CFTC - Commissioner Chilton says FT article not accurate about CFTC dropping Silver manipulation investigation

Last week, FT had an article saying that the CFTC was dropping the Silver Manipulation Investigation they had been conducting  enabling for 4 years.

I was teed off needless to say and did not post about it because my thoughts had many 4 letter words.

Commissioner Bart Chilton has spoken to The Motley Fool, telling them the FT article was premature and it was not accurate in many respects.  He did not hint on what parts were inaccurate.

The article, entitled "Four-Year Silver Probe Set to be Dropped," reported that the investigation "looks increasingly likely to be dropped after US regulators failed to find enough evidence to support a legal case." If the report were to prove correct, this would represent a crushing blow to commodity investors like myself that have become quite convinced after a thorough review of the facts that the markets for silver and gold have been subjected to highly effective campaigns of deliberate price manipulation.

On Monday morning, I reached out to Commissioner Bart Chilton of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for comment. Addressing the report that his agency will likely drop the investigation with no charges filed, Chilton countered: "The Financial Times report related to silver is not only premature, but inaccurate in several respects."

 In his remarks to me on Monday morning, Chilton took the fascinating step of broadening the scope of his remarks to include gold this time around, and he also seemed to connect the more recent episodes of highly questionable market dynamics -- which market observers like the Gold Antitrust Action Committee and myself have publicly decried -- to the specific events considered within the four-year silver investigation: "I continue to believe, consistent with my previous statements and information from the public, that there have been devious efforts related to moving the price of silver. There have also been silver and gold market anomalies outside of the silver investigation window that have raised, and continue to raise, market concerns."


So the question is, will they or will they not drop the investigation?

There is so much evidence of manipulation.

Remember Bill Murphy's testimony at the CFTC hearing in March of 2010 with proof of the silver manipulation?




We know they have absolute proof JP Morgan and all the other Wall Street banks are manipulating the metal markets. But it is for the government and the CFTC is an arm of the government, so it makes sense they won't do anything.

But there is still hope in truth right now. Let's see if that Hope deflates, just as it did after the last election of "Hope" that was based on lies.

Gensler on CSPAN June 12 2012. Interview - Lots of Truth revealed also evaded a Silver manipulation question.

Gary Gensler - interview on CSPAN - key points from video says "Suppose to" over see the commodities market.  Doesn't say "Does" but "Suppose to."  That is very telling.

Here are some more points he reveals in the interview:

Says there is 15 dollars in derivatives to 1 dollar of real money.

Says "Very limited transparency" of the commodities markets and futures contracts.

System failed in 2008.  

OMG - at the 5 minute mark the CSPAN host gives phone numbers people can call into.  BUT you won't believe they gave different phone numbers based on "your" party affiliation!   One for Democrats, one for Republicans, and one for Independents!  (I can't believe they "divided" people that way).
Phone calls into CSPAN to Gensler started at:  8 minutes into the interview.

The First question asked about the Dodd Frank bill and implementing it.  He talked around it and never answered it, except for Wall Street not wanting it.

They say what "line" people have called in on...

At the 13:40 minute mark - a Caller "zings" Gensler about "credit default swaps" and says what they really are - insurance, but not called that!

Gensler basically admits at the 16 minute mark that Wall Street dictates and rules what the CFTC does!

At the 17 minute mark - "Michael, from the 'Democratic' line calls in"  His question is:   When did the investigation into the Silver manipulation and when will the result of it be revealed?  
Gensler says - He can not speak about any investigation and when it started and any information about the investigation!   

He says there is "self regulatory" of Wall Street at around the 19:50 mark.  He also says the Congress has cut their budget for investigating.  He says they are a small underfunded agency and that the Congress is siding with Wall Street and not the American people.  He said he asked for 380 million and got 180 million from Congress as a budget.

At the 23 minute mark - Gensler tries to compare a homeowner who has too much debt to Wall street and the fall of Lehman Bros and Bear Sterns!  (F You Gensler.  There is NO comparison - since Wall Street is the one who has been stealing all homeowner's money and pensions! )

At 25 minute mark a caller mentions that Gensler came from Goldman Sachs.

He spews all kinds of B.S. from the 26 minute mark to  the 29 minute mark, then the host reads how a Senator has claimed the CFTC covers up fraud of the oil. 

at 30 minute mark another Silver investor calls in and asked Gensler to explain the manipulation of the silver market.  Gensler responds saying "They need to limit concentrated contracts."  He did not elaborate anymore on it.

