Enter The Physical Commodities Trading World but Don't know Better

I know that brokers don’t like to hear it, but I have to tell you that you are filling up peoples’ email systems with nonsense from other clueless brokers and it is spoiling your name. Maybe you are getting these so-called “deals” from good people, but perhaps they are getting them from another Broker “Daisy-chain”.
Please listen to good advice - instead of sending 100 emails with Broker nonsense which does not work, find just one…… only one….. Good deal where you are talking directly to the Seller (legal owner of the product) or his Mandate and you will save yourself (and all of us) a lot of unnecessary work. Let me give you (for free) some good advice, coming from years and years of experience in this business: (It cost me a lot of money and years of hard work with no successful deals to gain this experience, but I am giving it to you for free, so this is your lucky day to get something valuable for free!!).

When a deal starts off with “send ICPO with BCL or Soft Probe, NCND and IMFPA” this is “Broker Language”. Those that know this “Broker-Language” know that this means: It means “I am a pathetic Broker - I don’t have any product for sale and I don’t know anyone who has got any (real) product for sale - so I want you to give me an Irrevocable Purchase Order with your full financial details disclosed, so that I can then run around with your order and your money in my hands, looking for product and the next thing you will be seeing is your company details and your banking details exposed to the world, running around on the internet between thousands of other Brokers”.......Read More

Thank You

Ziad K Abdelnour 

The Perils of Inattention.

In the 2008 election cycle, voters were fed up with George W. Bush – and certainly not without some justification. They were ready to vote “not Bush” and “not Republican.” However, in a time fraught with enormous economic difficulty and peril, we elected a president whose background showed no particular familiarity with or interest in economics, and whose record revealed that he was likely to pursue, and to prioritize, the very sorts of policies he has in fact pursued.
For a man who has been president of the United States for nearly a full term, there is much that is not known about Barack Obama. What we do know,however, and can say with some certainty, is that Obama sees himself as a transformative figure in American history. His deepest and most abiding
concerns are with his perception that the economic system is unfair and demands reform, particularly in the form of more social benefits to those he sees as in some way underprivileged, a larger government role in the regulation of business, and higher tax rates for high earners.
Viewed from this perspective, it is easy to see how Obama and his administration lost their way. At a time when the American economy cried out for attention and a skilled hand on the rudder, Obama’s focus was always elsewhere, and his best skills lay in other areas. During his first term, with nearly veto-proof majorities in both houses of Congress, Obama concentrated on passing a health care reform act that was never widely popular, expending enormous political capital to pass it. Moreover, the economic efforts he has made were often ideologically driven: enormous sums were invested in “green” energy goondoggles, for example. Likewise, the GM and Chrysler bailouts were shaped by the administration’s desire to please the UAW – at the expense of bondholders.1 A scintilla of business experience would have suggested that inducing unpredictable risk into the bond market during a recession was not a policy designed to encourage investment; but despite his frequent statements about how important the economy was, Obama’s actions belie his statements......Read More

Thank You
Ziad K Abdelnour  

The Federal Reserve - Destroying the Middle Class and Life as We All Know It.

As America approaches the fiscal cliff commencing January 1, 2013, an assessment of the historical effectiveness of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy is critical to understanding the gravity of this imminent financial crisis.  Government debt together with the Fed’s creation of money has kept the U.S. economy from collapsing to this point, but all American’s must ask themselves if they are truly better off today or if the problems were only escalating problems to monstrous proportions, and deferring them to future generations.
Clearly if you look at where the U.S. is at today, the Fed has failed on a number of its mandates.  First let’s analyze their sound currency policy.  The U.S. dollar today is worth less than 19 cents when compared to 1971, and as you can see from its peak level in 1985, it is down 52%.   From a shorter term perspective it is down about 28% over the last 10 years, and continues to be on a slippery slope with the risks of further depreciation still in place today.  This loss of value over the year has led to many major economies worldwide beginning to move away from the U.S. dollar by forming more bi-lateral trade agreements.  This includes China, Russia, Middle Eastern Countries and Brazil.  One of the outcomes is that these countries are now trading commodities like oil in their currencies as well as the U.S. dollar, to avoid losing value by using depreciating U.S. dollars. ......Read More 

Thank You
Ziad K Abdelnour  

The Audacity of Failure.

