Thieves emptying London metal warehouses, Is silver next?

[southfork]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...dities_LEFTTop

NewsBY ANDREA HOTTER AND LIAM PLEVEN
Thieves swiped hundreds of tons of nickel and copper from a Liverpool warehouse in May, the latest in a rash of commodities heists spurred by high prices.

The material was stolen May 31 from a shed in Liverpool's docklands area that was owned by warehousing company Henry Bath & Son, a unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. According to police in Merseyside County, which includes Liverpool, the metal sheets were worth "several million pounds."

The heist was the second in less than a year from a U.K. warehouse owned by Henry Bath. Last September, 209 tons of aluminum ingots ...

[Someone_else]

That's a lot of metal. The thieves probably have a buyer already lined up, otherwise how would they go about selling those "metal sheets"?

On the other hand, a "large burglary" could easily provide an excuse for an empty warehouse.

[joe_momma]

Not sure 'bout the UK, but it seems to me I read that the custodians of record in the US for COMEX and GLD (think HSBC) are exempted from obligation in the event of theft - though one could seek recourse through the companies insurance underwriter.

[andial]

the custodians of record in the US for COMEX and GLD (think HSBC) are exempted from obligation in the event of theft

Nailed it.

On the other hand, a "large burglary" could easily provide an excuse for an empty warehouse.

And nailed it.

[AgAuGal]

I thought I read a week or so ago a theory that 'theft' was going to be tossed out as a reason for missing gold and silver. So maybe the other metals are also fractionally handled and they got the jump on the Ag/Au guys and claimed theft first. now it would seem rather strange if the Ag/Au were also gone from the warehouse due to threft, would make them look incompetent....or maybe they already do look incometent....

[MKS]

Nailed it.




And nailed it.

I read one of Bix Wiers emails just before seeing this. He's thinking along those lines too. Here it is.

Well, the excitement begins with the term "Force Majeure" hitting the airwaves today. First there is problems with Zinc deliveries at the LME....

Zinc Canceled Warrants Triple After Suspension, Macquarie Says
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?...d=a5drXwBdmclM

Next up will be Force Majeure declared on the Russian Wheat contracts....

Traders in Asia Consider Force Majeure on Russia Wheat
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/mar...at_476045.html

And coming soon to a JP Morgan warehouse near you some "event" that will allow JPM to declare Force Majeure on their physical silver obligations. Actually, they have been working on their alibi all year!

Thieves Strike U.K. Metals Warehouse
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...es_LEFTTopNews

For all you believers in the "mystics of markets" tomorrow night's NEW MOON could be a fun time for the battles to flair up!

We live in VERY exciting times!

Bix

[Mined Games 2]

I thought the thieves were the ones operating the warehouses!

How very 'convenient' that a theft occurred at the same time that delivery requests were growing! Could be some cracks in the dam forming!