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Gold has traded between $1,280 and $1,291 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $1 an ounce at $1,288…Silver is flat at $20.74…Copper is down a penny at $3.16…Crude Oil is up slightly to $94.15 while the U.S. Dollar Index has fallen one-quarter of a point to 80.82 as it continues to have trouble with the 81 level…

Incoming Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen on Gold during yesterday’s Senate confirmation hearings…“I don’t think anybody has a very good model of what makes Gold prices go up or down.  But, certainly, it is an asset that people want to hold when they are very fearful about (a) potential financial-market catastrophe or economic troubles and tail risks. And, when there is financial-market turbulence, often we see Gold prices rise as we see people flee into it.”

Yellen got it right about the “fear trade” but of course there’s the critical “love trade” component of Gold that is resulting in a huge shift in Gold holdings from western countries to eastern countries as pointed out in the latest quarterly report issued by the World Gold Council…this year’s Gold sell-off has moved bullion from weak hands into strong hands, and that has to be considered very bullish…Asians are generally long-term holders and have entirely different thinking regarding Gold than most North Americans…

Yellen signaled her determination yesterday to use bond buying to strengthen the economy and drive down the nation’s 7.3% unemployment rate, so don’t expect any Fed “tapering” until perhaps well into 2014…testifying before the Senate Banking Committee as U.S. equity hit new record highs, she sought to dispel concerns from senators that the central bank’s policy is pumping up the values of equities and housing to such an extent that it jeopardizes market stability…

“I don’t see evidence at this point, in major sectors of asset prices, misalignments,” she said yesterday…“Although there is limited evidence of reach for yield, we don’t see a broad buildup in leverage, where the development of risks that I think at this stage poses a risk to financial stability.”

At some point down the road – who know when that might be – one can’t help but think that this unprecedented intervention and money-printing by the Fed is going to end very, very badly, and that’s when Gold may take off in a parabolic move that will make the 2011 run seem like a tea party…

Today’s Markets

Asia

Asian equities rallied for a second straight session overnight as investors cheered comments from Yellen that U.S. monetary stimulus would remain in place for now…Japan’s Nikkei average closed above the 15000 level for the first time since May 23, surging 290 points or nearly 2% to finish the week at 15166…state media in China just reported a short while ago that the country will ease its decades-old “one-child” family planning policy as part of sweeping reforms agreed at the Communist Party’s Third Plenum meeting earlier this week…while a preliminary summary of the meeting released on Tuesday was vague, the more-detailed document just released sketches an ambitious reform program designed to address problems that China faces: maturing growth, rising worries about a wide wealth gap and endemic pollution, and increasingly vocal criticism of Beijing’s handling of a number of social issues…“More attention also needs to be paid to employment, income levels, social security and people’s health,” the document said…

Europe

European shares are slightly higher in late trading…the annual rate of inflation in the 28-member European Union fell to its lowest level in 4 years during October, adding to fears the bloc could be in danger of entering a damaging and prolonged period of falling prices…the EU’s official statistics agency said today that consumer prices rose 0.9% in the 12 months to October, a lower annual rate of inflation than the 1.3% recorded in September, and the lowest since October, 2009…

North America

In North America, the Dow has gained another 38 points as of 7:00 am Pacific as it approaches 16000…the TSX is up 37 points while the Venture is unchanged at 932 after posting a refreshing 6-point gain yesterday…

Probe Mines Ltd. (PRB, TSX-V) Update

Probe Mines (PRB, TSX-V) looks like it’s going to finish the year on a very positive note…we started sounding the alarm last spring regarding Probe when it fell to nearly $1 a share during the panic sell-off in Gold stocks…since then, Probe has doubled in value and assay results from an on-going drill program continue to show growth in the overall system at Borden Lake including the high-grade extension to the southeast of the original bulk tonnage deposit…last week, the company clinched the 2013 Ontario Prospector Award for its discovery at Borden, located near Chapleau, Ontario, about 160 km southwest of Timmins…according to the OPA, the Borden Lake deposit is unique in that it lies within the Kapuskasing Structural Zone, an area previously thought to be too high in metamorphic grade to contain significant Gold mineralization…however, Probe’s geologists persisted…

Below is an updated 2.5-year weekly PRB chart from John…significantly, the stock has broken above resistance this week at $2.20…through the first 30 minutes of trading today, PRB is up a nickel at $2.34…

Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX-V) Update

Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V) has certain dynamics going for it – beyond just the outstanding potential of the Grizzly Property in the Sheslay Valley – that make this company stand out among the crowd of struggling juniors at the moment…not only is GGI expected to drill 2 properties before year-end – a situation that could ignite this stock at any point – but with a few million dollars in working capital, the company is in the very fortunate position of not having to worry about raising money anytime soon…in addition, it’s generating monthly royalty income from a pilot coal program at the Tonichi Project where drilling is also currently following up on a very interesting Au-Cu intercept in the last hole completed at the Locust target…GGI also has high-grade Gold and Silver opportunities elsewhere in Mexico…they’ve been busy prioritizing targets over a massive 1,000 sq. km land package…having its own drill rig also helps GGI carry out exploration very cost-effectively in Mexico…

Technically, the “big picture” remains so very positive with GGI despite the recent mild pullback in the share price…the rising 200-day moving average at 9 cents is providing strong support…a +DI/-DI crossover in the ADX indicator occurred mid-year which is very positive…sell pressure that was dominant from early 2011 has turned into buy pressure which could intensify substantially in the coming months given the fundamentals on the ground…GGI is in that category of 10% of Venture companies that is exceedingly well-run and actually doing something at the moment…below is a 10-year GGI monthly chart from John…

A lot of Venture companies’ share prices are hurting due to cheap financing stock that’s entering the market as investors dump PP paper and simply “ride” the warrants…GGI doesn’t have that problem as they haven’t carried out a major financing in nearly 5 years…

Fission Uranium Inc. (FCU, TSX-V) Updated Chart

Important support has held the last few weeks, and Fission Uranium (FCU, TSX-V) is now clearly regaining technical momentum…strong fundamentals and improving technicals make for a good mix…below is a 6-month daily chart from John…FCU is up 3 pennies at $1.15 as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Arianne Phosphate Inc. (DAN, TSX-V) Update

Like with Fission, we see a good possibility of a bigger fish swallowing Arianne Phosphate (DAN, TSX-V) sometime in 2014 given the feasibility study it released just recently on its Lac a Paul Project in Quebec…the economics are strong with an IRR of 20.7% and an initial payback period of 4.4 years (26-year mine life) before taxes and mining duties…the all-in cost on board the ship in the Port of Saguenay is estimated at $93.70 per tonne life of mine (that is, FOB Port of Saguenay) yielding an operating margin of 56% with an average selling price of $213 per tonne at the port…as always, perform your own due diligence…

Technically, DAN staged an important breakout recently above a horizontal channel (the top of which was around $1.45) that had been in place since late 2011…DAN is up a penny at $1.55 as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Alix Resources Corp. (AIX, TSX-V) Update

It has been an interesting week for Alix Resources Corp. (AIX, TSX-V) which appears to be the first junior exploration company to try to tap into the bitcoin market…how this is all going to play out is anyone’s guess, but President and CEO Mike England has clearly caught the imagination of some investors and the skepticism of others…AIX was halted late yesterday, pending news…John’s 4-year weekly chart shows the potential for a substantial move if AIX can overcome resistance at 5 cents…it’s a waiting game now for more news to see how this starts to unfold…

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI.

