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Foreign investors: Why US bank may close your account

"El Paso’s international trade traffic in 2011 was greater than the trade traffic passing through San Diego, Calif. and Nogales, Ariz. combined. With such cross-border economic activity it is only natural for foreign businesses to maintain U.S. bank accounts in El Paso. Unfortunately, many of these commercial accounts are being closed by U.S. banks. Why is this happening? The answer can be traced back to the bank formerly known as the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation and its violations of the 2001 Patriot Act – transgressions that a U.S. Senate subcommittee investigated and resulted in the assessment of a $1.9-billion penalty to HSBC in July." Continue reading →

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Faber: Fed could up QE to $1 trillion a month

"Marc Faber, publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, told CNBC on Monday that investors are asking the wrong question about when the Federal Reserve will taper its massive bond-buying program. They should be asking when the central bank will be increasing it, he argued. 'The question is not tapering. The question is at what point will they increase the asset purchases to say $150 [billion], $200 [billion], a trillion dollars a month,' Faber said in a 'Squawk Box' interview. Faber has been predicting so-called 'QE infinity' because 'every government program that is introduced under urgency and as a temporary measure is always permanent.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFaber: Fed could up QE to $1 trillion a month

Federal Reserve Policy Failures Are Mounting

"One possible reason why the Fed have consistently erred on the high side in their growth forecasts is that they assume higher stock prices will lead to higher spending via the so-called wealth effect. The Fed's ad hoc analysis on this subject has been wrong and is in conflict with econometric studies. The studies suggest that when wealth rises or falls, consumer spending does not generally respond, or if it does respond, it does so feebly. During the run-up of stock and home prices over the past three years, the year-over-year growth in consumer spending has actually slowed sharply from over 5% in early 2011 to just 2.9% in the four quarters ending Q2." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Reserve Policy Failures Are Mounting

Barack Obama’s Nixonian Fed Pick

"As a result of the Fed’s Quantitative Easing programs, banks are now sitting on more than $2.2 trillion in excess reserves. How the Fed eliminates these excess reserves before they produce an explosive growth in the money supply and surging inflation should be more of a concern to the next Fed Chair than an unemployment rate that is more the product of uncertainties associated with deficit spending and business fears about Obamacare than any lack of liquidity caused by the Fed. Yellen’s defenders say there’s nothing to worry about. As Georgetown University professor Henry Holzer put it, Yellen is fully aware of inflation and not a 'mindless stimulator.' Others aren’t so sure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBarack Obama’s Nixonian Fed Pick

War in Washington: Two Shocking Forecasts

"The bond investor rebellion we’re forecasting is not unprecedented. It has happened before — in 1980, under the Carter administration. Back then, the federal budget deficit was huge, although not nearly as large as today’s. Consumer inflation was taking off due to years of aggressive easy money by the Fed, although not nearly as aggressive as the Fed’s massive money printing and bond buying of the past five years. There was fear of a hotter cold war, although not nearly as intense as today’s fears. In response, bond buyers went on strike. It was virtually impossible for the United States government to sell its bonds at virtually any price. My forecast was — and is — that this will happen again." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWar in Washington: Two Shocking Forecasts

India arrests man caught smuggling gold bars in cellphone

"The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) arrested a passenger for attempting to smuggle gold through Mumbai airport on Saturday. The passenger, Ibrahim Khaleel, was carrying four gold bars worth Rs 48 lakh. Two of the bars were concealed in his mobile phone in place of the battery. The other two were found in his bag. Khaleel landed in Mumbai from Riyadh by a Jet Airways flight. Just as he was trying to clear Customs through the green channel, AIU officials intercepted him on suspicion and asked for a thorough check." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia arrests man caught smuggling gold bars in cellphone

International Wire Fees going up from the new remittance transfer rule

"On October 28th, 2013 international wire fees are going up. This is due to the remittance transfer rule amendment to Regulation E from the Dodd-Frank Act. Ironically, as a ‘consumer protection’ amendment, these new stipulations are suppose to help protect and disclose more information to those that are sending money abroad. The issue is that it really does the opposite of that–it simply makes international wires more expensive at the cost of those who can afford it the least. JP Morgan Chase has announced that they will no longer be offer outbound international wire services in response to this new regulation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternational Wire Fees going up from the new remittance transfer rule

The S&P’s Tragic Rise Will Continue

"Equities resumed their run to higher highs and higher lows. This rise has a tragic undertone for its substance is damaging the economy. One must make hay while the sun shines. Let's examine what to expect and how to position yourself for maximum gains and protection in the mid to long-term. Turbulence in the short term will pass for the markets but socio-economic stresses require that one's holding be placed in the strongest castles. Let us then consider a three-part investing strategy that should enable most people to ride the rip tides of these markets and crazed policies and anchor themselves to companies adapted to the new America, and world that is taking shape." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe S&P’s Tragic Rise Will Continue

Switzerland will release bank account numbers to foreign financial police

"Switzerland will cooperate more closely on fighting money laundering, the Swiss body responsible said on Wednesday, marking a further loosening of bank secrecy a day after the country signed an accord to fight tax evasion. In legislation that will come into force on November 1, the Bern-based Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) said that Swiss authorities will be able to release the numbers of bank accounts opened in the country to foreign investigators. A day earlier, Switzerland, widely considered a tax haven and long criticized for its secretive banking culture, signed an international agreement to exchange information among more than 60 countries aimed at exposing tax dodgers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwitzerland will release bank account numbers to foreign financial police

Buried in Fine Print: $57B of FHA Loans Big Banks May Have to Eat

"The nation's four largest banks are holding $57 billion of seriously delinquent loans that they've been slow to move into foreclosure over concerns that the Federal Housing Administration, the government mortgage insurer, will refuse to cover the losses and hit them with damages, according to industry sources. The banks — Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Wells Fargo (WFC) — have assured investors in the footnotes of quarterly filings that the loans are government-insured and therefore pose no threat to their bottom lines, even if they end up in foreclosure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBuried in Fine Print: $57B of FHA Loans Big Banks May Have to Eat