NightBlogger

12:25a ET Friday, August 15, 2008

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

The U.S. Mint has suspended sales of American eagle gold coins and is refusing orders from dealers, two coin and bullion dealers confirmed Thursday.

The mint’s suspension of gold coin sales follows its tight rationing of sales of silver eagle coins, begun in May, when sales to the public were terminated and sales to the mint’s 13 authorized dealers were tightly limited.

Word of the mint’s suspension of gold coin sales came from the American Precious Metals Exchange in Edmond, Oklahoma, and from Centennial Precious Metals in Denver, Colorado.

The suspension is overwhelming evidence that the futures contract price of gold on the commodities exchanges is substantially below the physical market price and that, indeed, the commodities exchanges are being used as GATA long has maintained — as part of a massive scheme of manipulation of the precious metals, currency, and bond markets. More

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – Ford Motor reported that its U.S. sales tumbled 28% in June from a year ago, as record high gas prices and rising consumer worries about the economy resulted in what could turn out to be the weakest month for auto sales in 16 years. Ford (F, Fortune 500), the No. 3 automaker in terms of U.S. sales, saw demand for its SUVs plunge by more than half and for pickups and other trucks fall more than a third. Even the so-called crossovers, a sign of strength in the light truck segment until recently, saw sales off 18% from a year earlier, as buyers went searching for more fuel efficient vehicles in the face of record $4 gas prices. But Ford apparently didn’t have the car models buyers were looking for, as its car sales fell 12%. More

I have no pity for the Big Three. They learned nothing from the 70’s when they lost their auto share to the Japanese. You gotta ask yourself what in God’s name were these auto executives thinking. How did guys like these get appointed to run billion dollar companies only to drive them into the ground for lack of foresight. Elementary school children with corner Kool-aid stands have more financial insight. One word: Greed

Wall Street Journal
Ford Motor Co. announced cuts in production for the second time in two months and gave up on ending its losses by next year, as the scramble by all three Detroit auto makers to switch to smaller cars began to raise questions about how they’ll get enough cash to ride out the storm.

Ford said the plunge of U.S. truck and SUV sales due to record-high gasoline prices was forcing the new cuts, and even pushing back the launch of its redesigned F-150 pickup truck that once was expected to drive the company’s recovery. The moves suggest the company is bracing for a greater loss in 2008 than its $2.7 billion loss last year, and Ford said it no longer expects to break even by 2009. In the past few days, it has emerged that both Ford and General Motors Corp. are seeking ways to raise new capital, while Chrysler LLC is slashing costs to conserve cash. GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has said the company has enough cash for 2008 but declined to elaborate beyond that. More

Paul Carton
Since February, our ChangeWave consumer spending trends surveys have shown tremendous strength for Wal-Mart and Costco - and the current findings are no exception. Our latest survey of 4,403 respondents continues to track a powerful consumer movement towards the discount retailers and wholesale clubs — even though overall consumer spending is rising for the first time in nearly a year. The May 6-14 ChangeWave survey focused on spending patterns for the next 90 days - and Costco and Wal-Mart once again led all other retail outlets in terms of future spending growth. More

Photo The Wong Family Pictures
Chris Lawrence
CNN
With gas at $4 a gallon, many have sat there since last summer. “The cars are literally just sitting, and it doesn’t matter how much you sell them for,” Fernandez says of the SUVs and trucks nobody wants anymore. “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen it this bad — ever.”

Fernandez, a wholesale auto dealer who has been in the business for more than 20 years, says SUV owners are hit especially hard. The really large ones with V-8 engines that can get as little as 12 miles per gallon in the city — like the Cadillac Escalade, Ford Expedition and Chevy Suburban — are dropping in value by the thousands. Read more

Photo M. Keefe

“This year is make-it-or-break-it time for Vista,” says analyst Benjamin Gray of market tracker Forrester Research. “Vista is getting hammered right and left in the press, and companies are concerned. I’m getting daily client inquiries about skipping Vista altogether and waiting for the next version of Windows. Microsoft is having a tough time convincing their corporate clients that Vista isn’t a risky bet.” Last week, Microsoft reported a 24% decline in Windows sales in the third quarter.
Read more