Gold is getting another boost today, thanks to remarks by incoming Fed Chairman Janet Yellen who some consider to be more “dovish” than Ben Bernanke…as of 7:35 am Pacific, bullion is up $8 an ounce at $1,290…Silver is 16 cents higher at $20.78…Crude Oil is off 76 cents at $93.12…Copper is down slightly at $3.15 while the U.S. Dollar Index is up one-quarter of a point to 81.07 as it still fights with that 81 level…

Global Gold demand fell by 21% year-on-year in the 3rd quarter to 868.5 metric tons, mainly due to a further exodus out of ETF’s by investors in Western nations, according to the World Gold Council in its latest quarterly report on supply and demand trends released today…however, consumer demand – including jewelry, bars and coins – rose 6% to 790.9 tons from 749.2 in the same period a year ago…in fact, year-to-date consumer sales are at a record pace, the WGC said…the Council also underlined the theme of the continuing flow of the precious metal from Western to Eastern markets…“The damage (to overall demand) has been done by the ETF’s,” said Marcus Grubb, managing director of investment for the World Gold Council. “But the response has been a big jump in jewelry and bar and coin demand all over the world, even with the restrictions (on Gold imports) in India”…the WGC pointed out that consumer demand for Gold via jewelry, bars and coins for the first 9 months of the year hit a record of 2,896.5 tons…this was helped along, of course, by lower prices that made Gold more affordable for consumers…“The vast bulk of the year-to-date growth in consumer demand for Gold came from Eastern markets; 90% of the 605-ton increase was accounted for by Middle Eastern and Asian consumers, as Gold continued to flow from West to East,” the report said.

Yellen Testifies Before The Senate

Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen will likely stick to a tight script today as she appears on Capitol Hill, but her comments could still make waves in markets…Yellen began testifying at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee at 7:00 am Pacific, and already stated there are “dangers to ending QE too early”…ahead of the testimony, she released a statement yesterday that had a dovish tone to it which gave Gold a boost and put the greenback under pressure…she noted that the economy has made progress with the Fed’s support, but that there is farther to go…she also spoke to the Fed’s dual mandate, saying unemployment at 7.3% was too high and inflation is below the Fed’s 2% target…Yellen’s testimony today marks the first time since June that she will make extended public remarks…she has made no public comments since her brief statement last month after President Barack Obama announced her nomination…Senators from both parties expect that she will win confirmation…a number of Republicans are likely to oppose her, but Democrats are expected to remain united behind Yellen…

Today’s Markets

A weaker yen helped drive Japan’s Nikkei average up more than 300 points or 2% overnight to close at a 6-month high, 14876…China’s Shanghai Composite gained 13 points to finish at 2101…

European shares were stronger today, thanks to the statement released yesterday by Yellen…Eurostat said today that growth in the euro zone faltered in the 3rd quarter, taking some of the shine off a rebound earlier in the year that saw the currency bloc emerge from an 18-month recession…the euro area economy expanded by 0.1% –  in line with economists’ expectations – in the 3 months to September, following growth of 0.3% in the 2nd quarter…the currency bloc’s two largest largest economies both performed worse in the latest 3-month period…Germany, the main euro zone engine, saw growth slip to 0.3% from 0.7%, while France’s stuttering economy shrank 0.1% after hitting 0.5% growth in the April-May-June quarter…

The Dow is up 11 points as of 7:35 am Pacific…the TSX has gained 71 points while the Venture is 4 points higher at 930…

Venture support continues to hold, despite the fact the Index has lost ground in 12 out of the last 13 sessions since October 28…below is a 3-month daily chart from John…yesterday’s candle was a hammer as the Index dipped to 921 intra-day and then closed at 926…in addition, RSI(14) has flattened out at 35% while the SS indicator suggests that a near-term reversal is in the works…the week could close on a positive note, setting the stage for a recovery next week…we’ll see…

CDNX Updated 3-Month Daily Chart

Fission, Alpha Release More Results From PLS

Fission Uranium Inc. (FCU, TSX-V) and JV partner Alpha Minerals (AMW, TSX-V) reported assay results this morning from 5 more holes in the R390E zone at their Patterson Lake South discovery in Saskatchewan…holes PLS13-078, PLS13-081, PLS13-085, PLS13-086, and PLS13-087A all returned wide intersections of mineralization at shallow depth – nothing unusual in the context of R390E – and provided further evidence of continued growth of the zone…of particular note is hole PLS13-086 which returned 43 metres of 1.93% U3O8, including 5 m of 9.91% U3O8…FCU is unchanged at $1.05 as of 7:35 am Pacific…

Alix Resources (AIX, TSX-V) Update

Alix Resources (AIX, TSX-V) is the most active Venture stock in early trading today as it has definitely caught the imagination of some investors with the announcement of its “bitcoin exchange launch”…AIX is unchanged at 4.5 cents on total volume (all exchanges) of nearly 5 million shares as of 7:35 am Pacific…

Barisan Gold Corp. (BG, TSX-V) Update

It was a wild day yesterday for Barisan Gold Corp. (BG, TSX-V) which surged out of the gate and traded as high as 33 cents (1 penny above a Fib. target) and retraced to close up a nickel at 23 cents…Barisan recently delivered a whopper of a porphyry hole (904 m of 0.50% CuEq) at its property in Indonesia – not exactly everyone’s favorite jurisdiction, which is an issue, but this was a world-class result, and drilling continues (as an aside, the first 114 m or so of that hole returned 0.23 g/t Au and 0.17% – almost exactly what Garibaldi Resources‘ (GGI, TSX-V) latest hole produced in Mexico – before it got into richer grades at depth, which shows what can happen with aggressive drilling…Garibaldi, too, is going deeper at Locust)…

Below is an updated BG chart…expect continued volatility…RSI(14) is currently very overbought, so “traders” have to be careful, but BG has very interesting potential just based on the geological facts known so far…it’s up 4.5 cents at 27.5 cents as of 7:35 am Pacific…

Kootenay Silver Inc. (KTN, TSX-V)

If you believe we’ll see higher Silver prices in 2014, take a look at Kootenay Silver Inc. (KTN, TSX-V) which is aggressively developing its flagship Promontorio Project in Sonora State, Mexico, adjacent to the southern border of GGI’s Tonichi Project…drilling continues to encounter high-grade Silver mineralization in a newly recognized breccia corridor as reported by KTN yesterday, with results pending for 14 additional holes…the holes sit adjacent to and outside the current inferred resource blocks…yesterday, KTN broke out of a horizontal trading channel between 60 and 75 cents, closing at 78 cents…volume is still low and needs to pick up, but additional results from this ongoing drill program have the potential to draw a wider audience to this story…

