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Posted on 05/07/2010 12:24:20 PM PDT by givemELL
"-- The notional value of derivatives held by U.S. commercial banks increased $8.5 trillion in the fourth quarter, or 4.2 percent, to $212.8 trillion."
"-- Derivative contracts remain concentrated in interest rate products, which comprise 84 percent of total derivative notional values. The notional value of credit derivative contracts, at $14 trillion, represents 7 percent of total notionals. Credit derivatives notional totals increased by 8 percent during the quarter."
Imagine: an increase of $8.5 trillion in notional value of derivatives in just three months."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.silverseek.com ...
While I concur that there is a drop in silver demand due to the digital conversion for imaging - I would argue that the electronic industry is seeing a surge in silver usage due to the need to eliminate lead in solder for the new RoHs regulations. There are still some industries, medical for example, in the process of switching over. In many cases the only alternatives are Tin immersion (chip, but subject to whisker growth and reli issues in high stress environments, though improving), Gold (usually nickel plated and more expensive), and silver immersion (slightly more expensive, but without the issues of tin). There is a lead free HASL that has come on line in the last few years, but it has not seen huge adoption in many places due to its lack of history.
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Also there is relatively less silver being used in electronics than in the good old days when they’d wave-solder a board in a literal pool of molten silver/lead solder. I saw somebody on TV once saying big boards for mainframes could have one ounce per board.
Good Pic!
FWIW, I looked at the “properties” of the PDF — it has a date of March 18. I won’t argue that this is “just released”, per the first paragraph of the article, but I wouldn’t trade Monday morning on the basis of this being breaking news that “they” are just finding out.
Thanks for the ping.
Right. I haven’t used a film camera since 2002.
bumping...
I am going to trade some of my gold for silver as soon as I can. This sounds like a good time to buy more physical silver. I have junk silver, and would like to add more. If push comes to shove, I will at least have a good doorstop, or counterweight for a Rube Goldberg something or other. Silver is malleable, so it can be made into all kinds of useful tools, and it has antibiotic properties we are only just learning about.
Digital photography?"
I agree, but I also believe new uses will be found for it, and that it will always be useful, ornamental, and a good investment. HOspitals can plate their instruments in silver for antibacterial properties. Some hospitals already have this technology. Washing machines can now be purchased that have silver as a germ-killing part of the cycle.
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