Silver $39/ounce Tomorrow

The emperor's or mine?

 

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Ok, if you think that. I thought investment banks business model was to help find capital for businesses, they may have a treasury of stocks for others to borrow, and the like. You know, facilitate investing. The basis of this type of bank is they wish to balance every trade, that is find a buyer for every seller.

Yes, at times they have had to bear the risk on a position, but that has not been their PURPOSE. There has been "house investing" of funds to juice yields, and many of those firms have disappeared as a result of such activities. I still believe, however, the definition of investment banking is a bank that facilitates investment activity for a fee.

Like Cloud says, we simply do not KNOW if the banks shorting PM do so because they have clients making that trade. Not knowing is not the same as claiming "proof" of market manipulation IMO.

Chris

 

No. I was only making the distinction between investment bank and retail bank. If such a thing was taking place, it would be handled by the investment bankers.

The context of the post was about risk and it's the investment banks that buy and sell risk as their primary source of revenue generation. Anyone however would have to consider what happens when they choose to make extralegal moves stack the odds in their favor. What prevents it? Honor?, Enforcement of Laws? Laws themselves? ????

Remember it's your money that you risk.

Nobody here can state whether such takes place or not, so they are left with making an informed judgment based on available knowledge. I suppose those who completely trust the status quo, 1%, etc. have the easiest time in believing they will be protected by the system.

 

And it is a valid point, one that maybe we don't make enough. The main culprits on this board I believe are aware of this, but you are right many reading this would see "bank" and think about the brick and mortar shop down the street. They are very different things.

 

Indeed. Banking thrives on obfuscation.

In my case I knew nothing of this difference until I took the time to study how finance works in the USA. I suspect that if you randomly asked 1000 people "what is an investment banK" you might get 1 or 2 who know the answer.

 

And this will likely always be the case. I have become less of a Ted Butler fanboy lately, because I had the appiphany that just because they don't have a long in the same market that they have a short, they can hedge it in plenty of other markets, including the physical market. It's just that the physical market doesn't impact the price the same way because there are so many paper contracts not backed by physical, diluting the supply that drive the price movements. So Butler may have a point about price manipulation, but it can never be proven without full disclosure.

 

I am really glad to hear it sir. I view Mr. Butler's arguments as "siren songs" and was somewhat concerned since it appeared you were being lured to the rocks as it were.

 

Oh don't worry. I've got my own songs that do just fine for that, as long as the rocks are made out of silver

 

I agree.

 

I think Butler has made some excellent short term calls for traders, but his manipulation theories don't have much evidence to support them.