Below is a 2.5-year weekly chart from John…RSI(14) has strong up momentum and the ADX indicator shows a bullish crossover…Fib. resistance at 89 cents…

Brigus Gold Corp. (BRD, TSX)

Brigus Gold Corp. (BRD, TSX) has pulled back this week, even after reporting some very encouraging 3rd quarter results, but we view this pullback as a very normal and healthy retracement after the powerful 50% move in this stock late last month…BRD’s Black Fox mine achieved record Gold production in Q3 while costs on a per-ounce basis were at an all-time low and below guidance (the company reported all-in-sustaining costs of $992 per ounce)…underground drilling continues at Black Fox where thick, high-grade intercepts were recently reported directly below current mining operations…

BRD is unwinding a temporary overbought condition…there is strong Fib. support in the 60’s, as John’s chart shows, which also coincides with rising 50 and 100-day moving averages…a classic accumulation opportunity on weakness given the healthy overall technical posture…BRD is unchanged at 67 cents as of 7:35 am Pacific…

Note: John, Jon and Terry do not hold share positions in BG, KTN or BRD.  John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI.

Gold is trying to bounce back after falling as low as $1,261 yesterday, just slightly above the October 15 intra-day low…as of 7:15 am Pacific, bullion is up $6 an ounce at $1,272…Silver is down 7 cents at $20.64…Copper has fallen 6 pennies to $3.16 on increased supply concerns…Crude Oil is up 63 cents at $93.67 while the U.S. Dollar Index is higher at 81.26…

The U.S. Mint said yesterday that Silver coin sales year-to-date reached a record 40.175 million ounces, surpassing the previous record set in 2011…this month alone, sales have already topped 1 million ounces…in October, the Mint sold 3.087 million ounces of Silver…according to the agency’s data, demand has been firm throughout the year with January the best month when 7.5 million ounces were sold…improving industrial demand, strong investment demand in Silver coins and exchange-traded funds, and Indian consumers’ substitution to Silver from Gold should combine to provide strong price support for Silver, according to Andrew Leyland, manager of precious metal demand at Thomson Reuters GFMS…

Meanwhile, the U.S. Mint Gold sales have started to pick up after a lackluster August and September…during those two months the Mint sold 23,000 and 26,000 ounces of Gold, respectively…in October, the Mint sold 97,000 ounces of the yellow metal and another 24,000 ounces during the first full week of November…

Today’s Markets

The Dow is off 67 points through the first 45 minutes of trading…the U.S. is leading the way in a global economic recovery and there should be little question about its ability to fulfill its debt obligations, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told CNBC Asia in an interview today…“What we learned a few weeks ago is that it (the budget battle) did get to the 11th hour, but at the 11th hour, there was a broad bipartisan consensus to be where the U.S. has always been. We stand by our obligations and the full faith and credit of the U.S. cannot be called into question,” he added…Lew said the U.S. economy had proved resilient and was bouncing back…

The TSX has shed just 5 points as of 7:15 am Pacific while the Venture is off 2 points at 924…

Asia

Asian markets were lower overnight…Japan’s Nikkei average was off slightly but China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 39 points or 1.8% to finish at 2088…investors were underwhelmed with early details, or the lack thereof, from the Community Party’s 4-day Third Plenum meeting which concluded yesterday…Chinese state media released a communique summarizing the results of the meeting last night…the document was heavy on rather vague promises to give markets a “decisive” role in allocating economic resources and pursue judicial reform, but short on details (more information is likely to emerge next week when a much longer version of the leaders’ deliberations is expected)…the Wall Street Journal’s Russell Leigh Moses wrote this morning that the Third Plenum was a “Clear win for technocrats in the Chinese leadership – Premier Li Keqiang and his allies – who wanted to tweak, rather than transform, existing policies and approaches…administrative reform, eliminating agencies and bureaus they believe to be superfluous, making decisions more efficient – but not seeking to overturn the leading role of the state – this was the Technocratic Template, and it won the four days of the plenum”…

Europe – UK Gets Encouraging Employment News

European shares were lower today as euro zone industrial production numbers came in below expectations…meanwhile, unemployment in the UK has fallen to 7.6% of the workforce – its lowest since May 2009, in a strong set of jobs data that underlined the pace of recovery…the rate was down 0.2 percentage points on the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said…in its latest quarterly forecasts, published today, the Monetary Policy Committee has forecast a 50/50 chance of hitting its 7% unemployment threshold in the 4th quarter of 2014, a huge change from its August forecast that unemployment was likely to remain above the threshold until summer 2016…the MPC maintained its stance, though, that monetary policy was on hold for a long time yet…“There is a long way to go before the aftermath of the financial crisis has cleared and economic conditions normalize….that underpins the MPC’s intention to maintain the exceptionally stimulative stance of monetary policy until there has been a substantial reduction in the degree of economic slack”…

Barisan Gold Corp. (BG, TSX-V)

In a delayed reaction to recent drill results – 262 m of 1% CuEq but in Indonesia – Barisan Gold Corp. (BG, TSX-V) took off strongly to the upside yesterday as it nearly doubled on total volume of 1.3 million shares (all exchanges) to close at 18 cents…it’s surging higher again this morning as well…as of 7:15 am Pacific, BG is up another 13 cents to 31 cents (in the immediate vicinity of a Fib. target)…

Last week, Barisan reported impressive assay results for hole UTD-003 at its Upper Tengkereng prospect, located in the province of Aceh, Indonesia…porphyry mineralization was intersected from 18 metres to the end of the hole at 922 m…

Incidentally – and we state this to point out how a porphyry system can become much richer in grade at depth – the first mineralized intercept in this hole drilled by Barisan returned 0.23 g/t Au and 0.17% Cu over 114 m (18 m to 132 m) and was almost identical in Au-Cu grades and length near-surface to the one announced last week by Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V) at its Locust target in Mexico (104.6 m of 0.24 g/t Au and 0.16% Cu from 57 to 161.6 m)…GGI is now going deeper into that system with MAR-13-03 being drilled from the valley floor (anything can happen when you drill, and that’s a reason some fireworks are possible from GGI in the near future)…

Barisan hit 1% CuEq between 428 m and 690 m…the entire hole returned 904 metres grading 0.41 g/t Au and 0.25% Cu (0.50% CuEq)…Alex Granger, CEO of Barisan Gold stated,  “We have validated one of the highest-grade porphyry discoveries anywhere in the world of the past decade. There are very few new porphyry discoveries that have returned intercepts of 1 per cent copper equivalent over more than 250 metres. This is even more impressive by the fact that we have not yet drilled down to the potassic zone and associated bornite mineralization of the Upper Tengkereng porphyry system where higher grades are usually intersected. The grades we are intersecting higher up in this system are higher than those that other recent discoveries have found in bornite-rich mineralization within potassic zones.”

