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Keiser Report: Bitcoin Battle

"In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the bitcoin price plunge as Baidu ditches the crypto currency and China bans it for financial firms. Unnoticed at the same time, Germany declares bitcoin to be private money and Merrill Lynch claims it can replace money transfer systems like Western Union. In the second half, Max interviews Dr. Christos Vlachos, CFO of the University of Nicosia, which is now accepting bitcoin as payment and he explains how the volatility in the price won't matter to the university. They also discuss Dr. Vlachos' hope to turn Cyprus into a bitcoin hub." Continue reading →

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Croatian central bank establishes that Bitcoin is legal in Croatia

"Croatian national bank (CNB) gave its opinion that Bitcoin is legal, and the most notable mention was a piece on Bitcoin that got aired on 19:30 national television news on Monday. CNB took the very liberal stand that echoes European central bank document on virtual currency schemes from October 2012, noting that Bitcoin is not illegal in Croatia. They noted that it is not electronic money since it's not debt to the issuer (although it has some similarities with electronic money), and that it is not legal tender in Croatia but can be legally used." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: Is Bad News Good News for US Stocks?

"Everyone knows that even a little cutback in the Fed’s buyback program should mean falling stock and bond prices. A trillion dollars a year is a lot of money – in fact, it’s 7% of GDP. Imagine a corporation with annual revenue of $100 billion. Imagine that it buys back its own shares at the rate of $7 billion a year. Then try to imagine what would happen to the share price when the largest single buyer drops out. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Even Fed economists can see it. That’s why they won’t taper. And everybody knows it. That’s why bad news is now good news. And good news is good news. Everything Is Good News!" Continue reading →

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Revolutionary France’s Road to Hyperinflation

"The current Federal Reserve strategy is apparently to wait for significant price inflation to show up in the consumer price index before tapering. Yet history tells us that you treat inflation like a sunburn. You don’t wait for your skin to turn red to take action. You protect yourself before leaving home. Once inflation really picks up steam, it becomes almost impossible to control as the politics and economics of the situation combine to make the urge to print irresistible. The hyperinflation of 1790s France illustrates inflationary monetary policy becoming unmanageable in an environment of economic stagnation and debt, and in the face of special interests who benefit from, and demand, easy money." Continue reading →

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Top Hedge Fund Manager on Global Equity Trends and Blown-Up Markets

"Dr. Conrad certainly participated successfully in his era, and his hedge fund uses the latest diversified strategies and instruments around the world to achieve further success today. He's even purchasing farmland and is expanding his commodity positions generally because he believes US equity markets are going to underperform considerably in the next decade. In today's hyper-regulated environment, the kinds of non-regulated, private, diversified strategies that Dr. Conrad employs stand as testimony to diversifying broadly over assets and instruments. Rockier times are surely coming, though not before a 'Wall Street Party' that may elevate equity positions considerably." Continue reading →

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Tell President Obama to Support Warrants for Email Spying

"The IRS, FBI, DEA, and even local law enforcement can access your stored emails, private social media messages, and cloud documents, without a warrant. Bills to reform ECPA have gained huge support in recent months from both parties in Congress. But... A power grab by the Securities and Exchange Commission is now blocking this legislation. They want a special carve-out so regulatory agencies can continue to access your documents without a warrant. This would neuter ECPA reform. The SEC did NOTHING to stop Bernie Madoff, even when they had legally acquired evidence. Shouldn't they first demonstrate more ability to use legal evidence before asking for illegal sources?" Continue reading →

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World powers react to the Bitcoin boom

"World powers have scrambled in recent weeks to react to the rise of Bitcoin, a decentralised digital currency created in 2009. China banned its banks from providing related services and products on Thursday. Meanwhile, on Thursday the French central bank warned against using Bitcoin, because of its volatility and lack of regulation. However, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in its first research report on the currency that it had the potential to become a major means of payment for ecommerce and a serious competitor to traditional payment methods." Continue reading →

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Your Trip on My Time Machine

"How fast and how far could interest rates rise? How soon would they impact other sectors of the economy? How can you profit from this powerful megatrend? On a quest for the answers, I invite you to a voyage through time: We will visit five critical — and incredible — periods of the past. We will return for a reality check of the even more incredible present-day reality. And then, we will take a quick trip into the future to see, first hand, a scenario that we believe is absolutely unavoidable. Our first stop is over a half century ago." Continue reading →

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Why 2014 Will Be Even Worse Than 2013 for Bond Investors

"I’ve given many big-picture reasons: debt and deficits, foreign dumping of bonds, and domestic selling of bond funds and ETFs. Another key reason that’s increasingly coming into focus is this: The economy is on the mend. This does not mean our longer-term economic problems have all gone away. But as I have stressed, it does mean crisis-era interest rates and QE policy have absolutely, positively no justification whatsoever. So if there is any surprise that could rock the bond market in 2014, it’s that the economy is even better than Wall Street expects. That would validate my forecast that the tapering of QE will happen earlier than expected, and so will short-term interest-rate hikes." Continue reading →

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