Bankocracy

India mulls leasing of IMF-bought gold

"The Indian government is deliberating whether or not to lease the 200 tonnes of gold it bought from the International Monetary Fund in the international market to earn dollars. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) purchased the gold from the IMF for an estimated price of around $6.70 billion in 2009, and under the IMF’s limited gold sales programme. 'The deal was misinterpreted by many at that time, that it could further inflate the gold price. [..] India’s purchase of gold was a reserve management strategy,'' a banking official told Mineweb. He added that globally, central banks were showing an increased interest in diversifying their holdings, to protect against a slumping dollar." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia mulls leasing of IMF-bought gold

Will the new gold iPhone lead to an unexpected windfall for Apple in China and India?

"Amid all the head-scratching about the apparently confirmed (but not by Apple) rumor of a forthcoming gold iPhone, one observation has come up again and again: It’s likely to be quite popular in China and India. In China, '[N]othing trumps gold as a symbol of wealth and privilege,' Simon Cousins, CEO of China-focused PR company Illuminant told Gizmodo. All Things D, among others, has reported that the gold coating would be an option on the iPhone 5S. Gold is also extremely popular in India." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill the new gold iPhone lead to an unexpected windfall for Apple in China and India?

China Gold-Mine Deals at Record After Price Plunge

"Acquisitions by China’s gold mining companies reached a record this year as the metal’s steepest quarterly drop in more than nine decades slashes mine values and sidelines Western competitors laden with debt. Takeovers and asset purchases by producers based in China and Hong Kong rose to a record $2.24 billion this year, beating last year’s record $1.96 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. China’s government has urged national gold producers to boost development of overseas resources in neighboring countries and in Africa and Latin America, according to its 12th Five-Year Plan which ends in 2015." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina Gold-Mine Deals at Record After Price Plunge

Brazil Halts Muni Market as Banks Collect $140 Mln Fees

"A year after it began, Brazil’s municipal bond market has been brought to a standstill by the federal government after Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and Bank of America Corp. provoked a backlash by collecting $140 million in fees from the first two borrowings. Brazilian Treasury officials, who approve state financing requests and provide guarantees backing loans, are starting to demand terms to curb the profits, seeking to protect taxpayers from being exploited and to limit their own borrowing costs while alienating bankers in the process." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrazil Halts Muni Market as Banks Collect $140 Mln Fees

Bill Bonner: US Market Crash Alert!

"Investors trust the Federal Reserve to protect their money...just as the Fed makes their investments less trustworthy! Because the more influence the Fed exerts over prices, the farther they move away from where they ought to be. Ah yes, dear reader, that is one of the curious, always-fascinating feedback loops that keeps life on planet Earth ‘normal’. Whenever things get too weird, something intervenes to make them less weird. And one of those things is a certain Mr. Market. It’s all very well for investors to believe the Fed won’t allow them to lose money. That’s what makes it possible for non-delusional investors to make a lot of money." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: US Market Crash Alert!

Taper Is Coming. Stock Market Rises.

"Yesterday, the stock market rallied a little. The explanation, according to a Reuters story, is that there are signs that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering in September. As you will recall, for six consecutive days, the stock market tanked. The explanation for the tanking was this: the expectation was that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering in September. This expectation was based on a careful reading of the minutes, which said the FED will not change its present policy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaper Is Coming. Stock Market Rises.

Needy EU Nations Woo Chinese Home Buyers to Ease Slump

"Cyprus, Greece and Portugal are providing resident permits to foreign buyers, while Spain is about to adopt a similar measure. The chance to purchase a home at depressed prices in southern Europe and gain what’s known as a golden visa is mostly being sold to Chinese investors, according to brokers. Southern Europe is the latest target for rich Chinese homebuyers, who have been snapping up properties from Vancouver to London since 2010 as their wealth swells and China’s government steps up a three-year campaign to cool home prices there. The number of millionaires in China rose 4 percent from the previous 12 months to 2.8 million." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNeedy EU Nations Woo Chinese Home Buyers to Ease Slump

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 →

Continue ReadingCyprus Bank’s Bailout Hands Ownership to Russian Plutocrats

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