):
http://www.dw.de/eu-and-russia-on-the-brink-of-sanctions-war/a-17496791

And RU isn't going to try to retaliate via their own economic measures?:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/0...ons-over-ukraine-would-hit-us-like-boomerang/

Oh, an and there's the small matter of UA nuclear weapons, and the teensy-weensy matter of START inspections - and ALL other aspects of international military compliance:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...1261d0-a6c3-11e3-9cff-b1406de784f0_story.html

Russia wouldn't cut off supply to ANYONE now would they lol?!?:
http://www.examiner.com/article/central-europe-worried-that-russia-will-cut-natural-gas-supply
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/ukraine-crisis-gas-norway-idUKL6N0M93T520140312

And moreover the EU wouldn't be stupid enough to restrict flow of RU gas to Europe now would it?!?! Nah... course not - that's why they've just put the brakes on these 2 pipelines FYI:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579435402008140372

The RU also wouldn't dream of shipping MORE troops in, on top of all of this, having everyone wagging their finger at them would they? Course not lol!:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/russia-...repeating-invasion-threat-20140314-hviya.html

This is how history is written - and there are some of us whose memories are LONG, not short.

I guess the UA referendum will be totally transparent won't it

Yup - I must be WAYYYYY off the mark.

yep you are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy off

the sanctions probably wont happen and if they do they will be token gestures to look like they are doing something and the Russian wont "cut off the gas" like you think IF this happens

and this wont result in the collapse of the US dollar and a shift to an new reserve currency and there is 0 chance infant I think the chance is about the same as me getting a blow job from Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez at the same time while justin biber watches and cries in the corner low kind of chance that a new "gold backed " currency will emerge.

but you can live in your deluded fantasy word and keep prepping for the zombie apocloypse all you want to as they say a fool and their money are soon parted

 

[VRS]

yep you are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy off

the sanctions probably wont happen and if they do they will be token gestures to look like they are doing something and the Russian wont "cut off the gas" like you think IF this happens

and this wont result in the collapse of the US dollar and a shift to an new reserve currency and there is 0 chance infant I think the chance is about the same as me getting a blow job from Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez at the same time while justin biber watches and cries in the corner low kind of chance that a new "gold backed " currency will emerge.

but you can live in your deluded fantasy word and keep prepping for the zombie apocloypse all you want to as they say a fool and their money are soon parted

I think that kinda sums up CJ's position perfectly adequately then, happy to say.

I wonder who else lives in fear of 'the collapse of the US dollar' and is 'prepping for the zombie apocalypse'.

Next time I'll be sure to include those two in the posts I make concerning the RU & UA situation - which incidentally... I didn't - but thanks for the Miley Cyrus, Gomez & Bieber imagery anyhow.

Sorry they figure in your fears and/or dreams mate - the only fool in the room appears to be the one before us, looking the other way.

(They don't in mine, fwiw btw)

 

[Court Jester]

yep you are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy off

the sanctions probably wont happen and if they do they will be token gestures to look like they are doing something and the Russian wont "cut off the gas" like you think IF this happens

and this wont result in the collapse of the US dollar and a shift to an new reserve currency and there is 0 chance infant I think the chance is about the same as me getting a blow job from Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez at the same time while justin biber watches and cries in the corner low kind of chance that a new "gold backed " currency will emerge.

but you can live in your deluded fantasy word and keep prepping for the zombie apocloypse all you want to as they say a fool and their money are soon parted

I think that kinda sums up CJ's position perfectly adequately then, happy to say.

I wonder who else lives in fear of 'the collapse of the US dollar' and is 'prepping for the zombie apocalypse'.

Next time I'll be sure to include those two in the posts I make concerning the RU & UA situation - which incidentally... I didn't - but thanks for the Miley Cyrus, Gomez & Bieber imagery anyhow.

Sorry they figure in your fears and/or dreams mate - the only fool in the room appears to be the one before us, looking the other way.

(They don't in mine, fwiw btw)

lol well we will see and time will tell but I predict your predictions will be as useless as SammySilvers ( below in my signature )

 

[VRS]

lol well we will see and time will tell but I predict your predictions will be as useless as SammySilvers ( below in my signature )

I'm encouraged at least one person will check back on this thread to see if your opinion pans out as accurate.

Meanwhile let's see where the referendum takes things - check those links again - there maybe something in there of use to you, assuming you're not otherwise occupied with thoughts of Messrs Bieber, Cyrus & Gomez' oral gyrations - whilst real events continue to impact UA and the rest of those who aren't busy prepping or getting ready to juggle the guns for butter being laid out currently for all to see...

 

[VRS]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuCi0LIIk4Q[/youtube]

 

[worldbubble]

"China is not supporting its ally Russia..."
Idiots, China is not supporting the West in claiming referendum illegal! :lol:

P.S. day after day US gov becomes place where the most BS people gathered

 

[VRS]

V interesting article from WP after the UN vote earlier today...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...07ea20-230e-4f08-8d39-a8f090eb3fba_story.html

Washington Post - MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted Ukraine. He's getting Crimea.

Is that a prize or an encumbrance?

