Economy

EU Easing to Infinity and Beyond?

"Money printing will continue and financial instruments will therefore continue to inflate, both in Europe and the US. There will be much hand-wringing about deflation and a lack of jobs, but this is not serious. The system cannot function any other way. As we have pointed out before, we are in the reflationary leg of a bear-market cycle. There will doubtless be significant volatility but the power elite controlling the financial system seems determined to create yet another blow-off. You may not have a job but if you have assets you will be able to participate in it and possibly reap significant rewards if you are careful and pay attention to the timing of additional money flows. Good luck." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEU Easing to Infinity and Beyond?

Peter Schiff & Max Keiser talk of greatest Ponzi of our time

"In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss drinking the kool aid (never mind the cyanide) while the young and unemployed of Ireland are encouraged to emigrate by government economists determined to flatter their Troika stats. In the second half, Max interviews author and investor, Peter Schiff, about inflation in fraud as governments want a cut of financial crimes and the trickle down monetary policy ponzi scheme." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff & Max Keiser talk of greatest Ponzi of our time

The Fed is Killing the Middle Class

"I walked into a Subway sandwich shop and noticed a big change in the menu. I noticed that the list of sandwiches in its $5 menu keeps shrinking. Pretty soon, Subway will have to come up with a new name for its menu. This is also happening at other fast-food restaurants. In January, Wendy’s turned its $0.99 menu into a 'Right Price, Right Size' menu. And, recently, McDonald’s announced it’s turning its $1 menu into a 'Dollar and Up' menu. These price hikes seem like inconsequential changes. But they represent something bigger … Without its $1 menu acting as an anchor, McDonald’s is now free to start passing along its higher input costs to consumers in the form of rising prices." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Fed is Killing the Middle Class

Bitcoin’s UK Future Looks Bleak

"It's depressing that firstly key government departments have not apparently to the best of my knowledge even discussed this potentially revolutionary technology. It's even more depressing that in a democratic society, discussion of policy regarding this technology is conducted in secrecy. HMRC's VAT legislation is already outdated in many areas especially regarding online trade. My confidence that they will appear from behind these doors with legislation based on a firm understanding of Bitcoin is low. These responses also indicate glaring misunderstandings of what Bitcoin is, hilariously the Bank of England wrote back to tell me 'There have been no meetings held at the BoE attended by Bitcoin'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin’s UK Future Looks Bleak

Sudan devalues currency by 30 percent amid dollar shortages

"Sudan's economy has been in turmoil since South Sudan's secession in 2011 took away of three-quarters of oil production. Oil was the driver of the economy and source for dollars needed for food and other essential imports. The central bank has been trying to bridge a ballooning gap with the black market rate where one dollar costs 7.8 pounds as import firms struggle to get their hand on hard currency. The black market rate has become the benchmark for banks and firms. The secretive central bank tends not to announce devaluations, which are embarrassing for the government, which denies there is a shortage of hard currency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSudan devalues currency by 30 percent amid dollar shortages

Argentine Stocks Rise on Speculation Country to Boost Reserves

"The central bank’s board approved a resolution to restrict local lending to the seven largest grains exporters, forcing them to obtain foreign currency financing, which may bring $2 billion into Argentina by year end, said two people familiar with the plan, who asked not to be named because the resolution hasn’t been made public. Reserves have tumbled $10 billion to $33.3 billion this year to a six-year low as the nation increases energy imports and uses the funds to pay foreign debt. Banks will only be able to lend 0.3 percent of their total lending portfolio to companies that export 75 percent of their output and have more than 200 million pesos of outstanding bank loans, the people said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentine Stocks Rise on Speculation Country to Boost Reserves

Russia Will Probably Hold Rates After Surprise Inflation Jump

"Russia’s central bank will probably refrain from cutting interest rates for a 14th month after a surprise pickup in consumer-price growth last month hurt its struggle to slow inflation to within its target band. Policy makers led by Elvira Nabiullina, who took over as central bank chairman in June, have kept interest rates steady since September 2012 even as the economy of the world’s largest energy exporter has its worst slowdown in four years. Rising food prices after rain delayed the grain harvest and Russia banned pork imports from Belarus. The economy grew 1.2 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter, the worst result since the last three months of 2009." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia Will Probably Hold Rates After Surprise Inflation Jump

Don’t laugh – Bitcoin is making a serious point

"On one side of the Bitcoin argument, this internet-based currency has some fervent backers – many of them tech-savvy youngsters. On the other side stand almost all reputable economists, together with a fierce range of vested interests – including the banks, credit card companies and other conventional players in the extremely lucrative money-transferring business. To them, Bitcoin is a cross between a dangerous irritant and a bad joke. To mention it in conversation is tasteless. To take it seriously is deeply suspect. Yet several events happened last week that made me suspect that Bitcoin – and the idea of 'stateless' currencies more generally – will soon catch the zeitgeist." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDon’t laugh – Bitcoin is making a serious point

‘Without third party bitcoin is safer than Fed notes’

"WM: What we see in the world today with the libor crisis, and Greece, and the failure in Cyprus is regulation does not work. You have regulatory capture, you just have system failure. And the thing that makes bitcoin exciting for people that believe in bitcoin is the fact that it is an emergent system. If it does require regulation to survive then it really wasn’t as good as we thought it was. These sorts of things do happen. You can call this a bank. I would say this is a hosted service run by an 18-year-old. It is not a bank. The people who trusted the third party were really giving away the strength of bitcoin which does not require a third party." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Without third party bitcoin is safer than Fed notes’