At the 34:50 mark Gensler says they are part of prohibiting proprietary trading to protect the U.S. people.  They have not enacted the rules of trading, because they have to propose them.  The host asks if Wall Street lobbyist have prevented the rules being put in place.  Gensler admits it is due to Wall street none of the rules are in affect.

He does start spouting numbers of what things have cost the American public including the AIG bailout costing $600 per person.







Here is a link to CSPAN that has what was said at one moment, besides my bullet points about the interview above. 

Bill Murphy of GATA and LeMetropoleCafe, Rare Sunday Commentary "CFTC may be Forced to Do Something soon about the Silver Shorts."

    

 

 

 

 

 Bill Murphy the Founder of GATA (Gold Anti Trust Action Committee) and who has a Gold subscription Newsletter at  www.LeMetropoleCafe.com , wrote a special Sunday Report.  Bill has been kind enough to give me permission to reproduce it here in full.  

(Update 5/22/12 at bottom)

Some of it is about JP Morgan and the information regarding their 2 Billion (ever increasing day by day - now 5 billion) losses through their "hedging" trade desk.  

It is extremely interesting information especially the part about the CFTC and their being at the edge of having to take some action, regarding JPM's metal shorts.  

Since the newsletter is being reproduced in full, you will see Bill's other comments/information on various other financial events, like the FB (Facepalm) IPO. 

Thank you Bill for allowing me to reproduce the information you sent out to your subscribers! 

Here is Bill Murphy's extra newsletter information sent out on May 20th 2012: 

 

May 20 - Gold $1591.60 -  Silver - $28.70

JPM, Facebook, Gold … And The Potential of A Titanic Financial Market Event

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." … Dolly Parton

GO GATA!!!

The reason for this rare, extra commentary over a weekend is to focus on a couple of points which really stand out in their particular significance and are worth pondering in terms of what is coming down the road for financial markets.

The first is what we jumped all over on PLANET GATA from the get-go about the JP Morgan hedge trade flap gone wrong. It made NO sense from the very beginning to any of us that such a commotion was made over a $2 billion loss on a trade, for whatever reason, when they had just reported yearly gains of $18 billion. Clearly, Mr. Dimon’s public pronouncement, that caught the attention of the entire investment world, was only paving the way for future announcements that will be much more dramatic. All he was doing when he inferred the losses MIGHT get worse was protecting himself, as best he could, by going on the record.

The latest news on JPM…

14:31 JPM JP Morgan Chase struggling to unwind ill-placed bets - WSJ

While breaking no real news, this story notes that the bank's losses could eventually prove to be even bigger than the $5B some people familiar with the matter have been predicting (see linked comment). The losses could potentially deepen if the company sells its positions into a market that has turned against said positions.
The article notes that while the bank has said that it will take its time unwinding the positions, this does not necessarily guarantee smaller final losses than trying to close out the trades sooner, as the market could turn sharply against the bank in the near term.
Reference Link: Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527023038796045774126
13778263918.html

* * * *

14:50 JPM CFTC latest federal agency to begin investigating JPMorgan Chase - NYT DealBook

NYT Dealbook reports, citing people briefed on the matter, that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened an enforcement case on Friday examining the bank's trading loss. The CFTC joins the SEC and FBI in investigating possible wrongdoing at the bank. Gary Gensler, the agency's chairman, is expected to disclose the investigation when he testifies on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee.
Dealbook says that the CFTC will potentially examine whether the bank’s trading affected the market for credit derivatives, for which it has jurisdiction.
Reference Link: NY Times - http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/c-f-t-c-said-to-open-inquiry-into-jpmorgan-loss/
* * * * *

This latest investigation into JP Morgan might be a big deal for the GATA camp. This is actually quite complicated, but very intriguing. The CFTC has been investigating JPM’s role in the silver market manipulation scheme for what will be four years soon. FOUR YEARS! Good friends, like Dave from Denver, have nothing but loathsome talk about the CFTC, for good reason. GATA’s rationale (speaking for myself) about this ridiculous investigation is that the CFTC really has uncovered the scam, but because it is backed by the US Government, they are flabbergasted about what to do, so they do nothing.

The reason they have not closed the case is because they are petrified the silver market might blow up down the road. Think about if you were them. They want this to go away, but if the silver market does blow up, and there is some kind of "Force Majeure" declared in silver by JPM, the CFTC would not only look like fools, but, perhaps it might be said they were more than negligent. Thus, they have done nothing.

