Yearly Archives: 2013

Bill Bonner: Will Japan’s radical gamble work?

"The BOJ says it just wants to get inflation to 2%. It says it will buy assets with money that didn't exist previously...and keep buying...until inflation reaches 2%. Then what? Well, we guess it will stop. And then what? Then, it will have an economy that has come to expect 70 billion yen in new money every month. And an economy with a monetary base of BOJ assets maybe twice what it is today. People make radical gambles now and then. Businessmen might take a chance now and then. Gamblers might go for long odds. Lovers might hope to get lucky. For a central bank to make a 'radical gamble' bespeaks desperation and lunacy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Will Japan’s radical gamble work?

Bill Bonner: Will Japan’s radical gamble work?

"The BOJ says it just wants to get inflation to 2%. It says it will buy assets with money that didn't exist previously...and keep buying...until inflation reaches 2%. Then what? Well, we guess it will stop. And then what? Then, it will have an economy that has come to expect 70 billion yen in new money every month. And an economy with a monetary base of BOJ assets maybe twice what it is today. People make radical gambles now and then. Businessmen might take a chance now and then. Gamblers might go for long odds. Lovers might hope to get lucky. For a central bank to make a 'radical gamble' bespeaks desperation and lunacy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Will Japan’s radical gamble work?

The Fuse Is Burning Brightly on France’s Fiscal Time Bomb

"The public sector in France is more bloated than the ones that exist in Italy, Sweden, and Greece! That’s quite an achievement. And then remember that the new French President is imposing a new top income tax rate of 75 percent. Though, to be fair, President Hollande generously says he doesn’t the overall tax burden on any taxpayer to exceed 80 percent. All hail Francois the Merciful! Notwithstanding this magnanimous gesture, some taxpayers have the gall (no pun intended) to object to this level of fleecing. Famous actors and successful entrepreneurs are among those saying Au Revoir and moving to jurisdictions that have less punitive tax laws." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Fuse Is Burning Brightly on France’s Fiscal Time Bomb

Trust in Gold Not Bernanke as U.S. States Promote Bullion

"Lawmakers in Arizona are poised to follow Utah, which authorized bullion for currency in 2011. Similar bills are advancing in Kansas, South Carolina and other states. The Utah Precious Metals Association, established after passage of the 2011 law to advocate for the use of gold and silver coins, has about two dozen members enrolled in a two month-old bill-pay service in which their accounts are held in gold, said Lawrence Hilton, the group’s chairman. Hilton envisions a future with an alternative monetary system based on precious metals in which merchants accept silver coin while gold mostly backs electronic transfers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrust in Gold Not Bernanke as U.S. States Promote Bullion

Cypriot Chaos Assists EU Centralization

"Today, major bank runs happen for the most part not on the street, but electronically and often within minutes. They attract minimal public attention, are easily kept quiet, and the aggregate amounts transferred are known only to finance ministries and central banks. The true magnitude of any run on Cypriot or eurozone banks is hard for outsiders to clearly ascertain. This can be used as a major weapon in cajoling EU leaders into accepting greater banking 'unity' in both the eurozone and the greater EU. Should the Cypriot crisis prove an inadequate threat to further centralize the EU banking system, then there are a number of brewing crises that might do the trick." Continue reading →

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AFP: Bitcoin price bubble soars to record as investors grow nervous

"A cottage industry of stores buying and reselling goods online for Bitcoins has emerged, and some high-profile transactions have helped push the currency into mainstream consciousness. One Canadian man reportedly hoped to sell his house for Bitcoins, and a US man claimed to have traded his 2007 Porsche for 300 Bitcoins. The Cyprus banking crisis – which saw the tiny nation agree a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank that will shrink the banking sector and lead to losses on deposits of more than 100,000 euros – also coincided with a run-up in Bitcoin valuation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAFP: Bitcoin price bubble soars to record as investors grow nervous

The Real Cyprus Template (the one you’re not supposed to notice)

"So it is expected (and a bit sad) that households and businesses don't leave their banks readily, so its not surprising they stayed on board right up until the end. What is fascinating to me is that the banks that were NOT in the eurozone clearly had no idea what was coming, and the banks actually ON Cyprus only had an inkling, and that only at the last minute. Given both the timing and the form of the Cyprus bank resolution was in the hands of the ECB, as well as French and German politicians, is this astounding ability of the Eurozone banks to avoid losses truly a surprise?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Real Cyprus Template (the one you’re not supposed to notice)

Thaddeus Russell: ‘A Renegade History of the United States’

"You think you know American history? Think again. Drunks, slackers, prostitutes, and pirates were the real heroes of the American Revolution. Slaves created a culture that made America free. Prostitutes, not feminists, were the pioneers of women's liberation. Gangsters helped establish Hollywood, birth control, Las Vegas, legal alcohol, and gay rights. And zoot-suiters and rock-and-rollers, not generals or the Air Force, brought down the Soviet Union." Continue reading →

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The Best Enemy Money Can Buy

"In this YouTube video clip, Vice President Joe Biden states that the 'affirmative task before us now is to create a new world order' at the Export Import Bank conference in Washington on April 5, 2013. OK — David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, George H. W. Bush, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, John McCain, Barack Obama, Joe Biden ad nauseam — how do you explain away this one? Conspiracy fact or conspiracy theory?" Continue reading →

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