Barisan’s 4th hole is now in progress…below is a 2+year chart from John…note the 32-cent Fib. target…this one will be volatile…

Kootenay Silver Inc. (KTN, TSX-V) Drills 218 AgEq Over 45 Metres At Promontorio

Kootenay Silver (KTN, TSX-V), which we mentioned last month when it was trading in the 60’s, is up 4 cents at 78 cents in early trading today after announcing more positive assay results from its continuing multiphase drill and resource expansion program at its flagship Promontorio Silver Project in Sonora State, Mexico, immediately south of GGI’s Tonichi Project…

Zenyatta Ventures (ZEN, TSX-V)

Zenyatta Ventures (ZEN, TSX-V) is looking much healthier technically after holding critical support at the $2 level…below is an updated ZEN chart from John…as of 7:15 am Pacific, ZEN is up a penny at $2.74…

Global Cobalt Corp. (GCO, TSX-V)

Global Cobalt (GCO, TSX-V) continues to gain traction with its Karakul Cobalt Project in Russia (the pro mining Republic of Altai) where drilling continues…GCO had been consolidating within a pennant for a couple of weeks before breaking out yesterday with the stock climbing 6 cents to close at 21 cents on total volume (all exchanges) of 2.5 million shares (this breakout requires confirmation today as outlined in John’s chart below)…there’s no question GCO is “in play” given what’s happening on the ground and how the stock has been trading since waking up a few weeks ago…GCO is off half a penny at 20.5 cents through the first 45 minutes of trading…

West High Yield Resources (WHY, TSX-V) and NuLegacy Gold Corp. (NUG, TSX-V)

West High Yield Resources (WHY, TSX-V) and NuLegacy Gold Corp. (NUG, TSX-V) are both worthy of our readers’ due diligence – could be very interesting plays in 2014 – and they have also caught the eye of John in terms of their recent bullish chart patterns…we’ll have more on both of these later this week…

NuLegacy Gold Corp. (NUG, TSX-V)

Note: John, Terry and Jon do not hold share positions in BG, KTN, ZEN, GCO, WHY or NUG.

Gold has traded in a tight range between $1,276 and $1,286 so far today…as of 7:50 am Pacific, bullion is down $2 an ounce at $1,280…Silver is off 21 cents at $21.14…Copper has lost 2 pennies to $3.23…Crude Oil is 18 cents lower at $94.96 while the U.S. Dollar Index is flat at 81.08…

Holdings of Gold by SPDR Gold Shares, the world’s largest ETF for the precious metal, rose by 2.1 metric tons to 868.42 last week, according to a report from fund administrators – one of the rare weekly increases we’ve seen this year…

A rather shocking prediction, though this may be a bullish sign – BNP Paribas has lowered its 2014 average Gold-price forecast to $1,095 an ounce, a 5% reduction from its June estimate…the firm says financial conditions will weigh on Gold, such as the likelihood of the Federal Reserve beginning its tapering of quantitative easing in March, inflation remaining subdued and interest rate yields rising…BNP also says lackluster interest by exchange-traded funds investors weighs on Gold…in addition, with the greenback strengthening on ideas the U.S. economy is improving and yields rising to support the dollar, the firm says they don’t expect official sector purchases to shore up bullion…

For Gold bugs, one positive out of this prediction by BNP Paribas – they’ve been horribly wrong before, as have so many others…in October, 2011, they stated:  “We see the Gold price peaking in 2013, as the market starts to anticipate monetary tightening in the United States, but do not expect a sharp fall thereafter”…the 2011 report added, “The brokerage now expects Gold prices to average $1,730 an ounce in the 4th quarter, down from its earlier forecast of $2,170 an ounce…BNP also cut its 2012 price forecast to $1,950 per ounce from $2,080, while lowering its 2013 estimate to $2,125 an ounce from $2,200 an ounce”…

China To Let Markets Play A More “Decisive” Role

China’s ruling party pledged to let markets play a “decisive” role in allocating resources as it unveiled a reform agenda for the next decade today, looking to overhaul the world’s second-largest economy to drive future growth…China aims to achieve “decisive results” by 2020, with economic changes a central focus of “comprehensive” reforms, the ruling Communist Party said in a statement released by the official Xinhua news agency at the end of a four-day closed-door meeting of the party’s Central Committee…In previous policy statements, the Communist Party had often described markets as playing a “basic” role in allocating resources, Xinhua said, meaning the new language amounts to an upgrading of its role…out of a long list of areas that the meeting was expected to tackle, most analysts have singled out a push towards a greater role of markets in the financial sector and reforms to public finances as those most likely to get immediate attention…Deutsche Bank commented on China’s Third Plenum, stating:  “We expect reforms will be neutral for commodities in the near term, but positive for the complex over the medium term”…

Today’s Markets

Asian markets were strong overnight…China’s Shanghai Composite rebounded, gaining 17 points to close at 2127, after hitting multi-week lows in the previous session…a weaker yen had Japanese investors cheering as the Nikkei reached its highest level in nearly two months…it surged 319 points or 2.3%, extending yesterday’s 1% rally…European shares were down slightly today…

In New York, the Dow is down 9 points as of 7:50 am Pacific…speaking to CNBC yesterday, Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher stated, “Markets should bear in mind that this [QE] program cannot go on forever. Our balance sheet has become bloated and at some point, we will have to taper back on pace of purchases but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop”…later this morning, Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota speaks on monetary policy strategy, while Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart speaks on the economic outlook…

The TSX is up 11 points while the Venture is down 1 point at 934 as of 7:50 am Pacific…

The Bitcoin Bonanza

Okay, we have to give Alix Resources Corp.’s (AIX, TSX-V) Mike England credit this morning for creativity – and his stock is the second-most active in early trading on the Venture, up half a penny at 3.5 cents…more comments, anyone, on this morning’s AIX news release?…

Alix Resources Corp. has entered into an innovative and creative service plan with Ridge Resources Ltd. for upcoming exploratory work on its Windy property, located 15 kilometres north of Cassiar, B.C. (see news release, Nov. 7, 2013). Pursuant to the plan, Alix will pay Ridge for its services in bitcoins and will continue to explore this avenue for financing future endeavours with other service providers.

To explore this model of payment more fully with its other service providers, Alix has also entered into an agreement with a private software vendor to license a bitcoin exchange to be administered by Alix. Management anticipates that the exchange will be launched in early January, 2014.

President and chief executive officer Michael England states: “The growth of popularity in the bitcoin space as an alternate method of payment has led Alix to step into this very exciting market. This transaction is the first of its kind within the Canadian junior mining sector and positions Alix as a participant at an early stage in the global bitcoin marketplace.”