Well, all of a sudden, Lo and Behold a new factor enters the silver scam investigation, which directly affects Morgan’s constant claims to the CFTC that their huge silver short position is hedged. Ya mean like hedged in an economic sense as per their claims re the latest credit derivatives market trade was a hedge? This just might force the CFTC to demand JP Morgan prove their claims their silver short position is really a hedged one. This is what I suspect might occur due to the growing scrutiny over Morgan’s trading activities. The CFTC people, except for Bart "Elliot Ness" Chilton, are sycophants and have toed the company line … but there is a point when FEAR makes that no longer viable. They are not going to go to jail for taking one for the team. My guess is we are getting close to that Tipping Point.

As the JP Morgan hedged losses mount and become "official," the heat on them is going to mount. They will be scrutinized every way imaginable. How can all the class action lawsuits against them, and blatant evidence against them via just what Andrew Maquire has sent to the CFTC via their role in the silver scam, be ignored?

We have already been informed, as of a week ago, that the Morgan losses on their "hedge trade" fiasco could be as high as $15 billion, or more. Already, even the WSJ is alluding that their losses are higher than $5 billion. This is MEGA! As we have discussed on PLANET GATA, this is not just about Morgan, but confidence in the entire financial system. If the $70 trillion derivatives book at Morgan goes NUCLEAR, we could have a financial market TITANIC event which might be right around the corner.

GOOD GRIEF!

Now, for the weekend edition, number two re the understandable, but nauseating, commotion over the Facebook IPO on Friday, which was heralded by CNBC all week.

First, the background…

*The Dow is going down day after day, not with any fanfare, but all rallies are sold. In very quiet and subdued selling, general investors inherently know something is wrong and are acting upon that instinct.

*Europe is falling apart we know, but little is being said about how the US financial system is in parallel with Europe. How bad is this? Just the state of California budget deficit goes from something like $8 billion to a staggering $16 billion and it creates almost no commotion. Huh?

Getting back into the GATA aspect of this is that the US financial markets are all about market manipulation. You need to go nowhere further on what the real deal about US financial markets than this headline…

Banks spend big to prop up Facebook shares on first day of trading

By GARETT SLOANE and MARK DECAMBRE

Last Updated: 8:15 AM, May 19, 2012

Posted: 11:34 PM, May 18, 2012

It was another Wall Street bailout — but this time the banks had to cough up the cash. Facebook’s underwriters propped up the social-network’s trading debut yesterday, as the shares threatened to crash through the initial public offering price of $38. The banks working on the massive $16 billion IPO, including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, did their duty by buying up large blocks of Facebook stock toward the end of the day to support the price. 

Facebook shares opened up 11 percent at $42.05, and traded as high as $45, before running out of steam, disappointing investors hoping for a big first-day pop. The shares closed up just 0.6 percent at $38.23.

Without the bank bailout, Facebook’s IPO would have been a loser on the day, Wall Street insiders said.

The heavy buying, however, cut into the banks’ already meager fees on the deal. The underwriters agreed to accept a smaller cut — just 1.1 percent of the $16 billion Facebook raised in the IPO — in order to land the high-profile assignment.

After splitting $176 million in fees, the firms likely spent more than they made in fees by buying the swooning stock. Sam Hamadeh, CEO of research firm Privco, believes the banks spent around $380 million on Facebook stock. 

"On the heels of JPMorgan’s $2 billion ‘hedging’ trading loss, tThe underwriters have used up all the fees they made on the Facebook deal just to buy and prop up the stock to prevent a busted IPO," said Hamadeh.

Another source said that the banks took a substantial hit yesterday, which started strong despite glitches that delayed Nasdaq trading in Facebook shares by 30 minutes past their 11 a.m. scheduled debut.

While there was plenty of finger-pointing yesterday, many blamed the bankers for setting the price too high to allow for upside. The IPO share priced at the high end of the $34 to $38 range, which had been raised from an initial range of $28 to $35. 

The bankers were wary of pricing the shares too low, leaving money on the table and leading to an outrageous first-day pop. They were shooting for a modest first-day gain in the range of 5 percent to 10 percent. 

Still, some observers heaped scorn on Facebook insiders who dumped their shares, saying it was a red flag that weighed on the stock. 

Facebook had increased the number of shares being sold in the IPO by 25 percent, to 425 million, with most of the additional float coming from early investors looking to cash out. 

The company’s sky-high valuation also made some investors queasy. At $38 a share, Facebook is valued at $104 billion — even though it only made $3.7 billion last year.

