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Virtual cash is no threat to the real thing, Bank of Canada paper says

"The case of Bitcoin – a fully convertible, pure digital currency – is more problematic. Earlier this year, the U.S. Treasury department started requiring that all virtual transactions worth more than $10,000 (U.S.) be reported to authorities to prevent virtual currencies being used for money laundering and other illegal purposes. The authors don’t reach a firm conclusion on whether governments should crack down on virtual currencies, pointing out that regulation might stifle innovation. At the same time, they warn that 'multiple competing platforms creates inefficiency' that will dissuade people from embracing them." Continue reading →

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Black Market Dollar Exchange Sparks Argentina Luxury Sales Crackdown

"Argentines who buy a car valued at more than 350,000 pesos ($58,600) will now be required to justify the transaction with the Financial Information Unit, the nation’s money-laundering watchdog, according to a Nov. 11 decree. Argentina is boosting its currency controls as consumers faced with 25 percent annual inflation turn to everything from luxury cars to gold and bitcoins as a store of savings. With the black market offering holders of undeclared U.S. currency 3.8 pesos more than the official exchange rate of 5.9764 pesos per dollar, demand for premium cars from Volkswagen AG’s Porsche and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is causing a 33 percent jump in imports this year." Continue reading →

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The Downturn in the Spot Gold Price

"Virtually from the day that Germany demanded to have its gold delivered back to the Bundesbank, three very clear phenomena have occurred: 1. The gold price, which had been trending sideways, has plummeted. 2. The physical gold held at the COMEX has been pouring out of the warehouses. 3. The amount of physical gold held by the ETFs has stopped rising and started falling. Fast. Coincidence? I very much doubt it." Continue reading →

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Andrew Huszar: Confessions of a Quantitative Easer

"I can only say: I'm sorry, America. As a former Federal Reserve official, I was responsible for executing the centerpiece program of the Fed's first plunge into the bond-buying experiment known as quantitative easing. The central bank continues to spin QE as a tool for helping Main Street. But I've come to recognize the program for what it really is: the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time." Continue reading →

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Jeffrey Tucker: Has the Fed Met Its Match?

"'It is hard to imagine a world,' says the unimaginative study, 'where the main currency is based on an extremely complex code understood only by a few and controlled by even fewer, without accountability, arbitration, or recourse.' Blink, blink. This is the Fed talking here. Talk about complex. When the Fed governor speaks in Congress, he (soon she) speaks in such a blithering array of econ-babble that no one dare respond, for fear of seeming ignorant. It’s like the first day of an Intro to Physics class. The professor asks if there are questions, and everyone sits in terror. In a half-century of this nonsense, only Ron Paul ever really dared to ask serious questions of the Fed." Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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