'If Ukraine had come under the Kremlin's sway, Russia would have expanded its economic reach, pushed the European Union back and likely gained control of the pipelines feeding Russian natural gas to the West.

Crimea's value to Russia, said Leonid Slutsky, a member of the Russian parliament, is this: It will be remembered as the place where Russia stood up to Washington and ended American dreams of creating a "unipolar world."

And coincidentally, on Saturday:

WP 16/3:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...84c36a-ac40-11e3-a06a-e3230a43d6cb_story.html

KIEV, Ukraine Russia's military staged a provocative new act of aggression Saturday, occupying a natural gas distribution center and village on a strip of Ukrainian land near the Crimean Peninsula and prompting Kiev's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to denounce "a military invasion by Russia."

The incident marked the first face-to-face standoff between the Ukrainian and Russian militaries outside the Crimean Peninsula, suggesting that Moscow is testing the will of Kiev amid fears of further Russian incursions in eastern and southern Ukraine.

The move comes on the eve of a vote in Crimea on whether the residents there want to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.

Russian troops in four helicopter gunships and three armored combat vehicles descended on the natural gas facility near the village of Strilkove about 1:30 p.m. local time, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Russians said they had seized the site out of fears it would be targeted by "terrorists," according to a Ukrainian Defense Ministry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.'

 

[worldbubble]

BTW, all those troops claimed to be russian de jure are not russian as they have NO signs of belonging to russian army ... that's why Putin as well as defense minister told in interview that there were no russian troops in Ukraine. So all those claims of current Ukraine leaders sounds like UFO.(even US with its drones has no proof that those troops are belonging to Russia)
I will not be surprised if after the conflict it will be disclosed that those troops are employees of military contractor in Russia hired by someone from Ukraine (i.e. president) or that those troops are citizens of Ukraine who got supplied from who knows what place.

P.S. It is obvious that Russia is winning the battle and the US going into confrontation with lose outcome losing its world police image.

 

[VRS]

BTW, all those troops claimed to be russian de jure are not russian as they have NO signs of belonging to russian army ... that's why Putin as well as defense minister told in interview that there were no russian troops in Ukraine. So all those claims of current Ukraine leaders sounds like UFO.(even US with its drones has no proof that those troops are belonging to Russia)
I will not be surprised if after the conflict it will be disclosed that those troops are employees of military contractor in Russia hired by someone from Ukraine (i.e. president) or that those troops are citizens of Ukraine who got supplied from who knows what place.

P.S. It is obvious that Russia is winning the battle and the US going into confrontation with lose outcome losing its world police image.

Wait and see - US EU & G7 will act via sanctions, Putin will be slapped back into place on the international stage and he'll hate that.

As for all those guys dressed in olive green with balaclavas - I reckon they're working for Tupperware on a special project for Martha Stewart...

Of course they're Russian. 60% of Crimeans are ethnic Russians, hence why bits n bobs of the UA defence forces have aligned themselves to RU already, including handing over hardware, ships, missile silos etc.

Dodgy situation all-round I'd say.

 

[boston]

Putin will be slapped back into place on the international stage and he'll hate that.

I am not so confident that the USA/EU has the clout to do this. Naturally, time will tell, however I think that Putin has more political nouse than his USA counterpart Obama.

 

[worldbubble]

Wait and see - US EU & G7 will act via sanctions, Putin will be slapped back into place on the international stage and he'll hate that.

As for all those guys dressed in olive green with balaclavas - I reckon they're working for Tupperware on a special project for Martha Stewart...

Of course they're Russian. 60% of Crimeans are ethnic Russians, hence why bits n bobs of the UA defence forces have aligned themselves to RU already, including handing over hardware, ships, missile silos etc.

Dodgy situation all-round I'd say.

I will look and see ... In 2008, in Georgia, there were much more noise and much more of US presence in the region ... several months of these sanctions talks and everything has gone ... now will be the same as

Sanctions from EU side is suicidal for europeans ... its obvious they will no do economic sanctions ... the rest will hurt Russia at all

btw, how long should we wait to see that?

 

[crazy hippo]

Russia doesn't want the Ukraine. they want to secure the bases in Crimea,
a Ukrainian Crimea is a relatively new thing, and no one in Crimea really gave two tugs cause they spoke Russian, hosted Russian soldiers, etc. the nutters in kiev have the whole of Ukraine worries, you will see a break up just like FSRY (Yugoslavia)
They don't really need it, the second they stop pumping gas, the Ukrainians will bend over hard for the Russians. The US can't really stretch themselves again after being humiliated in Afghanistan and Iraq, they couldn't really face a real army, too used to shooting kids and raping little girls. they putting a lot of their energy into syria to ensure a caliphate doesn't get established, why?
Because it would be OBLIGED to run a gold and silver standard, and maintain a stable ratio between the two. Which means what, america can't print its way out of debt anymore.
Its like a kid being raised inside a sweetshop eating whatever he could for free, and now someones says "new rules, you gotta pay your tab" kid spazzes out and becomes irrational aggressive and violent.
the last death throws of an empire, its happened many times before in history, no reason why it won't again.