Some Archaeologists in France with the National Center for Scientific Research announced that they have unearthed a hoard of 2,200 silver deniers and oboles, 21 Islamic gold dinars, a very impressive gold signet ring from the Abbey of Cluny, located in Saône-et-Loire, reported by Mining. While they have claimed this is the largest hoard and seem confused as to why there were 21 Islamic gold dinars, their lack of knowledge of the world monetary system has been exposed by their claims.

The gold dinars were minted between 1121 and 1131 under the reign of Ali ibn Yusuf (1106–1143). There was no gold coins issue by Europeans until the 13th century. The gold dinars were replacing the Byzantine coinage, which was being debased going into the Great Monetary Crisis of 1092. The dominant coinage to replace Byzantine was that of the rising Islamic empire.

Further proof that Islamic dinars were replacing Byzantine coinage in world trade is the rare issue of Offa, who was a king in Mercia, England (757-796). It was Offa who reestablished the silver coinage in Europe coming out of the Drak Age. He struck this coin copying the Islamic writing with no real understanding what it even said. He then inscribes his name “OFFA REX” (king Offa) as a statement of power. However, the mere fact he is imitating the Islamic dinar demonstrates it acceptance in international trade as early as the 8th century.

While the archaeologists seem astonished to find gold Islamic dinars in France, they obviously lack the knowledge of the monetary system. Part of the Dark Age was driven by superstition. Bathing fell out of practice because a Roman bathhouse began to imply a brothel so it became un-Godly to bathe. Being able to use charts and maps was the work of the devil. Captains of a ship were usually Jewish who had no religious problem with such instruments.

The Arabs controlled the seas and as such trade. Therefore, we find Islamic gold dinars throughout Europe as evidence of world trade. They are rare since most had nothing to really trade. Nevertheless, a hoard with 21 gold dinars reflects someone of wealth and engaged in international trade.

COMMENT: Marty; You have beaten Soros. Don’t know if you have seen this, but they now report “George Soros finishes his crash bets against the US stock market. The investor legend seems to have lost its way and acts with little fortune. Now he has to reveal himself.”

PC

REPLY: Interesting. Soros became famous with the bet against the pound. But let’s make this very clear. That was a “riskless” trade betting against the break of a peg. If you are wrong, the peg holds and you get your money back. If you are right, you make a fortune. Everyone was betting against the pound. That was the coup against Margaret Thatcher who really wanted to take Britain into the euro. They forced the pound into the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM)  and placed it at a high rate became Europeans still think the higher the currency the stronger the economy, which results in deflation. That was an easy trade. It is no different from going to a casino and betting or red or black and when you lose, they give your money back until you win.

Soros is old school. He still believes in the Quantity Theory of Money and has been a punter short-term, but when it comes to long-term strategy, sorry, I do not believe he actually grasps the entire picture.

Anyone who has been bearish on the US stock market since 2010 constantly calling every new high the final high, is attempting to forecast with personal opinion. That will not survive the type of move we have been in since the 2009 low. Even Barron’s laughed at out forecast that the Dow would make new highs back in June 2011. All of these people (MAJORITY) totally misconstrue even how the economy really functions because they are still influenced by the theories that were indoctrinated into in school after the 1930s. They obviously lacked the curiosity to challenge what was being taught and look with open eyes and mind and simply ask – Did it work?

The Royal Bank of Canada (RPC) has been added to the list of the top 30 banks posing the greatest risk. The top US bank is JP Morgan which is now the only bank required to hold an extra 2.5% of common equity after its US peer Citigroup moved down a tier required to hold 2% extra.

All of this is very nice, but also misleading. The Stress Tests by no means are realistic. It is assuming a single failure and certainly does not even take into consideration a CONTAGION, which nobody understands and there have been no models that will even simulate such events outside of what we have specialized in. The CONTAGION is what created the Great Depression and Herbert Hoover in his memoirs explain how capital acted “like a loose cannon on the deck of the world in a tempest-tossed ers.” Even the CONTAGION that hit in 2010 when Greece petitioned the IMF for a loan and traders immediately looked to see which country would be next, people do not understand that once blood is drawn, capital responds rapidly in the entire spectrum.

Even during the Long-Term Capital Management debacle in 1998, the crisis was in Russia. That sets off a need for liquidity and then all other markets are liquidated trying to raise cash. This is how a CONTAGION unfolds overpowering the fundamental analysis entirely.

Economics to this day still does not comprehend the CONTAGION that hit in 1931. It is the CONTAGION that presents the most significant clear and present danger to society as a whole. This is what reshapes countries and politics. We saw in 1933 Hitler, Mao, and FDR all come to power.

The high-end market in Connecticut is starting to decline. The hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller bought his estate in 2004 for $23 million. He had it on the market for $31.5 million. The best offer he got was $25 million. He took the money and ran. Smart move! With a real estate tax of about $154,000 annually, looks like a break-even deal after 13 years.

The high-end real estate boom is now turning sour. We are looking at property values declining in London, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, New York, and even Miami. The shift will now turn toward MOVABLE assets as capital departs from the fixed asset class.

The Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau is refusing to say whether he sold millions of dollars worth of company stock just days before introducing tax changes that may have caused share prices to drop. This type of insider-trading is what politicians always manage to get away with no matter what the country. This dispute is rather interesting. Here the opposition is accusing him of selling the stock because he knew that raising taxes would cause the stock to drop. This is showing that the politicians were well aware of raising taxes would be bearish for the Canadian economy. That’s just OK as long as they get theirs.

Morneau has admitted selling the shares. What he is disputing is why he sold them. “I’m hearing that shares that I sold after I got into office, around the time I got into office, was somehow something inappropriate.