Venture-Gold-Crude Oil-CRB Index 5-Year Comparative Chart

Below is a 5-year monthly Venture and commodities comparative chart from John – Gold and Crude Oil have significantly outperformed the Venture since the beginning of 2009, but the Venture has performed slightly better than the CRB Index…

Probe Mines Ltd. (PRB, TSX-V) Updated Chart

One of the best Gold exploration plays in Canada, in our view, continues to be Probe Mines‘ (PRB, TSX-V) Borden Lake Project in northern Ontario…this is certainly reflected in the performance of PRB over the last 6 months as it has doubled in price while so many other companies have struggled…Probe has been consistently expanding a high-grade zone southeast of the original bulk tonnage deposit, but PRB is even finding better grades within the original deposit through infill drilling…PRB is in a strong cash position (nearly $35 in working capital as per its July 31 financials), and keep in mind that Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM, TSX) took a 9.99% position in the company last spring…

Below is a 2.5-year weekly PRB chart from John…note how PRB has significantly outperformed Gold since the spring, and appears ready to push through resistance at $2.20 toward John’s Fib. target…as of 7:50 am Pacific, PRB is up 6 cents at $2.26…

TomaGold Corp. (LOT, TSX-V)

TomaGold Corp. (LOT, TSX-V) was halted yesterday and resumed trading after news was released this morning…the company and Iamgold Corp. (IMG, TSX) have finalized an option agreement in which Iamgold may earn a 50% interest in each of the Monster Lake, Winchester and Lac a l’Eau Jaune properties in exchange for $16-million in exploration expenditures and $1,575,000 in payments over five years…LOT traded as high as 19 cents this morning but couldn’t sustain that level and is currently up 2 cents at 16 cents (as of 7:50 am Pacific)…the one drawback with this deal is that Iamgold will act as the project operator during its earn-in phase – unfortunately, this means LOT will have no control over news flow which always put the junior at a disadvantage…

David Grondin, President and CEO of TomaGold, stated that: “We are proud to have signed an agreement with IAMGOLD, a major Gold producer with proven expertise in Quebec and the rest of the world. IAMGOLD’s financial and technical resources will enable us to explore Monster Lake and the neighbouring properties faster and in a more optimal manner. In addition, the larger work commitments mean that exploration work on the Properties will be ongoing. In short, this transaction is a testimony to the Gold potential of Monster Lake and its surroundings, and we hope to eventually turn it into a mine.”

North Arrow Minerals (NAR, TSX-V)

North Arrow Minerals (NAR, TSX-V) has doubled this month on diamond exploration success in central-eastern Saskatchewan where it has recovered high microdiamond counts from its PK150 kimberlite at Pikoo, a new kimberlite district discovered earlier this year…NAR should be interesting to watch in 2014…below is a 2.5-year weekly chart from John…technically, the Fib. resistance levels (73 cents, 90 cents and $1.07) probably provide the best guide for NAR’s near-term upside potential…the breakout above 73 cents yesterday requires confirmation today…RSI(14) levels are quite high on NAR at the moment, so that’s something to be cognizant of…the safest strategy in situations like this, rather than “chasing” a stock, is to wait for a consolidation period…it’s great to see any company on the Venture enjoy some success on the exploration front right now, especially when it’s in Canada – no matter if it’s Gold, Copper, graphite or diamonds…

Revolver Resources Inc. (RZ, TSX-V)

Revolver Resources (RZ, TSX-V) has announced two financings (a flow-through and a non-flow-through) above the market price in order to carry out a 1,000-metre drill program at its Summit B Property adjacent to Colorado Resources‘ (CXO, TSX-V) North ROK discovery…more results are due soon from North ROK – hopefully they won’t pop RZ’s balloon which inflated the last couple of trading days on high volume after the company announced it’s targeting a rather interesting 2000 m x 500 m northwest-oriented ovoid chargeability anomaly at Summit B (by the way, Colorado’s Dr. Jim Oliver, PH.D., P.Geo., the company’s Chief GeoScientist, will be delivering a presentation tomorrow at noon tomorrow at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Vancouver, which we’ll be attending).

Below is a 2.5-year weekly RZ chart from John showing strong resistance at a nickel…a breakout above that level on high volume would be a very bullish sign…as of 7:50 am Pacific, RZ is off a penny at 3.5 cents…

Note: John, Jon and Terry do not hold share positions in AIX, PRB, NAR, LOT or RZ.

Gold has traded between $1,278 and $1,289 so far today…as of 7:30 am Pacific, bullion is off $8 an ounce at $1,282…Silver is 18 cents lower at $21.34…Copper is off a penny at $3.24…Crude Oil is up 54 cents at $95.14 while the U.S. Dollar Index is down one-fifth of a point at 81.12…

Rob McEwen, Chairman and CEO of McEwen Mining (MUX, TSX, NYSE) which reported a small Q3 profit last week, voiced optimism regarding Gold in a conference call with investors Friday…“The past 24 months for precious metals investors has been brutal, but I feel like we’re nearing a bottom,” he stated…“We had a brief and explosive rally in August, which I see as a good indication of a potential for large gains going forward.  And despite a decidedly ugly mood amongst investors, analysts and market commentators, I believe it is an excellent time to be a contrarian…before the end of 2013, I expect we’re going to see higher Gold, Silver and Copper prices, which will be positive for us, and the industry,” he added…“An important point I’d like to stress is that we have not sold our future earnings to royalty and metals streaming companies, and we have no plans to hedge”…McEwen Mining’s all-in sustaining cost per Gold equivalent ounce in Q3 was $1,081…

Watch for what should be some interesting reports in the near future regarding the Gold market in India from Frank Holmes, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Global Investors (www.usfunds.com)…he’ll be traveling to India later this month to get a feel for what’s happening with Gold in that country…“With the increasing Gold import restrictions in India, the country’s leading position as the world’s biggest buyer of Gold is in jeopardy. I’d like to get a firsthand perspective on what is really taking place with the demand for Gold and get a flavor for what’s going on,” Holmes stated in his weekly Investor Alert over the weekend…

On the subject of India, it was reported this morning that the country’s trade deficit rose to $10.55 billion in October after narrowing to a two-and-a-half-year low of $6.7 billion in the previous month as purchases of Gold and Silver picked up ahead of the festive season, according to government data just released…the value of Gold imports jumped to $1.37 billion in October as compared to $800 million in the previous month…India celebrates a slew of festivals in October and November that traditionally push up the demand for precious metals…

Today’s Markets

Asia-Europe

China’s Shanghai Composite closed slightly higher overnight, erasing earlier losses to finish 3 points higher at 2109…sentiment remained cautious before tomorrow’s conclusion of the 4-day Third Plenum meeting of Communist Party leaders…investors also digested a slew of economic data released over the weekend…annual consumer inflation climbed to an 8-month high of 3.2% in October while industrial output rose at an annual rate of 10.3% in the same period…Japan’s Nikkei average surged 183 points or 1.3% to close at 14270…European shares were modestly higher today…

North America

The Dow, aiming for its 6th straight weekly advance, is up 17 points through the first hour of trading today…the TSX is 3 points higher while the Venture has shed 2 points to 935 as of 7:30 am Pacific…the Venture has been down for two straight weeks after failing to confirm a breakout above resistance at 970…