I am not talking about the fake strutting of the wannabe peacock with the inflated ego and everything else embellished. I refer to the quiet confidence of the man (or woman) who has confronted the toughest adversity one can endure, overcome it and survived to tell the story.  There is truth in the saying, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."  The confidence of knowing one's ability to fight, to withstand pressure, and to win, is a confidence hard to replicate without being in genuine battle (or danger) and virtually impossible to bluff.  This is what it means to be "battle-tested."  And men and women with this confidence are often the quietest in the room yet their words, few in number, carry the most impact.  You see, those who have walked the walk, rarely feel the urge to talk the talk.
When you have felt this congruence, you can feel like you can handle anything life throws at you. While you may not succeed, you pretty much know that you will survive. That assuredness, one borne not from arrogance but from actual experience (and sometimes the scars of the battle), sets those men and women leagues apart from the competition. Indeed, it is a strong competitive advantage. Each of us has finite energy, finite limits. Most people expend their energy identifying and coping with anxiety.  Those of us with the confidence of which I have written do not feel the fear, do not feel any anxiety, and this allows a savings of residual inner energy, the better with which to deploy against the external task at hand. It is easy to see how this is a huge competitive advantage in any field. ......Read More

Thank You
Ziad K Abdelnour

Obamacare’s Subsidy Trap For The Poor.

Obamacare critics fearful of the federal government controlling one-sixth of the nation's economy and the resulting loss of freedom have missed both the most serious threat to freedom and its likeliest victims. Obamacare stands to turn millions of our neighbors into criminals. That's because seeking a subsidy in order to obey the mandate of -- never mind afford -- the Affordable Care Act ("ACA," but referred universally as Obamacare)1 can easily put our most economically and educationally vulnerable fellow citizens on a path to jail.  If this be compassion, it is true only in the same sense that euthanasia fulfills the definition. 
Subsidy seekers should heed the old warning to retail customers: caveat emptor, or buyer beware! Here, it should remind that there is no free lunch. While subsidies are built into Obamacare in a deceptive show of compassion, in reality, these subsidies are anything but free and the hidden cost can easily be your freedom.  Anyone wanting the subsidy is required to go through the Health Insurance Marketplace -- that is, the notorious website HealthCare.gov......Read More
Thank You
Ziad K Abdelnour

How to best Protect Your Assets in the turbulent times ahead.

We believe the best Strategies to Protect Your Assets in those turbulent times ahead are:
 1.  Get out of the Stock, Bond and Speculative Real Estate Markets and Reduce your Debts as much as possible;
 2.  Buy Hard Assets such as Gold Bullion, Silver, Diamonds and a number of other Commodities along with high velocity "Private Placement Programs";
 3.  Convert your US Backed Assets such as Cash into Swiss Francs, Kroners or a couple of other strong Currencies;
 4.  Deposit your CASH into Offshore Banks in Hong Kong, Panama, etc...
 5.  Form LLCs in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Indiana, Missouri or Delaware for Asset and Identity Protection;
 6.  Form a Revocable Family Living Trust for Estate Purposes;
 7.  Buy Short Term Government Instruments and Money Market Funds;
 8.  Buy ETFs and Stocks that have Commodity Business that will move up with the Price of Gold, Silver, Oil and other Commodities;
 9. Buy quality Stocks that have paid DIVIDENDS for many years;
 10.Buy Companies that are in the Food, Water and Health businesses along with the ones that are in technologies that enable those type companies;
 11.Buy Residential and Commercial REOs DIRECTLY from the FDIC or Lending Institutions that presently own Default Real Estate Properties; 
 12.Set your Goals and Missions to meet the NEW GLOBAL FINANCIAL ORDER;
 13.Stay In Health.  Buy and Drink Healthy Water.  Keep The Faith. Do Not Stay In Denial. Reduce The Stress In Your Body......Read More 

Tank You
Ziad K Abdelnour 

The Case for Debt Repudiation and why it is a Good Idea

Congresswoman Kaptur advises her constituents facing foreclosure to demand that the original mortgage papers be produced. She says that - if the bank can't produce the mortgage papers - then the homeowner can stay in the house.
Portfolio manager Marshall Auerback argues that a debtor's revolt would be a good thing.
Walking away from home mortgages has actually become mainstream, being trumpeted by CBS, CNBC, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR and many others….
There is in fact an established legal principle that people should not have to repay their government's debt to the extent that it is incurred to launch aggressive wars or to oppress the people....Read More

Thanks
Ziad K Abdelnour

Private Equity Investing: The 5 Things you should Practice when Making a Decision

