Best of everything,

David Schectman

The Day Of Reckoning For Derivatives Has Arrived

Author: Jim Sinclair Dear CIGAs,

It is not just coming - it is already here.

I am convinced that all that has been anticipated since 1968 has now occurred. I see the mountain of over-the-counter derivatives which, when including all types, exceeds USD$30 trillion. The mountain is shaking quite badly.

The situation now resembles the Weimar Republic (the term given to describe the German state from 1919-33) in the sense that the Weimar case study is predicated on planned currency destruction to avoid war reparations that got out of control.

The present situation is based on the ultimate sin of greed called over-the-counter derivatives. This mountain of unfunded special performance contracts is shaking and will, as a product of declining US business activity and profits, fall precipitously.

Before the fall of this unimaginably large mountain of garbage paper, ALL world central banks will in concert prime the pump any way they can. Priming for this purpose has no practical way of being drained. What is going to get out of control now is monetary inflation to offset the shaking mountain of over-the-counter derivatives. The beginning of this fall is in progress and will be history by 2012 or SOONER.

Simply stated this is it, today, now! Think the best but protect yourself under a worst case scenario.

There is no more "if this happens that will happen" scenario. It has already started to happen and the result will be a bull market for all commodities to a level that even the wildest (rational) bull cannot not even imagine. The dollar is headed below the estimates of the biggest (rational) bear.

I take what is said here very seriously. What I have just said, I have never uttered before.

The over-the-counter shaking mountain of derivatives can't be fixed by trying to hide it. The problems cannot be fixed by any interest rate action. The problem will not even be fixed by a monetary inflation of unprecedented scope. The problem is coming home by 2012 or much SOONER.

Keep in mind that the $20 trillion plus over-the-counter credit and default derivatives generally have the following characteristics.

They are:

Without regulation.

Without listing on public exchanges.

Without standards.

Not in the least bit transparent.

Without an open market of the bid/ask type.

Dealt in by private treaty negotiations.

Without a clearing house.

Unfunded without financial guarantee of any kind.

Functioning as contracts of specific performance.

Of a character or ability to perform that is totally dependent on the balance sheet of the loser in the arrangement.

Evaluated by computer assumptions made by geeks, non-market experienced mathematicians who assume religiously that all markets return to their normal relationships regardless of disruptions.

Now in the credit and default category and are considered by accepted authorities as totaling more than USD$20 trillion in notional value.

Notional value becomes real value when the agreement is forced to find a real market for ending the obligation which is how one sells it.

Is China quietly dumping US Treasuries?

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Last Updated: 12:25am BST 06/09/2007

A sharp drop in foreign holdings of US Treasury bonds over the last five weeks has raised concerns that China is quietly withdrawing its funds from the United States, leaving the dollar increasingly vulnerable.

China threatens `nuclear option' of dollar sales

Data released by the New York Federal Reserve shows that foreign central banks have cut their stash of US Treasuries by $48bn since late July, with falls of $32bn in the last two weeks alone.

"This comes as a big surprise and it is definitely worrying," said Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas.

"We won't know if China is behind this until the Treasury releases its TIC data in November, but what it does show is that world central banks are in a hurry to get out of the US. They don't seem to be switching into other currencies, so it is possible they are moving into gold instead. Gold is now gaining momentum across all currencies and has broken through resistance at 500 euros," he said.

While the greenback has been resilient over recent weeks - even regaining something of a 'safe-haven' role as banks scrambled to buy the currency to cover dollar debts - most experts believe that America's $850bn current account deficit will eventually cause the dollar to resume its relentless slide.

David Powell, an economist at IDEAglobal in New York, pointed the finger at Beijing as the main suspect in the sudden bond flight this summer.

In a client note entitled "Has China started to dump US Treasuries?", he said the sales appear to coincide with early moves by Beijing to launch its new $300bn sovereign wealth fund.

The scheme is part of the government's plan to diversify it $1,340bn reserves from bonds (mostly in the US) to a broader portfolio of investments and a better yield.

If so, the switch comes at a very delicate time, just as tempers flair on both sides of the Pacific over China's policy of holding down yuan by currency intervention. A bill in Congress calls for punitive tariff sanctions of 27.5pc against Chinese imports, and there has been a growing outcry over contaminated pet food and lead-tainted toys.

Two top advisers to the Chinese government gave strong hints in August that Beijing should use its estimated $900bn holdings of US Treasuries and agency bonds as a "bargaining chip", words taken as an implicit threat to trigger as US bond crash if provoked.

The Chinese government has since put out an official statement clarifying that it has no intention in taking such an irresponsible step, which would in any case backfire by devaluing China's remaining holding.

Mr Powell said the switch out of Treasuires was a purely commercial decision. "If if turns out that the Chinese are behind this, it is merely an attempt to increase returns on investment. It has nothing to do with settling protectionist scores," he said.

Any evidence that China was pulling out would risk setting off an unstoppable stampede, which is why such a policy would never be announced. It holds the world's biggest pool of resrves, followed by Japan.

Robin Bhar, a metals analyst at UBS, said there was little evidence yet that Asian central banks were switching heavily into gold. Most of the recent buying of gold has been on the COMEX futures markets, the playground of hedge funds.

Central banks tend to buy their bullion in London at the AM and PM fixings, leaving a footprint that is visible to experts. They seem to have been largely absent from the market so far.

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