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Collapse of Potash Cartel Sends Shock Waves Worldwide

"Russia's Uralkali quit one of the world's two big potash cartels on Tuesday, heralding a price war for the key crop nutrient and pummeling the shares of companies that produce it. The break-up of the Belarusian Potash Company (BPC), a joint venture with Belarussian partner Belaruskali, leaves North America's Canpotex as the dominant potash export venture. It could lead to cancellations of projects by rivals as the industry weighs the effect of lower prices, but may bring better deals for farmers. 'It is as if Saudi Arabia decided to leave OPEC — oil prices would fall immediately,' said Dmitry Ryzhkov, equity sales trader at Renaissance Capital." Continue reading →

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ANZ opens Gold vault in Singapore

"Singapore gold investors now have another option when it comes to stashing their gold. New Zealand's biggest banking group, ANZ, has announced that it has opened a gold vault in the Singapore. The bank's vault has the capacity to house 50 tons of gold. According to the bank, close to 15% of the world's primary production, and counts among its clients central banks and sovereign wealth funds. 'Singapore is strategically located between the world's top two gold producers, China and Australia, as well as the world's largest consumption markets,' said ANZ co-head of fixed income, currencies and commodities, Eddie Listorti." Continue reading →

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China’s Spending on Renewable Energy May Total 1.8 Trillion Yuan

"China may invest another 2.3 trillion yuan in key energy-saving and emission-reducing projects, Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said today at a conference in Beijing. The government aims to have 100 gigawatts of wind-power installed capacity and more than 35 gigawatts of solar power by 2015, Xie reiterated today. China’s targets have encouraged companies including China Petrochemical Corp., also known as Sinopec Group, to strengthen their commitment to protect the environment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina’s Spending on Renewable Energy May Total 1.8 Trillion Yuan

The Largest Gold Share Rise of All Time

"During our many walks together, my father and I often compared his experiences in the 1920s and ’30s with mine in more recent decades. Each time brought new revelations. But we rarely missed the obvious fact that history repeats itself in strange ways. His experiences with the world’s leading gold mines in the early 1930s are a classic example. Their shares were downtrodden, misunderstood and undervalued, much as they are today. Then, right in the midst of the nation’s worst depression, select mining shares surprised nearly everyone. They bust out of their doldrums. They surged to their highest levels in history." Continue reading →

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We Are Becoming a Nation of Burger Flippers

"The American workforce is slowly converting to a force of burger flippers and shelf stockers, mostly older people in semi-retirement. The implications for the economy are serious, and the ballooning cost of health care for businesses under Obamacare bears much of the responsibility: The law’s (expensive) mandate that employees who work over 30 hours per week receive mandatory health benefits is suppressing the hiring of full-time workers, particularly by small businesses. Even Sen. Max Baucus, one of the law’s architects, said 'I just see a huge train wreck coming down,' at an April 17 hearing." Continue reading →

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‘No plans to leave Russia’: Snowden has job offer, awaits reunion with family, girlfriend

"An 'exhausted' Edward Snowden will have his own choice of accommodation, has no current plans to leave Russia, and still misses his girlfriend, according to his Russian lawyer. The US national has been issued a 12-month residence permit, which can be extended indefinitely. Snowden only has to register and then has the legal right to travel anywhere in Russia. Snowden is legally allowed to work in Russia, and has already had one job offer. In what may or may not be a serious proposal, the founder of Russia’s Facebook equivalent Vkontakte, the flamboyant Pavel Durov, has offered the computer specialist a seat on his 'all-star security team'." Continue reading →

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When ‘Smart Homes’ Get Hacked: I Haunted A Complete Stranger’s House Via The Internet

"Due to Insteon not requiring user names and passwords by default in a now-discontinued product, I was able to click on the links, giving me the ability to turn these people’s homes into haunted houses, energy-consumption nightmares, or even robbery targets. Opening a garage door could make a house ripe for actual physical intrusion. Thomas Hatley’s home was one of eight that I was able to access. Sensitive information was revealed – not just what appliances and devices people had, but their time zone (along with the closest major city to their home), IP addresses and even the name of a child." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhen ‘Smart Homes’ Get Hacked: I Haunted A Complete Stranger’s House Via The Internet

John Carmack: Armadillo Aerospace in “hibernation mode”

"There is a good reason for that silence over the last five months: the company is, for the time being, effectively out of money. 'The situation that we’re at right now is that things are turned down to sort of a hibernation mode,' Carmack said Thursday evening at the QuakeCon gaming conference in Dallas. 'If we don’t wind up landing an investor, it’ll probably stay in hibernation until there’s another liquidity event where I’m comfortable throwing another million dollars a year into things,' he said. Funding Armadillo, he said, has 'always been a negotiation with my wife,' he said, setting aside some 'crazy money' to spend on it." Continue reading →

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Should You Trust Your Instincts on Gold?

"I have yet to see anyone present any logical economic premise that concludes that our country will not eventually see a currency collapse. Instead, I see several clues that reinforce my concerns. Throughout history thousands of currencies have collapsed, but precious metals have held their value. It should come as no surprise to learn that over the last few years China, Russia, and many central banks have been stockpiling gold. Germany and Venezuela quietly announced earlier this year that they are repatriating their gold stores overseas—not coincidentally mostly from the US—back to their shores." Continue reading →

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