SECURITY SURVEILLANCE COMPLEX - Growing Without Public Control or Supervision!

• Data intelligence complex is the real story 06-07-13 Financial Times
• U.S. Official Releases Details of Prism Program 06-08-13 WSJ

EARNINGS - Estimates Simply Not Believable

This Is What You 'Believe' If You Are Buying Stocks Now 06-10-13 @AndrewYorks via ZH

Each and every day we are told by asset-gatherers everywhere that stocks are cheap, money-on-the-sidelines will 'greatly rotate', and now that any 'Taper' is good news as it signals the Fed 'believes'. However, it would appear that the market is either a 'hope-discounting mechanism' or a serial non-linear extrapolator; as, just for clarity, this is the 'hope' that equity bulls are buying currently about the next three years' earnings... what could possibly go wrong?

It seems the serial extrapolators are hard at work once again...

And as far as QE stoking inflation - still don't think it exists?

ANALYTICS - Fund Managers forced to Chase Yield

Some Charts from Investing Caffeine 06-03-13

PERCEPTION OF REASONABLE PE

FUND MANAGERS MOST GO WHERE THE PERCEIVED YIELD IS

FEW BELIEVE BUT SOME MUST CLIMB THE PERCEIVED "WALL-OF-WORRY"

VALUATIONS - Market Expensive According to 5 Year Rolling Forward PE

The Stock Market Is Broadly Expensive According To This Uncommon Measure 06-08-13 Morgan Stanley via BI

The simplest way to value stocks or the stock market is to take its price and divide it by earnings (i.e. P/E). There are many ways to apply the P/E. For the stock market, strategists often take the price of the index and divide it by the index's earnings. In his June monthly chartbook, Morgan Stanley's Adam Parker considers the stock price against expected earnings (i.e. forward P/E). Then he compares that ratio to the stock's average forward P/E in the past five years. Then Parker saw how many stocks were trading above its average historical forward P/E. That's what's charted below. Simply put, this chart shows that more than half of the stocks in the stock market are trading above their own average valuations. In other words, the stock market appears to be broadly expensive.

GOLD - Tentacles of Financial Repression

France Prohibits Sending Currency, “Coins And Precious Metals” By Mail 06-07-13 Goldcore via Market Oracle

France has prohibited the sending of currency, “coins and precious metals” by mail.

In new legislation which was enacted May 23rd, the French government decreed that it is forbidden to send all forms of currency - coins and cash and all forms of precious metals – coins, bars and jewellery by mail.

The legislation was published on Legifrance, the French government entity responsible for publishing legal texts online and can be seen here.

It was not announced by the government and not covered in the media. There were no communications and nobody in the government justified or explained this decision.

The legislation says that “the insertion of banknotes, coins and precious metals is prohibited in mailings, including the insured items, registered items and items subject to formalities certifying deposition and distribution. "

Some have suggested that the decree is to limit what is known in France as “the anonymous market”, the market in which no taxes are paid and people are free to trade without the supervision of banks and government.

However, euro coins and notes and gold bullion coins and bars attract no tax in France and therefore this is more likely to be an attempt to discourage the ownership of gold bullion and cash outside of the banking system and is a form of capital control.

It may also be an attempt to restrict the growing private market in France of people buying bullion online through Ebay which is increasingly popular.

The freedom of people to trade amongst themselves is a form of civil liberty as is the right to privacy.

The selling and the buying of precious metals in France are already subject to strict regulations.

Until September 2011, citizens could easily buy and sell gold coins and bars with cash but this was forbidden then when French citizens were forbidden to buy with cash in person and had to buy precious metals by trade mail, crossed cheque and by wire transfer or be “punished by a fine of fifth grade” which is a fine of some €1,500/oz.

The government decree does not specify that other independent companies cannot send gold and or silver coins or bars by mail. Indeed, it is only the French public company or national post company, La Poste that is forbidden in the decree.

However, 3 months ago in March, Fedex began stopping French people from taking delivery of precious metals.

At the start of the year, UPS began stopping French people from taking delivery of precious metals.

Perhaps not coincidentally, in recent days Fedex have stopped allowing companies and individuals to send or receive gold and other precious metal bullion coins and bars by insured mail in Germany and the UK.

