Economy

Who Will Head the Fed? It Doesn’t Matter

"As leaders in the developed Western world become more authoritarian and move to confiscate wealth, most markets will actually respond very positively. Seems illogical, I know. But the facts of the matter are this: In times of war and potential confiscation of assets, stocks can become safe havens as money is pulled out of sovereign bond markets to be invested elsewhere. Commodities can take flight as investors begin to hoard tangible assets and portable wealth, and the real bull markets in precious metals truly unfold. My top recommendation right now: You can largely ignore the central bankers. Instead, keep both eyes on the leaders in Washington and Europe." Continue reading →

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Ron Paul: Federal Reserve Steals From the Poor and Gives to the Rich

"As recently as five years ago, it would have been unheard of for a Wall Street insider and former Fed official to speak so bluntly about how the Fed acts as a reverse Robin Hood. But a quick glance at the latest unemployment numbers shows that QE is not benefiting the average American. It is increasingly obvious that the Fed's post-2008 policies of bailouts, money printing, and bond buying benefited the big banks and the politically-connected investment firms. It would be a mistake to think that QE is the first time the Fed's policies have benefited the well-to-do at the expense of the average American. The Fed's polices have always benefited crony capitalists and big spending politicians." Continue reading →

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‘Paradigm shift’: Bitcoin to replace ‘broken’ government currencies?

"The Bitcoin virtual currency is up 24.5 percent in 24 hours, touching a new record of $619. The surge is 'the beginning of something spectacular,' with it potentially displacing the dollar, Jeffrey Tucker of the Foundation for Economic Education told RT. 'I think, that’s not a bubble, it represents a substantial paradigm shift,' Tucker said, commenting on the latest boom of the anonymous crypto currency. 'In fact $600 per bitcoin might be a thing of history, we might get it much –much higher,' the expert added. 'The bottom line is that the government currencies are broken at the moment, they don’t meet the modern needs of an internet age and Bitcoin does,' Jeffrey Tucker explained." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Scandal Reflects Popularity of Virtual Currency in China

"The willingness to invest in GBL despite its shortcomings demonstrates just how popular 'crypto-currency' has become in China. In early November, BTC China overtook Mt. Gox and Bistamp to become the largest bitcoin exchange site in the world, handling 34 percent of global bitcoin transactions over the previous seven days, according to data from Bitcoinity.org, a website that tracks bitcoin exchanges. Bitcoin’s appeal to Chinese investors is manifold. The currency experienced a major spike in value in July shortly after being the subject of overwhelmingly favorable reports on CCTV, China’s state-run television station, and People’s Daily, the main Communist Party newspaper." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Foundation Plays Down Silk Road Connection at Senate Hearing

"Even the title of Monday’s Senate Committee hearing on bitcoin reflects the overriding concern. 'Beyond Silk Road – Potential Threats, Risks, and Promises of Virtual Currency' brings together several speakers from the government, industry, and non-profit sectors to give their opinions to the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about the potential security risks of the cryptocurrency. Here is a roundup of what to expect from testimony given at the event." Continue reading →

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Online Casinos Hobbled as Credit-Card Issuers Reject Bets

"Just as legal online gambling gets started in the U.S., banks and payment processors are refusing to play. Credit-card issuers Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and American Express Co., along with EBay Inc.’s PayPal, aren’t allowing the transactions, according to the companies. Delaware and Nevada permit Internet wagering, with New Jersey poised to become the third and biggest state on Nov. 26. The rejections threaten a nascent business with the potential to reach $7.4 billion in annual revenue in four years, the estimate of researcher H2 Gambling Capital. American Express and PayPal say they don’t process gambling transactions of any kind." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers on Price Inflation, Investing in Asia and China’s Boom

"As we speak, there is this meeting in Beijing on what to do about the Chinese economy. It's a plenary council, which only meets periodically. The first meeting was in 1978 where [Deng Xiaoping] started opening up the Chinese economy, which has certainly been the most important thing in the world economy in the past 35 years. In 1993 they had another one, which had dramatic results. The Chinese say that this meeting is going to have equally dramatic and dynamic results and come up with very important changes. It may be as important as 1993 or 1978, and if they do big things, it's going to be perhaps the most important thing affecting the world economy over the next 10 or 20 years." Continue reading →

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Monetary Madness

"In the Forked Tongue category, wannabe Fed chief Janet Yellen has now eclipsed Fed Chairman Bernanke for the first prize. In her testimony before Congress this week, she says little or nothing about the 2008 debt crisis, federal deficits, European debacles, fiscal cliffs or any others which were among her predecessor’s favorite excuses for the unprecedented money printing she vows to pursue. Nor does she talk much about a weak economy. Instead, her new rationale is that, although the economy has improved, it hasn’t quite improved 'enough.'" Continue reading →

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Read more about the article Federal Agency Responses Reveal US Government Attitudes to Bitcoin

Federal Agency Responses Reveal US Government Attitudes to Bitcoin

"The US Senate committee due to begin hearings into ‘virtual currencies’ on 18 November has released the responses it received to its August 2013 requests for information on the topic from a number of federal agencies. Until the actual hearings begin, the letters provide one of the most detailed insights so far into how various US government authorities view bitcoin and its contemporaries. The crime-heavy spotlight of the responses might be an indication of the US government’s overall approach to digital currencies such as bitcoin, with only the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department commenting that such payment systems could provide benefit and increase efficiency."

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US has Already Ceded Dominance in Bitcoin Trading

"Currently, the top four bitcoin exchanges by volume are located outside of the US, with the world’s leading exchange based in China. Less than 2% of worldwide bitcoin trading and real-time market making occurs within the US jurisdiction. All four of the world’s leading exchanges have demonstrated a capacity for serious, engaged banking relationships that would have been unobtainable in the United States. We have arrived at the point where the US jurisdiction must strategically evaluate a path going forward. Either they enable a climate that appeals to bitcoin exchanges and businesses or they maintain barriers that silently drive innovation in the space overseas." Continue reading →

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