The Venture Tests Support

Recently, we made note of the fact that the Venture had finally crawled above a long-term down trendline on its 3-year weekly chart with confirmation of that breakout October 22…this was obviously a bullish development, so what’s an investor to make of the Venture’s performance since then – 10 losing sessions out of 13 including 9 consecutive down days that finally ended Friday?…

The 3-year weekly chart still looks very good, and what we witnessed Thursday-Friday was a successful re-test of that trendline (around 930) which also coincides with the Venture’s 100-day moving average…this SMA is beginning to reverse to the upside…another re-test of the trendline (perhaps a series of tests) is certainly possible…

A couple of other important points – look at how the RSI(14) continues to climb an uptrend – it’s currently at support, and in a pattern very different from the failed rallies of 2011 and 2012…the CMF indicator, meanwhile, shows continued steady accumulation…

Will support hold around 930?…given the time of the year, it would be extremely impressive if it did…this support is solid, but if it doesn’t hold there’s another band of support between 910 and 915…it typically takes investors a period of time (many months) before they realize a bear market or a bull market is over, or (vice-versa) is just beginning…perhaps during the 1st quarter of next year, everyone will be looking back at late June, 2013, as the bear market peak…

Softrock Minerals Ltd. (SFT, TSX-V)

We suggest that speculative investors with a bit of patience perform their due diligence on overlooked Softrock Minerals (SFT, TSX-V) which closed at 2.5 cents Friday for a total market cap of only $500,000…SFT likely has one of the oldest management teams on the entire Venture, but with age comes wisdom as they say…what’s interesting about SFT is that it holds a strategic oil and gas lease covering 640 acres (the lease was just extended to June, 2015, by the Alberta government) in the rapidly developing Charlie Lake producing trend of northwest Alberta…this area is heating up, led by a subsidiary of Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU, TSX), and auction prices for oil and gas rights there have skyrocketed…a recent Alberta government sale of a 1-section (640 acre) parcel of P&NG rights directly offsetting SFT’s lease to the north sold for over $900,000…SFT appears to be in a “sweet spot” here…check out Tourmaline’s July 4 news release when the company announced a major expansion to its Charlie Lake play…“Tourmaline Oil Corp.’s Spirit River Charlie Lake oil and gas pool has evolved into a major new hybrid resource play with significant reserve and production upside. This major expansion of the Triassic Charlie Lake play, combined with the successful consolidation of the associated prospective land opportunity, has created a third major core operating area for the company, complementing the NEBC Montney complex and the Alberta Deep basin”…

Softrock has reported that it has received expressions of interest from companies who are interested in drilling a well on its 640 acre lease…this is worth watching closely…

Greencastle Resources Ltd. (VGN, TSX-V)

History shows that whenever Greencastle Resources‘ (VGN, TSX-V) President and CEO Tony Roodenburg starts adding to his share position in the company, investors should pay attention…Roodenburg acquired 700,000 shares October 31 in the open market at 7.5 cents to boost his personal holdings up to nearly 5 million, representing 10.76% of the outstanding stock…a 1 million share bid at 6.5 cents also came into the VGN market last week, and our guess is that Roodenburg is the one behind that bid which still shows this morning…

We don’t think it’s a coincidence that Roodenburg is adding to his Greencastle holdings with VGN as a 50-50 JV partner with Softrock on the Charlie Lake play, a fact that was highlighted by Greencastle in a recent news release…“Activity and land prices have picked up smartly in the area and we are in discussions with several parties regarding development of this section. Our land is now essentially surrounded by new production or recently purchased landholdings. Our discussions are focused on bringing in a partner to drill, allowing Greencastle to hold an overriding royalty similar to the revenue model we have at Primate in Saskatchewan”…

Below is a 1-year weekly VGN chart showing strong new support at 6 cents, after the stock hit an all-time low of 4.5 cents in July, and resistance at 10 cents…

Prosper Gold Corp. (PGX, TSX-V) Update

Award-winning geologist and Prosper Gold (PGX, TSX-V) director Dr. Dirk Tempelman-Kluit delivered a very compelling case regarding the Sheslay Cu-Au Porphyry Project last week, though he was speaking before mostly the converted at the Geological Survey of Canada Discovery Center in Vancouver…Tempelman-Kluit worked for the Geological Survey of Canada for more than two decades and has a strong following in the industry…many of his colleagues were in attendance at last week’s jam-packed discussion – missing were the brokers and high net worth investors that Tempelman-Kluit is eager to reach in the coming weeks and months before the company kicks off its next drill program at the Sheslay in the spring…Prosper needs to tell its story effectively and widely, and we believe it will…Tempelman-Kluit and Pete Bernier can’t simply sit back and expect investors to pile into Prosper simply because their last deal was a huge success…the Sheslay Project has enormous upside but all the strengths of this project need to be communicated as powerfully as possible to a broad audience…

The “takeaways” at last week’s presentation were as follows as emphasized by Tempelman-Kluit:

1. The mineralized system at the Sheslay is powerful, extensive and deep;

2. The Sheslay has “all the earmarks” of other Stikine Arch deposits;

3. The consistency of grades is comparable to other Stikine Arch deposits;

4. Soil geochem, IP and mag data all demonstrate that the Sheslay system has continuity and room to grow.

“The rocks (at Sheslay) look the same as Red Chris,” Tempelman-Kluit stated during his presentation…“People who have been to both say that”…

It’s the opinion of many geologists that Prosper is well on its way to defining a VERY large system at Sheslay with economic grades, and that this area is destined to become one of the most exciting exploration camps in the country over the next 12 months…at BMR, we see a tremendous potential wealth-building opportunity for investors in both Prosper and Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V) as the leaders in the Sheslay area, so we are obviously going to continue to focus on developments there…this is a fascinating geological story and it’s going to become a major market story in our view as events unfold…

So why, you ask, did Prosper plunge following the release of its last set of assay results from the Sheslay October 29?…

Three factors, we believe, contributed to the sell-off which in our view has created even more of an opportunity for astute investors:

1. Our research has shown that certain individuals (not insiders) holding 6-cent “seed stock” were ready to hit the sell button no matter what the results were from the Sheslay…news came out just minutes before the opening bell that morning, and the selling of this cheap stock is what we believe drove the market down at the open and unfortunately “set the tone”…most of this seed stock had been cleaned up but obviously not all of it…if you’re up 7 or 8 times your money, why not dump your stock on news, force it down and accumulate more below where you sold it?…some investors would certainly think that way…

2. There was no “glory hole” – results from each hole were very good but speculators hoping for a “glory hole” – something in the order of 400 metres grading 0.80% CuEq – were disappointed…the 4th hole in particular had a chance to be a “barnburner” – it was very good but not good enough to excite the market right now…

3. No winter drilling/exploration – the market is a forward-looking machine, and Prosper gave little reason for investors to expect much activity on the ground with the company over the winter…winter drilling is certainly possible in the Sheslay area but Prosper wasn’t set up for it this year and still has a slew of data to review…

