3 US Banks Dominate COMEX Short Positions for Gold

Gene Arensberg at Resource Investor writes that three US banks currently account for 66.97% of all the commercial net short positioning on the COMEX for gold futures.

He goes on to mention that the market manipulation is even more egregious for paper silver, as only 2 US banks hold a "sickening" 98.64% of all short positions on the COMEX for silver futures.

A Couple Jim Rogers Interviews

Some good recent hits from Jim Rogers:

• The US dollar is in trouble
• Oracle Rogers sees worse recession ahead
  

Says he's currently long the Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen, and airline stocks (as a contrarian play).

Also thinks coffee, cotton, sugar, silver, and zinc look potentially attractive (this is usually Rogers' code for - these are screaming buys).

My Current Commodity Futures Positions - 8/31/08

A contemplation on my trades from the week that was:

• Shorted the British Pound (again) - Roll over, Sterling! The trend is my friend, the trend is my friend, the trend...bad economic data keeps on coming from the UK. This move was long overdue.
  

• Went long Coffee - I absolutely DON'T like the way coffee is acting since I took this long position, but I'm in for the long haul - hopefully.

Other existing positions I've got:

• Silver Futures - Same old story - I expect silver and gold to rally strong towards the end of the year.
  

My wish list (waiting for an uptrend):

• Sugar
• Cotton
  
• Swiss Franc
• Japanese Yen
• More silver
• More cowbell

Open Positions

Date	Position	Qty	Month/Yr	Contract	Entry Price	Last Price	Profit/Loss
08/29/08	Short	1	SEP 08	British Pound	1.8190	1.8213	($143.75)
08/12/08	Short	1	SEP 08	British Pound	1.9042	1.8213	$5,181.25
08/26/08	Long	1	DEC 08	Coffee 'C'	146.55	146.60	$18.75
08/21/08	Long	1	DEC 08	Mini Silver	1390.1	1369.0	($211.00)
Net Profit/Loss On Open Positions:							$4,845.25

Account Balances
Current Cash Balance	$52,962.94
Open Trade Equity	$4,845.25
Total Equity	$57,808.19
Long Option Value	$0.00
Short Option Value	$0.00
Net Liquidating Value	$57,808.19

Cashed out: $18,000.00
Total value: $74,518.00

Weekly return: 2.3%
YTD return: -1.0%

***"Cash out" mostly means taxes, but lately I've also been using it to pay down my credit cards a bit. Why credit card debt? I'm financing a startup and trying to outpace my CC interest rate in the futures markets - kids, don't try this at home.

Current Commodity Futures Positions - 8/24/08

A review of trades from the week that was:

• Covered my Soybean Short - beans rallied, along with the rest of the grains. Closed this out at a loss. And a good thing too - the grains markets continue to rally strong, even into the Asian session this evening. I can't make heads or tails of the grains markets, and I don't think any clarity will be found until the harvest results are in - I'm on the sidelines here for a bit.

• Also covered by Cocoa Short, also at a loss - took a bath on the big cocoa rally. It gapped up, and I got out.

Looking ahead:

• British Pound Futures - The dollar rally rolls on, and the British Pound continues to get slammed. I plan to hold this position.
• Silver Futures - I keep trying to unsuccessfully time a bottom here. I should know better. Still, I expect silver and gold to rally strong towards the end of the year.
  

My wish list (waiting for an uptrend):

• Sugar
• Cotton
  
• Coffee
• Swiss Franc
• Japanese Yen
• More silver
• More cowbell
  

Open Positions

Date	Position	Qty	Month/Yr	Contract	Entry Price	Last Price	Profit/Loss
08/12/08	Short	1	SEP 08	British Pound	1.9042	1.8391	$4,068.75
08/21/08	Long	1	DEC 08	Mini Silver	1390.1	1337.0	($531.00)
Net Profit/Loss On Open Positions:							$3,537.75

Account Balances
Current Cash Balance	$52,980.25
Open Trade Equity	$3,537.75
Total Equity	$56,518.00
Long Option Value	$0.00
Short Option Value	$0.00
Net Liquidating Value	$56,518.00

Cashed out: $18,000.00
Total value: $74,518.00

Weekly return: -4.7%
YTD return: -2.8%

***"Cash out" mostly means taxes, but lately I've also been using it to pay down my credit cards a bit. Why credit card debt? I'm financing a startup and trying to outpace my CC interest rate in the futures markets :)