Alt/Indie News

Real Reason for the US’s Global Tax Levy

"This amped-up regulatory regime is not about taxes. It's about control ... not just of Swiss banking facilities but ultimately of banks around the world, large and small. In fact, the top elites already run central banks around the world, so this merely adds another layer of control. And when it comes to running banks, the place where banks supposedly had the most freedom was Switzerland, so that region was attacked first – just to provide an object lesson. The elites do not care how many banks they 'kill' – especially smaller banks that can often prove troublesome. The modern State is more comfortable with a few large and concentrated facilities than myriad small ones." Continue reading →

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2013: Year Of The Bitcoin

"Although bitcoin has attracted a lot of attention in the last few months, Babin-Tremblay pointed out that the currency actually started to gain popularity earlier this year as a result of the Cyprus banking crisis. In March the government of Cyprus announced a bail-in for banks, meaning that the financial institutions would have to impose losses on their shareholders, debt holders and even large depositors. After the bail-in was announced people ended up rushing to their bank accounts to withdraw funds. Many put the money into bitcoin, where governments could not touch it. 'Bitcoins were growing slowly until Cyprus. Cyprus was the catalyst for the big increase in the price,' he said." Continue reading →

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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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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 →

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

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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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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Bitcoin: China’s New Special Economic Zone

"With the People’s Bank of China’s announcement, the establishment of Bitcoin as yet another one of these areas – the first ever that only exists in cyberspace, has essentially become official. The announcement specifically forbade the existing Chinese banking system from interacting with the Bitcoin economy, but otherwise created an environment for the Bitcoin economy that some have described as even more free than that of Europe. Although exchanges are required to follow know-your-customer guidelines and register with telecommunications authorities, aside from this they do not need any kind of financial license in order to operate. The Bitcoin economy will be allowed to grow." Continue reading →

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