Facebook’s big day was a drag on other tech stocks. Trading in shares of Zynga was halted yesterday after a sharp drop, and the stock closed down 13.4 percent at $7.16. China’s social network RenRen was also down more than 20 percent, to $4.93.

gsloane@nypost.com

-END-

My take on this, from my Behavioral Finance background on how our financial system really operates, is the effort to hold up the Facebook IPO was an effort to hold up the stock market as a whole. For the BF folks, perception is everything. That is why they do what they do. The Counterparty Risk Management Policy Group (do a Google if new to you), led by the same firms that held up the Facebook share price, does not exist for no reason. One of their mandates is to promote market stability and that is what they just did. That Group works closed with the Plunge Protection Team (Working Group on Capital Markets) to support the US stock market at various times.

What we saw in the price rises of gold and silver at the end of the week was stunning and totally out of the natural order of the gold/silver price manipulation scheme. It was a wowser! My smeller tells me, because the dramatic rally was so pronounced, that we are headed for some serious fireworks in the financial arena.

The Gold Cartel could be in deep trouble now because their honcho, JP Morgan, is in deepening trouble. This is no minor event in terms of the gold/silver market manipulation scandal.

All hands on deck to prepare for the financial market commotion that seems to be right around the corner!

Bill Murphy

www.LeMetropoleCafe.com


UPDATE 5/22/12 - CFTC says "They are investigating JPM Losses.
just talk or will they really do something?

Related Articles:

JPM Trading Loss 2 Billion - Why released on a Thursday not a Friday?

Dimon and Blankfein met with Bernanke and losses of JPM may be 18 Billion

FBI investigating JPM trading loss

Goldman Sachs accidentally releases information about Illegal Trading in Court Papers (JPM news was the distraction from this information,imo) .

FBI investigating JP Morgan's 2 Billion Loss. But MF Global stealing of people's money - No investigation.

Let's see FBI is opening an investigation into JPM loss of 2 billion. BUT they let MF Global get away scot free with STEALING almost 2 billion from their customers and gave it to JPM.

Please explain this rationale to me, especially since the CFTC has sat on their Asses and know all the B.S. bets that JPM does already and all the manipulation of the markets.

So What is REALLY going on here?

I seriously don't understand this, because of MF Global being allowed to steal and they have said not one charge will be made against Corzine etc. 

So.... Who is now actually pissed off and trying to screw who? 

Am I going too far down the hole with these thoughts, Also - the media was and still is SILENT about MF Global and most people still don't even know about it - but they are ALL OVER JPM.  

Also the JPM info was released on a Thursday, instead of the normal of bad financial news being released on a Friday after markets close. 

Just something ODD about all of this to me..... 

someone needs to explain this to me .....

From above link:

The FBI in New York has opened an inquiry into JP Morgan Chase's $2 billion loss, NBC 4 New York has learned.

People familiar with the matter tell NBC 4 New York that the inquiry is not a criminal investigation. The FBI is taking a preliminary look at the incident.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon disclosed last week that the bank had lost the $2 billion by making a bad bet with so-called credit derivatives.

FYI - I am not a fan of JP Morgan and I don't think those losses could have happened to a better bank (except for Goldman Sachs) and their manipulation of Silver is beyond ridiculous and obvious! 

But as I said, there is just something about all of this that is just not right.  Someone has suggested to me that this may actually have something to do with MF Global and somehow it is all linked.   I don't know about that, but I do know MF Global clients lost their money and JP Morgan took all the gold and silver that was being stored by MF Global clients.  They were allowed to steal it all.  The government, CFTC and FBI looked the other way and no one is being charged for wrong doing.   So, where do all the pieces of the puzzle fit here?  Because to me, it is a puzzle right now.  What is this whole thing distracting us from?

Edit to add:  I just found that Zerohedge did a short article about the FBI investigating JPM losses and they mention MF Global too and how the FBI should investigate that.

Update: 5/17/12 - JPM a distraction for the damning Wall Street Illegal Activities released last week. 

Ted Butler - "Unmitigated Disaster" - About MF Global and CME not making the customers whole as they are suppose to! Also Video of Ted Butler's interview on 11/10/11 about Criminal Silver Manipulation

Ted Butler is someone I follow. He released his take and information about MF Global and the CME. The CME is suppose to make the clients of MF Global Whole, but they have not yet. The CFTC is suppose to be calling on CME to make MF Global's clients whole, but they have not. The Fraud of CME saying one thing but doing another.

Here is Ted Butler's latest:

Oftentimes, the significance of truly historic events is not fully appreciated at the time they occur. I think we are at one of those times with the bankruptcy of MF Global. There’s no question that the news and overall circumstances of the demise of the large commodities brokerage is widely known, but the significance of the event is not yet fully understood. While I would classify the event as an unmitigated disaster on many levels, I have hope that it might result in some long-overdue and necessary changes in the commodities regulatory structure.