Consider the point of view or experience of the entrepreneur you are backing. This is generally a good decision move, but are you simply changing perspectives, or trying on another way of thinking. As both of these are done in your imagination, it will depend upon your level of mental development as well as the level of the person you are imagining. If his level is higher, you will simply be reflecting back to yourself what you would do.
Maintaining a decision-making journal allows you to audit your decisions. The further the time away from a decision, the more memory will revise it in favor of preserving your self image. Writing things down right away reduces plausible deniability. Still, the practice presupposes you can consciously know how you made a decision, while the research shows most of the decision process will be outside of your consciousness awareness. This is one of the reasons for having an external procedural investing system. It provides feedback on what much of your system is (reducing the unconscious portions) and whether you are following it or not. Explaining your system to other people will get you even more effective feedback

Private Equity Investing

Thank you
Ziad K Abdelnour

About those greedy banks and how to deal with them in the future.

As a financier who deals on a regular basis with all size and type banks, I thought I’d address in here why did banks give home loans to people who they knew couldn't repay over the last couple of years, and how to deal with them in the near future.

Basically, I personally believe that most of those “liar’s loans” were fraudulent because even minimal underwriting of the loan files was sufficient to detect the overwhelming majority of them. No honest, rational lender would make such a large number. The epidemic of mortgage fraud was in fact so large that it hyper-inflated the housing bubble, which allowed refinancing to further extend the life of the bubble and the depth of the recession.

I guess “liar’s loans” were done for the usual reason – they optimized (fictional) short-term accounting income by creating a “sure thing” . A fraudulent lender optimizes short-term fictional accounting income and longer term (real) losses by maximizing fictional profits and real losses. This destroys the lender, but it makes senior officers that control the lender wealthy.....Read More

Thank You

Ziad K Abdelnour 

The Jonathan Martin Undermines Achievement & Foundation of Capitalism

Workplace bullying is a problem -- nothing new about that, either -- but the story of Miami Dolphins player Jonathan Martin makes a mockery of true victims of workplace intimidation and sexual harassment.

Martin claims that bullying by a Dolphins teammate has forced him to retire from the game of professional football.  The counterclaim is that the teammate (and others) were just trying to toughen up Martin for the occupation he chose -- and for which there are undoubtedly thousands of other men who would be willing to endure abject public humiliation for the opportunity to replace Martin and at a fraction of the salary Martin was receiving.

Let's make a few points clear.  Although this is an era where the proper lines are rarely drawn, lines separating proper from improper, workplace from therapist's couch, private matter from broadcasting "too much information" from Oprah's couch, we need to draw lines and bold ones at that.

The workplace is a sacred place.  It is a place for work.  Sports lockerrooms are no different -- sports are about achievement, about results, and those who do not achieve results (winning) are soon gone.  People who interfere with the workplace objective get fired and behavior in the workplace which undermines group harmony (the concept of "works and plays well with others" or "fitting in") is criticized, discouraged or outright prohibited.

Continuous Reading : http://financialpolicycouncil.org/blogdetails.aspx?id=64/Men-As-Puppies:-How-The-Jonathan-Martin-Manhood-Standard-Undermines-Achievement-And-The-Very-Foundation-of-Capitalism

ObamaCare and the Health Insurance Factor Is it what it is supposed to be?

It is clear to me today that Americans want health care; but they don't particularly want health insurance.

Health insurance companies, however, convinced the government that they are instrumental to the delivery of health care, so the government is compelling people to buy that.

The Administration's argument is that too many people prefer to be "free riders" -- that is, they prefer not to pay for their own insurance while health care reaches an emergency status and is paid for in full by government services (such as emergency rooms).

These people, it is argued, want the security of health insurance while getting others to pay for it and while driving up prices with their emergency-only approach to health care....Read More


Thank you
Ziad K Abdelnour

What is wrong with Capitalism Today

There is not one single day that passes without I hear some of my Wall Street peers complain about the state of affairs of capitalism in America today and how different it has become compared to only a couple of decades ago.

By the same token, it is clear to everyone by now that the US is a more mature economy with lower growth possibilities and decreasing marginal returns. So I guess it all depends on what kind of capitalism we are talking about.

Modern market capitalism has shifted recently with the  domination of money markets and the financial system over the actual trade of goods. In effect you'll make more money trading in derivatives than actually physically trading in commodities. In short capitalism, or the recent move into financial market dominated capitalism, works very well for a small percentage of the developed world. Bankers, hedge fund managers, derivative traders ... and the rest would argue that it works well but having tax payers bail you out when it goes wrong simply means the risk has shifted from corporation to state, or you and me. Many would say that means a broken model.....Read More

Thank You
Ziad K Abdelnour

Saudi Arabian Shift away from the US towards China

Saudi Arabia has recently reacted with unusual bluntness to US moves at rapprochement with the kingdom’s enemies in Tehran and Damascus, forcing President Barack Obama to either alter his stance or risk a breakdown in relations.

