Monthly Archives: September 2013

The Taper Caper

"Under normal conditions, you'd be smart to assume that the Fed won't taper until unemployment falls below 7% and inflation rises above 2%. But there's a curveball: Bernanke will almost certainly step down as head of the Fed in January 2014. Rumors say that he wants to begin tapering before he leaves, for obvious reasons. Such action would increase the odds of history viewing him favorably. If Bernanke tapers, he can take credit for putting the US on a responsible path before handing the reins over to the next guy or gal. Whatever happens after that is Janet Yellen's problem (or whoever-replaces-Bernanke's problem)." Continue reading →

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The FED Does Not Control the Federal Funds Rate

"Because they are sitting on $2 trillion of excess reserves, banks rarely borrow money overnight. They do not have to. They have plenty of reserves. Before late 2008, a bank would borrow overnight if its reserves threatened to fall below the legal requirement set by the FED. But now banks have so many reserves that they rarely borrow. So, there is little demand. So, the rate is low. The FOMC has increased the monetary base at times. In most of 2012, it decreased it. The FedFunds rate has not changed when FOMC policy has changed. Here is the inescapable conclusion: the Federal Reserve does not control this rate. The FED pretends that it does." Continue reading →

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Forget premiums: A peer-to-peer network will cover you

"An online insurance firm called Peercover lets groups of people insure each other on their own terms and at a fraction of the cost. Insurance is the latest financial service to get a shake-up from peer-to-peer (P2P) dynamics. Already, individuals can lend money for a return with interest. Similarly, people wanting to exchange currency can avoid banks and instead use P2P services to find other people looking to make the opposite trade. 'The changes in financial services that are happening now are happening more quickly and dramatically than anything we've seen over the last 100 years,' says Ron Suber of peer-to-peer loan company Prosper. 'Peercover is a great example.'" Continue reading →

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BitScan’s exclusive Q&A with Roger Ver

"If you look at bitcoin, it has all those same characteristics of gold in terms of it being easily recognizable, easily divisible and similarly, they both have a limited supply and can’t just be made out of thin air. Where bitcoin differs from gold is that it is easily transportable. You can send bitcoins anywhere on the planet instantly basically for free. It is incredibly expensive to ship gold around the world and if you do, you have to trust the shipping company or the delivery company, with bitcoin you don’t have to trust anybody at all. All you do, is send the bitcoins and they have been sent. So bitcoin has gold’s valuable characteristics as money but it is also transportable." Continue reading →

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The biggest Bitcoin win in gambling history

"In just one weekend of furious gambling, a single Internet high roller has taken home close to 11,000 bitcoins—or about $1.3 million. The man, known online as Nakowa, has turned one of Bitcoin’s most popular and profitable casinos into a loser. What no one can figure out: Is he a cheater, a genius, or the luckiest man on earth? Just-Dice.com, a European-based cybercasino offering a set of dice games played for the highly valuable digital currency Bitcoin, has been on a roller coaster ride. Nakowa’s weekend started on a losing streak that made Just-Dice richer than it had ever been, causing the site to hit its highest single profit point of all time (7,000 bitcoins or $862,400 on hand)." Continue reading →

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Too Big To Fail Is Now Bigger Than Ever Before

"Ever since the financial crisis of 2008, our politicians have been running around proclaiming that they will not rest until they have fixed 'the too big to fail problem', but instead of fixing it those banks have rapidly gotten even larger. We are witnessing a consolidation of the banking industry that is absolutely stunning. Hundreds of smaller banks have been swallowed up by these behemoths, and millions of Americans are finding that they have to deal with these banking giants whether they like it or not. These banks have been unbelievably reckless, but when they fail, we will all pay the price." Continue reading →

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Marc Faber on higher education & protecting yourself in economic collapse

"Marc Faber is an economic authority on global macroeconomics, capital markets, and investment and the Editor & Publisher of 'The Gloom Boom & Doom Report'. He spoke with The Prospect Group about university style formal education, the coming economic collapse, and the options people to preserve their wealth." Continue reading →

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Cruz’ plan B for defunding Obamacare: ‘Shut down the military’

"Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday warned Senate Republicans that refusing to filibuster a bill that defunds President Barack Obama’s health care reform law 'is a vote for Obamacare,' and he also advised House Republicans to 'shut down the military' if they had to. 'If Harry Reid kills the bill in the Senate, the House should hold its ground, and should begin passing smaller continuing resolutions, one department at a time,' Cruz explained. 'It should start with a continuing resolution focused on the military.' 'Send it over, see if Harry Reid is willing to shut down the military,' he quipped." Continue reading →

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