Author: The Freedom Watch Staff

This author has written 11091 articles

European central banks to shun fresh gold sales limits

"The amount of gold the region's central banks can sell in any given period has been capped by a series of Central Bank Gold Agreements (CBGAs) since 1999, after a spate of disposals by the official sector, including a 395-tonne tonne sale by the Bank of England, shook up the bullion market. Prices are more than five times higher than they were when the first CBGA was signed by 15 central banks, including those of Germany, Italy and France as well as the European Central Bank, in 1999. That limited sales to 400 tonnes of gold per year, for a five-year period. Signatories struggled to stay within those limits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEuropean central banks to shun fresh gold sales limits

Bipolar Silver: How to Profit

"Most precious-metals investors know that silver is more volatile than gold. But do they know just how big that difference really is? We thought it would be interesting to measure how much greater silver's daily moves are – both in gains and declines – than gold. We documented the daily price movements for both metals, and then calculated the difference using absolute values." Continue reading →

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Gold ETFs in India touch 40 tonne (40,000 kilo)

"The government's import restrictions are hurting the populace. The only organisation not worried, as of now, are gold backed exchange traded funds. Worried investors are veering towards the country’s 14 gold exchange traded funds (ETFs), which together have garnered 40,000 kilo of the precious metal. Gold ETFs debuted in India about six years ago. The first gold ETF launched in 2007 by Benchmark Mutual Fund (now Goldman Sachs) was followed by 13 others in quick succession. The 14 mutual fund houses present in this segment are managing gold assets worth nearly $2.2 billion (Rs 120 billion)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold ETFs in India touch 40 tonne (40,000 kilo)

The Social Deterioration of Funny, Floating Money

"Most of our important relationships with other humans are monetary in nature. We have employment contracts, lending contracts, pension agreements, annuities, welfare, taxes, and, more broadly speaking, the prices paid for goods and services. The basis for all of these relationships is money. When the money becomes 'immoral,' all of these relationships also lose their moral character. Instead of investors, builders and producers, we become traders: trading assets; trading jobs; trading money for favors; trading spouses; trading our supposed 'beliefs,' for short-term gain in a zero-sum, and in fact negative-sum society." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Social Deterioration of Funny, Floating Money

The Social Deterioration of Funny, Floating Money

"Most of our important relationships with other humans are monetary in nature. We have employment contracts, lending contracts, pension agreements, annuities, welfare, taxes, and, more broadly speaking, the prices paid for goods and services. The basis for all of these relationships is money. When the money becomes 'immoral,' all of these relationships also lose their moral character. Instead of investors, builders and producers, we become traders: trading assets; trading jobs; trading money for favors; trading spouses; trading our supposed 'beliefs,' for short-term gain in a zero-sum, and in fact negative-sum society." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Social Deterioration of Funny, Floating Money

Fannie To Allow Mortgage Walkaways by On-Time Borrowers

"Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac will let some borrowers who kept up payments as their homes lost value erase their debts by giving up the properties, helping Americans escape underwater loans while adding to losses at the mortgage giants bailed out with $190 billion of taxpayer money. Non-delinquent borrowers with illness, job changes or other reasons they need to move will become eligible in March to apply for a so-called deed-in-lieu transaction that erases the shortfall between a property’s value and the size of its mortgage." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFannie To Allow Mortgage Walkaways by On-Time Borrowers

Fannie To Allow Mortgage Walkaways by On-Time Borrowers

"Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac will let some borrowers who kept up payments as their homes lost value erase their debts by giving up the properties, helping Americans escape underwater loans while adding to losses at the mortgage giants bailed out with $190 billion of taxpayer money. Non-delinquent borrowers with illness, job changes or other reasons they need to move will become eligible in March to apply for a so-called deed-in-lieu transaction that erases the shortfall between a property’s value and the size of its mortgage." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFannie To Allow Mortgage Walkaways by On-Time Borrowers

Get ready for Washington’s “Automatic IRAs”

"The basic gist is that businesses with 10 or more employees would be required to start funding a new form of individual retirement account. While businesses that already have retirement plans would be exempt, it’s estimated the legislation would affect about 40 percent of the U.S. workforce. Employees would be automatically enrolled. What kind of investment choices would be offered? That’s not clear yet, though Mr. John — the initial creator — has said: 'There could be an R-Bond account at Treasury for first-time savers, but that money would be rolled into private sector accounts once the individual accounts reached a certain size.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet ready for Washington’s “Automatic IRAs”

Get ready for Washington’s “Automatic IRAs”

"The basic gist is that businesses with 10 or more employees would be required to start funding a new form of individual retirement account. While businesses that already have retirement plans would be exempt, it’s estimated the legislation would affect about 40 percent of the U.S. workforce. Employees would be automatically enrolled. What kind of investment choices would be offered? That’s not clear yet, though Mr. John — the initial creator — has said: 'There could be an R-Bond account at Treasury for first-time savers, but that money would be rolled into private sector accounts once the individual accounts reached a certain size.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet ready for Washington’s “Automatic IRAs”