A market will take the path of least resistance and the above factors pushed Prosper down…rather than complain about that, or suggest (wrongly) that the Sheslay results weren’t good, investors need to understand the dynamics of what occurred and take advantage of the opportunity if they see one…we certainly see an opportunity with Prosper that’s even better than the one a couple of months ago…this first phase of exploration has been extremely successful in demonstrating that the Sheslay has all the ingredients to become the next major new deposit in the Stikine Arch…by “connecting the Stars”, there’s a path for Prosper to take the Sheslay to a size (and grade) that could easily put multiples on the PGX share price over the next 12 months…more on that later this week…

Technically, Prosper is showing that it has stabilized with strong support at 30 cents…below is a 2.5-year weekly PGX chart from John…

Prosper Gold (PGX, TSX-V) Long-Term Weekly Chart

Eagle Hill Exploration Corp. (EAG, TSX-V)

Eagle Hill Exploration (EAG, TSX-V) continues to aggressively drill its high-grade Windfall Lake deposit in Quebec and should be able to expand significantly on the known resource there given the amount of drilling (more than 50,000 metres once this round is complete) since the NI-43-101 estimate of 1.5 million ounces (indicated and inferred) in July, 2012…the company released initial results last week from the current 25,000-metre program, confirming the potential the expand the resource to the southwest of the Main zone where 11 holes totaling 4,800 metres were recently drilled…3 drill rigs have now been relocated to the Main zone where numerous holes will test lateral extensions of the higher grade and thicker Gold shoots…this should prove interesting and could produce some market-moving numbers early in the New Year…high-grade Gold definitely carries more punch in the current environment…

Over just 3 trading sessions in August, EAG rocketed from a 52-week low of 6.5 cents to 14 cents on total volume of more than 10 million shares…it has a history of sudden moves on impressive volume…the time to be a buyer, of course, is on weakness – and then one needs to have patience…traders can do well on EAG if they get in at the right time…

Below is a 2.5-year EAG chart from John…the stock closed Friday at 8.5 cents…the support band between 7 and 8.5 cents appears to be an ideal “accumulation” zone…sell pressure has weakened considerably since the summer…this is obviously not without risk, but the odds of a run-up early in the New Year on drill results (or speculation) are favorable in our view…as always, perform your own due diligence…

The Windfall Lake estimated resource (2012) comprises 1,665,000 tonnes at 10.05 g/t Au (538,000 ounces) in the indicated category and 2,906,000 tonnes at 8.76 g/t Au (822,000 ounces) in the inferred category…the bulk of the deposit occurs in the Main zone, a SW-NE trending zone of stacked mineralized lenses measuring approximately 600 metres wide and at least 1,400 metres long…

Silver Short-Term Chart

Silver Long-Term Chart

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI and PGX.  Jon holds a share position in VGN.

Lest We Forget

Today in Canada and the United States is a day that has been set aside to honour those that have stood in the face of danger for the freedoms that we enjoy and often take for granted today.  Some of our soldiers have come home with all sorts of scars – physical scars, emotional scars, and mental scars.  Others have not walked off the plane onto North American soil but rather have been carried off in flag-covered coffins.  They have paid the ultimate price.  They have given their lives for freedom.  Here at BMR we hope that you will join us as we remember and honour our men and women who have served and who are serving in our armed forces, protecting our continent and standing up for freedom and liberty throughout the world.  We are truly thankful.

In Flanders Fields

By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead: Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lest We Forget

Terry Dyer

Owner/Publisher

www.BullMarketRun.com

TSX Venture Exchange and Gold

The Venture snapped a 9-session losing skid Friday, albeit on low volume but also ironically on a day when Gold closed $18 lower.  We’ve seen this on numerous occasions since August – bullion has a bad day, yet the Venture essentially shrugs it off.  That’s a sign in our view that Gold is not about to collapse, that somehow it will manage to hold critical support and eventually work its way higher.

In terms of the Venture, which finished the week at 937, the technical picture is very clear-cut at the moment:  The Index is trading between strong resistance around 970 and powerful support around 930 provided by the 100-day moving average (SMA) coinciding with a shorter-term uptrend line as you can see in this 1-year weekly chart from John. Note the accumulation in this market since the beginning of July, and how the RSI(14) has been climbing an uptrend line.  Yes, the Venture fell 18 points last week which may have unnerved some investors but support is holding.  Below 930 there is additional support, but we’d prefer to see the 930 level hold over the coming weeks – this would set the stage for a potential breakout above 970 and a strong start to 2014.  The overall pattern since the late June low of 859 is encouraging but the healing process, following a brutal 65% drop from early 2011, has been slow (not surprising).

RSI(14), at 43%, is currently at support as it continues to climb an uptrend line.  The Chaikan Money Flow (CMF) indicator has shown steady accumulation over the last few months.  The +DI/-DI gap has narrowed considerably since late June, but an important bullish crossover has yet to occur.

Focus On Quality

Patient investors who are accumulating positions right now in the top 10% of Venture companies are planting the seeds that could reap an incredible harvest over the next six to 12 months.  If you’re sitting in front of your screen, fretting about minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour and day-by-day moves in a particular stock, you’re going to lose sight of the big picture and perhaps drive yourself crazy.  You’re also wasting time and energy that could be better spent researching the best opportunities.  And there are some incredible ones at the moment if your time frame is at least several months as opposed to 24 hours.

The Venture companies today (in the exploration space) that have the best chance of increasing by multiples over the next year have the following fundamental attributes in common:

1. Strong cash and working capital positions (a minimum of $2 million preferably) with no immediate need to carry out a financing;

2. Superior management – individuals with proven track records who know how to run a business, understand the markets, tell their company story effectively and can raise money;

3. High quality properties with strong discovery potential in favorable jurisdictions;

4. Geological expertise.  Not all geologists are created equal – a company with great properties but a poor geological team is going nowhere;

5. Clean share structure.  How many companies have obliterated their share structures over the last couple of years?  Investors are regularly selling PP stock after hold periods to just “ride” the warrants;

6. A steadfast determination to build shareholder value.

In our view, a whopping 90% of Venture companies at the moment do not possess all six of these critical ingredients/qualities.  By focusing on the top 10% who do, your odds of success in the market – short-term and long-term – increase immeasurably.   And knowing that a company has all of these factors in its favor, you’re less likely to panic during periods of market volatility.

Technical analysis, of course, is also a critical part of the equation.  Pay close attention to support and resistance levels, and look for a positive long-term trend.