The Saudis are clearly testing its 70 year US dependence....And quietly, America’s traditional allies in the region – such as Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the Gulf states – are rooting for the Saudis.

The Saudis basically observed how Obama was willing to compromise and settle for a deal with Syria after he had called for President Bashar Assad’s removal from power two years ago; they don’t like it and are hence starting to push back hard.

Now how real is that shift and what are we to make out of it?

Read More: http://www.blackhawkpartners.com/Blog.aspx?id=106/How-likely-are-we-to-see-a-Saudi-Arabian-shift-away-from-the-US-towards-China

thank you,

Ziad K Abdelnour

About Sovereign Wealth Funds, their Rankings and their Asset Allocations Globally

A Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) is a state-owned investment fund composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or other financial instruments funded by foreign exchange assets.

These assets can include: balance of payments surpluses, official foreign currency operations, the proceeds of privatizations, fiscal surpluses, and/or receipts resulting from commodity exports.

Sovereign Wealth Funds can be structured as a fund, pool, or corporation. The definition of sovereign wealth fund exclude, among other things, foreign currency reserve assets held by monetary authorities for the traditional balance of payments or monetary policy purposes, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the traditional sense, government-employee pension funds, or assets managed for the benefit of individuals.....Read More

Thanks by 

Ziad K Abdelnour

Wall Street, K Street - Understanding the Politics of Money

As the national debt soared from $10.6 trillion on the day Obama took office to over $17 trillion today, I still hear the liberal media blame the debt on the Bush tax cuts and the Bush wars. If the Bush tax cuts were so horrific, why did Obama and his minions just make 98% of these tax cuts permanent? Obama’s defense budgets have been larger than Bush’s and he doubled down on our miserable failure in Afghanistan.
 You don’t hear a peep from the liberals about the warmongering Barack Obama who has kill lists and unleashes predator drones, killing women and children across the globe. Liberals pretend to be concerned about the welfare of the citizens, but continue to support a President that uses executive orders to imprison citizens indefinitely without charges, has expanded surveillance on citizens, has kept Guantanamo open, signs the continuation of the Patriot Act, and proposes overturning the Second Amendment by executive order.

 They shriek about the evils of an unregulated Wall Street, while remaining silent as Obama hasn’t prosecuted a single banker for the greatest financial fraud in world history. You don’t hear a peep about Jon Cor zine, who stole $1.2 billion from the accounts of farmers and ranchers. Liberals talk about regulation and then stand idly by while Wall Street lobbyists wrote the Dodd Frank law and insurance and drug company lobbyists wrote the Obama care law. Liberal hypocrisy knows no bounds and is only matched by Noe-Con hypocrisy.

Read More...

Thanks

Ziad K Abdelnour

Iron Ore Trading: A review of the State of the Art

Over the last 40 years, iron ore prices have been decided in closed-door negotiations between the small handful of miners and steelmakers which dominate both spot and contract markets. Traditionally, the first deal reached between these two groups sets a benchmark to be followed by the rest of the industry.

This benchmark system has however in recent years begun to break down, with participants along both demand and supply chains calling for a shift to short term pricing. Given that most other commodities already have a mature market-based pricing system, it is natural for iron ore to follow suit.

To answer increasing market demands for more transparent pricing, a number of financial exchanges and/or clearing houses around the world have offered iron ore swaps clearing. The CME group, SGX (Singapore Exchange), London Clearing House (LCH.Clearnet), NOS Group and ICEX (Indian Commodities Exchange) all offer cleared swaps based on The Steel Index's (TSI) iron ore transaction data. The CME also offers a Platts based swap, in addition to their TSI swap clearing. The ICE (Intercontinental Exchange) offers a Platts based swap clearing service also. The swaps market has grown quickly, with liquidity clustering around TSI's pricing. By April 2011, over US$5.5 billion worth of iron ore swaps have been cleared basis TSI prices. By August 2012, in excess of one million tonnes of swaps trading per day was taking place regularly, basis TSI.

We at Blackhawk believe iron ore prices are likely to remain at the current level or move up in the coming months on the back of supply issues in the mining sector, coupled with global cues where also prices are trending up.....Read More