Monthly Archives: August 2013

India Bans All Gold Coin Imports, Increases Capital Controls

"Not satisfied with raising import tariffs on gold and putting in place jarring new FX flow capital controls, it seems the war on a weakening Rupee continues. We previously discussed the unintended consequence of such actions - including the rise of the gold smuggler - but the latest total ban on the importation of gold coins and medallions is edging India closer and closer to the Argentinian edge of Cristina Fernandez totalitarianism (after the initial ban on sales in June). In an effort to 'moderate outflows' of Rupee, the Indian central bank slashed the amount of money families can send out of the country per year to $75k and limited overseas investment to 100% of net worth (from 400%)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia Bans All Gold Coin Imports, Increases Capital Controls

How To Cash Checks From America’s Water Needs

"In the most recent study and analysis by the EPA, 73,400 water systems are at risk of putting contaminated water into homes, businesses and agricultural operations across the nation. Fixing the problems is expected to cost at least $384 billion — but we won’t really know until we actually dig into the water systems… many of which were built a century or more ago. Then there’s the matter of aging piping. Every day, on average, there are 850 water main breaks. Since 2000, the number of failed water pipes is some 4.2 million. Fixing all the known pipe problems would cost another $549 billion. These are fixes required by the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow To Cash Checks From America’s Water Needs

Turning Off The Spigot In Western Kansas Farmland

"Big irrigated fields of corn in this part of the country are taking water out of underground aquifers much faster than rain or snow can fill those natural reservoirs back up. If Kansas farmers keep pumping water out of the High Plains aquifer as they have in the past, the amount of water they're able to extract will start to fall in just 10 years or so. They'll still be able to continue harvesting more corn for another generation, though, because technology will let them use that water more efficiently. But after that, even the latest technology won't save the corn fields. Irrigated fields will start to disappear, followed by cattle feedlots. The long expansion of agricultural production in western Kansas will end." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTurning Off The Spigot In Western Kansas Farmland

The cost of being the world’s No.1 uranium producer

"Kazakhstan has steadily risen to become the world's No. 1 uranium producer, surpassing such nations as the United States, Canada, and Australia, which require more cleanup. Rather than employing miners to haul rock up to the surface, mine operators in Kazakhstan have embraced a newer – and generally cleaner – process by which a chemical solution is injected down a pipe to dissolve the underground uranium deposits and then is sucked back up to the surface. This in situ leach (ISL) method avoids making a mess above ground, but leaves toxic levels of heavy metals in the ground water." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe cost of being the world’s No.1 uranium producer

South African labor unrest spreads, gold, construction strikes loom

"Tens of thousands of construction workers prepared to down tools next week and unions in the gold sector also signaled their intention to call a strike over wages. NUM represents about 64 percent of the roughly 140,000 miners in the South African gold industry, where major operators include AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye Gold. Seshoka also announced that NUM's 90,000 members in the construction industry would go on strike from Monday. South Africa's faltering economy is already losing an estimated $60 million a day to a strike by 30,000 workers in the car manufacturing sector that accounts for 6 percent of gross domestic product." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouth African labor unrest spreads, gold, construction strikes loom

Paulson Offsets Gold Bullion ETF Sale with Gold Swaps

"Hedge fund manager and gold bull John Paulson made headlines this week after regulatory filings revealed he cut his stake in the largest bullion-backed ETF by more than half in the second quarter. However, Paulson offset much of the sale by buying gold swaps in the over-the-counter market, the Financial Times reports, sourcing a person familiar with the matter. 'Paulson & Co.’s decision to shift a chunk of its gold holdings out of the ETF and into the OTC market reflects the relative costs of the two,' the FT reports. GLD charges an expense ratio of 0.40%." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaulson Offsets Gold Bullion ETF Sale with Gold Swaps

Gold flows from Britain to Switzerland surge in first half

"Britain's gold exports to Switzerland surged in the first half of this year, Australian bank Macquarie said on Monday, suggesting bullion being sold out of exchange-traded funds may be heading for Swiss refineries before being sold on in Asia. The UK exported 240 tonnes of gold to Switzerland in May alone, while its exports over the first half of this year totalled 797 tonnes. In contrast, Britain exported just 92 tonnes of bullion to Switzerland in the whole of last year. 'The UK does not have gold mines, so where has it all come from? The obvious source is the gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), most of which hold their gold holdings in London vaults, and which saw huge outflows in 1H 2013,' Macquarie said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold flows from Britain to Switzerland surge in first half

In Bhutan, a stock trade a day keeps stress away [2009]

"The outside world is coming to Bhutan, slowly. Television arrived here in 1999 and there are now around 10,000 Internet connections in a country of under 700,000 people. Bhutan still has no traffic lights since the first one was withdrawn after protests from residents that it was unsightly. In the stock exchange's bare trading floor, computers sit on sparse wooden desks. There are no TVs on the walls, no shouts into telephones, no empty coffee cups or discarded paper. Peldon, dressed in traditional Bhutanese dress, typed in her one trade for the day before an 11 am deadline, when buy and sell orders are matched up by computer software that has not been updated since 1993." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIn Bhutan, a stock trade a day keeps stress away [2009]

Ecuador: Is it nuts to invest here?

"Since coming to power in 2007, Correa has voluntarily defaulted on the country’s debt, rewritten terms for natural resource companies and steadily pushed up taxes for imported goods. Unsurprisingly, most multinationals have taken the hint and left the country. Foreign direct investment now stands at less than 1% of GDP – the lowest in the region apart from Venezuela. But today, I want to tell you why I reckon that could be about to change and throw up some exciting – though risky – investment opportunities in the region. In the last few years, Ecuador has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, with GDP averaging 6.7% since the start of 2011. " Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEcuador: Is it nuts to invest here?

India’s Sonia Gandhi seeks support for law to banish hunger

"Gandhi told MPs to send a message to the world that India was ready to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. 'The big message which will go out to the country and rest of the world is clear and concrete: that India is taking the responsibility of providing food security of all its citizens,' she said. 'Our goal for the foreseeable future must be to wipe out hunger and malnutrition from our country,' Italian-born Gandhi told lawmakers to applause in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament. Her government says the programme will add 230 billion rupees ($3.6 billion) annually to India’s existing 900-billion-rupee food subsidy bill." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia’s Sonia Gandhi seeks support for law to banish hunger