Bill Bonner: How Do You Destroy a Business?

"Mr. Mnuchin was on the board of Sears for the past 11 years, throughout its devastating decline. He is resigning now, letting the ship go down without him. Besides, he has already stolen the silver. How do you destroy a business? It’s not that hard. Rather than invest in new people and new methods, you take the money for yourself. It is even more attractive if you can borrow a lot of fake money at ultra-low rates against the company’s credit… pay it out to yourself and other financiers… and then jump ship, leaving the company, its employees, and its creditors to drown in your debt." Continue reading

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Hackers steal 2 billion rubles at Russia’s central bank

"The central bank did not say when the heist occurred or how hackers moved the funds. But so far, the attack bears some similarity to a recent string of heists that has targeted the worldwide financial system. In January 2015, hackers got a hold of an Ecuadorian bank's codes for using SWIFT, the worldwide interbank communication network that settles transactions. In October, hackers used the same technique to slip into a bank in the Philippines. Two months later, hackers tried to make fraudulent requests at a commercial bank in Vietnam. They were stopped. This past February, computer hackers stole $101 million from Bangladesh's central bank -- also by gaining access to SWIFT." Continue reading

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India Bank Adviser Proposes Regular, ‘Surprise’ Cash Bans

If these academics have their way, government-backed paper money will further approach its intrinsic value - zero. They hope that this will drive cash-based savings into bank deposits, which generate fee revenue and a source of leverage for the banks while at the same time supplying governments with taxes and police oversight of citizens' financial lives. However, governments attempting to eliminate cash usage risk destroying trust in the 'coin of the realm', leading to cash-based savings being moved into assets such as real estate, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies instead of bank deposits. Continue reading

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Why are so many bankers committing suicide?

"Three bankers in New York, London and Siena, Italy, died within 17 months of each other in 2013-14 in what authorities deemed a series of unrelated suicides. But in each case, the victim had a connection to a burgeoning global banking scandal, leaving more questions than answers as to the circumstances surrounding their deaths." Continue reading

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India’s Cash Ban Leaves At Least 47 Dead, So Far

"Eight days into demonetisation, the death toll has reached 47. These are confirmed deaths reported in the national media. The number of unreported deaths may be higher. While most deaths are of the elderly waiting in long bank queues, there are quite a few suicides, especially of housewives." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIndia’s Cash Ban Leaves At Least 47 Dead, So Far

Trump Presidency Could Be Worth $14 Billion to His Troubled Lender Deutsche Bank

"Donald Trump’s election has likely given a massive lifeline to Deutsche Bank, the German financial firm that has been rocked recently by rumors that they would have to pay a $14 billion fine to the Justice Department over crisis-related mortgage abuses. That money is unlikely to ever be imposed, now that one of Deutsche Bank’s biggest borrowers – Trump – will soon be sitting in the White House." Continue reading

Continue ReadingTrump Presidency Could Be Worth $14 Billion to His Troubled Lender Deutsche Bank

German bank starts charging customers to hold their cash

"When the European Central Bank introduced a negative interest rate on lenders’ deposits two years ago, few thought things would ever go this far. This week, a German cooperative savings bank in the Bavarian village of Gmund am Tegernsee — population 5,767 — said it’ll start charging retail customers to hold their cash. From September, for savings in excess of 100,000 euros (US$111,710), the community’s Raiffeisen bank will take back 0.4 per cent. Introducing the sub-zero policy in June 2014 with a cut to the deposit rate to minus 0.1 per cent, ECB President Mario Draghi said the move was 'for the banks, not for the people.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingGerman bank starts charging customers to hold their cash

German bank starts charging customers to hold their cash

"When the European Central Bank introduced a negative interest rate on lenders’ deposits two years ago, few thought things would ever go this far. This week, a German cooperative savings bank in the Bavarian village of Gmund am Tegernsee — population 5,767 — said it’ll start charging retail customers to hold their cash. From September, for savings in excess of 100,000 euros (US$111,710), the community’s Raiffeisen bank will take back 0.4 per cent. Introducing the sub-zero policy in June 2014 with a cut to the deposit rate to minus 0.1 per cent, ECB President Mario Draghi said the move was 'for the banks, not for the people.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingGerman bank starts charging customers to hold their cash

German bank starts charging customers to hold their cash

"When the European Central Bank introduced a negative interest rate on lenders’ deposits two years ago, few thought things would ever go this far. This week, a German cooperative savings bank in the Bavarian village of Gmund am Tegernsee — population 5,767 — said it’ll start charging retail customers to hold their cash. From September, for savings in excess of 100,000 euros (US$111,710), the community’s Raiffeisen bank will take back 0.4 per cent. Introducing the sub-zero policy in June 2014 with a cut to the deposit rate to minus 0.1 per cent, ECB President Mario Draghi said the move was 'for the banks, not for the people.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingGerman bank starts charging customers to hold their cash

German bank starts charging customers to hold their cash

"When the European Central Bank introduced a negative interest rate on lenders’ deposits two years ago, few thought things would ever go this far. This week, a German cooperative savings bank in the Bavarian village of Gmund am Tegernsee — population 5,767 — said it’ll start charging retail customers to hold their cash. From September, for savings in excess of 100,000 euros (US$111,710), the community’s Raiffeisen bank will take back 0.4 per cent. Introducing the sub-zero policy in June 2014 with a cut to the deposit rate to minus 0.1 per cent, ECB President Mario Draghi said the move was 'for the banks, not for the people.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingGerman bank starts charging customers to hold their cash