Economy

Venezuela’s Central Bank to Trade Gold with Goldman Sachs

"Venezuela's Central Bank and Goldman Sachs are ready to sign an agreement to swap or exchange international gold reserves, with a start date in October, as stated in the contract, and until October 2020. The negotiated amount, equivalent to 1.45 million ounces of gold, are deposited in the Bank of England and the transfers are made directly to Goldman Sachs once delivery times are stipulated. The operation involves the delivery of gold from the central bank, which will receive dollars from the U.S. firm. Economist Jose Guerra explains that this operation is being undertaken because of the fall in international reserves, on Nov. 15 totaled $20.6 billion, a loss of $9.9 billion in 11 months." Continue reading →

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The Fundamental Characteristic that Recommends Janet Yellen

"We expect an ever more emphatic stream of double-talk and market manipulations as the final acts of this tragedy play out. First, a Wall Street Party and then ... the ruinous aftermath. And throughout this scenario, the constant, delusional drip of increasingly unmoored statements about the Fed's competence and the government's efficiency generally. Somehow the eventual unwinding of these trillions shall be blamed on the private markets and as everything crashes down, those at the top will suggest a new and even more globalized system using the strategies that have created such domestic havoc." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Could be Regulated as a Commodity: Senate Banking Hearing

"BitPay CEO Tony Gallippi also presented, and argued against regulation. He recommended that Congress take the same approach to bitcoin as they did to the commercial Internet in the early nineties: wait and see. 'If America is the leader in Bitcoin technology, America will create more jobs and more exports,' he said. 'If the United States doesn’t allow our businesses to accept bitcoin and create more jobs and exports, then countries like Germany and China certainly will.' He understood why banks might be nervous about virtual currencies, though, as it is a disruptive technology, which threatens to undermine their business models." Continue reading →

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The Rise of Bitcoin and Fall of the U.S Dollar

"In this video Luke Rudkowski interviews Jeff Berwick of the dollar vigilante about the future of the U.S economy and the rise of bitcoin. Jeff is a Canadian entrepreneur, economics, finance, investment writer, libertarian and anarcho-capitalist activist." Continue reading →

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Geithner Joins the Wall Street Party

"He made sure of the solvency of Wall Street and of the City and having done this for four years – and no doubt seeing that the situation was deteriorating further – he decided to head for the exit. He has moved on to take the presidency of a white shoe Wall Street firm specializing in start-up investments. It is his first 'private sector' job, we're told, but one he will be good at because of his work ethic and 'commitment to leadership.'. We've been discussing the upcoming Wall Street Party, one Geithner is inviting himself to. Warburg Pincus is a big player in venture capital investing with a main focus, according to various reports on the company, in the areas of energy, technology and healthcare." Continue reading →

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Meet Two Economists Who Can Ruin Your Retirement

"Messrs. English and Wilcox are two of the most important economists at the Federal Reserve. Their work greatly influences the Fed’s policies … and they recently presented their latest findings at the International Monetary Fund’s annual research conference. Essentially, English and Wilcox’s new research argues that the Fed should start reducing the size of its money-printing programs in the next few months. But at the same time, the economists recommend that the Fed should offset that tapering with extremely dovish guidance on interest rates. More specifically, they suggest that the Fed should promise to keep rates close to zero until 2017!" Continue reading →

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Bernanke: Bitcoin ‘May Hold Long-Term Promise’

"The beautiful thing about Bitcoin, digital currency enthusiasts will tell you, is that it doesn't have a central bank. So with eyes on today's Bitcoin Senate hearing, where does the world's most powerful central banker stand on the elusive cryptocurrency? Now we know. Ahead of the meeting, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has released a letter to help guide the senate. Quartz's Zachary Seward called it a 'cautious blessing,' with Bernanke acknowledging the Fed doesn't have the authority to supervise virtual currencies, but that they 'may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure and more efficient payment system.'" Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: Paddywhacking

"Last week, Janet Yellen told the Senate what everyone wanted to hear: that the Fed would continue to support asset prices. With the 'Yellen put' in their pockets, investors bid up the Dow to over 16,000 by the end of the week. What to make of it? Although we have no doubt that Fed policies will prove disastrous, we have nothing but doubts about what form the disaster will take. John Williams of ShadowStats.com recalculates the Consumer Price Index, official unemployment rates and GDP figures based on more honest data and alternative methodologies. What he discovers is that the CPI is higher, unemployment is higher and the GDP is lower than the feds would have us believe." Continue reading →

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Why We’re Not Sneering at the Averages

"As we can see with modern equity markets, common sense is taking a back seat to pump-priming. There is indeed a Wall Street Party going on, as we've pointed out, and the IPO market, in fact, is a large part of it. When markets are stuffed with money, volatility certainly becomes a concern. We recall the 1987 Crash was brutal, yet markets gradually climbed afterwards, culminating in the tech boom of the late 1990s. Loose money is generally a powerful support for higher averages and stronger numbers. And yes, this could continue for a while because the REAL economy has not yet felt the full impact of what's going on in the stock market." Continue reading →

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The Manufacturing Index Reverses, Falls

"The New York Federal Reserve Bank’s latest survey indicates a slowing of the regional economy. This was not expected by economists. This is a major reversal. It took place across the boards. This could be a temporary fluke. But this is November. This is the month preceding the Christmas season. This should be a time of increasing demand. It isn’t in the New York City area — the heart of America’s financial center." Continue reading →

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