The disaster is that for the first time in modern financial history, the main guarantee of the clearinghouse system has completely failed its most important constituent – the customer base. The underlying promise to every participant in the futures market is that your money and open positions are safe from theft and default. This is the very glue that holds the future market together, namely, that all market participants can depend upon strict regulation and oversight to safeguard against fraud and theft. That’s what has made the US organized futures exchange system the envy of the world. Until now. For more than a week, almost all of the 50,000 commodity customers of MF Global are in limbo as to the access and status of their funds on deposit and open positions. This is unprecedented and beyond bad. For these 50,000 customers, it’s the equivalent of discovering your bank just went out of business and there is no assurance all your funds will be returned. (In the interest of full disclosure, my background is in futures, having started as a commodity broker at Merrill Lynch some 40 years ago. But I have not traded futures for years and am no way personally involved in the MF Global mess; I’m strictly an outside observer and independent analyst).


Let me cut to the chase here and pinpoint the real problem – the CME Group. I know I have continuously criticized the CME, even calling it a criminal enterprise on many occasions, but in truth I may have understated the case. Yes, I would agree that the immediate cause of the MF Global bankruptcy was MF Global itself; but what turned it into a disaster of unprecedented proportions was the CME Group. The CME Group was the front line regulator for MFG, responsible for auditing and insuring the safety of customer funds and for guaranteeing those funds in a worst case scenario. The CME failed at every turn. Not only did its auditing fail miserably, the CME failed to step up to the plate to safeguard customer funds after it was discovered that $600 million was missing. This is like a case of paying premiums for years on an insurance policy only to be denied coverage when presenting a claim for the first time. I know that the federal commodity regulator, the CFTC, has been negligent in the case of MF Global as well, but that does not mitigate the CME’s failures.


Of the twin failures by the CME in the MF Global bankruptcy, clearly of more significance is its failure to stand up and guarantee that all MFG customers would be immediately made whole by the clearinghouse system run by the CME. The clearinghouse system, a consortium of financial firms whose collective finances stand behind every trade, has been the main backstop to all futures trading for many decades. It was widely understood by all market participants that if a clearing member failed, all the other clearing members and the exchange itself would step in to guarantee customer funds and prevent contract default. TheCME boasts on its web site that anywhere from $8 billion to $100 billion in protection is available in the event of a clearing member failure. If it was telling the truth, it would seem $600 million should be no problem.


Instead, we all have a very big problem, thanks to the CME Group. Our financial and credit systems are based upon trust and belief. The word credit itself comes from the Latin word “credere” or to believe. What the CME Group has done by not immediately guaranteeing all MF Global customers and positions is to undermine belief in the futures market clearing system. So important is this issue that I am at a loss to explain how the CFTC hasn’t yet mandated that the CME do the right thing. And I have been somewhat dumbfounded that the analytical community and media haven’t been all over this, but there was an article in today’s NY Times that discusses the CME’s failures for the first time. In addition, there was a well-written article on the Internet that did describe the problem and the CME’s role. Please pay particular attention to the comments submitted on both articles.
Worst of all, even MF Global customers who held no open futures positions and only cash and unencumbered assets, like registered warehouse receipts for silver, gold and other commodities, have found those assets under the control of the bankruptcy trustee. If you do own warehouse receipts on silver or other commodities that are tied up in the MF Global bankruptcy, you must run, not walk, to a securities attorney to secure your legal rights to your property. This is not a matter of what is right or wrong, as the unauthorized appropriation of private property is never correct. This is a matter of law, which sometimes is not the same as what seems right or wrong. Please don’t delay. The CME is to blame for all of this, but blame must be saved for later.


If there is any good that might come from this whole sordid affair it is that it may shine the light on what needs to be done. What needs to be done is that the CME Group must be stripped of any regulatory powers it has. As I have long contended, there is a clear conflict of interest in having a for-profit entity set its own rules and regulations, especially an entity that shows nothing but contempt for its own members at large and its customers. The CME Group spends all of its energies encouraging artificial trading schemes, like High Frequency Trading, designed to increase trading fee revenue and not on market integrity and customer protection. The CME Group has just demonstrated to the world its contempt with its failure to stand behind MF Global customers even though it promised to do so beforehand. Next time you watch the CME Group commercial that runs incessantly on financial TV that proclaims how farmers and airlines come to the exchange to hedge their price risks, please keep in mind that the CME just abandoned those farmers and airline customers who were MF Global clients.


