Bankocracy

Analysts: Muni-Bond Selloff Looks Like Lehman All Over Again

"It's wrong to just take to periods and look at empirical data to forecast out. You need theory to explain the moves and any similarities. The similarities come about based on Austrian Business Cycle Theory, which says a slowdown in money printing results in a shrinking in the capital structure of the economy. As a result there is upward pressure on interest rates, as those seeking funds must bid up rates to entice investors. It such a slowdown in money growth occurring? It sure is. Just like it did in 1929, 1987 and 2008." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnalysts: Muni-Bond Selloff Looks Like Lehman All Over Again

Would you like unlimited days off?

"The practice is gaining ground in places like Silicon Valley, where start-ups spring up like weeds and venture capitalists who have never seen a timecard make little if any distinction between 'work' and 'nonwork' time for themselves or their employees. For employers, the benefits of unlimited vacations include not having to use staff time to track and record vacation hours. There’s no need to pay employees for their 'accrued' vacation time if they leave; they don’t accrue any. Among the companies that have already put an unlimited vacation policy in place are Netflix; Best Buy; Zynga, the online game maker; and Rodale, the magazine publisher." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWould you like unlimited days off?

New crowdfunding site JumpStart Fund hopes to launch new startups

"The new platform called JumpStart Fund, marrying crowd-sourcing with crowdfunding, comes from the California-based online community called Jumpstarter, which has been involved in matching investors with technology opportunities. JumpStart Fund was designed to be an online community where people can share ideas and build businesses based on patented technology, with individuals getting stakes in startups based on what they bring to the mix. JumpStart is working with federal research labs holding thousands of patents deemed public property because they were paid for with tax dollars and is reaching out to US universities and private facilities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew crowdfunding site JumpStart Fund hopes to launch new startups

The European Economy You Must Own

"The catalyst that will emerge is Poland’s inclusion in the euro zone in the next few years. When that happens, every institutional investor in the world with a euro focus will flood into Polish stocks. At this moment, many look at Poland and say it’s too early to invest there. That’s the wrong mentality. Polish companies are strong. The Polish economy is strong. Stocks are cheap. It’s not like you’re trying to catch a falling knife. In this case, the knife has already landed in the block of wood, and it stopped vibrating long ago. Today, you can just walk up and grab it by the handle without fear." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe European Economy You Must Own

The Forgotten Country Where Profits Beckon

"In my travels through Eastern and Southeastern Europe over the last couple of years, I’ve heard time and again about the Germans. They’re everywhere. In Hungary. In Turkey. In Slovakia. In Romania. They’re all over Poland. And like Genghis Khan, they’re invading Kazakhstan in search of oil and gas and other natural resources the Germans need to power the great German manufacturing machine. Honestly, you could do a lot worse as an investor than following Germany around the world. Unlike the U.S., the Germans are flooding into some of the fastest-growth markets in the world – Mongolia, Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Forgotten Country Where Profits Beckon

Debt Excess and the Liquidation Process in a Historical Context

"We find it constructive to divide debt into three categories based on the criteria of capital consumption. We'll start with liabilities taken on with the intent of making a subsequent sale at a profit: in other words, debt that increases the capital base, such as business loans. We call this 'good' debt. In the second category, we have mortgages, financial sector loans and foreign debt, all of which are classified as 'bad' debt. In the third and last category, we have debt that allows pure capital consumption, such as consumer credit and government debt. It should be obvious that consumptive debt cannot exceed productive debt for an indefinite period of time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDebt Excess and the Liquidation Process in a Historical Context

“The Biggest Growth Opportunity in the History of Capitalism”

"While America’s middle class is disappearing, there’s a whole new middle class rising around the globe. Over the past two decades, urbanization and market-oriented economic policies have powered the growth of this new consumer class. This new middle class is demanding access to clean water, clothing, TVs, health care, housing, food … you name it. McKinsey Global Institute calls the rise of this new middle class 'the biggest growth opportunity in the history of capitalism … an economic force that’s over 1,000 times as big as the Industrial Revolution.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading“The Biggest Growth Opportunity in the History of Capitalism”

India’s recycled Gold supply may hit 300 tons in 2013

"'Jewellers will need more gold to manufacture jewellery, as imports have been heavily restricted. If I sell today and (am) not in a position to replenish my stocks, then I'll have a problem and then I'll have to source gold from somewhere else,' said Bachhraj Bamalwa, director of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, in a interview with Reuters. With the Rupee crashing to new all-time lows on the currency market, however, gold prices are near record highs for Indian households. Indian government has doubled taxes on bullion imports this year to shrink a ballooning trade deficit and end a slide in the rupee. Gold is the country’s second largest import after oil." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia’s recycled Gold supply may hit 300 tons in 2013

German beer brewers in decades-long price fixing scandal

"Bosses of large breweries in the country have admitted to investigators that a number of firms arranged to raise prices of their premium beer brands, according to reports in German magazine Focus. Until now, it was believed the price-fixing arrangements spanned only a two-year period from 2006 to 2008. Documents seen by Focus reveal that during an interrogation in January, Volker Kuhl, head of the Veltins brewery, said large breweries would pass the price-rising agreements along to smaller producers. The companies involved now face fines in the hundreds of millions of euros, Focus reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGerman beer brewers in decades-long price fixing scandal

Dubai’s gold trade waits on India windfall

"UAE’s gold and jewellery trade aims to be a direct beneficiary as India imposes further controls on domestic consumption of the metal in all its forms. But the spin-off for local jewellers will not be confined to tapping demand from Indian shoppers who want to make use of the growing price differential. 'We have heard reports about new controls on gold purchases in Pakistan and higher taxes elsewhere in south-east Asia, all of which significantly raises the attractiveness of buying jewellery here and then taking it back to their home countries,' said Shamlal Ahmad, director of international operations at Malabar Gold and Diamonds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDubai’s gold trade waits on India windfall