Alternative News

Detroit’s City Pensioners Finally Figure It Out After 40 Years: No Pensions.

"Fiscal conservatives have said for years that this was inevitable. We were dismissed as crackpots. The red ink could flow forever, we were told. 'No problem!' They say the same thing today about the federal government. The suckers line up for jobs with the federal government, with its fat pensions and unfunded liabilities. The result will be the same: default. Cities can do what individuals do: run up large bills, and then declare bankruptcy. The voters will shrug off 20,000 pensioners who lived in a fantasy world all their lives. They are no longer politically viable. They are merely a tiny voting bloc that has no money to give to campaigns." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDetroit’s City Pensioners Finally Figure It Out After 40 Years: No Pensions.

Europe Continues to Circle the Drain

"Where is the austerity? The cuts Keynesians are complaining about are mere reductions in increase. 'Despite austerity rhetoric,' wrote Frank Karsten, 'government debts keep rising in most democratic countries. ‘Austerity’ is a code word for ‘spending less than we had wanted, but more than in the past.’ In the end, they wind up raising taxes, rather than lowering expenditures to cut deficits.' As we reported last week, central banks around the world continue to cut their euro holdings for the third straight year. The Old World’s scrip now accounts for only 23.3% of foreign reserve holdings. If central banks are wary of euros… you should be as well." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEurope Continues to Circle the Drain

Europe Continues to Circle the Drain

"Where is the austerity? The cuts Keynesians are complaining about are mere reductions in increase. 'Despite austerity rhetoric,' wrote Frank Karsten, 'government debts keep rising in most democratic countries. ‘Austerity’ is a code word for ‘spending less than we had wanted, but more than in the past.’ In the end, they wind up raising taxes, rather than lowering expenditures to cut deficits.' As we reported last week, central banks around the world continue to cut their euro holdings for the third straight year. The Old World’s scrip now accounts for only 23.3% of foreign reserve holdings. If central banks are wary of euros… you should be as well." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEurope Continues to Circle the Drain

UK Telegraph: ‘We No Longer Have Free Markets’

"If Bernanke really shakes the tree, half the world may fall out ... We no longer have a free market. The world's financial asset prices have become a plaything of central banks and the sovereign wealth funds of a few emerging powers. Julian Callow from Barclays says they are buying $1.8 trillion worth of AAA or safe-haven bonds each year from an available pool of $2 trillion. Nothing like this has been seen before in modern times, if ever." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK Telegraph: ‘We No Longer Have Free Markets’

Gold Sector: A Small Fish in a Big Pond

"The conclusion we can draw from these two charts is rather obvious: gold stocks are a tiny constellation in a big universe. That's important, because it shows just how very crowded this little area could get when the larger universe of investors turns to the gold sector. If they invest in the bigger companies, there won't be that many to choose from, which could swell stock prices. In the meantime, gold stocks remain deeply undervalued. Let me build on Jeff's argument that gold stocks are cheap on an historical basis and compare them to other industries' price-to-book values as of July 17. How long will gold stocks continue to be so undervalued?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Sector: A Small Fish in a Big Pond

CoinAva allows Iranians to buy and sell bitcoins

"Citizens of Iran now have their own bitcoin market website, CoinAva. The site aims to educate people about bitcoin and allow them to buy and sell the digital currency. A spokesperson for CoinAva said bitcoin isn’t yet very popular in Iran, but said that once a few people start talking about it, its popularity will increase rapidly. The Iranian government believes anything based on the internet is suspicious, according to the spokesperson, but he thinks bitcoin has more potential to do positive than negative things for Iran and its government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCoinAva allows Iranians to buy and sell bitcoins

Afghanistan’s first recorded bitcoin transaction?

"The sun beat down at a blistering 120 degrees in the Helmand desert. The air was dry and tense as the two bitcoin entrepreneurs, Adam Locklin and yours truly, shook hands and made a deal in bitcoin. A Partagas robusto cigar traded hands, I sent Adam 0.1 BTC, and so concluded what we believe to be Afghanistan’s first recorded bitcoin transaction. This simple trade comes with a few lessons if bitcoin is really going to work in Afghanistan and other remote parts of the developing world." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfghanistan’s first recorded bitcoin transaction?

Gold exports in June slump 70% in India

"According to Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, 'Exports declined drastically in June as there was a shortage of raw material for jewellery manufacturing. Our main demand is that we should be provided gold on easy terms.' He added that if the current situation prevailed, it would be disastrous for the entire industry and bring in large scale unemployment. According to M Ahamed of the Kerala Jewellery Federation, exporters had initially gained from the rupee depreciation in the country, as the value of their exports in rupee terms had gone up. However, that gain has now petered off, he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold exports in June slump 70% in India