I have read a lot about markets being manipulated by our government. However, as far as I can tell, it mostly falls within the realm of conspiracy theory.
US government bonds appear to be the most obviously manipulated market. I have read that private investors purchased a record number of treasuries last year in the midst of a bad economy, which simply defies logic. However, it would make total sense for the US government to hide how many bonds they were purchasing with freshly printed money by attributing the purchases to anonymous individuals. The US would have to default on their debt if they could not sell treasuries, so they have to buy those that don't sell. However, if the world knew how many treasuries were being monetized, it might also scare away investors.
There also seems to be evidence that gold is being manipulated. The fact that the price of gold often goes up during the European and Asian sessions only to go down when Comex opens suggests that the US is involved in driving the price down. I imagine that suppressing the price of gold serves a similar purpose to confiscating it. If the price of gold sky-rocketed, the US dollar would correspondingly decline in value. As a result, gold would essentially challenge the US dollar for reserve currency status. However, I have read that someone (GS?) has so money gold puts that they cannot be covered. How can that situation end?
Finally, I read that the US stock market has been manipulated for years. I guess the only purpose for that would be for people to think that the economy is okay. Afterall, a stock market crash suggests a recession or a depression to the general public. As long as the market is going up, everyone seems to think that our economy must be improving. However, if our government is truly propping up stocks, they may need to withdraw that support and let the stock market decline to encourage investment in bonds if the treasury auction fails to attract enough buyers.
So my questions are:
1. Is there any proof of market manipulation by our government?
2. Which markets are manipulated and how (by GS working with the treasury?)
3. What market forces will make the government to stop their manipulation, allowing bonds or stocks to crash and gold to soar?
US government bonds appear to be the most obviously manipulated market. I have read that private investors purchased a record number of treasuries last year in the midst of a bad economy, which simply defies logic. However, it would make total sense for the US government to hide how many bonds they were purchasing with freshly printed money by attributing the purchases to anonymous individuals. The US would have to default on their debt if they could not sell treasuries, so they have to buy those that don't sell. However, if the world knew how many treasuries were being monetized, it might also scare away investors.
There also seems to be evidence that gold is being manipulated. The fact that the price of gold often goes up during the European and Asian sessions only to go down when Comex opens suggests that the US is involved in driving the price down. I imagine that suppressing the price of gold serves a similar purpose to confiscating it. If the price of gold sky-rocketed, the US dollar would correspondingly decline in value. As a result, gold would essentially challenge the US dollar for reserve currency status. However, I have read that someone (GS?) has so money gold puts that they cannot be covered. How can that situation end?
Finally, I read that the US stock market has been manipulated for years. I guess the only purpose for that would be for people to think that the economy is okay. Afterall, a stock market crash suggests a recession or a depression to the general public. As long as the market is going up, everyone seems to think that our economy must be improving. However, if our government is truly propping up stocks, they may need to withdraw that support and let the stock market decline to encourage investment in bonds if the treasury auction fails to attract enough buyers.
So my questions are:
1. Is there any proof of market manipulation by our government?
2. Which markets are manipulated and how (by GS working with the treasury?)
3. What market forces will make the government to stop their manipulation, allowing bonds or stocks to crash and gold to soar?
