A Wake-up Call for the Fed
By Adam English
Wednesday, November 7th, 2012
I know I'm not the only one wondering...
When will the Fed wake up?
The federal government enjoys a monopoly over the flow of our nation’s money and credit, but has never been transparent to or held accountable by Congress since its creation in 1913.
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| Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, earlier this year next to Federal Reserve Police patrol car. |
Thanks in large part to the tireless efforts of Representative Ron Paul, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act passed this past July.
After the audit is written, the report must be submitted to Congress within 90 days — which means we'll get to see what the Fed has been doing by October 23, 2013.
However, the focus is on the review of loan files of homeowners in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010.
Make no mistake; this is a great first step. Unfortunately, it will only go so far. Ron Paul's victory was limited to verification that the Fed's methodology and balance sheet are clean.
What the new law doesn't do is address the elephant in the room...
Notice there is no mention of a transparent audit of the Fed's gold holdings?
The Fed reportedly holds 13,762 tons of gold at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's underground vault and at the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox.
This is roughly 8% of all the gold ever refined in history. And it isn't the sole property of the United States. Some of it is held in trust for foreign nations, central banks, and official international organizations.
And that's where the Fed is running into international controversy...
Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, had some trouble recently with German federal auditors.
The Associated Press got their hands on a report last week to German lawmakers.
According to the AP:
“The central bank said in a reaction to the report that was also sent to lawmakers Monday that it sees no reason for a physical inspection of the bars. ‘‘There is no doubt about the integrity of the foreign storage sites in this regard,’’ it stated.
The debate on most of the gold reserves being held by foreign authorities has caused some inevitable conspiracy theories questioning their very existence, but several German politicians have also voiced unease.
Philipp Missfelder, a leading lawmaker from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right party, has asked the Bundesbank for the right to view the gold bars in Paris and London, but the central bank has denied the request, citing the lack of visitor rooms in those facilities.”I'm fairly certain the lack of a comfortable lobby and complimentary coffee isn't the primary concern here...
Germany has at least 3,400 tons of gold, valued at about $190 billion, in the U.S., the Bank of France, and the Bank of England.
The Germans are about to encounter the same refusal in the United States. The Fed is stonewalling the Germans and refusing to let them even see their gold stores.
Keine Besucher kannst du nicht lesen!
Bundesbank auditors made a second visit in May 2011 in which one of the nine compartments used to store Germany's gold was opened — and only a few bars were pulled out and weighed. And the details of this minuscule inspection were blacked out in a German auditor's report “out of consideration for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.”
So far, the 1,536 metric tons of gold held by the Fed — worth about $90 billion at spot prices — have only been backed up by personal assurances. While it's understandable to limit access for security reasons, these aren't people strolling in off the streets.
The Fed is merely holding the reserves for the Germans and is refusing to allow them to inspect what they own.
The Fed's actions are serving to validate claims that Germany's gold is gone or has been lent out, and that promissory notes (official “IOUs”) have replaced the yellow metal in the vault. (Of course, the Fed has vehemently denied the claims, but has done everything in its power to avoid any form of inspection.)
Bundesbank officials were called in to German parliament for a hearing on the matter, during which Heinz-Peter Haustein of the pro-business Free Democratic Party declared "all the gold has to be shipped back."
The Bundesbank has pledged to bring back and inspect 150 tons of gold from abroad over the next several years.
There are also plans to count and weigh the gold bars stored in one of its nine chambers at the Federal Reserve in New York.
As to what inspecting a mere 11% of Germany's reserves will actually settle, when a direct inspection will occur, and how much of the 150 tons shipped back to Berlin will come from the Fed, no details are available.
Now sitting pretty around $1,700, gold that has been gathering dust in vaults all this time... and is now 4,757% more important than when central banks moved to fiat currencies.
In addition to the incredible rise of gold prices over the last three decades, "safe currencies" no longer exist.
Just look at what happened to the Swiss franc when the euro crisis started...
A dramatic rise in the value of the currency was hurting exports, tourism, and Swiss citizens. The Swiss central bank had to spend billions of francs to buy weaker currencies for foreign reserves to keep their economy from ripping itself apart.
Ben Bernanke may not think gold is money, but the rest of the world is becoming increasingly aware that precious metals — particularly gold — are the only protection from the endless money printing.
Now that the Fed's stonewalling of any verification or audit of its gold holdings is becoming an international affair, the urgency for the Fed to wake up is dire...
Fellow editor Christian DeHaemer has been keeping a close eye on the growing value of gold in the final days of fiat currencies. His research reveals how banks worldwide are poised to send gold prices through the roof in less than two months' time.
Gold is the only thing left with any semblance of stability.
If you don't own gold now, get it while you still can. If you do, increase your holdings.
For Your Prosperity,
Adam English
for Wealth Daily