One other small bonus that has emerged from this disaster is that the event has revealed as a lie all the nonsense that CME leaders have publicly proclaimed about the integrity of their markets. For the past few years, the smug and arrogant leaders of the CME have testified publicly before congress and the media about how the exchange’s clearinghouse system withstood and avoided the failures of the non-clearinghouse financial system as typified by AIG. CME officials trumpeted the advantages of it being a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO), quite capable of handling regulatory matters without the need for further government regulation. Unfortunately, even high officials of the CFTC were apparently sucked in by the appearance of financial strength and integrity portrayed by the CME’s clearinghouse system of guarantees and the wisdom of letting it continue to regulate itself. That has now all been shown to be a lie. What good are guarantees if they are not honored when need be? What good is self-regulation if it leads to the wholesale abandonment of the customers’ financial interest?


Fortunately, there is a simple remedy to the calamity of distrust growing in our market system as a result of the CME’s failures. The CFTC must immediately force or persuade the CME Group to do what it has promised and should have done on its own, namely, immediately guarantee that all customers of MF Global are made whole. Let the lawyers battle it out as to who is ultimately liable after all the customers have been made whole. That the CFTC hasn’t done this yet is bizarre. If the Commission delays longer what is now clearly a primary failure at the CME will soon become primarily a CFTC problem. We need adult supervision right now. Clearly the CME Group is not up to the task. If the CFTC doesn’t take over responsibility and force the CME to do the right thing, God help us all.


Another thought in closing. The CFTC’s recent official affirmation that it is continuing its three year old silver investigation shines another spotlight on the CME. The investigation of silver by the CFTC clearly involves the CME, as the world’s leading marketplace for silver is the COMEX, owned by the CME for the past three years. Yet the CME has never said one word about the ongoing silver investigation as it has been content to hide behind the CFTC and pretend there are no allegations of a silver manipulation. I guess that is to be expected from an entity that regulates itself.


I’m purposely confining my comments to the emergency at hand. There is no change in the silver outlook. It is still a crooked market destined to go much higher in the long run. The sooner the CFTC cracks down on the CME and then addresses the silver manipulation, the sooner those higher prices will come.


Ted Butler
November 10, 2011
For subscription info, please go to www.butlerresearch.com


Ted Butler's interview on 11/10/11 about Criminal Silver Manipulation:

Part 1



part 2

Ted Butler Outrageous and Illegal and Obvious Silver Manipulation being allowed to Occur! Says Contact Elected Officials

Ted Butler is asking people to contact their elected officials over the Silver Manipulation!  Says what has occurred is absolutely Illegal!  CFTC is allowing Silver to be totally and completely manipulated in such an obvious and unlawful way!


This article is from Silver Seek and Ted Butler is one upset person over the continual illegal and blatantly obvious manipulation of silver and gold.

 portions of article:

It still amazes me that so few seem to be outraged by what transpired in the silver market starting on Sunday, May 1. That night, silver plunged sharply, by $6 an ounce (or 13%) in minutes, setting the stage for a one-week price decline of 30%. Simply stated, a 30% decline in one week in any commodity market is a very big deal, especially when there was no supply/demand news to account for it. More outrageous is that the primary regulators of the silver market, the CFTC and the CME group, have not publicly commented on the big market plunge in silver.

Let me see if I can put this plunge and the lack of comment by the primary regulators into some perspective. Try to imagine a tragic commercial plane crash with no comment from the Federal Aviation Administration or the National Transportation Safety Board for three weeks. Or a case of tampering with a common cold remedy (Tylenol) that resulted in public harm that the Federal Drug  Administration refused to comment on. Or a stock market crash of 30% in a week that drew no comment from the Securities & Exchange Commission or the New York Stock Exchange.  Such occurrences and no comment from the primary regulators would be unimaginable. Yet this just occurred in the silver market.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) holds that its primary mission is to protect the public from fraud, abuse and manipulation. Yet the public has just been subjected to fraud, abuse and manipulation in silver by virtue of the one-week 30% intentional price plunge and the Commission has not lifted a finger to protect the public. Or even to comment on it. How deep of a silver market plunge would it take for the agency to comment – 50% or 90%?

Between the CFTC (which I still consider incompetent, rather than duplicitous) and the CME (which I have always considered an ongoing criminal enterprise), you would think there would be enough silver silence to go around. But there’s more. It has been two and a half years since I publicly indentified and accused JPMorgan as being the big concentrated silver short and chief manipulator.  JPM has managed to close out much of its short position (at great loss) but still while bullying the market. Yet, in all that time JPMorgan has never uttered a word about being accused of the most serious market crime possible. This despite countless law suits alleging the same silver manipulation some six months ago. I know that allegations and legal findings can be two very different things, but I never thought an entity like JPMorgan (or the CME) would ever remain silent in the face of repetitive and specific allegations. 

