According to the usual N.Y. commentator…”Overall estimated volume however, was light…only 66,458 lots net of switches.”

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Friday’s big spike down in gold at the Comex open, was probably fresh short selling by the three [or less] American bullion banks, as gold open interest rose 3,172 contracts…while silver, which finished on its high of the day, showed an o.i. increase of another 1,140 contracts. None of this is terrific news. There could have been some switches added as well, but we won’t know until the next COT this Friday.

A couple of things in gold news yesterday. Gold fund manager Marc Gugerli said that the New York Commodities Exchange’s paper gold market is dominated by a few traders connected to the U.S. government and that he expects that market to default soon. Haven’t we heard that default story before? Last time I checked, the Comex was still there. And here’s a gold story by Peter Brimelow over at marketwatch.com. It’s entitled “Something new stirring in precious-metals pond” and the link is here.

In the GLD ETF (NYSE:GLD)…another new record was set yesterday as 14.5 tonnes [470,000 ounces] were added. That’s 1.2 million ounces in the last six business days. I guess Ted Butler’s estimate of 1.0 million ounces owed, proved to be a little on the conservative side. And in the SLV, another 2.5 million ounces were deposited…and if Mr. Butler is right about the SLV (NYSE:SLV)…then there’s around 15 million more ounces yet to come. Across the Atlantic at the Swiss ETFs…they just added another 199,946 ounces of silver and 126,665 ounces of gold.

In other news, it appears that the Manas air base in Kyrgystan that the U.S. was using to supply troops fighting in Afghanistan is now officially closed to them. “The decision has been made” a government spokesman said. Closer to home, Nissan (NASDAQ:NSANY) just cut 20,000 jobs and forecast a $2.9 billion loss. In a Bloomberg story on Sunday was this additional info out of Japan…”Panasonic (NYSE:PC), Hitachi (NYSE:HIT) and NEC — all of which are forecasting losses for the current fiscal year — have announced a combined 39,000 job cuts in the past two weeks.” And lastly, in another Bloomberg story with the headline “U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailout Programs”, is this eye-popping paragraph…”The $9.7 trillion in pledges would be enough to send a $1,430 check to every man, woman and child alive [on the planet]. It’s 13 times what the U.S. has spent so far on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Congressional Budget Office data, and is almost enough to pay off every home mortgage loan in the U.S., calculated at $10.5 trillion by the Federal Reserve.” But if you think that’s scary…this is far worse…click here!

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It was a newsy weekend and I have four stories this morning. The first two are from The Telegraph out of London…and both are written by their international business editor…Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. The headline of the first [and very short] story reads “Europe ambushes Germany on debt bail-out”. Europe has huge problems that are growing by leaps and bounds every week. “The European Union has called an emergency summit of national leaders this month to halt the drift towards protectionism and stem the risks of a debt crisis as the slump deepens.” The link is here.
The second article by Ambrose is slightly longer…more substantial…and even more ominous. It’s entitled “Bond market calls Fed’s bluff as global economy falls apart”. The piece looks at the bond market from a world perspective…not just an American one. This will keep you up at night. The link is here.

The third story is from worldnetdaily.com. It appears that as the Obama administration tries to push through their $1 trillion dollar rescue package….”a rebellion against the growing dominance of federal control is beginning to spread at the state level.” The article is entitled “Lawmakers in 20 states move to reclaim sovereignty”. I thank the “Charleston Voice” for bringing it to my attention…and the link is here.

And lastly, here is silver analyst Ted Butler’s latest commentary. As I mentioned in my rant on Saturday [after a long chat with Ted], the combination of the release of the Commitment of Traders report and the Bank Participation Report on Friday, proves absolutely that the three [or less] traders in gold…and the two [or less] traders in silver…have an iron grip on gold and silver prices. We at GATA thank him for his work in this area. The article itself is a GATA release with a comprehensive introduction by our secretary treasurer, Chris Powell…and the link is here.

Keynesian economics, and socialist central planning, have trapped the Western economies into a slow death. – Wayne N. Krautkramer

So Obama’s bailout package is upon us…but it matters not one iota. The catastrophe that is about to be visited upon the U.S.A…and the rest of the world…is now unstoppable. As I’ve said a couple of times before…last week being the latest…the world’s central banks only have one option left. Print, or die! No wonder the Fed, The Treasury and the President’s Working Group are trying to keep gold and silver prices under wraps. But in the end, that too will fail. But it won’t be for lack of trying.