This is an important story that bears watching as it appears that governments internationally, from India to France are attempting to control, restrict and make it difficult for their citizens to own bullion.

GOLD - Confiscation as Part of Financial Repression is Still A Possibility

Don’t Dismiss The Possibility Of Gold Confiscation 06-07-13 Jeff Thomas via Casey Research via ZH

If you hold precious metals in your portfolio, there is a good chance you fear hyperinflation and the crash of fiat currencies. You probably distrust governments in general and believe they are self-serving and have no interest in your economic well-being. It is likely that your holdings in gold are your lifeline – your hope to get you through these times while holding on to your wealth.

But have you ever given any thought to the possibility of having this lifeline confiscated by the authorities? In my conversations with friends and associates, I have often raised this question. The typical responses:

"They'd never do that."

"I'll deal with that if and when it happens."

"I just wouldn't give it to them."

I consider these "wishful thinking" responses.

It's an interesting thought that the greatest threat to gold and silver investment might not be the possibility of losing on the speculation, but the government taking it away from you. It's a thought that I've found few want to even think about, let alone discuss.

If you fall into this camp, you're in good company. Some of the forecasters whom I respect most highly also treat it either as unlikely or at best, "something we may need to look at in the future." To date, in conversing with top advisors worldwide, the two primary reasons they believe gold will not be confiscated are:

• "Confiscation would mean the government acknowledges the reality of the value of gold."

Yes, this is quite so. They would be changing their official view… which, of course, they do all the time. But I submit that all that they need to do is put the proper spin on it.

• "They would meet greater resistance than they did back in '33."

I expect that this is also true, but that a plan will be put in place to deal with that resistance.

We'll address both of these assertions in more detail shortly, but first, a bit of history.

In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt came into office and immediately created the Emergency Banking Act, which demanded that all those who held gold (other than personal jewelry) turn it in to approved banks. Holders were given less than a month to do this. The government then paid them $20.67 per ounce – the going rate at the time. Following confiscation, the government declared that the new value of gold was $35.00. In essence, they arbitrarily increased the value of their newly purchased asset by 69%. (This alone is reason enough to confiscate.)

Today, the US government is in much worse shape than it was in 1933, and it has much more to lose. The US dollar is the default currency of the world, but it's on the ropes, which means the US economic power over the rest of the world is on the ropes.

I think that readers will agree that they will do anything to keep from losing this all-important power.

The US government has essentially run out of options. At some point, the fiat currencies of the First World will collapse, and some other form of payment will be necessary. Yes, the IMF is hoping to create a new default currency, but that, too, is to be a fiat currency. If any country were to produce a gold-backed currency in sufficient supply, that currency would likely become the desired currency worldwide. Fractional backing would be expected.

As most readers will know, the Chinese, Indians, Russians, and others see the opportunity and are building up their gold reserves quickly and substantially. If these countries were to agree to introduce a new gold-backed currency, there can be little doubt that they would succeed in changing the balance of world trade.

That said, the US government is watching these countries just as we are, and they are aware of the threat of gold to them.

The US government ostensibly has approximately 8,200 tonnes of gold in Fort Knox, although this may well be partially or completely missing. Additionally, it ostensibly holds a further 5,000 tonnes of gold in the cellar of the New York Federal Reserve building. Again, there is no certainty that it is there. In general, the authorities don't seem to like independent audits.

In fact, there are rumors that the above vaults are nearly or completely empty and that the above quoted figures exist only on paper rather than in physical form. While there is no way to know this for sure, it's not out of the question.

Either way, if the US and the EU could come up with a large volume of gold quickly, they could issue a gold-backed currency themselves. It's a simple equation: The more gold they have = the more backed notes they can produce = the more power they continue to hold. By seizing upon the private supply of their citizens, they would increase their holdings substantially in short order.

Either that or they could just give up their dominance of world trade and power… What would you guess their choice would be?

It is entirely possible that the US government (and very likely the EU) has already made a decision to confiscate. They may have carefully laid out the plan and have set implementation to coincide with a specific gold price.