There is only one answer. You must contact your elected officials. This is something that I have been neglectful in emphasizing, as a subscriber recently reminded me. Before you conclude that this will be a fruitless endeavor, please allow me to recall an incident that would suggest otherwise. Back in 2008, a reader of my articles took the time (at no suggestion from me) to write to his local congressman about my findings of concentration in the August 2008 Bank Participation Report. In turn, this congressman wrote to the CFTC about my allegations. As a result of the CFTC responding to the representative, it was revealed that JPMorgan was the big short in COMEX silver. That is what enabled me to discover the identity of the big silver short. If that reader didn’t take it on himself to write in the first place, I wouldn’t have been able to draw a bead on JPMorgan and much of the progress towards ending the silver manipulation over the past two years would not have occurred.

Commissioner of CFTC Bart Chilton Has Said Silver Has Been Manipulated and those who have done so, should be proscuted!

How awesome is this!?

Bart Chilton a couple of weeks back said, he would go public himself if the CFTC did not about Silver Manipulation!  He has held to his promise!  He has come out today saying the Silver Market HAS BEEN MANIPULATED!  He also said those who have done so, should be Prosecuted!   Gosh, I wonder how all the boys at JP Morgan are liking that right now?  Just brings a smile to my face!

Article:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A federal futures regulator said Tuesday he believes there have been numerous attempts to fraudulently influence silver market prices, and he urged the agency to prosecute those who may have violated commodities laws. 

Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, made his comments Tuesday at the start of a public meeting where the agency will be proposing new rules to strengthen its anti-fraud and anti-manipulation powers.

The agency’s enforcement division for over two years now has been probing the silver /quotes/comstock/21e!f1:si\z10 (SIZ10 2,412, +29.00, +1.22%)  market amid a flurry of complaints by investors who have raised fears about potential price manipulation. The CFTC hasn’t provided any updates on the investigation, and Chilton said he thinks “the public deserves some answers to their concerns that silver markets are being, and have been, manipulated.” 

“I believe there have been repeated attempts to influence prices in the silver markets,” he said. “There have been fraudulent efforts to persuade and deviously control that price.”

He urged prosecution of those who may have violated the law, but said he can’t prejudge what the agency will do with its investigation. 

Lets see is Silver responds to this news in the next few days.

Bombshell From a CFTC Judge About Another Judge - The Rulings Always in Favor of Big Corp against Investors! HUGE BOMBSHELL!

WOW - Huge BOMBSHELL regarding Manipulations of Metals and Commodities of the CFTC from a Judge that is retiring!  He OUTED Another Judge Who ONLY RULES in Favor of the Big Corporations and NOT the investors!  Judge Painter is retiring in January 2011 - he just released a letter of why he is and made a shocking accusation against the other CFTC Judge Levine!

The link is in PDF form.  

He Wrote a retirement Letter and Attached a copy of an article from 2000 from the Wall Street Journal: If you got a beef with a futures broker - this judge isn't for you - In Eight years at the CFTC Judge Levine has never ruled in an investors favor - about the Judge he says - does NOT rule for investors!


He accuses Judge Bruce Levine of fraud ruling basically and intimidating those who have a case into not filing it or delaying it enough, to where they gave up Hope!

Portion of letter from Judge Painter regarding Judge Levine.

"There are two administrative law judges at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission: myself and the Honorable Bruce Levine. On Judge Levine's first week on the job, nearly twenty years ago, he came into my office and stated that he had promised Wendy Gramm, then Chairwoman of the Commission, that we would never rule in a complainant's favor. A review of his rulings will confirm that he has fulfilled his vow.

Judge Levine, in the cynical guise of enforcing the rules, forces pro se complaints to run a hostile procedural gauntlet until they lose hope, and either withdraw their complaint or settle for a pittance, regardless of the merits of the case" 

 
Now, we need to just wait until Bart Chilton comes out with what he say he will, regarding silver manipulation if the CFTC does not.  With this bombshell information about a judge from another judge, maybe we will get the silver manipulation information sooner than we thought! 

Things sure are getting interesting with all these bombshells coming out about the banks and commodity manipulations and a judge in the pocket of big corp.

Gosh, I think I may start needing popcorn with the show happening everywhere!

CFTC - To Come out with Information on Silver Manipulation - Expect Price Explosion when it is Ended!