See you on Wednesday.

Source: And Then There’s This…Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Godzilla-Sized Meals Could Lead to ‘Super-Sized’ Profits

By Keith Fitz-Gerald

Japanese companies and local governments must now measure the waistlines of all employees and family members over the age of 40.

According to this new health-care initiative – which started this week – men whose girth exceeds 33.5 inches and women whose waistlines exceed 35.5 inches are considered overweight.

The new guidelines affect nearly 56 million people, or roughly 44% of Japan’s total population. They’re based on studies done by the International Diabetes Foundation in 2005, which looked at size and weight thresholds and used them to identify health risks.

Individuals who fail to meet these standards won’t be penalized or have to pay up personally. But their employers will – in the form of penalty payments and higher health-care premiums for every additional inch – thanks to this new waistline law that’s aimed at slimming down this island superpower.

As reported on CNN, NEC Corp. alone faces $19 million in such penalties. Other companies find themselves in a similar spot and could potentially owe hundreds of millions of dollars in punitive health-care fines.

Naturally, the law is controversial, with many believing that it’s at the very least unnecessary – and perhaps even represents an intrusion on a person’s individual liberties. However, others think it’s a very timely initiative, as well as one that’s badly needed.

Either way, the Ministry of Health aims to achieve its goal of reducing the Japanese overweight population by 10% in the next four years and an enviable 25% during the next seven years. It also intends to dramatically reduce national health-care costs at the same time.

The reason?

“Big” people have never populated the nation – but the people are getting bigger.

Since World War II, the average Japanese citizen has gained between three and six inches in height, 20 pounds in weight and, evidently, a bit too much around the waist. While the root causes are subject to debate, much of it comes down to more advanced medicine, changes in lifestyle and, to be perfectly blunt, and the introduction of Western foods including – you guessed it – fast food.

For years in Japan’s company cafeterias – long the domain of harried salary men eating quickly in order to get back their desks – a typical Japanese meal consisted of fish, pickles, some rice, and perhaps green tea, a accounts for between 600 and 800 calories. But Western alternatives – a McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) hamburger meal, for example – can tip the scale at nearly 1,400 calories.

With change, however, comes opportunity.Companies that design, manufacture and sell comprehensive obesity-management programs – not just games, or such one-off items as pedometers, scales and the like -stand to make out big.

One such firm is Konami Corp. (ADR: KNM), which we twice rode to profits (once 49.91% and then 39.31%) earlier this year in our sister publication, The Money Map Report. While most people know Konami as a video-game maker, the company actually operates a string of health-care clubs and is at the center of Japan’s new “healthy” movement.

Showing some real forward thinking, Konami has been able to market some of its leading games, like Dance Dance Revolution, as physical-education programs and medical devices. And those products are now being adopted worldwide by frazzled physical education teachers who find themselves faced with unmotivated, overweight kids. The problem is particularly acute here in America, where as many as 17% of our children are now obese, according to various studies.

Not only do such games offer an alternative to traditional exercises, but they’re also approved medical devices. And that means that school systems can introduce them – and count on insurance companies footing some, or all, of the bill.

Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s (OTC ADR: NTDOY) Wii is taking the same approach. With its Wii Fit programs, the company appears ready to duke it out in what may well be a newly emerging class of entertainment – video-weight-management programs.

In China, where Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM) has more than 3,000 restaurants – and where its KFC outlets are the dining venue of choice for many middle class Chinese consumers – we expect a similar onset of obesity. In fact, during my most recent trip there, I observed bigger Chinese in general than I’ve ever seen before.

Weight management is clearly becoming an issue there, too. And mark my words: Obesity will be an ultra-sensitive topic for the Chinese, who have long regarded fatness as a sign of prosperity, wealth and good fortune.

But that neither diminishes its potential impact nor the opportunity when it comes to profiting from the fight against obesity.

While it’s too early to predict choices there, our best guess is that companies like online-game developer Perfect World Co. Ltd. (ADR: PWRD) will adapt the single-player concept to reflect the Chinese predisposition toward massive multiplayer online adaptations. As a result, it will introduce new games that haven’t even been contemplated, yet.

Source: Godzilla-Sized Meals Could Lead to ‘Super-Sized’ Profits