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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: energyplay who wrote (55081)	9/17/2009 5:23:01 AM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217591

the official panda bullion distributor surveyed the boyz and i last week given that we were regulars, and for whatever reason was surprised that we were not in the biz of buying and re-selling pandas. when we said we just buy and hold, the lady asked, "so when do you sell?" "maybe never, unless and until the price gets absurd" "so you just buy and hold?" "yes" "in the bank?" "yes" "whoa" i have also ran into people who still held gold from the early 80s' or got gifted gold upon death of parents, and fretting about all the money they 'lost', not realizing that they are still in possession of the money. they may be sellers. folks certainly are buying real estate in hk, but i doubt they are doing so by selling gold. as hk real estate is effectively the same trade as gold. i still remember macrolla dissing hk real estate, going on about the crash to end all crashes. had i traded based on distant fears as opposed to near urgency, i would not be as happy as now. the big and planet-wide triple waterfall asset repricing has probably been put off by 7-15 years, and now we are just experiencing the strangeness of deflation of oecd real estate and inflation of everything else.

To: energyplay who wrote (55081)	9/17/2009 6:58:03 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217591

Brazil won't buy off-the-shelf arms like Venezuela, is looking to boost its technical capacity with its military purchases and is not "a Venezuela, buying in the world's arms supermarket," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said Wednesday Brazil won't buy off-the-shelf arms like Venezuela, (AFP) – 14 hours ago BRASILIA — Brazil is looking to boost its technical capacity with its military purchases and is not "a Venezuela, buying in the world's arms supermarket," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said Wednesday. "We're not on a shopping spree. We're on a spree to boost national capacity," he told Brazil's Congress. Jobim was responding to a question about the huge costs of Brazil's recent military deals with France. So far, contracts to buy five French submarines and 50 helicopters worth a total of 12 billion dollars have been signed. And Brazil has said it is poised to order 36 French fighter jets for another estimated four to seven billion dollars. Brazil's condition on all the contracts is transfer of technology, to give Latin America's biggest nation the ability to develop its own independent defense industry. Jobim's reference to Venezuela was in response to a question about the South American neighbor's recent big defense buys from Russia. Since 2005, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has spent 6.6 billion dollars on deals to acquire 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, 50 combat helicopters, 100,000 assault rifles and, most recently, 300 surface-to-air missiles and 92 tanks. On Brazil's stated intentions to buy 36 French Rafale jets, Jobim confirmed that the aircraft, though expensive, remained the preferred choice ahead of competition from the United States' F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Gripen NG built by Sweden's Saab. "Effectively the government is opting towards France," he said, explaining technology transfer promises made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a visit last week tipped the choice in its favor. A competing offer from the United States to share "key" technology behind its F/A-18 was unconvincing, he said. "I'm a lawyer (by training) and I work with jurisprudence. The precedents I have (with the United States) are bad," Jobim said. That was an allusion to several times in the past when the United States blocked the export sale of Brazilian aircraft because they contained US technology deemed sensitive. The most recent incident was in 2005, when Washington prevented Brazil from selling 24 of its Super Tucano turboprop patrol planes to Venezuela because they contained US-made components. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said the fighter jet decision would ultimately be decided on political and strategic grounds and that he would have final say. The three contenders have until September 21 to formalize their final offers.

To: energyplay who wrote (55081)	9/18/2009 2:54:05 AM
From: elmatador	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 217591

Lula, after being asked yesterday by reporters about a U.S. government statement that the transfer of “all necessary technology” to Brazil had been approved, joked that “pretty soon I’ll get these fighter jets for free.” Sweden sweetens bid for Brazil fighter jet deal (AFP) – 8 hours ago BRASILIA — Sweden has sweetened its bid for a lucrative contract to sell 36 fighter jets to Brazil, promising that 40 percent of the supersonic Gripen aircraft would be built in Brazil, officials said Thursday. The offer came on top of a promise that Brazil would have full access to the technology used in the state-of-the-art military aircraft. A similar offer helped give France front-runner status in high-stakes bidding for the coveted fighter jet contract, valued at four to seven billion dollars. "The Swedish government and the SAAB motor company are 100 percent committed to making the technology transfer," Swedish State Secretary for Defense Hakan Jevrell said at a press conference, accompanied by a Saab representative. "There will be no restriction in the transfer of technology." Jevrell said that in addition to the technology, Sweden would offer Brazil "a very competitive price" for the fighter jets. The sweetener offered by Stockholm is the latest from one of three major aerospace powers -- France, Sweden and the United States -- jostling to win the coveted fighter jet contract, as Brazil seeks to modernize its air force in a bid to become Latin America's preeminent military power. French manufacturer Dassault appears to have a lock on the contract: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week issued a joint statement opening Brazil's official negotiations to buy 36 of Dassault's Rafale jets without, however, ending the tender process. The Swedish offer is in line with requirements laid out by President Lula, who said he wants to secure technology transfers and build the planes in Brazil. Dassault, fielding its high-tech Rafale fighter, had been seen as the leading contender because of its guarantee to share all technology with Brazil. "The air force has the technological know-how to make the evaluation, and it will do so," he added. "But the decision is political and strategic, and it's up to the president of the republic and no one else," Lula said recently. Brazil has set a September 21 deadline for the contenders to finalize their bids.