Please understand - (this is strictly my own opinion and NOT investment advice) I would NOT own any JP Morgan investments and stock - with everything going on... and they ARE the Biggest Shorts against Silver - this will descimate them IMO!  I would get out of JP Morgan investments, while the getting is good!  This besides the mortgage fraud they are involved with will hurt their stock!  Please see article below.  CFTC is coming out about the Silver manipulation which is JP Morgans expertise!

 

You Can Thank David Morgan for This information Coming to me!  

David Morgan is an Expert on Silver and his Website is Silver-Investor.

You can sign up for his Free Email Information! 

 

Information about CFTC: 

 

Silver Price Manipulation:  "Public deserves answers"  by Rob MacKinlay

US regulators have been urged to reveal the results of a two-year-long investigation into silver and gold price manipulation allegations. The findings are keenly awaited by investors and organisations who have been making allegations about silver and gold price manipulation for decades. 

The investigation was based on a claim that large traders, like banks, had been selling huge amounts of silver on the futures market to keep prices down. A substantial short position - believed to be equivalent to 25% of the annual global mining supply of silver - was exposed during the financial crisis.      

Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is investigating the claims, said: 'I think the public deserves some answers in the very near future.'

He said: 'I expect the CFTC to say something on our silver investigation within weeks. I can't pre-judge what that will be. I can't even guarantee that the agency will speak. That said, if the agency remain silent for much longer, I intend to speak out on the matter in an appropriate fashion.'

Geoffrey Aronow, a former CFTC investigator, told Citywire that there was a chance the investigation could affect silver prices: 'I would say that, generally speaking, results of investigations have not had direct market impacts, but it may depend on whether the Commission concludes that there is any ongoing questionable conduct.'

Ben Davies, chief executive of Hinde Capital, a london-based gold hedge fund manager said that it looked like the activity which had raised the original concerns had stopped and so a direct effect on the price of silver was unlikely.

Back in March 2010 Chilton suggested that CFTC investigators had madesignificant discoveries: 'We have looked at the silver market like we have never before and I think there is a window of success that has been opened for understanding about what has been going on and why.'

In the statement he said this was the first full investigation into the silver market since 1979 when the Hunt brothers cornered the market and the silver price spiked.

Until 2008 the CFTC believed that these allegations were groundless, a view still held by some gold experts.

However the product manager of ZKB's physical gold exchange traded fund, suggested that concerns about the global gold and silver markets had motivated significant investments. He said that clients liked the Switzerland-based ZKB ETF because ZKB was the product's sole market maker which minimised reliance on global gold markets. /

Can CFTC VOID All Gold and Silver Prices From Today? Sept. 14 2010 - They say Phantom orders

UPDATE - 11:13PM - I spoke with someone who had their futures broker call the CFTC and ask them what this was about.  They wanted an explanation of what the full meaning of this article was.  CFTC only said they are looking into it and will decide what to do.  The broker has put more feelers out to those who really know information.  But, the guess is, they are putting this information out, in case they need to take back all the gains of the metals in a few days time.  So, they can say "it went up due to mistakes and not real orders".   I will keep watching for any information on this.

Added to Update - The broker said, mistake orders are put in everyday, but they are not publicized, so he feels this is suspicious and thinks they released it, to possibly fall back on it - for adjustment of prices later this week, if need be.   
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We have a day where both Gold and Silver are rising fast!  What a Great Day!  NOW - CFTC has just come out saying "Phantom Orders" have been placed in the Energy sector!  

They are saying due to Rule 587 they can void all orders!

CME Group Inc., the world’s largest futures market, said it will treat inadvertently placed energy and metals trades yesterday as ‘phantom orders,’ though none of the transactions were canceled.

CME detects such trades its powers allow “including without limitation, closing the market, deleting bids and offers, and/or suspending new bids and offers,” according to Rule 587. 

Are they having this problem because they have not been able to contain the longs and orders on Gold and Silver, thus they can make ALL orders void and null?  They know the shorts can not cover the longs asking for delivery?  They were not able to control the price action today, so they are going to make all the price action become null and void?

I want to know what they really mean in this article, as they imply quite a bit in it.

Also, oil has gone down .80 today - the ONLY thing that has risen high are metals.  They sure didn't do this when Oil was going sky high to $140 a barrel 2 years ago.  OH, but that was okay - all on false future orders, as it made the big corporations Huge Money!  Yet, they can't let metals go up, because that shows confidence in Fiat money is not there!  

SO, the Big question is:  Will they Wipe out today's Gains in the Metals?  Lets watch and see what the outcome of this article is and what the full meaning of why they released this article in the first place.