So how would this unfold? Let's imagine a fairly extreme scenario and ask ourselves if it could be pulled off effectively:

• The evening news programs announce that the economic recovery is being hampered by wealthy private investors who, by hoarding gold, are skewing the value of the dollar and threatening the middle and poorer classes. The little man is being made to suffer while the rich get richer. A press campaign to equate gold ownership with greed ensues.

• The government announces the Second Emergency Banking Act, advising the public that "the first EBA was instituted by FDR to solve this same problem during the Great Depression. This act was instrumental in helping the little man 'recover.'" (As the average man on the street doesn't know his history nor how wrong this statement is, he'll believe it. Besides, the announcement has a "feel-good" message, and that's all that matters.)

• Possessors of gold, who make up a small minority of the population, would become pariahs. It won't matter that the guy who owns two gold Maple Leafs is not exactly a greedy, rich man. No one will wish to be seen as resisting confiscation. Neither will they wish to go to prison for resisting, no matter how remote the possibility.

• The US pays for the gold in US dollars, which are rapidly headed south. Yes, the Fed will need to print more fiat dollars in order to pay them off, but this suits their purpose, as it inflates the dollar even more. Those who have turned in their gold will do whatever they can to unload the US dollars as quickly as possible and will need to find another investment at a time when there are very few trustworthy investments other than gold. The stock market would likely rise, showing the public how the gold confiscation program is "working."

• One last scary possibility: The government demands that gold is turned in immediately and that settlement will occur following confiscation. After confiscation, it announces that, as there has been such a large number of cases of rich people ripping off the little man, processing them all could take months, possibly even a year or more. A further announcement states that some investors have made an unreasonable profit on the backs of the poor and that they should not be granted this profit. This profit must be returned to the people. (You can almost hear the cheers of the people.) Then it sets about making assessments. The bureaucrats find that most investors do not have formal, acceptable receipts for every coin in their possession. So if you paid $1,200 for a Krugerrand a couple of years ago, you get paid $1,200. If you bought it at $250 in 1999, you get paid $250. But if you have no receipt in an acceptable form, you get a "fair," median payment, say, $500, regardless of when you bought it.

• Appeals: Each investor will be allowed up to one year to appeal the decision of the Treasury as to what is owed him. Of course, the investor knows that the dollar is sinking rapidly and that he would be wise to shut up and take what he is being offered.

Again, this hypothetical scenario is an extreme one. The reader is left to consider just how likely or unlikely this scenario is and what that would mean to his wealth.

But bear this in mind: If the above scenario were to take place soon, the average citizen would have mixed feelings. They would be glad that the "evil rich" had been taken down a peg, but they would worry about the idea of the government taking things by force, because they might be next. It would therefore be in the government's interests to implement confiscation only after the coming panic sets in – after the next crash in the market, after it becomes plain to the average citizen that this really is a depression and he really is in big trouble. Then he will be only too glad to see the "greedy rich" go down, and he won't care about the details.

As terrible as the thought is, it seems unlikely to me that the government will not confiscate gold, as they have little to lose and so much to gain.

Those who own gold would prefer to think that this cannot happen, but they have quite a lot riding on that hope and precious little evidence to support it.

It is entirely possible that this scenario will not take place, just as it is possible that confiscation will not take place. The purpose of this article is to spark some serious discussion – both for and against the possibility.

Investors are, by their very nature, planners. It may take a community of investors to develop a legal plan to deal with the above eventuality. Time to get started.

The government can't easily confiscate what's outside its own borders, which is why it's working night and day to make it as difficult as possible for you to protect your assets abroad. This sad reality means that you need to take action before it's too late. Your first step? Learn how to start internationally diversifying your wealth – and your life. From investing in international markets and opening offshore bank accounts to setting up an offshore LLC or annuity, Going Global 2013 will tell you how and where to expatriate your wealth. It also presents solid, up-to-date information on internationalizing your life, from getting a second passport to choosing a good place to live.

Don't allow yourself to be milked by your home government any more. Get started on internationalizing your life today... while it's still possible.

PRISM - The Sacrifice it Takes to be A Government Whistleblower

NSA Whistleblower Reveals Himself 06-09-13 Zero Hedge

Click to Play