Monthly Archives: July 2013

Gibraltar tries to lure London hedge fund bosses with promise of low taxes

"Gibraltar is launching a campaign to persuade hedge funds to ditch their plush Mayfair offices for the low taxes of 'the Rock'. Last week hedge fund managers were invited to the peninsula where they were told income tax could be limited to £30,000 a year no matter how many millions they earned. Gibraltar also boasts no VAT and social security payments of just £120 per family a month. In the UK the top rate of income tax is 45%, VAT is 20% and national insurance is levied at 14% of weekly earnings above £797. Corporation tax on activities undertaken on the rock is levied at 10%, compared with 24% in the UK." Continue reading →

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Andorra bows to EU pressure to introduce first-ever income tax

"Antoni Marti, the head of government of the tiny mountain nation, announced the move on Friday during a Paris meeting with French President Francois Hollande. A bill would create a tax on personal income as part of an effort to 'progressively bring its tax system in line with international standards'. There is currently no income tax applied to individuals based in Andorra, but the country did introduce a modest corporate levy for the first time last year and a system of Value Added Tax from January 2013. Andorra, with its population of 85,000, has relied on banking secrecy, tourism and duty-free trade to become a financial and commercial success." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAndorra bows to EU pressure to introduce first-ever income tax

Lessons from Economic Crises in Argentina

"Just about every single thing that you could do to screw up a country, they have done. It is comical to see the extremes they have gone to. They are really completely out of control and the country is spinning off into la-la-land. Frankly, I love living right in the midst of all of it. There is a lesson to be learned from all of this, and I think it is a very important one. When it comes right down to it, any government – not just the Argentine government, but the US government as well – will simply do whatever it thinks it needs to do to keep the status quo intact, with no moral or ethical considerations." Continue reading →

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Now Available for You to Buy: America’s Most Expensive Home, $190 Million

"The Greenwich, CT house has 12 bedrooms and comes with 50 acre of grounds. The house is currently owned by timber industrialist John Rudey, reports the UK's MailOnline. The estate once belonged to Harriet Lauder Greenway, whose father went into business with steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. The three story property was built in 1896 and still has speaking tubes from pre-electricity days and sleeping porches used to cool off before the invention of air conditioning as well as an elaborate solarium. There is 15,000 feet of living space." Continue reading →

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Thriving UK Housing Market Creates 77,894 More ‘Millionaires’ Last Year

"More than 300,000 British homes are worth over £1 million pounds ($1.5 million), up 32 percent on last year, according to a property 'rich list' out on Friday. Furthermore, the number of streets where the average property value is over £1 million jumped to 8,230. Unsurprisingly to those familiar with England's expensive capital, London was home to all 20 of the country's most expensive streets. Despite the U.K.'s anemic economy, property prices have continued to rise, fueled by easy monetary policy, housing shortages, and government schemes to make home-buying more affordable." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers: 50% Correction in Markets not Uncommon

"Jim Rogers sat down with Kitco News during FreedomFest to talk about gold, the fed and the current state of the markets. Rogers explains his book 'Street Smarts' and shares his experiences living in Singapore. Watch now to hear what he has to say about the US economy and the recent corrections in gold prices." Continue reading →

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U.S. banks eye metal storage exit

"JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are seeking to sell their metal warehousing units just three years after their controversial entry to the industry. The two US banks got in to the niche warehousing business in 2010 at a time when a build-up in stocks following the financial crisis had triggered a boom for storage companies. But their ownership of warehouses struck a nerve when metal users began complaining that warehousing companies were profiting from bottlenecks in the system that have distorted prices. The Federal Reserve is also weighing whether banks should even be allowed to own physical commodities infrastructure, such as warehouses." Continue reading →

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Swiss thousand-franc note is a hidden treasure

"Swiss banknote circulation is the second highest in the world behind Japan and more than double that in the United States or the euro zone. Swiss National Bank spokeswoman Silvia Oppliger explains this by the fact that holdings and use of cash remain popular, and that many people still withdraw cash in order to pay their bills at the post office counter. 'People consider using banknotes to be very practical. Also, the wish for privacy has always been high in Switzerland,' Oppliger said. 'Using cash for payments is one manifestation of this.' Switzerland so far has no plans to investigate the use of its CHF1,000 note, let alone discuss its abolishment." Continue reading →

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India to settle oil trade dues with Iran in rupees

"India will settle all oil trade including USD 1.53 billion in dues with Iran entirely in rupees after the US-engineered illegal sanctions against Tehran blocked all other payment routes. In June, India along with China, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Taiwan won a 180-day waiver from the US sanctions against Iran's energy sector. Indian Ambassador to Iran D. P. Srivastava said on Wednesday that New Delhi is determined to continue cooperation with Tehran despite the illegal US-engineered sanctions against the Islamic Republic." Continue reading →

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Gold Deliveries From Shanghai Bourse Jump on Physical Demand

"Physical gold delivered to buyers by China’s largest bullion bourse in the first half of this year almost matched the entire amount taken from its vaults in 2012, and was more than double the country’s annual production. The surge in deliveries underscores buying interest in China, which may pass India as the largest bullion consumer as early as this year after the government in New Delhi raised import taxes while regulators in Beijing made investing in the metal easier. Miners, smelters and refineries are required to sell gold via the Shanghai bourse, the only state-sanctioned marketplace for spot bullion in China." Continue reading →

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