Yep Monday or even today, Sunday. The weekend deep has fizzled out. Cyprus thing is not helping bears at all either.
Is it true that many of the losers in Cyprus were Russian?
I have no first hand knowledge, besides that option of opening a Cyprus bank account always comes up as one of the most cost efficient and available options, every time one opens an offshore company. For example, when I was talking with accountants that specialize in offshore formation while researching biz plan for the ASIC thing they were pushing Cyprus bank accounts as default option and I had to tell em "no thanks I'll stick with the swiss".
But reportedly yes, lots of Russian money is parked in Cyprus, estimates are around 30 billions. However, this is another breach of European Human Rights to label them all as dirty money without any due process. I would bet that a good portion of those money are actually regular small businesses that are actually "hiding" money from the mob.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-03-16/everyone-shocked-what-just-happened-and-why-just-beginning#comment-3336921 This opinion seems to be well reasoned, for example:
Jim Sinclair told King World News we have just witnessed one of the most important events in history and it will have a major impact on the gold market. Sinclair, who’s father was business partners with legendary trader Jesse Livermore, had this to say in this extraordinary and exclusive KWN interview:
“The wire reports on the Cyprus situation are working overtime to try to make the case that 80% of the deposits belong to the people of Cyprus, and only 20% of the deposits belong to the Russians. That’s absolutely false. After 1985, when the ‘Robber Barrons’ of Russia took over the general economics of Russia, that was the transformation from the KGB to private business. The primary place for exported Russian funds was Cyprus.
Now, there is one leader in the world that would be very dangerous to challenge, and that is Putin of Russia....
“What’s just happened is the IMF has backed up, lauded, supported, and publicized, as if it were a victory, the taking of 10% of what really turns out to be 80% of Russian ‘black money.’ Russian ‘black money’ is KGB money, now in business. The leader of Russia (Putin) was a former KGB official. Who’s money do you think they have taken? This is the biggest mistake the IMF could possibly have ever made.”
Eric King: “Jim, it’s unimaginable to me, but, incredibly, just ten days ago you warned that you don’t want to anger Russian leader Putin because he and Russia will punish the West in the gold market. Can you talk about how this is going to impact the gold market beginning on Monday?”
Sinclair: “What would you rather have, an insured bank account by the BIS, FDIC, ECB, when any government can come in and take 10% of your account and treat that as if you are paying a tax for monies that were lost because of devious actions by the banks themselves, or gold?”
Eric King: “Will the Russians take their revenge in the gold market? Is that one of the places they will seek revenge?”
Sinclair: “The answer is that this is one of the most important events in modern times for the popularity of holding gold rather than holding fiat money. This is the catalyst that will propel gold through the $1,600 level. To prevent a break above $1,600 in gold would take extraordinary efforts on the part of any manipulator in the marketplace.
It’s very dangerous in doing business with the Russians to lose their money. Revenge will be very much a part of the motivation for what happens from this point forward. This type of event will take us out of the $1,500s and we may never see those prices again in our lifetimes.”
Emphasis is mine, because I am going to have to agree with this as a typical Russian
modus operandi.
