The Freedom Watch

Cyprus Bank’s Bailout Hands Ownership to Russian Plutocrats

"When European leaders engineered a harsh bailout deal for this tiny Mediterranean nation in March, they cheered the end of an economic model fueled by a flood of cash from Russia. The exercise was meant to banish what Germany and other Northern European nations viewed as dirty Russian money from Cyprus’s bloated banks. Instead, it has pulled Russia even deeper into Europe’s financial system by giving its plutocrats majority ownership, at least on paper, of the Bank of Cyprus, the country’s oldest, biggest and most important financial institution. 'Whoever controls the Bank of Cyprus controls the island,' said Andreas Marangos, a Limassol lawyer." Continue reading →

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Debt of One Quadrillion Yen? Not a Problem

"Haruhiko Kuroda doesn’t wear a wizard’s hat when he arrives at Bank of Japan headquarters each morning. Kuroda has done something truly supernatural in his five months as governor of the central bank. The more yen he conjures up to produce inflation, the more he mesmerizes markets. Yet a week after Japan’s IOUs reached the 1 quadrillion yen ($10.28 trillion) mark, yields have actually declined. What is Kuroda’s secret? The first is what economists call 'financial repression' -- essentially transferring money via monetary policy from citizens to the government. The second is outright monetization of public debt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDebt of One Quadrillion Yen? Not a Problem

Fund manager Ned Goodman ditches bank stocks for gold

"Ned Goodman, founder and chief executive officer of holding company Dundee Corp., shed the last of his bank shares after forecasting global inflation will make investments such as gold stocks and organic beef more rewarding. Goodman, who oversees about C$10 billion ($9.6 billion) for Dundee and its investments in real estate, precious metals, energy and infrastructure, sold the last of the company’s Bank of Nova Scotia shares earlier this quarter. With the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks printing money, it’s only a matter of time before currencies lose value and inflation rises, Goodman said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFund manager Ned Goodman ditches bank stocks for gold

Truth From The Treasury Secretary: Social Security at Risk

"He is only talking here about the problems that political gamesmanship between Democrats and Republicans might temporarily cause in the Treasury selling debt. But the danger is the same, if not greater, when markets won't allow the Treasury to raise funds at cheap rates. It will mean cutbacks in Social Security and other entitlement programs or it will mean the Federal Reserve stepping in and printing more money to buy the Treasury securities that no one else will want. Either way, it won't turn out well for the retirees who depend on Social Security, either there will be immediate cutbacks or price inflation will cut into the purchasing power of the payments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTruth From The Treasury Secretary: Social Security at Risk

Treasury chief says U.S. again perilously close to breaching the debt ceiling

"Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urged Congress on Thursday to raise the US borrowing ceiling, warning that not doing so could jeopardize Washington’s creditworthiness and raise fears of a default. With the US closing on the point where spending will surpass available funds, Lew said it was crucial for Congress to raise the debt cap as soon as it comes back into session at the beginning of September. Failure to raise the ceiling would force cuts to many parts of the government, including the military and social security benefit payouts, and 'have disastrous effects for our nation,' Lew told an audience in Mountain View, California." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTreasury chief says U.S. again perilously close to breaching the debt ceiling

Are commodity prices about to explode?

"Prices in financial markets are determined by psychology, by what people think stocks, bonds and commodities are worth rather than what they actually are worth. Recent sentiment readings for some key commodities, such as copper, gold, sugar, wheat, cattle, etc., were at extreme levels of negativity. From a contrarian aspect of course, that's very bullish. We see a similar pattern in many, but not all commodities in respect to commitment of traders, where knowledgeable commercials are comfortably long. On the other hand, speculators, who as a group usually guess incorrectly at turning points, are taking the other side of the trade with bearish bets." Continue reading →

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Bond Funds Lose $30.3 Billion in August in Big ‘Shift’

"The withdrawals for the month through Aug. 19 are already the third-highest on record, following $69.1 billion of withdrawals in June and $42 billion in October 2008, according to a report dated yesterday by TrimTabs Investment Research in Sausalito, California. Bond funds have suffered $4 billion in redemptions this year, on pace for the biggest withdrawals since investors pulled $7 billion in 2004. The prospect of losses in the fixed-income market and rising rates have spurred investors to retreat after pouring $1.2 trillion into bond mutual funds and ETFs from 2009 through 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBond Funds Lose $30.3 Billion in August in Big ‘Shift’

German jailed for Julius Bär bank data theft

"A German citizen who began working as a contractor for the Zurich-based bank in 2005, admitted that he had gathered information about the bank's clients, including their names, addresses and account numbers, between October and December 2011. He had then compiled a list of German clients with assets of more than 100,000 euros, Swiss francs, British pounds or dollars, and passed it on to a retired German tax inspector. In exchange, he had been set to receive €1.1 million euros. He told the court he had planned to use part of his compensation to pay off his own back-tax debt to German authorities." Continue reading →

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Boardwalk Violinist vs. City Hall: Challenging Ocean City’s Noise Ban

"Ocean City, Maryland is known for a bustling boardwalk that's packed with the sights, smells, and sounds of summer. The city's leaders, however, approved an ordinance prohibiting anyone from being audible from more than 30 feet away while on the boardwalk. Mayor Rick Meehan tells Reason that the goal was 'to ensure that everybody had an opportunity to enjoy Ocean City.' But that wasn't how William Hassay saw it after being hassled by cops. Hassay has been entertaining passersby for almost 20 years by playing his violin for tips. 'I was told I would be cited and that I would be subjected to face jail time,' he says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBoardwalk Violinist vs. City Hall: Challenging Ocean City’s Noise Ban

Vermont Completely Nullifies Federal Hemp Ban

"Vermont has become the most recent state to take a stand against the federal government and nullify the federal ban on hemp cultivation. Governor Shumlin signed the new bill into law in June. Vermont is actually the 9th state to lift the ban on hemp, and 20 states have introduced industrial hemp legislation for the 2013 legislative season. However, what makes Vermont unique is that the new law does not hold a stipulation or amendment requiring the federal government to first lift the ban on hemp cultivation. Much like Colorado, Vermont will proceed regardless of the federal law banning hemp cultivation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVermont Completely Nullifies Federal Hemp Ban