Economics

DetroitCoin: Why we should make Detroit into a Bitcoin Hub

"For one, it’s got nothing to lose. By now Detroiters should be sick of being pumped and dumped by the financial system. Detroit desperately needs to diversify its economy. Detroit and its neighbor, Windsor, form North America’s largest cross-border conurbation. It’s the ideal location for taking advantage of bitcoin’s frictionless, cross border transactions. Assets are selling like hotcakes in Detroit and lower costs mean less risk for the kind of entrepreneurs that are already starting to turn Detroit into a lab for innovation. Detroit is already the birthplace of two bitcoin exchanges. Coincidence? No. The solutions come from the people with the pain." Continue reading →

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Colombia Illegal Gold Mines Prosper in Global Rout

"Investments by companies are being held back as ambiguous local regulations exacerbate the effects of the global gold slump. In contrast, informal operations in remote rivers and jungle areas are flourishing. The government acknowledges that the number of producers without licenses probably has risen from the last census in 2010-2011, when they accounted for 87 percent of all gold mines. While authorities are shutting down unregulated producers at an unprecedented rate, the growth of new operations shielded from environmental and labor restrictions is even faster, police say. Armed groups can reap more profit from illegal gold mining than cocaine." Continue reading →

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Blind Man’s Bluff: Why the Surveillance State Is Doomed

"The bureaucrats' quest for omniscience and omnipotence will come to a well-deserved end, just as it did in the Soviet Union, and for the same reason. The state is inherently myopic: short-sighted. Computers make it blind. The state focuses on the short run. Computers overwhelm bureaucrats with short-run information. Let us not forget that the Internet was invented by DARPA: the military's research branch. It invented the Internet to protect the military's communications network from a nuclear attack by the USSR. Today, there is no USSR. There is the World Wide Web: the greatest technological enemy of the state since Gutenberg's printing press." Continue reading →

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Egypt’s wheat problem: how Morsi jeopardized the bread supply

"Lack of money and a quixotic attempt at making Egypt self-sufficient spurred the decline, say officials familiar with the matter. Mursi dreamt of making Egypt grow all its own wheat and allowed imported stocks to fall to precariously low levels. It hurt both the country’s wheat stocks and Mursi’s government. With a quarter of Egypt’s 84 million people living below the poverty line of $1.65 a day, millions depend on subsidized bread that sells for less than 1 U.S. cent per loaf. That supply relies on foreign wheat. The country is the world’s largest wheat importer, bringing in about 10 million tonnes a year, around half its annual consumption." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: Where will China be in 6 months…or 6 years?

"Where will China be in 6 months...or 6 years? It is impossible to know. Goldman Sachs reduced its estimates of China's growth. But it has no better idea than Paul Krugman or anyone else. The Chinese could surprise us in either direction; the economy could be much worse than expected...or much better. But one thing does appear to be happening. After 20 years of spectacular growth, China is looking for a new way forward." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Where will China be in 6 months…or 6 years?

Bill Bonner: Where will China be in 6 months…or 6 years?

"Where will China be in 6 months...or 6 years? It is impossible to know. Goldman Sachs reduced its estimates of China's growth. But it has no better idea than Paul Krugman or anyone else. The Chinese could surprise us in either direction; the economy could be much worse than expected...or much better. But one thing does appear to be happening. After 20 years of spectacular growth, China is looking for a new way forward." Continue reading →

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What’s Up with Inflation?

"Many argue that these weightings skew the CPI lower, as do hedonic adjustments. The motivation for this skew is transparent: since the government increases Social Security benefits and Federal employees' pay annually to keep up with inflation (the cost of living allowance or COLA), a low rate of inflation keeps these increases modest. Those claiming the weighting is accurate face a blizzard of legitimate questions. For example, if healthcare is 18% of the U.S. GDP, i.e. 18 cents of every dollar goes to healthcare, then how can a mere 7% wedge of the CPI devoted to healthcare be remotely accurate?" Continue reading →

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‘Neighbor vs. neighbor’ in US cities, Meredith Whitney says

"Meredith Whitney painted a dire picture in a CNBC interview Wednesday of cities slashing services and communities battling for mere survival. The financial advisor and analyst said the financial woes facing bankrupt Detroit will become common around the country as local governments do whatever they can to escape onerous debt burdens. 'I think you're going to see a real issue of neighbor against neighbor on these very issues,' she said during a 'Closing Bell' conversation. 'That has been glossed over for years. What's at stake are social services we count on.'" Continue reading →

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Detroit Bankruptcy: How to Fix Detroit in 6 Easy Steps

"The news is full of stories of Detroit, and understandably so. It’s an unmitigated disaster. But I know how to fix it. Seriously, I do! I have a plan that would cost the state of Michigan nothing – not a cent. It wouldn’t cost DC anything either, and it would turn Detroit into the most thriving city in North America. As a bonus, it would give the remaining property owners in Detroit a financial windfall. Here’s the plan." Continue reading →

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