The Seeds Have Been Planted (And Continue To Be Planted) For The Next Big Run In Gold Stocks

There’s no better cure for low prices than low prices.  The great benefit of the collapse in Gold prices this year is that it forced producers (at least most of them) to start to become much more lean and mean in terms of their cost structures. Producers, big and small, have started to make hard decisions in terms of costs, projects, and rationalizing their operating structures.  Exploration budgets among both producers and juniors have also been cut sharply.  In addition, government policies across much of the globe are making it more difficult (sometimes impossible) for mining companies to put Gold (or other) deposits into production, thanks to the ignorance of many politicians and the impact of radical and vocal environmentalists.  Ultimately, all these factors are going to create a supply problem – think about it, where are the next major Gold deposits going to come from? On top of that, grades have fallen significantly just over the past decade.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the next huge bull market in Gold stocks is just around the corner due to demand-supply dynamics, much leaner producers who will suddenly become earnings machines, and a junior market that will be healthier simply because a lot of the “lifestyle” companies sucking money out of investors will simply disappear or get taken over by individuals or groups who are actually competent and serious about building shareholder value.   A healthy “cleansing” in the market has been taking place.  As this continues, more and more seeds are being planted for an incredible future move in well-managed Gold producers and explorers that could make the dotcom bubble look like a tea party.  As for the juniors, focus on the small universe of companies that have the ability to execute both on the ground and in the market.

Gold

As we stated a week ago, Gold is range-bound until a catalyst drives it through the $1,360’s or pushes it below critical Fib. support in the $1,270’s.  Bullion was impacted negatively at the end of last week by the ECB’s interest rate cut, which drove down the euro and pushed up the U.S. Dollar Index, in addition to a stronger-than-expected U.S. Q3 GDP number and an October jobs report Friday that significantly beat expectations.  Physical buying has been soft recently which also hasn’t helped Gold – we’ll see if that changes in the week ahead with Gold now back below $1,300.  It closed Friday at $1,290, down $25 for the week.

The top 376 members of China’s Communist Party have gathered for a four-day summit called the Third Plenum to lay out a broad direction for economic policy over the next decade.  The summit concludes Tuesday.  Some analysts have speculated, for various reasons, that the price of Gold could benefit from policies that emerge from the Third Plenum – we’ll see what happens.  According to Barclays, “The stakes are high for commodity markets. If Chinese policymakers decide on a set of moderate reforms while protecting robust economic growth, we expect the impact on commodities would be neutral to positive, as the recent strength in Chinese demand was supported by strong infrastructure spending. However, if the government sets out plans to rebalance the economy more forcefully, sentiment toward commodities demand, especially base metals, could turn negative.”

Below is a 3-month daily Gold chart from John.  Bullion broke below a support band on Friday but Fib. support in the $1,270’s is very strong.

Silver fell 36 cents last week to close at $21.51 (John will have updated Silver charts Monday morning as usual).  Copper was off 3 pennies to $3.25.  Crude Oil slipped again, falling $3.25 a barrel to finish at $94.60.  The U.S. Dollar Index, meanwhile, gained half a point to close at 81.21.  The Index has climbed 2 points over the last 2 weeks after finding support at 79.  In September, the Dollar Index broke below a 2.5-year uptrend on the weekly chart, so it faces considerable overhead resistance.

The “Big Picture” View Of Gold

As Frank Holmes so effectively illustrates at www.usfunds.com, the long-term bull market in Gold has been driven by both the Fear Trade and the Love Trade.  The transfer of wealth from west to east, and the accumulation of wealth particularly in China and India, has had a huge impact on bullion.  Despite this year’s drop, the fundamental long-term case for Gold remains incredibly strong – currency instability and an overall lack of confidence in fiat currencies, governments and world leaders in general, an environment of historically low interest rates, a Fed balance sheet now in excess of $3.5 trillion and expanding at $85 billion a month, money supply growth around the globe, massive government debt from the United States to Europe, central bank buying, flat mine supply, physical demand (especially from China), emerging market growth, geopolitical unrest and conflicts…the list goes on.  However, deflationary concerns around the globe and the prospect of Fed tapering by the end of the year (not likely now) had a lot to do with Gold’s plunge during the spring below the technically and psychologically important $1,500 level, along with the strong performance of equities which drew money away from bullion.  June’s low of $1,179 may have been the bottom for bullion – time will tell.  We do, however, expect new all-time highs as the decade progresses.  There are many reasons to believe that Gold’s long-term bull market is still intact despite this major correction from the 2011 all-time high of just above $1,900 an ounce.

Welcome to our site, or at least the initial version of it!  BMR has been online for more than 4 years and strictly through word-of-mouth we have built a loyal following.  We encourage reader feedback and the exchange of helpful opinions and ideas among investors in our forum. 

We’re continuing with our plans to ultimately construct a very unique investment and money-management resource site that goes considerably beyond what we have now.  We focus a great deal on the Gold, Silver and Copper markets as well as trends in the global economy, in addition of course to the technical health of the TSX Venture Exchange (CDNX).  An important component of this site, as well, will always be original research on high quality junior exploration companies or small producers that offer very real and significant upside potential. We are extremely selective in the companies we feature and put forward to investors – we prefer quality over quantity, and we are being more selective than ever in the current market environment.  We look for companies with the ability to execute both on the ground and in the market, who are determined to build shareholder value, which actually excludes most Venture stocks.  However, investors must understand that the companies we do put forward for our readers’ due diligence are still highly speculative situations and entail considerable risk, volatility and unpredictability.

Our intent is to provide you with information that you can use as part of your own due diligence.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. We are not Registered Securities Advisers. Our opinions can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Adviser operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. Always perform your own due diligence and please read our disclaimer at the bottom.

We use a combination of fundamental and technical factors in determining the value and potential of a stock.  In terms of fundamentals we look for a company with a superb project supported by strong management.  Management must possess integrity, solid ethics and a determination to succeed and build shareholder value.

At BullMarketRun (BMR) we approach the handling of money from a biblical perspective and this is an important topic we will be sharing with our readers (and listeners) as the site continues to develop. The Bible teaches so much about money and how to handle it and invest it –  there are literally thousands of verses on how we should handle the money and possessions that God entrusts us with.  By examining the life of Jesus and reading the Word of God, we can all become fully equipped to be successful investors and handle money wisely.  We have a God who thinks big – He created the universe – and He wants us to think big  in every area of our lives.  When we handle money from a Biblical perspective (His money that we have been given stewardship of), He will bless you.  This all begins, of course, with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior and putting Him at the throne of your life.  It is the most important decision you’ll ever make.

God Bless,

Terry Dyer

Owner/Publisher, www.BullMarketRun.com

Disclaimer:

BullMarketRun.com (BMR) is completely independent from any companies it covers.  BMR accepts no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations for coverage of any company mentioned on this site.  We accept no advertising either.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. No investment opinion or other advice is being rendered on any stock or company. We strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified investment adviser, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction, and do your own due diligence and research before making any investment decisions. The stocks we cover, by definition, are highly speculative and potentially very volatile. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment if they make a purchase or short sale in these speculative stocks.  We are not Registered Securities Advisers. Our opinions can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Adviser operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. It should be assumed that BMR personnel, writers and their associates may hold or dispose of or trade in positions in any securities mentioned herein at any time.  Owner/Publisher of BullMarketRun.com is Terry Dyer of Langley, British Columbia.

Forward Looking Statements:

All statements in BMR’s reports, other than statements of historical fact, may be forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance. Forward-looking statements are often but not always identified by the use of words such as “seek”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “predict”, “potential”, “targeting”, “intend”, “could”, “might”, “should”, “believe” and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.